Unseen, in the background, Fate was quietly slipping lead into the boxing glove
(The first half of this post is a sort of follow-up to a post I wrote many months ago called Idiodyssey)
There's a sign around Kigali that advertises a School where one can supposedly learn English. I say supposedly, because the sign says-and I quote-COME AND PREPARE YOUR BETTER FUTURE LIFE. We also have an English school called SPASIAL ENGLISH SCHOOL which once again doesnt bode well for their English comprehension skills. I'm sure there are a lot of philosophical and practical issues surrounding language schools which cant speak the language, but I'll be dammned if I'm going to go into them now.
So what does this all mean for Virunga Bar? Well nothing actually except that Virunga is also having the same existential crisis that our illiterate language schools are having. It's a measure of how far Virunga has fallen that the sign outside now reads- LOOK ON MY WORKS YE MIGHTY AND DESPAIR!
I used to like Virunga a lot, but my love for the place dimmed when their revamped menu became so small that it is now invisible to the naked eye. Good food was also deemed to be a luxury. A few weeks ago, the tiniest and most uninspiring burger I'd ever had in my life was served to me about 3 weeks ago on those very premises together with fries that tasted like a Monet painting. I was requested to pay 3,000 Francs for the privilege. How your hero gnashed his teeth! How he appealed to the gods in vain! Where was the justice? I looked across the premises at Bourbon Cafe and my heart sank as I realized I'd made a terrible, terrible mistake. And there was no going back. This decision would haunt me forever and plague my dreams until my old age.
Justice was also crucially absent when I popped by on Saturday for the footie and saw the sign on the door. It said 'Entry to watch the Football is 2,000 Francs.' For a place that has been struggling to attract customers, its astonishing that they can choose to alienate the only group of people who are guaranteed to turn up on a certain day-football fans. Short of bringing in a grizzly bear to wait on tables, I cant think of a worse business decision they could have made. The entry fee is even more comical considering the fact that the Bar across the building has a screen and they show the footie for free. I must be missing something here surely? Or is there some meaningful sociological experiment going on here?
(It reminds me of another Bar that is dying a slow, undignified death-El Maestro at UTC. It was once a thriving and vibrant place but is now a haunt for ghosts and the occasional wedding meeting. The screen died a few months ago and no one has bothered to fix it. The staff look like the sort of characters you would find them midway through a Stephen King novel as they realize they are well and truly screwed by forces beyond their control. Its hilarious)
The introduction of rock night had been a boost to Virunga, but the staff dont take it seriously at all and a week ago we turned up to find Ne-yo and Lingala forming an uneasy mix. Finding no one at the bar to play the music, my friend put the rock folder on shuffle and we got our rock in the end.
This wasnt welcomed by someone (who we will call a senior member of management) we run into a few days later.
"He's not allowed to do that" He said much later when we met.
"But we came over specifically for rock night and there was no one to play the music" we protested "What were we supposed to do?"
"You could find another bar" He said nonchalantly. We all choked on our beers and began to look longingly towards the exits.
That's Virunga Bar for you- always putting the customer first.
And then we have La Sierra- the place where good service goes to die. It is the Bermuda Triangle of customer care. Annoyingly, they actually have good food (probably the best burgers in town)and incredible croissants which means you cant avoid the place entirely.
You need a strong will to live when it comes to dealing with the waitresses. I've seen people frantically writing suicide notes at that restaurant after waiting desperately for an hour or so, abandoned to their fates by a cruel uncaring world- or more specifically La Sierra's notorious waitresses.
This is what happens- you make your order and send the waitress off. Said waitress is never seen again. You sit there wondering what to do and when another waitress wanders through, you call her and make the order again (wondering whether to send her after the first waitress in a 'Missing in Action' style mission). Waitress Number 2 promptly disappears as well. You crane your head but no one ever comes back.
The question on your mind is: Are there any sentient beings in there? or is this some sort of ghostly outpost?
Eventually you get served by a different waitress, but you feel like a trespasser because the waitresses are virtually scowling at you for interrupting their day dreams. La Sierra is a comedy of errors and frankly I like it a lot. Any place which has turned terrible customer care into such an art-form can only inspire grudging respect from me.
***
Someone asked me what I thought about Obama the other day and I said that I was still not convinced. Oh I respect his achievement in getting to his current position, but Im fairly sure this guy is not the Messiah- a message that as obvious as it seems actually needs to be mentioned in the current climate.
I guess it's not really his fault, but the doe-eyed adoration of his supporters is exceedingly creepy. It's the 'Oprah-effect'- thousands of hope-inspired people walk and talk like zombies about change and hope. Any criticism of Obama is taken exceedingly seriously-almost viciously- and the issues are rarely addressed- they simply echo his hope-change chant. I hear George Romero might be writing a script just about now.
He's like one of those books which periodically become massive bestsellers and everyone tells you that you HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK (See: The Da Vinci Code). If you dont fall madly in love with it, people think you are a moron. Likewise for most people it is SO OBVIOUS that he's the better candidate because he's black ('support a brother Minega!') he's a good speaker, he stands for change...etc. I dont doubt that Obama has a lot of substantive proposals-many of them good- but this isnt what attracts people to him. Its things like the ideal he represents, or that fact that he is 'one of us' or that he speaks really well. If you asked a random Obama fan in Kigali for example to tell you any specific Obama proposals that would make him a better President, they wouldnt have a clue. It is politics for the pop idol generation. In many ways, they are in love with a phantom. Not that Mccain is any better obviously. The argument that Sarah Palin has foreign policy experience because-quote- 'Alaska is close to Russia' is easily the stupidest statement made this campaign season (Cindy Mccain and a Fox news anchor have both said it recently)but again they know people will buy it. Likewise, picking such an inexperienced running mate after attacking Obama repeatedly for being inexperienced is something so breathtakingly hypocritical that you have to have a grudging respect for them. It is a very entertaining charade, and it pays to be neutral in this sort of things.
***
Following are excerpts of an online debate I had with my friend Bazi about music and the concept of a solo musician's vision- the purity of said vision or lack thereof. It revolved mainly around Brian Wilson(of The Beach Boys) and Jeff Buckley. There's quite a bit of music geekery in here but that's just how we roll.
Bazi: I think it's telling that the artists that currently form three pillars of influence on me are: Jeff Buckley, Brian Wilson, and Bob Dylan...All Essentially Solo Artists
Bazi: Beethoven is a genius for a reason...Just been listening to a piece of one of his symphonies...and the depth is amazing
Minzo: yes i see what u mean with the solo artists, but i think Buckley's book for example showed that the solo artist is rarely ever a solo artist in the truest sense of the word
Bazi: Which section? You mean the point that the band filled so much for him?
Minzo: no i dont mean a section in particular, but the way he sounded out people, interracted with his band etc
Bazi: Ahhh, I see
Minzo: its usually a joint effort either lyrically or musically...usually musically for the likes of Buckley
Bazi: Definitely true, I mean the of the three listed, the only one that was most independent and unreliant on the band was Brian Wilson...musically
Bazi: It's really a shame cos It's hard to discuss Buckley when all you have is one single finished piece of work, but the second album and the demo's etc, were virtually ALL him
Bazi: and of course the band were to come in to assist musically, and add-this is the right place for my earlier remark-"the color"
Minzo: i see
Bazi: it probably is easier musically than in literature to work with someone. I mean unless you worked hard to create a singular voice, it would come across strange with two different writers putting their stamp on the work
Minzo: but u need input as well...u cant make it in a bubble unless maybe
Bazi: True...although Wilson did impressively command a kind of modern orchestra of the usual Rock instruments of Guitar bass and drums as well as trumpets, bass harmonicas, accordions, Saxophones, etc. and told everyone *exactly* what to play
Minzo:yes but i find it hard to think of a musician having a completely personal type of vision. its tainted in one way or another- by the past, by other contemporary musicians...
Minzo: and it needs to be because u also need to see it the way another person might see it
Bazi: I think I see what you mean, that a musician can't really come up with something completely of his own mind and vision-that I agree is probably non-existent
Minzo: yes but im talking even on a day to day level not just subtle influences
Bazi: but I meant that a musician can create music with a band say, but with everything composed by him, and not necessarily with the band's input-won't be very popular if it's asked of forcefully of the band,
Minzo: hes going to play it to people, try it out in small venues like Buckley did....
Bazi: in that kind of sense, I'd agree. I simply meant in the way two writers collaborate on something and how tough that would be and was comparing that to composing with someone else.
Minzo: yes thats feasible i guess but its rare,....unless he's a truly all-round musical genius, he cant dictate all the band instrument...
Bazi: You mean, he couldn't completely hear how it should all sound etc?
Minzo: something like that
Minzo: take Buckley- he might have a certain FEEL for a song right?
Bazi: yeah?
Minzo: but only by having his band guitarist go through various riffs and by leading him towards what he's looking for does he get what he really wants
Bazi: in the sense of Micheal Tighe coming up with the main part of ""So Real""? Fair enough, I think by and large musicians get what they really want through that kind of collaboration, and that the one's that don't are the exceptions
Bazi: I guess I'm just too obsessed at the moment by the one's that don't. Dunno how the Beethoven's did it.
Minzo: yeah im just debating the purity-or lack of it- of a musician's vision
Bazi: Good point though. Had never thought about it that way
Minzo: and it would be interesting to find out how often they changed their minds while working on their masterpieces
Minzo says: as a result of band influence or any other outside influence
Bazi: Absolutely
There's a sign around Kigali that advertises a School where one can supposedly learn English. I say supposedly, because the sign says-and I quote-COME AND PREPARE YOUR BETTER FUTURE LIFE. We also have an English school called SPASIAL ENGLISH SCHOOL which once again doesnt bode well for their English comprehension skills. I'm sure there are a lot of philosophical and practical issues surrounding language schools which cant speak the language, but I'll be dammned if I'm going to go into them now.
So what does this all mean for Virunga Bar? Well nothing actually except that Virunga is also having the same existential crisis that our illiterate language schools are having. It's a measure of how far Virunga has fallen that the sign outside now reads- LOOK ON MY WORKS YE MIGHTY AND DESPAIR!
I used to like Virunga a lot, but my love for the place dimmed when their revamped menu became so small that it is now invisible to the naked eye. Good food was also deemed to be a luxury. A few weeks ago, the tiniest and most uninspiring burger I'd ever had in my life was served to me about 3 weeks ago on those very premises together with fries that tasted like a Monet painting. I was requested to pay 3,000 Francs for the privilege. How your hero gnashed his teeth! How he appealed to the gods in vain! Where was the justice? I looked across the premises at Bourbon Cafe and my heart sank as I realized I'd made a terrible, terrible mistake. And there was no going back. This decision would haunt me forever and plague my dreams until my old age.
Justice was also crucially absent when I popped by on Saturday for the footie and saw the sign on the door. It said 'Entry to watch the Football is 2,000 Francs.' For a place that has been struggling to attract customers, its astonishing that they can choose to alienate the only group of people who are guaranteed to turn up on a certain day-football fans. Short of bringing in a grizzly bear to wait on tables, I cant think of a worse business decision they could have made. The entry fee is even more comical considering the fact that the Bar across the building has a screen and they show the footie for free. I must be missing something here surely? Or is there some meaningful sociological experiment going on here?
(It reminds me of another Bar that is dying a slow, undignified death-El Maestro at UTC. It was once a thriving and vibrant place but is now a haunt for ghosts and the occasional wedding meeting. The screen died a few months ago and no one has bothered to fix it. The staff look like the sort of characters you would find them midway through a Stephen King novel as they realize they are well and truly screwed by forces beyond their control. Its hilarious)
The introduction of rock night had been a boost to Virunga, but the staff dont take it seriously at all and a week ago we turned up to find Ne-yo and Lingala forming an uneasy mix. Finding no one at the bar to play the music, my friend put the rock folder on shuffle and we got our rock in the end.
This wasnt welcomed by someone (who we will call a senior member of management) we run into a few days later.
"He's not allowed to do that" He said much later when we met.
"But we came over specifically for rock night and there was no one to play the music" we protested "What were we supposed to do?"
"You could find another bar" He said nonchalantly. We all choked on our beers and began to look longingly towards the exits.
That's Virunga Bar for you- always putting the customer first.
And then we have La Sierra- the place where good service goes to die. It is the Bermuda Triangle of customer care. Annoyingly, they actually have good food (probably the best burgers in town)and incredible croissants which means you cant avoid the place entirely.
You need a strong will to live when it comes to dealing with the waitresses. I've seen people frantically writing suicide notes at that restaurant after waiting desperately for an hour or so, abandoned to their fates by a cruel uncaring world- or more specifically La Sierra's notorious waitresses.
This is what happens- you make your order and send the waitress off. Said waitress is never seen again. You sit there wondering what to do and when another waitress wanders through, you call her and make the order again (wondering whether to send her after the first waitress in a 'Missing in Action' style mission). Waitress Number 2 promptly disappears as well. You crane your head but no one ever comes back.
The question on your mind is: Are there any sentient beings in there? or is this some sort of ghostly outpost?
Eventually you get served by a different waitress, but you feel like a trespasser because the waitresses are virtually scowling at you for interrupting their day dreams. La Sierra is a comedy of errors and frankly I like it a lot. Any place which has turned terrible customer care into such an art-form can only inspire grudging respect from me.
***
Someone asked me what I thought about Obama the other day and I said that I was still not convinced. Oh I respect his achievement in getting to his current position, but Im fairly sure this guy is not the Messiah- a message that as obvious as it seems actually needs to be mentioned in the current climate.
I guess it's not really his fault, but the doe-eyed adoration of his supporters is exceedingly creepy. It's the 'Oprah-effect'- thousands of hope-inspired people walk and talk like zombies about change and hope. Any criticism of Obama is taken exceedingly seriously-almost viciously- and the issues are rarely addressed- they simply echo his hope-change chant. I hear George Romero might be writing a script just about now.
He's like one of those books which periodically become massive bestsellers and everyone tells you that you HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK (See: The Da Vinci Code). If you dont fall madly in love with it, people think you are a moron. Likewise for most people it is SO OBVIOUS that he's the better candidate because he's black ('support a brother Minega!') he's a good speaker, he stands for change...etc. I dont doubt that Obama has a lot of substantive proposals-many of them good- but this isnt what attracts people to him. Its things like the ideal he represents, or that fact that he is 'one of us' or that he speaks really well. If you asked a random Obama fan in Kigali for example to tell you any specific Obama proposals that would make him a better President, they wouldnt have a clue. It is politics for the pop idol generation. In many ways, they are in love with a phantom. Not that Mccain is any better obviously. The argument that Sarah Palin has foreign policy experience because-quote- 'Alaska is close to Russia' is easily the stupidest statement made this campaign season (Cindy Mccain and a Fox news anchor have both said it recently)but again they know people will buy it. Likewise, picking such an inexperienced running mate after attacking Obama repeatedly for being inexperienced is something so breathtakingly hypocritical that you have to have a grudging respect for them. It is a very entertaining charade, and it pays to be neutral in this sort of things.
***
Following are excerpts of an online debate I had with my friend Bazi about music and the concept of a solo musician's vision- the purity of said vision or lack thereof. It revolved mainly around Brian Wilson(of The Beach Boys) and Jeff Buckley. There's quite a bit of music geekery in here but that's just how we roll.
Bazi: I think it's telling that the artists that currently form three pillars of influence on me are: Jeff Buckley, Brian Wilson, and Bob Dylan...All Essentially Solo Artists
Bazi: Beethoven is a genius for a reason...Just been listening to a piece of one of his symphonies...and the depth is amazing
Minzo: yes i see what u mean with the solo artists, but i think Buckley's book for example showed that the solo artist is rarely ever a solo artist in the truest sense of the word
Bazi: Which section? You mean the point that the band filled so much for him?
Minzo: no i dont mean a section in particular, but the way he sounded out people, interracted with his band etc
Bazi: Ahhh, I see
Minzo: its usually a joint effort either lyrically or musically...usually musically for the likes of Buckley
Bazi: Definitely true, I mean the of the three listed, the only one that was most independent and unreliant on the band was Brian Wilson...musically
Bazi: It's really a shame cos It's hard to discuss Buckley when all you have is one single finished piece of work, but the second album and the demo's etc, were virtually ALL him
Bazi: and of course the band were to come in to assist musically, and add-this is the right place for my earlier remark-"the color"
Minzo: i see
Bazi: it probably is easier musically than in literature to work with someone. I mean unless you worked hard to create a singular voice, it would come across strange with two different writers putting their stamp on the work
Minzo: but u need input as well...u cant make it in a bubble unless maybe
Bazi: True...although Wilson did impressively command a kind of modern orchestra of the usual Rock instruments of Guitar bass and drums as well as trumpets, bass harmonicas, accordions, Saxophones, etc. and told everyone *exactly* what to play
Minzo:yes but i find it hard to think of a musician having a completely personal type of vision. its tainted in one way or another- by the past, by other contemporary musicians...
Minzo: and it needs to be because u also need to see it the way another person might see it
Bazi: I think I see what you mean, that a musician can't really come up with something completely of his own mind and vision-that I agree is probably non-existent
Minzo: yes but im talking even on a day to day level not just subtle influences
Bazi: but I meant that a musician can create music with a band say, but with everything composed by him, and not necessarily with the band's input-won't be very popular if it's asked of forcefully of the band,
Minzo: hes going to play it to people, try it out in small venues like Buckley did....
Bazi: in that kind of sense, I'd agree. I simply meant in the way two writers collaborate on something and how tough that would be and was comparing that to composing with someone else.
Minzo: yes thats feasible i guess but its rare,....unless he's a truly all-round musical genius, he cant dictate all the band instrument...
Bazi: You mean, he couldn't completely hear how it should all sound etc?
Minzo: something like that
Minzo: take Buckley- he might have a certain FEEL for a song right?
Bazi: yeah?
Minzo: but only by having his band guitarist go through various riffs and by leading him towards what he's looking for does he get what he really wants
Bazi: in the sense of Micheal Tighe coming up with the main part of ""So Real""? Fair enough, I think by and large musicians get what they really want through that kind of collaboration, and that the one's that don't are the exceptions
Bazi: I guess I'm just too obsessed at the moment by the one's that don't. Dunno how the Beethoven's did it.
Minzo: yeah im just debating the purity-or lack of it- of a musician's vision
Bazi: Good point though. Had never thought about it that way
Minzo: and it would be interesting to find out how often they changed their minds while working on their masterpieces
Minzo says: as a result of band influence or any other outside influence
Bazi: Absolutely
posted by Minzo at 1:12 AM
1 Comments:
You killed me: "fries that tasted like a Monet painting" "we have La Sierra- the place where good service goes to die. It is the Bermuda Triangle of customer care. " HILARIOUS MAN!!! Been gagging reading this!!!
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