New Traffic Signs on Ngong Road making driving in Kilmani complicated

One thing I've always liked about living in Kilimani is the multiple ways there are to get around the area. Lately the new traffic signs on Ngong Road have been making driving around Kilimani complicated. It started earlier this year when it no longer became possible to turn into Mucai Drive from Ngong Road when driving in the direction of the CBD. Mucai Drive is a road that connects Ngong Road and Ngumo Estates. This road is very convenient especially when trying to avoid the traffic on Mbagathi Way. Lately there have been even more traffic signs popping up on Ngong Road restricting travel through it. It is now not allowed to turn into Menelik Road from Ngong Road when driving towards Adams Arcade. I can understand why the powers that be have decided to do this. They are trying to reduce the congestion on Ngong Road thereby making traffic flow smoother. What this means for those of us that have been used to multiple routes through Kilimani is being forced to take the long way round to get to some areas.

Ngong Road has always been a source of traffic jams. I remember some years ago there were rumors that Ngong Road was going to be expanded into a four lane highway. The space is certainly there for such construction to take place. Instead all that happened was the that the sidewalks were paved and small concrete blocks were placed on the curb between the road and sidewalk. These concrete blocks have served as a menace to the tires of many drivers including myself, One day I was trying to swerve away from an encroaching bus and grazed one of those blocks which caused me to get a puncture on my left front tire. I have been very wary of the curb on Ngong Road ever since then.

There is usually a lot of traffic on Ngong Road except for late at night and on Sundays. Anyone who has ever been on Ngong Road when an accident has taken place knows how bad it can get especially when a truck or other heavy vehicle is involved. Maybe the new traffic signs will reduce the traffic a little but in my opinion the best course of action would be to make Ngong Road a four lane highway once and for all.

Sense8 - Sci-fi Netflix Drama partially filmed in Nairobi, Kenya.

Sense8 is a TV series about eight people around the world who wake up one day and find themselves sharing their minds. These people include a cop in Chicago, a Finnish DJ in London, a trans woman hacktivist in San Fransisco, a Kenyan driver, a gay Mexican actor, a South Korean businesswoman, an Indian chemist and a German gangster. The show takes us through their lives and the impact that sharing consciousness has on each of them. The show appealed to me immediately when I realized from the opening credits that one of the eight Sensates as they are called was in Kenya. As a Kenyan it feels good to see Kenya and other Kenyans on TV knowing they will be seen across the world. I was surprised to discover the character playing the Kenyan Sensate is actually a British actor.

I found the show quite interesting especially the originality of the show's premise. In most cases stories of this kind often involve only two people sharing thoughts but having eight different people share thoughts, feelings and experiences makes this show quite unique. The greatest thing about this show was how they dealt with portraying the lives of the various characters around the world. I can't tell about the other characters but the Kenyan character was very realistically portrayed. I had fun recognizing the various places where scenes were shot in Nairobi. There is a lot of sex in this show which might deter some viewers but otherwise I really liked it. The action scenes were quite intense.
I don't want to go into much detail about the show because I think everyone should watch for themselves. I have included a link to the official trailer.

I wish they can make a second season especially since a lot of plot lines were left unresolved by the end of the series. It must have cost a lot of money to make this show given all the locations it was filmed in around the world. Hopefully the producers will be able to recoup their investment. Sens8 was created by The Wachowskis famous creators of The Matrix.

Xianxia - My newest Addiction

"Qin Yu from Stellar Transformations"

Xianxia means immortal hero in Chinese and refers to a genre of fiction where the main characters are interested in becoming immortals through meditation and other techniques. Xianxia stories involve a lot of fantasy elements like magic, gods and demons. I found Coiling Dragon on the site Wuxiaworld one day and was immediately hooked. After reading up to Book 13 within two days I took a break and started looking for more. Most of what I could find has been translated from Chinese by wonderful people online. I cannot say how much I appreciate those who translate Xianxia for avid readers like me. Most Xianxia available online has been published as web novels in China. These web novels are usually quite long and I would advise anyone trying to start reading Xianxia to be prepared to spend a lot of time reading these enjoyable and fascinating works of fiction. Coiling Dragon which started me on this voyage is currently translated up to Book 16 Chapter 16 and there are a total of 21 books spanning over 800 chapters.

Apart from Coiling Dragon I am currently reading Battle Through the Heavens, Martial God Asura and Stellar Transformations from the Wuxiaworld site. There are a number of other Xianxia books I am reading on other sites but the greatest collection of Xianxia in my opinion can be found on Wuxiaworld. Another site prospective readers may be interested in is the Wuxia Translations thread on SPCNET.TV which can be found here. I don't like this site as much because navigating it can be cumbersome and the translated chapters of the books are not well laid out. What most translators have been doing is creating blogs and sites to post the books they are working on. I would advise people looking for Xianxia to read to be patient in their search because you never know when you might discover the next gem.

It can be frustrating waiting for the next chapter of your favorite Xianxia book to come out but after you've read it you can't help but want more. That's why I call it an addiction. My greatest hope is for translating software to become so good that I can get the raw books from the Chinese sites and translate it for myself. I know that is something that won't happen for some time so until then I hope those Chinese translators currently working on Xianxia can keep up the good work. Thank You.

Fifty Shades of Grey - A Good Movie Adaptation

                                       
















I finally managed to find a clear uncut copy of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie online. I gave up expecting to see the movie in theaters here in Kenya because of its erotic content. At the same time I am not a big fan of watching movies with erotic content with other people around; it can get very awkward. I read the book many years ago as well as the sequels and I liked it. Not that I would put it in my top ten best books but it was definitely interesting especially given how popular it has become. There are many books available with explicit erotic content but very few have managed to reach the level of success of Fifty Shades of Grey. I was completely shocked last year when my cousin told me she had read the first book. I didn't exactly know how to respond, I still remember watching her growing up and I quickly changed the subject so I didn't have to discuss the book any further.

The movie in my opinion was great, well worth the hype. Fans of the books have been clamoring online for years for a movie adaptation to be made and finally it came out. Before the movie came out I actually watched a few fan made trailers for a Fifty Shades of Grey movie on Youtube. The cast was great especially the leads. I found myself getting immersed in the story even though I have read the book before and knew what was coming. The movie was so good the cliffhanger ending came as a surprise. After finishing the movie I actually read the second book again to get rid of the suspenseful feelings the movie generated.

The only issue I had with the movie was that they did not show as much of the written exchanges between Christian and Anastasia which in my opinion are a major part of what makes the books great. There were a few other discrepancies but I didn't feel they made that much difference to the story. I am looking forward to Fifty Shades Darker next year in March.

Daredevil - Reborn on TV

I spent last weekend watching all 13 episodes of the Daredevil television series produced by Netflix. I had been anticipating it for a while and had watched the trailer a couple of times. I am glad to say I was not disappointed, in fact I was amazed. I have always found Daredevil to be one of the most fascinating comic book characters in existence. Daredevil's powers are not that over the top and he is not some wealthy billionaire playboy.
For those who may not already know it, Daredevil is the story of Matthew Murdock a lawyer turned vigilante who was granted enhanced senses by an accidental chemical spill as a child that also cost him his eyesight. His father was a boxer killed by gangsters for refusing to take a dive in a boxing match. Daredevil is situated in Hell's Kitchen a neighborhood in New York city
I loved the Daredevil movie with Ben Affleck but its lack of commercial success made people label it a flop. In my opinion it also had one of the greatest movie soundtracks I have ever heard. The problem with the movie is that they made Daredevil out to be a tortured and tragic hero; which he is but people are often more comfortable witnessing mental and emotional torture than the evidence of physical torture. In the movie Daredevil required pills and a sensory deprivation tank to sleep at night in order to survive. In the recently released TV series they addressed these and other issues in order to portray Daredevil as the great but conflicted hero he is.
The TV series takes us through Daredevil's rise as a hero through conflicts with his nemesis Wilson Fisk more commonly known in comic books as the Kingpin. The TV series is set in the same Marvel Universe as The Avengers and Iron Man in the aftermath of the Battle of New York so the people are already used to vigilantes and super heroes. However Daredevil starts out in what can only be described as an economy class costume which he confesses at some episode that he purchased online. Despite the lack of high tech or specialized gear; the story line and action sequences are detailed enough that you can't help but accept the circumstances that force Daredevil to be the way he is.
The supporting cast are definitely a major part of what makes this show great in my opinion. Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk is probably one of the greatest portrayals of a villain in television. The other characters like Foggy Nelson and Karen Paige also add depth to the story line.
I thought it was great that they made Ben Urich an African American which added a dose of ethnicity to the story which like most comic books is predominantly white. They did this in the Daredevil movie by making Wilson Fisk an African American as well. The comic book industry has been changing over time to reflect a wider range of characters which hopefully will broaden their appeal to their audiences.
One thing that did not change from comic book to movie and now TV series is how conflicted Matthew Murdock is about the actions he takes as Daredevil and how far he is willing to go for his brand of justice. Daredevil is a deeply religious Catholic and as such goes to confession which gives us an insight into how he thinks about himself and his actions which is hard to discover with other cinematic heroes. Something that did change was the lack of Elektra Natchios though there was some mention of their dating in college.
The show ends with Wislon Fisk going to prison and Daredevil finally donning the traditional devil costume he is famous for. However there are a number of unresolved story lines remaining so hopefully Netflix is planning for more seasons of Daredevil to be released. I for one am highly anticipating where the story will go next.

Online Novels - A Great Reading Experience

My first foray into the world of online novels was in 2004 when I read The Tower of Sorcery by James Galloway (Fel) on a website. I was instantly hooked and read the entire book online. This was the first time I experienced reading a book that was updated week to week. The Tower of Sorcery is the first book in a fantasy series that spans eight very enjoyable books split into two series namely the Firestaff Series(5 books) and the Pyrosian Chronicles (3 books). I've read and re-read these books over the years and I can still remember frequently checking Fel's website for updates to the books. Since then he has written other books most notably the Subjugation series which is a science fiction series about the occupation of the Earth by aliens in the future. All books by Fel can be found here.
Over the years I have read many books online and the hardest thing is to sift through all the books available to find the true gems. Websites like webfictionguide.com and topwebfiction.com are really helpful in this regard. You have to be prepared to invest a lot of time when it comes to online novels because by their very nature they are very long and there is no indication on when they will end. It all depends on the particular writer and their level of creativity. I am currently reading a number of online novels and two of the best among them in my opinion are Legion of Nothing and Brennus.
Both novels are about superheroes but each is very different in tone and subject matter. Give them a try I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
A subset of online fiction is fan fiction. As the name states fan fiction are books written by fans based on their favourite books, TV shows, movies and even games. The amount of fan fiction available is quite amazing and most if not all can be found online. Fanfiction.net can help to navigate the wide range of reading material available.
Online novels are popular around the world, especially in China where popular web novels garner a wide following. A number of popular Chinese online novels have been turned into dramas like Boss & Me and the recent My Sunshine.
Apart from the regular online novels, a lot of what I read online are translations of foreign books I would otherwise have no access to like light novels. Light novels are novels published in Japan with illustrations, and through translations by websites like Baka-Tsuki and Japtem I can read these novels in English online. There are quite a number of translated books available online. Some that I would recommend to read include Legendary Moonlight Sculptor and Arifureta.
If you have written what you consider to be a good book or have an idea for a great book and don't think you will be published, posting your writing online is a viable alternative to give readers access to your work.

Interesting Nairobi Roads - Rose Avenue, Kilinani

Rose Avenue runs from Ngong Road to Dennis Pritt Road but unlike other roads it is not straight, in two sections you actually have to drive for a short while on other roads just to get back to Rose Avenue. You can see this in the map below, the route in blue is Rose Avenue from Dennis Pritt Road to Ngong Road.

https://goo.gl/maps/Rg1Wl

Rose Avenue is the location of a quite a number of interesting places including The Royal Thai Embassy, The National Spinal Injury Hospital, Maina's Barber and Classic Salon and three hotels namely The Waridi Paradise Apartment Hotel, The Monarch Hotel and The Best Western Premier. Rose Avenue is very popular with pedestrians because it cuts right through Kilimani. It would be more popular with motorists if those contracted would actually finish constructing Rose Avenue. Sections of it have been completed to the delight of those of us looking for shortcuts through Kilimani, however some sections make for a difficult driving experience. The section of Rose Avenue from Lenana Road to Jabavu Road had been left unfinished for the last two years but it looks like some attempt is finally being made to complete construction. The section of Rose Avenue from Arwings Kodhek Road to George Padmore Road is in the worst shape. Most of this section is still dirt and lots of rocks making for a very rough drive. I was curious who was responsible for constructing this section so I took a picture of the sign placed at this section. I don't understand why the contractor namely Ragot Ltd never completed construction.

Last month I wrote here about street lighting in Nairobi and its seems that the Nairobi County Government has decided that Rose Avenue finally deserves proper lighting. It looks like street lights have been installed in most sections of Rose Avenue but I won't be able to tell their success unless I drive through at night; which I plan to do in the near future. For those curious about daytime driving conditions of Rose Avenue take a look at a video I shot of my drive through Rose Avenue. I filmed my drive through Rose Avenue twice, once starting at 4:15pm from Dennis Pritt Road to Ngong Road and once again at 5:15pm using the same route. This was on the 30th January 2015.

    

In one part of the video I refer to construction debris left on the side of the road, this is on the section of Rose Avenue from Lenana Road to Jabavu Road. I thought that was from some work on the road but I now realize it must be from when the street lights were being installed. Hopefully the debris will be cleared soon so pedestrians can use the sidewalk instead of putting themselves in danger by walking on the road. I also mentioned a sign in the beginning of the video but now realize unlike the one on Arwings Kodhek Road, this sign refers to the contract issued by the Nairobi County Government to install street lights on Rose Avenue. Hope you enjoy the video and find it informative.

UPDATE : 3rd March 2017

I have taken down the video because Rose Avenue has been repaired over the past year and apart from the section near Kilimani Police Station the road is okay.

The Best of Lee Min Ho

With Gangnam Blues soon to be released as his first leading role in a film, I decided to take a look back at some of Lee Min-ho's dramas. I realized there weren't that many clips of his dramas online so I decided to make one. The video is a compilation of my favorite scenes in Lee Min Ho's dramas.
It is longer than expected but I hope you like it.
I would like to say thanks to all the subbers who make enjoying kdrama possible for all of us.
For those who would like to skip some parts, the video is arranged as follows:

6. Mackerel Run 00:06
5. Boys Before Flowers 04:41
4. Faith 18:30
3. Personal Taste 21:33
2. Heirs 25:17
1. City Hunter 43:46

The content of the video is very skewed with my favorite kdrama City Hunter receiving the most attention followed by Heirs. Enjoy.

Fashion King - A drama I should never have watched

Once upon a time my favorite drama was Fashion King but it has now become one of the worst dramas I have ever watched, all because of the horrible ending. It had a promising start, the plot was great, the male lead was interesting, the female lead was cute and sexy. At one point I was so into Fashion King that I actually downloaded a raw episode(without subtitles) just to see what happens next. I made it through 5 min before giving up and deciding to wait for the subbed episode.
The first time around, I watched Fashion King all the way until episode 18 then decided to wait and watch the last two episodes together. I'm glad I did that because I don't how I would have reacted to that ending without being prepared.
The first indication that anything was wrong was when I went online to download the last two episodes and saw how the comments section had blown up. People were talking about the last episode using some pretty strong language. Some were actually asking for the writer, producer and director to be fired because of the last episode.
Of course in hindsight there were indications that something was up way before the last episode. The interactions between the male lead Kang Young-gul and female lead Lee Ga-young could often be frustrating and the viewer was sometimes left wondering if she really loved him. Anyway that was in 2012, I decided to forget about Fashion King and move on.
Last night I finally watched the last two episodes and I really regret it, I mean what the hell how can it end like that? As an avid drama watcher I am used to sad endings and sometimes even ambiguous endings but this ending is by far the worst I've watched so far. The second male lead Jung Jae-hyuk interfered by intercepting a letter so Young-gul and Ga-young don't meet in New York. In the end Ga-young goes to New York with Jae-hyuk and Young-gul is shot dead, drunk and alone in a pool wearing a fur coat while on the phone with Ga-young. telling him she misses him. All I could think was how sad and pathetic an ending for such a complicated character.
Fashion King has made me wary of kdramas, I still love watching drams but if an ending like that can happen once whose to say there won't be another one. Of course Fashion King isn't the only drama with a horrible ending, before watching Fashion King I would have said the worst drama I had watched was a Chinese drama called Summer's Desire. I am sure other people have their own ideas about what is the worst drama they've watched. The ironic thing is that there are actually parts of Fashion King I liked and still remember fondly but whenever I do that horrible ending comes to mind. I am going to find another drama to watch soon to be a palate cleanser and hopefully the disgust I feel will fade with time.

Romance of the Condor Heroes - Latest remake of wuxia drama Return of the Condor Heroes

I was browsing Viki.com recently looking for something to watch and came across Romance of the Condor Heroes. Based on the title I was hoping it was a remake of either Legend of the Condor Heroes or Return of the Condor Heroes. I was glad to see it was a remake of Return of the Condor Heroes which is my favorite wuxia drama. Wuxia is a genre of Chinese fiction referring to the exploits of martial arts adventurers in Ancient China. Return of the Condor Heroes is the second in a trilogy of wuxia novels written by Louis Cha(Jin Yong). The first being Legend of the Condor Heroes and the third is Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre.
I have enjoyed watching Return of the Condor Heroes(2006) many times and I was happy to see there was a remake. Honestly the Condor Trilogy probably has the most remakes of any television series to date, they are just that popular. According to Wikipedia the earliest drama adaptation of Romance of the Condor Heroes was a drama produced in Hong Kong in 1976. Every few years since then another remake has come out, the latest before this one being in 2006. There is even an anime adaptation, produced in 2001.
Romance of the Condor Heroes has 50 episodes, I have watched up to episode 20 and so far so good, I like it. The problem with remakes is that they cannot avoid a comparison to previous drams. All the time I was watching I kept thinking about the 2006 version and how it had depicted the same scenes. The greatest difference is in improved graphics; obviously Romance of the Condor Heroes has been produced with better technology so the graphics are better. The story line so far is pretty much the same however the latest remake has gone into more detail into the background and motivation of the characters and the times they live in which has made the drama more fun to watch.
I couldn't stop myself from comparing the lead characters from both the 2006 version and this one. In my opinion Liu Yifei who plays Xiaolongnü in the 2006 version is more beautiful than Michelle Chen who plays the same character in Romance of the Condor Heroes. I can't make much of a comparison on their acting but so far Michelle Chen has portrayed the character well. Huang Xiaoming was great as Yang Guo in the 2006 drama and so far Chen Xiao who plays the same character in Romance of the Condor Heroes has been good.
Hopefully the good performances continue and Romance of the Condor Heroes can become my new favorite wuxia drama.

Nairobi: A Holiday Ghost Town no more

For the first time since I can remember I spent the entire holiday season, both Christmas and New Years in Nairobi and I discovered an interesting thing, Nairobi has changed. Most people travel out of Nairobi for the holiday season: either upcountry or to the coast. The fascinating thing about living in Nairobi is that even people like me who were born here do not consider Nairobi to be their hometown. Your hometown is usually where your grandparents live or where your parents were born; so when the holidays roll around the exodus begins, and Nairobi becomes a ghost town.
At least that's what used to happen, I was shocked during this holiday season to discover that quite a number of people remained in Nairobi. Shops like Nakumatt stayed open right through the holidays and I found a surprising number of people walking and driving in the city during this period as well. I don't know if people didn't have the money to travel out of Nairobi or if there has been a fundamental shift in how Nairobi residents spend their holidays. Of course entertainment venues in the city took advantage in higher numbers staying during the holidays to provide special programs. There were a number of large concerts held around the city celebrating the New Year.
One of the things I love about living in Kenya is seeing how things change over time, most of the time the change is positive and makes you feel great about the direction the country going towards. I am anticipating even more changes throughout 2015 and can't wait to see what happens next.

Happy New Year!!!

Thank You to all to all who have visited my blog in the past year and I hope you enjoyed my writing. I wish all my readers a prosperous 2015 and I hope all your dreams for the next year come true.