Fire, Flies and Inkvault!

Flies are generally a nuisance and its no wonder we don't take second looks at them. this weekend however, i took my canon for a fly adventure and got some interesting shots. suffice to say, i've never seen flies like i did this time. i just wish i had the macro lens, then i could have gotten real superb images of the coloured wings and the shiny surfaces, the lightweight wings etc. saving for that lens....

i also opened the inkvault design agency office and was painting it red. literally! took some shots so that when we're flying high and mighty, they can remind us where we came from.

lastly, remember those days we were young and we used to be warned "ukicheza na moto, utajikojolea?" well, i did play with fire but didn't see those consequences. i think fires create incredible photos. And still on those olden days, who remembers this ka-thinghy we used to ride... play "safo" with, the one you were bought for after 6 months of endless pleading!

Mr. Bones Size - Form or Function?

Poor Rachel was so disappointed when she discovered that Daniel's (her man) 24 inch was a TV!

As a normal milestone when solving a design problem, i'd ask myself if the end design should be more of function than beauty or the other way round. Most design applications stress function over form. Only recent trends such as miniaturization of mobile phones stress the form aspect. Still on this trail of thought, it occurred to me that alot of people (men and women alike) give so much undue attention to the size of Mr. Bones, easily forgetting that this is one product (!) that was manufactured with a unique, all-round form but infinite possibilities of where (and sometimes how) to function. Its called Genius Design.

Alot of jamaz have taken advantage of these multitude of "form over function" believers so now one out of a dozen sites you visit has a pop-up (appropriately) enticing you to try the new revolutionary enlargement technique. Guaranteed 2 weeks results! No side effects come as a bonus! All-Natural they claim!

Nao, sijui kama women also have such complimentary techniques to worry about - but when a jama is bombarded with these endless ads of a "perfect" form, generally agreed by ISO standards to be above 12", you find yourself questioning the adequancy or inadequancy of your Mr. Bones. Every time you read that ad - if you'll read it that is - you feel the shrinkage. A little background research however will have revealed to you that its all a scam - even a 4" wheel can drive you from nairobi to mombasa and back.

It's how you drive on that wheel that matters.

Afterthought: I was tempted to put an accompanying graphic (sic) to this post, but it would have been inadequate. Sorry, inappropriate!

Still processing the thought....

8 on Me

So Mocha deemed it fit to tag me and i was for some 8 seconds trying to think, what 8 things about me can i say, and what 8 things i definitely cannot reveal to the blogosphere. So i came up with my list - after revising it 8 times to weed out those "frank" points. Before we dwelve into my 8, here are the RULES:
1)WE HAVE TO POST THESE RULES BEFORE WE GIVE YOU THE FACTS.
2)PLAYERS START WITH 8 RANDOM FACTS/HABITS ABOUT THEMSELVES.
3)PEOPLE WHO ARE TAGGED NEED TO WRITE THEIR OWN BLOG AND THEIR 8 THINGS AND POST THESE.
4) AT THE END OF YOUR BLOG POST, YOU NEED TO CHOOSE 8 PEOPLE TO GET TAGGED AND LIST THEIR NAMES (Scared yet…..you better be!)
5)DON’T FORGET TO LEAVE THEM A COMMENT TELLING THEM THEY ARE TAGGED, AND TO READ YOUR BLOG

Now…..

Papier!!
i have an endless affinity to papers. Any type of papers, bond, classic, rough, pastel, embossed, artmatt, gloss, you get the idea. i can tell how any paper will react to ink, paint etc just from touching and looking at it. I wish i could do the same for the women i meet!

B.I.G.
i have an obsession with the Notorious BIG. I keep finding myself rapping his rhymes on my evening walks, at the traffic lights, at work! I think the jamaa was just too deadly in his lyrics and perspectives. If i could infuse abit of his influence to my poetry, that would be grand.

Organized is Relative
I am EXTREMELY sensitive about my stuff and where i put them. if i put the vase upside down, there's good reason for it, don't come and put it back up. Sometimes my place looks like Gaza but i know where every little item is. Someone trying to make it "neat" disturbs the whole mind map i have of the place.

Muziki
I love all kinds of music. Benga, hiphop, samba, jazz, dancefloor, crunk, groove, classical, soul, neosoul, r&b, zouk. i have dozens upon dozens of very varied music from all over the world and my playlist can randomly jump from BIG to Manu Chao to Pepe Kale. The only thing i can't stand? Rock.

Creativity
I have "creative" seasons where my idea sources peek and am on a roll in terms of work, social and every other thing i seem to do. This is from May til end July. Most of my poetry from way back revolves around these seasons. If there was a way to keep it in a jar and unleash it anytime i want, i'd pay handsomely to get it done.

Hauz by the Beach
I keep wishing that i had a beach house at the coast where every morning i'd rise up to the sashaying of the waves breaking and the sun rising from the horizon, run a mile or two in the breathtaking scenery and come back to a refreshing glass of pinacolada! Then i snap back into reality!

Rewind that
If i was given a choice of one project that i think i could have done better, it would been the Dedan Kimathi memorial. I could have first not even considered the horrible railings they've put round it, i could have made the lights something of an attraction and the statue itself would have stolen the show out of the entire Kimathi street. And trust me, out of the 4 million; i could have change left to get the City Council new contemporary railings to put round the city.

My Insignificance
Every time i fly i realize just how insignificant we are and the whole irony of how some people feel like they've fikad hits me. As the plane leaves the ground and things gradually become smaller to vanishing point, my ego does the same. I feel humbled looking at stretches and stretches of clouds and wonder, just how does God view us?

Ahem, now that i've done my 8, the following hawana bahati:
Elusive Serina
Altaego
Kipusa
Fadzter
Vee
Bank
Makanga
Last but not least……Akiey

Visions of WAPI & July Njevee!

I don't know if I'll survive another 2 months in this Nairobbery city. Too many things are working to hasten my demise. Alot of these are uncontrollable. Cold, darkness, tremors, no-smoking zones! Still in the middle of this survival gig, am happy that atleast si mimi peke yangu going through these. Jana i was rushed out of a meeting in Anniversary towers coz "someone" mentioned "Earthquake!". The whole building was evacuated and most of us called it a day.

WAPI 13 (or Version 2.0) was this past sato and here are the pics. Juz a few pointers. The dark chic huku down, i LOVE that smile, shiiiiiish! If we were those days of films, i could waste a whole roll of 36 exposures on you! Now in my digital age, I think i spent 350mb of my 1 gig memory stick on her!

Secondly, the most bottom pic is the winning grafitti for the past wapi. The theme this time was "Visionaries" and i wasn't so impressed with the graf. What impressed me though was the Red Grafitti by Swift second last below, damn genius i tell you!

My boy alvin of Urbanphunk has been putting out really great streetgear, pip below.

Pic 7 is Pointblank blessing the mic and pic 9 is Bafu Chafu wooing the crowd. Pic 8, Essen representing the Can! Pic 6 is one of thse observations I have in the middle of chewing lock. The whiteboard advertising food is very badly written and am thinking, here's a forum of artists, graphic designers, graff artists you name it and one lousy looking board!

Nappies & Hard Kicks!

This can happen only in Kenya. I've laughed my head off reading this article and thought it too amusing so am going ro reblog it here. Verbatim.

From BBC: Donkey owners in the Kenyan town of Limuru are up in arms over an order from the municipal authorities that their animals must wear nappies. The council said the measure would come into effect on 16 July to ensure the town's streets are kept clean. But recent press coverage and outrage from the town's residents has led the authorities to put their plans on hold. "If we have to put nappies on our donkeys, soon they will say our cows need them too," one donkey owner said.

Limuru's mayor, James Kuria, says: "We must come up with a way to make sure that the droppings are not a nuisance." Another donkey owner, Kimani Gathugu, who lives in the town some 50km north-west of the capital, Nairobi, says the measure is not practical and the council would do better to employ more street sweepers.

Noting the vital role played by donkeys in the community, he says: "Donkeys are very important. Not many people have cars in the area and the donkeys serve as a mode of transport."

Another resident, John Kinyanjui, says: "The council itself has workers. They can do the sweeping. We are paying taxes." Water trader Simon Kamau, who uses donkeys to transport water to his clients utters: "In all the three years I have been in this business, I have never tied a nappy on a donkey. "The problem is that the donkey can give you a fatal kick. I was once kicked by a donkey and it broke my leg. "What the council should do is come to us traders and show us how to tie the nappies on the donkeys," Mr Kamau says Mr Kuria though seems determined to push on with his plan. "I have heard that in some areas where they keep donkeys, they also have nappies," he said. "We will go to these areas and see how they do it and come back and show our people how to do it. We want the people to earn a living but at the same time we must keep our town clean."

End of article.

Now that's real life practicals for you. And kudos to our fat leaders for their "smart-ass" thinking! Yes, that's supposed to be sarcasm.

-------

photo courtesy of http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6902309.stm

The Perfect Marriage Proposal

Kipusa, here's the answer....

Breakfast kwa hot air balloon on top of the Mara and as you both glide past the green expanse, she notices down there, her name. On a closer look, she realizes it’s written from a herd of white rhinos (am still thinking the execution of this) and the “Will You Marry Me?” is carved out of the green with dried thatch, Masai Morans at one of its four ends.

Rewind <<
Previous night. I had a night safari with her (not that kind) and exchanged love pleasantries at the edge of the turquoise pool reflecting the majestic Longonot on the surface of its ripples.

Back to Now

The balloon hovers over the question, your heart hovers over the response, hers hovers over the proposal. The ring hovers over the balloon burner, suspended in a helium love-shaped balloon with her name and yours printed on it. If she says no, it stays put. If she says yes, you pull the trigger on the side of the khaki edge and it deflates to release the ring down to where the two of you are standing. Waiting for it. With two glasses. And the longest (and highest) kiss you’ve ever had.

Pepo Kato Sio Kavu

-Jibu la Shairi Pepo Kavu, na Serina-

Maneno yako daftarini yaliniteka
Karatasi kuligeuza fikra na fikra kuzigeuza moto
Mbona maisha kama pepo kavu?
Wala mie singenena kila pepo na mda wake
Sie mie nakujua utokapo?
Bali kama jibu lingekuwa hilo
Najua halingekutosha ng’we!

Sababu ikawa
Ulimwengu keshakufunza
Kuyawinda maneno matupu
Kuyachuja kutoka yale mazito
Lakini hisia vipi kuzikataa?
Kukosa na kutamani
Chanzo cha utesi wako

Kukosa mashauri yenye faida
Gumzo na furaha toka ndani
Ucheshi, mimi, wewe
Duh! Tukawa kama zamani!

Tukawa kama mawimbi baharini
Yakivuma na kutulia
Kupanda na kushuka
Nasi vivyo hivyo
Hisia na ndoto zetu
Kusafiri mpaka kutua
Zilazapo ufuoni

Nikwambie sasa
Ukavu huu si ukavu
Bali mfano tu kama vile ndoto
Ila ndoto zile zetu sio kavu

Japo wazo unakuteka na kukuhamasisha hivi
Basi ukavu utoke wapi?
Lakini hisia vipi kuzikataa?
Kukukosa na kukutamani
Sio ndoto mbali kiu utakao pozwa
Pindi wazo utakapotuteka
Na kutuacha pamoja ufuoni

Mwa Bahari La Penzi
Gumzo na furaha toka ndani
Ucheshi wako, utesi wangu
Duh! Tukawa kama zamani!

_________

COPYRIGHT MAZA LENJO 2007 ___

WAPI Pre-Anniv, Daily Dose of Design & Experiments in the Dark

The last wapi happened to be number 12 and so the next one will mark the first anniversary since its inception. Personally, I think a lot has been accomplished at wapi but still a lot more needs to be done in terms of reaching out to underground artists. Specifically, the visual arts have been dwindling in the one year of wapi’s existence and on the surface it seems to be the hustling spirit of visual artists overriding the passion of “free-display”. To say it in other words, visual artists are more in tune with the financial rewards of ventures they get into and very few out there are willing to spend some hours out of their shilling-searching days to give back freely.

However, fashion has become a stronger expression at wapi as you’ll see from some of the photos and so has graffiti – this being the results of competitive challenges arranged by the event organizers. They need to do the same to the visual arts to boost participation coz there are some kick-ass designers out there who need such a forum.

This is the grafitti that stole the show at wapi - congrats to Esen (pic. down there with spraycans)

King Tutankhamun - the Great Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt - by Pointblank! Check out the resemblance with 50! Dude was black!

Nana Yaa Asantewaa - the Great Queen Mother of the Ashanti - by Pointblank!

Another beautiful African queen....

Lil' Superman!

Kiss FM is launching their new newspaper – The Nairobi Star, today. Having built a reputable brand from its radio station, I was expecting the same on the rollout of its premier paper, hence you can relate to my shock when they started advertising the paper using some logo – something that looked miles apart from what the Kiss brand is. Or what it should be. Frankly, it looks more gutter-pressish than anything I’ve seen in the media world. And let’s not forget, true the paper may contain serious content and great journalism pieces and it ain’t about the logo, but if your masthead speaks zilch, that’s a lot of credibility down the drain. Clean, good design has a critical function in marketing. It’s been proven hundreds of times; I thought the folks at Kiss would know this! Anyone at Kiss reading this, holla, I’ll do it for free! Alternatively, visit nytimes.com, thelondontimes.com to get an idea of where you compare!

Nani, even cute chics can graf it up!

Master graf artist Esen, spraying it up!

Nuru Bahati's ill art is something out of this world... and guess what he uses. Ballpoint pen. Bic nakuambia!

Wenyeji - the duo out of Ukoo Flani Mau Mau..... apparently there's alot of inside beef within the Ukoo and Pulse went as far as predicting an implosion with the different cliques that form the supergroup going their own separate ways..... Example Cannibal & Karama from the Coast outfit of Ukoo being termed as not part of the group, and on top of that, they split circa last month to "pursue individual dreams".

Lil' boy's first dombolo-ya-solo groove!

Finally, I’ve gotten totally accustomed to darkness. Next time I travel to kishagi, my granddad would be surprised that am not even asking for the pressure lamp to visit the latrine! Sitting in the dark for long is ideal for three things. The first reason is obvious. The 2nd is what someone called the Breakout principle, where you drain your brain off things you normally think of and in the emptiness that ensues, you get that pure idea breaking out. The third is what I’ve been doing. Playing and experimenting with the camera. Until recently, the flash used to work. Now that it doesn’t, I’ve been tweaking with ISO settings and trying to learn more than just the dial that you press to take the photo. Any lesson? After all that playing, blow out the candle….. the other day I slept on the job only to wake up with a bonfire on top of the cabinet next to the gas cylinder. God has ways to communicate! Am not even sure how I woke up, I just did, and faster than I used to in boarding school with the cane on my back!