Saturday, September 29, 2012

Series is the name of the game in 2012


Salamu

My Niggas!

It feels like I haven't updated my blog in years, meanwhile I updated on September 11 and 12. The major thing that has happened is that I have reached over 3 000 page views on the site. Asante to all of those involved and lets hope we have many more views before the year is out. 

My love for movies has been very well documented on this blog. One just has to look at one of the sidebars of the right of my blog to see a list of some of my all time favorites. There have been some really epic years for movies, unfortunately 2012 was not one of them. In fact, the best movie of the year thus far has been the Avengers and the Spiderman reboot. There was a lot of noise being made about the Dark Knight Rises, but like the Shakespearean Classic....it was a much ado about nothing. 

But it has been a year when I have rediscovered my love for series. Although True Blood is getting weirder and weirder, it is still awesome and I am still a die hard fan (unashamedly). I am looking forward to Season 6 which is coming out next year.

Actually 2013 is going to be a epic year for TV series (assuming we survive the Mayan Apocalypse), True Blood Season 6 is coming out at about the same time as the third season of another one of my favorite series....Game of Thrones. But the biggest one to look forward is the Sixth season of Sons of Anarchy.

Up until two months ago True Blood and Game of Thrones were my favorite series, but then I got hold of the Sons of Anarchy and I was hooked! 

Once again, the reasons for the series success is simple....

The Story Line and Club Issues are REAL: There are no vampires or werewolves involved. There are no wildlings. Its about running guns and drugs and gang rivalry. REAL LIFE SHIT. 

There is Amazing Character Development: Jackson Teller is the modern day Shakespearean hero. In the beginning he is utterly devoted to the club. Then he finds his dead fathers manuscript  and its like his father is talking to him from the grave. He goes on a crusade not to question the club, but to question the path that the club is going down. His son gets kidnapped and he wants to leave the thug life. But you don't choose the thug life, the thug life chooses you, when he finds out that Clay offed his old man there is fire and brimstone and the young bull flexes his muscle. Tara Knowles is the next Adrian Balboa, she is so in love with Jax that she puts up with the shit that goes on to stand behind her man. But there are times when she shows an uncertainty where she wants to leave because its whats best for the kids. Clay Morrow changes from this strong fatherly figure that holds SAMCRO together to this disease that eats away at the soul of the club. You end up secretly wishing that Opie's bullets do actually kill him rather than just injure him permanently. 

You can learn a lot about life by watching the Sons of Anarchy: Granted, the normal run-of-the-mill Average Joe cant merely run guns and coke like SAMCRO and not end up six feet under. But what the show does teach us is that one cannot spend ones life running, the secret to life is making the best out of heavy situations. 

I am halfway through season 4 and have been able to keep up to date with season 5. So I might have to neglect my heavy social life one weekend in favor of being a recluse to finish season 4 and three episodes of season 5. 

But there is also Person of Interest which is amazing and the first episode of a new series that I downloaded yesterday: Last Resort. 

Last Resort looks a bit like its a bit of a far fetched situation that the series is set in, but once again, its appealing to me because there are no vampires, werewolves and wildlings. It will be interesting to see how the series develops. Cant wait. 

Just a note on Last Resort. I say its a bit of a far fetched situation, but I am sure there are a few people in India who secretly go to bed at night hoping that someone blows up a certain neighbor who gives them border issues every now and then. 

Till next time my Niggas!

Mei jua daima kuwa kabla yenu, na vivuli nyuma yako!


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Solving some of Life's Great Mysteries


Salamu

My Niggas!

I can safely sit before you and say that I have had interesting work experience. I have never been one to blow my own trumpet but when I look at my CV compared with others, I can safely say that I have experienced more than most. 

I have had good jobs and I have had some rank shit jobs. I have had great bosses and I have had some mad crazy bosses. Before we go on, a word of advise. Beware the middle aged woman executive who does not have any kids and devotes her life to work. Mad Crazy with a capital M and C! Give these bitches a very wide berth! TRUST ME!

My current job is interesting. Although technically I am a copy writer that specializes in technology articles I have been told that I need to try my hand at writing motivational articles. 

Although I never realized it at the time, I thought that my superiors were really losing it when they asked me to do this, but then a very good friend reminded me of what i have experienced in my life and I realized that I am more than well equipped for this task. 

Below is my first attempt. I have been told it needs work so its safe for me to share on my blog as it is not the finished item and wont be published anywhere else: 

Every human has been in this situation before. Its years after you have graduated from high school or college and you are a working man or woman.  Although you literally have your whole life ahead of you, you have enough life experience to realize that the image of the world that teachers and lecturers painted for you is far from the reality of what life really is.

A fundamental truth about life is that it has its challenges, and you have been presented with your first one. You can sit back and ask why people were not honest with you about the truths about life. But looking for someone to blame is not going to help you choose the right way to live your life going forward. You have been knocked down, getting up is up to you. Instead of blaming someone for the hand that life has dealt you, look ahead at the infinite possibilities that present themselves to you.

Imagine being stranded in the middle of the ocean. You might feel that you have completely lost orientation and that you are completely lost. But consider the fact that if you are stranded in the middle of the ocean, your possibilities are endless. Either direction you choose to travel will lead you to salvation. Overcoming a challenge in life needs a similar approach. The chances of things getting worse than they are at that moment are far less than the chances of things getting better. And when you eventually approach land after being stranded in the ocean one paddles faster towards salvation. But what if that person approached the problem with the same enthusiasm at the start? Would he/she have not reached salvation sooner?

Once you are back on track, you need to realize that you are fully equipped with all of the tools you need to achieve greatness, there are no missing tools in your tool box. There are many religions in the world, but there are a few common truths. One such truth is that our existence is not a coincidence; we have been created by a higher power to achieve a specific purpose, a specific goal. And whoever created us did so with perfection in mind. Although we don’t realize it, or care to admit it, we will never be as perfect as we are at this particular moment to achieve greatness.

Achieving this greatness cannot be done alone. No human is an island. We need people to push us down the right path when we face crossroads in life. Think back to the life that you have lived and you will recall the role that a family member, high school teacher, best friend or life partner has played in the person that you are today. Open your mind and heart to the role that influential people can play going forward. Base your present decisions on selected past experiences. We have all had our share of break ups or have experienced death, and the pain that you feel at that moment is very real and is enough to make you apprehensive to let other people into your lives. But by allowing hurt to control you, you are building a defensive wall that will prevent you from taking advantage of present opportunities that life has to offer. You might think that the people in your life merely exist by coincidence. But the people in your life, like your existence, do not happen by coincidence. These people have been carefully selected by the higher power that created you and are brought into your life at the precise moment that you need them. You just have to open your mind...and open your heart  to acceptance and fight the urge to keep these people at an arm’s length. Let them into your life and enjoy all that they have to offer.

Live your life to the fullest. Give it all you have. Look into the face of an approaching storm and have the guts to say:  “Do your worst, for I will surely do mine!” Approach each day with the devotion, dedication and discipline to achieve one goal. It may be a singular goal or it may be the first step in achieving a bigger goal, but humans are emotionally wired to be driven by achievement. At times you will succeed and at times you will fail, but the lessons we learn in success and failure helps us to achieve more.

Have you ever taken the time to watch the daily routine of a small child? From the moment they wake up in the morning until they go to sleep at night their sole purpose is to enjoy all that the day has to offer to the fullest. It might seem irrational to say that an adult should approach life in a similar way, but how irrational is it really? Imagine what you can achieve if you take all the lessons you have learned about life and use them at the appropriate time while living each day to achieve the fulfillment in life that a child does.

Now that we have thought about living life with a childlike enthusiasm we realize that we have heard the cliché a hundred times: life is a journey. But are you merely listening to that cliché ? Or do you understand it? I have spoken about some of the fundamental truths about life. But the one truth that governs them all is that we can only learn these truths by living life. And with all of the living and all of the learning, we have just scratched the surface. There are still infinite truths that we have not discussed just as there are many more truths that I have not yet learned. The day we stop learning about life is the day that we die. What you need to realize is that nobody can teach you these truths; it is through living life that we learn how to cope with it. 

Within all us there is a storm, some believe that it will never end. But a person who believes in the heavens can weather any storm.


Till next time my Niggas!

Mei jua daima kuwa kabla yenu, na vivuli nyuma yako!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

The day that the world changed.


Salamu

My Niggas!

On the 11th of September 2001, the world changed forever. Two cowardly acts of terror, on innocent civilians changed the way that the worlds saw Arab people, changed the way that tourists were allowed to travel, and completely changed the outlook of two countries through war campaigns launched by the American Government. 

It was one of those events that you will never forget. You will always remember where you were on the day that the airplanes flew into the World Trade Center. I was studying at university at the time and had just came out of an interpersonal communication lecture which was on the way that different cultures interact with each other and how they should embrace racial tolerance. 

I have been very outspoken about my feelings for the majority of the British race (because of their arrogance and God mentality) and the Australian race (also because of their arrogance and their brat temper tantrum approach to sport) and because of this I was quite fond of the American race. 

And I still am. But my view on the American nation was also severely affected by 9/11. And not mainly by the people who were directly affected by the event, but by George W Bush. 

You see, the pain that you feel by losing someone to an event like that is completely understandable. And at that time you do feel an intense hatred towards the people who caused that pain. But when the man who is the most powerful person in the world talks about retaliation on a culture because of a few people who were obviously extremists makes you wonder how a man like that can breed so much hate. 

Because of Bush's take on 9/11, some Americans cant look beyond their hate at the person. At their soul. I am a Catholic, and I profess that I am by no means an expert on Islam or the Qur'an, but there are basic truths about it that the world needs to know. 

In order to understand Jihad, one must understand what the Prophet Muhammad taught about it. He said that there is a Greater and a Lesser Jihad. The Jihad that we all know and have experience with (the holy war) is the Lesser Jihad, and one cannot go on the Lesser Jihad until he/she has completed the Greater Jihad. The Greater Jihad is the fight within ones soul between good and evil. Yes the Qur'an does say that you need to strike back at those who oppress you. But you must do it for the right reasons. Don't be blinded by feelings of greed, hate or lust when embarking on a Jihad. The Our'an also has laws which govern Jihad beyond doing it for the right reasons. It says that you should strike back at those who oppressed you. That excludes innocents, especially women and children. 

And what is sad is that it is the actions of a few which influences the views of the many. One must bear in mind that devout Muslims see these extremists in a negative light. To them what happened on 9/11 is not Islam. I lived in the UAE post 9/11 and I can tell you now that the Muslim people showed me more peace, hospitality and people welcoming me into their homes with open hearts than any Catholic. I am a devout Catholic and I both love my faith and am proud of it. But the Catholic church has a lot to learn from Islam. The Catholic Church in Durban is building a center to help poor and destitute people recover from drugs and alcohol. It will also be a sanctuary for the homeless and those who are destitute and don't have food. The majority of the people that will be served by this center are not Muslim. Yet the Islamic Society of Durban have given the biggest donation to the Catholic Church to build this center. These are the people that the Americans go to war with. 

Yes there are terrorists and I do agree that they need to be hunted down and be held accountable for what they did. But in war, the biggest casualties are innocent people who in this case do not support the extremist actions that happened on 9/11. 

What is my message on 9/11 - 11 years on from the fateful day. It is a message of tolerance. Yes you might have been directly or indirectly affected by the events of that day. And you are entitled to feel hurt and pain, I am not begrudging you that. But it must be understood that the events on that day were committed by a few people who tried to strike fear in the hearts of many. As a whole, Islam deplores the actions of extremists who target innocent people.Hating the whole Arab world will not heal your pain. Blaming Islam will not bring your family back. Tolerance and acceptance is the only way to make the world a better place for future generations.  

Till next time my Niggas!

Mei jua daima kuwa kabla yenu, na vivuli nyuma yako!