Just in case you are planning on doing a spot of climbing on Mount Everest make sure you stay away from a Russian leading a huge pack of people instead be sure to stay next to the American with a large thermos of Kepeta’s finest.
Or just stay at home and cook some chapos or something.
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1 comment Wednesday, May 31st, 2006 at 5:08 AM
Introduction
On June 1st 2006 Kenyans everywhere will be celebrating Madaraka Day. Madaraka Day commemorates the day that Kenya attained internal self-rule following an important milestone on the road to independence. To mark this event we would like to invite KBW bloggers to blog in unison under the banner ‘Kenyan Bloggers’ Day‘.
Why?
We have been inspired by Keguro’s and Black Looks’ and Mshairi’s call to action in respect of the East African Standard raid and International Women’s day respectively. Additionally, the level of support and interaction shown by our members in response was outstanding and we therefore, recognise the value of collective blogging.
With this in mind we wish to use collective blogging as means of celebrating the nation that unites us as bloggers.
How to Get Involved
On or before June 1st 2006, we are proposing that we all create a post on any or all of the following suggested topics:
The post can be a piece of prose – 2 lines, an essay, a poem, a podcast, a photograph, your favourite quote. It is entirely up to you how you chose to celebrate this day.
You do not have to be Kenyan, just a member of KBW.
Visiting the KenyaUnlimited Admin blog for more information including a list of bloggers taking part and for instructions on how to upload the button.
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Add comment Tuesday, May 30th, 2006 at 4:58 PM
Kenyatta University Pirates celebrated a 64-57 win over counterparts Terrorists of the University of Nairobi in an entertaining basketball Premier League game at Nairobi’s Nyayo Stadium on Sunday.
Thus begins a routine sports report in the Daily Nation. Hang on, maybe not so routine. Which insensitive, out of touch, inconsiderate person is responsible for naming the University of Nairobi basketball team “Terrorists”? That name has to change now. I do not know how long the varsity team has been called Terrorists and I am hoping it is way longer than 8 years because I refuse to believe that after August the 7th 1998 someone somewhere thought it would be clever to name a sports team, in Nairobi no less, Terrorists.
Symbols are strong. Names are strong. The University is named after the city, not the other way around. Show some respect students.
Remember: At least 219 people were killed in Nairobi that day, by terrorists, in cold blood. 207 of them Kenyans and more than 4000 were injured.
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2 comments Monday, May 29th, 2006 at 11:15 PM
There is nothing noble in being superior to some other person. True nobility is being superior to your former self.
Hindu Proverb
I’m not the man I could be, and I’m certainly not the man I want to be, but thank God I’m not the man I used to be.
Martin Luther King Jr
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3 comments Monday, May 29th, 2006 at 3:57 AM
It looks like Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o shares the faith. Eto’o believes an African team can win the World Cup in Germany.
Despite the absence of Nigeria and Cameroon at next month’s tournament, Eto’o said there was plenty of potential in Ghana, Angola, Tunisia, Togo and the Ivory Coast.
“I think all the African teams that are there are there for a reason. They have the means to live their dreams and go all the way. But they need to believe.”
Here is a guy who just had the season of his life. If there is anyone who has just cause to be aggrieved with missing out on Germany it is Eto’o. He would have been one of the players of the tournament. He was a just a penalty kick away from qualifying for the World Cup. In short he has a lot to be bitter about. Regardless he made it clear where he stood and gave the African teams that made it to the World Cup his support and endorsement.
Compare that with the childish, silly El-Hadji Diouf. Here is a former African Footballer of the Year who like Eto’o missed out on World Cup qualification with Senegal.
“The wrong teams are going to the World Cup. If you have seen Ghana, and then you see Cameroon, Senegal and Nigeria, you know the wrong team is going.”
What a complete muppet. Putting aside for a minute the stupid argument about “wrong teams” Diouf simply does not have the pedigree to talk like this. If it had come from a Nigerian or Cameroon player it would have an equally stupid argument but a little bit more forgivable. After all Nigeria and Cameroon have qualified again and again and again and have represented Africa well. Senegal has qualified only once. We all got behind them when they went to Japan/Korea why the hell can’t Diouf display the same courtesy he was afforded to his fellow professionals?
Eto’o = true champion
Diouf = complete clown
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6 comments Thursday, May 25th, 2006 at 1:58 PM
What kind of world are we living in when people are taken to court for sunbathing nude in their own back gardens? Someone should sue her neighbour for videotaping her naked and wasting police time.
Meanwhile in Scotland a woman was banned from answering her front door in her underwear. Under the interim order she could be jailed for six months if she is seen in her garden, at her window or at her front door “wearing only her undergarments”.
For crying out loud if it is my flipping door, I will answer it how I flipping want, wearing what I flipping want! Argh!
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2 comments Thursday, May 25th, 2006 at 1:39 PM
It has been a fantastic year for African football. Egypt 2006 was the best African Cup of Nations Tournament in a long time. In terms of quality on the pitch the improvement from Tunisia 2004 was astounding. I remember watching a match with friends on TV during Tunisia 2004 and then switching to a Premiership match half way through. The gulf in quality was immediately noticeable and embarrassing. In Egypt 2006 things were suddenly reversed. Influential football journalists gradually switched their attention from the domestic European game to the African tournament. As one guy on TV said why would you sit through Charlton v Everton when you could be watching Cameroon v Ivory Coast? (Another journalist who was sent to Egypt to cover the tournament was heard complaining to his editor back in England, “I’ve been here two weeks and all we’ve had to cover is good football and not one decent witchdoctor story.” Hehe! )
In the Champion’s League final, a match that featured the best striker in Europe, Henry, the best player in South America, Ronaldinho, and the best player in Africa, Eto’o, the African shone brightest.
In the Premiership you have Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba leading the forward line for Chelski. Drogba’s countryman Kolo Toure is the rock of the Gooners defence assisted by yet another Ivorian, Emmanuel Eboue. At Liverpool Mali’s Mohamed “Momo” Sissoko has established himself as a vital part of what is probably the most dynamic midfield at a football club anywhere on the planet. At Nantes FC, Kenya’s own Dennis Oliech, is a fast rising star, banging the goals in.
So far, in 2006, so good. But the Big One is only a few weeks away and when you look at the draw for the World Cup you have to worry.
Our strongest team on paper in this year’s tournament is the Ivory Coast. But they are in a heck of a strong group. The biggest thing Ivory Coast have to worry about is themselves. Will they get stage fright at their first every World Cup? Will their nerves hold? Will they manage to keep their discipline? Will the strong team spirit stay intact? If the deal with these things they will go far. I see them qualifying with Holland out of their group. Final group position: second.
Angola are enigma. They played very attractive football in the qualifiers. All one touch, passing to feet, moving into space. Solid and fluid stuff. But in Egypt we saw they lacked the killer punch. The one player who could bang them in. If, for example, Lua Lua was Angolan them this team would be 50% more dangerous. After Senegal spanked France last time round I see the revenge of the former colonies continue in Angola beating Portugal. If they do that (and that would be a massive upset) then they will do all right. If they get spanked by Portugal however, zero points is a possibility. Final group position: second.
Ghana, Ghana, Ghana. I’ve been on the Ghana bandwagon ever since Adebi Pele and his Vegebom adverts and Anthony Yeboah’s ridiculous goals for Leeds in the Premiership. This is another team that played well in the qualifiers but choked in Egypt. To be fair the draw was not kind to them in Egypt and it is even worse now. The one thing they need to draw on is teamwork and a “one team no stars” ethic. The Ghanaian government is certainly helping. Each member of the squad has been promised USD 20,000 for EACH game they win. The more cynical pundits predict that the Ghanaian government will not have to write a single check. I just want them to beat the USA so that Freddie Adu wishes he had choosen to play for Ghana. (Yes I know he is no where near making the USA squad, just work with me here.) I wish they win they win the group. Dammit these guys owe me for my loyalty! Final group position: third.
Togo. Ummm yeah, well. The BBC’s Durosimi Thomas says it will be a miracle if they win one game. I agree. I would love to see the revenge of the former colonies extend here as well but it looks unlikely. The one thing Togo had was team spirit, camaraderie. Striker Emmanuel Adebayor, the top African goalscorer in last year’s World Cup qualifiers, seems to have let it all go to his head and he has destroyed all that. I was hoping playing next to Henry at Arsenal would teach him some humility, maybe next year. Final group position: last.
Tunisia are irritating. They qualify every time, they get beaten every time. Tunisia is a team that knows its place. It knows when it is not expected to win, so they do not. They know when they are supposed to win, so they do. I hope this time they go with a do or die attitude. Roho Juu. They will spank Saudi Arabia and lose to the two UEFA teams, and in four years time they will qualify again. And get spanked again. Final group position: third.
My predictions are optimistic. I have two African teams going through to the second round. Most people predict a complete blow out with not a single African team making the knock out stages. Angola v Iran and Tunisia v Saudi Arabia being the only two games Africa has even a small chance of winning. If they do not win those then the dreaded nul points is a possibility. Zero points. I am always the optimist however.
Mungu abariki Africa! Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika! Etc etc!
technorati tags: googlebombingforalaa|world cup|africa
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7 comments Wednesday, May 24th, 2006 at 10:51 PM
666 6666, not the number_of_the_beast but the world’s most expensive phone number. Price: 1.5 million pounds. Some people just do not know what to do with their petrodollars do they! Imagine you pay all that money for that number and when your people try to call on a Friday afternoon they get, “mteja hapatikani …” I’d go mad.
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1 comment Wednesday, May 24th, 2006 at 6:33 PM
Sorry, it was our fault.
It wasn’t the referees fault, although he was very very dodgy. It wasn’t Lehmann’s fault, although what the hell was he thinking when he executed a perfect rugby tap tackle in a football game. It wasn’t Henry’s fault, although he missed more chances than the number on the back of his shirt. It wasn’t UEFAs fault, although they seem to appoint match referees who seem to be recent arrivals on earth.
No no, no one else is to blame for the Gooners going down. It is our fault. Not mine personally, although some have taken to calling me the Prophet of Doom. No, it is our fault collectively.
African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto’o has revealed that Barcelona summoned the spirit of Liverpool to come from behind to beat Arsenal in the Champions League final in Paris … Eto’o, who was named man-of-the-match for a vibrant striking display which also saw him bring a fabulous save from Arsenal reserve goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, said: “We remembered the spirit of Liverpool. We saw what Liverpool did last year when they were three down. You can’t doubt yourselves in a final. And after half-time we knew we had to come out and fight and, God willing, you can win.”
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9 comments Thursday, May 18th, 2006 at 10:48 AM
Kenyan Pundit assisted by Thinker have launched Mzalendo, Keeping An Eye on the Kenyan Parliament. Find out what it is all about here. Congratulations Kenyan Pundit, I remember when you first mentioned this, the dream has become reality. This is just the beginning. Good things indeed!
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Add comment Wednesday, May 17th, 2006 at 6:19 PM
Inspired by Guess’s brilliant example I decided to go and donate blood. A simple thing that I should do more often that I hadn’t done in a while. The donor centre was a pleasant place with lots of smiling people, friendly nurses and free tea, juice and biscuits.
Before they let you anywhere near the refreshments however you have to donate some blood. Before you can donate you have to fill out a questionnaire and that is when you realise that as a African you are a walking potential health disaster. Here are some of the questions I was asked. If you answer yes to any of them your blood is rejected and you told quietly and firmly to bounce like the muppet you are.
Question 1
Which can be broken down, for me at least, to have you shagged a Kenyan in Kenya. Answer yes to that, even if you have passed a HIV test since then, and you will be told to come back to donate when you have managed to stay away from sex for 12 months.
Questions 2
Which since I wasn’t born in the UK is obviously a yes. They ask me where I stayed. I mention Kenya. Again from their reaction it is clear to see that Kenya is not on any safe list they have.
But these two questions are not the ones that lead to me being marched out. That was down to this:
The double whammy
That would be a yes (I blogged about it here). I was quick to point out that my last Malaria attack was over 10 years ago and surely there must be some sort of statute of limitation. After a consultation they informed me that I could donate but I would have to be screened for malaria each and every time I donated. No problems for me there.
Then this question came up:
Again yes. I was back in Kenya over Christmas and I do tend to travel home once a year.
Well that was that for them. If I couldn’t stay away from Kenya for 12 months and insisted on catching malaria there 10 years ago then my blood was probably more lethal than Jack Bauer on a terrorist hunt.
On the plus side they did allow me to have a free biscuit which after all that I felt I deserved. Does anyone know the rules for donating blood in Kenya? All I remember being asked is if I had HIV/AIDS and/or Hepatitis or something like that. But the nurse said the screened the blood for everything anyway and asked me if I wanted to know the results of my HIV test.
If you want to check just how lethal you are you can do the UK blood donor suitability questionnaire here.
I bet none of you get past question 18 
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15 comments Wednesday, May 17th, 2006 at 2:30 PM
In the last part (for now) in my series of mentoring the Gooners from a small club to a biggish club here is some vital advice before today’s shenanigans with Barca.
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4 comments Wednesday, May 17th, 2006 at 1:49 PM
Introduction
The Kenyan Blogs Webring (KBW) has grown steadily over the past two years and rate of growth increases month on month. We have come to recognise that many of our new members and some of our older members are not aware of the admin team and the role it plays in the running of KBW. This post aims to answer some of those questions and provide an opportunity for you to ask more.
The admin team is made of six bloggers including myself. My colleagues on this team are
We are spread over three continents and 9 time zones reflecting the wide geographical base of the KBW members. In addition, we have a 50/50 gender split on our admin team which again reflects the nature of KBW. This team has been together for almost a year now.
What do we do?
So what do we do? First and foremost, we are the support mechanism for KBW. Either directly though our interaction with bloggers or indirectly through the services we provide on our website KenyaUnlimited. This support ranges from html issues to general blogging advice.
The admin team is also a decision making body. All decisions regarding matters to do with the webring are debated honestly and vigorously amongst us until we come to a decision. An example of some the recent decisions we have taken are the composition, timing, and running of the Kaybees, the Kenyan Blogs Awards.
Apart from these two roles we do general administrative work for the webring, for example,
All of these centred around building a community of and for Kenyan and Kenyan friendly bloggers and raising the level of blogging debate amongst that community.
Admin blog
We have also set up an admin blog where important and appropriate decisions and actions taken by admin regarding KBW will be posted as and when necessary.
Contact us
Each member of the admin team now has a personal email address at KenyaUnlimited. Please feel free to contact me on any KBW matter at my email address which is daudi [@] kenyaunlimited.com. I have sole access to this email address, although I may raise any issues that relate to KBW with my fellow admin members. Our main email address admin [@] kenyaunlimited.com remains the main point of contact for the admin team. Please note that this email address is accessed by all six admin members.
Finally
We want to emphasis that we are here as a support mechanism and not as a controlling body. Our focus is to build on the stable foundations we have laid together with you to turn the Kenyan Blogs Webring into a positive force wherever we and you are. Your suggestions, comments and interaction is not only welcome but highly appreciated.
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4 comments Monday, May 15th, 2006 at 10:36 PM
Another routine win, another season with two trophies. After a mammoth 62 game season to produce a never-say-die performance like that is special. Liverpool FC aaiii kweli we are entertainers. Why win in 90 minutes when you keep the whole country on the edge of their seats for 120 minutes and a penalty shoot out.
As for Captain Fantastic,
what more can we say. The man is in a class of his own.
Liverpool FC, UEFA Super Cup winners 2005 - 2006
Liverpool FC, FA Cup winners 2006
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9 comments Sunday, May 14th, 2006 at 1:25 PM
Things have moved far since I first started blogging. I am part of a Kenyan blogosphere with over 200 members. I am part of a social experiment that is steadily turning into a social movement. I interact daily with people on different sides of the global. My blog is an interactive space, I have learnt a lot from comments and emails. My blog is a space for debate, I have changed minds and had my mind changed, and that is brilliant. Exciting times indeed.
Despite all this constant change and excitement the main reasons why I blog have not changed dramatically, if they have changed at all. First and foremost my blog is my space. I blog about things that interest me, I blog about things that excite me, I blog about the issues I care about. In short I blog for myself.
I may have adopted this seemingly inward looking position towards blogging because when I first started out there were not that many African leave alone Kenyan bloggers online. A comment every other day was brilliant and nine of ten times it would have been one of the few other African bloggers who I interacted with at the time that would have left it. Today things are different. In many ways they have changed for the better. For example, if you start a blog and join an online blogging community, such as KenyaUnlimited, you almost automatically get a large readership and the interaction that comes with it. The KenyaUnlimited aggregator gets thousands of hits per week. Everyone’s blog is displayed equally; whether it is your first day or your fifth year, you will be read, and you will get comments. Back then a lot of blogging time was just me amusing myself.
It has never bothered me that a lot more people read this blog than leave comments. That has always been the case and will always be the case! After all you all can not be interested in everything I am interested in; you have your passions, your own interests and many of you your own blogs where you share those passions and interests. If I never received another comment would I stop blogging? No. If everyone stopped reading would I stop? No. Do I feel you are breaking some sort of mythical “I write, you respond” deal with me? No. Because mainly, I blog for myself.
This is important to me because in blogging there will be times when the interaction is lively, when your blog is a hot bed of activity, when your name is mentioned in positive terms, when it seems that everybody wants to be associated with you. People stand with you virtually, mention you in their “wink winks and nudge nudges”. You can feel like you are on top of the world, if you take all the praise too seriously. But beware for there are times when you feel almost alone, when it seems like everyone is tip toeing around you, when those same people who were quick to associate themselves with you when all was well disappear at the first hint of drama.
If I blog for myself then everything else is secondary as my focus depends on me not on peoples perception of me. During the good days my head will keep me humble, during the not so good days my spirit will keep me smiling. Are 20 comments really better than 2? “Pauca sed matura.” Are 50 friends better than 5? “Pauca sed matura.”
A smile crosses my face; because I have people around me that will never let me get too full of myself, never let me get ahead of myself. This is important because I can get carried away with all the smiles and pat on the backs. You can mistake the warm interaction for true friendship. You can mistake all the positive mentions of your name for a badge of honour. But my true friends warned me, “When things change who will stand with you?” Wise words indeed, from wise friends.
To this group of friends, for your support, for your honest advice, for your jokes that made me smile on dark days, and most of all for being there when it was not fashionable to, for not blowing in the wind, for deciding, for level headedness. Thank you.
Carl Friedrich Gauss, was a German mathematician and scientist of profound genius. His motto was “pauca sed matura” which means “few, but ripe”. He did not mind if he did not produce the same quantity of work as the rest of his peers who would release theory after theory, proof after proof. What he cared about was that the few theories he did come up with were good, that they would stand the test of time, that they were “ripe”.
Few, but ripe. When I do wrong they tell me so. Equally when the chips are down, when what needs to be said has been said, when the time comes for hard decisions, they are rocks of stability. Few, but ripe. I am grateful for true friendships because although they may be few they are ripe. I am grateful for each comment on this blog, because although they may be few, they are “ripe”. During the good days my head will keep me humble, during the not so good days my spirit will keep me smiling. My friends, few, maybe, but ripe, certainly!
Have a good weekend all.
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19 comments Friday, May 12th, 2006 at 5:53 PM