Dog food: How low is too low?

I appreciate that this apparently came in good faith..lakini hapana.

This is several notches lower than the GM food debate some time back. For those of you who missed it, Yesterdays Naiton told of a New Zealand company sending 42 tons of Dog Food in aid of the starving children in Kenya.

In the eyes of many, even those who have travelled, will we forever be percieved as sub-human?

Truly disgusted...


N/B Mutua - it has nothing to do with KBS or any quality standard - it has everything to do of intention and perception.

The Surgery is Done!

hey guys, am just out of dental surgery.Yes, I thought I would be in anaesthesia land at the moment but LO! the dentist did the surgery when I was fully awake. The dental tools were a nightmare-first it was a very big needle, then a blade, then a drill, then the suction pump, then the drill, then a hammer, then am told to relax- WHO CAN RELAX WHEN THEY CAN SEE NIGHTMARISH DENTAL TOOLS ENTERING THEIR MOUTHS! After that it was the stitching. I think the dentist stitched my tongue because he and his assistant shouted "Ngai", then he said "Oh ni sawa sasa." Right now I look like a Raila who has one swollen cheek, hell, am even talking like him. Anyway, am thankful it's not as complicated as I thought.

Briefs

Ok since i got called a mjua for janas post, i thought I should share some good ol, randomn, inconsequential tidbits of my life - lets keep pretending like you care..Its working so far.

* I just had all you can eat sushi with a Korean Friend of mine who hates Japanese people. and you thought ubaguzi was only in Africa. She assures me that Japanese have always treated Koreans like dirt and are in the process of rewriting history, something that makes her seethe with ire. Regardless the sushi was GREAT. I still cant find a position that i can sit comfortably in.

* Kobe Bryant NEEEEEEDs to get the MVP for single handedly putting his temain playoff contention. Superhuman is what this guy is. 81 points, 42 minutes. Bila lies. In an era when you have entire definsive gameplans for single players. And dont you dare call this guy selfish - when Wilt or Jordan do it - the are the eternal saviours of basketball. Poor Kobe will only get the superficial "wow" and the cautionary advice of team work - bana have you looked at the starting five of the lakers?..theres lamar odom, err..that ka guys ..whatshisface..ehhh - i rest my case. Score away Kobe! And Nike - what a smart bunch - buyng low (right before his kesi in court) and selling high - business investment 101.

* Perhaps the most popular post in kenyan blogospherric history - I was most enchanted by how Thinkers post on "Eating your cake and having it" spun out, touching upon many nerves on oth sides of the argument. I urge you all to read it and we piga gumzo about it further. All I'll say is that my cake is baking - i intend on eating it pretty soon - then baking anaa one. Chambua!

Briefs

Ok since i got called a mjua for janas post, i thought I should share some good ol, randomn, inconsequential tidbits of my life - lets keep pretending like you care..Its working so far.

* I just had all you can eat sushi with a Korean Friend of mine who hates Japanese people. and you thought ubaguzi was only in Africa. She assures me that Japanese have always treated Koreans like dirt and are in the process of rewriting history, something that makes her seethe with ire. Regardless the sushi was GREAT. I still cant find a position that i can sit comfortably in.

* Kobe Bryant NEEEEEEDs to get the MVP for single handedly putting his temain playoff contention. Superhuman is what this guy is. 81 points, 42 minutes. Bila lies. In an era when you have entire definsive gameplans for single players. And dont you dare call this guy selfish - when Wilt or Jordan do it - the are the eternal saviours of basketball. Poor Kobe will only get the superficial "wow" and the cautionary advice of team work - bana have you looked at the starting five of the lakers?..theres lamar odom, err..that ka guys ..whatshisface..ehhh - i rest my case. Score away Kobe! And Nike - what a smart bunch - buyng low (right before his kesi in court) and selling high - business investment 101.

* Perhaps the most popular post in kenyan blogospherric history - I was most enchanted by how Thinkers post on "Eating your cake and having it" spun out, touching upon many nerves on oth sides of the argument. I urge you all to read it and we piga gumzo about it further. All I'll say is that my cake is baking - i intend on eating it pretty soon - then baking anaa one. Chambua!

For The Denis' of this world

Hey Denis this is directly aimed at you and your kind. Would you buy this ?

Mature Politicking

My blogging mojo was roused after seeing wangus recent post - kweli the cows really do come home eh..blog on lakini!

Democracy has surely matured in this country. Canada was able to stage a successful election procedure 1 month from the time an election was called, allowing a 63% voter turnout average through the provinces. Eventually the conservative party won the minority seating in the house of commons.(READ - Gay Marriage hopefuls, immigrant professionals, international students looking to work outside campus: dont hold your breath!) . What impressed me most is that their gvt has really come to terms with the true essense of coalition gvt.

Jack Layton, leader of the New Democratic Party (was 3rd in the race with 20 something out of 155 seats), was most profound when spelling out his parties role - brokering power between the remaining parties. Minority gvts are inherently in a tough spot becuase they have to warm up to anyone who can remotely appear to support them without selling out of their core values. So doesnt it seem obvious that the best positioned group is the small, well rounded party , such as Jack laytons NDP, which appeals to the mushier sides of the lefties or the righties on an "issue by issue' basis ? (one of the buzz phrases of a coalition relations)

Kenyan politicians can borrow a leaf of two from this. Power brokerage is just that - powerful. Our multi party system can benefit from more pragmatic greed.(since it is clear that greed is not going away!) Its not all in the presidency! Coalition parliaments dont mean that You have to merge your parties in orde rto survive. Kalonzo, Raila, you can forge your power bases seperately, and leverage that power on an issue by issue basis. kalonzo you can work with uhurus team when the bill is right. Raila, you can discuss the benefits of Nak working with you on a program that serves your needs by conceding and giving support to them on other less important issues.

At the end of the day, I feel that the constituents of these blocs/parties are left less disenfranchised than with these frequent , impractical party merges. Votes balloted for a discrete set of views are so much more valuable than those ballotted for a wide array fo views chiefly due to the fact that you can assess their value a whole lot easier. In summary, it is my contention, our votes need to speak more clearly for the values we endorse.

Will we learn as voters for 2007?

Yello

Hey guys how are you doing? am thinking of having a kalunch thingi in 2 weeks time on a Sato. Please keep that weekend free, though it's not a very concrete plan. On Friday am having a minor surgery for the menos. So, you guys pray for me-i don't want any complications. By the way, I met Thomas at bapo and Eva is asking Deno to invite her to the V.I blog community. Her email is karekim@yahoo.com. So invite her!!!!

WHY IS DEATH PRAWLING CLOSE TO ME

Hi all,

This morning I got news that my good friend and client was car jacked jana and shot dead.Its not the best of ways to start a day especially one that had started badly anyway.

So why pray I is death stalking so close by. Maybe if I vent death will leave my friends alone. Last year my two really close friends in england had miscarriages, then Kibet's Andrew and now Justin.

Please tell this Devil to mind his own business and stay away from my firends.


Guess there's not much you can do but feel I have to let this off my chest coz I'm really choking up today.

condolences

let me be the first to send rambirambi to Kibet about his nephew.Heard the news of his demise, ny prayers are with your family.
I know it seems like i take cover from y'all but not the case. Things have been hectic for a while and getting worse, u know with the uni vibe, lookin for job and trying to get a life. Deno pole man we dint get to cause havoc with you. Would have been nice to kick it.
Viki, hi there! many years eh? nice to hear some pple are enjoying themselves...am so jealous! Maybe we can do bowling or something sometime.
Speaking of lost, just heard from Jonathan. He's in the states, cleared and now he tells me he's pimpin rides. So Deno, u can vibe him about trickin out ur wheels.U should see his ride.....nice!
Kibet I feel you on the company issue. I believe it's also a maturity thing. Not just coming of age (as in 18yr+) but a self-awareness and clarity of purpose. I believe we all share that now. From what i've heard from Kui, Deno Kibet and I seem to reason like some responsible memebers. I would like to attribute it to my folks, who made us understand responsibility pretty early in life. And now with the pressure to bring someone home to them, and finding the right woman in life, the concept of settling down also comes as a reality check. U can tell am sprung...(T-pain luv his songs)

Oh Shu was actually in Bush. That is where he horned his talent, he used to play the ivories on the chapel organ like no other guy. And the thing a bout him is that he's multi-talented. From playing to directing. Full names...Mwashuma Nyatta!
til later y'all, if life hands you a lemon,don't complain. Just make lemonade.........and charge $2.50 per glass!

Always take the fish - LOL

Yep

Ricky Gervias (writer of the british sitcom the office) and his solution to making
poverty history.

This guy is jus mental...man nothing cheers me up like this guy...I just subscribed to his podcast...I felt like such a mwenda in the bus listening to it....

Anyone seen the show Extras yet?

Coming out the closet

Yep. Its been too long. the oppression has gone on for far too long.

I am an introvert. And proud of it.

Heres some great insight on Caring for this Introvert

Say a prayer

Leo am searching for some prayer warriors out here!

My 1 and a half month baby nephew was today diagnosed with a very rare disease known as Biliary Artesia , which is found in like 1 out of every 15,000 kids and is unfortunately not curable per se. In short, what happened is that he was born without a gall bladder and binary ducts (leaving the liver)... so leo he underwent some surgery to connect the bile drainage from the liver directly to the intestinal tract.

However, some kids respond to the said corrective surgery, while others don't & doctors can't jua whether or how long the kid will survive with the new connection. Thus, we are praying for divine intervention in Andrew's (that's his name) situation for both the short term and the long term.

Am certain that you'll remember him in your prayers.... that's one of the reasons i love you guys!

Shu: Kenyan John legend?

OK this is a break from the scheduled programming that was to be a recap and reminisce of my trip to my beautiful home Kenya.

It is a deserving break, as I grabbed it it from the email rounds it is probling making and deemed it neccessary for posting in outer space and for those of you kind and lucky readers of VI.

So sez his website:

Shu grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, with the strumming of his father’s guitar and simple Swahili songs about love and loss serving as his first musical backdrop.

Then came Havard, then Oxford on Rhode scholarship, and Shusic, his more than warmly recieved debut album, amidst this brainy schedule.

It only takes a brief listen of the club-engineered single "Can I take you home with me" to figure out that this raw talent is headed the big league and out of independent label mess. These predictions are not rushwad ovyo ovyo by yours truly... Those who will choose to remember when I hand picked John legend as the future of soul (hehe waaaaay before the 8 grammy nominations) - I am feeding off the same vibe from these tunes. The ka clip of Amor sent me credit-card weilding across the web in search for the album.

Support Kenyan talent. Nunua....Any word from you folk in Nai who heard him perform in October???

Nairobi - 24th Dec

It is temperately delicious at the airport. Although my layers sweaters and jackets are certainly not helping with the load - it is a very pleasant ,expected surprise.

No longer does everything seem distant and foreign - Somehow this trip feels like a drive to New York or a flight to BC. It seems like I have been doing this frequently and I haven't missed that much in the 1.5 years I have been away.

Seeing the folks and the girlfriend is great. I can tell right away this is going to be an intricate dance in sharing my affection for the two as their interactions are so delicately intertwined.

Not a minute to waste, My zacks is already on his relentless quest to showcase Nairobi's glamour life - the venue is Panari center/plaza along Mombasa road. There is something acutely unsettling about the whole scenario, and I cant quite put my finger on it.

However somewhere amidst the Waiters at "pampa churascaria" donning some incongruous brazilian hats...and the shrab-mangled weng unlashed by the maitre'd, and the meal that cost 10000 bob for 4 people - it became astonishingly clear. Nairobi is on the fringes of the worst ever identity crisis. Nairobi/Kenya has managed to unknowingly nurture deep into its a culture, a double edged sword - one tearing away at its "Have" and "Have-Not" fabric.

Somehow I resented being part of the "Have" fabric. I felt a need to be reborn into a new Kenya where none of this culture-created fabric existed. I feel that as we continue to try exist on both sides of the spectrum, We shall consume ourselves, like that fabled chinese snake, by eating our own tails as we forget who we TRULY are as Kenyans.

Self discovery

After reading Deno's blog on knowledge of self, the idea of self discovery has lingered in my mind. This i realised a few minutes ago... (as i was walking to the kiosk round the corner to buy some airtime for a 100/-... US$1.2). It came to my mind, as i reflected on my activities over the last two weeks, that it is in the company of my peers that i distinguish myself and make a clear identification of my self.

That probably sounds extremely mundane.... i knew that 8 years ago- but its just made full sense. I had the opportunity of travelling to Msa on a retreat with some young adults from NPC - Karen. And i got to enjoy the company of a group of young christians with very strong and different personalities. In my interaction with them, i was inspired by the vision in the hearts and minds of many of those guys. The clarity of mind and purpose... the strength of their conviction in the power of salvation... their hunger for relationships with meaningful purposes... all this got me by surprise. There is actually a hope for this country.

Back to self description... as i interacted with a few of the guys, i saw who i wanted to be like. And the happy part [for me] was that these guys were making the steps that i've been fearing to make. They were... beating the path (so to speak) that i want to take. They had taken the risks that i've been fearing to take. It became much clearer to me, that the faint dreams in my head cld actually materialise and blossom. Oh, it was extremely fulfilling.

That aside, i was also impressed at the sobreity with which these guys discussed women. I've had the unpleasant opportunity to sit with guys who discuss chiles like tomatoes huko being sold at the Tusker stage! But these guys, actually had quite some positive vibe... constructive discussions about relationships & the direction they should take... the prudence and/or imprudence of many things that many guys ordinarily wldnt give too much thought.

The foregoing might sound very ambiguous, but i now believe that the company that i keep or keeps me... , will truly build and mould my character, and contribute (and probably determine) my accomplishments, and shape my future.

hey!

hey guys? kwani the blog design changed? am just in this kacyber checking the blogs and noticed the new design. had a good day with kibet-some swimming, some drinking (not alcohol), some talking and some eating. cheers guys have a good christmas.

Affirmative action!??!

Read this article on the Daily Nation of jana... that reported that the Ministry of Education is formulating a policy to limit the number of KCPE private school graduands joining top national public schools.

The Govt seems to have realised that they aren't really doing an excellent job at providing free education, prob. because the free education isn't helping its intended beneficiaries progress academically. Given that the elite of our beloved country many times carry the day, i strongly doubt that the intended policy will see the light of day.

But what if it does.... sad situation. The Ministry will be punishing the parent who sacrificed to make significant investment in the education of his child in a bid to allow the parent who didn't make any such sacrifice gain entry into the top nation institutions.

Affirmative action is, in my view, the wrong move to take. Somebody should take responsibility for the fallacy of free primary education, and make it right!

Google Transit - Just plain cool

Yet another of the reasons i want to work for google (cmon..u didnt know??) - they reward their employees with time to work on their own passions..something that is begrudgingly hard to do in my current Job.

So check it out, Google transit, allows you to do what youve always wanted to do..planning those small pesky trips in new cities or even in your eon neighbourhood.
It only works for Portland Oregon, but in no time will be all over the place.

A key Business Op for Africa following this is to develop the underlying structure for such data. System developers In Africa unite! We need such digital utilites yesterday!

Knowledge of self?

I wont concede whats making me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. It might just fizzle away, I'm wont to take that risk.

You will notice i changed the look and feel of this whole place - hence yesterdays renascence. I've realised since that i have made it a habit to be reborn, in every sense of the word. I enjoy stooping and rebuilding from worn out tools. I love the challenge of what the new will feel like - the fleeting promise of a new day, a high in its own right. It is in this time that I want reach out to others, to share , to revel in the brotherhood of my peers.

My fear is that I also secretly sadistically look forward to the flip side of that cycle - the death of things, the collapse, the very need to be reborn. What this reflects is a bizarre ambivalence that makes up the juice that keeps me ticking - day to day -week to week. It is in this time that I am, as so succincly put by Simon and garfunkel, a rock, an island, protected by my books (work) and poetry (programming). I find great solace in silence, in soaking in m own presence.

Whenever I resign to such 'who-am-I' thoughts, I am often tied down by the age old conundrum of nature vs nurture - and the evidence to point to both arguments is compelling enough to make me forget about the work i actually have to do - which is why i'll take this cue and head off to work. it'll be a good day - Carpe deim, or more appropriately , F U Monday blues...

Here I go..armed with a blurry knowledge of self - better than none at all.

Renaissance

I have come to accept that my writing skill set is now almost as acutely atrophied as my arm and chest muscle, but don't count me out yet from this blogging game, yet.

Perhaps my silence might have belied the vast amount of excitement and activity (read: fake it till you make it) currently going on in my life.

Ok really, I cannot believe I got through that with a straight face. Last few weeks have been a confirmation of what I always suspected - the mundane routine of corporate life really is the noose that tightens around ones entrepreneurial passions.

However not to cast an entirely dark cloud over the last few months - there have been some light moments, not in any order:

* Permanent Residency in Canada

* My rebirth into video gaming

* Job INsecurity

* I'm going going ..back back.. to NAI NAI

* Sibling Pride

* A delicate dance with Depression

* My Vision for Nchi Yetu Daily

I shall proceed writing about these as individual posts ... with such bludgeoning honesty that even I'm looking forward to it.

Listening to:
This way - Dilated peoples feat Kanye West