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.