Clean sweep!
No. This is not a sports blog.
Nor is it a blog on Kenyan sports.
Can’t resist putting this up though 
Conservapedia – a new wiki
I’ve just discovered that some people out there have created an alternative to wikipedia: It’s CONSERVAPEDIA: the trustworthy encyclopedia.
Democrazy, freedom… you have got to love it!
Back!
Hi,
I’ve run into Thomas three times since the WoW internship workshops ended. The first two times he asked me why I was killing my blog (by not writing any new posts). The third time, he mentioned nothing about blogging… a sure sign that to him, my blog was dead.
I obviously hadn’t intended to go this long without posting something, but my writing resources had to be dedicated to several commitments that needed my attention.
Well, stay tuned because I’m back, planning to post an average of three times a week.
Mr. Basso fesses up
Ivan Basso, aka Ivan the Terrible, has admitted to attempted doping.
Why did I pick up on this particular story? Well, during the World of Work session on teamwork with Brad Arden, we watched a documentary on the Tour de France in order to better appreciate that one cannot win the yellow t-shirt without the help and sacrifice of teammates. The section we watched featured Basso beating Lance Armstrong in one stage of the Tour.
Doping is a huge concern in the world of sports because those who dope are involved in the sporting equivalent of anti-trust or illegal insider trading: they have an unfair competitive edge over others. One might say that this is the way of the world, and that athletes no longer have a choice because the level of competitiveness is extremely high. I’m with the puritans who feel that if you’re competing professionally, show some character, do things the right and proper (dope-free) way. But ofcourse, this is said from the lofty position of one whose salary comes from a regular job, not from competing at a high level.
In a world where individuals whose blood tests positive for doping use the party line: ”I have never taken an illegal substance… I don’t know how they found all those illegal chemicals in my bloodstream”, it is refreshing to have an athlete who takes responsibility for his behavior: “I will serve my punishment and return to racing.”
Do you see what I see?
A colleague in the world of work programme and I have engaged, several times, in heated discussions around gender and the role of women. It reminds me of a book whose title and author I have now forgotten. What I remember is an image in the book:
The author showed it to a classroom of students, and they almost engaged in fisticuffs because some saw an old woman, while others saw a young woman. They argued back and forth, looking at the same image but interpreting it differently, until they explained to one another: the young woman’s necktie was the old woman’s lips, the old woman’s nose was the young woman’s chin and jaw. Understanding, finally!
This is my interpretation of constant engagement with the colleague over an African/Christian culture that casts women as subservient to men. I maintain that it may have worked in the old days, but we’re in need of a more dynamic interpretation of culture (not to mention that there is no truth to the generalization that African culture was/is patriarchal). Then again… I realize what we need is simply perspective, a way in which to see what the other sees.
As an aside (which I plan to pick up later on) I think it is incredibly irresponsible and unforgivable for our culture to refuse to change in order to accommodate, among many other things, the HIV scourge. If our culture was able to adapt to slave raids (telling people not to do certain things at night otherwise they would see demons/the bogeyman would get them; or Shaka who discontinued circumcision – an important rite of passage until that point – among Zulus so that they could perform better in warfare) why isn’t it coming up with myths to positively encourage behavior change, the only guaranteed(?) way to beat HIV?
Back to women and their subservient role in African society. I’ll mention a quote attributed to the 1992 Clinton campaign for the White House: “it’s the economy, stupid”. If women were economically empowered, they would be better able to leverage fair treatment in society, yes? And until that happy day, we’ll continue engaging in pointless theoretical urban vs. rural, north vs. south arguments, yes?
So now I know where to direct this energy.
But wait a minute: Wangari Maathai, during her post-Nobel ceremony interview with CNN’s Jonathan Mann, indicated that it’s not about empowering only women. This empowered woman actually wants a man by her side, and a two-parent family, so everyone around her MUST be empowered. To concentrate only on the female population does not bode well for the country. But then again, there is much truth in the adage “educate a woman, you educate a family.”
So what to do? [I feel obliged to note here, as one often does in such discussions, that I am not saying men are bad. Though men are pretty darned awesome and totally rock, they aren’t the center of this here piece]. Balance and strategies must be found to take culture into consideration so that the main objective, economics, can be reached.
My favorite story of how this is possible is an illustration of African women engaged in guerilla warfare so they can have their cake and eat it too…(and believe me, if there are people able to pull this off, it is African women… despite our ‘world famous’ reputation as a downtrodden, disempowered lot).
The story is told of mixed adult literacy classes being offered in a village. A Wife and her Husband are in the same class. The Wife is learning fast, getting really good with letters and numbers… the teacher notices this and wants to encourage her, because, after all, African women need all the empowerment and support they can get, yes? The teacher asks a question, the Husband responds, but incorrectly. The teacher then asks the Wife, expecting that Wife will, of course, get it right. Wife looks at the board, very confused, and repeats, haltingly, exactly what the Husband said. The teacher is confused. Teacher knows! that Wife knows the right answer, so asks the question again, more slowly this time. Wife sticks to her guns (confused expression and all) and repeats the wrong answer.
Why does she do this?
Well, she’s there for an education, not for the grades. She knows that if she bests her Husband in public, tomorrow he’ll tell her she can’t go to school because she has not finished the chores around the house, and she will remain illiterate. This way, she may be “wrong”, but she’ll learn how to read and write with minimum friction and challenge to her man’s ego. She knows her cultural environment, and knows how to leverage the status quo to get ahead. Would that we were all that wise.
(Picture taken from http://www.grand-illusions.com/opticalillusions/woman/)
The Flora London Marathon
The London Marathon took place this morning, amid a whole lot of hype and anticipation because, “The cream of the world [was there].” In the lead up to the marathon, the rivalry between Paul Tergat and Haile Gebreselassie was played up, with Gebreselassie being the favorite. Hendrick Ramaala (RSA: he practices on the Wits University track on West Campus) was also in the line up and was expected to perform better than third position this year.
In the ladies’ race, the rivalry between Lorna Kiplagat (ex-Kenya, now Netherlands) and Benita Johnson (Australia). Paula Radcliffe, three-time London Marathon winner was absent. She gave birth to a baby girl in January but is already back in shape for races in the second part of the year. Chunxiu Zhou became the first Chinese woman ever, to win the London Marathon.
In a world that is more focused on ‘action’ sports like soccer and rugby (and in this season, cricket) it is difficult to convince any non-believer that watching a marathon unfold on television is actually very exciting. The only DSTV I have access to is communal, and I am always rebuffed and told to “come at the end when they know who won”.
The marathon is an event that requires a great deal of strategy and focus. As Martin Lel (Kenya) said after his win, “It was one of the most tactical races I have run.” You, the runner seeking to win the race, or to set a personal best, or to finish in the top 10, have to pace yourself. You must also be flexible enough to increase that pace so you’re not left behind by the groups that break away. You have to keep track of who is where, and you have to have enough strength left in you after 2 hours and 7 minutes of running at punishing pace, to claim that first place in an all-out sprint finish.
Congratulations to the top ten finishers in the men’s and women’s race, and to the other 34,980 who crossed that finish line.
Results courtesy of http://www.london-marathon.co.uk/site/results/
men10 km » 20 km » half » 30 km » 40 km » finish »
| place | pl.age | # | name | age | club | time |
| 1 | 1 | 5 | » MR LEL, MARTIN (KEN) | M25 | 2:07:41 | |
| 2 | 1 | 20 | » MR GOUMRI, ABDERRAHIM (MAR) | M30 | 2:07:44 | |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | » MR LIMO, FELIX (KEN) | M25 | 2:07:47 | |
| 4 | 2 | 7 | » MR GHARIB, JAOUAD (MAR) | M30 | 2:07:54 | |
| 5 | 1 | 6 | » MR RAMAALA, HENDRICK (RSA) | M35 | 2:07:56 | |
| 6 | 2 | 2 | » MR TERGAT, PAUL (KEN) | M35 | 2:08:06 | |
| 7 | 1 | 17 | » MR HALL, RYAN (USA) | M20 | 2:08:24 | |
| 8 | 3 | 12 | » MR GOMES, MARILSON (BRA) | M25 | 2:08:37 | |
| 9 | 3 | 15 | » MR ROBINSON, DAN (GBR) | M30 | 2:14:14 | |
| 10 | 4 | 22 | » MR JONES, ANDI (GBR) | M25 | 2:17:49 |
women10 km » 20 km » half » 30 km » 40 km » finish »
| place | pl.age | # | name | age | club | time |
| 1 | 1 | 102 | » MS ZHOU, CHUNXIU (CHN) | W25 | 2:20:38 | |
| 2 | 1 | 106 | » MS WAMI, GETE (ETH) | W30 | 2:21:45 | |
| 3 | 1 | 105 | » MS TOMESCU-DITA, CONSTANTINA (ROM) | W35 | 2:23:55 | |
| 4 | 2 | 111 | » MS KOSGEI, SALINA (KEN) | W30 | 2:24:13 | |
| 5 | 3 | 108 | » MS KIPLAGAT, LORNAH (NED) | W30 | 2:24:46 | |
| 6 | 4 | 112 | » MS YAMAUCHI, MARA (GBR) | W30 | 2:25:41 | |
| 7 | 2 | 110 | » MS JOHNSON, BENITA (AUS) | W25 | 2:29:47 | |
| 8 | 5 | 116 | » MS YELLING, LIZ (GBR) | W30 | 2:30:44 | |
| 9 | 3 | 118 | » MS ABITOVA, INGA (RUS) | W25 | 2:34:25 | |
| 10 | 6 | 103 | » MS ADERE, BERHANE (ETH) | W30 | 2:39:11 |
And finally: The London Marathon is also worth points in the World Marathon Majors championship. The Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York, World Championships and Olympic Marathons are part of the two-year series that will award $500,000 (EUR392,000) to the men’s and women’s champions.
(pic. from http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/6580801.stm)
The World of Work Week One
WoW: April 11 – 13 2007
A 4-week long training workshop that seeks to prepare a select group of postgraduate students in the humanities and social sciences for internships in different firms.
Sorry I missed the first day (Wed 11 April) of the programme due to prior commitments, so thank goodness for those who blogged about it and enabled me to catch up.
Attended Roy Blumenthal’s session on blogs and found I couldn’t agree more with a lot of what he said. As described by my colleagues here and here, he presented blogging as a way in which the world can take a peek into what makes you tick.
My take-home message from his presentation? Be yourself. Show personality and initiative on your blog.
Attended the Mind Mapping session by Lesley Emanuel. Lesley and Jean Powers head the World of Work Programme. The group was told what is expected of interns, and what the employer is looking for in a prospective employee. She also introduced the technique of mind mapping so we’re able to take notes and outline ideas outside the academic world.
Take-home message: Every day/interaction is an interview. So stay sharp and ready at every moment.
Dan Sonnenberg (Matrix+ Consulting Africa) took the group through the process of applying for a job/internship. It is important to follow proper procedure: write a coverletter, send in a CV. Make sure they are both well-written, that you have checked who they should be sent to, and that you have run a spelling and grammar check. He then went through the first week of work, underlining the importance of communicating well, and making sure you understand what is expected of you. Attitude (preferably a good one) stood out as a very important quality to have, at any point (before, during, after) the job/internship search. He was very upfront about the world of work. He pointed out that there will be times you don’t get a job simply because someone didn’t like you. The world is not fair, deal with it (don’t take it personal). NEVER ASSUME, always get the right information. Be honest and straightforward, it saves you lots of trouble in the long run.
Take home message here: There’s no substitute for experience.
Irrational Exuberance debuts
Why ‘irrational exuberance’? It’s my favorite Alan Greenspan phrase and (because “losses were quickly recouped“) sums up my philosophy: Unqualified optimism. With a (strong) dash of realism. Aim for the stars… you at the very least will reach the moon.
Belly-aching about how Wits University could do better in assisting its graduates secure employment in the ‘big bad world’ has brought me to this place, the World of Work Internship Programme. Putting my money time where my mouth is. Leaving the comfortable perch of prescriptive observations for the less comfortable position of contributing to the solution. Part of that contribution will include research into the transition from academia to the real world. My immediate role though is to audit the program wearing trainer/resource person lenses.
On being named TIME Magazine’s “Person of the Year” in 2006: It came as a great surprise, especially because I was just busy doing what I love to do. Feel honored to join the ranks of 2005’s award recipients: The Good Samaritan trio of Bill and Melinda Gates, and Bono.
Moral of the story: Good work does not go unnoticed
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