User:Elfie Mwale/sandbox

=It is about the money=

British pop sensation Jessie J's breakout song Price tag has a hook that goes, it's not about the money x3, we don't need your money x3, we just wanna make the world dance... forget about the price tag. Now, as catchy and sick the beat is on the song, not to mention the powerful vocals by Jessie herself, we all know that the song had and has no relevance to her thoughts on the value of money especially for a celebrity. In my books, how did she think she was going to accumulate that Louis Vuitton bag and the Coco Chanel cologne, if all that we the fans did was dance and didn't drop a Dollar for her album, utter nonsense! It is about the money, of course it is, it always has been and always will be. It is not funny but astonishing how we all strive for a comfortable life, others prefer to say, the good life which some might interpret as an extravagant life style but in all essence, human kind survives on the medium of exchange for goods and commodities by the value of money. Heads are always turned towards people that seem to live a comfortable life, a reasonable person will always question and have suspicions of the accumulation of that wealth or money and not instantly give that person or people the benefit of the doubt that, it actually could be an act of hard work, that wealth could be as a result of hard earned money through sweat and dedication. But no, that class of people are thought to be corrupt or might have used dubious and devious means to gather the money which is not the case. A time when people will celebrate wealth and being successful which will therefore propel people the world over to shift from the thinking that money could be the source of all evil and towards the thinking that, the lack of it could be the source of so much unhappiness. This philosophy and mentality is mainly common among disadvantaged and poor individuals who blame the rich for their circumstances which is absurd really.

=The Liquid or the Plant?=

I am not much of a drinker, of liquor that is least you think that I might be dehydrated but when I do, at social events or occasionally as some may put it, I am a very disciplined consumer. The consumption of liquor has been a recent adventure of mine that I had to explore without any prior experience from my nuclear circle of family and friends. For the record, not all adventures can be enjoyed but certainly most adventures are worth a shot.

Recently, the caution don't drink and drive from the Ministry of Transport and the Police in countries the world over could not be over emphasized as I encountered that realization at one of my social events. Fortunately and unfortunately I happened to be a passenger in that Volvo V40 which was steer wheeled by a friend. It was both fortunate and unfortunate because I was the sober minded adult that had to steer the wheel from the passenger seat and in that one hour journey saved the four lives that were in that car. The driver was under the influence of a Liquid and the fatality of the subsequent damage had an accident occurred, would have been dire and this piece would not have been written. I have tried a good spliff, though I can't say that I saw or felt the hazardous effects of it except the bulging of my eyes, mentally I maintained my stability and composure. Bob Marley, in his music always alluded to the herb as his source of inspiration and drive as well as the calm and peace it instilled in him when he smoked it. Although not being the pioneer of smoking the plant but was among the earliest musical phenomenon to come out publicly and romanticize and praise the high.

What is the relevance of these two substances? Non at all, except for the stimuli in the level of intoxication and risk of safety in society that they each cause. with that said, not much has been sensitized about the effects or lack thereof, of the Plant in other words the herb could be argued that it is much safer than liquor, of course it could be argued. So, the plant or the liquid? the choice is yours.

=The Mall hangout syndrome=

The shopping malls are increasingly becoming a place of various shenanigans besides the conventional shopping and dining as well as a venue of different business operations. I do go to the different malls around the country, particularly Airport Junction as my mall of preference when I go there, I am either dining or doing a little shopping of my own. Now, before I go there, I usually know what business I am going to conduct and with that said, from my observation, I have been amazed at how some people, particularly young people influx the mall and what do they do there? absolutely jack...nothing! They are usually just sitting around the waiting benches laughing out loudly at what seems to be funny, that is everything.

At one of my errands there, I couldn't help but be drawn to the eruption of a laughter that had me stopped and stared, there was a group of three to four young men who from my interpretation had been mimicking the way people that had been passing by, walked, particularly ladies. Those young men actually stood up and strutted around that sitting bench whenever a lady passed and then after they would burst out in laughter, I stood there perplexed and watched at how much time these young men had on their hands to waste and perform those stupid theatrics in public. I thought to myself of my many people of Art performing skills are actually present in the various malls in Botswana, and frankly, I don't know of any nor have I heard of one but imagine if those guys that were making a nuisance of themselves actually drew crowds with a sensible and professional form of Art.

I think the malls could offer a lot more entertainment then your usual cinemas that are owned by foreign companies. If people of art around the country capitalized on the lack of initiative then musical artists, dance artists, poets and instrument playing artists could light up and lively up the corridors of the different malls and "we" the window shoppers, the actual shoppers could then offer a token of appreciation provided we like what we see and hear. This is the kind of crowd and noise that is beautiful from the music, sultry and seducing poetry and the pure melodic strings from a guitar that I would with pleasure frequent the malls at any chance I could get. The mall hangout syndrome is a fast spreading virus that has infected many by their numbers that one can be broke and starved yet they manage to have kombi fare to take them to the mall and just sit and parade there, unfortunately not many are protected from this epidemic.

=Good hair=

The discussion of what good hair is, is one that is sensitive to some and a load of nonsense to others. What really is good hair?, glistening straightened hair?, kinky natural hair? or perhaps a fixed weave on one's head? All these are different types of hair that when the head that any of these types of hair is fixed on and or naturally grown on can offer conflicting views and definitions of what good hair is or could be.

Straightened hair
This hair is straight, it could have been treated with chemicals and it sometimes can be naturally straight depending on one's ethnicity. Could it be a determinant of good perhaps, because it is straight?

Kinky natural hair
This is my hair, the African child's hair that when you decide to sleep, you have to ensure that the hair is plaited in blocks so that the next morning it does not shrink and cause a battle for a comb to go through.

Weaves
This is other people's hair that is ridiculously expensive depending on the quality of the hair. The exorbitant prices are on what is called the Brazilian hair and the human hair, these hair are shaved off from people's heads, these heads are of Caucasian ethnic groups then sold to clients who are of various races that prefer lengthy and unreal hair.

All these are various hair types that could either be good or bad and the criteria of good or bad is not on the basis of race or ethnicity but rather the hygienic aspect of. The daily care that any of these types of hair is given and the products used are very important in the nurturing of healthy looking and growing hair. That is the description of good hair, hair that is clean, well maintained and simply good looking. They say cleanliness is close to godliness, I don't know who they are but I would agree with them that there is nothing better than clean and good smelling hair that one can easily stroke through with their hand without the filthiness of dandruff accumulating in one's nails and the stench that comes with it. So, natural kinky hair that is not damaged but healthy and clean is good hair, so is treated straightened hair and weaves.

=21st Selfie-tury= The photos I have in my electronic gadgets of which most are of myself are so many, it is embarrassing. Self absorption? or just a variety of social websites to upload them on probably, maybe. Selfie a term that describes a picture taken of oneself or a group of people in it, was the most populous and used term in 2013 so it's safe to say that "selfies" are full of me.

Pope Francis' selfie went viral which he had taken with one of his admirers, from that selfie came the one that broke a record and froze Twitter was taken at the Oscars in February, in it were celebrities of the world's lucrative entertainment business industry, Hollywood. For a long time photos have never been as fun and overly spoken about as Selfies have, they have gotten such platform of discussion that other more important issues have never gotten, really ridiculous.

This Selfie 21st century is a clear depiction of how social medially inclined we have become that we discuss selfies instead of thinking of resolutions of preventing and getting rid of Boko Haram taliban group that is terrorizing Nigeria's communities. With no disregard to the social networks that are equally important because they are the quickest and global source of the latest trends, news and events transpiring the world over, credible or not selfies and other internet jargon and trending codes all serve their purpose.

This should be the era that has taken the most photos in the history of photography, unnecessarily that is, because the places that some of these pictures are taken are such a pathetic scene that one wonders if really someone should have shared that particular picture. But again, what is the internet without the incentive of carefree usage by any person, if anything, it is the hub of self regulation and expressing although it is at one's own risk. So, viva to selfies, responsible or not, there is need for laid back conversations that have little or no substance yet have images.