I suffer from curiosity, beautiful people. Which probably explains why i simply looove the power of the almighty Google. Each time i flex my fingers to search for one thing, i end up stumbling across all sorts of other interesting stuff which I just HAVE to take a peek at; see where that ka-road ends. Except that on the net, there is no end to a road; you find it going on aaaand on and branching out into curious lanes, a maze of avenues & right onto a different highway. (and yes, i do spend lots of time on the net searching for useless pieces of info)
Case in point: This morning, while listening to and totally loving Sixpence's It came upon a midnight clear, I searched for the album that holds the song and stumbled upon the origin of the band's name. Which comes from a book by C.S Lewis (the very name has my BP shooting up by a point or two) called Mere Christianity (OK, so it doesn't sound Chronicles of Narnia-ish, but I'll bite). In the book:
A little boy asks his father if he can get a sixpence -a small denomination of English currency- to go and get a gift for his father. The father gladly accepts the gift and he's really happy with it, but he also realizes that he's not any richer for the transaction. C. S Lewis was comparing that to his belief that God had given him, and us, the gifts that we possess, and to serve him the we way we should, we should do it humbly-realizing how we got the gifts in the first place.
Of late I've been seriously bugged by the 'good' being preached by some of our church leaders and so-called 'saved' people (triggered off by the draft constitution). That, coupled with my being lately afflicted with an acute case of the dark & twisties, has made it way too easy (i confess) for me to get pissed, forget to count my blessings and lose sight of the big spiritual picture...
The above piece of enlightenment sort of slams it all back into proper focus though...
The final three minutes of "Hands in the sky" by Stray light run plays over and over in my head; fingers crossed(can't afford to part with another bottle of Viceroy, guys), my hands move to it's thumping beat as i urge my team on...And that's just me; your regular girl who juas the basic rules (though gets all muddled up on the offside rule) and enjoys the occasional game or two but hardly qualifies as a football fan.
Now THE football fan; that's a whole different species. And he/she brings passion, folklore and spirit in the name of the beautiful game; conjuring up a kind of magic that leaves you awestruck. Just watch any given match and you'll see them all gussied up; armed with drums, cauldrons, calabashes and chanting beeeeautiful poetry that sometimes sounds like this (and do pardon their french):
Man U fans chant: "If i had the wings of a sparrow, If i had the arse of a crow, I'd fly over Maine road tomorrow, And shit on the bastards below, beelow, shit on, shit on, shit on the bastards below" New castle fans towards Sunderland fans: "Going down, going down, going down, Sunderland fans happily reply:
'so are we, so are we, so are we.' A man city chant: "Feed the goat and he will score, Feed the goat, Feed the goat, Feed the goat and he will score,"
Liverpool chant (or is it anthem?): When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high, And don't be afraid of the dark. At the end of a storm, There's a golden sky, And the sweet silver song of a lark. Walk on through the wind, Walk on through the rain, Though your dreams be tossed and blown... walk on, walk on with hope in your heart, And you'll never walk alone You'll never walk alone.
Vidic chant: Nemanja whoa, Nemanja whoa, He come's from Serbia, He'll fucking murder ye!
All said in good jest of course.
And that's just at the English Premier league.
So here's a toast to THE football fan. And as the world's greatest carnival draws to a close come Sunday (sniff), over 84, 000 of these guys will clench fists, chest thump, hiss blood, foot thump and fervently chant in thundering decibels bringing the calabash spectacularly to life.
Stay tuned.
Mob wendos,
Nyambura
PS: And while still on matters football, if you're a fan who enjoys devouring books, sample 'fever pitch' by Nick Hornby (hilaaarious guy by the way) who wittily recounts his love affair with football and especially Arsenal FC. Awesome read.
The rains have me reaching home way too early and stumbling across all sorts of shows being aired on our local channels. And all have the ability to act on me like a hole in the head; so indulge me as i rant & rave about all things television.
Mexican soap fans are currently in Tv heaven; all they have to do is sit back & channel surf to their heart's content. And that's cool, if it's your thing but let's just make sure that for peace sakes, I'm not watching any of it with you. Things will go real bad, real quick due to my inability to keep my wise ass comments to myself. Seriously.
I'll sigh "Oh, brother," and "Yeah, we get the picture," at every long winded declaration of love. Then there will be a Maria or Isabella wailing (trust me, these girls wail not cry) every 10 minutes, which will force me to quip in concern, "Maria, don't you ever get dehydrated from all the crying? Seriously girl, that can't be good for the skin,"
You'll shoot daggers at me and that will shut me up for a while, except Alejandro (or is it Antonio??) is now crying and for some reason that bugs me more than Maria's wail, so much so, that to destruct myself, I tap you on the arm and ask politely, "Say, what's with the hot dudes unbuttoning their shirts all the way down to the navel?... I'm just asking!!!"
By this time you're so majorly pissed, you'll happily lend a machete to my head. And we don't want that do we?
***
A quick comment in regard to KTN's Changing times:
First off, the tom boy & her BFF were the first to grab my attention and the romantic in me hopes that theirs, will be an interesting story. Secondly, I love the guy who puts together the show's tunes (he's got a lovely eclectic ear) BUT here's the thing; if I'm constantly coming back to my couch after the commercial break and can't remember where you left off, you're in BIG trouble.
So please have the head writer/creator re-examine her script; DO get a team of cool writers to work with her, now work up a creatively spectacular brainstorm and give us the revamped script ASAP before we keel over from boredom or simply shrug & wander off.
Fyi, team changing times: Vampire diaries piqued my interest at episode # 5 (but i confess Damon was majorly responsible for keeping me entertained on my journey to that episode n.o 5)...then they kept anteing it up episode after episode...now I'm hooked. So you see, you guys can still turn things around. And I'm a hopeful gal who believes Jennifer Gatero (that's her name yes?) has potential and with time, she can be our very own Shonda Rhimes.
In the meantime, I'll stick to my usual faves (highly recommended by yours truly in the links below).
And oh, N Tv's now showing Gossip girl. KTN, you're sooo R.I.P aren't you? You have my heartfelt condolences.
***
I'm curious; what exactly are safcom's safis meant to be species wise?...
Come on guys, you can tell me, I'm quite comfy with the vamps, werewolves, elves & all other supes so it's not like my eyes will pop out in disbelief if you tell me who they are. The Skiza one (my only fave, coz it makes me smile) strangely reminds me of pilipili hohos (or a similar looking veggie) dancing to daddy yankee. Mr.Thick lips is kinda creepy, but he sure can move, no?
We're all loving the new freedom from thirst Sprite Commercial aren't we? I know my mind's eye's having a field day with that one :-)
***
Thought of the day:
"In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards"
Clearly, Mr. Mark Twain had not encountered the Kenyan politician.
As a general rule of thumb, i avoid (and occasionally fail) getting into debates regarding politics & religion with anyone. No matter how much fun they promise to be.
Yes, I'm one of those people who opts to sit back, smile politely and throw in the occasional food for thought as i watch people passionately slug it out.
Why? Because not only does everyone (especially yours truly) stubbornly hold onto their opinion, but in their mind they've already decided that everyone else of a different opinion is certifiably insane...
So such hearty debates sometimes get volatile, especially if fueled by alcohol (ever noticed how you feel supremely intelligent after a few sippy sippies?); buddies will exchange harsh words, chests will be painfully jabbed, punches will be thrown and on one occasion, I've seen a kitchen knife drawn (by a very polite AND sober chick) in the name of stressing a religious point (fyi, both parties were Christians).
So i won't discuss the draft constitution. But i can tell you 03 things:
1) I've been reading (aaaand still reading) it in bits & pieces (in no particular order) 'coz i need to see & understand what the fuss is about. And boy, it's not the most interesting read. It reminds me of my high school days where reading & understanding Fasihi & mashairi was such a frustrating process, it made my eyes smart. Case in point:
"A person who is detained or held in custody is entitled to petition for an order of habeas corpus"
Note i don't speak a word of latin, but i do thank the power of the almighty goggle (how on earth did i ever survive without it?). when i first saw habeas corpus, i had visions of Asterix & Obelix in rome. True story.
And that's just for starters. There's also stuff like:
"...A state of emergency may be declared only under Article 132 (4) (d) and only when- "
And more points are jotted down for your perusal...Now watch me scrambling back to Article 132 'coz i can't remember what it said...There was a bloody point (d) ???! ....and to think I'm only at page 44 with roughly 164 pages (of the above) to go (sigh).
BUT I've had GREEEAT fun visualizing a perfect world where Nyamz could get away with bitch-slapping our cops with the rights of arrested persons. I swear, in my mind's eye, I can almost hear them cops shake in their boots...and if i pause just a bit then go, "BOO!" i see them keeling over in fright :-)
2) I've encountered individuals so annoying, they've made it to the top of my pet peeves list in record speed. Below were a few of my pet peeves:
These are the small minded individuals who walk around throwing their hate smeared two cents in the name of making a stand. What majorly pisses me about these guys is, when I calmly ask one of them to break it down for me by indicating/highlighting/underlining which bit of the clause they have a problem with, they give me a blank look then proudly announce that they have not read any portion of the current or draft constitution! But they have a problem with it because someone else has a problem with it...Seriously? SERIOUSLY?
3) We are a nation that not only dwells too much on the differences we have as people of diverse backgrounds, but also one that is yet to learn from history. Hence we're running in circles and so missing the big picture. Again.
So come on people, THINK! Even (and especially) on an individual level, paint that picture of the future with great clarity...map the road...now conjure it up to life. We can do it & it will be worth it. And people, if we don't, the joke's on us. And someone, somewhere will keep on capitalizing, laughing & toasting to our inability to move forward...evolve into something more awesome. And no, you can't blame the devil or the western world on this one.
The saddest fact is, whether we get it or not, the world and most importantly time, keeps moving on and wouldn't be bothered. It owes us nothing; it was here first.
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...
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:
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,"
Hmmm...here's 12 things about me:
I drink insane amounts of coffee;
I’m generally level-headed except during a full moon; I don't like chocolates;
I loathe small-mindedness;
I have a temper;
I don't get cynicism; I'm a Tv junkie ; I love comics/graphic novels too;
Procrastination afflicts me; Laughter's THE cure to my blues;
My brain; home of the little voices is my fave body part & My sis Vicky's super awesome;she gets why I just have to scribble what-nots & won't let me be till I'm done scribbling...
