My Posts

Of course when i invited some of my close friends to read my blog, i got mixed reactions. Some of them expected a personal tell-it-all pertaining to my bird's eye view of a certain kampala 'social mosaic' some of you get the drift, exuberant natter about things we hold dear....

however, my first attempt at blogging presented me with a paradox. As much as i wanted to burst free and write 'matters of utmost interest' i couldnt because as all of you know, we are facing tumultuous times, so my vivacity had to be subdued. i had to expertly extricate myself from the pleasant sordidness (pun-intended oxymoron) the aforementioned social mosaic can sometimes present!

I instead stuck to some main-stream (dont say mundane) stuff about random things that i have been doing, books i have been reading, research i have been looking up, thoughts that have been mulling in my head, others that have been muddling my brain hoping to get clarification from ye all readers....

I PROMISE! i am soon going to get one of those alter ego 'i am sasha fierce' blogs where i will deal with the most scathing leery gossip from kampala's underbelly, the most lip smacking lascivious tittle-tattle, watch it, i will be a bigger scandalmonger than perez hilton!!

lol

Dan Browns Writing

I have just completed Dan Browns First book Angels and Demons (prequel to The Da vinci code) featuring Historian Robert Langdon.
Ok i know i am late at this but i have a perfect explanation to dissuade anyones perked interests in my 'slackery' Most of my friends read the two books already, but hey, i was brought up catholic, and have always had an innate lethargy when it comes to reading conspiracy buff's theories. That said however, i tend to understand why Browns books have sold millions of copies - 'the da vinci code' for example sold millions of copies when it just got released years ago.

i think Browns books give some sort of release to those who have always battled with the theory presented in the Bible about the dawn of humanity and all, the story of Jesus et al, more so those who - fraught with mishaps in their lives - have been deigned to present a cynicism of the whole concept of christianity.

i stand firm and believe. The conservative catholic that is i and my alter ego, (you can call it) the perpetual inquisitive that i always have been, battled endlessly and the latter won, so, i picked up 'the da vinci code' my workmates must have seen me curling my lips with distaste over some of the conspiracies literally spawned in this book, Jesus' marriage to Mary Mangdalene, and my outright guffaw at some of the other things said in the book....

that said... i like the second 'Angels and Demons' part where the camerlengo (The Pope's helper, higher than an underling, lower than the cardinals) concedes defeat of Christianity by science and calls the latter 'the new god' i think the prose dictating this demagogue is 'off the hook'

pick up a copy of Angels and Demons today, but dont read with too much conviction... remember, this is just thriller fiction. and please, dont just watch the movie.

I tried all the other templates, believe you, me!!!

Remember my ghastly green template of not so long ago??

well, one of my friends suggested i change it, and here i am again. Blue is actually my long life best color, in Primary school i belonged to a 'house' (sports club) called Leopard. Our color was blue. Quaint little blue t-shirts with a sprinting leopard at the back, plus little cute shorts to match. i dont know how i ended up in that 'house' however, from then on, as soon as i would be asked what my favorite color was, i wouldnt hesitate, 'blue', i would quickly say. For some reason, this stuck to me through my early years, until now actually. y'all out there with a problem with blue, shield your eyes!!!
The experienced color wheel buff would cluck 'blue is a very cold color, however, i dont give a hoot!!'

anyhow, so do you like the new layout? i know, i know, if i were to scan the internet for a few more layouts, i probably would zero-in on one i would like(Another shade of blue, perhaps?), who has the time anyway???? after all, y'all are not commenting!!!!

however... tomorrow is a p.holiday for me! yipee!!! Add friday to that and i will be bumping! welcome to the weekend, i am giddy with excitement!!

Of synonyms, homonyms, heteronyms

Lately, my ever so brilliant friends have been using phrases like 'my boyfriend is such a boring fart, synomymous with getting old'
as funny as the two phrases in the sentence are, (and as appreciative i am of what and how we use phrases in pop culture...!) i dont know which word in the first phrase is synonymous with which in the second. i smile though, and get the point.

i scrolled through a few articles and reminded myself of the differences between synonyms, homonyms (the first substring=4 of that word rings dead homonymy to me!!!)

a homonym, put simply is one of a group of words that are spelled the same, sound the same but can be used differently for example gay(happy and cheery) and gay(homosexual.... hehehe!)

a heteronym is one of a group of words that are spelled the same but have a different pronounciation, e.g. desert(leave and wander off) and desert (the arid thingy)

a synonym (thats the easy one) simply put, different words with same meaning for example efficient and effective.

please ask me why i chose this topic to blog, its just that..... its almost satirical the way these words are used vis-à-vis the raging debate going on in ugandas tabloids of late.

take a wild guess...

and oh! could you tell all your linguistically challennged friends to stop using the adverb apparently when they really mean to use actually for example 'ah, i am apparently studying Social sciences at campus' ....aaaarrrrggh! i quiver, oh how i quiver!!

Of Frigid workmates

Now this girl i work with.....

She is too strict with herself, all those around her, she reminds me of a nun without a habit, try a catholic nun from the 1920's.
Her sense of dress to say in the least is extremely conservative, large billowing skirts and big girls blouses. She marches into office at exactly 8 in the morning and rigidly sits at her desk all day, puttering with documents and reading through last months mail. Sometimes she barely manages a glance your way when you singsong a 'g'morn' in the morning.

Well, notwithstanding, she is good at her stuff - an IT programmer. I once approached her with an algorithm problem, she glared at me and bayed 'don't you research before asking?' Granted, i was taking the easy way out of situation, instead of sifting through a number of online journals and endless Q and A post-its on the interet, yes, i caved and attempted the easy way out. To say the least, the rebuff i got was meted out accordingly.

However, my disdain for her has reached fever-pitch levels, i can barely look at her without haughtily looking the other way and spontaneously raising my head to walk onto the office kitchenette.
had it only been me with 'beef' for her would explain that it is I with the problem, however, a number of my officemates have once whispered into my ear, 'can she yank the pick out of her ass?' well, not explicitly so but you get the point....

she needs a man...!

Growing up

Could someone tell me the direct proportion between growing up and gaining weight?
i know a couple of people.. from way back in the day, who back then had all eyes on them, they looked lean, spry, scrumptious and ready to go, however, as the years added on them, so did the fat. When i look at them now, i exclaim inaudibly "you are spoiling it!"
We all know how difficult it is to stay skinny. Gone are the campus days when we used to exercise, trot all around with our books, now its all about planting ones behind on a chair, the only exercise being the instinctive shift in position after the chair sores exacerbate!

There is a lateral 'growth' per se in girth as one grows chronologically(most people i know anyway) and its saddening to see the paunch pop out, or the waddle as they walk.

there are a few diet tips for those tittering on the brink of over weight ... check this out for a fast four(4) week weight loss program.
Your skepticism of diets is well granted, you probably know kin or kith who have optimistically tried some kind of diet only to be gravely disappointed with the results, however, dont lose hope, this actually works! And its not the 'ethereally starve oneself' kind of diet.

The atkins diet as has been named after the founder, is a low carb/high protein diet that works for those committed to losing weight and staying lean, im talking meats, fish and poultry.

However, as we all know, uganda's diet consists of high carb laden foods like posho and matooke. its almost hard to have a low carb meal here except one you have prepared yourself or bought from a higher end restaurant. My analysis shows that the high carb diet is firmly inbrued in our culture - we look at carbs as the staple and the sauce as 'something to go with' and in most cases, the sauces being also high in calories!

Of course the atkins diet has its down side (just like most diets) - impressed by the sudden loss of weight, some people scrupulously follow the first phase of this diet longer than the recommended month, leading to heart problems due to high protein/low carb intake.
The body needs carbs, granted, but as long as it has just enough, all works out.

Just FYI!

70's, 80's and 90's Rock

OK this is for Rock Buffs like me..

Only recently have i realized the fundamentalism of the early rock, rock and roll et al, basis on which the current rock sits.
I was not born in the early age of psychedelia, the 60's and 70's hedonism and free falling kind of rock revival but as i was growing up, i got to appreciate the vinyl rock record assortment my folks had. i am talking the beatles, the police, rod stewart, kiss, pearl jam (oh i love Pearl Jam, damn!) and quite an assortment of british invasion music of those days.

i came across this blog i would regard myself bitchy not to share.

this fella loves classic rock as much as i do, though he spans to the 2000s rock, seems he knows that i like the old-new fusion thing.

on closer examination, i have been delightfully schooled that some artists i thought were new school like fountains of wayne are actually old school! though their sounds have progressively shaped quite well i might add.

i need a 7th Gen 160GB IPOD so i can have my entire collection (full with album art) on this dainty little device,

though i am afraid of thieves.... though thats another days topic.....

my turn to write too!

As I sit in my ebb bound shuttle in the mornings.. I think of something to do apart from drool sleep or read. (I have read so many books to an ire filling point - what can these writers do that I can't) well apart from my cyclic mind demagogue.. I think I'm capable of writing a Pulitzer winning set in the medieval times sort of novel.. No? Except that I would not 'suffer' from writers block.. My thougts would be penned down so rapidly that I would get lost in my own spin..

So I write.. I'm thinking that my rookie..ness won't be my Achilles heel, that my ideas will undulate, Fill the pages,

And I write. Some more

Mwenda on Homosexuality

all

Please check this article out

Andrew Mwenda, with his usual excellent locution and on spot facts summarizes the homosexuality debate following the bill that was tabled by some two politicians not so long ago.

As usual, as the topic has gained a lot of popularity to the point of a cult follower kind of status, it got lots of rejoinder comments from the readers, with some folks descending into personal attacks..

this is what i commented "Thanks Andrew, for educating all on what most people have cowed away from. I like the facts about Homosexuality in the animal kingdom, down to the detail you included on the number of species in Animalia. Most of the former commenters riled by your post are hiding behind the walls of denial. The anti-homosexuality bill is pure evil, propesterously so, and should not be used as a tool to annihilate homosexuals! Even a watered down version of the bill will not do. How about no bill at all?"

what do we all think of this bill?

someone? anyone?

Web Filter Fiend

Now my office webserver has this web filter called barracuda. (i know what you are thinking...) yeah, the first time i heard the word barracuda i immediately remembered this sea dwelling 'ray-finned fish known for its large size and fearsome appearance' and i thought to myself.. what a way to call a web filter.

however, the more i surf, i realise that the name fits the 'character' of this filter. it will block, and i mean, block accurately, i am talking streaming media sites (youtube rapidshare), networking sites (facebook, twitter et al)
Miraculously, it has not blocked any blog sites yet, and i whoop with joy at this! talk about a narrow opening at the entrance of a cavern!
i do realise that others like me periodically post links to pages they know with content they wanna download e.g. for all chillout music lovers here i come....


Exasperated is me! so all chillout fans again... splurge...

and i started blogging....

Fanned by the satire lacing most of my favorite blogs, i decided to pen down a couple of thoughts of my own...

The last time i went out.... Last night... question... : how about someone opens a new house bar/club in kampala.. one that plays mostly house music.. club, dance, disco, trance, lounge, chillout...

have you ever found yourself in the middle of a conversation about politics.. and thought to yourself with dismay "i wish i had something to say..."
When i was growing up.. (i now check the 25 - 30 age box) my dad used to loomingly wag his finger at me saying "politics is a dirty game...", for some reason, this stern warning slowly imbued itself in me to a point of consciously blanking my brain out everytime someone starts a conversation involving politics.



Things i could have done had the tide turned earlier...

i would have been a screenwriter.. i know what you are thinking...

yeah, have you watched one of those oscar nominations for 'best screenwriter'? the presenter in his sharp tux reads out the nominees for a screenplay category, along with a paragraph from each screenplay '.....she sits down with her face angled to one side, scowls slightly as she sips from her cup...' Ugandan film makers have quite a bit to learn from these hollywood fine-eye-for-detail afficionados!

Interior decorator

O.K i am tired of watching all those 'clean my house' and 'pimp my house' shows on the lifestyle network, i am now ready to act, hand me the brush and paint pail if you may, with the right tones of course... i will educate all on the subtleties from one color tone to another.. and dazzle all with color combinations you never would have thought of..!

Celebrity chef
i would share my kitchen wonders with all. New recipes with spice combinations that would make tounges delight... and then wag, in that particular order... and my restaurants would have all the fine detailed color tones and high ceilings, of course backed by my knack of decor....



but i am an IT person... not poingnant though..!