148 posts
Wanjikusblog - Wanjiku's Two Cents. - Tumblr Blog
Sauti, usemi, na mashairi yake Abdalla.
Swahili poet and longtime political activist Abdilatif Abdalla recites his only English language poem "Peace, Love, and Unity for whom?"
Profesa Abdilatif Abdalla anaonekana hapa akilikariri shairi lake la "Peace love and unity for whom?" Shairi ambalo aliliandika kana kwamba kukejeli falsafa yake Daniel Moi ya Amani, Upendo, na Umoja. Msomaji, utakumbuka kwamba Daniel Moi kwa wakati mmoja amemtumia vijumbe profesa akiwa uhamishoni pale Tanganyika, eti kwa minajili ya kumshawishi na kumhonga profesa aachane na harakati zake hizo za kupigania haki.
Na zaidi ya kuyatunga mashairi yenye mafumbo na mafunzo mbali mbali, profesa Abdalla amewahi kuwa mhadhiri katika idara ya Kiswahili pale chuo kikuu cha Leipzig na pia London. Katika uandishi wake Abdalla amezitumia lahaja mbali mbali zikiwemo Kimvita, Kingwana cha Congo, Kingazija cha Comoros, Kimrima cha Dar, na kadhalika. Si ajabu Profesa Abdalla amechangia kwa ukubwa ubunifu na uhifadhi wa lugha ya Kiswahili.
Ingawa Abdalla si mwandishi wa mara kwa mara, mashairi yake yamesomwa na wengi. Na imekuwa dhahiri kutoka ujana wake, kwamba utunzi ni kipawa cha kiasili alichotunukiwa Abdalla. Kuambatana na hiyo hamu na ghamu ya utunzi wa mashairi, profesa ameiandika antholojia yake ya kwanza Sauti yadhiki (1973), akiwa kijana chipukizi wa miaka ishirini na miwili. Kwa wakati huo, Jomo Kenyatta alikuwa amemtia Abdalla korokoroni kwa shitaka la uhaini eti kwa sababu Abdalla alichapisha kijitabu chake cha “Kenya Twendapi?”
Eschatology and stuff.
What do you know - the assassination attempt on Trump _was_ predicted in the Bible!
My friend's dry humour aside, for those who see the symbolism in Rev 13:3 as a reference to the anti-Christ who's fatally wounded in the head and resurrected by Lucifer, Trump hardly qualifies despite the scratch to his ear and maxi pads applied to attest.
In fact, going by Daniel 11:37-39, the anti-Christ will either be Jewish or Roman, gay or even asexual, frightfully self-absorbed even by Trump's standards, not to mention clever enough to fool everyone and not just a few Magats. So, no. The anti-Christ won't be a severally divorced New Yorker with a penchant for grabbing handmaidens by their genitals.
Track history.
41 years ago today Jarmila Kratochvilova set the still standing world record of 1:53.28 over 800 meters. Is this record legitimate and will it ever be broken?
Legitimate or not, the Czech's 800m WR of 1:53.28 set on July 26 1983 at the Olympiapark Meeting in Munich’s Olympic Stadium will stand until or unless WA say otherwise.
That said, of course 1:53.28 can be broken. With today's pacing lights technology and monetary incentives, all you'd have to do is gather all the best 800m and 1500m women together in one race and let them go hard. And voilà!
#social media posts
Food for thought, in case you thought that a political candidate was the disease and not merely symptomatic of it.
Meme Worthy.
Strangely reminiscent of goings-on in Banana Republics where political dissent is anathema and considered to be a personal attack on the great leader, this attempted abduction of a political activist is said to have happened in broad daylight along Nairobi's Moi Avenue in full view of local and international press.
Story za Jaba.
.... it took my entire ear off. The whole ear. But I went to the doctor, and he said, and this is true, he said, you heal faster than anyone I've ever seen. Nobody is healthier than you. And the next day, my ear was growing back, and the doctor said, nobody regrows ears like that, and it's a really remarkable thing, regrowing an ear like that, most people can't do it. And I know that, because it's not me saying this, it's the doctor, it's everybody saying, just, you're the best at regrowing ears.
#tall tales
#satire
As a matter of fact BBC, you'd be surprised to learn that Kilifi isn't the only area of this country where tiki torch wielding crazies accuse the elderly of being witches for the sole purpose of murdering old people in order to steal their land.
#justice
Arts and crafts.
Fundi huyu mwenye ujuzi wa hali ya juu, ametengeneza kikapu ambacho kinaweza kugeuzwa kuwa kitu chochote, iwe meza, pambo la ukuta, hadi kikapu cha kuhifadhia vyakula kama vile chapati, nk.
#arts & crafts
No oven? No problema.
#culinary arts
Lol! A dictator's gotta get the word out somehow.
#global politics
#satire
Here's to their memory.
A collection of home-made guns, an oily jacket and shorts that he wore in the forests where he fought, as well as Field Marshal Kimathi's rather well preserved pistol are on display at the National Museum as part of the MAU MAU exhibit.
But more than just tourist attractions, the items above are a reminder of the rag-tag bunch who once took action for Kenya's freedom against British colonialism.
And whether they've been mildly acknowledged or whether they've been denied their rightful place in history, there's a time to say that neither the legacy nor the legends of the brave shall be overlooked as has happened many times before.
Rex Masai. Slain on June 20 2024.
Mind you, not all heroes wear capes. And the likes of 29 yr old Rex Masai bore no arms such as MAU MAU guerillas had to in the Aberdares or elsewhere, but recently perished in post-independent Kenya even as they strove for economic and political emancipation at the anti-Finance Bill protests which rocked the streets of this country.
#historical figures
#history
#freedom fighters
Pre-Olympics news.
Yes, he made the US 200m team for Paris 2024. Now if only there weren't all this Trenbolone controversy hanging over him, coz the kid Knighton is one of those humans that you actually want to like. Track fans for one were undoubtedly impressed by a then 17 yr old who not only made his country's Olympic team, but showed up at Tokyo 2020 with a credible 4th place finish in the finals of the 200m.
#track & field
#athletics news
Anti-finance bill protests.
Meantime in Nairobi. Social media savvy Gen-Z protesters against the now cancelled Finance Bill 2024, came up with their own unique ways of standing up to the police's intimidation tactics.
#political dissent
So America's conservatives care about veterans now? Meantime, a former White House chief of staff and retired military man himself, recently confirmed that a certain Mr Trump privately disparaged America's fallen soldiers as "suckers” and "losers" during his presidency.
Meme Worthy.
Boundary up, she said.
#words of wisdom
#social media posts
Meme Worthy.
Heats of the Women's 800m Olympic team trials (Eugene, Ore).
Hopefully Americans will leave their 800m tactics at home on the day, or else it will be all out carnage in Paris. And what a pity that Athing Mu won't be in Paris to defend her title. Coz judging by the way her legs ate up ground in that final stretch, there's nothing that suggests unfitness in the Olympic champ.
#track & field
#athletics
Comedy classics.
# Ephraim Lisk on Facebook & Instagram
#humour
Probably one of the most iconic moments in recent history. The Unknown Protester stands unmoved against a phalanx of Chinese tanks (Tiananmen Square, June 5 1989).
#world politics
#global politics
The world through untroubled eyes.
Try to travel, otherwise you may become racist, and you may end up believing that your skin is the only one to be right, that your language is the most romantic and that you were the first to be the first.
Travel, because if you don't travel then your thoughts won’t be strengthened, won’t get filled with ideas. Your dreams will be born with fragile legs and then you end up believing in tv-shows, and in those who invent enemies that fit perfectly with your nightmares to make you live in terror.
Travel, because travel teaches to say good morning to everyone regardless of which sun we come from.
Travel, because travel teaches to say goodnight to everyone regardless of the darkness that we carry inside.
Travel, because traveling teaches to resist, not to depend, to accept others, not just for who they are but also for what they can never be. To know what we are capable of, to feel part of a family beyond borders, beyond traditions and culture. Travelling teaches us to go beyond.
Travel, otherwise you end up believing that you are made only for a panorama and instead inside you there are wonderful landscapes still to visit.
# Travel y'all. By Gio Evan/Giovanni Giancaspro.
#Facebook page: Things I've never seen before
Preserving cultural history through art.
Exhibiting his work at the Nairobi Museum this past weekend was Ugandan artist Leonard Kateete.
During my encounter with him on Sunday May 5th, the artist mentioned that he's been resident in Kenya for 43 years, has travelled widely throughout East Africa, and has been privileged to meet Nelson Mandela in person when the latter visited here in 1990.
On display as part of the artist's "Exploring the creative mind" exhibition were vivid oil portraits of various couples, such as this one of Mzee Ole Masanga and his wife which was painted in Arusha Tanzania.
Of course, given his self-confessed love of people, Mr Kateete would likely hesitate to categorize the individuals whom he paints as mere subjects.
This portrait of a Swahili couple, retired marine engineer Mzee Sharif and his wife painted in Wasin Island was also on display as part of Mr Kateete's exhibition.
And last but not least, taking pride of place in Mr Kateete's exhibition was this autobiographical piece. Painted from a mirror image, the self-portrait memorializes the artist's own travels, bemoans the passage of time and tide, and immortalizes the cultural history of all the indigenes who've welcomed him into their homes over the years.
#history & culture
#art & artists
How high can you jump?
If you watch closely, you'll notice that this guy doesn't even really put his knees or his elbows into it. But one more jump, and he'd have shot right up to the moon. Mind you, he's not the only Maasai/Samburu warrior who can jump this high. Of course, one of the better known Maasai tribesmen is David Rudisha the 800m WR holder.