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LOS ANGELES (AP) The San Jose Sharks are looking like the Western Conference contenders that many are expecting this season.
The Sharks used Kevin Labanc's goal 2:53 into overtime to beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 Friday night.
''The guys played like we needed to win this game and we found a way to do it,'' San Jose coach Pete DeBoer said. ''We lost our home opener and found a way to come into a tough building and I thought we played well.''
San Jose was defeated by Anaheim 5-2 in its opener on Wednesday, but looked better in its second game. Meanwhile, the Kings struggled to put the puck into the net, which has been a theme of the past couple seasons. They were outshot 33-21 and came up empty in five power-play opportunities.
''We were trying to rush plays in the first period. Once we got the first goal we kind of settled down and started making plays,'' said Kings forward Anze Kopitar, who had a first-period goal.
The Sharks took a 2-0 first-period lead before Los Angeles rallied and forced the overtime.
Martin Jones made 19 saves as San Jose beat the Kings for the fourth time in its last five meetings.
Jonathan Quick made 30 saves for Los Angeles, which dropped to 0-5 when the Sharks are the opening opponent.
San Jose scored two goals on its first six shots in the first period. Timo Meier put the Sharks on the board at 9:42 of the first when he directed a Marc-Edward Vlasic shot near the blue line past Quick. Evander King followed four minutes later with a wrist shot after a turnover deep in the Kings' end. It was his second goal of the season.
Los Angeles rallied as Kopitar scored off a deflected shot late in the first period that cut the deficit in half. Tyler Toffoli grabbed a deflection off the end boards and fired it past Jones 37 seconds into the second, tying the score at 2-all.
The game appeared to be headed to a shootout, but Logan Couture found Labanc rushing to the net and hit him with a perfect pass to beat Quick. Erik Karlsson, who San Jose acquired in a trade during the offseason, also got an assist, his first point with the Sharks.
''It's a pretty good feeling to start out a road trip with a win,'' Labanc said. ''The refs were not giving us the calls we wanted but we played our battle.''
Ilya Kovalchuk made his Kings' debut and saw 20 minutes of ice time.
The 35-year old Russian, who was playing in his first NHL game since 2013 after five seasons in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League, was the right winger on Los Angeles' top line with Kopitar centering and Alex Iafallo at left wing. Kovalchuk took two shots on goal.
''We got to score on our chances. We had a few on our line and we didn't score,'' Kovalchuk said. ''It was our first game and you know everybody is real nervous and the Sharks played their second game and you can tell they feel a little better. I think against Detroit it will be much better.''
Sharks: Continue their five-game road trip on Monday at the New York Islanders.
Kings: Host Detroit on Sunday before going on the road for four straight.
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/tag/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
Copyright 2018 by AP. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of AP is strictly prohibited.


text: \u003cp\u003eSo, the idea of investing in real estate long term intrigues you. You aren't looking to get rich by next Wednesday with no money or credit like that guy holding the huge check in the infomercials. Instead, long term real estate investing makes rational sense. All it promises is that if you invest your hard saved capital into quality properties leased to great tenants you can pay them off over time and create a retirement income stream. And that income stream can give you the freedom to pursue the life you want – whatever that entails.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut that's easier said than done. There are so many moving pieces to the long term real estate investing puzzle and putting them together can become overwhelming for an investor that's just getting started. So overwhelming that it can keep that investor from getting started at all.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf only there was a step-by-step guide to start investing in real estate long term…\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eStep 1: Evaluate Resources\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first step to reaching any destination is figuring out where you are. In your real estate investing journey that means you must take honest inventory of your resources.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCapital\u003c/strong\u003e – I will be straightforward with you: Investing in real estate long term requires substantial capital. You don't need to have all the capital you are going to need available at the beginning of your journey. But you will need sufficient capital to get you started on the first one. After which you can save more capital for the next by using your job income and by recycling some of your positive cash flow into capital. \u003ca href="http://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2013/03/29/how-to-invest-in-real-estate-with-no-money/" title="How to Invest in Real Estate with No Money"\u003eBuying real estate with no money\u003c/a\u003e can be done but it's a suckers bet 99% of the time. There are exceptions of course, but usually it's a path reserved for newbies who don't know any better. Don't let the sales pitch fool you: The costs of buying investment real estate with no money far outweigh the pain of saving the capital to buy properties the right way.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCredit\u003c/strong\u003e – Same goes for credit. Any plan that involves the acquisition of multiple single family investment properties by default requires excellent credit if you want the best financing terms. Guidelines are a bit looser for the first three properties so you may get away with slightly less than perfect credit. But after that, it has to be above a 720 score. If you're not quite there at the moment, this would be a good time to pull a credit report and start addressing and settling problematic accounts so your score can rise to that level. Any money spent towards this goal will be money well spent down the road. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFinancing\u003c/strong\u003e – At this stage, it would be greatly beneficial for you to speak to a Lender (bank, credit union, mortgage bank) and get per-approved. The time to find out about potential roadblocks is before you make a move on an actual property. If your Lender spots those roadblocks during the pre-approval process, you can do something to eliminate them now rather than have them cost you a property (or money) later. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRelated\u003c/strong\u003e: \u003ca href="http://www.biggerpockets.com/mortgage"\u003eThe BiggerPockets Mortgage Center\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIncome\u003c/strong\u003e – A strong income is the foundation that supports your ability to acquire and finance multiple properties. When lending guidelines are tightened, they usually involve requiring the investor to qualify for the loan on the standalone strength of their income without counting on future or expected rental income. Most importantly, some investors make the mistake of quitting their jobs before they've completed all their acquisitions and find themselves unable to finance anymore properties. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTime\u003c/strong\u003e – At first glance, time may seem like it doesn't belong in this list of resources as most of us think we have plenty of it. But time is a huge resource. An investor that gets started in their early to late 20s has a substantial advantage over another who starts investing in their 50s. So don't discount time because it's a precious resource. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKnowledge\u003c/strong\u003e – Finally, when you invest in real estate long term you should run it like a business. And to run a business properly you need knowledge of what determines success in that business. Likewise, you must come to the table with a sufficient body of knowledge about long term investing. Often, I see investors who completely defer the knowledge aspect to the "expert" they are working with and get burned in the process. Know the business before you step in. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eStep 2: Build Your Plan\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eZig Ziglar had a great quote which I love: If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time. I know that sometimes it feels like you just want to go out there and get started. But if you build a plan before you hit the pavement you could save yourself years you might spend going in the wrong direction. Your plan needs to provide important answers to these questions:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhat's the income goal at retirement?\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow much time do you have to get there?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow many assets must you acquire to get there?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow much capital will be required to make these acquisitions?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow long will it take you to make these acquisitions?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow long will it take you to pay them off using cashflow alone?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome of those answers must come from you at the beginning. For instance, the income goal at retirement is unique to each investors situation. This goal can be fluid over time but it must be specific at the onset. Other answers will depend on the market you will be investing in and the typical properties in that market \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eStep 3: Identify Target Market and Properties\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have come to the moment of truth. Take an honest look at your local market. Does it really offer good opportunities for long term investing? Or let me ask you the same question a different way: If you lived in another state, would you invest in real estate in your local market? If the answer is yes, you happen to live in a location that offers great opportunities. Be thankful for this and take full advantage of it. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf the answer is no, you should explore the possibility of investing out of state and look at all \u003ca href="http://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2013/03/27/vital-market-characteristics/" target="_blank"\u003evital market characteristics\u003c/a\u003e to make sure that market is suitable for long term investing. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce you've determined the market you will be investing in, it's time to figure out what properties you should focus on. The best advice I have for you on this topic is: buy the properties that your desired tenants want to rent. Most investors do this backwards. They find a cheap house in a mediocre location then they try to figure out how to attract great tenants to that home. Guess what? Your desired tenants don't want to live there. A great investment property resides at the intersection of what great tenants want and what the investor needs in terms of return and cash flow. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eStep 4: Execute Your Acquisitions\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first deal you do will be like a university course: You will learn so much! At the same time you will be very skeptical and will be second guessing yourself a lot. And you should be. At this point, investing in real estate makes sense to you \u003cem\u003ein an intellectual level\u003c/em\u003e but you still require verification that the idea you have in your mind about how things will happen, actually materializes in real life. So three pieces of advice here. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFirst, run conservative numbers. Don't try to make yourself feel better about the deal by artificially sweetening the numbers. Err on the conservative side if you must.\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSecond, ask lots of questions. Knowledge is the only way to gain the required confidence to execute subsequent deals with the coldness of a killer. So leverage the knowledge of people in your team that have seen your movie before.\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThird, go slow at first. Buy a property, stabilize it, verify that proforma fits reality than buy again.\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA note of caution as well: Whatever you do, try to avoid one of the most common mistakes made by investors – bbsessing over price. Realize that when you make leveraged acquisitions price is only one side of the coin. Cost of capital is the other. If you buy a property for $160,000 with financing at 4% and another at 145,000 with financing at 5%, the first is cheaper than the second as far as your cash flow is concerned. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce you've gotten past the jitters of the start and you've seen your strategy come to life in the first couple of properties then execute with focus and with purpose. Complete your acquisitions as fast as your comfort zone will permit. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eStep 5: Build Your Capital Base\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce you complete your acquisitions, use the positive cashflow to fund an aggressive campaign to pay off mortgages and build your capital base in the process – one property at a time. If your portfolio contains many properties you might have properties being paid off at a rate of one every 18-36 months. Each time another property is paid off, you are receiving live confirmation that your investing strategy is working. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd, if you need to move the needle faster, invest monthly from your job income to pay them off quicker and reach retirement sooner.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eStep 6: Enjoy your Max Cashflow\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce all your properties are paid off, you can take your victory lap and enjoy the fruits of your discipline and your focused intensity. You know you've earned it. You set a goal that seemed so unattainable years ago, you built a plan and executed. So now you get to reap the rewards. You're free to do as you please. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eor\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eStep 6a: Exchange/Exit and Explore New Options\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs an alternative path, you may look at your much larger capital base and decide you want to explore the new options that level of capital can offer. Assets and strategies that were completely out of reach when you got started are now at your disposal. So, if something looks enticing, you can exchange/exit some (or all) your assets and make another move.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size="-2"\u003ePhoto: \u003ca href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/8343073@N03/2102053557/"\u003epropertysnaps\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/font\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cstyle\u003e\r\n .ubg-footer {\r\n position: relative;\r\n }\r\n\r\n .ubg-footer h3 {\r\n color: #5C74B8;\r\n font-size: 25px;\r\n margin-bottom: 14px;\r\n }\r\n\r\n .ubg-footer p, .ubg-footer ul{\r\n line-height: 23px;\r\n }\r\n\r\n .ubg-footer .download-link, .ubg-footer .spam-info {\r\n margin: auto;\r\n display: table;\r\n font-size: 13px;\r\n }\r\n\r\n .ubg-footer .download-link:hover {\r\n box-shadow: 0 0 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);\r\n -webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);\r\n -moz-box-shadow: 0 0 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);\r\n }\r\n\r\n .ubg-footer img {\r\n width: 146px;\r\n float: right;\r\n }\r\n\r\n .ubg-footer ul {\r\n margin: 0 0 1em 1em;\r\n //list-style-type: none;\r\n }\r\n .ubg-footer li {\r\n //margin-bottom: 0.5em;\r\n clear: both;\r\n }\r\n .ubg-footer li:before {\r\n /*content: "e61d";\r\n font-family: 'biggerpockets-icons';\r\n speak: none;\r\n font-style: normal;\r\n font-weight: normal;\r\n font-variant: normal;\r\n text-transform: none;\r\n line-height: 1;\r\n -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;\r\n -moz-osx-font-smoothing: grayscale;\r\n color: #3d84b3;\r\n display: block;\r\n padding-top: 6px;\r\n width: 1.5em; height: 1em;\r\n float: left;*/\r\n }\r\n\r\n .ubg-footer .info-1 {\r\n padding-right: 136px;\r\n margin-bottom: 16px;\r\n }\r\n\r\n .ubg-footer .sign-up {\r\n text-align: center;\r\n margin-bottom: 10px;\r\n }\r\n @media all and (max-width: 400px) {\r\n .ubg-footer .button {\r\n padding: 5px;\r\n }\r\n }\r\n\u003c/style\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

subset: commoncrawl


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Frannie McSoley
Frannie began her yoga practice in 2007 while training for an upcoming rugby season. Intrigued immediately, she has since been on a long and winding path toward a career in yoga and meditation. After giving birth in 2016 she has been committed to healing and caring for herself and others using yoga, mindfulness, & spiritual connection. Frannie obtained her 200 hour certification in Orange County, CA and is also a trained birth and postpartum doula. She loves working with folks of all walks of life including moms and moms-to-be as well as babies, toddlers, and older children.
Frannie teaches baby and kids yoga in Burlington and Essex, as well as prenatal yoga in Burlington.


text:
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Name of Mfg / Importer / Brand: Vanesa Cosmetics Pvt. Ltd
Address of Mfg / Importer / Brand: Vanesa Care Pvt. Ltd. 18, Ground Floor, Pusa Road, Karol Bagh, New Delhi-110005


text:
Algorithms and the New Wave of Kenyan Music6 min read.
The songs don't have the best beats out there, the artists don't have makeup or extensive wardrobes nor do the video vixens necessarily appeal to the beauty ideal. They're just normal people, who are easily relatable. Plus, the meme is the message, as researchers ODIPODEV explore.
If you are a Kenyan with some form of regular access to the Internet, chances are that you've heard the chant "Wamlambez!" and the equally loud response "Wamnyonyez!". This now-ubiquitous chant is derived from a hit song by a group of five high-spirited youngsters called Sailors.
The music industry in Kenya right now seems to be caught in a philosophical daze about what this new wave of music means to Kenyan culture and musical evolution. Ezekiel Mutua, CEO of the Kenya Film and Classification Board this week forbade the song "Wamlambez", as well as the song "Tetema" by Tanzanian musicians Diamond Platnumz and Rayvanny, outside of clubs and bars. It is unclear whether this move is in his mandate, a man who is perceived to frequently overstep his boundaries and bestrides Kenya's entertainment scene as a kind of moral policeman.
It is also unclear whether this forbidding is indeed enforceable, seeing that so much popular music is accessed on personal smartphones. In any case, Kenyan clubs and airwaves have been taken over by a new organic sound and we are all paying attention. Music is very much an anthropological tool, and we see these eccentric hits as a window into culture; more specifically how the music industry in Kenya is changing and how the making of hit songs is being reorganized, both from an artist and audience perspective.
How the Internet has changed audience composition
Despite Internet penetration growing rapidly in Kenya in the early 2010s, it was still not yet a viable platform for mainstream musical success. This is partly because the audience that was considered to be the "mainstream" wasn't yet accessing the Internet as regularly or as easily. The demographic that was accessing the Internet at this point was the educated, middle to high-income earner and there still existed a lot of privilege for Internet access. As such, we believe a large number of Internet successes around reflected the tastes of this privileged group.
However, at around the halfway point of the decade, smartphone penetration reached a tipping point and Internet access became highly democratized. And herein began the true unspoken shift in power. The beauty of the Internet and the algorithms that operate it, mean that the demand side of the equation has a great influence on what surfaces to the top of search results.
One just needs to take a look at how much YouTube's Kenya home page has changed over the years. The collective action of the majority tends to push certain pieces of content to the top, hence the word "trending". As more and more of the mainstream audience began to access the Internet, they changed the entire fabric of what was popular or trending based on their own interests. It is in the midst of all this change that new genres like this so-called 'Odi pop' have emerged. The new sound has a very grassroots feel to it that is resonant with a large majority of Kenyans, especially the youth.
The medium is the message
One of the most common sayings in media theory is "The medium is the message". The basic idea behind this theory is that the medium through which we consume a specific piece of content affects how we receive the message that is presented to us. The medium is the message, the content is only incidental. The evolution of the media landscape in Kenya has definitely affected the Kenyan message across various realms and music is no exception.
Before the advent of the Internet, mainstream media acted as a gatekeeper comprising traditional media owners and editors of radio and TV stations. This small group created all sorts of creative restrictions as to what the audience would and wouldn't consume. The standard of what was considered acceptable for public consumption was sieved through the lens of these gatekeepers.
For music, this meant that certain genres or lyrics of a certain kind were promoted, while others were frowned upon. With the Internet however, music now has a chance to develop freely with no interference from the corporate or politicized media interests. As a result, this allows for very high depth and width of musical styles to come to the fore. It also means that what becomes a hit can end up being something very different from what we are used to seeing in the mainstream.
If you go down the rabbit hole that is YouTube's recommendation engine based on Odi pop, an interesting trend begins to emerge. You get a front seat to a certain type of raw authenticity that brings out the real context of the lived experiences Kenyan urban youth. You get to witness a different perception of aspiration, lifestyles, hair and dressing from what you would expect from the mainstream media. Typically, most of these songs and their videos would never make it to radio or TV.
However, when we look at how audiences consume media on the Internet and especially social media and YouTube, it is often the case that grimy production of this kind of music has more appeal than the glitzy, overproduced nature of mainstream TV and radio content, music videos in particular. The amateur aesthetic is definitely important to content creation on the web. The songs don't have the best beats out there, the artists don't have makeup or extensive wardrobes nor do the video vixens necessarily appeal to the beauty ideal. They are just normal people, who are easily relatable, and this might be one of the reasons why a lot of these songs are raking in tons of views online. The fact that YouTube is the main medium from which this music has arisen has completely changed the way the message we're getting is delivered.
The second part of the how the medium has affected this message is something that comes to mind specifically when you observe the two current champions of this sound, the groups Sailors and Ethic. The fact that the rise of the Internet in Kenya has been driven by the smartphone has meant that the power of publishing is not just with the creator but with the creator's audience as well. Every single person today who consumes content online also has the potential to create something new from the content they've just consumed. In the case of 'Odi pop', the songs seem to come with a long tail of user-generated content for the artist's audiences to snack on – that is, commentary, reactions, reviews or simply clipping highlights from the content piece, created by the audience themselves.
The technical term for this kind of audience member is the 'prosumer', and they are redefining the dynamics of how we think about popular culture. Their preferred tool of choice is the meme. Memes have been instrumental to the success and accessibility of this genre of music, and have spiked its visibility on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Songs like "Wamlambez" can be consumed multiple times a day outside the context of the full song itself. The meme has become a democratized art form that Kenyans in many ways (as with all art) have used to collectively express their traumas and interpret their culture. However, unlike almost everything else in entertainment, they are rarely made for the purpose of making money; they are simply here to make us laugh. They are an authentic intervention in our consumption of culture and we use them to evoke powerful shared moments of our collective cultural identity.
Songs have a way of capturing the national imagination, reaching moments where you almost can't seem to escape the song with it playing everywhere and being sang by everyone. Something similar happens on the Internet when things go viral – seeming to follow no rhyme or reason, people are compelled to like, share, retweet or participate in things online. In the case of Sailors, Ethic, the Boondocks Gang, Ochungulo Family, Zzero Sufuri, and the rest, the manner in which their songs have captured the national imagination is telling of how much the audience has changed. The songs are a different kind of entertainment product. They rely on the contagious nature of humor on the Internet and the sense of belonging that challenges such as the #wamlambezchallenge provides. This in many ways is evident when you look at the mentions for the term "Wamlambez" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Odi pop in some ways isn't about the mastery of sound, it is a feel good type of music that also pays attention to the intimate ways in which we cultivate communities online. In short, we are enjoying music together in a different way, and our position in the food chain of media has changed. Again, the medium has fundamentally reorganized the way we receive this message. The way songs become hits in Kenya has changed and so has the relationship between the artist and the audience.
Still, the Internet also presents a new set of challenges, particularly with regards to issues of copyright, as Ethic came up against when their song "Figa" was pulled off YouTube and Apple Music for copyright infringement of the beats sampled in their song. The main issue here has to do with sample clearance for beats in Kenya. It is entirely possible that Ethic may have bought the beats for the song without knowledge that the beat was sampling someone else and hence infringing on their copyright.
As Kenyans begin to use more and more global music platforms to try and reach audiences, there will probably be lot more sample clearance issues popping up. Copyright enforcement becomes more and more of a global issue so you can get caught literally anywhere.
Previously Kenyans could get away with such issues, as enforcement was close to impossible when the songs were confined to analogue TV and radio. Who in the US would ever find out that one had a random Diana Ross sample in your song in Kenya?But the digital age means that local producers are not going to be able to do this anymore; the song's virality on the Internet means that they will effectively run into copyright issues.
In short, the success of the song and the way it travels ends up snitching on you. In this way, the medium is influencing the way hit music is being made because originality of the sound is going to be paramount in how the song becomes a hit, unless artists can afford to pay for the sample.
The Rising Lakes of the Rift Valley: How Extreme Weather Changes Are Threatening Lives in Kenya
In Kenya, rising water levels in lakes along the Great Rift Valley have forced thousands of people from their homes, submerging huge areas of farmland. Schools, hospitals, roads and water pipes have been destroyed. Crucially, there is a real fear that Lake Baringo and Lake Bogoria, one fresh and the other saline, will contaminate each other. Ferdinand Omondi writes about this threat of an ecological disaster.
It was an easy Wednesday morning when the phone call came in. I was seated in my study, pitching ideas, studying for my semester exams and trolling the net for news. The COVID-19 pandemic has us working from home and away from offices and fieldwork unless absolutely necessary. My producer, Joe, told me there was a situation developing down in Baringo that fitted the "absolutely necessary" description.
Early the next day, I packed up to leave Nairobi for the first time since March, an overnight stay. Risk assessment? Check. Equipment? Check. PPE? Check. Headphones? Check. Waterproof shoes? I forgot to buy those.
The Landcruiser meandered its way down the winding highways and picturesque scenery of Kenya's Rift Valley. Up at Mau Summit, Mount Longonot's imposing mass upon the lowlands reminded me of the breath-taking scenery that is Great Rift Valley's gift to Kenya. But this marvel of nature has been sending warning signs lately. Two years ago, the ground split open at Suswa, leaving a giant crack several kilometres long and forty feet deep in some areas. Geologists wondered whether Africa was beginning to split again, whether two tectonic plates were moving away from each other. Thousands of people were forced to relocate.
This August it was the lakes in the Rift Valley, some 280 kilometres north of Nairobi, that had us heading out to investigate. Our drive to Baringo was uneventful, except for a stop in the middle of Marigat to move a tortoise off the road. The noise of passing vehicles had driven it to recoil into its shell in the middle of the highway. Baringo is teeming with wildlife.
We eventually pulled up at Kampi ya Samaki, a sleepy lakeside fishing and tourism settlement. A group of excited young men crowded the windows and aggressively tried to get our attention.
"No hotel here sir, they are all flooded. I take you somewhere else. Please. Good price". I hear the words, but can't figure out who spoke.
"All of them?"
"Yes. All of them. The flood is very bad. All the good hotels are gone".
These young men are tour guides, starved of revenue since lakeside resorts in Baringo became submerged under water. One of them identifies himself as Rama. Rama says it has been months since he last had a good day's pay. We are standing at the green gate of what would have been the entrance to Robert's Camp. The entire facility is flooded. Every structure is under water. It was a beautiful lakeside resort with cottages and tents, camping grounds and a bar. We would probably have spent the night here. But today we will have to make do with the Tamarind Garden, situated several hundred metres away and across the road that runs alongside the lake. It is modest, clean and basic. The rooms are a bit claustrophobic, but the service more than assuages my insecurities. We retire for the night, to begin a fresh day in the early morning and really digest the extent of the damage caused by a lake that is aggressively extending its boundaries.
The sun is just rising over the hills, the rays beautifully reflecting on the calm water. It is early morning, and we have hired the services of Julius, a boatman whose thriving tour business now depends on ferrying stranded locals from one end of the lake to another, and occasional visitors like us. Dickson Lenasolio, a middle-aged local, is taking us to the place he used to call home, which he says is now all under water. As we weave through the trees and shrubs that were once Robert's Camp's lush gardens, I am warned not to trail my bare hands in the water. This is crocodile territory.
We move slowly along the edges of the lake. We sail past a building half submerged in water, only the green roof protruding above the morning waves. This was the fisheries department, and just beyond it was a health centre. All around me used to be dry land on which a community once thrived. There were homes, farms, schools, and hospitals. Much of that has been submerged. As we speed up, another tourist resort comes into view. The Soi Safari Lodge, a striking 74-room hotel with an Olympic-size swimming pool stands desolate and ghostly. It was deserted after the lake flooded the ground floors. I am told the owners had only recently made renovations in preparation for tourists.
We speed up across the lake, past a dead crocodile floating in the water. After about twenty minutes, the boat slows down as we approach Dickson's former village. I can see the protruding roofs of houses where people used to live. I can make out sections of maize plantations from the extended stems of dying maize plants swaying in the waves. I can make out paddocks and homestead fences from the dangerously sagging wires and posts that are threatening to stall our boat. Dickson is now guiding us through the maze of roofs, trees and weeds, his wrinkles too prominent for one aged only 54. As he points to the spot where his house once stood, he tells us he was once a wealthy dairy farmer, before Lake Baringo swelled and swallowed up all his material wealth and he lost everything.
"I had Sahiwals [a breed of high-yield dairy cows]. I sold milk to the locals and it was good business. I would sell milk every day, and I had lots of grass in my farm".
Dickson goes on to describe what he lost.
"My farm here was wire-fenced. We were using solar power to keep out wild animals. But when the water approached and we kept thinking it will recede, it did not, until it became impossible to retrieve the wire. Now it's all below here, and the wire was very expensive. One roll is over 200 dollars. I fenced over 40 acres with it. My brother fenced 60. All of that is gone. It's had to get it out because you can hardly even see the posts. These were 9-foot posts".
"It wasn't just me. There were other farmers who also did the business. They kept cows either for beef or milk. We suffered heavy losses. Because all the farms are now under water. We had no means of preventing it. At first, we thought we could seal the farms off. But, no. The lake kept rising night and day. Until it covered all the farms and we moved".
Dickson says they have never seen the water levels rise like this since they were born. Not even his father, who he says is now 92. He recalls how the flooding began during the heavy rains back in March and everyone thought it would ease off with time. It did not.
"I brought down my buildings and so did my neighbours", says Dickson. "We moved up about 800 metres. We started living there, and the water still got to us. We pulled our homes down. Now many have moved up the hill, to Marigat, Leberer, all the way up. Unfortunately, when we moved the animals up there, away from the grass they were used to, they fell sick and died".
"Our father lived here. Our grandfathers lived here too. But now we have no hope. We don't see the water receding because it has risen to unprecedented levels".'
We drop Dickson off as close to his new home as possible, and he alights and wades off into the distance. He fears he may have to relocate his home for the third time.
The flooding has also cut off essential services. Power, transport, health. A building that used to be a clinic sits lonely among the tall dead trees in the still water. We watch as sick women are brought in by boat. They wade to the shore in search of medication. They will meet nurse Emily, who provides free health care in a little green tent, from where she has noticed a surge in crocodile attacks.
"We were treating burns, wounds and snake bites", says Emily. "We also helped women with family planning and gave HIV/AIDS support. Since the flooding, our work has been affected because many people can't get to us because they used to come on foot. Others fear travelling over water because there are crocodiles and hippos".
Next to Emily's small tent a group of women are sifting quality grass seeds. The seeds would have been planted on the land which is now underwater. The health facilities and grass are provided by RAE (Rehabilitation of Arid Environments), a trust that helps local people turn arid land into sustainable pasture. The social enterprise runs a project called "Nyasi ni Pesa" – grass is money – which provides the locals with indigenous species of dryland grass which can survive the area's arid conditions. This is the grass that Dickson's purebreds thrived on. After harvesting, RAE then buys back the seeds, giving the women and their families a healthy income too. But the whole model is now under threat.
Murray Roberts, a Kenyan of British ancestry, runs the RAE project. He has lived in Baringo his whole life, and has watched the water levels rise and rise. Roberts shows me an extraordinary family photo taken in the 90s. It's a photo of his two sons jumping off a cliff outside his home. It appears to be at least 30 feet high. We take another boat ride to the place where the photo was taken; the entire cliff face is now below the water.
But Murray has an even bigger fear than the loss of land and livelihoods. Less than 40 kilometres south of Lake Baringo is Lake Bogoria. The highly saline lake is home to a famous colony of flamingos and is a gazetted national park. But Lake Bogoria is also rising. I learn that the Kenya Wildlife Service has moved its main gate three times, each one submerged as the lake expands. Senior KWS Warden James Kimaru has been quoted saying that the water levels increased within one month from a width of 34 km2 to 43 km2. We see one of the KWS buildings in the distance, half submerged in water. New roads into the reserve are being constructed after previous ones were also covered by the water. As the lakes expand in width, the distance between them shrinks. Murray is concerned that with both Lake Baringo and Lake Bogoria rising, the two lakes could eventually contaminate each other.
"The thing that is really worrying me about this situation is if Lake Bogoria starts flowing into Lake Baringo. What would be the outcome of that because Bogoria is a highly alkaline lake and it will be an ecological disaster. Once that water reaches Lake Baringo it will affect the fish, it will affect the bird life, it will affect the aquatic life".
It is a concern that the Baringo County government shares. A post-floods report published in June by the Kenya Inter-Agency Rapid Assessment Mechanism concluded that the Rift Valley is becoming the most flood-prone region in Kenya. Much of that water ends up in the lakes, which inevitably swell. The report attributed the flooding to a combination of poor land use practices, deforestation and accumulation of silt. In May, the government counted over 200 deaths from flooding, with at least 800,000 people affected countrywide, Much of the destruction happened along river and lake settlements like Lake Baringo and its feeder rivers. Outside the Rift Valley, Lake Victoria was reported to have risen to its highest levels in over 50 years.
Helen Robinson, a geologist with extensive experience in East Africa, explained to me that when it is hot and dry for a long time the soils becomes so dry that they cannot absorb water. Then when it rains, huge amounts run along the surface to the rivers, then the lakes. Robinson explained that if the soils had some moisture content, much more of the rainwater would drain into the groundwater system. Trees help soils to retain moisture, but Kenya's forest cover is only 7% of its landmass, 3 per cent less than the 10 per cent recommended by the United Nations.
All these points reinforce the concerns that human activity is contributing to the extreme changes in our climate. The UN says climate change is a reality, and that human activity is the main cause. Scientists have stressed the importance of lowering our carbon emissions to limit the impact we're having on our planet. Robinson said that if we don't try harder, the damage could become irreversible including melting ice at the poles, rising sea levels, more climate extremes, loss of habitats and mass extinctions.
Baringo is experiencing extreme weather changes and destruction to its habitat. But across the Rift Valley, similar swellings were recorded in Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha this year, and even in Lake Turkana in the north, with the varying levels of destruction pointing to a pattern. Whatever the causes, it is a race for survival, and at the moment, nature is winning.
Are Kenyans Ready to Parley?
Kenyans are reportedly "being taken by storm" by Parler, a newish right-wing social media platform. But do they really know how toxic the storm sweeping over them is? The platform is racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, white supremacist – and that's only for starters.
US-based Parler has been around since 2018, but was fairly unknown outside the US until recently. Billed as a conservative alternative to Twitter, it now has some two million users, including Kenyans, who post what Parler calls "parleys" rather than tweets. It champions free speech, claims not to censor, and has attracted many Twitter castaways who were banned for breaking Twitter's rules – especially those concerning racist hate speech. (An FM radio station in Kenya claimed that Kenyans were "being taken by storm" by Parler.)
Parler has made concerted efforts to lure Donald Trump away from his Twitter addiction, thus far unsuccessfully, even though Twitter has started fact-checking Trump's tweets and removing those that are false or misleading, which has made the US president very unhappy. Founded by conservatives fed up with the moderation of posts on Twitter and Facebook, it has become the go-to home for right-wingers and "libertarians" in the US, the UK and around the world.
But how popular is this social media platform likely to become in Kenya and the diaspora once its unbridled racism and Western-centrism becomes clear?
Despite its free speech credentials, Parler does in fact ban those it doesn't like. "Pretty much all of my leftist friends joined Parler to screw with MAGA [Make America Great Again] folks, and every last one of them was banned in less than 24 hours because conservatives truly love free speech," one user wrote on Twitter.
This is largely the story of my experience on Parler. I joined in July, under a pseudonym, largely to find out what some of the British "castaways" were up to, and to continue calling them out on racism and Islamophobia, in particular. What I've experienced in this shouty, sweary bear-pit may act as a warning to those tempted to dive in.
Within days of joining, I was called (among other things) a tyrant, leftard, libtard, racist, fascist, pedo and peodo (sic), faggot, nonce, pervert, jihadist, globalist, c**t, twunt (a reference to Twitter), whiney Karen, baby raper, commie, Marxist, moron, and a "stanky, sweat-dripping, hairy balls dude". One British man who lobbed constant anti-Irish abuse after I revealed my dual Irish/British citizenship, called me a "dirty peat-digging Paddy", Tinker and "bog trotting Mick". (The slur "leftie scum" is comparatively sweet.) Though I left my gender unclear ("bloke, possibly"), many have assumed I am a gay man, and have sent homophobic abuse that elides gay men and paedophiles.
Within days of joining, I was called (among other things) a tyrant, leftard, libtard, racist, fascist, pedo and peodo (sic), faggot, nonce, pervert, jihadist, globalist, c**t, twunt (a reference to Twitter), whiney Karen, baby raper, commie, Marxist, moron, and a "stanky, sweat-dripping, hairy balls dude".
But this is nothing compared to the online abuse thrown at women of colour. When Kamala Harris was announced as Joe Biden's running mate, many on the official Team Trump timeline called her a whore ("ho") who has slept her way to the top. Revolting memes and doctored pictures showed her being f**ked from behind by a donkey (a symbol associated with Democrats), going down on the J in Joe, as a scantily-clad prostitute standing on a street corner next to a photo-shopped image of Biden dressed as a pimp, and so on.
The same "birther" slurs that Trump and Trumpites lobbed at Barack Obama – for allegedly having been born in Kenya and therefore ineligible to be POTUS – are also being lobbed at Asian-American Harris, who was in fact born in the US. One sample racist comment stands for many: "You have to give Kamala Comealot Harris credit in one area… she has worked hard in her career. She has worn out 12 pairs of knee pads!" This kind of abuse continues unabate, whenever Trumpites refer to the Dems and their presidential candidates. I repeat, much of this is on the official Team Trump timeline. Let that sink in.
Shortly after joining Parler, I also began reading the online Front Page Magazine (FPM), founded in the US by far-right commentator David Horowitz, which features articles by former British Twitter queen Katie Hopkins (explained below). Some of the abuse in the comment sections on FPM is as bad if not worse than Parler
Much of what I've read cannot be reproduced here, because it includes unfettered racism, sexism, misogyny, Islamophobia, homophobia, and all the other "obias" one can think of. Language that would earn the messenger an instant ban from Twitter. (I will give some examples later.) One can usually identify fellow travellers by the fact that they "up-vote" your comment, whereas right-wing nasties give you the thumbs down, often followed by a torrent of four-lettered abuse. Parler does not do "likes" as Twitter does, and neither is there an edit option. Occasionally, just to draw people out, I throw in the odd (tongue-in-cheek) far-right endorsement, which is enthusiastically greeted as presumably coming from "one of us". I sometimes agree with Katie and her ilk; very few recognise this as sarcasm.
Why describe my Parler experience? Because while it is tempting to ignore Parler and the far right and to wrinkle your nose and turn away, I believe it is dangerous to do so. That's also an empirical observation, grounded in my past experience as a newspaper hack who has interviewed far-right lads. In an earlier incarnation as a sociology student, I joined a gang in order to study youth deviance, and learned plenty about fledgling British Nazis. Turning a blind eye allows these folk to fester underground, largely unseen and unchecked, and to assume that the far-right threat has receded. At least these haters were in full view on Twitter, and could be called out by thousands of people, before being banned if they violated Twitter's rules. Lift the lid on Parler and FPM and you find a hornet's nest buzzing with people stoking hatred against anyone perceived as the enemy.
British migrants from Twitter
The best-known of these recent migrants to these platforms include far-right activist Tommy Robinson and his whacky pal Katie Hopkins, who is often described as a "media commentator". Islamophobic racist white supremacists would be a better label, though they both claim not to be racist or white supremacist. Both call themselves journalists, which is infuriating to those of us who really are.
Tommy is fond of wearing T-shirts reading "Convicted of Journalism", following his conviction and jailing for contempt of court in July 2019 after he interfered with the trial of a sexual grooming gang the previous year. (This is only the latest in a string of convictions; he faces trial for libel soon.) I helped to get Hopkins permanently banned from Twitter earlier this year after a sustained campaign (by me and others) that ranged from ridicule to flat condemnation. Hopkins never engaged with me, but eventually blocked me after the ridicule became acute. I dubbed her Shouty Nutkins, then Burkie Bonkins after she began wearing a burqa in videos sending up British "ISIS bride" Shamima Begum. So much for the great champion of free speech. Every time this happens I think: "They don't like it up 'em, do they? (That's a famous line from the British sitcom Dad's Army, about an amateur militia preparing to fight the Germans in World War II. It refers to a bayonet, a blade fixed to the end of a rifle which can be used to stab an opponent in hand-to-hand fighting.)
Why describe my Parler experience? Because while it is tempting to ignore Parler and the far right and to wrinkle your nose and turn away, I believe it is dangerous to do so. That's also an empirical observation, grounded in my past experience as a newspaper hack who has interviewed far-right lads.
Now, I am someone who swore until recently that I would never use Twitter, never mind anything other social media site. Stupid, big waste of time and energy, who the heck has the time to tweet all day? But like many others, I've found that it's addictive, especially during lockdown. Then the big migration happened, with fashes (that's what we leftie trolls call fascists) gleefully bragging about their newfound freedom on Parler, and calling to their pals to join them and abandon "Twatter" It became tempting to see what was happening on the other side. I soon developed a second addiction.
Shocked Parler users
The daft thing about Parler is that its devotees – especially those who boast about migrating from Twitter to these sunny, sweary uplands – seem surprised that "the enemy" has followed them there. I was endlessly told it wasn't the right place for me, that I should "f**k off back to Twatter". Here's one example from a woman writing on 27 July: "You ever heard the saying the left can't troll? Thats why you want to de platform and censor us lol f**k off back to twitter you melt (sic)." And on 2 August: "Why are there so many anti Katie Muslims on here?"
Neither do these folk understand the concept of free speech, which they seem to think simply involves swearing. It's been quite liberating to swear back harder when I am not being scrupulously polite, which winds them up even more. It's not for nothing that I have been a tabloid hack, Hell's Angel, and racing stable girl in my time. No experience is ever wasted.
The daft thing about Parler is that its devotees – especially those who boast about migrating from Twitter to these sunny, sweary uplands – seem surprised that "the enemy" has followed them there. I was endlessly told it wasn't the right place for me, that I should "f**k off back to Twatter".
Far-right racists have effectively kettled themselves, and are now shouting pointlessly into the void at each other. Recent topics of "discussion" (at least on Hopkins' timeline, and before the run-up to the US elections began in earnest) are largely on Black Lives Matter, immigrants, Muslims, sexual grooming gangs in northern England, vaccines and COVID lockdown measures, which Hopkins opposes. The libertarian, gun-toting Trumpite Americans on Parler lap up Tommy and Katie, blissfully unaware that they are both reviled and mocked here in the UK. "We love you, Foreign Secretary!" (posted while she was visiting the US in August). Said another: "You are loved by a saviour and his church!" One up-voted my sarky comment: "Katie for Chancellor!" The same people are invariably Christian (I call them CINOs, Christians in name only), anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, "Deep State" freaks and COVID denialists, their profile pic bristling with guns, MAGA, images of POTUS, and the Stars and Stripes.
Some observations
A key observation, from a British point of view, is that some of Tommy's followers are now turning against him. They question his source of income (that includes donations from fans), his wealthy lifestyle (he lives in a £1m mansion, or did until it was allegedly firebombed recently by persons unknown), and his support for Israel. "Are you talking about Britain or Israel, Tommeh?" asked one former Tommy fan, whose profile declares: "100% white. 100% proud." Another disgruntled self-confessed racist told me: "Who said I like Tommy? He loves wogs and Jews."
Another observations is that working class Tory voters are turning against the British government, especially Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel, largely because of their failure to take tougher action against immigrants arriving by cross-channel dinghy. (More than 5,000 migrants have entered the UK this way so far this year.) Nobody wants to discuss Brexit much, despite my best attempts to draw them out.
Overall, there is seething anger and scapegoating of "others", as one might expect. Cross-cutting themes, which straddle international borders, include a perceived loss of identity in the face of multiculturalism, a fear of being "invaded" by Muslims in particular, and foreign threats to "Western civilization" ("I think it would be a good idea," said Mahatma Gandhi, when asked what he thought of it). Underlying it all is a strong sense of insecure masculinity and fragile identity.
The mantra is white America first, white Britain first, Western civilisation first, the rest of the world nowhere.
Tommy Robinson blocked me after a particularly good day (from my point of view) when I taunted him for the hypocrisy of running away to Spain after the alleged arson attack on his home. This from a man who has spent years railing against immigrants and asylum seekers, yet now appears to be seeking asylum abroad. A man who voted Brexit and against freedom of movement, yet ran to mainland Europe at the first sign of trouble. A man who rails against "commies", yet is clearly in Putin's pocket. Jokers on Twitter say he's changed his name to Juan Kerr in order to assimilate more quickly in Spain. Katie blocked me soon afterwards.
I felt cheated: I'd only been on Parler about 10 days. Lots more folk started lobbing abuse and down-voting my posts before blocking me. On 10 August I got this:
Watch out for xxx
Sounds like one very bitter and twisted individual. (obviously on summer vacation)
While I could still follow Katie, I took the opportunity while she was in the US in August "pounding the sidewalks for Trump", to sabotage her feed. Very politely, saying I am updating her followers on the "immigrants in boats" story which she can't report on while away, I posted stories from the Guardian and anti-Brexit New European that punctured Priti Patel's plans to send in the Royal Navy. Some naïve Yanks up-voted me (indicating approval), clearly before having read the stories.
Overall, there is seething anger and scapegoating of "others", as one might expect. Cross-cutting themes, which straddle international borders, include a perceived loss of identity in the face of multiculturalism, a fear of being "invaded" by Muslims in particular, and foreign threats to "Western civilization"
Having been dumped by those two charmers, I turned to trolling people on the Team Trump feed. On 25 August, 17-year-old self-styled vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse shot dead two strangers at a BLM protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and wounded a third. This came days after unarmed Jacob Blake was shot in the back by cops at point-blank range, leaving him partly paralysed. I need not tell you who was white and who black. Rittenhouse (who has been charged with homicide) is being hailed by some as a national hero, while Blake is accused of the usual: guilty while black.
I posted a comment, which got this swift response from a Rittenhouse defender: "Did you miss the part where one of his assailants was carrying a pistol? And they were in the process of beating the shit out of him? The fact that he held back as long as he did is testament to his desire to NOT kill them. They created the situation that caused their deaths, not him."
At this point our reporter left.
For more on Parler in Kenya: https://www.nation.co.ke/kenya/news/world/with-social-media-in-tumult-startup-parler-draws-conservatives-1446834. The quote "being taken by storm" is from kiss100.co.ke (21 July 2020).
The Exodus: Corona-Induced Urban-To-Rural Migration
City dwellers in Kenya are rushing to their rural homes in droves because of economic and social disruptions caused by coronavirus lockdowns and curfews. Many may never return to the city.
Eric Oduor was your archetypal suave, tech savvy, cosmopolitan millennial with an urban mien – well, until several weeks ago, when he called from Sigomre village in Ugenya location, Siaya County, to announce that he had now fully relocated to his rural home from Nairobi city. At only 37, recently married in the last five years, with two young children and working as an IT consultant, Oduor was every millennial's dream: living in the fast lane, seeming to have been coping well with the city's corporate rat race. Then coronavirus crisis struck and his life changed completely.
"In the five months that the pandemic hit Kenya, all my four major corporate clients that I used to maintain and service and offer IT solutions to closed shop. In one fell swoop, I was declared redundant; I suddenly had no income. My clients empathised with me, but said there was little they could do. They also had been hit hard (I didn't need to be told), nobody saw the pandemic coming, nobody imagined it was here to stay. It has completely disrupted and disoriented our lives," said Oduor.
With a young family that depended on him, Oduor found himself in a bind. Yes, his wife was in gainful employment, but the family was not going to rely on his wife's salary and there was no the guarantee she would keep her job
"So I had to think doubly hard, what I wanted to do with my life, with my family in these very difficult coronavirus times and beyond. Even after the coronavirus is finally said to have been tamed, our lives will never be the same again, and life will never go back to normal as we used to know it."
So, after thinking very hard, one evening, Oduor broke the tough news to his wife: "We can no longer sustain our lives in the city and this thing isn't going away any time soon. We must brace for the future now. The sooner the better, and the only way to do that is by retracing our footsteps back home, because that is the only way we can salvage our lives. City life is proving to be unsustainable." To his great relief and surprise too, his wife agreed with him and paved the way for him to go and conduct a reconnaissance mission in Sigomre village.
Oduor's wife is thoroughly urbanised – trendy and younger…in every sense of the word, an urban sophisticate. Above all, she is from the Mt Kenya region, so one can understand why Oduor was a bit apprehensive as he broke the "sad" news to his wife.
"This COVID-19 has had a terrible impact on marriages. It has led some marriages to break up, so you can imagine what difficulties mixed marriages like mine could be going through. My wife agreed with me that our lives' and our children's future lay not in the big city, but ultimately in a place where we can develop to our taste and we can always be sure whatever the disruption, we could always absorb it because we're truly at home," said a relieved Oduor.
To his great surprise, it was not only he who was relieved: "My father was worried about this new mysterious disease that was sweeping the world like a mystical wave and which had arrived in the country and was claiming peoples' lives in the city. In a roundabout way, he suggested to me to temporarily relocate the family and bring it home. In a way, many rural folks, including my parents, honestly believe the coronavirus is domiciled in the city. When it broke, my father told me leave and come back home."
As if that was not enough of a worry, said Oduor, when he told his father that is consultancy jobs had actually dried up, his father became really concerned. "Ordinarily, it's we children who normally take care of our folks in their rural home. Now my parents were sending foodstuff to my family to beef up our sustenance. He would send beans, dry maize, millet and posho-mill flour. When I went to see him to tell him I was moving my family back home, he was overjoyed. He said, 'Look my son, at the very least, there's plenty of food and shelter here. The children aren't going to school until next year. It will give you time to think about what you would like to do here."
Oduor's father farms maize, keeps chickens, sheep and goats, and has dairy cows for milk,. After leaving the city himself five years ago for good, he never looked back. "In those five years, my father. who regularly came to the city, has only spent two nights in town since he left," said Oduor. "He would come on the night bus, spend the whole day doing his biasharas and in the evening, he would be on the night bus again heading home. I couldn't persuade him to spend the night here. My father had always told me Nairobi is a place where people go to look for employment. Once that employment is over, you pack your things and return home where you came from."
"Ordinarily, it's we children who normally take care of our folks in their rural home. Now my parents were sending foodstuff to my family to beef up our sustenance…"
With his savings, Oduor is exploring several options: He had already built a two-bedroomed house on his piece of land given to him by his father, so, like his father said, food and shelter are not a problem. "If taken seriously and done well, agriculture is worth the risk because people will always eat. My father has become a full-time farmer and it's been keeping him going. I'd like to take it further and see what will come of it, even as I explore other possibilities," averred Oduor. That doesn't mean that I will no longer be coming to the city. All it means is that the city has ceased to be the centre of our family's life."
Colonial constructions
Oduor could be the exception rather than the rule: It is unlikely that the majority of millennials will be migrating to their rural homes in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, but he is certainly an aberration that might as well explain the extent to which disruptions, such as a global pandemic or even an economic meltdown, can lead people in cities to reevaluate their lives and consider their options.
Economist David Ndii remarked once that in Africa, people travel to and live light in the metropolis because many cities in Africa were not built with the natives in mind. Cities have remained colonial constructions alien to the indigenous people. The great lesson for many people then has always been that in the cities, you must always have a way out of a calamity or a disruption.
But really, it is because Africans never consider cities to be their proper dwellings? Cities are still transient places for a majority of Africans. Many African cities were built by and for the colonialists, who accepted indigenous people only as indentured or migrant labour. If you did not have a pass to enter the city, or work there, you would be arrested and fined.
To date many people who live in cities have one foot there, the other one in a rural area where their ancestors hailed from and what they call home. The idea of a city to many Africans, young and old, has always been a temporary one. Their annual exodus from the city to their respective rural homes during the Easter holiday and more so during the Christmas festive season explains this notion of the reverse urban-rural migration. It also explains, why rural areas become the refuge of city dwellers running away from city calamities and commotions be they, for instance the 1982 failed coup, the 1998 US embassy bombing in Nairobi, the general elections held after every five year cycle, and especially after the disputed presidential elections of 2007 that led to an explosion of violence in the Rift Valley region.
Economist David Ndii remarked once that in Africa, people travel to and live light in the metropolis because many cities in Africa were not built with the natives in mind. Cities have remained colonial constructions alien to the indigenous people.
Way before the coronavirus crisis came to bear on us, a millennial who owned an electronics shop at the famous Nyamakima area relocated back home to Murang'a County in 2018 after it become untenable to run his erstwhile lucrative business. "With the government's crackdown on counterfeit goods, which we used to import from China, and the subsequent hoarding of our goods at the government warehouses in Industrial Area, I lost so much money, as did many other traders, that I decided to just leave Nairobi and go home. Kaba kuinoka. I'm better off in my rural home," said the trader.
No safety nets
"When President Uhuru Kenyatta reviewed the cessation of movement between counties on July 7, 2020, it was to allow people in Nairobi to leave town and transport their families back to their rural areas," alleged a senior civil servant. "We (the government), knew people were suffering in the city. Many had lost their jobs, they couldn't pay their rents, they couldn't feed their children. Life had truly become a burden. It was going to be just a matter of time before the situation possibly blew out of hand. The government had to choose between facing a boiling agitation from the people, who would soon take it no more, or risk the very same people transporting coronavirus to the rural areas. Whichever option it took, it was the devil's alternative."
Many of these people worked as casual labourers, drivers or housekeepers or as waiters or waitresses in bars, restaurants and hotels. Or in the informal sector as hawkers, street vendors and merchandise traders. I know this because I am in a group that has been pooling resources to buy food for families that live where we grew up in Eastlands. With no gainful employment, yet mounting bills to pay, and no safety nets to fall back on as they would in their rural homes, many of these people just waited for the government to reconsider cessation so that they could take their families to their rural areas.
One of the big factors that drove Oduor out of Nairobi is the fact that he continued to pay rent for five months for a house he couldn't call home and without an income. "That is money I can invest in a small project in the rural area," he explained.
So that is why a family in Kawangware, after exhausting its reserves, went to a merchandise shop that sells and accepts second-hand goods and hawked their furniture in return for cash, which it would use to pay for transport for the long journey to western Kenya. Kawangware is a sprawling peri-urban area that was originally inhabited by the Kikuyu, but which is now dominated by Kenyans from the western region. The odd jobs the man of the house was doing had dissipated. With several mouths to feed, the man had no choice but to retrace his footsteps to his rural home.
A visit to "Machakos" Country Bus Station in downtown Nairobi revealed that people were travelling back home in droves, and accompanied by hordes of children and household goods – from wooden beds and mattresses to sofa sets and utensils. It was evident that many were not planning to return to the city in a hurry, if they would return at all. The many travellers I spoke to said life in the city had become unbearable and it was time to go back to their roots. "Shule zilifungwa, hakuna kazi tunafanya nini huku?" Schools have been closed, there's no work, what are we doing in the city?
"Because of the curfew, buses are only leaving in the mornings," explained Vincent Musa, one of the groundsmen at the station, which serves buses that travel all over upcountry. To possibly tame the spread of coronavirus, the government also instituted a curfew – first the curfew was between 5am – 7pm, later on the president revised it to 5am – 9pm. "Everyday buses have been leaving here between 6am – 10am in order to beat the curfew at 9pm. Many of the destinations of these buses take an average of seven to eight hours. Most of the people who have been travelling are women and children. Since the children are not going to school, it is pointless to keep them in Nairobi."
"It is easier for the man to survive alone in the city," said a man who was accompanied by his wife and children. "Wacha waende nyumbani, mimi nitang'ang'ana na maisha hapa Nairobi."I'm taking my family home, I will return to deal with the harsh city life.
Musa named for me nearly all the destinations that the people were travelling to: Ahero, Boro, Bungoma, Eldoret, Cheptais Chwele, Homa Bay, Kadel, Katito, Kendu Bay, Kimilili, Kisumu, Kisii, Kitale, Koguta, Luanda, Malaba, Maseno, Matunda, Moi's Bridge, Mbita, Muhoroni, Ng'iya, Nyandorera, Olare, Rwambwa, Siaya, Urangu, Wagai and Webuye.
While at the station, I counted seven different bus companies that ferried people home: Climax Coaches, Eldoret Express, Greenline, Nairobi Bus Union, Nyar Ugenya and Nyamira Express. After coronavirus set in, many of these buses were grounded, and even though the lifting of the cessation had given the owners some reprieve, many are still grounded. "The bus capacity had been reduced. A bus that carried 67 passengers has now been restricted to 40 only. This reduction of passengers has meant that fares have had to be doubled," said Musa.
Many of the fares to western Kenya ranged from between Sh600 and Sh800 before the pandemic. Now they are charging Sh1,400 or above to all destinations in Nyanza, Kisii and Transzoia. One bus to Kitale charges Sh1,750.
One of the big factors that drove Oduor out of Nairobi is the fact that he continued to pay rent for five months for a house he couldn't call home and without an income. "That is money I can invest in a small project in the rural area," he explained.
Majiwa, the supervisor told me the pandemic had been a wake-up call for many Kenyans. "Nairobi has never been a domicile for anybody – permanent or otherwise. I'm here because I still have work. The day they tell me I'm redundant, I'll pack my things and head home. In Nairobi, you pay for everything, including going for ablution. In the rural area, food is plenty and free, children can never lack anything to eat. That's why people are taking their children back home. Every morning 25 buses have been leaving here heading to western Kenya, packed with women and their children".
There has been another reason why many parents from western Kenya living in Nairobi have been transporting their children back home in great numbers. "Once the government announced that schools will not reopen till January next year, circumcision rites for boys, which usually are conducted in the month of August and December, started early in July," said Musa. "And these rites will go on till December non-stop. Wacha watoto watengenezwe." Let the boys get initiated now that they are not going to school. Circumcision for boys, especially among the Bukusu people who live in Bungoma, Kitale and around Mt Elgon area, is an elaborate affair.
Not since the scare of the terrorists' bomb at the former US embassy, then located at the corner of Haile Selassie Avenue and Moi Avenue in Nairobi, has there been such a scare leading people to migrate to their rural homes. While the scale of the Al Qaeda bombing had never been witnessed before in Nairobi, it nonetheless never took people's jobs, or cumulatively threatened their lives. People rightly reasoned that if they escaped the city to their rural homes, they would be safe
The current coronavirus scare is compounded by the fact that normal life has been completely disrupted, so there is a possibility that those leaving might never return. There is also the issue of people believing that COVID-19 is basically a city disease.
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It does not matter if you need to lose 10 pounds or run a marathon, fitness needs to be an important component of your life. The only problem people have with getting into shape is that they don't know how to.
Take the time to discover exercises that you find enjoyable and sustainable. If you choose an activity you like, you will love working out.
Having goals to achieve is a great way to get motivated. It helps you to keep focus on obstacles as opposed to losing your motivation due to their difficulty. An ambition also represses quitting and cheating as it causes you to think about your diet plan as a continuing process – an action that is not finished as of now.
Release your fear. Biking is yet another good way to keep fit. Biking is a great way to get some exercise in and save some money on gas. If you work less than five miles from home you should be able to get there in thirty minutes or less and since you will have to ride home again, you get two workouts in one day.
You should do weight training in less than one hour. Besides releasing cortisol, if you are lifting for an hour, your muscles will start to waste. For these reasons you want to try to stick to under an hour with strength training.
Be certain to wear proper footwear when working out. When you don't wear shoes specifically designed for the activity you are doing, you are risking injuring your legs and feet. Also, your feet may feel uncomfortable after you workout and it could discourage you from working out.
When exercising, make sure your clothing is comfortable. If you are going to the gym, you should not be pressured to work out in fancy clothes. Buy some clothes you feel good about working out in. Proper clothing can help you retain focus on the fitness aspects instead of what you're wearing.
This tip brought to you by tennis players will help you build strength in your forearms. Take some newspaper and place it flat on a table or other convenient surface. Crumble the paper with your dominate hand for 30 seconds. Repeat the exercise two times with one hand, then switch to your other ahnd and do the exercise once, Switch back to your dominant hand and repeat two more times.
To improve the efficiency of your workout, practice controlled breathing. When doing exercises that pull up your body weight, including situps and crunches, breathe out as hard as you can when you reach the apex of the exercise. The deep breathing causes your ab muscles to do more work than normal.
Changing how you refer to exercising can be helpful. Using either of these names can decrease your motivation. When you're talking about exercising, calling it runny or whatever activity you're doing sounds a lot better.
Lightly exercise the muscles you worked out the day before. Gently working out your muscles will help preserve muscle memory.
Make sure you do not work yourself too hard during exercise. You can monitor this by checking your pulse when you wake up the day after you work out.
17 Inches
If you are aiming to become a better putter you should aim to hit the hole 17 inches past it. The reason for this is because the 17 inches surrounding the cup will not have any footprints. Without footprints, the grass will have a much thicker consistency and slow the ball down as it approaches.
Avoid wrapping your thumbs around the bar when doing pull downs and pull ups. If you just lay your thumb flat, your back will have to work harder to complete the exercise. You will get used to the weird feeling and you will be targeting the right muscles.
Now that you've gained some handy tips, are you ready to apply them in order to reach your fitness goals? By staying motivated and working out properly, you should be able to meet your goals. The benefits come on quick and last you for the duration of your life.


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Sunnyside Cottage sleeping up to 0 guests
At a Glance2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
Garden / patio
About this Holiday Cottage
Sunnyside Cottage is a welcoming detached cottage in the village of Hogsthorpe, close to the village of Chapel St Leonards and resort of Skegness. This cottage sleeps four people and has two bedrooms, consisting of one double and one twin as well as a bathroom. The cottage also has a kitchen and a sitting room with an open fire. Outside there is off road parking and an enclosed garden with furniture. Sunnyside Cottage is an ideal holiday home for exploring the Lincolnshire coast.
All ground floor. Two bedrooms: 1 x double, 1 x twin. Shower room with shower, basin and WC. Fitted kitchen with dining area. Sitting room with open fire.
Other Things to Note
Oil central heating with open fire in sitting room. Electric oven and hob, microwave, fridge/freezer, washing machine, TV with Freeview, DVD. Fuel, power and starter pack for open fire inc. in rent. Bed linen and towels inc. in rent. Off road parking for 2 cars. Enclosed garden with furniture. Two well-behaved dogs welcome. Sorry, no smoking. Shop and pub 8 mins walk. Beach 2 miles.
Around and About
Hogsthorpe village is situated on the A52 and has two pubs, a restaurant, and a village store with Post Office. Two miles away is Chapel St Leonards with its sandy beach and seven miles away is the seaside resort of Skegness.
From rolling countryside to historic cathedral cities and traditional seaside resorts, Lincolnshire offers a peaceful alternative to the discerning holidaymaker.
Pet Friendly
Self Catering
Weekend Breaks


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OB Designs
Big Hugs comforters are the perfect new baby gift and just the right size for babies to snuggle, with their super-plush padded belly.
Each Big Hug toy comes with a removable hook so it can be suspended on a play-frame for visual stimulation during floor play.
Suitable for 0+


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Granite Bay gourd artist Jenn Norpchen's life has always been influenced by art. With a degree in Interior Design and a minor in Fine Arts, she used her background in ceramics and sculpture to meld the two mediums. She is grateful for the left brained, intellectually stimulating world in which she spends some of her time as an architectural designer, and also for the enlightenment and creativity that allows her right brain to rise.
Jenn's gourd art consists of a little of this, a little of that, and the whimsical characteristics of her gourds are fascinating and delightful. She is enchanted by the imperfect nature of gourds and the fact that no two are alike. The gourd is a magical canvas: its shape and patterns guide the artist to what it will become, "each piece unique".
A gourd synthesizes what she experiences . . . a daydream during a hike, the energy release after a day at work, a funny cartoon, a good laugh, or a visit to an art museum. Jenn appreciates the elusive nature of a "Gourd Hunt" and will search for hours to find the perfect gourd.
She may carve a gourd with high-speed drills or by hand; embellish with clay or resin; "paint" with acrylics, dyes, shoe polish, water color pencils & crayons, or wax; possibly design them with armatures and housing (internal engineering) – all to create wonderful creatures that she hopes will bring happiness to those who see them.
Jenn is a recognized Award Winner for the California Gourd Society including, Welburn Gourd Show, Leiser Farms and Davis Ranch shows.


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Moon Phase Necklace
Our best loved Moon Phase Necklace features dainty charms that shine when caught in the light. It's available in two different finishes: smooth and hammered. The necklace length is your choice, pictured is an 18" necklace.
The Details
- Handmade in Sweden
- Solid silver
- Two finishes: smooth and hammered
- Eco-friendly materials and processes
The light reflecting charms of this moon phase necklace are made with argentium silver, and dangle from a sterling silver necklace.
The full moon charm measures approx. 8mm x 8mm. The charms hang on a sterling silver necklace length of your choice.


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Our CEO Mikko is a third generation tanner.
Amanda, tanneri dog Uuno, Pia, Ilkka, Mikko, Jugi & Pepe.
The company Ahlskog was established in Finland during the 1920s by Hugo Ahlskog.
During the years professional and enthusiastic people at Ahlskog Tannery have developed a luxurious and exclusive product from Scandinavian reindeer hides. Finnish reindeer leather is used for unique and timeless design.
We provide nappa- and suede leather to big fashion brands and to private entrepreneurs. Our main market area is Europe. Half of Ahlskog's products are exported.
Our strengths are reliable delivery and our product. As our brand stands for quality, we do not have to sell quality separately. We are also very flexible when it comes to order delivery.
In the photo CEO Mikko is accepting the PV Awards Handle Prize at the Premiére Vision fair in Paris in September 2017. The occasion was a big acknowledgement for us and our product. A jury of 13 influential international fashion figures awarded prizes to the most impressive developments. The jury commented our product as follows. "The leather combining the most amazing tactile and behavioral qualities, the leather that touches the emotions".
Tanning leather is a traditional handicraft which includes about 40 demanding work stages.
Ahlskog was one of the first tanneries in the world to claim certificate for its environmentally friendly production. For example we use the minimum amount of water in the production/during the work stages.


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With the culture and atmosphere in London, any traveller will feel welcomed. This is, after all, a multicultural city at its finest. Australians no doubt will find themselves in good company here – with the country being known for its good relations with the UK. But on a more micro level, there's plenty here for Australians to enjoy here. Whether it's the various amounts of food, the film festivals, and work opportunities. The London Australian Film Festival is perhaps one of the most popular festivals of its kind and happens every year in London.
For more nifty little attractions and sites, Australians will be glad to know that there are plenty of shops that feature their favourite home items. Consider for instance the Australia Shop (so simply named) in Covent-garden – which features some of the most popular snacks and condiments from Australia right inside of the city's most popular parts of town. Besides that, visitors will likely find a lot of what they're used to in supermarkets. But then again, no one wants everything to resemble their home destination. After all, what's the purpose of a holiday if it doesn't make you try out new things, see new sights, and experience novelty.
With dozens of nightclubs and events, Australians will find that there's plenty to do here that fits their inclinations, whether social or otherwise. With the Park Grand Paddington Court London Hotel guests can experience the most intimate luxury experiences in the heart of the city. Besides this accommodation is close to many of the famous restaurants near Paddington Station – which include British, Middle Eastern, and Italian cuisine's (among others).
With that in mind, it's clear that London is an eventfully bright spot in Europe that's worth visiting – no matter the distance travelled in hours by flight from Australia. With Social Media, travellers can find dozens of groups especially suited for Australian travellers. And with services like meetup.com, the internet has opened up the doors for fun travelling experiences for everyone in the world, including but not limited to Australians who have always been fascinated by the prospect of visiting London.


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There's been a lot of new beauty releases lately so I thought it was a good time to splurge on some new brands and limited edition sets.
First up I have to start with Kylie Cosmetic's Valentines Collection. I know its been and gone but heck you wait a while for these to come all the way from America. In one of my recent posts I mentioned being lucky enough to pick up an item and of course I got the shade Valentine.
It's a stunning pop pink with fuchsia tones, I just love her matte lipsticks. I only have one other so I felt this was the right opportunity to get a new one. I can see this being a favourite in the summer time due to how bright it is.
Another brand new collection that has hit the shelves is the Too Faced X Kat Von D Better Together gift set. This features a cheek and lip combo from two iconic beauty brands. I've never tried anything from Kat Von D and I've been dying too for ages so this was a good opportunity to test out her lip products people rave about.
This comes with a mini lipstick in 'muse' and an everlasting liquid lipstick in 'XO'. And then from Too Faced we've got a candlelight highlighting powder in 'rosy glow' and a blush in 'so happy together'. I was so excited for this to be released in Debenhams, they've brought out three different gift sets but this seemed the best with the cute makeup bag. the contrast of these two brands are brilliant and I just think its such a good collaboration. So far I've used the matte lipstick and its a stunning red wine red that does exactly what it says on the tin, it's practically waterproof.
Another newish release is Urban Decay's Optical Illusion complexion primer. I noticed they've revamped a few of their products such as the all nighter spray and their new primers caught my eye. In four different versions I decided to go for this one as it aims to reduce the appearance of pores and give an even complexion. The texture is creamy and blends in so perfectly. It's very similar to Benefit's Porefessional but has a more pink tone. So far, I've worn this with a mixture of foundations and I can't find a bad thing to say about it, doing well UD!
Finally while I was on Debenhams I decided to have a look on their sale and noticed the YSL Touche Eclat was on offer for £18. I couldn't refuse this offer and see and though my old one was running out, I thought I may as well. This is from their Christmas collection with the sparkle texture. I've written about this illuminating pen lots on my blog, its one of them multi-purpose products you just love. It's a highlighter and concealer for me and does wonders for making my dark circles disappear.
So there you have it, my latest new in beauty with the swatches above. We're at the end of February and there's just so many exciting releases happening lately. What have you got your eyes on? Did you manage to get anything from Kylie's collection?


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If you need more evidence of Obama being a psychopath, here it is.
Recall the Great Recession that began in 2008 was in large part due to the bursting of the housing bubble. That bubble, in turn, was caused by risky mortgage lending to too many people whose financial profiles make them poor candidates for loans.
Today, five years after the collapse of the housing market and contrary to the insistence that the market is "recovering," the U.S. landscape is still littered with 301,874 "zombie" properties in which homeowners in foreclosure have moved out, leaving vacant property susceptible to vandalism and degradation. The number of U.S. homes in foreclosure or bank-owned actually increased by 9% to 1.5 million properties nationally in the first quarter of 2013 compared to a year ago, while another 10.9 million homeowners nationwide are "under water" because they owe more than their property is worth. (See DCG's post of March 28, "Obama's New America….")
Nearly 11 million U.S. homes are still under water
And yet the POS is pushing to make more home loans available to people with weak credit, which was exactly what had created the housing bubble and its subsequent bursting!
What if those people default on their mortgages?
Why, the 49% of hard-working
Americans suckers who still pay income taxes will make up the difference! That's wealth redistribution socialism, bro!
Zachary A. Goldfarb reports for The Washington Post, April 2, 2013, that Obama pledged in his State of the Union address to do more to make sure more Americans can enjoy the benefits of the housing recovery. His economic advisers say the housing rebound is leaving too many people behind, including young people looking to buy their first homes and individuals with credit records weakened by the recession.
But banks are largely rejecting the lower end of the scale, and the average credit score on FHA loans has stood at about 700. After years of intensifying investigations into wrongdoing in mortgage lending, banks are concerned that they will be held responsible if borrowers cannot pay. Under some circumstances, the FHA can retract its insurance or take other legal action to penalize banks when loans default.
"The financial risk of just one mistake has just become so high that lenders are playing it very, very safe, and many qualified borrowers are paying the price," said David Stevens, Obama's former FHA commissioner and now the chief executive of the Mortgage Bankers Association.
But critics say encouraging banks to lend as broadly as the administration hopes will sow the seeds of another housing disaster and endanger taxpayer dollars. "If that were to come to pass, that would open the floodgates to highly excessive risk and would send us right back on the same path we were just trying to recover from," said Ed Pinto, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former top executive at mortgage giant Fannie Mae.
But Administration officials say they are looking only to allay unnecessary hesitation among banks and encourage safe lending to borrowers who have the financial wherewithal to pay. An unnamed senior administration official who was not authorized to speak on the record said, "There's always a tension that you have to take seriously between providing clarity and rules of the road and not giving any opportunity to restart the kind of irresponsible lending that we saw in the mid-2000s."
Blah, blah, blah.
H/t FOTM's Christy.