Closing Shop

I would like to inform my esteemed readers that I am making a switch to blogging on Wordpress. This has been occassioned a number of issues in blogger which have been bugging me for a while not least being unable to comment on my own blog among other blogs suchs as Wambui's and Nakeel's, Sorry si kuwalenga its just the bloody program.

My new address is:

http://mountkirima.wordpress.com

So to all who are still interested in by 2 bob worth of opinions please update your links

Thank you

Vote for Me! So I Can Get Rich

One of the promises I made to myself when starting this blog was to avoid writing political posts since I often don't have the passion to argue with the various shades of opinion that may arise from my views. That said I have been rudely awakened by some of the events that are occuring in our country over the last 2 weeks. Undoubtedly everyone has heard of the salary award in disguise of a winding up allowance that the Minister of Finance was trying to sneak into parliament. Many people have had alot about to say on this matter and almost all the commentators are understandably sick about this 9th Parliaments sheer greediness.Unfortunately alot of the political debate in this country is centred around personalities and parties which tends to cloud the issues and principles that should be at the centre of the business of government. I have long held the view that parties in Kenya are basically meaningless camps which politicians can use and misuse at leisure and are neither based on common values or visions the only purpose they serve is as vehicles to political power. Therefore to me the whole lot are basically just the same.My worry is that Kenyans have abdicated the role of being masters of their own destiny and handed it over to our leaders. The powerful Presidency has always been (mostly rightly) seen as the biggest hinderance to Kenya acheiving true democracy and economic development thus there has been constant clamour to reduce these powers.There have been moves to enhance the independence of the judiciary so as to serve as a check, There has also been a clamour to enhance the power of Parliament so that it can serve as a safeguard againist executive excess which are all good measures. A strong and independent Parliament since they are supposed to be representing the voice of the electorate. To enable them to be more independent a Parliamentary Service Commission was created which was to look into the terms and conditions parliament including renumeration. Although all these measures were enacted in good faith and with the intention of improving governance the current 'peoples representatives' have taken it as a vehicle to improving their personal worth.Where does that place the common mwananchi? Who will speak for him if his representative is busy speaking for himself? My belief is that we cannot complain about poor representation if we are the same ones who vote them in time and time again. It is high time we stopped being just mwananchi wa kawaida and become the masters of our own destiny by making the right choices.I strongly hold the view that the problem in Kenya is that we have tended to look up at the leadership to take us to promised land forgetting that it is we who should be the drivers. We must start making the right choice if we choose the right leaders according to their demonstrated values we will end up with the right leaders. Instead we tend to look at what tribe, party, family the aspirant comes from. It has been said that the problem we have is the flawed constitution but I don't think so. We cannot forget that in 2002 we were able to change the government by just our collective will even with all the oppressive forces brought on by the executive and a flawed constitution. So anything is possible if we as Kenyans have the will. Of course all did not go well after that but it at least demonstrated what we are capable of acheiving and from what we have learned from the leaders we must avoid making the same mistakes.Making the right choice shouldn't be too hard all it requires is for you to examine your most sincere values and if you think the candidate has demonstrated those values and will be honest to those values then you should vote for him/her and hold them againist those promises.So as we rant (rightly) againist the outrage that the greedy bunch at parliament are trying to achieve we must remember that it is you and me who hold the keys to their return. Let us all watch carefully how each and every MP will be voting on this manner and use that to help us make the RIGHT CHOICE!

Dating Dilema

Last week I was out in one of the city's coffee houses with the company of some ladies and my pal and as we enjoyed the bottomless coffees (actually they refill your cup only once, I wonder then why they call it bottomless) the conversation inevitably switched to the boy/girl issues aka relationships. Well one of the mamas had beef with the issue of jamaas who can't or won't pay the bill when they take you out. I am sure every one has horror stories of dates that went wrong i.e. ending up in the wrong type of restaurant, peeling potatoes, trying to eat spaghetti elegantly, your date, your date ordering the most expensive item on the menu or the worst one for ladies getting to the restaurant and discovering that the table cloths are made of the the same material as your dress! LOL!!
Anyway the story was that there was this jamaa - a client, who had been pestering this mama for several months that he would like to meet her for coffee one day after work. So mainly out of the need to just get it over with the mama agrees to meet him for coffee, the jamaa asks her to meet him outside 2oth Century (first wrong move) the mama trys to convince him that it is better for them to meat at a restaurant somewhere rather than outside a cinema hall which si soo teenagerish but the jamaa inisted so outside twentieth it was.
Once she gets there she meets the jamaa waiting (ok) but once she asks where are we going he says "I don't know, where do you want to go?" (Second wrong move). The mama wonders to hereself where kwani he did not know where he wanted to go and starts thinking whats nearby Trattoria? Winebar? Java? but since she just wants to get it over with she says we just catch a cup of coffee at Lavazza's so off they go.
Once they settle in the coffeshop and order the guy in trying to make conversation asks her 6 times - yes six - "How is life?" (Third wrong move) and she seriously thinks this must be a trick question and asks him as much. Clearly this date is not headed in the right direction and the mama is wondering when it is ever going to end but the worst is not yet to come.
As the coffee arrives the jamaa tells her "By the way, Hii Kahawa ni wewe unalipa?".
"What" She asks, clearly thinking she didn't hear him right
"You are the one paying for this coffee" he repeats.
That was the end of the conversation and the date as far as she was concerned, First she had to be coerced into coming, second he didn't know where to take her, third he didn't have any vybe to tell her and now it turns out she was the one to pay for this disaster of a date. What if she had said we go to Trattoria and ordered a Pizza and cappuccino she wondered. Fortunately she had 5oo on her and she could cover the bill and tempted as she was to pay for her cup only and walk out she perservered. Thats not the end of it, as they were finishing up he asked her.
"By the way there is one more thing I want to ask your"
"What? Fare?" She retorted, quite pissed off by now
"No, Its just that I have been watching you and I think you would make a good mother for my children!" he quipped.
WTF!
I don't need to tell you that was the end of the date and the story. If it wasn't a true story I would have laughed it off as a episode of Redykulass or something like that.
Now the questions are

• Would you ask someone out on a date expecting the other pary to date?
• In this day and age should the guy always pay?

The first one for me is a no brainer I mean if you are interested in someone you should jipanga and you should be able to first gauge there expectations. I can't make excuses for this jamaa on ths front especially since he had been pestering her earlier.

As for the second one I think it is still expected that the man pays for the first dates but as they become a couple the mama can be expected to chip into the bill and once in a while actually take the guy out. Some of my most memorable dates is when I have been asked out by - Her treat. It is always amusing when the waiter brings the bill over to you and you tell him hapana Madam ndiye analipa.

So what do you think and have any of you been on such dates?

By the way can you guess who ended up paying for those bottomless coffee's we were having?

Disclaimer: I am absolutely NOT the jamaa in question here!

Now onto other matters, There has been misunderstanding created by a comment that was left in my previous post about an alleged wedding. Due to some weird behaviour by Blogger I am unable to leave a comment on my own blog. Aaaargh. So now I want to state without fear of contradiction that : I AM STILL AVAILABLE now that said hiyo story iishe.

Tagged one too many times!

It looks like no matter how much I try and hide the tags won't go away, It seems that I was tagged by 3 Types of Crazy and Half and Half to post some 8 random things about myself. Despite the fact that I had already given seven before plus a videocast of myself. HnH was right I don't like tags but I hate not being a sport even more so I just have to do something.


I wont post the rules cos' I'm gonna break them all - kwani what will happen if I don't will I be doomed to a streak of bad luck or will I be smitten by a bolt of lightning? I don't think so.

1. I love eating out; the more exotic the better, of course finances and living out of town is a major impediment but when I can I like to try out new restaurants even if all I can afford is a cup of coffee and a snack. When I was younger I harboured the secret ambition of being a restaurant critic like that lucky jamaa in the Sunday Nation.
2. I hate confrontation; Whenever there is an argument or disagreement I often choose the walking away option, argueing and fighting is not for me. Even arguments between other peeps I will shun therefore being UN Secretary General is definately not one of my ambitions.
3. I am a Lazy Shopper; Shopping doesn't do anything for me and will only buy something if it has run out or is absolutely necessary.
4. I constantly need new information: Not news by the way but I soak up information like a sponge that is why google and wikikpedia are my constant companions as well as the blogs in KBW. If I was to get DSTV it would be because of Discovery, Animal Planet and National Geographic not Supersport, I can always watch soccer in a pub anyway.
5. I like being straigthforward; I am easily bored by relationship games and rules, the playing hard to get and other dating tire me out I like some one who comes straight out and anakupenda au hakupendi all that beating about the bush will just tire me out.
6. I have no patience; Especially with lateness, I will always ask when do you want us to meet and trust me I will do everything to be there on time but if the other party keeps me waiting I end up seething with frustration. This is especially worse when someone requests you to pick them up at a certain time and when you arrive there are not ready yet.
7. I can't sing; Enough said.
8. I used to stutter; I used to have slight stammer when I was in school which made me very self concious especially when called upon to speak in front of people. Happily now I have been able to conquer that especially that now I am occassionally required to address all the employees at work (over 600 of them imagine).
9. I had a Yellow Car; This is a bonus, My first car was a bright yellow Toyota Starlet. It certainly was unusal and always managed to attract alot of attention unfortunately it was also difficult to hide your self anywhere especially in a small town like Embu and as soon as you parked it somewhere you would start getting all sorts of messages by folks asking when are you leaving or can we come over. On the good side and in an odd kind of way it was also a babe magnet. I surely miss that car as they always say you never forget the first

That meets my end of the bargain as for the rules I don't think I can tag anyone since I can see almost all the bloggers out there I know have already been tagged.

Of Cold, Paper Bags and Tremors

The buzzwords around Nairobi nowadays seem to revolve on 3 issues that are threatening to cloud the ever present politics in popular coversation. Hardly a minute passes before someone mentions how cold it is to be frank I have also been complaining every minute I can despite the fact that I have the luxury of cuddling up in bed all day but today there is a blackout and the house is so boring that I had to step out. The monthly forecast from our friends at the meteo are not encouraging either so we just have to pack those sweaters a little bit longer.
The other issue and this one I have beef with is the ban on plastic bags, whearas I wholeheartedly support the ban on thing plastics I beg to disagree with the way the City Kanju is carrying it out. There is no way the Kanju askaris have the capacity to gauge the thickness of plastic bags to determine whether they are 2o microns or less what they are engaging in is wholesale harasment of city residents as they go about there business. what they should target is the actual littering which is the real environmental hazard and proper garbage disposal which is their job ( and which they are carrying out with much less zeal!). It is really interesting the way the Kanju has woken up and discovered all these old bylaws againist, hawking, spitting, peeing, jaywalking etc but my concern is that the Askaris have turned it into an avenue for collecting bribes I mean how many of those caught in the act can actually produce a legit city council receipt for the fine paid?, Archer and M have met their wrath may be they can answer that.
The other big topic is the quakes or tremors hitting the city. I know it is quite unnerving and scary to feel the ground moving beneath your feet but the widespread panic experienced in town yesterday was absolutely out of proportion to the actual experience. I was woken up at 6.00am by a call claiming that a major earthquake was about to hit Nairobi in 15 minutes peeps must have thought I was crazy when I laughed it off and jumped right back to bed. My geology must be rusty but I know for sure that there is no way to predict when and where an earthquake is about to strike, although Nairobi is situated near a major faultline at the rift valley it is not a high risk area like California, Iran or Japan where major Tectonic plates meet.
Every one is complaining how long this week is you can imagine how long it is for me who is not at work but anyway looking forward to the weekend when I hightail it to Nakuru (someone please tell me if it is cold there as well) for a wedding where the groom only casually informed me last week that I would be his Best Man! Talk about surprises!

Resurrection

Contrary to a certain popular serial story I am very much still alive and blogging. I have now enjoyed one week of my vacation and I am begining to feel refreshed enough to blog. Of course the biggest hurdle is how to get internet connection I have been trying to do it from the house using GPRS but as you can imagine this is not kind to my cellphone credit but at least it allows me to read posts and with some patience put up a few comments.
The major predominant factor that has been influencing my activity is the cold and man has it been cold this has not been helped that there was some activity on the homefront that required me to spend many hours at night outdoors but fortunately that is now over. This cold has been inhibiting my movement and activities since I am now aclimitized to a warmer environ.
There is quite alot to catch up on the blogosphere it seems that our GuestBlogger has been extending his Collabos all over with the latest being at Milo's, For his shennanigance (sp) over at Unyc's it will be my mission to ensure that his name changes from 'Guest blogger' to 'Ghost Blogger'. JM is yet to update us with what happens when I bring the BT down to a grinding halt alot of the boys and some girls are awaiting this episode with alot of anticipation but since I have been consigned to the netherworld words won't hurt me so bring them on. By the way I was touched by Three Types of Crazy who is organizing a harambee for my departed soul (LOL) just make sure that baby mama gets the chums alright. Thanx alot girls!

Meetup
There was the issue of the meetup. Mocha has been requesting, nay demanding that someone posts something on the meetup. My contribution was just too brief to make up a substancial review all the same I enjoyed the brief minutes I spent there. I checked in at around 10:30 wich was quite an effort since at 8:00 PM I was still in Embu I was able to drive quite safetly trees nonewithstanding. It was my first time at Alehouse but locating it was not too difficult, the only worry I had was how to recognize the group since I didn't know anyone except Inexes who I had met in Embu the week before. Fortunately the first face I bumbed into was Inexes on the dance floor with a bevy of damsels. After some quick introductions I was able to meet some of my Blog Hero's and Heroines including one of the pair responsible for my untimely demise. My revenge was not forthcoming yet. But all said and done I had quite a nice time despite the personal circumstances that were prevailing on that day. I hope someone who was there longer can be able to do justice and tell us more of what happened earlier and later that night. So for those who finally got to meet the reclusive mountain I thank you for your warm welcome. BTW I was in the company of two other bloggers from my family (this one and this one)who were also happy to make your acquintances. It is such a pity I missed the famous dancing I was so looking forward to seeing this, therefore there has to be a next time, ama?
I am yet to get the hang of blogging from a cyber hence the rush to finish and the lack of links but as the weeks run along I am sure I will get the hang of it.

STEPPING OUT
Now I have crossed the last t and dotted the last i. My leave has officially started like 20 minutes ago.
Baridi here I come.
Don't you worry I'll keep on blogging.

SPORTING WEEKEND

Lack of Premier league Football has not dampened my sporting mojo albeit from a couch potato view.
Begining yesterday with the Wimbeldon Womens Tennis Final which was won beautifully by Venus Williams I had to admit the game was a mismatch since everyone was expecting a Venus vs Henin final but all the same Venus showed some powerful serves which blew her French oponent away. I thoroughly respect the way Venus who was an outsider(I think seeded 23) was able to rise to the occassion and blow away everyone else including favourite and media darling Maria Sharapova.

Saturday was the eagerly awaited British Grand Prix, much was said about the possibility of Lewis Hamilton winning at Silverstone on his inaugural British Grand Prix but that alas was not to be as a few minutes ago he was beaten to third place behind Kimi Raikkonen and World Champion Fernanado Alonzo. It was still an admirable finish for Hamilton having finished all his F1 races on the podium. For me being a Ferarri fan I was extatic at the especially since the disaster at the grid where Ferarri's Felipe Massa had to start at the pit due to some engine failure. Ferarri is now showing its potential to snatch the lead from Mclaren I am not hating on Mclaren or Lewis I admire the chap but it is not enough for me to change loyalty from the most iconic team in Formula 1.

The Mens Wimbeldon final is still on but I am rooting for Roger Federer to Beat Rafael Nadal but since I am tired of following the match on the web on BBC sport I will now retire and wait for the scores later in the evening.

Approved

At long last I get my 5 weeks of R & R perhaps with this break from the bundus I will be able to refresh my mind and get back to full blog mode. As for now I have to tie up all the loose ends up here in preparation for the long break.
I haven't got a clue what I will be doing those weeks but as long as it doesn't involve being at the office at 7:00 AM its all good, Bila cash so vacation at the coast is out so I guess I'm resigned to being a tato for a while so frequent visits to Tom Mboya Street are a must. On the downside there is no free vsat at home so I either have to rediscover cybers (I loathe most Nairobi Cybers) or I have to lug my laptop to Java once in a while but the coffee there is quite a penny so it won't be any cheaper if I am to keep blogging. I hope that will resolve itself with time or is there any cheap internet connection available nowadays.

BTW I understand temparatures in Nai are perfect for locking yourself in
bed so I guess my itenerary is already set out in advance.

_EX Wars

I have an accute case of Bloggers block if there ever was one. I can't for the life of me come up with an original idea for a post this week. I have a few ideas brewing but they require some time to gel and definately when I can get some free time I will dive right in.

So in the mean time I will do another one like this. This week I have noted alot of men vs women wars erupting all over KBW I guess it is the same old story since men and women always never seem to get along despite the fact that we are always struggling to hook up with someone to complain about.

It seems to have started last week when HnH's old half decided to crawl back after being dumped by his new half only to encounter the scathing and utter wrath of his past. then Archer who introduces us to the potato wars (not this tato!) beginging with a chick who decides to play mind games and tempt her jamaa with her pal in order to test his loyalty but tough luck cos he failed the test but the question is who actually lost since she lost the jamaa (probably the pal as well!), Baadaye he chomoas a take-away chips episode with a new age sophisticated babe which leaves a poor dude as leftover. Inexes after last weeks fiasco with Rihanna look-a-like is busy reminding us of his undergraduate tally.

Klara got us thinking of how to handle a tricky situation like getting invited to an Ex's wedding would I go, maybe depending on the nature of the parting I guess it can serve as a form of closure cos you are resigned to the fact that she is no longer available while still single the possibility always lingers. Talking of Exes and weddings Mocha is perplexed by the Ex who doesn't know how to tell her he is getting married and then an old friend confesses he has been getting some Bill Clinton action on the side while still considering himself to be faithful to his mama I don't think that trick can work again, Meanwhile while dishing out this issues Mocha still lets her share in some beautiful shots. Gishungwa had us questioning whether we are in love or in lust my take is that isn't possible to have both wrapped up in one Yaani Lust for the one you love? We are still all waiting very patiently for Unyc's story to unravel.

Top prize leo is 3N who has organized a Seminar in Kigali for Kenyan men to scope out the action with the hutu and tutsi babes since Kenyan Mamas have declared their disinterest in us. Apparently I will be one of the resource persons. My my what to say?

The question I ask is why cant we just get along?

Not only bad things happen in Kenya this sounds good

Easy Sunday

I',m having an easy sunday today so after my tough week I decided to come up to the office and catch up on some blogs but to my disappointment it seems that KBWers seem to have taken the weekend off, even the aggregator is down so all that is left is going back over last weeks posts and seeing if there are any new comments. So to keep my bored self busy I have decided to do a weeks digest of whats been happening in the kenyan blogland. In the meantime a little social bookmarking wont hurt as well.

First I got an email from these people on my yahoo email which I don't even use much, looks interesting but I don't think I'm ready to move to another blogging service right now. Inexes bounced back on the blog scene this time in Dar where he seems to having drama with Rihana look a like and her Mshikaji he has polished up his swahili as well, welcome back bro. EGM on the other hand was very much around less pictures but more geekstuff his latest on capturing Youtube videos is one I will definately be studying in detail when I have some free time. Kayliz gives us a view of second life while Archer updated us on his late night chats and introduced us to his dog sunkuli but is now looking for an upgrade for his Nokia 6600. BTW I succumbed to Nokia mania and got myself a cheap 1110i to resuscitate my Safaricom line which despite M's exposition ,I still retain some of the Kenya peculiar calling habits and suffer which Safaricon have translated into incredible profits. Half n Half entertained us with a Cheeky quiz then went full blast at a desparate clueless ex, and apparently is still scoring in her war againist BAT, keep it up. Betty has abandoned hard labour and is busy reminding us of girlie playground songs was it hopskotch? :-)

Aegeus finally revealled the real story of the 7's after party with Wanja and 10 wild ladies, hitting the dusty road and gave us his weekend plans, I wish I could join you there and why did you stop bolding? Talking of parties Chatterly gave us a lowdown of what cuts at Kenyan Bashes in the US made me feel that our home made parties are not that bad afterall while Aco gave us some humerous flashbacks of Kenyan parties gone wrong at home. Komi made us look at our calling while Unyc and her co-conspirator kept us in suspense waiting for Part IV in the meantime part III continues to elicit all manner of requests looks like some peeps are expecting an orgy, as for me, I just want to know whether I come out alive seeing that I have a penchant for knocking trees and apparently Mungikis might be around. Majonzi had us examining the issue of Models I don't mind looking at them though but it seems most of us forget they are supposed to be selling clothes not their bodies. Mwangi apart from having rodent problems has been posting cryptic clues on his hanjamaz making those of us who are poor at riddles look slow. Modo took us on a humerous ride with him on his daily endevour not be be confused with a Mungiki. Bomseh decided to give us some kibwagizo's on his posts. Mocha gave a much demanded expose' and Farmgal took top honours for being a sport and giving us a peek at what happens on hen nites unfortunately peeps just want more and I can hear the chants of show us more.

Missing in action though were, Klara, Ichiena and Princess I hope you step up next week.

On a happier note my leave application is on the bosses desk and if he agrees its going to be 4 weeks of sleeping and full muenjoyos. I can't wait.

I like my new keyboard!

Long Week now Numb with Relief

Leo ni Friday lakini I am too numb to do the usual Friday Stuff.

It's been an unusually tough and bloody long week, swamped with jobo. Its a surprise that I was able to squeeze time to blog regardless, this was not helped by the fact peeps put up either very long deep posts, technical posts and crypic posts that require more mental capacity than I could spare plus the suspense. Lakini thank you all for helping me keep my sanity.

Fortunately it has all worked out and the company can keep its certification otherwise I wouldn't be able to face the boss on Monday since the project is my baby.

Leo nitarudi nyumbani mapema, take a shower and doze on the sofa, aki thats performing very poorly for a Furahiday.(yes! even here in Embu we get some action occassionally)

What I would do for a massage right now. Kesho nikiamka nikiwa freshi I'll be back at full mental.

Cheers!

A Comic Voyage

Inspired by Mwaris history of book reading it brought back my earliest memories of what introduced me to reading and got me hooked. From a very early age I remember getting attracted to comic books in those days I remember there was a small bookshop next to citymarket where an elderly Asian lady used to sell used books and any time I had the opportunity to go into town with my dad we used to make it a point to drop there. At one end there was a big pile of comic books and I ussually used to make a beeline for it straight away and plead with dad to buy as many as possible.

Some of the earliest comic books I fell in love with were the British children comic books of the day such as:

• Beano: Who can forget Dennis the Menace and his ally Gnasher, Minnie the Minx, Rodger the Dodger and the Bash Street Kids
• Dandy: Remember Desparate Dan and his apetite for Cowpies, Korky the cat, Desparate Dawg
• The Beezer & Topper: The Banana Bunch, Colonel Blink the Shortsighted Gink, Pop Dick and Harry, The Hillys and the Billys and my all time favorite - The Numskulls which I believe inspired a Sitcom

While I was enjoying these british comics I also started picking the Disney comics and quickly went through tens of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge and Tweety and Sylvester.

Before long the superhero DC Comics came my way and I discovered Superman, Batman, Spiderman and the Fantastic Four. At this stage I was hooked and it helped that my mum was in UK for a while back then and when she came back she had a full trunk full of Superhero comics. I totally loved Superman and I believe he is the coolest of all superheros and I secretly fantasized that I had the supepowers of superman.

Further along on my voyage I started getting interested in the the Archie and Jughead comics it was at this time that Yaya centre was opening and there was a nice little bookshop called Bookstop where they also sold secondhand books and comics and using the pretext of going to buy comics for my small bro I used to make sure that I put in a number of Archie comics which of course were for me to read first. The Archie characters were priceless, I always enjoyed the tag of war between Veronica and Betty for Archies attention (I always rooted for Betty though), Jughead and his love of food laziness and hate of girls (Ethel was it?) and how was Big Moose despite being rather slow was able to bag such a lovely girl as Midge which caused Reggie alot of pain whenever he tried to slice in.Also not to be forgotten was the Adventures of Tintin many of the breaktimes in school were spent comparing notes on the number of Tintins we had read and by Std 6 I am pretty sure I had read them all, My first was Cigars of the Pharoahs and my favorite was Explorers on the Moon. Again the Characters were unforgetable, Captain Haddock, Bianca Castafiore, Proffesor Calculus, Tompson and Thompson and who could forget Snowy. My favorite character was of course the drunk always swearing Captain Haddock with his "Billions of billious blue blistering barnacles in ten thousand thundering typhoons"

Now the ultimate classic is Asterix and for your information I am not yet over this one and I am capable of snatching it from your baby bro so watch out :-). I find the Asterix strips so creative, humerous and entertaining I clearly remember my first one which is still my all time favorite - Asterix and Cleopatra "That nose!" The naming of the characters was hillarous, Unhygenix the fishmonger and his wife Bacteria, Fulliautomatix the blacksmith, Vitaltatistatistix the chief, A Roman centurion named Poisonus Fungus or Crismus Bonus the sterotypes and puns of the various European Tribes is quite uncanny. It always made me laugh out loud whenever Cacofonix the Bard was tied up during the banquent except in one adventure, The banquets which everyone had a whole wildboar to themselves. Obelix my favorite charactor was never allowed by Getafix the druid to have a sip of Magic potion cos he fell in a cauldron when he was a baby except in one instance in Asterix and Cleopatra.

This Frisky Gaul and his obese friend Obelix in their myriad adventures has kept me entertained for over 20 years and I am sure many more to come.

All pictures from Wikipedia.com

No News is Good News?

I think Not.
After todays morning explosion is took it think like an hour before scattered rumours started filtering into the office about a blast in Nairobi. Of course with the typical Kenyan rumour mill there were already around 101 different theories floating around and that was even before morning tea was served.
Being away from news sources in the office apart from the internet I wasn't able to get any verifiable facts until around lunch time when I checked the newsfeeds on my newsreader from CNN, BBC and Reuters they were still bila story from Nairobi. Of course Google news searches for Nairobi picked up the news feeds from around 10.00 am. I was late for lunch time news at 1.00PM and when I got to the house all the channels had live coverage of KANU's Special Delegates meeting so again no news updates for me. Speculation was rife as people rushed into all sorts of conclusions blaming this and that group or persons, blaming the government, blaming the opposition, blaming foreigners, looking for religious, political, social and economic angles.
As a typical news junkie you can imagine my frustration as I searched for information about the blast since all my folks and and alot of my friends are in Nairobi but from all those I have heard from I guess they should be all OK.
Perhaps the blast was too minimal or inconsequential to the world media to attract widespread and quick coverage but I still wonder how it would have been if it featured one American or if the hotel in question was the one associated with a certain pseudocelebrity who is currently languisihing in an American Jail the coverage would have been any different. As the country grapples with addressing the role of the media, the media bill and the information superhighway I hope we shall be able to find a solution to this information gap when it comes to breaking news.
As I struggle along trying to get more news I pray for anyone who might have been affected or hurt in todays events. Since I don't want to miss the 7.00PM news let me sign off now.

5 Reasons Why I Blog

Ichiena the funny one decided to challenge me by tagging me to do a podcast on 5 reasons why I blog. I Fond this extremely difficult cos 1. I thought I blogged for no reason at all, just cos I can really and 2. I didn't even know how to start in uploading a podcast. Being a fella who thrives on challenges I thought I should at least give it a go and since I google everything it was not long before I had completed Podcasting 101 and I believe now I am ready to post my premiere podcast. Although I won't make a habit of it (too much like work!) I enjoyed making it and maybe if you ask enough I will do some more.
I used a background of images from Embu where I live for the Video so that some of you can get a perspective of where I am coming from. As I listened to myself I realise I still have a sligth stutter I hope you will forgive me for that but those who know me can tell that my stammering has improved a whole lot since them days.
Otherwise ji-enjoy.

Live Weekend

Quite a hectic Madaraka day weekend I had. Its been a while since I enjoyed 3 whole days of no-work pressure. It was also time for me to travel downtown (not upcountry like most folks) to spend some time with the folks. I was also able to catch up with several friends as well including one very senior blogger who we grew up with. There were several highlights of the weekend but I will only talk about two of them.

Sawa Sawa Concert.

Despite a very busy schedule on Saturday I was able to drag my self to the Aboretum to catch a glimpse of the Sawa Sawa festival that featured among others Jazz Maestro - Hugh Masekela and Roots Reggae icon - Burning Spear. As can be expected for any free concert in the city the whole area around Aboretum was jam packed with people up to State House Road and therefore despite my enthusiasm and that of my posse we were not able to see much of what was going on stage but I generally liked the atmosphere which was largely peaceful and lively. I had my doubts initally especially after the rowdy scenes that have been experienced in reggae concerts in the past. I was able to pick a few nice CD's of local music to enjoy including Eric Wainainas Twende Twende. Unfortunately I couldn't stay long and was not able to see the fellow who brought us out there i.e. Hugh cos we had advance tickets for our next assignment.

Pirates of the Caribean - At Worlds End.

At long last after 7 days of anticipation since it opened I was able to watch Pirates 3 over at Nu-Metro we arrived just in time to grab popcorn and drinks and sink into our seats to watch this years mega blockbuster. I had to admit the massive expectations that were heaped on this movie were impossible to surmount but it not deter my desire to lap it up. The movie of the year finally opened and I sat back to enjoy the ride.


Enjoy I did! Captain Jack Sparrow and the rest of the Pirates cast did not disappoint it would take a massive effort to match the levels reached by Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Mans Chest but at Worlds end matched them in quite a number of levels. There some issues I had with the overall movie but I'm dead certain I will watch it again and again, I believe it is the small and suttle things that you don't notice at the first screening that make for a great collectors movie. I already have DVD's of th first 2 and I am pretty sure as soon as P3 is available on www.amazon.co.uk I will be one of the first buyers.

Parts I liked

• What is a pirate movie without elaborate sword fights and canon fights - some critics have said the action scenes were too long but I say there were just what the fans wanted
• The wisecracks were there in plenty as usual and Captain Jack Sparrow was Hillarious as usual my only complain was that there was not as much of him as I would have wanted and I think he did not take as much rum as required.
• Keira Knightely was as ravishing as usual this time the sexiness was more overt as she gave us generous glimpses of her lovely thighs in the Singapore scene and in the last scene just before Will turner goes on his 10 year voyage on the BT - sorry! :-) on the Flying Dutchman.
• For me the movie was a fitting conclusion to the Pirates of the Caribean Trilogy and I hope Disney lets it remain a Trilogy they can make more money by using the movies popularity to sell tickets to its Disneyland rides.

Parts that didn't quite click.

• The movie took too long to introduce Captain Jack and the first sight we saw of him was a humongous nose. It is standard to introduce the main character in the first 5 minutes but I belive it took almost 20 minutes before we saw Jack but when he appeared he took over.
• Very very long over 2.5 hours is quite long for an adventure movie
• Admiral James Norrington deserved a more fitting demise considering his role in the development of the plot.
• What happened to Calypso? Surely that thread deserved a more fitting end

The biggest mystery in the whole movie is: Where was Keira hiding that big fat shotgun that she pulled out from under her clothes? -Just a thought :-)

Tagged Again

What is it with tagging these days I had barely recovered from the first tag then Ichiena went ahead and tagged me to do a podcast and before I had finished figuring this out Aegeus decides to tag me to show what I have on my Home Desk. I will have you know that I do not have a home desk all I have is a dining table which of course doubles as a desk when I dont want to drag my laptop to the couch or the bed. But since this is much easier than the Podcast I will jump ahead and heed Methus Tag and give you a glimpse of what a bloggers desk in shaggs looks like.

My Trusty Toshiba Laptop, my Motorolla Cellphone - important for connecting to the internet, My DJ box - with my ancient CD collection, My PDA - in case I forget what I am actually supposed to be doing, My FHM magazine - for those much needed creative breaks and most important of all My COOKIE JAR - Bliss.

The Only Thing to Fear is Fear Itself

Pennywise from Stephen Kings IT

What scares me? I guess everyone has got some fears in their lives some that are secret and some not so secret. As for myself I do have a few fears that bother me although not so severe these few things get on my mind. I believe the first step in conquering your fears in first admitting them then facing them. There are definately a few of them I would not care to face at any time.

Here are just a few.

• Dentophobia; Fear of Dentists. I always feel sorry for dentists, they must be the ony profession where the clients are only willing to see them when the pain is too numbing for them to bear and considering the level of pain most people are willing to tolerate in order to delay that appointment is an indicator of the degree of fear. (no wonder dentists have been reputed to have among the highest suicide rates for any group of proffessionals cos they feel so unloved). I have faced this fear several times but luckily for me my Dentist belives in not prolonging the agony and he ensures that most procedures are completed in 10 minutes flat. Luckily I haven't had to face a root canal.
• Ophidiophobia; I am really afraid of snakes. I used to have these recurrent nightmare that consisted of having a snake run up my trouser and being unable to take off my pant. admittedely the fear has been made considerably worse by the fact that I live in a part of the country where coming across a snake on your front door is literally an every day occurrence. I have actually woken up to find a 2 foot serpent coiled on the window sill of my bedroom (inside) I have never left the house so fast before. Due to the frequency of encountering them I am now able to see a snake and let it slither away in peace but the though of accidentally stepping on one or having it crawl under my bedcovers still haunts me.

Someone forwarded this so I just decided to add.

• Catagelophobia; Fear of being ridiculed or loosing face; I am loath to make a spectacle of myself, I enjoy keeping a low profile should I get noticed it must be in a positive light. This may not be a bad thing but it keeps me from letting go thus avoiding overexposing myself e.g. dancing, getting drunk, singing etc
• Claustrophobia; My fear of enclosed spaces combined with my fear of crowded places has ensured that box type(7-aside) matatus which incidentally are the only matatus in these parts and crowded lifts are out of limits for me. I remember having to visit a friend at KNH and anyone who has gone there knows are the huge and during visiting hours are tightly packed immediately the doors were closed I got a massive panic attack and was literally out of there at the first stop needless to say nowadays I always take the stairs at KNH.
• Isolophobia; I fear being alone, may be not in a physically but socially, I don't understand how some people would rather stay away from people it would be very difficult for me to stay away from people and will always try and go out and mix with people even if it is just going to the club and sitting and watching rather than staying alone at home.
  

Definately there are many more but these are the few I wanted to share. It is very interesting to discover some of the things that people are afraid of there are a few interesting ones. (with a few links to help you face the fears)

• Caligynephobia - Fear of beautiful women
• Alektorophobia - Fear of Chickens (doesn't afflict Luhya's I guess)
• Cyberphobia - Fear of Computers (Don't expect any bloggers to suffer from this)
• Mageirocophobia- Fear of cooking (I might have a mild case)
• Dipsophobia-Fear of drinking (Does this exist in Kenya?)
• Gallophobia - Fear of France or french culture
• Philemaphobia - Fear of Kissing (?)
• Philophobia - Fear of falling in love
• Chrometophobia - Fear of Money (?????)
• Pentheraphobia - Fear of Mother in Law (Now you know why he/she refuses to get married)
• Peniaphobia - Fear of poverty
• Pupaphobia - Fear of puppets (How do you get scared of Kermit?)
• Tyrannophobia - Fear of tyrants
• Phallophobia - Figure it out yoursef.
  

If you suffer any of the above I hope you can face them soon, perhaps reading this post will have given you a severe case of Hellenologophobia- Fear of scientific terminology. And in case you are afraid relax there is no tagging here.

You Savvy??

I guess May 25th is Approaching faster than I had expected. The big movie season is already upon us I have already watched Spiderman 3 and it was quite good acutally despite my initial reservations but it did have one or 2 uhh? moments. The big movie for me this season is bound to be Pirates of the Caribean: At World End. I have been waiting eagerly for this one since I watched Dead Mans Chest. I know that eagerly anticipated movies often tend to disappoint but who can deny the enduring swash buckling charm of Captain Jack Sparrow and the delicate tomboyish beauty of Ms Elizabeth Swan?
I probably may not watch it opening weekend but I shall be trooping to watch it as soon as I can meanwhile I have temporarily redecorated my house for the upcoming Pirates season. I shall be I shall be returning to Middle Earth soon.

I am not saying anything about todays game

A very Strong Woman

I just an inspiring profile of this Strong Woman.
Her articles on the Saturday magazine make my day as well.
You can see the other Inductees to the Kenyan ICT Hall of Fame here.
Nice week!

Lets Dance!

Yesterday as I was crawling around KBW trying to learn a few things about my fellow bloggers after the tagging virus that was spreading from Friday I discovered that quite a number of the KBW mamas revealed that dancing is one of the things they love to do most. Akina Princess, Klara, Quintessence, Mamashady, Unyc, Betty, Chatterly, Ichiena have said it their posts, comments and profiles and I am sure several others. Ok some of them say they prefer to do it privately but it's dancing all the same.

I find this coincidence most intriuging and quite delightful as well you may wrongly assume that bloggers are not outgoing persons. Although I am an awkward dancer and often have to be dragged to the dancefloor under duress nonethless I thoroughly enjoy the experience. I would definetely hate to go out with someone who doesn't like to dance. Even just sitting and watching my Kenyan sistas getting down and shaking what their mama's gave them fills me with joy.

From what I have read these last two days I'm sure if there was ever to be a KBW get together one day there will definetely be a lot of dancing.

Now I feel like Shaky leggy!!