As I believe I’ve mentioned in this space before, the best teacher I ever had was a rotund, sweaty Jesuit who presided over my 10th-grade history class. Among his many wise lessons was one that invoked Napoleon’s rise to power as a case study. He argued quite convincingly that the French Consulate was designed with […]
Tags:corruption·Kenya·Napoleon·politics
It took over half-a-year, but the Wired piece that brought us out to Kenya last fall is finally live. It’s the tale of a wheat-killing fungus called Ug99, which is currently sweeping across Central Asia. The pathogen is remarkable because it can easily overcomes the genetic defenses created by the Green Revolution. As a result, […]
Tags:Afghanistan·agriculture·famine·Kenya·Ug99·Uganda·wheat·Wired
Our pressing Wired deadline hits in exactly four hours for now, so we’re scrambling. Thanks for putting up with our relative lack of thoughtlessness these past few days—we’ve had to dedicate the bulk of our mental bandwidth to Kenya-related matters, for the good of the whole Microkhan crew. As we lean for the finish-line tape, […]
One of our favorite scenes in The Godfather trilogy occurs near the beginning of the second installment, as Michael Corleone dances with his wife at a lavish party in honor of their son’s First Communion. Kay Corleone asks her hubby when, exactly, the family will go legit—something that Michael promised several years prior. “I’m trying, […]
Tags:crime·Kenya·Maina Njenga·Mungiki·politics·The Godfather
We recently argued that symbols do, indeed, matter. Is it possible that someone in the administration of Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki read our screed? Because the Nairobi regime has suddenly decided to make a rather brilliant token gesture, obviously designed to indicate a willingness to tackle government excess: it’s forcing officials to give up their […]
Tags:cars·corruption·Kenya·politics
As we went digging into our pocket for some change this morning, we came up with a piece of currency sure to give the vending machine a case of indigestion: a 20 shilling coin from Kenya, a souvenir of our recent East African jaunt. Before tossing back the useless money in frustration, however, we noticed […]
Tags:animals·Burma·coins·currency·economics·Ivory Coast·Kenya·North Korea·politics·Roman Empire·Turkmenbashi·Turkmenistan
Deadline approaches on the piece that sent us out to East Africa. You know the drill—enjoy the Otis Redding as we commit our remaining mental bandwidth to the art of storytelling. More soon.
The NBA fans in the audience are surely aware that the Minnesota Timberwolves are about as hapless as they come nowadays—an even less promising squad than Microkhan’s beloved Los Angeles Clipppers, a team once declared “The Worst Franchise Ever” by Sports Illustrated. But the T’wolves’ woeful prospects haven’t affected the loyalty of a certain Nairobi […]
Tags:basketball·Kenya·Los Angeles Clippers·matatus·Minnesota Timberwolves·Nairobi·software
For those of us who worship at the altar of hops and malted barley, no trip to Kenya can be complete without sampling a bottle or twelve of Tusker, East African Breweries’ flagship beer. It’s by no means a great lager—when served cold, it reminded us of the thin-yet-refreshing Brazilian brew Antarctica. But Tusker gets […]
Tags:animal attacks·beer·elephants·George Hurst·Kenya·Tanzania·Tusker
After an interminable 27-plus hours in transit from Nairobi, punctuated by some dire experiences aboard Swiss Air, we finally made it back to Microkhan HQs late yesterday. Great to be back in sunny Atlah, though an enjoyable and productive time was had by all in Kenya. We’ll be posting plenty of East Africa-related material in […]
Tags:Africa·baboons·corruption·drought·Kenya·Mwai Kibaki·primates·traffic
To the untrained eye, Migingo Island appears to be no great shakes. It covers just a half-acre’s worth of Lake Victoria, and it’s covered with the tin shacks of fishermen. Yet Kenya and Uganda both covet the ramshackle rock, leading to a border row that threatens to lead to outright war. Ugandan marines overtook the […]
Tags:Africa·British Empire·Kenya·Migingo Island·politics·Uganda
Back in the late ’90s, I got really into a band called Golden, featuring members of Trans Am as well as a young, pre-Mars Volta Jon Theodore. I last caught them at a Mercury Lounge show some ten years ago; I distinctly remember getting whapped in the face by a meathead’s twirling t-shirt. Since then, […]
Tags:Benga·Extra Golden·Kenya·music
