Ibrahim Oga

Trust Is Pure, But It Is Not Innocent. Before my sixteen month old son picks up a new object, he looks at me or his mother.

Read my latest newsletter: Trust Is Pure, But It Is Not Innocent.

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BECAUSE I KNOW YOU.
#poem

BECAUSE I KNOW YOU.
#poem

NY FRIEND WAS STILL BLEEDING My friend Mr.

Read my latest newsletter titled MY FRIEND WAS STILL BLEEDING.
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Another plea for little Mila, who needs food and decent shelter.

"If you really want something, then the soul must make demands of the body." ---Simon Sarris

A woman holds a sign that reads, “Girls Just Wanna Have Funding for Scientific Research” while holding a photo of her daughter, who died from epilepsy. The sign further reads, “Without research, we’re just guessing. My daughter died of epilepsy. Research will find a cure!”

I spoke to the woman holding the sign and got more backstory.

Her son has just gotten his PhD in neuroscience, to help find a cure for the epilepsy that killed his sister. His postdoc funding came through right before Trump stopped funds, so he can do his research, but others in his field can’t.

Kinds of Goodness Sometimes, although not quite as often, people who are known to be nice are not nice to me.

Read my latest newsletter titled KINDS OF GOODNESS.

open.substack.com/pub/ibelvede...

My Heart Has Known Its Winter by Arna Bontemps

“People wear psychological ‘sweat shirts’: The front may say something like ‘Please love me’—but when the wearer turns around, the back may read, ‘Not you, stupid.’”

—Eric Berne

Substack flagged my publication as spam and suspected it from public view for days.
When I complained, they said it was "incorrectly" flagged and that it had been restored.

No apologies.

Ibrahim Oga's Belvedere | Substack Distinct answers to subtle questions in life about living, friendship, relationship, pain, and love; written in a style peculiar to me. Click to read Ibrahim Oga's Belvedere, a Substack publication.

ibelvedere.substack.com

The Things About Having Kids Mrs.

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"Successful people tell the world they got lucky and tell their kids about the importance of hard work and sacrifice.
Critics of successful people tell the world those people got lucky and tell their kids about the importance of hard work and sacrifice." --- Rob Henderson

If you're seeing this, wins and more wins to you and yours.

This was the year that was not the year   This was the year that was not the year  I repaired the bathroom tap  and emptied out the kitchen drawer  of a lifetime’s worth of crap.    This was the year that was not the year in which I launched a new career.  A West End hit eluded me  and so did Time Person of the Year.    This was the year that was not the year  I became a household name.  Action figures were not sold of me.  I wasn’t made a dame.    This was the year that was not the year I spent less time on my phone.  Nights of passion did not happen  in boutique hotels in Rome.    This was the year that was the year  I didn't get that much done – much the same as the year before,  much like the one to come.  Brian Bilston

Here’s a poem called ‘This was the year that was not the year’.

This is still one of the most entertaining books ever. #books

THINGS YOU MUST HAVE IN 2025
1. Ibrahim Oga's Belvedere Newsletter in your inbox.

I just saw a book marketed as being great for readers of me, and I honestly don’t know if that means I would like it or not.

Rhydiqulous Rhymes, a poetry collection by Tim Forsythe
timforsythe.com
#poetry

BROWN by Ibrahim Oga
#poetry #writer

Sometimes your life just needs an additional 7 to 9 minutes on your regular alarm time.

Names are prejudicial.

If you like Die Hard, I highly recommend watching Carry-On. The plot is absurd, but it’s a perfectly ’80s-inspired action movie. Jason Bateman is fantastic as the bad guy. I didn’t pick up my phone once, which is saying something for me. Find it on Netflix. It doesn’t disappoint.

"Let me take that off your plate" is a strong love language unless cheese is involved, in which case, and let me be clear, get away from my cheese with your awful hate language

The space dust…

David Jones.