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May 13, 2008
21:48
the polo shirt story
From: Kikuyumoja's realm

Tags: kikuism

Read This Entry & More At Kikuyumoja's realm

What’s this?

Blog material.

No, seriously - what you see here is my broken Tusker polo shirt.

Bought this One-Way XXL shirt sometime in 2006 and after only 4 months in use, the collar suddendly fell apart. Obviously, there’s something to the one-way name that didn’t quite appear to me when I coughed up the mbeca for this Tusker goodie. Also, “XXL” is meant to be read: “this shaat will shrink once you hand-wash (!) it at 30°C”.

A tailor in Embu even tried to fix it the other day but it just wouldn’t work. Apparently, the collar went into early retirement.

I am the polo shirt guy. That’s why you’ll hardly ever see me in t-shirts. BarCamp Nairobi shirt? Africantees.com? Naaa….no polo shirt (no collar), no deal with JKE.

Actually, I just bought this polo shirt because of the TUSKER logo, but then: I wouldn’t mind if there was “JKE” on it instead, as long as it comes in a good quality. Something that will stay in shape after washing (and mind you, I am not using any dryer), won’t expand like those many Made-in-Bangladesh clothes as found @ H&M & Zara and that’s still affordable.

What’s the best shirt then? I hate to admit it, but I quite like these Ralph Lauren classic polo shirts because - if original - they’ll just be as solid as Barbour wax jackets.

The other day I decided to get a used (ati, I am cheap..) RL polo shirt from eBay and…well…

…baaad idea. What you see above are two RL polo shirts in size XL. The turquoise one is my old one, the black one on top is the “new” used one from eBay. Can you see the difference? Atiriiri…how am I supposed to cover my Tusker belly with such a short shaat?

So, because I know I am not the only one out here with peculiar dressing habits, let me ask you: is there any brand out there you can recommend? Any polo shirts that will just remain in shape after the 20th washing and that come without any stupid logos or brandings? I know you folks from the USA will laugh about this, but there seems to be a difference between the clothes you can buy in Europe and those you’ll get in the US. Even if they are all made in some low cost countries.

@Bwana Kobia: polo shaats @Africantees and I’m your next customer! :-)

19:28
Will-Kill Router Now Wants to Feed Kenyans
From: Kenyanentrepreneur.com

Tags: Kenyan PoliticsBusiness

Read This Entry & More At Kenyanentrepreneur.com
This is an interview that Will-Kill Router gave on Kenya’s looming food crisis. He seems to have some of his facts memorized (x amount of maize was planted, x amounted is needed, etc, etc) - but at the end of the day, Africa’s inability to achieve food security is mainly due to it’s inability to [...]

18:33
Raise the Bar, Expose Kibaki’s Incompetence
From: You Missed This

Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
Reverse logic has an uncanny tendency to look rosy and smell sweet yet underneath lies its potent poison. Take Kenya as a country and the dearth of leadership offered by pretenders to leadership as personified by one DECEPTIVE and INCOMPETENT Mwai Kibaki. Supporters of Kibaki can only succeed in offering his spineless apology by hanging on Raila’s every move. Kibaki’s loyalists live in self denial exemplified by their readiness to catch political cold anytime Raila sneezes.

Juvenile pride of comparing your dad’s hypothetical prowess with others is best and safe inside your skull until it is exposed for what it is. Kenyans have a president whose every move smells nothing but INEPTITUDE and incompetence. But tell that to Kibaki's loud-mouthed choir boys and girls and the only magic wand their hand can wave is comparative logic disguised as cleverly-clothed epithets that iss meant to gloss over the DECEPTIVE ways of their sorry face for a human being.

There are leaders and LEANERS. Our THIEF-IN-CHIEF Kibaki definitely belongs to the later category. Emilio’s supporters unwittingly subscribe to what the Germans call schadenfreude - that evil little pleasure you draw from your competitor’s slip (imagined or real) with the prime objective of covering your personal inadequacies. Theirs is akin to American Republicans rejoicing in the raunchy revelations about Bill Clinton and his favourite intern Monica Lewinsky.

Commanding deranged spouse
Often shallow criticisms of Raila among Kibaki’s loyalists amounts to lesser minds reducing a superior competitor to their level and promptly beating her with the primitive experience. Examples abound of schadenfreude among spectators of sport displayed overtly or covertly. Just ask any Chelsea or Arsenal fun what ails Manchester United and your cup will be left overflowing with litany of fictional inadequacies dressed as pseudo facts. The singular reason being poorly clothed envy –comeuppance, the great medicine for our own ills.

No great leader ever led by proxy nor innuendos. Reactionaries are best known for their gaffes and least for their creativity. Being proactive is an alien doctrine in their arsenal of vices. You cannot claim leadership of a country when your backyard is exclusively commanded by a deranged spouse who cannot be rehabilitated by the best doctors at Mathare mental facility.

Give Raila all the Roman Holidays (English version of Schadenfreude) you wish but the truth remains your idol for THEFT extraordinaire won’t smell any fresher. He may hide his LETHAL INADEQUACIES in such catchy buzzwords as delegation but none of that will sanitize his incompetence.

Even from her deathbed, she was determined to snatch away her best friend's husband

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13:53
Where 2.0: Data Overload and Some Announcments
From: White African

Tags: Business
Read This Entry & More At White African
Where 2.0 has started. One series of speakers down, and much more to come. I have the distinct impression that I’m going to have some serious information overload by the end of the day…

I thoroughly enjoyed Adrian Holovaty of EveryBlock’s talk. His partner Paul wrote a couple pieces on rolling your own maps recently that I loved. They’re breaking down the reliance on the mega mapping API’s (Google, Yahoo, MS) as the only way to show your geographic data. Adrian also talked about something that I often think of; using more than just points in showing map data. We need more polygons (ex: heatmaps) and lines.

Nokia’s Michael Halbherr, head of Location Based Services (LBS) did a short talk on Ovi, their platform for seemless mapping integration between mobiles and the web. He made a point of saying that Nokia is mobile/guidance centric, not web/location centric.

Next up was Sean Gorman, who is doing some really interesting things with his organization(s) FortiusOne and Geocommons. His biggest thoughts/concerns were over dealing with massive data sets and the emerging semantic web. To that end he announced Finder!, which I have to admit seems pretty slick. His demo was showing how you could mashup private data sets (your company’s local sales data) with open census data, all available for download as KML, CSV or shape files. It’s slick, go sign up for the beta.

Last up was John Hanke of Google Earth, who announced two items:
- Google Earth’s Geo Search API launching
- GIS data relationship with ESRI in ArcGIS 9.3
John mentioned that, “maps help us organize, plan, provide context and decide.” I think that’s what has made me love maps since I was a kid, and why I’m so interested in the ability to do dynamic and real-time mapping.

For thoughts and analysis on what is happening here at Where 2.0, I’ll pass you off to some mapping gurus:

Off the Map
All Points Blog
Mapufacture Blog
Google Earth Blog
The AnyGeo Blog
High Earth Orbit
Very Spatial

10:51
The Secret to Working Beyond the 20 Hours Per Week Work Limit
From: The Displaced African

Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African

NB: Please refer to the comments section and visit Mwalimu and the Mwalimu Blog for more information on this topic.

After brilliant guest posts from Acolyte and Seinlife that touch on this subject, I felt that this post was in order. After all, it’s something that almost every international student must encounter at some point.

In the USA and in Australia, when you come over as a student, your student visa and work permit only allow you to work 20 hours every week during the school semester. In Australia, once the holidays are in effect, you can work as much as you want. I don’t know what the case is during holiday time in the US (leave a comment if you know), and I don’t know what the situation is in the UK in general - perhaps, sci-culturist, you can help me out with this one.

Now with that being the case, I know that a lot of you will immigrate and proceed to work way more than 20 hours during the school term. In truth there is no complex secret or rocket science should that be your choice. There are basically two things that you should keep in mind, should you choose to do this:

1) It is NOT the Most Important Thing

Whether or not you violate this rule isn’t the most important thing: how you are performing at school IS. From the stories I have heard, people who are caught for “over-working” aren’t usually initially investigated on account of their occupational habits. The investigation usually begins because:

a) The student is falling behind on attending lectures and tutorials.

b) Their grades are slipping.

As they investigate this, if they find out that you have been substituting the books for nursing and handyman gloves, it’s back on the boat with you. I know many people who came here on student visas and violated the 20 hour work limit week after week after week but were never caught because they were also model students.

If you are an A+ (well it’s High Distinction, but you get the point) student who attends all classes, lectures and tutorials, the chances of you being caught out for working a couple extra hours a week goes down dramatically.

That having been said though, don’t forget:

2) You’re Violating the Rules

If you get caught, there will be consequences. You might be detained and deportation is a definite possibility. Therefore, should you chose to constantly violate this rule BE CAREFUL. I know, this second secret fits in the d’uh category, but it needs to be said. BE CAREFUL. What this means is:

a) At the risk of being redundant to the nth power: Let NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING get in the way of your education. It’s the main reason you are here. Not the good life. Not the prayer conferences. Not to work (at least not yet). You came here on a student visa and as far as the nation of Australia knows that’s the only reason you’re here. Don’t give them any reason to bring this into question (refer to tip number one)

b) This one falls under the “I heard it through the grapevine which isn’t always accurate category”: Don’t go blabbing about your student visa situation to all and sundry. Keep it to yourself as much as you can and only share it with people you trust. There is a hotline where immigrants get reported for violating any Australian rules and laws, and apparently there are monetary reward for doing so. So don’t tempt those who may be aware of this and going through a stretch of poverty.

Be aware that should your employer be aware of the situation, they may want to take advantage, so make sure you trust your employer. Also, don’t tell your employer about it and then go and annoy him somehow.

In short, keep your head down and your nose as clean as you can.

And that’s it. I know, no mind-blowing, over the top secrets! But these secrets WILL get you from student visa to permanent residence or back home with an unblemished record. And both are much better than the fate that has befallen those who didn’t heed the above words.

For other secrets to thriving while living in the diaspora make sure you stay in the loop through Real Simple Syndication or regular inbox updates.

Keep your nose clean my friend,
Mwangi

10:34
Yet Another Milestone
From: My Life is...Mochalicious!

Read This Entry & More At My Life is...Mochalicious!
birthday card Originally uploaded by Mocha! Last year proved to be the best and worst year of my life so far……but it turned out to be more better that expected. The good bits outweighed the bad bits. I am soo looking forward to the future and spending it with Mr Mocha. So….today, he took me out for a quick [...]

9:10
Raila's Eventful Homecoming Bash: What Would He Have Done Different?
From: You Missed This

Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
By Kumekucha Correspondent
Although I admire Prime Minister Raila Odinga for the selfless role he played in widening the democratic space in Kenya, championing the cause of the voiceless and the statesmanship he showed when President Kibaki stole an election victory from him, his just-concluded homecoming party in Kisumu failed to address pertinent issues that directly affect his own people.

Judging by the furious reactions that greet any comments perceived by his fanatical supporters to be negative, I’m aware that what I’ll say here will not be sweet music to them. But that is democracy. As much as Raila’s supporters are entitled to their own views, they should in the same breadth respect alternative views – whether they agree with them or not.

Raila’s home-coming party was of major significant. He was the second person after Mzee Jomo Kenyatta to occupy the post of PM. Raila is a man who has selflessly fought for democracy for the Kenya people. He has been detained for a total of eight years by retired President Moi. Raila has spent more years of his political career in the Opposition than in the Government. And he won the hearts of many Kenyans and the international community when President Kibaki shamelessly stole the presidency from him in the last December 27 General Election and he humbled himself to the lesser post of PM for the sake of the Kenyan people and the nation.

The new PM deserved the home-coming bash. However, Raila home-coming parties on Saturday and Sunday largely dwelt on raw politics and self-glorification. Matters that directly affect millions of lives in the Luo Nyanza - development and economy, education, the shameful poverty, the untapped fishing industry that is Lake Victoria’s goldmine for Luos, the need to tone down high-voltage politics by the residents of Nyanza and go back to their farms and businesses to uplift their living standards, etc etc – took a back seat. The home-coming parties were turned into a hero-worshipping affair and Raila loved it.

Being a PM with executive powers and with the majority MPs in Parliament, Raila wasted a good opportunity over the weekend for he failed to explain to his people how they will benefit from the Coalition Government he laboured so hard to put in place. Had I been in Raila’s position, I would have seized the occasion to tell my people my vision for uplifting the economy of Nyanza and the pathetic living standards in the region.

Kenyans watched Raila on TV being at pains to explain to his supporters which of his MPs got which ministry portfolio. That’s fine. But he should have gone ahead and explained what benefits his people were going to reap by having the region represented in key decisions of the coalition government.

Had I been Raila, I would have told the huge crowd that turned up to fete him that I would convene a meeting of political leaders, professionals and top brains from the region to come up with a blue-print of turning around the economy of the region for the benefit of the common man. Raila must realise that his supporters can’t feed on raw politics from January to December year in year out.

It’s a known fact that Nyanza region – especially Luo Nyanza – lags behind in development despite producing some of Kenya top brains. The region has been neglected by successive post-independence governments and this has been linked to the abrasive kind of politics played by leaders from the region.

I liked Raila’s plea to his supporters to change their long-held mentality of being in the Opposition and know that they were now firmly in the Government. Since Kenya attained independence in 1964, Luo Nyanza has been the bedrock of Kenya’s Opposition and this has impacted negatively in the economic development of the region.

Together with Thika, Luo Nyanza has the highest rate of HIV/AIDs infections in the country. Apart from individual performances by students, Luo Nyanza scores poorly in overall performance in national examinations. After Kenya attained independence, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s rallying call to his own Kikuyu community was that they should go back to their farms. He also spoke about hard work every time he took the podium to address his people. Luo Nyanza needs water supply, good infrastructure, industries etc.

Instead of sitting down and mourning about neglect, leaders of this region should sit down and chart the way forward for their community. This should have been the focus of Raila’s key note address to his people.

How will the Luo community or other communities benefit from their MP flying the flag? It’s time it dawned on Kenyans who abandon their daily chores at the expense of politics that the real beneficiary of ministerial and public service appointments are the individuals and their immediate family, and sometimes a few of friends and sycophants.

The thousands who turned up at the home-coming parties should reflect on what they personally achieved after braving the scotching sun to give Raila a hero’s welcome, crown him a Luo elder and listen to empty political speeches. Next time an MP or a Cabinet Minister or the PM holds such a bash, the people who will attend should tell the politician that: “we are happy you have realised your political dreams, but now tell us how we, as your loyal supporters, are going to benefit from the job we fought so hard for you to get.”

The benefits of the public offices held by the MPs should trickle down to the common man just in the same way the MPs keeps demands that the benefits realised by the Government trickled down to the common man. It’s not a question of MPs bursting their bellies with food while the people who fought for them to get the plum jobs die of shameful poverty.

Unless Raila dwells less on being glorified like a semi-god and focuses more on real issues that affect his subjects in Luo Nyanza and the rest of Kenya, he’ll realise when its too late that he is on a self-destruction path.
Crazy goodbye for dumped byfriend who loved too much

Even from her deathbed, she was determined to snatch away her best friend's husband

Check out Kasarani.com, a new way to meet and keep in touch with Kenyans worldwide. You can even start your own blog on Kasarani! Click here to go to Kasarani.com now

7:16
The Grand Illusion
From: Kenyanentrepreneur.com

Tags: Kenyan PoliticsBusiness

Read This Entry & More At Kenyanentrepreneur.com
The Nation and the Standard finally have similar stories on the procession of this grand coalition illusion. From what I read, they’re basically going to try and get along and blah, blah, blah….. The roles however, about who is number one or number two (is it Kibaki or Raila?) are still left undefined. And you [...]

6:02
Sessional Paper No. 10
From: Kenyan Pundit

Tags: Kenya

Read This Entry & More At Kenyan Pundit
Interesting analysis of how the (in)famous Sessional Paper no 10 authored by edit Tom Mboya (mea culpa for previously attributing to Kibaki and thanks to those who corrected, great background on Mboya can be found here) is relevant to the current situation in Kenya. EDIT: (Woz, here’s a better link, Cheers). Full text [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Sessional Paper No. 10", url: "http://www.kenyanpundit.com/2008/05/13/sessional-paper-no-10/" });

5:55
Next CMA minefield
From: bankelele

Tags: ESOP

Read This Entry & More At bankelele
Next CMA minefield
5:38
Wanted
From: bankelele

Tags: NSE investments

Read This Entry & More At bankelele
Wanted

4:16
The 10th Daughter of Gĩkũyũ & Mũmbi - Children of Lone Soldiers
From: Kenyanpoet

Read This Entry & More At Kenyanpoet
Who we are?

We are the 10th daughter of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi
The one spoken of in low rehashed tones
With eyes full of sadistic pity
The one who, without a husband bore outcasts
Casting on stone the traits of children born of men but not of fathers.

We are the daughters of women
Who dared raise their children in a society that looked at them
As rebels of traditions,
Wreckers of holy unions,
Winds of destruction on upright family foundations
We are the daughters of Wamũyũ

We are the seeds of relationships gone cold
Chilly as the wafting wind as it dried a girl’s wet eyes
After the man who, on every trip from the river
Held her behind, in bushes with promises of love and joy
With wild flowers and sweet bush berries
Turning her toes into a painter's hand
That drew figures and imageries on the dry red soil
On hazy sunsets,
At the foot of the valley that separated his and her homes,
He sank into the ground, leaving her with a growing seed

We are fruits of his wild mind
That made her naïve like sheep to a wolf
Begging her to let him in,
Into her heart, into her veins
Knowing only too well
That her heart was a black rose in a beautifully tendered garden of life.

We are the caricature of a grandparent's pet,
Our view of men is as skewed as our view of life
Thinking it will offer you a carpet to step on,
Only for you to walk barefoot on a path laden with rocks, thorns and broken bottles.

We are the young girl who confuses her uncle’s hand under her skirt, to a touch of love
We are the young lady who seeks elusive attention to herself for reassurance of who she is.
We are the woman who despite finding the right kind of man who will respect her,
Constantly forgets as she seeks more attention from men,
With every smile she gives, heartache, unfulfillment and guilt she receives.
We are the child who grows up into a mother, afraid to bring up her kids like she was
And for that, stays in an abusive marriage hiding blows and burns.
The deferred punishment her father never gave her
For she sees a father in her man, not a lover.

Our sons and daughters though scorned at
Are human doves, symbols of love, peace and joy
in between spasms of impatience, egocentric thoughts,
In their hearts, generosity flows like rains from the skies
We are the clan of Wamũyũ
Children of lone soldiers.

N.W
April 2008
kenyanpoet@gmail.com
-------------------------------------------
All rights reserved©“As to the pure mind all things are pure, so to the poetic mind all things are poetical”

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