east africa – Page 10

QRV de 5Z4

…CQ CQ CQ ….CBS 104.5 FM de 5Z4 is on air! CQ CQ CQ….

>>One afternoon, as he was a repairing his father’s pocket radio, he thought about setting up a small station to play music and entertain his friends. …After while, he was able to create a transmitter using capacitors, resistors, diodes and a host of wires removed from damaged electronics. He then improvised two old record player casings to come up with a mixer. He used an iron plate, a frying pan and a metal rod to make a booster, which he hang on a tree in the compound….He had achieved all this without any formal study of electronics…
CBS FM operates just like any other station with a dawn-to-midnight schedule. With the help of four other volunteers, Otieno and co-presenter Joseph Odhiambo, 21, ensure the station operates non-stop. The five include a reporter who gathers local news for broadcast.
Transmission begins at 5am with Gospel Tunes, a music programme that runs runs up to 6am. The first news bulletin at 7am mainly covers happenings in Oboch and surrounding villages….And just like other FM stations in the country, CBS FM has phone-in sessions, when listeners can phone and request for their favourite songs or contribute to debates moderated by the two.<<

Hongera! True ham spirit is still alive in EAK :-)
Now, doesn’t this initiative deserve some support from the CCK & The Amateur Radio Society of Kenya (ARSK)?

but do I say…

Poxi.

Thank you for Otongolo Time.

Howtoons & SasaSema

Inspired by Hash’ BE on MAKE: magazine, I was just flickrbrowsing MAKE:’s flickrpool and came accross this Howtoons project, which is part of Instructables.com – a website full or step-by-step instructions on how to build your own stuff (searchable by tags!).
Now, since we don’t get this MAKE: magazine over here in Europe (or?), I don’t even know if Howtoons is part of their print edition. However, Howtoons >>are cartoons showing kids of all ages "How To" build things.<<

And that’s exactly when I thought of Lila Luce’ "Sasa Sema publications" from Nairobi, Kenya. In an article in the April 2005 edition of Eve Magazine she is quoted saying: "Philosophy makes you think and use the brain God gave you. The problem with the educational system is that it does not train people to think…. (…) …children need to overcome this by reading good books that make them ask questions….. (….) …Thinking is good because even when you get it all wrong at least you would have used your brain and not borrowed someone else’s."
That’s so true. Both initiatives are just nice. I also think that Howtoons would be a great partner for Sasa Sema Publications…. (ama?)

And then I come back to this basic question that keeps on bugging me: how can we bridge this gap between the Internet and real life?
I mean, Web 2.0 with awesome technologies like AJAX (as used in flickr, basecamp or kiko) are just the tip of the iceberg to bring people closer together. And isn’t this what the Internet is all about? This exchange, the direct interaction as sought-after way back in 1999 when we had those cluetrain discussions going on ("markets are conversations")? This technology has reached a much higher level nowadays which enables us to cooperate on a global scale, yet those things are still just too virtual. Or not? Where’s the connection between the stuff we do on the internet and things that will really have an impact on our life? Where’s the connection between the GTZ/USAID/etc. posting their Ecosan fact sheets & manuals (for instance) on the internet and a sewage treatment plant in Homa Bay, Kenya? How can the web be of any help to distribute knowledge? How can we change something in this world through technologies as used on the internet? Comments please!

msn search loves me

Oh my….oh….oh oh oh….omg!!!!

What exactly is it with MSN and my blog?

I was sitting here, thinking about these two great books I (eventually!) received today ("The Journey Is The Destination" by K.Eldon & "Third Culture Kids" by Pollock and Van Reken) and what I actually want to tell you about those books (in case you never heard of them) when suddenly I had this urgent desire to go through my site stats (as generated by this nice WP plugin)….

Ati??!?!

Seems like MSN search delivers my blog as the primary resource for anything like "KENYA AND PORNOGRAPHY". And someone actually clicked on it so this nini ended up in my shortstats!

Wot? You’re waiting for a picture of naked Bw Kikuyumoja? Tztz…weeeee…… Maneno makali hayavunji mfupa…

Kwani?

Martin Kimani of "African Bullets & Honey" already blogged about the "Funkiest Literary Journal This Side of Heaven" in July 05.

And you know what? Thanks to my secret agent Lady Kikuyumbuzi who provides me with all this funky stuff kama tapes with Kameme FM, interesting sniplets from the newspeahhpaa and other small bubudius to help a mZungu Kiuk in exile get goin’ – I eventually got my own copy of this GREAT book today!
(note to Mbuzimoja: Mapenzi ni kikohozi, hayawezi kufichika. :-)

Let me just quote from Binyavanga’s editorial: "…I prefer to see Kenya as a diverse place which needs diverse conversations: no publication or person can represent all of Kenya’s literary aspirations"…"Kwani? is a place for seekers. Not all seekers. Just some" (…) "I am beginning to see that Kenya (The Parliament and Sections Kenya..) is dying. (…) There is another Kenya growing out of these ashes. It has learnt to need nobody; to be competitive and creative. It speaks Sheng. It is the Kenya we are waiting for."

And then of course you open the book, read some pages and think to yourself: Ati??? WHAT has happened to Kenya? This IS GREAT, that’s what I’ve been waiting for all the time, this is MY GENERATION taking over now. This is part of the new Kenya that actually blogs on the internet, this is Kenya with it’s mobile phone crazyness, it’s language mix-ups (Sheng et al)…. this is what my fellow Europeans need to have in mind when they are speaking to Kenyans. And I also think: the revolution will not be televised, no, it is right here, in the middle of everything and we’re part of it. And it has already started. We are here to ask questions, look back in history and create a positive future. This Kwani?3 book is just part of a new Kenya coming up. And it rocks!

If you happen to live in the London area, pls make sure to check out "AFRICAN VISIONS 2005 – Think Africa: A festival of African Literature, Culture and Politics" taking place at the British Library on October 15th-16th. => "…the UK launch of the exciting Kenyan-based New Writing magazine ‘Kwani?’."

Mbuzimoja, I owe you big times! :-)

kwenda uko!

Some of you might already know this picture Christoph Grandt has published on his picturesque website some time ago.
I’d printed it out the other day and stuck it on the door.
Why? Three reasons:
1. The banana peel next to the signboard. A lovely detail.
2. The message is direct – if you have no-thing to do, do not do it here. (UKIKOSA ????)
3. This is Kenya. I have no additional information on this picture and in fact, I forgot to ask Bw Grandt about details on where exactly he took this pic (maybe in Kitui, as the other pics are from that area). If you look at this signboard, one instantly seems to think that the layout of the letters could have been better ~ is just horrible. Yaaani, I think that some Muhindi businessman draw this "arrangement" with his BIC® on a piece of KARATASI® paper and gave it to a "signboard artist". Now, Kenya being Kenya, the artist might have thought that it would be better to just do the job the way he’s used to. Of course he could have come up with his own idea of how to arrange the whole design/layout, but instead, he apparently just tried to make those letters fit onto the signboard.

And that exactly is the difference between Germany and Kenya, for instance. If you happen to find such an "artist" over here, he would most definitely tell you that it is not possible this way. Instead, he would tell you that he needs a bigger signboard or need to change something about it. And I remain with the question: what’s better?

“Oddities”

>>While you are learning the first nine lessons it is most important that you should learn to pronounce Kikuyu properly. The best way is to get an intelligent educated Kikuyu to help you." (page 51)<<

>>Excercise IX/4/6 – Translate into English: "Nûû ûkûhûra Njoroge? // Key: Who will beat Njoroge? (page 60)<<

WTH????

Is it just me or are there any other people who are wondering about those strange words? They’re from this "First Lessons in Kikuyu" booklet as pictured at the left, by L.S.B. Leakey. (reprint of 1989, ex-1959!). I bought it at a Text Book Center in Nairobi. I think they’re still selling it. Even on Amazon…

Run, Forrest Mbuzi, run…

"Any marathon participant who has not completed the course after five hours will be picked up by a trail vehicle."

Do I need to mention more details on the ~~suicide~~ running business and a certain Mr. Kikuyumoja?? — Baaasi.

Now, this fearless little Mbuzimoja, also known as Lady Kikuyumbuzi, who has recently checked the temperature up on Mount Kenya and who loves strolling Gikomba(a) market for stylish GOLA footwear and other goodies at a good bargain price, today told me that she thinks about taking part in Nairobi’s Marathon. The Half-Marathon, that is.

Weeeh….Wot kind of woman is zzzaaaaht? Is she some sort of Wangari Maathai? Now what’s next? Will she conquer Lake Victoria and swim to Uganda one day?

I’m such a man. Give me a Mugumo tree and I will find a place to sleep. – Women? Ati? Aren’t they the ones supposed to be doing the work?
Now, leave me alone and don’t bother with such silly questions. I am a hard ~~working~~ thinking man and I’ll need to find some sleep. And yes, if you happen to be on your way anyways, (please) make sure to get a nice beer for me. Yes, those cold ones from outside. Sasa, ûka!….ndûrehe maî!

Women. You give them uhuru and they start conqueering the world….and there’s no way we can stop them! And you know what? While they are busy planting trees, fetching water, raising the children and basically running the country (every country!), we’re still looking for the keychain that opens the door to our well-polished NYAYO car. What’s our role? Mbugi ndîkîrîte mûriha! :-)

(@Kikuyumbuzi: I wish I’d be in NBO now…as for the marathon, DO IT. I am your man. I’ll massage your feet when you’re back, I will cook for you and play some music for you. At least something that I can do as well. Mimi.. me i am expert! :-)