"Hip hip chin chin & a blessed Easter"

Club Des Beluga's Hip hip chin chin is currently playing in my head and it just won't stop. You should see me do my thing; In my mind's eye no one can samba with the tushie stuck to a chair like i do. Hell, I'm actually enjoying working on a cold, wet Thursday morning...
A difficult client wants to send dastardly e-mails in red, caps & with lots of heart stopping exclamation marks? breathe...count to ten (without swearing)...hip hip chin chin...and smile.
A colleague wants to be a tool to a point of tempting me into giving her the evil eye? Just hip hip chin chin, Nyamz.

Why?

'Coz today is technically a Friday and not just your kawa Friday; we're talking of a Friday that will be followed by four days of no work, no school, no mandatory routines. OK, so I'll be working on one of those days, but I've still got three days of endless possibilities yes?

Speaking of endless possibilities, should the rains lock you indoors, do not despair or sulk. Here are some deliciously addictive samplings to accompany the hot chocolates, herbal teas, Irish coffees, khat, vodkas & brandies:

Sons of Anarchy: Some years back, i turned to and counted on Deadwood & Sopranos to take care of my appetite for addictive, nicely executed, bad ass entertainment. With both TV shows gone, i now rely on Sons of Anarchy (thanks R for dishin' it out to me). This is a show about an outlaw motorcycle club (the phrase alone has my BP shooting up by several mm Hg's) whose members are a brotherhood that is into some serious gun running and it has me hooked. Their women are just as bad ass (case in point: in one of the episodes, their matriarch, calmly picks up a skateboard, walks up to her hubby's one night stand & slams it into her face in broad daylight!) and oh, you get to feast your eyes & imagination on lots & lots of Harleys too. Need I say more?

Grey's Anatomy: So it's not exactly a new show. But i previously avoided it simply because i was tired of watching yet another medical drama. Except Grey's, is not just another medical drama and It has all the fun ingredients; A pinch of humor here & there? check. well-written dialogue, delivered just as brilliantly? check. Story lines that keep me coming back for more? check. A female lead who's strong, flawed & vulnerable? check (Meredith). Ballsy female characters that you're terrified of but hopelessly in love with? check (Cristina & Dr. Bailey a.ka The Nazi). A bad boy who makes your toes curl? check (Dr. McSteamy). Characters you love to roll your eyes at? check (George & Izzy). And of course, there's that male character (read: Dr. McDreamy) that makes the bitchiest, most hardened of us swoon. Also as a bonus, the show's got great tunes you'd want on your i pod (especially if you're into sampling cool tunes that hardly ever get main stream radio airplay). What more could a girl ask for, from 40 minutes of solid entertainment?

Vampire diaries: When they announced they'd make a Vamp show based on LJ Smith's books...i got all iffy. Don't get me wrong, the books (I've read The awakening, the struggle, the fury & the reunion) are way more sumptuous than the twilight saga. But the thing is, I'm already in love with the gloriously nutty True blood. So sampling a vamp show of the teen variety sounded more like asking someone to try the green salad when they've already sunk their teeth into nice nyam chom. BUT I'm happy to report this show ain't no green salad. The storyline is engrossing, fast paced and peppered with the creepy crawlies & cool tunes in all the right places. Elena can hold her own against nasty vampires & the other characters (the human ones, that is) are just as interesting. Then there is Damon...now that's a deliciously terrifying guy. And deliciously terrifying is goooood.

NB: For those who are into supernatural shows & think True blood is too far-out a vamp show, then vampire diaries is the vamp show for you.

***

Also try out the below book (but not while under the influence of khat or any alcoholic sippy sippies...trust me on this one)

-The Outsiders by S E Hinton: A beautifully moving story about the turf wars between two rival groups; The Greasers (the have nots) and The Socs (the haves), narrated in first person by Pony boy, a 14 yr old greaser. The book may be a YA (young adult) classic, but the book's timeless themes of friendship, hope & of social classes and the destruction such small minded distinctions bring to a society will be appreciated by older readers. For those who are into quick reads, you'll love this book 'coz the story is not tediously woven. This is a must-have on one's book shelf.


OK, back to work. Have a fab & blessed Easter all...hip hip chin chin...


Mob wendos,


Nyambura

Here's my two cents on Makmende

Never underestimate the value of chilling out, my lovely people.

I'm back from my 11 day time off (ahem, time out) -where i was forbidden from thinking about bills, work, chores, medical check ups for 264 hours...human contact was optional. And all i can say is, it was beauuutiful (pronounced with a Scottish accent to better emphasize the awesomeness of it all)...

...and even at that far off realm i was vacationing in, one Makmende still found me there, like this:

Makmende goes after Hitler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMoxdtchLLs

There is no escaping this guy. The first time i watched the Ha he vid was totally by accident (the song's funky beats kinda jump out at you when you're flipping channels). And yes, it tickled me silly (still does). But i didn't think it would talk up a storm the way it has. Hell, they're even doing prime time news features on it...

The one thing everyone regardless of age can appreciate is that the video sucks us into the forgotten world of childhood memories. And that's what makes it such a hit. For yours truly, it reminds me that before Jack Bauer, there was Rambo, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris & Cynthia Rothrock. And we worshiped these guys coz they were soooo bad ass. Fight scenes would be re-enacted in the hood (no play station back then)...and of course, there was always that one bugger who was into conjuring up his inner Chuck Norris begging everyone to make his day...meanwhile i would be thoroughly miffed 'coz girls couldn't join in on most of the cool, boys only fun stuff (fyi, being a girl majorly sucked for me; i hated dolls coz they seriously creeped me out; i sucked at bladder, Kati was fun but playing cops n robbers? now THAT was sweeet)...

So when the Makmende storm dies down and people move on to the next fad, the one true fact is, and will always be, the video and the song are creatively done (look at how they've fired up people's imaginations). No one can ever take that away from them. Which is why during an interview, it bothered me when Dan (one of the member's of JAB) said that they chose to reach the masses via the internet 'coz everywhere else they went they were told no one knows what to do with their music. Seriously? seriously?!! We need our very own HBO powerhouse here.

I firmly believe the imagination is the final frontier...limitless. And my philosophy on creativity has always been "LET RIP!"...throw it all against the wall and see what sticks. To try forcing creativity into a familiar box so people can feel all warm & fuzzy is just sad.

I get it, the bank account bottom line is King and people do not want to risk investing in what is not tried & tested....but what about taking calculated risks on the brilliantly unfamiliar? How many young Kenyans let their creativity & talents ebb away into oblivion simply because no one (from parents, teachers to the corporate world) is gutsy enough to believe in them; in their magic and nurture them so they can reach greater heights of awesomeness? Do we run a risk of becoming a nation that lacks imagination?

Here's some food for thought from Albert Einstein:

"Imagination is more important than Knowledge. For Knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know & understand..."

The condensed version?

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions,"

Mob wendos,


Nyambura