Ngong: Is devolution helping?

If you know me well enough by now, you'd know that I am not a fan of devolution as it has taken place in Kenya over the last few years. The idea behind it was noble: development spread over the country, even to those hinterland areas that had been marginalized for the longest time. At its heart, the notion that you could provide a myriad of services to the people within their localities, such that they wouldn't be required to pass through Nairobi seemed like a win-win situation.

However, as with most things Kenyan, the concept is beautiful, but the implementation is a disaster. Too much political finagling has since saddled us with a heavy debt burden; we have too many counties, most of which exist to settle political points. Each of these units has too much political representation taking home massive salaries and delivering nothing in return. And finally, the counties merely devolved a problem that was faced by the central government: weak institutions and poor accountability for the manner in which money is spent. This has exacerbated the "leaky cauldron" syndrome, and thus the country as a whole is just hemorrhaging money that was meant to spur development.

Lest I be labelled as a person who's all about theories, I give you now the example of Ngong Town. Situated approximately 20 kilometres from the city centre, Ngong is one of those areas that seemed poised to take off as a part of "Greater Nairobi". Basically, as space and prices become more prohibitive in Nairobi, Ngong could very easily have morphed into an ideal suburb.

I've basically called Ngong my home since late 1989 when my parents moved us out here (despite much protestation). A staple of the town was its big market located right at its centre; on the periphery of the market was a Bus/Matatu stage/terminus where people could catch a bus onwards to Nairobi via Ngong Road or via Kiserian. I've been informed lately that the spot may actually all have been a terminus, and was encroached on by the market sellers (I still remain unconvinced).

Anyway, not much has gone on in terms of development at the market place for a long time; it remained the same village type installation with little in terms of improvement. When the devolution bug hit us, at least initially, nothing changed either. However, circa early this year, I noted that the market area had been cleared out. Unfortunately for most drivers, who already have a problem driving through that portion of Ngong Rd. surrounding the market, the market stalls ended up being uprooted and deposited on either side of the road's "pavement" area.

It was bad enough driving through before; now, it's a situation akin to driving through Kawangware. The obstacles are plenty: pedestrians, animals, motorcycles and matatus. You are literally moments away from knocking someone down or running into one accident or another; to add insult to injury, this is one of those areas where a rowdy crowd can mushroom at a moment's notice - especially the motorcycle fraternity - and you could be in for a very hefty "shakedown".

This is really a development failure. Granted, I hear people mention that there are plans to relocate the market, or perhaps even build a storeyed building where it will be housed; however, I feel like the market should have been the first priority in this case. As I drive past that parking lot, I see that some matatus have started using the parking areas; but, on the other hand, I still deal with the marked nuisance of the matatus that refuse to use the parking area and willing obstruct traffic along the road as they collect their customers. Apparently without the watchful eye of the law to steer them straight, it's just business as usual.

From a cost-benefit analysis, we would have received much bigger gains from upgrading the market first. Lord knows in this day and age of Cholera, we should prioritize measures that'll safeguard our food safety. I have hoped for the longest time that Kenya would adopt an organized "Farmers Market" model similar to what's done in the US and Europe. We need to prioritize this very basic concept, and try to add more value to this portion of the agricultural supply-demand chain. The matatu industry is a rogue that can only be tamed by concerted political effort (..but then, this is an election year, so no one in their right mind will be trying to needlessly unsettle this particularly big portion of the electorate). So, why spend money so frivolously?

I don't have photographic evidence here, but lately I've come across a board erected at the parking lot which proudly states that this is a World Bank-funded project. Seriously! How can free-thinking independent Kenyans not be ashamed at needing the World Bank to sponsor the construction of a mere parking lot? How can anyone excuse running up a debt (yes, this is indeed debt) for such a simple project? No doubt the project was inflated so that pockets ended up lined in the process, but seriously, this is why we can't have good things.   

Kenya looked at Devolution as a salve for the issue of  skewed development in the country; however, without applying any sort of Discipline to all these efforts, nothing meaningful will really be achieved. I'd dare say that Discipline pegged to our previous non-devolved administration would have brought the change we desire at a much faster rate (and it would have been cheaper too).

Unfortunately, short of a miracle, it seems we're doomed to ride this devolution train until we either get it right, or it bankrupts us enough to have to make a major change. Come what may, even for this realist, it pays to have faith at least once in a while. So my eyes are open, and in my heart I retain some hope that sober minds will eventually prevail and that we will mature as a country and as a people. We just have to.

God Bless

Spider-Man Homecoming: Spoiler-Free Review

Seems like new movies are creeping up on me a mile a minute these days. Been meaning to watch a whole bunch, but I've just ended up being caught up in a lot of stuff. Just this past Thursday, while walking through Nakumatt Junction, I got wind of the fact that Spider-man: Homecoming was playing in the theaters; with my past luck with missing out on Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol.2, I figured I might as well quit procrastinating and just get over with watching the latest spidey installment.

Truth be told, I would really have loved to watch it at the Nairobi IMAX, but the IMAX has been disappointing me lately. They have perfected the art of unprofessionalism, harkening back more to their days as 20th Century Cinema than actual IMAX. So, until further notice, I will be giving them the widest of berths. I chose to go with the tried and trusted Century Cinemax at the Junction, beating out the characteristic Sunday afternoon Ngong Road traffic, and arriving with some time to spare.

Gotta say that the new Marvel Studios logo intro is astounding. Paired with that famous animated spidey theme set to great brass, you can't help but become nostalgic.

People have sworn that this is the spidey characterization that they've been waiting to see because apparently Tom Holland gives off that true vibe of spidey as a kid with high school struggles getting in the way of the superhero biz. It's not exactly something that I've fancied. In our first introduction to Spidey, we have him geeking out "taped-footage" style about his involvement in the events of Civil War. His frenetic energy came off as a bit irritating, more akin to TV's Ultimate Spider-man (a disgrace to previous animated forays) as opposed to more serious spidey affairs. I am glad to say that things were toned down, and that nervous fanboy energy dissipated very quickly.

I'm also glad that Tony Stark was used very sparingly in this movie. With all his appearances in the trailers, I had the gloomy impression that this movie might have played out like Iron Man 3.5 (in other words, atrocious!) But, as I've mentioned, he is only sprinkled in when he's really needed. They have of course gone with the Ultimate Spiderman type scenario where Spidey is being looked at as a possible fit for this iteration of the Avengers; and all this occurs under the tutelage of Tony Stark (and a much irritated Happy Hogan). Therefore, under the cover of a Stark Enterprises internship, spidey's basically looking for a chance to impress Tony and fast track his way into the Avengers; turns out that he's mostly ignored, and the friendly neighbourhood Spidey gig starts to bore him.

This is where the Vulture and his crew come in. The first 5 minutes of the movie is actually a quick intro to this crew (Adrian Toomes et. al). In another beautiful tying up of the MCU continuity, as occurred in Captain America: Civil War, we are introduced to the working stiffs whose job it is to clear up after the Avengers saved us from the initial otherworldly attack. In a stroke of bad luck, Damage Control (a Tony Stark/Federal Government outfit) pulls the kind of juris-my-diction move that basically takes the food off their table. Therefore, while sitting on a stash of uncatalogued alien-tech, and the skills to retrofit it for some nefarious applications, the crew basically puts together an operation that brings in the money on the black market, and puts the tech in the hands of lowly thugs. This thus becomes Spidey's make-or-break mission to prove that he's a worthy superhero whether he gets the backing or not.

I'm glad to say that you will walk into this movie very surprised; despite all the TV spots that were churned out, a lot of the story is still wrapped up tight such that you'd have to watch the movie to get any true sort of exposition. The movie actually did a lot with its 2 hr 13 min runtime: I was pleasantly surprised at how elaborately we get to follow Peter's progression, mix in a love interest, the Avengers' angle, and twists and turns with the villain. The superhero set pieces are also quite well done. Two standouts, without really giving anything away, are the Washington Monument rescue and the Ship Rescue. Seeing him attempt to hold that ship together echoed Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man 2 train scene; but, it also reminded me of Superman's airplane rescue from Superman Returns. I think those moments really grounded this Spider-Man, because even at these points that he's facing major insurmountable odd (stemming from his own weaknesses) he's still braving the odds to save the bystanders.  

Tom Holland is a great Spidey and a Peter Parker to boot. This is not the down-on-his-luck Spidey that we got from Tobey MaGuire, and neither is it the socially awkward ultra-jokesy Andrew Garfield iteration. We don't get a single mention about Uncle Ben this time around; rather, we only get to see Peter's interaction with his very young  (eye candy) Aunt May. Peter's life is mostly school and geeky shenanigans with his friend, Ned (who very early on learns Peter's secret). He is still amateurish as Spidey; his improved spider suit is a gift from Tony Stark, but it comes with a very elaborate leash which basically has him on "training wheels." This movie is interesting for examining one issue that is unique to our web-slinging hero and wasn't addressed in past versions: basically, how does he get around when you place him in an environment devoid of tall buildings to swing from? It is really hilarious to see how the dynamics turn out.

Marvel gets a bad wrap for having very weak villains. Apart from Loki (and maybe the Red Skull), most of their villains haven't exactly been memorable or insurmountable. Michael Keaton's "Vulture" is definitely a stellar addition. His motives are clear, and even when he's menacing he still retains a kind of likeability. Sure, he is a bad guy, and he does some unforgivable things, but unlike a Joker out for chaos, he's the kind of bad guy who is doing just enough that he gets to achieve his goal and avoids the heavy hit; essentially, staying under the radar. Marvel has finally gotten a villain right.
I have to mention that this movie has multiple villains, but they are really secondary characters; this safely keeps the attention on the Vulture, and prevents any Spider-man 3/Amazing Spider-man 2 missteps. I would absolutely be hyped for a Sinister 6 scenario if they can pay attention to these dynamics.

Ned (Jacob Batalon) was actually a good addition, providing the true support to Spidey's heroing. It could easily have been a cringe worthy gimmick that wrecked Homecoming, but it gives Peter a soundboard for some of his bad decisions, and a genius sidekick to help an amateur out. Jennifer Connelly as Karen, the AI in Spidey's suit, was yet another master stroke. Wonder if it's a coincidence that she's playing a role very similar to her husband's (Paul Bettany aka Jarvis aka Vision). She pokes as much fun at our hero's missteps as a sarcastic Jarvis did with Iron Man; was good to have that back-and-forth in this movie, especially as we get the exposition on how "extra" Tony went when upgrading the suit.

Zendaya's "Michelle" is just a counter-culture kid who is used to poke deadpan fun in various scenarios; but it seems her character was mostly hyped up, because Peter's love interest, Liz (Laura Harrier) has a more prominent role this time around. It remains to be seen what the MCU will do with Michelle's character in upcoming installments in light of the nickname she mentions towards the end of the movie.

I enjoyed the movie, and it flowed seamlessly from start to finish...with one exception. This movie comes after Civil War in the MCU canon, but there seems to be a slight discrepancy with regards to the Avengers' base of operations. This would lead me into spoiler territory, so it might be better for you to explore it yourself when you watch the movie. On another note, if you can watch this at a decent IMAX, I'd recommend that you see it there; if not, you might be better off watching it in 2-D. I really hope James Cameron's glassless 3D takes off, because I have never enjoyed the cumbersome experience of donning a pair of glasses just to watch a movie (totally intrusive).

All in all, I give this movie my highest seal of approval; give it a try and you won't regret it.

God Bless.

The Music of Acoustic Alchemy: Red Dust & Spanish Lace

The music of Acoustic Alchemy takes me back to my Messiah College days. I discovered the group sometime in 2003 thanks to Launchcast, a great Yahoo! internet music service that is currently defunct. I run across the service during those late summer nights when I'd get off work and just spend my time online until the sun came up; it basically kept me going till I could eat breakfast, and then get some sleep.

Since my music preferences were mostly set for "Jazz" and "Easy Listening", Acoustic Alchemy eventually popped up one day...and I was hooked. I remember checking out their website, and they had this player which played the full tracks from (as far as I can remember it) two of their last albums: The Beautiful Game and Aart. Aart was my first purchase from them, and, consequently, the album I used to introduce my brothers to the group. It's notable for having one of my favourite Acoustic Alchemy songs - "Passion Play" - and in 2012, during my twin brother's wedding, the groomsmen marched in to the church to the tune of "The Velvet Swing".

Anyway, I continued to follow the group, and later that year they released "Radio Contact", which I also ended up purchasing, in addition to some of their back catalog. As luck would have it, they ended up coming to perform a concert in Pennsylvania (Reading, PA to be exact).  The concert venue was slightly more than an hour away from Messiah, but, luckily, my then-girlfriend (Heather) drove us down and we got to experience Acoustic Alchemy in all their glory. Back then they still had bassist Frank Felix in their lineup; and Eddie M. was the man on sax-duty that night (a role that had been filled by Jeff Kashiwa for the making of Aart). Otherwise, the core was the same: Greg Carmichael (strings), Miles Gilderdale (strings), Fred White (Keys) and Greg Grainger (drums).
Any of their concerts is basically a time for comedy. Anytime you have Miles ad-libbing on the mic, something funny is bound to happen. This concert bookmarks 2004 for me because I remember Miles and Frank poking fun at the whole Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake debacle during the Superbowl Halftime show.

The tracklist consisted of a diverse bunch of tracks, some from Aart, The Beautiful Game, and of course, Radio Contact. However, towards the end, Greg went into an extended flamenco guitar solo that had me hypnotized. The tune felt somewhat familiar, but I wasn't sure I had actually encountered it. He put on a wonderful show in that solo, with so many emotions explored in the fast/slow ebb and flow of his notes, taking you on along for the ride; and just when I thought he was done, he starts playing double-time, and then they ended up segueing from the guitar solo into a more rapid flamenco infused piece by the whole band; I use the word "infused" because it is flamenco-nuanced. Actually, one of the guitars (Greg's Nylon) starts out in flamenco, but eventually he ends up switching to his more traditional playing style, with the band providing some flamenco riffs here and there. This is actually one of those long-form songs (not typical of their style), which starts out one way and then totally morphs into something unexpectedly new.

I remember that at the end of the concert they asked us if we had any requests that they'd want us to play. It was a free-for-all, and people pretty much shouted their favourites. Wish I could have been more emphatic in asking for "Passion Play", but instead they went with a wonderful version of "Flamoco Loco" that included a solo by drummer Greg Grainger which delved into an interpolation of Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean" before finally climaxing as Flamoco Loco. (In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't have asked for a song that needed a vocalist to hum along; but from a few videos on Youtube, I now see that they've decided to forgo the vocalist and still make an attempt to play it live).

In what must have seemed an injustice to me at that time, by the end of the concert they neglected to announce what the name of the flamenco song that they'd performed was; didn't even leave a hint in terms of which album it was from (and by this point in their careers, they were 13 albums deep). So I was left to track down things the old-fashioned way: listening to the CD track sampler on Amazon.com. Eventually, I found it: the title track from their very first album, Red Dust and Spanish Lace. Listening to the track, even now, brings back that subtle memory of that wintry night in Reading, PA, and the effervescent joy of knowing that beyond the enchanting solo (which is half of the song's length) lies a veritable feast in terms of good music.

The whole album is a masterpiece (and I'll get down to some of the standout tracks in due time), but it is its final track which is a true showstopper.

God Bless

Memories: One wintry night at Larsen...

The whole time I was a student at Messiah College, I also worked as a custodial assistant (read: janitor). I usually refer to this as my first true job because I didn't really do anything truly "professionally related" to my long and arduous field of study until I started my medical internship in 2014. I loved that I got to work with a lot of great people, that it gave me decent pocket money, and it gave me a sense of responsibility.

By the time my senior year rolled up, part of my duties included cleaning the (then) new building - Larsen Student Union. Each building I've had the experience of cleaning had its own character: Hoffman was old, and had squirrels in its roof, which ended up giving me the occasional "jump scare" on many a night; Boyer Hall was always well lit and had these big hallways; Larsen had a great open plan with a cafeteria with two levels of seating space, and some office space (can't forget the glass on the stair handrail that was impossible to keep clean).

But one thing about Larsen really unnerved me: on the upper seating level, they had these gnarly looking paintings that they had hung on the wall. Far be it from me to imply that the paintings were ugly or anything like that; rather, they were painted in a style slightly reminiscent of the Van Gogh self portrait I included up top. However, with the lights turned down low, those pictures made it seem like I was working under the watchful eye of Vigo the Carpathian (from Ghostbusters II); hence, here I was in another building that gave me "jump scares".

Vigo the Carpathian

One wintry night (prolly in 2004), I was doing my best to finish up cleaning in Larsen so that I could head on back to my apartment. Ironically, I was cleaning that upper seating level when I heard a loud bang that just made my knees turn into jelly. I scanned the "haunted wall" for any signs of dastardly poltergeist activity, but everything seemed to be in place. I can't lie: I did as superficial of a job as could be considered acceptable, and "got the hell out of dodge".

Making my way out of the exit towards Mellinger Apartments, I came face to face with the cause of the loud bang - a little bird plopped right outside the student union door. Putting 2 and 2 together, I concluded that the bird had probably flown into one of the clear glass windows and stunned itself. Well, the little bird wasn't really moving so I was being more positive than usual and counting on it being more stunned than seriously injured. It struck me as strange that a bird would be gallivanting around at night time; perhaps, if we had the "avian flu" scare around back then, I would have thought twice about my chance encounter with the little bird.

Even if the bird was merely stunned, I figured it wouldn't survive that frigid winter weather on its own that night. So, as gently as I could, I scooped up the little bird and placed in it my jacket pocket, and went home. I really didn't know what I was going to do with the little guy, but I figured I could at least keep him comfortable; I lined up an old shoe box with some waste paper and placed the bird inside. (I might have placed some water for it to drink, but my memory fails me)

Come morning time, I was in a hurry to get to class, so I left without even informing my housemates (Collins and Luke) that I had stowed away the bird in a shoe box within the upper reaches of the wardrobe. I don't even remember checking in on the little fella before I left. Anyway, after class was done, I made me way back to the apartment, hoping to come up with a solution for the little avian visitor; when I got home, I ended up finding a bit of a mess with a scanty trail of feathers scattered on the furniture, and an exasperated looking Luke.

Turns out the little bird had come to, and must have been shocked to find himself in a strange place. So, it panicked! I never found out what the finer details of the escape were, but I just know eventually Luke found a way to let it out. He gave me the kinda look that just screamed, "What the hell, Richard?"; but then he was one to have an eclectic collection of pets, so he knew my heart was in the right place.

My ex-girlfriend, Heather, reminded me about this incident a few years back. She told me that it was an idiosyncrasy that was just "so me." More compliment than actual backhand comment, it lifted my spirits. Who would've thought that the first life that I actually made an attempt at saving wasn't even human at all. I doubt that this one act will place me in that "weird" friend category, y'know, the kind who picks up weird animals, takes them home and fosters them. I just feel like it's something anyone would do if it happened to them.

Now that I'm a bit removed from my college days, I'm really missing school. Life was simpler, and I don't think I've had a boss and colleagues as good as the ones I had while I was on the cleaning crew. Nothing upped the job satisfaction scales like getting the seal of approval from my bosses (Teresa, Chuck, Dwight, Bob or Elick):

You do good work!

Who would've guessed that one of my best formative experiences was being a janitor (ahem, custodial assistant). It's too bad I can't list it on my resume. Lord knows my current life could use some of that simple appreciation from the higher-ups. It really is the simple things in life that you crave for when all is said and done.

Here's to hoping that the road ahead is filled with more positives.

God Bless.