Afraid To Be Great

Mr Magaidi

I will not be afraid to be great, I will
Seek to find
Truths that bind
To leave behind
Ignorance of mind
Like a spell unwind
And speak my mind
I will not be afraid to be great.


I will not be afraid to be great, I will
Seek to dispose
Curtail and expose
Dispel and disclose
Generalizations that impose
Conclusions that boast
Unfairly of course
Write dispositions and discourse
That Ignorance is so close
I will not be afraid to be great.


I will not be afraid of greatness, I will
Go forth in life with dedication
Draw from life such inspiration
Bless other life with appreciation
Reflect on this life in meditation
Give in life with love and affection
Pursue my life’s joy with a passion
Dedicate to life all my attention
I will not be afraid of greatness.

Magaidi

KBW Meetup

Mr Magaidi

I made someone’s weekend by simply walking up to them and telling them how I think they add ‘value’ to the team. I’m amazed how simple words can have a profound effect on people.(just thought I'd share but I digress)

We seem to be leaning towards Memorial Day, Dallas TX for the anticipated KBW meet up. Just so you know, this will be on the weekend of the 28th – 29th of May with Monday the 30th being the actual holiday.

Is this a go or does someone have another suggestion?

Rugby in LA - The Recap

Mr. Magaidi

The sea of red black green and white at the Home Depot center in Los Angeles was a sight to behold. Kenyans from all walks of life, all corners of the continental United States flocked to cheer their underdog team against rugby powerhouses gathered for the USA Sevens. In addition to this, we were treated to a fun filled weekend. I met distinguished personalities from the KBW ring, anonymity was a priority, and if you’re sharp enough, you might just tell who they were but it ain’t coming from me. It was a great pleasure though. Most classy moment of the whole tournament for me was after Kenya beat USA to win the Shield Title (26-12), Kenyan fans acknowledged the USA team with as much vigor as they did their own team. For revelers we had a range of choices on where we wanted to ‘row de boat’, one was ‘pon de river’ literally as Nameless and Bamboo entertained folk at the world renowned ‘Queen Mary’ ship while others enjoyed music by Kenya’s top disc jockeys DJ Adrian, DJ Babu, DJ Pinye at other venues. Additionally Code Red DJ Stylez, Chicago’s DJ Top Donn and Dallas’ own DJ XP among many other excellent turn table-ists. Kleptomaniax, Mercy Myra and others also performed.

Overall:

It was great to see country men & women come out and cheer on their team. Of even more significance is the fact that no incidents of violence were seen/reported. Generally the crowd was reserved, much better, camaraderie was evidenced all over the place. Intermingling freely with statesmen/women from other regions including Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, England and other places. The distinct feeling was general: you didn’t have to be a rugby fan to enjoy your time there. I had very interesting conversations with KBW members and the we all came out feeling that we should definitely arrange a meet up and discuss issues we consider affect us. Hopefully we will all be able to make some time in the near future with more time to make arrangements. Suggestions as usual are welcome (the earlier the better, at this moment I have my eye on memorial weekend).

The Kenyan Git-Mo

Magaidi
Our Country Kenya is conveniently located on the Eastern seaboard of Africa. Mombasa, our coastal city is endowed with riches money can't buy, a historical background comparable to the best and a string of islands whose beauty appeals to celebrities worldwide as popular destination areas. We have it all at the coast, including some Islands conveniently offshore such as Watamu and Lamu. I propose we build our Git-Mo there. Cessation of these two Islands, have the government freeze Kamlesh Pattni's account and use those funds to build a prison akin Guantanamo bay, maximum security, twenty-five, yes twenty-five hour lockdown. We need one, since corrupt entities in government conveniently cry out for the blanket rule of law, "innocent until proven guilty" to provide for their freedom as they conveniently await their cronies to set up inquiries to investigate them for 14! years! The Kenyan Git-Mo should be in such state that it makes Kamiti look like a carribean Island. Known terrorists should request transfers to the real git-mo when informed that they might end up there. I want Murungi to be ringing the bell there and talking about "going slow" in his corner, I need Saitoti to have the corner cell, I've even gone as far as volunteering Moody Awori - a champion for prison facilities improvement - for and 'all expenses paid' vacation there. Kenya Git-Mo, by virtue of being off the defined Kenyan borders, will not be under jurisdiction of the Kenyan courts. Let Murungaru ponder over the 'scandal that never was' while enjoying excellent cuisine on offer there. I am sick of people talking about 'recommendations' and 'investigations'. We know these people are corrupt, they're on tape. You'd have to be unbelievably challenged if your idea of innocence pertains to these characters. Let Kenya Git-Mo be their remand before being 'extradited' upon completion of the "inquiry" or "investigation". Time served here will be deducted from the time you get after conviction. We need a Kenyan Git-Mo. That's my rant!

Now off to LA!

To LA!! Kenya eh? Kenya aaahhh!!

Mr. Magaidi

I'm headed to Los Angeles for the IRB sevens tournament and gallivanting with my people from the Northeast, Baby Girl and hopefully meet up with some KBW members. Hit me up! Whis..ebu holla! Get with Afro or myself. As for the rest, I can't promise pics, but I'll do my best!


Eloya eeh eeh?

Kenya eeh?

Kenya aaahh!!

Nilienda huko...

Gender Sensitivity & Education

Mr.Magaidi

I made a comment this weekend to a friend after a discussion on gender sensitivity that left her quite upset. I told her that as long as society views women’s problems as just that - ‘women’s problems’ and not society’s problems as an extension, then all these ‘women’s caucuses’, ‘maendeleo ya wanawake’, ‘educating the girl child’ initiatives championed by women would continue to lag in the back burner of society’s ‘hot stove’. I went on to explain that such causes had a delicate balance and needed a well-calculated approach, which I honestly don’t think we have. My bone of contention was the fact that all these societies are run exclusively by women, for women. I explained that it even seemed hypocritical to advocate for ‘gender equality’ while sitting on a board whose membership comprises exactly 12 women.

Her retort: No one understands women’s problems better than women themselves.

Am I missing something here?

A Healthy Debate

Magaidi

It’s been a year plus since I joined KBW and I’ve watched it grow from a 13 member family to what it is today. On my daily rounds I have noticed that we have sort of a tendency to be afraid to disagree maybe? That is the best way I can put it. We have ‘independent minds’, we have ‘clans people’ we have ‘ drifters’ and even more categories of bloggers – ‘Financial Analysts’, ‘Entertainment Experts’, ‘Political Blogs’, we have them all, excellent blogs by the way. If we are so different, then why are we so afraid to disagree? Why suffer in silence, appear to be ‘in synch’ with the crowd only to fit in? This is something I’ll never understand.

This is an observation I’ve had in the past and came to realize fully on Thinker’s piece on having a cake and eating it – everyone agreed and danced around the bush until one voice lamented, an emphatic NO! that sent the piece to ‘KBW Hall of Fame’ if we have one. I think we need to stop ‘pussy footing’ and agree to disagree. Nothing against those who just want to tow the line and belong in a ‘clique’. If we intend to have healthy debate (and civil for that matter), we have to come out of our collective cocoons and say exactly what we have on our minds. Otherwise as Ben Carson aptly put it: “If two people agree all the time, it has been my opinion that one of these people is probably not needed”