You and Drugs

Hey guys, how are you doing? Hope you are all fine. Long time eyy?
Well, drug trafficking/smuggling has become an issue of concern, over the last like 5 months. That is, here in the Land Down Under.

Remember before you left for your respective host countries…
Mum: Make sure you lock your luggage. Make sure you keep your luggage with you at all times. Don’t trust anyone you meet at the airport.
You: (thinking) what is she rambling on about. Yeah Yeah Yeah... (You say)
Mum: Listen…
You: Ahh. I heard you the first time, wacha kunisumbua.
Mum: (mumbling) Asiyefunzwa na mamaye, hufunzwa na ulimwengu.
You: What?
Mum: Nothing. Sitaki kukusumbua.

Consider the following scenarios:
Scenario I
You’ve been in your host country for a couple of years, and you decide to go home for the holidays. Then, the holidays are up and you are back in JKIA returning to your host country. You have problems both at home and in the host country. A well-dressed man walks up to you…
Man: Is everything ok?
You: No, not really. Don’t want to talk about it.
Man: Come on get if off your chest.
You: I have so many problems.
Man: Well, I can solve your problems.
You: Am listening…
Man: I will give you $ 1 million right now, if you carry ‘this’ to your destination.
You: (thinking) AUD$ 1M almost Ksh 60M. What do I do? My rent is overdue. I have been unable to finish paying fees. My granny is sick in hospital and there is no money to pay for her much needed operation. My parents are broke… etc
WHAT DO YOU DO?

Scenario 2
You are in the airport. Right then (for the men) you see a well endowed tall blonde, short skirt, full red lips and legs reaching Korogocho. (For the ladies) You see a tall, dark and well handsome guy. Large green-grey eyes, very dark medium length locks, lean but muscular, 5 o’clock shadow beard… Is it getting hot here ama it’s just me. (Let me turn on the fan, setting no. 2.) Ok, they see you staring at them like a person who has the biggest eyes without eyelids. They have seen their prey.
The Hotties: Can sit here?
You: Yes Yes!
After a few niceties here, chit chats there and giggles, guffaws and snorts everywhere…
The Hotties: (smiling sexily) its hot in herrrre right? (the chic- undoes one button and pulls the skirt a little bit higher. A kabead of sweat drips into her cleavage) (the guy- he undoes 2 buttons, his chest is just there staring at you)
You: (drooling bucketfuls of saliva) Yeah very hot indeed….
Your bladder: Hey you? Empty me, empty me!!!
You: Shut up you whinger! WAIT UNTIL WE GET INTO THE PLANE. CAN”T YOU SEE AM ABOUT TO GET LUCKY!
Your bladder: Geez, you don’t have to be such a yeller. I’ll wait then.
While you are debating with your bladder, the Hotties see your legs fidgeting.
The Hotties: Is everything ok? You seem pressed. Maybe you should go to the ladies/gents. I’ll look after your luggage.
You: OK
You bladder and brain: No, maybe you shouldn’t, not without your luggage.
You: SHUT UP!
And you go. When you get back from the ladies/gents, your hottie suddenly wants to make a call or get a sandwich. Last time to see them.
When you reach your host country, you’re caught with drugs. ‘They are not mine.’ You say. You've been duped by your hottie.
WHO WILL BELIEVE YOU?

Scenario 3
You and your so-called trusted friend are going for a holiday. What you know about your ‘friend’- such a wonderful friend. What you don’t know- They loathe and detest you because you have it all together. They want to be better than you. How do they do this- ruin your life by putting an illegal substance in your luggage. For example, Bridget Jones’ Diary: Edge of Reason- Bridget was caught with drugs in Bangkok Airport and her friend left her at the time of greatest need. Now if you do not have a BF or GF who is a high-flying international human rights lawyer, to get you out of jail like Mark Darcy/Dashing Mr. Darcy/Colin Firth, you will die and rot for sure. (Hey Colin, if you are reading this blog, post a comment and include your number…) Ohhh Colin (Fan setting no. 4)
Sorry for the brief detour, I was imagining Colin…mmm (sigh) Anyway back to the blog.

• A number of Aussies have been caught drug trafficking in Bali-Indonesia. They all claim that they are innocent. The first one to be arrested was student Shappelle Corby. On arrival, customs asked to open her body bag, she refused. She admitted that she had drugs, which were not there when she had left Australia. The Aus govt. suspects that baggage handlers put drugs into the body bag. Her sentencing options were the Death Penalty or Mandatory Life Imprisonment. Luckily, she escaped the Death Penalty. We hope that she will also be able to escape the life sentence as well. The final sentence will be handed down by the end of this month.
  
• 3-4 weeks ago, 8 men and 1 woman (btn ages 19-29) were caught in Bali Airport, the drugs strapped to their bodies. One of the guys is thought to be the god-father. He is currently in a separate jail-cell, because it is thought that he has threatened to harm the families of his mates, if they fail to maintain silence. They may face life imprisonment.
  
• Two days ago, a guy (probably in his mid-30s-early 40s) was caught with hashish. He says it’s for personal use, but he is facing the prospect of a 10 year jail sentence.
  

The moral of this long winding blog is: Be careful. Don’t be a know it all. Lock your luggage and be with your luggage at all times. Don’t trust anyone at the airport and choose your friends wisely.

Hip Hop Colony

This is a siiiiick website - Hip Hop Colony..Recently discovered via MsaniiXL's blog ..man everything about it is jus slick..havent got this excited about anything as kenyan hip-hoppy as this since my first listen of E'sir's Nimefika.

Still im old school at heart..no one in kenyan is making hip hop like they used to...ama its me who became Mainstream listening to too much hova, Naz and Game? The hard core 'Tafsiri hii's' and the K-south classics like 'watu wengine wana Tabia Mbaya' etc.

can they release this movie chepchep..

Bravo: Kenyan Researchers !

Its no news that Im a news junkie - it is morphing into an ADD of sorts that doesnt allow me to read books - but i digress.. in todays 'hit' i was pleased to find
Kenyan Researchers have developed an animal model for HIV research, significantly cutting costs and research time down.

A cure beckons...(though my mom would disagree..she is sure HIV is the modern day plague and a sign of the end times....)

Beat me a picture...

Stumbled accross this photoblog and thought i should share...

gotta love jungus with their obsessive travel photography...and some interesting captions.

I want to travel!!!!

Of Lucy, Feminism, and objectivity

While it is commendable that MJY & Memoire in their recent Lucy posts have attempted to attack the 'real issues' I feel that both posts had too little objectivity in them and was marred (in self admission) to their knee jerk support for the quote unquote underdog. Not to label anyone, I feel like 'feminists' are hijacking this issue and masquerading as 'victim' on behalf of Mrs kibaki, following the public backlash after her actions, in a very inappropriate and unconvincing manner.

I chose Memoire's post as the base of my rebuttal as it was most recent and captured most of what i thought was wrong; keep in mind this opinion holds for other blog posts I have read.

The real issues, in my view, in respective rebuttal sequence are:

1) Lucy demands that music be turned off :
No big deal? The big deal is in how she carried herself as first lady. She has every right to be mad, but to storm in the way she did, say the things she did, and even try disconnect the sound is inexcusable for a person of her stature. 'decency' & respect in the way you approach a situation is not a western concept here - The story claims Diop Called State house to inquire if the party could go on, and he get the green light. When your own children are trying to calm you down, i think the term hysteria can be appropriated. Real issue: Manner of conflict resolution in times of anger.

"I say to Diop: a woman is equal to a man, tell her about the party if she lives next door."

This assumption that Diop failed to tell Mrs Kibaki of the party because she is not a man. I mean this is tantamount to reading the guys mind!

"oh how I wish I had bodyguards, I would do what Lucy did."

A fine specimen of what is fundamentally wrong with our politicians in Kenya once they get into power. With great power, comes great responsibility. irresponsibility is when those in power, ABUSE it, just by virtue of the fact that it is at their disposal and because they cannot be held accountable. Memoire, lets hope you dont become Mrs Kibaki anytime soon. And we are certainly holding you accountable Mrs Kibaki.

2) Lucy 'Storming' into Nation Centre

"I dont give a damn kind of women"

Ur kidding me right? The only reason Lucy was able to orchestrate her shenanigens @ the NC are becuase she is the wife of the most powerful man in Kenya. Period. You try and go hijack the nation in your free time and see how long it takes u before your thrown out by security. Real issue here is : ABUSE OF POWER, and disregard for protocol.

3) Lucy and feminism:
This one i dont know where to even begin. Not to get too far into this ensuing feminist debate, I will say that this statement betrays the lack of objectivity yet again:

"where are the real feminists?f Lucy wants to be bad tempered, outspoken, adamant, she has every right to be, as does every human. Diop abused his capacity as a tenant and he thought that being a world-bank bigshot gave him immunity."

Doesn't Diop have the right to hold a gathering in his house and make merry? Ama Lucy's right to be downright rude is of more pertinence & convenience to the feminist movement? I mean she is asking this guy who his mother is!?!? Lets be real. there's a difference to being outspoken and downright abrasive. The sad thing is, as mentioned by many other bloggers, that no one can particularly blame her as it appears to me a medical condition gone worse.

And the call to feminists to justify her obstinate behavior - i mean..this one lathers me with ire - is this what feminists are all about? Do you speak on their behalf? If there are any feminists reading this, please come correct, because this statement may have you grossly misrepresented.

I find that women in the diaspora especially get so detached from african culture that they fail to see how the distinct roles of a man and a woman in african home can live in harmony. This is the reason perhaps phrases like 'head of the home" or 'control the family' are sure to rattle the cages of many a feminist - but i digress. The real issue here is that Kibaki is expected to CONTROL his own household because it is is OUT OF CONTROL and because Lucy is in the centre of this hurricane...Not because he is a man, something feminists were incredibly quick to jump on. If Kibaki was the one going bananas, many including myself would expect LUCY to take control of her family.

This is a case of, as Mato from Bullets and Honey would say, delicious irony;Kibaki's family is perhaps the perfect microcosm of Kenya. He is the head of the family. Something that might be a bitter pill to swallow, but he really is. This is a debate of its own. He is also the President of the republic. Questions of Leadership in both areas, or lack thereof, are unsurprisingly abound.

"I say: be gone, world-bank bigshot, be gone, the world bank is only plundering and looting and pillaging our continent."

Hate or love the WB, one needs to hear Diop's take on the economy to give this man some due respect. I watched him on 'up close and candid' and was impressed - kenya should feel a sense of loss IMO...however that is neither here nor there.

Real issue here: far too many to enlist..will save for another post.

4) Lucy's mistakes:

"media doesn’t seem to understand that their representations of women are backward and chauvinistic."

Perhaps you need to watch the video again. I and many others are basing all arguments on what I SAW. A lady assaulting , yes assaulting, a poor Camera man DOING HIS JOB. If anything he should be commended for such bravery. Assault is Backward, and uncouth. Anywhere else in the world, this woman would not be chekaing at the implications of that action. I mean we are talking some serious litigation here.
A woman Hijacking a the largest media house in the country..Laughable and yes, backward - you should read some of the posts non-kenyans have been writing about this.

With the media nitpicking her style of dress and manner of speech - (which i didn't personally find overemphasized) perhaps you are correct. My feeling is that this and past generations of Kenyans have forgotten what it feels like to 'have' a first lady, and that their images of a first lady construed in their minds don't quite match that of the Lucy persona. And lets not be naive..The media is in the business of selling papers..so when a story of such sensationalist nature literally brings itself into the publishing house, it is hard to imagine that the Publishing house would ignore Lucy's insistence on 'bikini's'. Real issue here: First lady is accountable to the public for the persona she projects as she is a public figure. The media is in the business of holding the figures accountable. So either dance the dance or face the consequences.

5) Kenyan journalism :
I choose to look at the glass as far more than half full. Kenya's media enjoys some amazing talent that has been globally recognized.I watched with great zeal as Kenyan journalists swept the CNN sponsored African journalist of the year awards in south africa Last summer. Political analysis is stellar, but perhaps tainted at times. And no they were not freelance.

Spend some time watching Fox News, and you will begin to be grateful at the quality and debatable objectivity of the kenyan media (not just publishing houses). Relative to other countries in africa I would say that Kenya is a shining star in terms of the great leaps taken freedoms allowed to journalists and presentation of content. Something that is manifest in the selection of Nairobi to host this years CNN African Journalist awards

While the there has been some display of shoddy journalism (see Thinkers room plagiarized), I think we ought to take some time to honor the Lucy Oriang's , the Linus Kaikai's, Farida Karonei's ,Kwendo Opanga's and even the Immanuel Juma's . I was extremely active in my high school newspaper and I can tell you the little I know of true journalism is that it is a dedication like no other...
Real issue here: Blanket standards for the entire kenyan media: they are not productive.

So much more to say, but my summary skills leave much to be desired, so I will give it a rest here for now.

This post is nothing without the feedback, so let it come raining in.

Eating Ethiopias Dust

The launch of Broadband makes Ethiopia's lead in African ICT all clear cut black and white.....

I love to see the phoenix rise!!! Look out for Africa - this is a significant but subtle stepping stone. Kenya just needs to get ORGANIZED. I dont see any particulary reason why we were not in a position to pioneer this feat, apart from the shenanigans Tuju has been so embroilled in, a major hindrance in getting anything done.

It is interesting to note that Ethiopia is the only country that was never colonised (a fact that they will never fial to mention) . My brother and Sister in law passed by Addis ababa on their way home last summer, and apparently their Airport puts JKIA to unbridled ridicule. It is sophisticated in a way that is almost incongrous of what we know as 'Africans'.

Kenya Times 2.0 sneak preview

Stumbled across this from the the web..the artifact
was designed I believe by an final year journalism student @ Rhodes university...Not sure if this was a contract job...lakini Outsourcing web design hapana. kenya times... it is nicely done..so i cant complain toooo much.

Slight domain confusion

With this Roocy bonanza going on..(I mean the hits jus keep on coming!!) I have been eager to hear what everyones take on this craziness is at a glance:

I apologise profusely for the downtime we have faced leo: please visit the daily through this link for now:
Nchi Yetu Daily

The link is slightly harder to remember i apologise..the easy to to remember daily.nchiyetu.com will be back up soon I promise!

Thinker is unusually quiet on this one....I smell a bomb cookin....

New Wave In V.I.

How did you beat me to it soulsystah... I was itching to be the first to break the breaking news.

Oh well you said it. Its kinda embarassing. But it doesn't get better than actually being in Kenya and listening to this unfold as it unfolds. What do we say what do we do. I have been unable to do much work since I got to the office as we all tallk about the current situation. I will hold up my opinion till I get all the facts right.

You jua I'm one for avoiding drama who knows the next headline may well be. First lady Lucy storms Virtual Insanity!!!!


Enjoy your day and stay real....It could happen to you..

its abit tooooo much now

k, so at first i thought it was hilarious that Mama Lucy had become Muthaiga's official noise patrol, but after reading todays news about her storming of the Nation Centre , something just doesnt seem right, funny as the whole situation may still appear to be.The paranoia, the demands, the abuse and the petty complaints....not too mention the melodrama of wanting to carry out a hunger strike, are merely symptoms of what i fear is a much larger concern.

Its kind of embarassing actually, for me as a female who hopes to one day be involved in our nation's political landscape, that a woman in such a high position (albeit by virtue of her hubby's role) would be so rowdy, undiplomatic and quite frankly, a drama queen.
However, perhaps what is even more concerning, is the fact that Papa Emilio, is not doing anything to calm Lucy and her actions down. What sort of a president allows their spouse to run amock and embarass herself, and him, and the entire nation in general?

From literally holding the Nation Centre hostage with her body guards, to physically abusing a camera man, and imsulting what has been the country's forerunning media house, this mama has just done it all , and frankly if u ask me....its really time she stopped.

forget the cops...call Lucy

So....sii normally its the cops who come to bust and break up parties, like the one we had last night at my pals!
NOT in NAI!!!!!
apparently, the new jeshi is Mama Lucy herself, coz she doesnt like dignitaries to have farewell parties in her compound. shes not one of my favourite people, but for real thanks to her, this presidency has been one of the most entertaining ones ive ever seen!!!
maoni?

Rape in Kenya

This daily Nation piece reports of some eye popping stats: to quote 1

one out of every five people interviewed randomly in 14 urban centres in Kenya claimed they knew someone who had been raped in the past three months.

What this translates into is that women in Kenya are living in trememndous fear. Are there any women from Kenya reading this that can affirm this feeling? Kindly tell us your thoughts. I surely hope I am wrong.

trouble house hunting??

WOW again. Saw this on Google's blog and was blown away from a software development perspective. Brilliant. Your Apartment hunting just got THAT much easier thanks to a fusion of Craiglist real estate & Google Maps both of which are brilliant on their own.

well that is ofcourse..if ur in North America. Kenya needs to get its act together in a Adressing system that WORKS and gets them on the same page as everyone else!! So our streets and avenues werent built with this in mind, but theres thou innovative minds out there to cook somehting up! Urban planners what are you so busy doing??? I feel like even with the wave of Technology hitting growth markets such as Asia and Africa, we will miss out on most useful technologies as we have no infrastructure to build on!

All this talk about roads is great, but an infrastucture is more than just interconnecting barabaras. Postage system and Real-estaate stand to gain the most out of a redefined metric/standard for the purposes mapping out the layout of Nairobi (begin with the most daunting city?). However think of how Business to Consumer Commerce will BOOM if there exists a neat way to LOCATE consumers at minimal costs. Even with all the Software and ICT magic in the world, if this chasm is not bridged - reaching the consumer will remain a task that will continue to keep Markets in africa at snail speed since there will be no marginal utility achievable by the 'goods economy'.

So in as much as ICT is hailed as the future of Africa, i still think there are a lot of fundamental steps needed for us to reap the true benefits of such technologies. At the same time ICT is rendering some of these infrastuctures useless (fixed line telephones for example), but this is not the case for ALL infrastructures.

These steps are not impossile, I think they've just been ignored. Any urban planners (or wannabe urban planners) care to comment?

OK

A forward I bothered to read..enjoy


A couple was invited to a swanky family masked fancy dress Halloween party.

The wife got a terrible headache and told her husband to go to the party alone.

He, being a devoted husband, protested,but she argued and said she was going to take some aspirin and go to bed, and there was no need for his good time to be spoiled by not going.

So he took his costume and away he went. The wife, after sleeping soundly for about an hour, awakened without pain, and, as it was still early, decided to go to the party.

In as much as her husband did not know what her costume was, she thought she would have some fun by watching her husband to see how he acted when she was not with him.

So she joined the party and soon spotted her husband cavorting around on the dance floor, dancing with every nice chick he could and groping a little feel here and a little kiss there.

His wife went up to him and being a rather seductive babe herself,he left his new partner high and dry and devoted his time to her. She let him go as far as he wished, naturally, since he was her husband.

After some more to drink he finally he whispered a little proposition in her ear and she agreed, so off they went to one of the cars and had a quickie in the back seat. Just before unmasking at midnight, she slipped away and went home and put the costume away and got into bed, wondering what kind of explanation he would make up for his outrageous behaviour.

She was sitting up reading when he came in, so she asked what kind of time he had. "Oh, the same old thing. You know I never have a good time when you're not there." Then she asked, "Did you dance much?" He replied, "I'll tell you, I never even danced one dance.

When I got there, I met Pete,Bill, Brown and some other guys, so we went into the spare room and played poker all evening." "You must have looked really silly wearing that costume playing poker all night!" she said with unashamed sarcasm. to which the husband said 'actually I lent my costume to your Dad.Apparently he had a whale of a time."

High School

Denis I must congratulate u...i dont know if I did before....for attending one of the most prestigious institutions in the world.Truly a remarkable achievement.
My high sch also did the same for me. As a rubble u are in awe everytime the history of AHS is mentioned. 2nd form, and all you wanna do is wil'out. Come 3rd and all that sounds like hot air, as u have carved a niche for yourself in a BadBoy crew. In 4th it hits you, "what if am not good enough?"
I always look up to my fellow old boys eg. Amos Wako, Makatiani, Eng. Wanjohi just to mention a few. They were under the tutelage of the one and only Edward Carey Francis, world acclaimed. I know i will never achieve what this grand folks have managed. but am to cut my own path in the great savannah of life. But I fear i may never apply th great teachings that were instilled, whether willingly or otherwise, or many of the things i took for granted.
Both MKA and AHS have contributed a lot to my moulding. I managed to keep control of things, where my colleagues fell on the wayside. I shudder at the thought of what i'd be today if I stayed in Nairobi South B Primary School, where i was preoccupied with being 1st body. Cowi am sure u know where it is.
For this, my eternal gratitude and thanks to my wonderful and supportive parents (all of ours) for they take alot of crap from us. Thank God for your life, many would aspire for it.

Nchi Yetu Daily .::. Unleashed

About a month ago when the explosion of kenyan blogs began, i found myself unable to keep up with the size of my growing blogroll, and the sheer amount of content that was being published daily.

Whats worse is, that being the blog junkie that i've become, I had this insatiable hunger to read every single blog of interest, every single day. Needless to say this was becoming an impossible task. I do have a life beyond VI. Really.

So I decided nuffs enuff, I would make the news come to me, By any means Neccessary! Its been an on and off lil thing that many in the blog ring have stumbled accross now and then, but what with my final semester drawing to a close i had to give it a rest. This is where it left off, and really the goal was simple:

Nchi Yetu Daily was built to find out in one stop, what was going on in the neighbourhood.

So what it does is essentially find all the most recent posts published on the kenyan blogosphere, and randomly picks a headline. That way i can always get a 'global' view of whos written what when. The linked posts link directly onto the authors blog, that way readers can leave comments there.

I have been intrigued with the popularity of Meme's in the kenyan blogospere particularly. The spread in inordinate spead and wildfire fashion, and are able to generate feedback and response in a process that is so unique to surveys, and other means of web-communication. One definition that captures this phenomena well is

A unit of cultural information that represents a basic idea that can be transferred from one individual to another, and subjected to MUTATION, CROSSOVER, and ADAPTATION

. Its like a useful harness of the broken telephone process. Ideas morph in transition while moulded by a cultural pipe. My next post will try to illustrate somewhat this trail of meme footprints. This was MEME's are also left OPTIONAL (if we avoid the dispatch mechanism) , that was no one has to feel obliged to do the meme coz someone else publicly recommended that the do it. Meme's work on assumptions, as mentioned in Pen-Elayne's post [via Mama Junkyard post], but isnt that what all of culture is? The shared basic assumptions of a group of people? I feel that trying to uncover whats hidden behind these assumptions, through meme's, are the most effective way of finding out what a certain culture is all about. Again, i will try illustrate with my next post.

My vision was for NCHI YETU DAILY to play a greater role in utilizing meme's and building upon their essence of information elicitation: rather than relying on the circular fashion in which Meme's circulate now, a reader/blog owner could go ino NYD, 'start a meme' , define their questions, and who they want an, slowswering them. A form of dispatch would be sent to these members, but more significantly this new meme would be listed/linked in NYD for ayone else with a Blog listed on NYD who felt like participating in the meme. Because the MOST RECENT POSTS are displayed on NYD, a initator of a meme ca , with greater ease, track whos done the meme, and enjoy their responses by simply clicking on the link to the post. So much more can be done to aide, simplify, enhance the process, but i want t take it mosmos as i further understand why meme's are so intriguing and work the way that they do.

In the grand scheme of things, I think this is a great way to get non-bloggers to quickly catch up with some of the wicked content that is getting published by kenyan bloggers. I am spreading the word through every avenue possible, so that people can get an idea of whats being published out there. I believe there is a incredible force that will come with numbers when all kenyan bloggers are on the same page.

if your not listed , email me I will ongeza u one time.

So Go take a look already, tell me what you think. Disclaimer: style/page design has never been my forte. Add it to your blogs tafadhali so i can see if its robust enough with the traffic.

http://daily.nchiyetu.com

Cheers,
Denis.

Stareheans on the Net - Learning how to lead Starehe-style

I often take for granted what priviledge it was attending 4 years of Starehe. Foramtive as they were, one often gets caught up in trying to nyakua the future than by constantly dwelling on the past... so when i come accross articles like this one on
Learning how to lead Starehe-style , I am struck by How much my past has contributed to where I am today as a person.

With Starehe coming TOPS again in the high school academic charts again with a clear distinction (grade point average & weight of Number of students) , it is undeniable that Starehe is one of the most remarkable schools in the world. yeah, i said it. WORLD. I had began this post thinking 'best school in Africa' but notice how both the superlative and frame of comparison have changed. Remarkable is more apt, because it attempts to quantify & aggregate intellectual horsepower, creativity, contribution to society, contribution to character development, management, student empowerment, faculty, extra-curricular dvp, student population diversity among other yardsticks.

As meek rabbles we were always in amazement Fridays at visiting heads who had toured the school all day showered us with compliments during the extended assembly. As Rowdy 2nd formers, the lavish praise was beginning to get redundant, by third form i think we had gotten so deep into the systemic culture that we wondered what was so hard to figure out about running a school well. By fourth form the shared basic assumptions deeply entrenched dictated that most of us (atleast for me) completely took for granted some of the reasons Starehe was such a brilliant environment for success.

When i look back, i find personally the best thing about it was the unbridled exposure with other individuals who were
1) Far Far less fortunate than I
2) Far far Smarter than I was (when u get in first form u think u are such hot shit..until the first set of form-wide exam results are out)
3) Both 1&2

A certain humility about my position in life settled in(not so comfortably as well i assure you - sometimes I felt like I would like to trade places just so that i didnt feel like everything had been handed down to me on a silver platter..the guilt of being 'priviledged' was sometimes hard to throw off). when u find a jamaa throughly enjoying the murram in the Dining hall becuase he has nothing better to look forward to, your frame of reference has to change at some point.

Anyway long story short, this is always my argument in favour of Boarding schools. Moreso boarding schools that dont have a status quo, or entirely uniform, rigid mental models. I have had interesting discourses with a friend of mine on why he would NOT want to attend Havard Business School given the chance. He feels there is a certain culture of distasteful superiority that one acquires there knowingly or unknowingly. Or why some people attest the same 'who do these folks think they are' after their first acquataince with McKinsey & Company employees. Anyway if there is anything I would want for my kids, it is to learn more than they can at home with me and see as many perspectives as they can as they find themselves and prepare themselves for the real world. Starehe managed to do both for me and I am grateful.

What did high school do in shaping the person you are today? Good? Bad? What would you change if you could go back?

Retrogressive

Just read on Kenyan Pundit about the fate of our creative high school Friend from Harrison 'third wright brother' Etyang. The inital article is here incase you didnt pick up on my prvious post on him.

Very sad to hear. The ban seems to make sense from a safety point of view, but there really have got to funnel his creativity to something meaningful. To quote one of my fav movie speeches [ Al Pacino: Scent of a Woman ]

"... Ive seen arms cut and legs torn off.. but theres nothing..NOTHING like the sight of an amputated spirit"

Almost over

Lenny Kravitz said it better than i can...it aint over baby till its ooooover.

Indeed. I have to say that this morning 1030am marks a feeling that i hope persists and stays with me for a looong time to come. It is a feeling that is the palpable translation of "hard work and faith and preparation really do pay off".

At 1031am me and young startup team left the plush, glossy offices of a venture capital seed funding group in the heart of Montreal's concrete jungle, with our heads raised high, feeling a sense of accomplishment that was very much unexpected by the 75 percent of this 4 person group. (I was the quiet naive optimist)

This is for the first time, really, I have ever PUSHED 120 percent for something I really believed in. What is so satisfying about this feeling is not really that we really may score funding for this seemingly makeshift venture of 4 graduating undergrad engineers. Not the fact that we impressed the socks off our professor who is doing this 'live business plan' experiement for the first time. Not the fact that everyone thinks what we have is a great idea and wonders why no one has pursued this before. None if this. Todays feeling at 1030 am was an internal one.

It was one of those transitions where you felt that had changed your perspective and approach of things in life even if at that very moment, you didnt grasp exactly how. All future goals suddenly seemed that much closer and that much more attainable, that much withing your grasp, with just a lil hard work, faith, and preparation. Dont want to come down on you with the 'pep talk' been-there-done-that attitude at all. Just that it occured to me as we left that presentation that dreams, even daydreams, are really closer than we think - and only after times & situations of intense pressure and challenge and does this realisation really come out. We are moulded by these experiences. to put this into perspective - 2 days agao I was sick of this venture and all the preparation for it: it was eating me alive.

However you have to throw yourself in there, and litereally FIND out what youve got. Yaani if that makes no sense.."lose yourself" as eminem would so succinctly put it.Each shot is potentially your last!

So while i can draw some pride out of having delivered a convincing, thorough seed funding proposition to mean , vicious stereotypical Venture capitalists at 22 - I dont think it will help me much if I fail my elective course on 'wold of chemistry' tommorow and consequently NOT be able to graduate. On that note, lemme get cracking on those notes.

the good, the bad and the ugly

We all know the stereotype that Africa is this forbidden region, that you step one foot into and you get...well, Aids. Apparently, that seems not so far from the truth (Wambui, are you really african !??!). I can accross this article about this girl trying to do justice unto herself. How low can you go, I ask. Though I think I heard I about it already as have many I presuming, it made headlines! Men, be VEEEERRRY careful .....

On a lighter note, this may interest you enterprenures out there planning on putting a dent on improving the image of home. Did you know:-
a) Kenya is currently the #1 tea exporter in the world
b)the Bostwana government funds all its citizens' college education abroad for them to utilize it on returning home
Yeah..I think Africa can and has been doing better for itself , unfortunately, distaster and tragedy make for better media coverage, apparently. Wasn't there a phrase " .....ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you ............."

funny how

I know that the media often does things ...funnily to prove a point, and sometimes just coz they are weird like that. but this time i think tht they are actually expressing a view that many Kenyans seem to be tossing about in their brains....in the SUBTLEST way ever.
Funny how in this article on 'Leaders welcoming and congratulating the new pope, the Kenyan representative of the 'leaders' in the article....was NOT dear Emilio.
In fact...im still chilling to see the media (print of course...coz my tv doesnt shika KBC or KTN here in Canada) reports Kibaki sending his congrats to His Eminence Benedict XVI.
So heres the question.....who is our leader?

Car Jackers is Nai bring itttt

Checking out the portfolio of web design company ran of some fellow Starehe Alumni i stumbled across this super cool SMS technology
{{ Histoto Automation }}, that basically allows you to immobolize your car post hijacking by thumbing in a command into your mobile.

Now ofcourse this works is 100% assuming
a) they havent shot you
b) Youve fichad cell is deeep deep in your undies or somewhere else where the sun dont shine so that they get it
c) Your car is worth immobolizing..some cars (like my bro's 1982 Honda that he used to operate in his last year of college) were JUST WORTH letting go hehe
d) There isnt already some 'deactivation' software availabe for this imoobilization acquirable from Eastliegh..
e) The thugs havent dropped you off at Karumaindo inn in the middle of nowhere with no Network!!!
f) Your not me, coz I've either sahaid my phone at home or Havent charged my battery in 2 days!!!

All in all, its great to know people are seeing opportunity where others are seeing chaos. The essence of true entrepreneurship..I heard this leo and pendad: an entrepreneur is one who:

Does more than anyone thought he could do, with less than anyone thought he could.

Women and Kenyan Driving Schools

hey guys how is everyone doing? hope ya'll are cool. I wanted to talk briefly about my experience in driving school-Kenya. I believe many chics have expereinced what I have in those driving schools (DS).

DS1- My first expereience in was quite ok in the first few days. After a week, my driving instructor(DI) started telling me how nice I looked and by the way, I used to try very hard to have a bad sense of fashion- like I would wear a really baggy t-shirt, baggy stonewash blue jeans coupled with very big, heavy silver boot-like sneakers. Still, he used to say, 'unakaa smart leo' which made start questioning his motives. On the third week, he started asking if I had a boyfriend and to that I said no. Then he asked, 'Unataka boyfred?' and to that I also said a firm NO! He then started getting all angry and statred yelling about how a chic had just chucked from high school, got a boyfriend, went to the club, got drank, became pregnant and got AIDS. Further he said, "Utakuwa kama yeye!!!!" I was like, aiii kwani what is bothering this guy? I quickly disappeared from DS for a few weeks then went back and the new DI i got was 1000 times better.

DS2- the DI guy was freaky from the get go. He straightaway wanted to help me put on my seat-belt. It dawned on me that he wanted to shika my unample bosom. Next we drove to Upper Hill, where he told me to drive into a kichochoro, eti so he could teach me how to do a hill start. And me being the gullible person that I am, ingiad the kichochoro with so much excitement, as I was going to learn 'the' hill start. He told me stop the car and said, "Fikay (Viki) I em ofacome withe emochons (emotions)..." His fat, stubby hands then started to reach for my face... I gongad them with all my might and told him, "If you freakn touch me, I will freakn sue you for sexual harrasment. Yes, I know it sounds cliche but I had to scare him somehow. "Oh sorre, nilifikiria wewe ni rahisi. Hee wewe ni selious. Unajua nirisikia eti waschana wana pereka wanaume wengi korti siku hisi, ai sitajaribu kuchika wewe tena." Apparently he had tried this on heaps of other women. From then on we did have understanding, but to my advantage I went to that DS for only a week, and I never had or have to see him again or will I?
has any other member of VI experienced this? cheers

Kibaki Meme

1) Do u think Kibaki is LAZY? No, i think he is a kasoftie.
2) What trait do u find the single most detrimental to the national cause? his silence, his trying to please everyone
3) What is the most embarrasing thing, in your opinion, Lucy Kibaki has done? being the man in the relationship
4) Do you wonder where Wambui, the Hillary Rhodam of Kenya, ever went to? -
5) Do you care How much influence the First Lady has over decisions made by the president? if she had any influence over his decisions then maybe he wouldn't be such a softie. she should chapa him one so he can toughen up his act.
6) What is the single most critical issue facing the kenyan presidency today? poverty, a disorganised government, corruption, Kibaki trying to lead Kenya like it is a 1st world counrty, that's where prezzo's are silent. He should try Machiavellian type rule do you think?, people in the government trying to bring Kibaki down.
7) Did you vote in 2002 General Elections? (must answer) No.
8) Do you care? if so , who else would you like to see complete the meme? kenyan blog ring bloggers

Kenyan's love complaining, however wahenga walisema 'better the devil you know than the devil you do not know...'. There is a possibility we might have someone worse off, if we continue complaining and losing faith in Kibaki.

The Kibaki Meme

Mambo Gani hii..
Kenyan MP quizzed on 'lazy' jibe

A friend..whos part of VI sent me this via email juzi..jamaa..can u chanuka please and use the blog..I wont aibisha you and let you wallow in anonymity for now..

Are we reaching the point of no return when the President is Ridiculed OPENLY in His own house? So lets get this straight. Everyone has their take on What the problem is with Kibaki..I'm interested in Making it clear.

So let us do blogomania justice and spread honourable Ndolo's Suspicion Out, and deduce the results ourselves. If blogs are useful for anything..it is this: the much Popularised Kenyan Blog MEME. so here goes.

the Kibaki Meme.. Short and sweet.

1) Do u think Kibaki is LAZY? if so, give an instance of when he portrayed LAZINESS as president. if not..what are u on crack??
Ok so i may have given away my sentiments with that last statement..THe guy could not manage to make it to the airport to welcome Wangari Maathai back in her Nobel glory. I mean cmon..nuff said.

2) What trait do u find the single most detrimental to the national cause? Comment on it.
{ Silence, 'lassaiz-fair' attitude, gvt disarray, graft, culture of corruption, presidents (in)capacity, constitution, despair, brain drain, }
Despair. I feel this is driving kenyans farther and farther away from going back home and getting their country back! We (me inclusive) are currently too afraid to think about sacrifice! ok there lots of other problems, but in opnion this one will holds the key to all the others. Lots of brilliant, young talented Kenyans afraid of going back home.

3) What is the most embarrasing thing, in your opinion, Lucy Kibaki has done?
Decided to get invovled full swing into politics. Gracefully stay out mama..your role is clearly defined in statehouse. Before the feminists start swining.. I meant that she has bigger better things to be doing than to be constantly defending her husband..let the man speak for himself!

4) Do you wonder where Wambui, the Hillary Rhodam of Kenya, ever went to?
If theres anyone who needs a loudspeaker, it is this lady. She may give us some insight into what exactly is going wrong with Emilio.

5) Do you care How much influence the First Lady has over decisions made by the president?
Well yes..I have no frame of reference - not of the Mama Ngina era, so naturally I am worried. She's not a politician. Further, it just is not her role to be so visibly 'wielding' control.

6) What is the single most critical issue facing the kenyan presidency today? {graft,government disarray,poverty,crime, economy, population, }
Gvt disarray. I mean for petes sake Kibaki discipine these guys. This payka payukaing is a sign of No respect among your juniors, let alone the rest of the nation.

7) Did you vote in 2002 General Elections? (must answer). No excuses required.
Nope. None offered..

8) Do you care? if so , who else would you like to see complete the meme?
Absolutely. Tired of just TALK. Lets get on the same page..and tackle these issues ONE by ONE. I would love to see everyone respond, lakini my day would be made to read Thinker break this one down.

survey

hey VI!
my pal is doing a paper and she needs to get some input...so if u could kindly answer this for her, and if u feel inspired to give a more lengthy answer...please do so. i will compile the responses and mail them back to her, but please have it done by Monday latest...today is Friday! aight!?
I know that in light of this months events there will be varied, conflicting albeit interesting. In the interest of privacy, respect and sensitivity, i think please email ur response to me at angela.gachui@gmail.com
blessings!

A 44 year old man has a serious degenerative brain condition. It was diagnosed in 1982. In due course his condition will result in him being entirely dependent on others for care and food. He will lose his ability to swallow and will need artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) to survive. He is likely to retain full mental capacity until the almost the end of his disease and he will be aware of the pain and discomfort that will result from malnutrition and dehydration if ANH is withdrawn.
He wants to be fed and hydrated until he dies of natural causes. He does not want ANH to be withdrawn and does not want a decision to be taken by doctors that his life is not worth living. Should he be allowed to demand this treatment? (please select one)
a) Yes
b) No.
If you wish please state why.
Please state your Age : Gender:

Video games solving world hunger?

eeeh something like that..The UN video gamemakes hunger point that is aimed very well at 8-13 year olds, and just goes to show you how pwerful a meduim video games are becoming....

from Game and Watch to this! who wouldve thought...

Closure

there has been a lot of reaction about my last blog, and no I didnt go into hiding. Just had a lot on my plate.
Cowi called me shortly after to tell me about the reaction it had caused. She asked me if I would consider retracting it. So to her, this is the first time am bloggin since i sent that blog.
First off, it was not my intention to anger or rub anyone the wrong way. I feel encouraged that my friends (or those i have left) came to my defense. But being a staunch supporter of people being responsible of their actions, i'll do just that.
My family are friends to the Kihoros. My parents know them rather well, but that it not an excuse. I stand by what i said before. It is a discussion i've had with all who care to listen to me "ranting banter". But if it elicited negative emotions from anyone, then I apologise for that. i was asked for my opinion and i gave it. if i was castigated for it, then i allow it because the other party is also airing their view.
Thomas, i didnt know about your dad. Trust me when i say that my friends and their families are always in my prayers.
Denis, i can imagine the pressure u faced on my behalf. you must have been torn but dont worry about me.
To all, as much as Humankind is driven by emotion, i like to believe that we can factor in reason and restrain from passing judgement. There seems to be a lot of hatred, one of the causes of the fall out: explicitely cited in the Chaos Theory.
My silence will be as a result of being away. I start my break leo.
May we all find the courage to talk of issues as we see them, we are here to pick each other minds. As said earlier.....blog on.

hey guys how are all of you doing? fine I hope. Well,class today we were learning about the Legality of Contracts. The lecturer reached a kapoint where she was talking about the Western Australian Road Traffic Act. This sent me on a daydreaming journey. I started thinking about cars, then started to wonder if Kenya has a Road Traffic Act, then i started thinking about Kenyan Driving Schools. Yes the one's where you asked by the driving TA, "Nini hii?" (pointing to the pedestrian crossing on the meza). And come the replies, "Hiyo ni Zebra crossing!!" Driving TA, "Ati hii ni Simbla clossing? Onaonaga Simbla wakifuka mbalambala? Kweda. Hii ni pendestlian clossing. Semeni pedestlian clossing..."

I have been to Driving school twice. The first time I failed. You know I don't know why. I don't mean to brag, but I was the brightest student in that class. Imagine my class constituted old guys and three young guys; another kachic, a jamaa and me of course. Now, I concluded that I was the brightest coz the old guys were taking remedial classes. The chic and the jamaa ended up hooking up. I remember asking myself, "Kwani they think romance will get them a driving licence?"
So, we went for the driving exam in Karen. Two guys went into the examination room before me, both passed. I went in and I failed-I will not tell you what made me fail coz I will die of sheer embarrasment. When I tokad, guys were asking me, "umepita?" And I was like, "Ehh...ndio, ndio! Wameniambia ningojee kufanya practical."(laughing uncomfortably) And my classmates were so happy-I wish they knew. Sheesh, don't look at me like that. I had to lie, I couldn't tell the truth, I was the BLOODY BRIGHTEST PERSON IN THAT CLASS!! Yes, it was a huge blow to my 'ego'. So, I stayed at that place for like 3 hours pretending to wait for 'the practical assessment.' Well I got tired of waiting, I had to eventually go home, but I had to do it a very calculated manner. So, I told my classmates that I was going across Ngong road to a kakiosk to buy some chips. So, I crossed the road and pretended to go to the kiosk, and when they were not looking, ran across the road again and quickly got into a matatu.

However, you will be happy to know that when I went to driving school a second time (after 2 1/2 years), I passed. You know why? I had a strategy...yes a stra-te-gy. It was to be humble and act stupid.My philosphy: It is wise to know that you do not know anything. And you know what? It really really worked-I am the very proud owner of a driving licence you see-for 2 1/2 years I thought that red licence was unobtainable.
Next topic: Women and Kenyan Driving Schools.

Officially Spring?

It was 12 degrees out leo! whoa. That solar has been missed. Hot chiles in tight shorts playing soccer, rollerblading all over the place, footbals being thrown around by the jocks: these are the tell tale sings of an imminent, beautiful spring season.

zaaap back to reality. Exams in a week. Project deadlines i can smell. I say, Bring it. I took jana off and just lazed at home like I did not have a care in the world. zoned out. answered no calls. took alil 'me' time to do the stuff that i enjoy. Programmed the web. cursed at how messy my apartment was. Great way to recharge when the walls of academia are caving in.

Given that the blogring is significantly larger everytime i check, i am at a point where i dont know what to read. Enter the power of RSS. not going to explain what it means. u do your own research. Watch this space for an illustration of the power of RSS.

Need to get me one of those

Enyewe truth be told if there were riots in montreal, i have already played it out in my mind how I would make it to futureshop(electronics store) and loot me a PSP. When I somad the
PSP HACKS my gameplan switched to: How shall i start the riots????

kenyan pundit making waves!

Some one , please, brush the dirt off of her shoulder!

Her punditing has been stellar at worst. More surprised at her modesty really..fanya mambo!!!

If this energy and drive doest urge u to begin your own blog..dont know what will..

"the real aviator..please stand up!"

My bro sent me this article leo... his words:

this guy makes a mockery of any intellectual curiosity i ever thought i had....this is an awesomely inspirational story ....you have to see the pics and story:

Daredevil student returns to the skies after failed attempt

lakini say the truth I checkad uncontrollably for the first like 2 thirds of the story..somebody STOP this guy!!! i know guys laughed at the wright brothers too..but cmon..that was 100 YEARS ago!!!!

kusema ukweli though..you really CANT KNOCK THE HUSTLE.

WHAT A WEEK

Its definately been a wild week so far with public outcry and defence of natizzo

Even though my opinion has already been expressed by Denis Nduta and Shifta, I guess it will not hurt to say whay I feel so strongly about the situation we find ourselves faced with.

As a christian I believe in first seeing the best in everyone and trying to identify with their situation before casting any conclusion on anything. I don't always do it but I have found the more I apply this principal the better it works for me. Dr Kihoro's family have reason to be hurt by Nathans comment on their mother as factual (see davids post) or as innocent the comment was (i.e a matter of opinion as Joy says) I have spoken to Natizzo and he was genuinly surprised at the uproar at his expression of his opinion. Isn't that what these open forums are for. Should we be judged as unfeeling for having an opinion? Should we be silenced for having emotional attatchements to the discussed parties?


My philosophy on life is this.

DON'T JUDGE TOO HARD

Pray dont find fault with the man who limps

Or sumbles along the road,

Unless you've worn the shoes he wears

Or stuggled beneath his load,

There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt

Though hidden away from view,

Or the burden he bears, placed on your back,

May cause you to falter too.



Don't sneer at the man who's down today

Unless you've felt the blow,

That caused this fall or felt the shame,

That only the fallen know.

You may be strong but still the blows

That were his if dealt to you,

In the self-same way at the sef-same time

Might cause you to stagger too.



Don't be too harsh with the man who sins

Or pelt him with words or stones

Unless you're sure yea doubly sure

That you have not sin of your own.

For you know perharps, if the tempters voice,

Should whisper as soft to you,

As it did to him when he went astray

T'would cause you to stagger too.

So before we label Nathan and unfeeling brute or the Kihoro family over reactive. Let us examine ourselves and put ourselves in their situation. Have you ever been misunderstood? Would you have rathered been called names or understood? On the other hand has anyone ever said said something that hurt soo much you were forced to have some reaction? Were you sensitive to the other person's feelings??


Let as all treat each other with due respect and love. and not judge too hard. As the bible says Love your Neighbour as Yourself. Lets treat each other how we would like to be treated.

LET MOVE ON ...LET BLOG

Hi

hi everyone. Its been quite a while and as i can see ive really missed alot. Thing really seem to be heating up about the pope and other issues, honestly. I really dont think that Nattizo was trying to insult anyone. Every one has a right to his or her opinion and as grown folks, we must all realise that on matters of dead, religion and the after life every human being on this earth has almost as many opinions as the human beings on this world. let us not put down a person for speaking out on what they feel. Express your opinion and agree to disagree. Anyway just checkin in after a long absence ... hope everyone has been ok. later

Public Apology

First of all I want to begin by saying how distraught I have been the
entire day, aftergetting wind of yesterdays post, and further Mama J's reaction.

I was initially torn between whether to completely remove the post (as
the blog admin) in an effort to calm the fire, or leave it intact and
resolve the matter. As you can tell I opted for the latter under a
notion that I firmly believe in: sorting out issues in an immediate,
transparent and sincere manner. Keeping the post up has not been an
easy thing to do becuase with every passing minute, the post reflects
badly on the OVERALL blog with every visitor that graces our page. On
the other hand, what has been said has been said - It is my hope this
scar will help us remind us ALL, in and out of VI, to use the Power
that comes with blogging with severe caution.

To further compound the issue, all concerened parties are in 3 diff
timezones, and this does not help in expeditng a resolution. So I
hope you will additionally forgive our timing. I will not speak on
anyones behalf but mine. But that is neither here nor there: what i
really came to say before this turns into a diatribe of sorts:

To the Kihoro Family
I believe the comments made on the post mentioned above were insensitive to the pain and suffering that you all have bourne. I know the author personally however, and i can say with almost 100 percent certainty that the comments were not made out of malice or in an effort to cause the reaction that it elicited.

Nathan is a good friend and becuase i know he was an aspiring doctor, his comments did not strike me as thoughtless banter. They still dont. It is again my opinion (we will have to wait to hear from him personally) that the final remark was not another stab but was rather at his remarks on your mothers situation, but rather a scapegoat to his opinions on the POPE. Just my opinion.

Regardless, I felt it necessary, from the bottom of my heart apologise for all the HURT caused, on behalf of the virtual insanity team of bloggers. You may at this point feel like this is just damage control to save the rep of the blog - but really, let me make it clear that our blog is of no use and downright retrogressive if it provokes anger, disgust, and distaste. Hopefully lessons have been learnt by ALL.


To VI Readers
That said, this issue definitely got me thinking about blogging: the gift and the curse. The reason this particular issue is so absorbing is becuase i feel it stems from the very nature of blogging. Part of the reason it is so intriguing is becuase it gives an personal but interconnected forum to voice ones opinions. I think we have all been in that aura/zone of blogspiration - my coined phrase for that spontanious inspiraiton to write whats on our mind - the free writing that is unplanned and flows. Noting that VI for a majority of the time is a playground for ruminations on current significant and not so significant affairs, this blogspiration happens often, relative to news blogs, or gadget blogs etc.

Dont get me wrong. No excuses being offered for insensitivity. But With a growing kenyan blogosphere it appears that degrees of separation are narrowing alarmingly fast we are at increasing risk of having nothing to 'freely' and 'careful' ruminate on. In the greater scheme of the blogosphere, this is already an issue being dealt with folks being fired from their jobs about their clande blogposts, Journalists being fired for their 'off the cuff' blog remarks etc etc. I mean sooner, at every angle we will be at the risk of offending every single person who visits our blog!

A relatively bad analogy would be (and JUST an analogy) would be say for example one of KIBAKI's kids began reading Thinkers room. Those of you whove read his blog would agree that perhaps, in this hypothetical situation, Kibaki's son wouldnt be too pleased after one sitting. Whether or not an apology would be in order is not the issue: it is the fact that thinkers room is personal room - apoint of HIS own opinions. This is the DISTINCTIVE, alluring feature that blogs carry from forums, such as Mashada, Mambogani et al. Something must be said of preserving the ability of Individuals within a blog to freely express their opinion within their personal space - and for readers to take it as JUST that. An example of this would be in the divergent fashion with which Mama J reacted to the post: Her comment on VI exuded calm and respect for our opinion(at least in comparison to Ciru's), but on Begins at home it was another story. I use this only to illustrate that there is a sense of freedom one has on their blog to voice their opinion. I would want this appropriate impertinence, this cautious liberty, to prevail even after this episode becuase it allows for discourses, for us to learn and grow from our mistakes.

At risk of sounding Nazi, I will say that ordinarily, I would honestly not apologise. This is no ordinary situation though: It is the feeling that we are all family in the k-blogosphere. It is like the 'small church' phenomenon. It was easy for me to empathise with the Kihoro family, and I have a tremendous respect for the strength that Mama J esp has exhibited. ( elieve Natizzo aluded to that in the beginning of his post as well). Let us not take away from that closeness we have fostered thus far. I got so tired of the hate and useless, discourse on kenyan forums that I would not like to recreate the scenario here.

TUKO PAMOJA.
Pole Im sure this one is riddled with typos like no other..
PS. MAMA J and Fam Please give some feedback , I hope we can continue to respectfully engage in social intercourse. What does not kill us..makes us stronger.
PS2 VI writers I would like to hear your comments about this about this as well! Speak or forever hold your peace!

Of Terri & JP2

Let me start of by saying am happy Terri is dead. Don't take it the wrong way, i feel for her family and her condition. but it was long overdue. 15 years for someone to be alive but not living...it takes on philosophical inclinations. What is living? Was terri living, or merely existing? The torment that it put her husband thru, the one person being overlooked in this whole issue, was too great. Finally, there is closure to the matter that all parties have had to relieve over and over again. It's got me thinkin about Mrs. Kihoro. If one goes for so long without significant brain activity, your brain is jus operating on the equivalent of reserve. Minimalist synaptic responses and voltage, which are far below what is need for comprehension, understanding, and thought processes.
This hulla balloo about the Pope is getting to me. Fine he was great and did something few, apart from Jesus did, or will ever do. But if you read the Bible, somewhere in there it says something about when the end is near, someone will come up and will be worshipped as his representative, fooling all.makes you wonder.....
But the people who realy benefitted from JP2's death are the media. Those who never have any news to report, are now flooding us with CNN-pulled news. I'm fed up with 4days of nothing but JP. Everyone just wants to settle there psyche that if they relate to the good Pope, then judgement on them will be a lot less harsh for them. The human mind is a jungle, putting the Chaos theory to shame...

Don't hate me for this. My brain thought it, and my fingers typed it.

Re: open source journalism & pope

well...right of Denis' post, i can only attest to how radically efficient blogging is turning out to be as a tool of communication. It hit me very recently that what am now typing is avail to the whole world today and probably many keshos to come (yes, i know......daaaahhhh!) But true....radically effective tool of communication!

Papa JP II? I think the millions of people who are 'mourning' are not really mourning or bearing the kind of grief that one would encounter on the loss of a relative or friend. To me it feels like people are simply enjoying the aura involved in a 'mass movement' (so to speak). U know how when u attend a mega evangelistic crusade...the more serene kind (eg. Benny Hinn or ......can't think of any Kenyan serence evangelist) preferrably or maybe to bring the illustration home- radical evangelists like Pius Muiru. A large portion of the crowd will have spiritual fits or will get carried away just by the fact that the multitudes are in sync in their physical actions and (dare i say) spritual focus on God or the miracle expected/advertised as the case may be. I, personally, get carried away (in a very moderate and conservative manner) when i hear a mass choir unleashing serious heavenly big sounds- my spirit just gets lifted. So yeah....i think thats whats happening at St. Peter's Square: the aura of the masses and the moments of pindrop silence and reflection at the passing of a great man (often silent thoughts of our own passing)......

In my mind...am thinking, what are the chances that the conclave might be as dramatic as envisioned in the Da Vinci & Angels and Demons sequel. hmmmnnn....wldnt we wish (am clearly not catholic!)

Great week guys!

worth of a life........

so...feeding off of Kibet's blog, when do you decide that a person is incompetent and beyond help? Was it that Terri had stated that if her was even in a vegetative stae, she was not to be placed on life support, or some thing......but her guardian lives with another woman??! I had a debate with a friend and he reasoned that she had been in a coma too long. If someone begins to show signs of improvement, do you go, "oh well, too little, too late" and let the courts decide her fate. Now her mum will have to live knowing that her daughter died of hunger...in a developed country....

It's always unfortunate when a life is lost, but yeah, dennis, too much hype was put on the death of the pope. It's all about popularity, or people trying to get in touch with their spiritual side. HOwever, quite a number of people have been turned off by the many cases of child abuse in the cathoilc church, as someone expressed their thoughts. That's a whole other issue, though. Oh, well..... so much for my two cents. 'til next time!

Oh! Have fun at the sleep over........not too much, though........

Of open source journlism , the pope, and spring

First up. My sentiments on the the passing of the pope. A buddy of mine just called me terribly diabolical for admiting that i felt worse for Terry shiavo's passing than i do for the Pope now. I have no apologies to make. I appreciate the fact that he has played a massive role in defining the catholic church and religion in general for the last 2 something odd years. I also appreciate his contribution to the poor, etc etc. My take is that this all comes with the terriroty. This in essence, is his Job.

What I DONT respect, is what this massive outpouring reflects. I asked my workmate the other day why she wass so sad about this..(this was a few hours before his passing). Her response? Ati He's the pope! he's not supposed to die. And no, she did not even realise the folly of her emotion. am i the only one? Am I wrong to say that this summarieses the general feeling of sorrow worldwide? Even if I am, my point is that it is this Worship of a MAN thant bothers me. Not his papal role, nor his works, but this MAN. I have heard many catholics , and non cathoilics depend on him for the fervor in faith. Is that faith in God, or faith in the pope?????? Last i checked faith was a belief in the unseen. Whenever i hear people speak strongly about their sentiments on the pope, one line from the John Chap 14 rings in my head like those very bells in Vatican:

"I am the WAY, the the truth and the life - no man cometh unto the father but by me".

I struggle to see this in any other sense apart from its literal one. Easter just passed by. Easter is a time to commemorate the brutal death and sacrifice of Christ, and his un-manly renewal. Comparatively, the celebration of the Pope's passing makes Christs pale in comparison, and THIS makes me sad, and often more cynical about humanity that i like to be.

Spirituality (or the depletion of it in my case ) aside , I began thinking about blogging. With all this talktalk about blogging, its easy to get tired of hearing about it. But I think i'm finally starting to get the overall picture. Amdist the continual cries of blame against ain stream media - it is only a matter of time before somethings gotta give. Think of all great establishments in history: the church, the strictly authoritatian gvt(still a few left actually) , etc - with once a firm grip of control, this crumbled under public srutiny and revolution. The next establishments on the line of fire: The Media and the Corporation. The many-to-many relationship nature of public , empowered watchdogs aka bloggers seeks to render these establishments wield on society invalid. With the phenomenal growth of the kenyan blogosphere I am starting to feel the grounds trembling...I am eager to see shushu's in cyybers blogging away with help of their grandkids. THese politicians are soon to find out how many people really have an opinion that they can voice. This text area i type in is really like a loudspeaker - someones bound to hear me. Let the organized mob rule(aka democracy) begin!

Not sure what to make of it..but i think I am undergoing clinical 'stress'. I find no excitement in the things i used to before..(such as blogging - hence my protracted silence). It just feels like this vicious cycle of crunch time at the uni will never end. 2 weeks to my final FInals. projects up my thutha, Presentations and plans to build on, critiques to research on, jobs to pursue, profs to suck up for grads school...can someone remind me why i signed up for this?? And what a time to steal back an hour ..frigging daylight savings.

Glad he spring is here. It speaks to me that all trying things come to an end. even those that you never figured u'd make it through. I apologise if the post is riddled with typos, i wrote it in a flurry of inspiration, and now i have to run for one of the many group meetings.
Ressurect VI..ressurect!!

Terri Schiavo

Surely pple! I was so sure that a few opinions and views would be dropped in the VI basket bout the saga of this chile and whether she should be denied the opportunity to recover miraculously.

Ok, so i was lazy...(did i say that!!!) sorry too busy.... to give it serious thought and blog bout it... but hey... am sure somebody's thought about the morality issues involved.

Interestingly, a few days after first hearing bout the brain-dead chiles shidas, i read an article in the papers where some Kenyan family was telling us how they have had to pull the plug on their relatives because of the escalating hospital bills and little sign of recovery... and clearly, no one is about to stop them or take issue with the taking of life there.

Another case comes to mind, Mrs. Kihoro (wife to the former Nyeri MP) who was injured in the Busia Aircraft Accident and who ingiad a coma and has not come out of it since then, think 2yrs have gone since. I truly hope that she gets better soon, but in the unlikely and sad event that she stays in the coma a bit longer, a situation similar to the american crisis might arise... how will kenya handle it?

RE: hubba bubba

sup y'all. got nothing much to say. wow got some coast whether goin on, hot and humid.Deno, global warming is here!Run for your lives!!!
since kenyans are so bright and we dont see the need of foresight, the rains are here again and causin mayhem as usual. 2guys dead in nyanza from flood related drownin. now, if uv experienced this thing from the time u were a tot, why on earth would u still build ur house within the flood banks?.....RIP to those peeps
Cowi, do i have to come with a bag, or i can jus crush somewhere in the corner? assumin u got that nice sofa from hutchings biemer....i've booked it! thhe last time i saw my bag was when we returned from that solai ranch trip, i think it was. so u can imagine its condition.....

soulsystah, i feel u on that shoot-2-kill vibe bu look at it this way....the people were protecting with the constitution don't advocate to it, so this is the only language they understand......
ps: if u dint get it from the title, this was just a ramble

the idiotic logic of our guvah

k! im just completing my 4 year degree in Political Science and Sociology, and even if i hadnt spent these last 4 winters studying governance, human rights and democracy...even i would have figured out that theres something wrong with Michuki!
Speaking out about people with illegal firearms, Michuki released an order to the cops that they should 'shoot to kill' anyone found in possession of an illegal firearm.
This is sorta thing im envisioning:
Scenario 1.
Cop spots civilian with gun [because apparently people just display their guns like that]
Because all 'illegal' firearms have huge visible signs on them, the cop shoots, not to injure, not to startle, nope....shoots to kill.

Scenario 2.
Cop spots civilian with gun, suspects that it may be illegal, [because you can identify illegal fireamrs from the 'type' of people carrying it]
Cop, because s/he is careful, decides to investigate further, ask a few questions...'sir/madam, is that weapon licensed? can i see the license? is that an illegal fire arm?'
to which the civilian replies 'no officer it isnt licensed.' ' Oh...umm I left my license at home.' 'Yes sir/madam...its the illegal AK47 i bought frm Eastleigh.'
The Cop,...following orders from Bwana Michuki, pulls out his 'legal' firearm, aims and 'shoots to kill'

Luckily, somebody is thinking, and the Law Society of Kenya, along with doctors and Human rights groups condemned the order, declaring it unconstitutional. But the most concerning thing is the mentality our own Minister for National Security displayed.
a vote of non-confidence? or another tame and pointless 're-shuffle'? I dont really care....something needs to be done!

and therein ends my first political vent of the month! back to the paper!
hope everyone is well and blessed!

Is it just me????

So I'm not only a consumer when it comes to toothpaste, I am also a regular consumer when it comes to south B matatu's. I try them out and elimidate so to sppeak .So like you will catch me dead boading an extreme makeover mat coz they once tried to con me of ten bob yes I'm that petty and a certain KAS mathree whose colouring I know but I can't defame it here. Anyway my favourite is one peach one with catskill written on its back. the music is great. (now you know I'm starved for a social life)


Anyway I've been dying to try out orlando Majic, and I finally got my cahnce on Saturday. Gladly ,I was its last occupant since I was in a hurry I couldn't have been more grateful.

To my dismay I ended sitting in the back row...(like duh i shoulda expected it) But I tell you five minutes into that ride and I was seriosly considering plastic surgery. I mean I had to battle the southward trend my bust was being forced into by the horrendous intensity of the bumps in this ride. I was in agony as only another woman would understand. So I assumed the position that would best protect my assets. i.e fold my arms across my chest tighter than a person under pressure and put on a front. The music was not disappointing nice dance stuff I chilled out to, needless to say however far my consumerist nature takes me I am never sitting in the back row of a matatu ever again.

IN conclusion I have to say... WOMEN SHOULD BE GIVEN PRIORITY SITTING IN MATATU'S.



p.s. Sleep over officially on the 22nd.

Bring your own sleeping bags please and do confirm soon places are running out.

pissed..

after losing my incredibly LONG 'comeback' post.. Lost all inspiration to retype it..

meanwhile i found the uber cool Content utility software(industry speak for "visual thesaurus) that will leave the linguist and vocabulary enthusiasts among in sheer giddyness. For everyone else, it is sheer eye candy and a great way to learn new words. check out THnkMaps's visual thesaurus. (trial version)

* i have a ball game today and weve lost our last two. Somethings gotta give..only that this team is made up of BLACK dudes - a statistical feat at McGill , and never a good sign, coz i know most of the dudes on the team..I'm the only miro on our team so the pressure is somehow higher for me to perform hehe..

* Speaking of over acheiving negroes...My buddy Leon is the first Kenyan in the history of McGill to be elected Vice president of the student society of McGill University - quite the feat. The position is a full time job and the highest level of student politics. I see a bright future for this young man...(in the background you should know that i have a lot of vested interests in his success since i was the campaign right hand man distributing unga and delivering the engineering vote hehe) so in reality this is the psychofants plea before he runs for president and forgets us lower mortals.

* Nathan I'm fianlly feeling you on the global warming vibe. It has now been sub-zero temperature wise for an astonishing 3 for days now. Last year mid march we were burried in snow and devising ways to keep the biting -40 degrees as bay. It was like it never ended. This is one sissy winter for real..

* Is anyone else as worried for Kenya as I am right now????? more later...

beautiful

js28
Originally uploaded by angeltouch.

k ..i know ive done the whole 'HE IS SOO HOT' thing...but now he has taken it to another level!!!

JOHN LEGEND! is in concert next week, opening for ALICIA...alas i shall not be attending as it is the same week that i have some stupid assignments and presentations and apparently i am a student before i am a groupie! so in honour of this beautiful man! lets discuss the video to 'ordinary people'!
AS IF THE SONG ITSELF WASNT ENUFF!! this man had to go ahead and organize a phenomenal-izzle video...Deno..if you havent watched it yet! you need too....lakini i dont get the fly at the end.

any who apart frm that , everything is sawa! just trying to find a job and figure out wassup for after graduation...i call it 'PROJECT NEXT'! who knows...maybe i will find myself back in kenya sooner than i thought!
k...well the mdosi has just brought some work in, so lemme get to it.
mad blessings and love for a safe weekend!

RE: pressure

Am now in the comp lab in uni. It must be about 29degrees in this joint, but the aircon has buggered up. the lab is like an oven. Funny thing is the watchies here are refusin guys to open the windows and the doors. And pple wonder why i got beef with em......
There's a mad rush for classes. We'r registerin online for our classes, and most are getting full. When the capacity is attained the slot gets blocked. U shud see guys running wild here, cookin lies about lecturers so as to change the others' minds with the hope that they'll get the few spaces. It's worse than the NARC/KANU campaigns of 1997!!! except that we'r broke uni students with no money to throw around.
Wow Cowi, that sleep over idea is a plan!! We should def do it, we can do the kawa things like scrabble, monopoly to drunken marco polo or something like dat. Lets all get creative.....
question though, do kina Kibet and I have to come with ours halves.........not that am out for some mischief.........

SLEEP OVER YIPEE

Ok now Nathan and all you peeps in Kenya who've been skiving our frequent meetings here is the mother of them all. WE ARE HAVING A SLEEP OVER. AT MINE since there is loads of room due to the scarcity of furniture and the huge space etc. Also the only place I know with no parents to speak of.

So when next month is good for you guys either the second or last weekend i.e either 9th and 10th or 23rd 24th. I'd prefer we do the Friday and you can all go home on Saturday. Please bring Naomi and Vicki Kibet and Nathan and anyone else with a girl/boyfriend.

I will do the food and could everyone please bring in a drink of some sort, and loads of ideas of what to do with the night.

And for all not in Kenya you can send in your GIFTS (hahah) and ideas coz we still got mad mad love for you.

please confirm what dates are good for you and lets....
SEE YOU THERE!!!!!!!!!

to attend or not to attend

i was shocked, to say the least (and to say it politely) when i learnt that guys graduating from the University of Nairobi have to pay KShs. 2000.00 for the graduation gown/robe. The chums might sound kidogo- esp if you start converting it into your various currencies, but at least i would imagine that you are issued with clean robes that have come out of some decent storage facility. Further consternation! After paying that 2,000.00 bob, you are shown to some room, where you find gowns and caps strewn all over the floor and from the beautiful aroma of 1yr of poor storage, you can tell that these nguos have not been washed!!! Just amazing, isnt it?
Is it just me who wants to be treated in a royal manner, or is it common courtesy that if i am giving money for a service or product, u actually offer it in a presentable manner and not like am in Gikomba looking for waste products shipped in from Canada and the US!!???

Anyway, i very cautiously mentioned to my folks how i do not see myself attending my graduation in like (at least) 5 months from now (i'm trying to get them accustomed to the idea early enough- to reduce any possibility of life endangering trauma) and i explained to them the cost of the ugly and dirty robe, and the many hours under the sun coupled with the one second announcement of my name- but NO! They don't see how we (Kibet, nuclear family & extended family& family friends) are not celebrating the joyous day at the graduation square.

Anyway, am glad i introduced the idea quite early... now i have time to push for my worthy cause. Its really just in defiance- though the uni won't really notice my absence.

Yeah, the rest of yo'all who are bout to graduate- whats the arrangement like? Do you actually feel like the uni is proud of your achievement or anxious to send u out?

lol! I was listening to BBC when i heard a program featuring the stresses of university students in China. With the number of 3million pple graduating from campus annually, the students cannot afford to be casual about school anymore! They can't skive classes when they feel like, like i often do!

MJ Blog Meme

Refer to Nick Gichu's Blog dated Thursday, March 03, 2005...

1.Best RnB song? One more chance [in love] (i think that's what the song is called)

2.Best pop song? Rock with you, Don't stop till you get enough, Blame it on the boogie-with Jackson 5

3.Best Rock song? none

4.Best Album? Thriller

5.Best Dance Video? You rock my world and thriller

6.Underrated album? -

7.Underrated collabo? MJ with 3T

8.Overrated collabo? -

9.Best sound? -

10.What about MJ u'll never forget? Kicking the air with the right leg or is it left... whatever, then spinning around, then grabbing the crotch, then whoooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!

11.Do u think he is guilty or innocent? Mmmmm...Is anyone innocent these days?

12.Did u like him better black? Definately in ebony.

13.His song that u cant stand? Beat it

14.If he was to come perform in a stadium near you-would you
a) lie that u would not attend?
b) attend?
c) only attend cause u were forced to
None of the above. I wouldn't pay a cent to watch him perform live. Don't get me wrong he is one of the best music performers to have moonwalked this earth, but I am just a plain ol' cheapskate i.e. miser(I wouldn't even part with 10 bob)

15. Do u think MJ is a freak or misunderstood? I love him, but I think his freakkkyyyy...

16.Are those kids fruits of his occassionally grabbed loins? I can't nyita this question

shock on u

shock on u if u thought I had anything meaningful to say. JUs salaams to the great big world, or what will be left of it after Bush and Rice are thru with it? Am I the only bugged by the way USA goes meddling in other people's interests? The whole Syria saga is meant to break the middle east into small pieces, so that the dont have the strengh they once commanded in their unifiedn 1970s era. Something aint right, with the way they're always proIsrael, but i guess its got to do with the nuclear weapons stash they have, that sent Mordecai to jail for 20+ yrs.
Deno, Lamu was lost from us a long time ago. For some reason it's like we exported it. The who's who of the world claim stake to it, and it's no surprise that it's the drug runner's paradise of the world, after it was discovered that a lot of the property in that region has links to the Mafia....(tererereererrerer)
Did you know that the KANU govt stashed over 500 million pounds in the UK during the tenure ? That's about 90billion Ksh to you and me, and we want those guys back?Much respect to Uhuru for trying to change things, but am not entirely convinced. I dont agree with everything Man Emilio is doing, but lets give him a chance.
last note, Deno pliz tell me the name of that nice martial arts flick that had ur fine honey? couldn't view the blog.I watched one called "Hero", twas a let down, too much philosophy, not enough butt kickin!

Losing our country to the almighty dollar

Incase you havent heard, our precious and only World heritage site ( alongside the pyramids and hanging gardens of babylon ) is up for bidding, now that it has become known that this quaint preserved area called Lamu
is sheer paradise. I kid you not.. Lamu's up for bidding.

Now while the law of globo-economics dictates that we have nothing to argue about here, i think the problem is more sultry than it appears. What has made lamu so beautiful really is the preservation of its culture and its people.

The millions that will come in, I'm afraid, will displace these two things. What is soveriegnty when all real estate owners of an area are NOT from that area? What does this say to the natives of the area? Shouldnt they get preference 'native' equity in the land of thier birth? What does belonging mean if all that really matters is the dollar?

Suddenly the protectionism exhibited by states in the UAE begins to seem less uber conservative and more plain culture preserving.(foreigners are not allowed to won more than 49 % of any property or business there if I am not mistaken).

Dont confuse me for an ahmish, anti-capitalist tree hugger. Just a little concerned that the bill gates, Naoimi campbells and nameless italians will buy out our picturesque little town.

Religious variety?

Wsup VI. I know i know, been a long time! But u know time can be extremely elusive. But i must admit its great to know that good ol' denno and angie and vicks and shiku and nattizo are still alive and kickin!

I'm going through an interesting process which requires me to visit a number of churches in nairobi with a view to registering musicians for an Interdenominational Music Concert that will be held in September 05 and i've had many amusing moments in the various houses of worship that i have visited.

You can hardly imagine the variety that you will find in the different assemblies of God. Variety in the sense of kind of worship that goes on and the general ministry presentation of the different churches.

Among the five churches from which i was assigned to recruit members included one church called Green Pastures which, you will not believe, is situated right above Choices...the Choices. (Dennis you can tell them the exact physical address! lol! jus kidding!) Yeah, so i visited the church and the one thing that struck me was the duration of the praise and worship. I got there at 9.30 and the Pastor started preaching at 12pm!!!! So u know as the praise progressed, i kept on taking a break thinking that surely it must be time for the preacher to start preaching! but no! it went on and on. But NOTE am not complaining- its an excellent thing to have.

My other church was, Jesus Is Alive Ministries- the Bishop Margaret Wanjiru Church 'THE GLORY IS HERE!'Now in that church, you feel like you are in a TBN service. u know the 'love gift' concept? She's perfected it. I was astonished at how lucrative she makes giving to the Lord seem- i almost emptied my wallet as i was confident/ certain beyond doubt- that the giving would come back 100 fold- pressed down, shaken and flowing over! Man! it was astonishing. Once again, i ain't saying that giving is bad or good- but in my mind i was really hoping that the pple she ministers to understand that it is God there are seeking after and not God's gifts only!

Yo'al must jua Rev./ Bishop/Pastor Pius Muiru (the servant of God with a hoarse voice)? Yeah, i visited his church actually moments ago, for an evening service, which i couldnt sit in for because i simply have no respect for the venue- Odeon Cinema! Anyway, so i check and i find the Praise going on. And as the pace picks up, the guy leading alas turns out to be an Aerobics trainer! well, if i didnt know where i was, that's what i would think! The guy was making the congrgation pull some moves- leg up, hands up, gyrate the hands back and forth, jump bend, jeez! Now in my suit, God forgive me, but i was just unable to keep up! And in the midst of the aerobics, the music was so loud and noisy that i couldnt really catch the motivation for the physical exercise, it at all there was any. I not being a person who agrees to do anything without grasping the incentive/rationale, i slowly picked myself up... and trotted along to the cyber- eager to share my experience with u VI children of God!

Whenever i attend a church... and for some reason i was sent to very charismatic assemblies, i always remember how my NPC service would have been. With the time being monitered religiously, the uptown and straight congregation not being able to wave their hands to vigorously, the meticulously dressed Pastors in serious 2/3 piece suits (no flowing African regalia!), etc. It makes me wonder, do i really need to get more charismatic and pentecostal or is it all good just to lift my arm to the polite 45 degree angle and softly swing to the tune. All in all, i think i love the Lord and i trust that he hears my prayers.

what do u think?

expanse

if this isnt justification of a higher prescence , albeit a priori, I dont know what is. I'm sure the
the powers of ten will mean something different to you, which is why t is such a great film.

enjoy.(ur gonna need the quicktime plugin), and its worht the wait if ur on dialup.

better late than never

i have always thought our freedom fighters and the people who had to endure colonialism deserved an apology but now that our government has demanded one here, im not too sure where i stand anymore. i think it comes a little too late and the fact that we have to demand for one kinda devalues the apology. enyewe thats jus me, but i'd really like to know what you guys think about it.

Going places...in style...but do I say??!!!!

k...progressive isnt even the word! as in...talk about being ahead of the game...even in Canada, people dont do this...and our lakeside brethren naturally had to be the first!!
D and your fellow entrepreneur peeps...sii u guys look into this....Kenyan schools

VI in silence

Very unusual to see VI being so quiet. Just want to salimia all. cheers.

back from beyond

Wow! Guess u miss a little, u miss a lot. I must apologize for being away so long. Got caught up in a few things eg. exams. SO i see there's been a flurry of activity, no doubt Deno is keepin things hot.
Wats thiss about Cowi being in a prang? Are you ok girl? When did it happen? Gosh u should have hollad, but now u also don't correspond....guess u took a tip from Wangu on "How to live under the radar".
Global warming is here! In case u doubted this controversial phenomenon, the weather patterns over the last few weeks have left meteorologists perplexed. Nbi has been averaging 32 during the day, California has had the worst floods since 1874, and freak snow storms have been reported along the East Coast of US. But the question is, do you think the Kyoto protocol on gas emissions will have any impact in our continually worsening planet? I've a couple of electric powered RAV4s around, maybe we should all follow suit. From wat I here, they cost just about the same. Deno, maybe u and I can put our entrepeneurship to test and research on setting up maintenance centres for these hybrids. I mean, with toyota bringing in the Prius am sure they'd appreciate the help and expertise we might bring to the endeavour.