Mashada Blogs » April 27, 2009

make mine a double espresso...: Of vampires and werewolves... Straight up delicious looking.

2009-04-27T16:29:00-04:00

I have now shamelessly watched 'twilight' FOUR TIMES!

I didn't get romance movies and books before. The whole "he buried his head in her shuddering blossom while his throbbing..." wasn't appealing at all. However, intense expressions of hurt and betrayal, the anxiety at the prospect of losing one's beloved and the seemingly undying love, i get that now. I get ALL of it. Hence watching twilight four times and finishing the book series (twilight, new moon, eclipse and breaking dawn) in one week. They were really good. And no, Stephanie Meyer- that would be the author, isn't paying me for the marketing!

After finishing the books, i couldn't help but want a vampire and/or werewolf that's crazy over me. In the books, vampires are creatures that do the whole soul mate thing... Even though some of them had to wait decades to find their true love. (Awww...) werewolves on the other hand 'imprint' when they meet the one. They know. Suddenly, the world makes sense, gravity practically changes, the person becomes your world. I think it's just amazing. I did a note on intense type love a sometime back. I would mind if some rogue vampires or whatever wanted to kill me. I want that kind of love. Another plus was, in the movie, the guys who played Edward Cullen (vampire) and Jacob Black (soon to be werewolf) were just straight up delicious looking. If you haven't seen the movie... Stop reading this. Go watch it. Go watch it now.

It would be much simpler. We wouldn't have to go through unnecessary drama, awkward dates, heartbreak and unpleasant sex (ugh...) you'd just meet the one and know. How AWESOME (for lack of a better word) would that be? A fatal attraction. Plus apparently they're good in the sack...

I want my own! So if there's any of ya'll out there. The "cold ones" or the "descendants of wolves"... Hola at me!

Oh. Some of my friends were hating on the movie because it wasn't as detailed as the book. The movies never are... But it helps when the actors are mad fine. Hehehe...

Just in case ya'll missed the point... (mbithi) the emphasis is on the type of love these mythical creatures posses. The fact that they're goodlooking is just gravy!

More to Life: Little bit of this, little bit of ...

2009-04-27T14:30:00-04:00

This year started with some challenges. A good friend survived a brain aneurism. That’s the good news. The bad, we don’t know the extent of the damage. Why, we had all just moved states and where she is at is far away. Our connection to her is, (read was) a boyfriend, who has decided to take all control and cut us off. Why? We didn’t respect her privacy, he says. How did we do that? We shared the news with only very good friends. Point to this? We’re all struggling to find out. Meanwhile, a reunion over the weekend almost brought us to our knees over the issue. The sheer frustration of not being able to reach a friend in her time of need, because someone blocks your access and the worry that accompanies that, it can be very confusing. Plus, I know if she woke up, she’d kick him hard in the nuts for the very behavior. So I feel that he’s abusing her, because he can, because she is ill and unable to protect herself. I have genuine fury over all of this. I just came to the full realization that it was eating at me more than I was accepting over the weekend. Prayer. Prayer. Over all things we have little control over. Still, I can’t help enjoying a mental picture of bumping into him and kicking him – hard!

This swine flu thing is ridiculous. I’m grateful this news breaks after my 3 bouts with flu in the past 5 months. Otherwise, I’d have died from imagining I had the damn thing. Swine flu? How scary is anyone who coughs around you right now?

Raila! After I had just praised his behind for beginning to show maturity. I should have known better. Now he wants fresh elections? In the same country that does not have an electoral board? Are these people seriously this callous? This careless? This insane, this stupid? Are they really this incompetent? Is it truly possible to utter such crap, such potentially dangerous crap and sleep well at night? Soon that country will be an extension of Somalia. Anarchy will rule the day. But quote me later on this. The tides are shifting. Change is coming. Where victory will belong to the upright. And what you hear are the winds of change. And many wolves in sheep clothing will be very exposed. Many of whom just sit back and point fingers from what seems to be far away places from politics. Shake up, shake down, shift and change.

I need some knowledge on something. Not advice, not opinion. Knowledge. If I just knew something so I could decide on something else. Inexperience is killing me here. Being 50 will sure be welcome on matters such as these. And everytime I bring it up to people, they start either blaming my attitude, expectations or habits. Which is all fine if they feel that way. Point is, it’s who I am and that probably won’t be changing anytime soon. All I want to know is, what do you know about this? All I keep getting is, I feel, I feel, I feel. I don’t really care about your feelings on this one. Not rudely, just really. What are the facts? It’s strange how these two questions are not different to most people. I’m sitting on absolute knowledge that I’m about to make a mistake. But I’ll make it with the best knowledge that I have at this time.

Them Mavericks are doing ok! Lebron? Whoa! Duane Wade? Him too. Kobe, not surprising, but damn!

Today, I really feel the distance between me and my mum. I'd like to hug her.

Kenyanpoet: Bantu Mwaura - A poet, thespian, Activist and Lecturer found Dead

2009-04-27T10:32:00-04:00

Bantu Mwaura - an award winning performing artist, director, playwright, storyteller, poet and university lecturer is Dead.

Bantu was found dead outside his gate at the Sunlight estate in Nairobi’s Lang’ata area, on Monday (today) morning. His family had reported him missing on Friday evening.Police are currently investigating the cause of his death.

Bantu was also a very vocal political and human rights activist and a cultural theorist who worked mostly with civil society using theatre and performance in human rights and developmental work.
I last saw Bantu at a TV talk show on KTN as he was discussing with Micheal Oyier on artists and politics, my guess is, that was his last public appearance on National TV.

I got to know Bantu through the monthly Kwani open Mic nights in its early days where he never failed to read one or two of his poetry. Most of his poetic work was in criticism of the Kenyan Political scene through sarcasm.
A fellow thespian and activist, Phillo Ikonya who is also the President of PEN International Kenya conveyed her deep shock as she wrote the news to a google forum for poets of which I am a member.

My heart goes out to his Family at this time. I will post more information as I receive it.

I leave you with an execerpt from his poem, The Politician

The Politician

This donkey is a politician
It don't care
It kicks it owner
Who voted for it!
Toils hard to get kickbacks
From every deal
At the expense of its owner
The voter
This politician is a donkey
It don't care

...

This politician is a praying mantis
It prays and teases
To mate with the male!
But soon as it sucks life's juices
It snaps off the life of its lover
This praying mantis is a politician

You Missed This: Selective Expectations from Speaker Marende

2009-04-27T10:20:00-04:00

Thanks to selective amnesia, we can conveniently forget the cutthroat competition that saw Marende defeat Ole Kaparo for the Speaker post. The same people who fought him hardest are now shamelessly waxing legalistic in demanding impartiality when it suits them best.

Well, while stuck in that mode we can as well order Muthaura to stop attending PNU meetings reminding him that he is a civil servant who must be IMPARTIAL. So can Marende rise up to the occasion to solve a political impasse with pure parliamentary legalese?

Granted, Mr Marende is the Speaker and CEO of the National Assembly which is one of the three pillars of Government. But being a country populated almost exclusively by citizens drowning in national denial, we won’t bat an eyelid to mask the political posturing for all it is.

Slithering in between
All the present political heat are the cumulative cost of an ILLEGITIMATE REGIME which will do anything legal and otherwise to retain the status quo that nourishes all their grand schemes to milk Kenya dry. Leader of Government business is only an appendix in the thrilling sequel of grand deception. Whatever way Marende rules, the political embers will gather the nearest wind and soon graduate to the inevitable INFERNO.

No amount fine legal posturing can ever solve a politically engineered problem. But again this is Kenya where twisted beliefs are firmly founded on the twin vices of FRAUD and DECEPTION. Political errand boys galore and they have no qualms providing their backs for royal rides to oblivion. We haven’t seen anything yet, NA BADO.Kumekucha

tHiNkEr'S rOoM: From The Desk Of The Government Spokesman

2009-04-27T09:06:35-04:00

Jood Good Morning. My name is Alfred ‘The Sailor Man’ Mutua.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to clarify some facts to Kenyans, for as you know the only facts in this country are those that come from my lips. Ha ha!

First of all I object to those who threw eggs at my Volkswagen Jolf. That car cost me a lot of money and I must insist again that all those human rights activists take their activation elsewhere.

I would like to take this opportunity again to remind Kenyans that our officers do not shoot people dead. What happens is that people position themselves just as bullets fired from our officer’s weapons arrive at the particular point at which they have positioned themselves.

I also want to single out the small boy who laughed at the music from my car. Elton Gohn is a timeless artiste.

I would like to assure Kenyans an Ujandans that the following are indeed part of Kenya

Jarissa
Kapenjuria
Mount Kilimangaro
Jatundu
Kakameja
Kagiado
Wagir
Lanjata
JilJil
Bunjoma
Lokichojjio
Muranja
Namanja

Jood Good day Kenyans.

AfriGadget: Toyota Cowrolla

2009-04-27T08:48:41-04:00

Few things make Monday really special. Here’s a photo posted by Alen Wekesa on Twitter. Alen describes himself as a sassy Kenyan who loves advertising, music and the arts. iPhone, Twitter, Facebook junkie. Soon to be millionaire with a big heart for charity. Reliable. He is in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, but I’m not sure where he took this photo. Enjoy! (Sorry for the dud link earlier folks, here’s trying again)

Follow Alen on Twitter @iAlen

Kenya Imagine: Malaria in Kenya: a briefing for World Malaria Day.

2009-04-27T05:26:00-04:00

Malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Kenya; the most vulnerable groups are pregnant women and children under 5. Up to 25 million Kenyans (70% of the population) are at risk of malaria infection.

Leso Munala and Silvia Kariuki have a brief briefing for World Malaria Day. Some of the news is, again, distressing.

Kenya Imagine: Kenya: land of the Lion no longer?

2009-04-27T05:15:00-04:00

Despite growing evidence that it's not just animals but people at risk from Furadan too, the Kenya government has not responded to our reports. Furadan is currently being used to poison birds and fish for human consumption. Working at rice schemes in Bunyala, Martin Odino has documented a cruel and dangerous form of hunting for wetland birds that are sold in the local markets. Likewise, Dino Martins has documented the use of Furadan in Lake Victoria for fishing -- also for the market. Nobody knows how many people are poisoned by this and other pesticide chemicals each year -- we simply don't keep records.

If you thought Furadan was a problem only for lions, Paula Kahumbu has some distressing news.

Kenya Imagine: Sometime in April

2009-04-27T05:05:00-04:00

The other event worth noting came in the person of Mama Sarah Obama, Kenya's poster-woman of delayed but evergreen grandeur.

Jesse Masai has a characteristically droll take on recent matters of faith.

Kenyan Pundit: Feed & spam issues fixed

2009-04-27T05:03:26-04:00

My feed issues should be resolved and you shouldn’t see any spam now on your mobile browser.

The blog had been hacked by spammers.

Thank you everyone who pointed out the errors.