The Krox

The other day I was talking to my dad on some really solid issues that were bothering me. Obviously the main agenda was linked to the constitution which is a major topic in Kenya. Don't get me wrong, I'm not  talking about the constitution, rather, I am talking about Kenya as a society. Before I even go further, it is important to know that the constitution is integral to the running of any state in the world.



I quite cant tell where this conversation started from, but it was linked to development of African states. Not many African countries are developed. Not because they would not want to, not because they do not have the capacity to,(in form of resources) but because of the deep culture of impunity that has got hold of the African people. It is not a strange thing to be asked to bribe, or to be offered a bribe. Some do it in the most decent way possible, some offer to buy you a soda,or take you out for lunch. As much as this may not be seen as bribery, truth be told, it is. The culture has grown in us so much that we always think in those lines no matter what. It is pathetic. I have seen some well dressed , respectful police men pick bribes from matatus form not as well dressed touts as they.
Some months back, my best friend was getting his National identification card for he had lost the other one. What surprised me the most is that the ladies serving him bluntly and rudely refused to serve him until he gave out "something". Eventually, he gave out twenty shillings, and believe it or not, they took it and served him. And the system is like that. It is rotten to the core.Corruption starts from the highest form of government. From the ministers themselves.I won't even stress on that. There is no African who doesn't know that. (although I am informed that otther African states are better off)


Still, that is not what I wanted to talk about. It is just that knowing how the system works eats me up so much.
There are many rights that are provided for in the current and proposed constitution that do not take effect in this our country. For one, you are not supposed to be arrested from not having an identification card at night. There is no such law. Then you are supposed to be arrayed in court within 24 hours. While at it, you are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. Unfortunately, the opposite happens in Kenya. You are guilty until proven innocent.


Back to where this conversation between my dad and I was. I came out boldly, and told him how I have a right in this country. What followed was  a long talk and revealing truths about Kenya.  I will share with you some, and if you are a Kenyan, the rest will automatically come to you.


Most of the times, some police men, who are obviously evil, will not arrest you and let you go Scot free. I have heard, and witnessed, numerous cases of people who were apparently caught with bang. As much as this is cliche` to you, It's true, people really get framed with bhang. When you go to court, for such a case, obviously, being like me , you will think to yourself,
"I know my rights, justice must prevail, I am guilty till proven innocent, they have got nothing on me," right??
well,my friend, you are wrong. I mean, its not all Kenyans that are able to afford a lawyer to tackle their cases. Very few can. The rest, spend more years in remand than they would have in prison.
I personally experienced a case, where an old man was taken back into remand for another 3 months (his case to be heard on September 14th) under charges that he was drinking chang'aa. Him, knowing ( I believe it is the truth) decided to stick to the truth that he was arrested falsely, but instead taken back into remand. Just like that, and the magistrate did not even want to hear what he had to say. Sitting there, I saw a number of people who were taken back into remand for weeks and some months awaiting the hearing of their cases.
This really cut me deep. You see there is no justice prevalent to all in this country. And that is the sad truth. I would mostly never have written about this, but it hurts knowing that you are living ion a nation where the beautiful reality never blossoms to its beauty. It hurts to know that the proposed constitution promises so much(whether amended or not) but that dream may not materialize. It also hurts me to know that many Kenyans like me, hope for the best, think that it will all be better someday.
I chose not to live in that optimism any more , As much as I am confident and hopeful this country will change. But until then, I'd rather admit that I had no seat belt on, even if I have, and pay a two thousand shilling fine, other than spending ages in Remand. I chose to accept the harsh reality. Just as it is.

Well, I have always considered myself artistic (of sorts). I have been involved with various forms of Art from when I was young, from singing to acting to writing. What I really havent explored that much is Art by dreawing. So I can't and come up with some beautiful pieces on canvas, granted, but on the contrary, I have a very keen eye for detail, and I appreciate beauty and art in every form.

When I was young, maybe between 8 and 13 I used to draw some really cool stuff. I even had my own comic books, which I honestly don't know where they went. I can still draw, I mean, its not all gone. I used to come up with some really creative cartoons. But somehwhere down the road, I just lost it. I realised I couldn't do the stuff i used to do anymmore. I wasn't giving it much practise and I wasn't caring either. I had a passion to try out other forms of art but I just couldnt. So I quit ( well, sort of)

But then, I realized later on that, I don't need to draw using my own hands, that computers can do the same for me. All I needed was my creativity to go along with it. I have never been happier. At first I really couldn't tell why I love graphic design so much, but I realized that it is because it fills and fulfills a part of me that I had thought dead so long ago. But he was not, He is not. Maybe one day, I'll be known for being there for art. For supporting Music, Spoken Word, Literature and art by pictures. Now that would make me most happy.

Okay, so yesterday I slept a very happy person. A lot happened you know, starting from a very personal basis. I fell in love once more. .....with photography. I saw some really inspirational photos on flickr and Ben Kiruthi's blog check it out ... any who, that's not the only thing that made me happy. I also did a desktop wall paper for my computer that I really loved.
It was inspired by my love for black. I mean, black has a lot to inspire when you think of it. or maybe now that I think of it, it was really out of love for dark colors. Okay, as I was saying, You can do so much with black and dark colors. So with this in mind, mine was to pay a tribute to the black. This is the desktop wall paper I did. you can also download it here if you want to., If you fall in love with it too.
Download it here
 That is just one. I also got to do something that  I have been having on mind from way back. This was also supposed to be a t-shirt someday. But we'll figure that out later. Any way, this second project is called Yesu anapenda Africa. (Jesus Loves Africa)
 What I love most about this new one is that, it has the names and attributes of God in various African languages scribbled in the background. Along with the red yellow and green (rasta) colors that have for along time been associated with Africa. This is definately one of my personal favorites.
If you like it its also available for download  Here
Here is it

Okay, so what am I anticipating??? In all honesty, I don't know. But its supposed to be a blog. I guess one which we could share and make posts on, then again maybe not. Maybe its a blog where the developers and the founders of that blog post there own stuff for us to read. but then, if so I would not know why the founders of the blog are making so much hype about it. Now now now, I know, you are probably wondering what I'm talking about right? (::right::) its a site. Yep, like you already know. its under the kingdom republic site. By the time you read this, (assuming you don't read it now, the blog will be already up. My suggestion, check it out. I hope it will be really as cool as its hyped out to be. Heck, I know it will be cool as it has been hyped up to be.
The kingdomrep blog (make sure you check it out)


So what is kingdom republic?? It's apparently, supposed to be a site, a social networking site where Christian folk can hook up, share the word, share music, and all that. When I first saw/heard/read about it, what I thought was,.. "man, this is a really great idea." What's even better, its KENYAN. Now don't get me wrong, Kenya has got some really nice web based ventures that are out right creative. But this, this my friend is set to blow you away. Just by looking at some of the graphics made by the talented designers who are setting up the site., you will definitely want to see what's going on. I'm going to show some of them

the day it was apparently supposed to launch

.

Well I don't have any background info about how the idea came to place,( I promise I'll interview the brains behind it and let you know). but what I know is, it was supposed to launch the 20th of June this year, but I guess the work was a bit too much...
I also know( or gather rather, that it will have clothin, a lebel on them ,prayer, song reviews,event updates and some other cool stuff.
Ok yea., that's about how much I can blubber about that, but lets wait and see.

make sure you join the community (ha!)

This should be the longest time I have had hair on my head without shaving. It's not that long though. But there are reasons why I don't want to shave, why, I'd rather have my hair instead of cutting it down. We all like our hair, some of us even love our hair. They say that hair describes personality. I support that. That by you understanding the real motive behind someone's hair, you may be able to know him more.


So, I have never been a huge hair type of person, until recently. A lot happened actually, for one, I realized that I really liked dreadlocks. Those neat type of dreadlocks. I used to dislike them, I thought they were only for rebels and social mis fits ( I also used to think that my dad was the smartest and strongest person on earth when I was 6). But I  saw some really nice and hot locks so I fell for them.  The bad thing is that I cannot keep them. You see, I live with my parents, and my mom, who is not at all old fashioned, will willingly assume that character, and who knows what might happen to me. My mom is a born again Christian, she is principled, and has raised her children in the light, so for one of his sons to get dreadlocks would be insanity. What will the Women's group say? huh?. But that is just one side of the Story.
I plan to join some private university around soon. The worst thing? they have got strict rules on dressing, and especially, NO DREADLOCKS. But I really want to go there, it's been all I have been talking about lately. And also the rest of my family is there (those who are still in school). So what options do I remain with??

The second and most important reason why I want hair/ do not want to shave (whichever way you want to look at it) is that, I noticed that my dad is growing bald. Okay, not exactly, but I can see it coming, his brothers, my uncles,some of them already have a bald head. What's worse? my grandpa, Mom's papa, has a bald head! You see, truth be told. I don't want to grow to regret having hair on my head. If at all I should ever have a bald head, I should have enjoyed my hair-days (It's high time bald people started using 'hair days" to talk about the days the used to have hair). That's one, another thing I don't want to go through the same torment that bald and bald to be people go through every day. We've all been there, we've either laughed at a bald person or though about it secretly. These are just some of the most tormenting things SOME bald people  go though.

> Bald people have to second guess themselves every time they go to a Barber shop. It's not always that you will get excellent service at the Barber shop. Not unless you are a renowned member to the Barber shop. When n you go to the barber shop to get a hair cut,(assuming the barber doesn't know you) you have to go stealthily and take a seat waiting to be shaved.
The regular stories business and politics will thrive. All along,, the Barber will assume he has not seen you. After few more clients have been served, the Barber will turn to chase you away.
" Boss, No idlers here!! You should read the sign!"
But since you are embarrassed, you will now tell him amidst a forced chuckle and a crooked- also obviously forced-smile
" eh.. eh.. Yes, I wanted to shave down my hair!!"
Looking at you now, the Barber will realize that you are bald. He would stop and stare at you. What is going through his mind right now, is how big that "airport", "helipad", "soccer pitch" or whatever fancy nickname he's got for your bald head, has gotten. With an equally forced chuckle and a crooked smile, he will tell you to wait for a moment.
When He's done shaving other people, you're up. What he gets is not only the shaving machine, but as you soon find out, you have to be shave with some geometrical or arithmetic  instrument. He might get a ruler. I even know one who used a pair of dividers to efficiently shave your head. After long moments of struggling with your head, he's done. You with all the excitement get up from the barber's chair and ask him
"How much do I owe you?" He looks at you , pats you in the back and tells you
"Don't worry about the payment my friend, that I have done to you as a service to humanity"
This is accompanied by muzzled laughter from the 'real' idlers.

So that is just one case. You are now saying to yourself, that is not very bad! right?? Wrong! It is. Another bad thing when you get bald, your face grows longer with the  receding hairline. In extreme cases, your face may actually start at the end of your head. This is really bad, because, what will happen is, when you get angry at someone, it is impossible for you to have that classical male anger reaction (also classically adopted from Gorillas) of twisting and wrinkling up your face when you are angry. The reason behind this is that, when you twist your face, the wrinkle actually forms at the back of your head. This means that you face will be plain.Someone has to look at you from your back to notice the expression you are trying to show, weather it is anger or surprise
Did I mention that you have to wash your 'face' starting from the back of your head?? And when you get shocked you cannot hold you head, you have to put you hands on the back neck-That is where you new head is at officially.

So now you understand my dilemma. None of the actions that I might take above my prove pleasing to me, so I guess I will just cut my hair short. I mean shorter than its already tall. I hope I have not offended anyone.If you are bald, don't feel too bad!
at least you know I'll be feeling the same some forty years from now.

So in all honesty, I can't seem to get over this new obsession of Design that I currently have. You know, design as in like, web and graphic design, the one you almost sort of use only computers (and your brain of course).  Lately- for like the last one year, I have been dreaming, eating talking and reading exclusively on design. Period. I wont deny it has roots to my geekish background. And yes, I have finally accepted that I am a geek. That is who I am, so whoever has an issue with that should deal with it/. But lets look at the word Geek positively. I know that mostly geek has been used to mean people who are obsessed with some form of technology and are, well, what's an easier term....er, yeah, are unable to perform best socially speaking. On the contrary, I can function socially well. Want proof?? Ask the guys from my youth group.They'll tell you.


Now that that is clear, back to talking. Yeah, So, as I was saying, I am so overly abducted by design. There are a few sites that have actually inspired me, and I am thinking of starting my own website soon. More like a design blog, but with a different view at designing, Giving all the reader's to the site amazing content and inspiration. But that has to wait, for now I am doing research on the kind of material that I could post on the website. I also have many ideas on websites that I could start for my Home land - Kenya. There are massive ideas that could actually be put into practice considering how the web is being used in Kenya. It is very impressive to see that the internet can actually be harnessed to over 400% in five years. I thank God I exist in this generation.(You should too, no matter how old you are). Some of the ideas I might actually post here some time soon. I am sure I will blow you away.


And so I told my dad about all these and he was actually impressed. He told me he should be my first client. Who am I to refuse, so, he goes on to give me a website to build. I gladly took it, and that is what I am actually working on right now. Its's a Bible School website. He also gave me some design projects which are proving to be really tough on me. Now I am getting the hang of design. Now I really know how those guys feel when it comes to working with deadlines. But I am almost through though, that is the good thing. Will let you know when it comes through.


And now to writing. Well, It hasn't been easy. I had almost given up writing, and keeping this blog active. but I decided to get back on it and keep you people updated on what is going on. That would be the best thing. Oh yeah, I'll be working on an update, a letter to thirteen year old me, inspired by my sister. She's really cool and talented, you should check out her blog one time : http://lostinthot.wordpress.com/ I have done her a big favor. Considering she's my elder sister, now I need to get her to see this (I'll get extra credit).
Okay so now I really have to get to that website,... see you in a minute

This is a come back issue, definately it is. The last time I wrote, was just from school (High school) and believe me, I had not gotten my act together,..not at all. But now I do,...I mean been in some other schools and what not, did done some web and graphics design, and I actually think I am cut out for that, but then again, I got to wait to prove if that is true.
Okay, so you are wondering why this is less formal to what you might have gotten used to. well, truth is, people change, I changed. so I decided that instead of having a blog that tackled only one issue, why not have a blog that tackled a myraid of ideas.
Why??? well, for one,I am young, I haven't gotten picky on what I want to do or what I really want to be identified with. (you see the thing is that I am diverse) two, I like ..no love, design, web and graphic design. I also writting, I also love photography and to add something on top of it, I really love Business or just Money- in short.
Putting one and two together, you ,may want to ask, why don't you just decide to write tutorials then?? well you see, writting for me is different, true, I may be able to write tutorials (which I plan to by the way..) but my type of writting goes beyond the design, photography and Business, it also includes some poetry, some philosophy-yes, I also put down practical thories.
Aaany awy, its been long, but you wont miss me any longer,..