Cry Havoc!

I have not been here for a while. It’s dusty and a few spiders have filled this place with cobwebs. The reason for my being away has been to try and come to terms with the conflict in my head and how to diplomatically end them. I have been obsessed with trying to make this blog meaningful. An immense amount of time has been dedicated to figure out what to write about. I have tried, albeit in vain, to leash the creature that is now punching away at this keyboard. Taming it has been a Herculean task in which I have failed, and at this moment, April 7, 2015 1:22 AM East African time, I have come to the realization that it is all futile!
I have occasionally thought of applying for Google AdSense, tempted to do so by my analytical imaginary friend. “Write about science or art or politics,” she said “and turn this blog into a cash generating endeavor.” But then it struck me, this would be at the expense of my creative freedom. There are some of us out there who feel restrained by life, socially, intellectually and emotionally and the internet is our only avenue of freedom. I am one of those people. Turning this into a topic oriented blog for economic gain is trading my soul for the proverbial 30 pieces of silver (Easter just ended;).   In the short time that I will be alive, very few people will get to know who I am and I want you to be one of them. This has led me to a decision to turn this blog into a journal, throw it out there and hope that someday a kindred spirit will read this and understand.
Writing just for the hell of it is heaven, and just getting this far, in composing this post has been therapeutic.  I will try to find order in the chaos in my head and you, esteemed reader (granted that you will be reading my posts on purpose), will suffer through most of it, be it prose or verse. Consider this blog as a very mediocre and sometimes depressing ‘Diary of a Nobody’ with disjointed thoughts, poorly structured sentences and hollow humor.
So from this day forth, this and any subsequent posts will be random and a reflection of my thoughts no matter how fucked up they might be. Following in the footsteps of The Joker, I am not an individual with a plan, I will JUST write!

Ye Suck City Girl!

DISCLAIMER: The author is in no way as base as the subject of this blog.
She kicks up a sand dune every time she sits down with her computer and produces what passes for literature this days. Her level of English vocabulary is stiff and inelegant. Her name is Njoki Chege! She is a pro in outraging her audience.
One thing I respect her for is her outspoken and vehement despise for the bourgeoisie. Especially those of a particular age group. That, unfortunately, is the only thing that I find intriguing about her. Everyone who makes an attempt at writing risks falling short of their objective. The worst thing about this is that writing is a mental endeavor and failure is a sign of intellectual ineptitude. This is a risk that the City girl has failed to avoid. Her language is full of big words which  betray constant referrals to a dictionary in the course of writing. This makes her articles full of superfluous jargon which entirely drains the pleasure of reading. Don't worry Chege, majority of your readers  think the use of big words is proportionate to being smart.
Secondly, it is easy to infer that  her attack on the hobbies and socio-economic practices of a particular class of young Kenyans is founded on her being part of the group. She's not rich that much is obvious and her attempts to clinch a rich guy to date her have been fruitless.  Her articles clearly indicate the countless hours that the City girl has wasted day dreaming of dinners in posh hotels and Googling exotic destinations. Poor girl! It is hard, nay, impossible not to pity her!
Her recent article dated 2nd January 2014 attacked the use of Instagram by the bourgeoisie. This was all in line with the fake personality that Njoki wishes her readers to believe she has. Within this criticism lies a desperate plea for attention. By attacking practices which she clearly knows majority of her peers are fond or, she successfully draws their attention and wrath. The result is a poor attempt at social criticism.
To make a long story short the next time you make an attempt at satire Njoki, try to read a George Orwell book first.

Atheism: Its Future?

The Future of Atheism

The 21^st century has seen an unprecedented growth in the number of atheists in the world. The current exposure that atheism is getting from all sorts of media platforms is overwhelming. I’m an atheist and I’m proud of the courage that atheists all over the world have mastered, both individually and collectively, to stand up against the established religious orders that are currently in control of the masses. Atheism has generated a lot of debate questioning the most treasured beliefs that the human species have held on so dearly for millennia. Today, atheism has a wide range of organizations most of which can be geographically categorized. In every country in which the freedom of expression is well entrenched there are a couple organizations that trumpet atheism and free thought. The wave of atheism has been euphoric in many countries. This euphoria led to the emergence of a number of prominent personalities who have helped in granting atheism its rightful place in modern debates. Richard Dawkins, Aryan Hirsi, Sam Harris, the late Christopher Hitchens and Paul Barker are some of the most famous people in atheist circles due to their fearless condemnation of organized religion and its negative effects on the social and moral well-being of the human species.

In the discussions about religion and atheism one question has been prominent. Where did life on this planet come from? Was it through creation or evolution? On this questions, it is blatantly clear that atheists through their reliance on scientific evidence offer a better explanation than the mythological stories told in religious texts. Atheism is winning there is no doubt about that, and the few who think otherwise are in this case, wrong. Beyond the horizon, I see a future where no child will have to be brainwashed with religious stories, a future where a majority of the population will be capable of viewing reality objectively. This is where it gets tricky. Atheists have been so preoccupied with demolishing the structures built by organized religion that no significant attention has been given to the consequences of the success of atheism.

In the case that atheism succeeds (I have no doubt it will), the future will most likely see the acceptance of atheism by the general populace. As a species we are getting smarter and more knowledgeable about the universe around us every second and this knowledge helps us in understanding who we are and rejecting information that is not backed by ample, quantifiable evidence. The main questions that we should ask ourselves as atheists is, how will a world that fully embraces atheism be like? Will a society that is majorly comprised of atheists and skeptics accommodate religious people? Will the right to religious freedom be upheld in an atheistic society? Will the said atheist society be autocratic and unforgiving when it comes to religious matters? Will the atheistic society treat remnant religious individuals the same way atheists are treated today in some countries, by imprisonment and death? In such a society, will the few remaining religious adherents be treated as psychotic individuals who deserve to be locked up in an asylum or will they be treated with the dignity they deserve as human beings? What role will atheism play in establishing a new social order based on secular principles? Will the principles of atheism and free thought be corrupted by being transformed into political slogans and doctrines? Will such a society be much better than the current one or will it just be a reversal of the status quo with atheists as a majority?

I do ‘pray’ I get the answers to this questions in my lifetime.

An Atheist Perspective.

The Kanyari saga took Kenya by storm. The exposé was not over before everyone went online and started talking about it. The media had a field day with it, working hard trying to get to the 'bottom' of the story. Before we lay this story to rest and trust me, two weeks from now no one will remember who Kanyari is, I'd like to give my two penny thoughts for free. This is an atheist perspective of this whole hullabaloo.
People have talked about how Kanyari is such an evil person for extorting money from believers, for taking advantage of the masses, for being a thief and shameless conman. People have called the people who 'planted' a seed as gullible and naive. But isn't that what all religions are? One big con? As Mark Twain succinctly said it "Religion was invented when the first conman met the first fool."
However, Kanyari  is just a phytoplankton in an ocean full of sharks and whales. Take for example the local Catholic church leadership which is fighting the Tetanus vaccination offered by the Government of Kenya, on the premise that it is a birth control strategy. The Catholic church has been known to vehemently oppose the use of condoms in HIV infested Sub-Saharan Africa. Jehovah's witnesses condemn their followers from blood transfusion or donations. Religions would rather 'you die' than offer an alternative to what they think is the correct interpretation of whichever bible version they read. I'm not religious but I bet there are more atrocities happening behind the scenes in the name of religion.
Monetary fraud is only a tiny speck of what organized religions rob from the society. People are robbed of their curiosity and free thought at a young age in the name of faith. Adults are led to believe that they will be accommodated in a happy place with candy for breakfast, lunch and supper when they die. Or an oven if you happen to be naughty.
Victor Hugo wrote 'In every village there is a light bearer, the teacher. And its extinguisher, the priest.' Religions cause more harm than good, all based on the belief of an imaginary being that none can prove "His" existence. Every time I hear Kenya being called a 'religious country'  I substitute stupid for religious. I may sound harsh but the truth is always unpleasant. The fact that Kanyari and his kin can find different interpretations of the bible just points to the fact that the Bible and any other religious book is man made. We would be far off if we stop talking about what the bible says and focus more on liberating people from the ignorance called 'faith'. Emile Zola  said the above in much fewer lines, thusly, 'Civilization will not attain perfection until the last stone, from the last church falls on the last priest.'

Death!

Death! The very name strikes fear in our mortal hearts. It is a 'known unknown'. We all know death is going to come for us but we know not how or when. Its funny how we all expect it; a guest we prepare to host and entertain from the time we let out our first wail in a maternity delivery room. But lo! The shock, horror and self pity when the Grim reaper comes knocking. Such power. Such dread.
I look closely beyond the pain and grief and see a certain beauty and grace. Deep down the Grim reaper's heart I figure there is a soft spot filled with love and tenderness! Buried beneath the blood, bowels and gore in an accident scene. Hidden music in the ring of a flat line of a terminal patient and death's sweet scent that mingles with the smell of disinfectant in an ICU.
The reaper has around him an air of peace that cushions the terror of his presence. All we have to do is look and surrender ourselves to his hypnotic yet majestic charisma.  To die... To sleep... To sleep, perchance to dream.
There is beauty even in death. Most of us just choose to ignore it, focusing more on the pain, loss and grief thus leading miserable unfulfilling lives as a consequence.

Stand-Up Crap.

Humor is the spice of life. It is what makes human interaction bearable. Humor makes life's worst tragedies bearable and helps us survive through tough times.
This sanctity has been desecrated and modern humor has degenerated into something ridiculous. These days we have stand-up comedians and their humor is dry, dreary and boring.
I have tried giving it fair treatment, subjecting myself to hours and hours of horse manure but stand-up comedy is just the worst.
All these guys do is observe and identify themselves as belonging to a particular social group mostly ethnic or religious and use their understanding of the functionality of said group to make the intellectually inert laugh. A loud irritating laugh that is as a result of the person next to you laughing and having nothing to do with the joke. This attempted humor is blunt, painful and numbing to the brain.
The understanding of the subtlety of humor is non existent these days. Modern humor embodied by stand-up comedians is crude, shallow and uncreative. If you enjoy stand-up comedy, well you have a problem. But hey! That's my opinion.
I think that for humor to be funny it should be refined, satirical, ironic and deep. It should be open to different interpretations. Each person should see his or her absurdities reflected in the joke. Humor should be society laughing at its own reflection in the mirror and not some regurgitated bullshit about some social,characteristics that are observable by all.
So if you're a stand-up comedian or if you do enjoy such hopeless humor... Get a life!

The Down and Out

There has been a stupid slogan doing the rounds saying that you only live once. So if you live in the northern hemisphere you take a flight to Africa and take pictures of mating giraffes and while you're at it buy a few bracelets from a Masai woman whose brains are boiling from sitting under the scorching African sun for 12 hours and get a sadistic pleasure from hearing her thank you in a language you don't understand. While her kids are running around in some remote village hungry, half naked and covered in dust. If you're lucky you get to snap a few photos of said Massais standing outside their manyattas with poverty stricken faces. Lifes good. All the while you keep thinking what a blessing it is that you weren't born in such a miserable country. What you forget is that life back home is hard too for some people, who sleep under bridges and eat beans out of a can. I'm not against tourism, or spending your hard earned money. I'm just saying out loud what nobody dares to say.
The world is fucked up. No one gives a rats ass about the people who live in poverty. NGOs you say? They're a sham as far as I'm concerned. With their well worded Vision statements written by some phony guy with a fancy degree from Harvard earning an eight figure salary, who has no clue what its like to go for two weeks without food, or walk barefoot for twenty miles for a gallon of water from a muddy pond. These organizations thrive on the misery and squalor of the masses. Any attempt to help the less fortunate, on their part is hypocritical. If the world got better, our Harvard guy would be out of a job. He delays that for as long as he can, while maintaining a philanthropic self image.
Here's an interesting fact. If you have $10  in your bank account you're richer than 75% of the world. Makes you feel good right? More than half the people in the world live on less than a dollar a day. In total poverty. The elite don't give a shit. They are busy playing golf, polo or some other weird sport. Coming up with new ways to squeeze out the life out of all of us while sipping 150 year old liquor in their palatial homes or eating expensive dinners in five star hotels not concerned about the starving waiter who works 17 hours a day serving them or their equally hungry chauffeurs.
Next comes the bourgeoisie. The so called intellectuals. They are nothing but stupid, cabbage headed morons plagued by chronic consumerism. Zombified by an education system that turns them  to programmed consumers. They work hard in jobs they hate so they can buy shit they don't need. Who cares about AIDS or climate change or the fact that families are starving in Lodwar or a drone strike that killed innocent people in some village in Pakistan?... You only live once. The things they are concerned about are their DSTV packages with 250 channels, football matches in far away countries, expensive colognes for the fat pigs they call wives, Viagra, magazines, a fancy school for their kids and some guys name on their underwear. They buy things they don't need with money they don't have to impress people they don't like. They are luxuries, but pathetic sorts of luxuries.And the things they own end up owning them. They make good money and side with the rich because they think, in their own esteemed logic, that any economic freedom granted to the poor is a threat to their own liberty and well being.
All the while the poor are slaving their asses off trying to make a living in a cruel society, with religious dogma being shoved down their throats. Teaching them patience, perseverance and giving them false hope of a world beyond, while this one is being stolen from them. Urging them to look forward to a heaven after death while the rich are living in heaven right here and now.
Picture this. A starving 57 year old man works his donkey all day for a living carrying luggage. Energy is derived from eighty percent whip and twenty percent food. And the neck of the donkey suffers from large sores, but the poor animal works on dragging tons on bare flesh. It can still go on, thinks this miserable hungry old man, and he cracks his whip. The donkey gets whipped till the pain behind is more than the pain in front. The man and his donkey share the same fate. Both are victims to a cruel economic system. Poverty is not bad luck. Its an elaborate strategy used by the elite to maintain the status quo.  Marcus Cato once said that, a slave should be working when he is not sleeping. It doesn't matter whether his work is needed or not.
George Orwell had a theory why this is, he called it 'Fear of the mob'.  The mob would be dangerous if they had any leisure. Its better to keep them too occupied to think. If the rich would be honest to the question of economic freedom to the poor they'd say:
'Poverty is hell. But do not expect us to do anything about it. We are sorry that you're poor, but we feel safer if you remain the way you are and we can't afford the risks of emancipating you. Since you must slave to pay for our trips to exotic destinations, slave on... And to hell with you.'
Such is the way of the world. I guess the rich will get richer and the poor... Well, they'll get children! As Chaucer wrote 'O scathful harm, condition of poverte!'