A Sunday Morning at Java

For those writers who know better than to begin drinking before noon, a Java cafe may be the best repair on a beautiful Sunday. Mid-morning is the perfect time to arrive; there is no fight for a table, as the crowds will be on their way after church, and therefore a nice quiet. The waiters, while anticipating the Hell Shift, are for the moment at ease, and thankfully never over attentive, nor hovering. The manager is in his office, wherever, gathering up his strength for the problems that will inevitably arise this afternoon. The smells are warm and inviting, the coffee is excellent, and inspiration clearly on its way...

The trickle begins unobtrusively. I have just written a good chunk, and am well in the flow. I barely notice that a few chairs are being pushed back, and a murmured conference has begun between customers and server. A couple of young women have settled on the picnic table next to mine and begun a furious bitching session about the traumatizing events of a typical Saturday night out, the verdict of which will inevitably be that Men Are Dogs. I almost wish I could tell them that the statement is already a truth universally acknowledged, that the discussion they are about to embark on is an inexhaustible one of old, and suggest that they begin a fresh one about possible business opportunities –or even the psychology of murderers.

A couple of older expatriate males have quietly settled at tables on opposing sides of the court, determined to ignore each other and everyone else, in favour of their newspaper and cigarettes, and usual breakfast fare. A family of four has arrived, and the children flown to the playing pit, from whence their joyous laughter will now be heard. Later, more children will join them, and there is nothing sweeter than the sight of innocent children playing determinedly, in an apparent bid to destroy the clothes they were so firmly ensconced in this morning, for church.

A couple of Mothers with faces radiating relief have managed to ditch their respective families for a short, sweet Me-Time with each other, to discuss... what else? Their families. No doubt somewhere quite at the other side of town, their husbands are separately enjoying the virtuous feeling of having Denied Themselves for the first time in 10 years, and deigned to take their offspring out By Themselves like the Responsible Fathers they know themselves to be. Said offspring are equally ecstatic, since they are being allowed to eat the very things Mother never allows, to put their elbows on the table, talk with their mouths full, and generally behave the way they feel like doing, so long as they aren't making too much noise for Dad, who is alternatively trying to read his paper, and to decide where and with whom he'll catch The Match later, having gratefully disposed of his Brats.

A foursome of animated Indian teens is deciding what table to take, amidst much flirting and chaffing of one another. Practicing at being adults, the girls are alternatively prim and forbidding, then laughing unreservedly with much flicking of the hair. They are beautiful and additionally expertly made-up, and constantly checking that this remains the status quo. The boys are good-looking, confident, unselfconscious and loud, with much puffing of chest, each intent of being the more manly, the funnier one, the outrageous one. They will talk about absolutely nothing, and return home completely satisfied.

A sextet of older, less animated young Indian adults follows. These are properly "established" couples. Their talk will be more serious, the men will be checked when being too loud or obnoxious or unreasonable; the ladies will talk among themselves.

A quintet of solidly built white males stride in with presence and a military bearing. Expert idle sweeps of the court reveal to them that there are no females to pursue here. It is, after all, a Family place. They decide to settle at the counter inside the restaurant with their backs to the world, the better to talk shop, and enjoy a satisfying version of what food they would eat back home.

"Naughty Lucy, NAUGHTY!" An elderly lady barks at a little girl with newly dirtied hands. Lucy, unfazed, impassively proceeds to wipe her hands on her almost immaculate white summer dress.

"LUCY?!!! Look what you've DONE!!!" The elderly lady is apoplectic, and for a moment, the waitress thinks she might witness her first heart-attack, idly wondering what the procedure might be. Grabbing the unmoved child, the elderly lady now marches her towards the ladies so fast, that the girl's bare feet barely grazed the ground.

"Bye Mommy!" She cheerfully waves a dirty hand at her blushing mother, as the rest of the family address dessert. There is an attentive silence, and then a cheeky suggestion rings out.

"No, you can't have chocolate cake AND chocolate ice-cream Tommy, really not. It's too much sugar. Your teeth will fall out!"

Tommy, undaunted by his emphatic mother, immediately puts to her an argument typical of boys his age.

"But Jimmy's parents always let him..."

"We're not Jimmy's parents, Tommy," his mother smartly rejoinders, "we're yours, and clearly we care much more about your teeth that Jimmy's parents do about his."

"I wish you didn't care about my teeth," Tommy grumbles unabated. His mother smiles and pushes a chip into her mouth.

"Now what kind of parents do you think we'd be if we didn't, with your father being a dentist?"

Tommy grimaces fiercely, and pushes himself aggressively forward on the table.

"When I'm a dentist, I shall give all the children in my office chocolates to eat and to go home with."

"You won't have very many clients then, will you?" Tommy's father lazily counters, flipping over a page of his newspaper. That seems to do the trick, and Tommy goes back to his perusal of desserts with temporarily subdued resentment.

A puzzled look is proceeding from the next table, where an African family is enjoying a Sunday lunch out. Mama Kabiru's expression plainly states her puzzlement at the fact that a Grown-Up could be bothered to argue with a Child –and her own at that. A mere glance from her round seemingly composed brown eyes had sufficed, at the beginning of the meal, to make little Kamau begin it with the side of steaming vegetables he definitely had not ordered from himself. Having graduated to partaking his burger (cut in half so as not to Make A Mess In Public) he observes with frank interest the antics of his age-mate at the next table.

I hazard to dream that presently, they will meet, and begin an interesting and lifelong friendship. And perhaps, in a couple of months, Tommy's and Kamau's mothers will have become the mothers relieved to have foisted their offspring on their husbands, to escape for a little Me-Time...

And Kenya Takes Gold... in ARCHERY?

Following on the heels of Kenya’s considerable achievements at the African Athletics Championship, and Kenya's 2011 historical political success (A New Constitution... Implementation, naturally, will take another 2011 years), my thoughts on things to look forward to this year have led me to ponder on, not the national elections (it was recently announced that we now have... a Republican party. SERIOUSLY.) but the international great event of the year -the London Olympics.

Now, it has always grated me that when the words 'Kenya' and 'Sport' are added together, the result is "Running." So much so, I have sat and Googled the official Olympian events of 2012, and looked for specific sports that Kenyans should perhaps begin to think about getting involved in. This wouldn't only be to broaden our perspectives and prospects... but truthfully too, because, in recent years, our only event, "Running" has been increasingly overtaken by smaller, more wiry, and seemingly ever-enduring fellow Africans, notably our Ethiopian neighbors -both in women's and men's events. Quite embarrassing.

So, I see from my research that both baseball and softball have been crossed off the list of set Olympian events in London, bring them down to 26. Out of these, I quickly discarded... well, all of them, except Athletics. But in this category alone, there is much space for improvement. Whereas I honestly don't expect a Mr Hussein Bolt Olympics Onyango of our own (out with the 100 m), I do think we might have a chance with the 200 m. I have personally witnessed a matatu tout perform a Superman-like run for the van door when, distracted for a moment, he hasn't noticed that the driver has taken off. Those were definitely 200 m covered –and in about three seconds.

The marathons, 400 -10,000 m races, 400 m hurdles and 3000m steeplechase I'll just claim as 'Kenyan', since consistently excellent performances in these events are the very thing that have given birth the horrid equation above. Beyond these, however, there are the 'Walking' events. You know, the ones where the contestants look like they're struggling to get out of the tightest pair of jeans in the world, while trying to move forward? I don't know why a Kenyan couldn't do this as well as anyone else. The events are 20 km and 50 km races –but many a Kenyan has walked that far. Kenyans have long been feted for their power of endurance, during the 'Running' -so what's a little more?

Now we get a little more adventurous -there are the 'Long' and 'Triple' Jumps. I happen to believe that these are events Kenyans could potentially excel in, given the long established practice since childhood of jumping over puddles of rain (long jump) and away from Dad's punishment stick (triple, sometimes quadruple jump), or the potential embrace of an in-law (both)... You know, the usual. Shouldn't Kenyan athletes give these events a chance?

Next we have the 'Throws'. I am not so much interested in the either the Shot Put or Hammer throws -but the Javelin, which seems to me tailor-made for the tall, proud and very able Maasai. Definitely something to consider.

At this point, if we're feeling terribly adventurous, I'll admit that I hadn't really discarded all of the other events from my list, and will now venture to suggest the others that I considered. Naturally, there is absolutely no chance of a Kenyan Gold Medal for any of the following: swimming, sailing, rowing, wrestling, weightlifting or boxing... or table tennis, for that matter, among others. I happen to believe though, that Kenyans could well take a stab (pardon the pun) at Fencing. For some reason, a stick seems to be very comforting to the Kenyan hand. Little boys in the village, security and police persons, Maasai, students and others all have their version of one. It is used to point, probe, question, demand, intimidate and tickle -and occasionally, if a very small one, to clean teeth with. Bar the last activity, these are the very fundamentals of Fencing. Just a suggestion.

...And since we've come this far, I'll add my final, and perfectly serious suggestion for consideration: Archery. Granted, Kenyans have mostly worked with home-made bows and arrows... but what is there that a lot of dedication and a little practice cannot accomplish? If the Constitutional Referendum exercise showed Kenyans anything, it is certainly that. 

The Basics of High Quality Academic Writing

It is hopefully clear to any college student that none of their submitted essays should be written in the same way they would write a Facebook post entry. Academic writing is more demanding that even the average college essay writing standard, requiring flawless skills in clear expression through the written word, compounded by substance of information, and intelligently displayed analytical skills. The most considerable difference between casual and academic writing, however, is the writing style employed. Academic writing must conform to established writing formats, which are usually clearly indicated by the professor.

Different colleges adopt different academic writing formats, including the following, which are common:

·         The Chicago Manual of Style or Chicago Style: This is one of the oldest, most traditional academic writing styles and may also be referred to as the ‘CMS’ or ‘CMOS’.

·          The APA Style or publication manual of the American Psychological Association: This style was designed in order to streamline academic writing into an internationally recognized format for both students and tutors.

·         The MLA Style or publication manual of the Modern Language Association: This style focuses on streamlining the writing of reference materials, and continues to gain in popularity internationally.

·         The Elements of Style Guide: This style focuses on clarity of expression in writing.

·         The Manual of Style for Technical Publication: This style was developed by Microsoft for its own use, and has proven popular with those dealing in technical writing.

Having conformed to the required academic style, the next most important factor is research, the demands of which are currently more intense than ever before. While a student’s capability for research used to be limited by the amount of information available to him in various libraries and especially purchased publications, national and foreign, the Internet has opened up a literal frontier in the research world, allowing students anywhere to obtain free or purchased material from everywhere else on the planet. This phenomenon has actually caused a sharp hike in the standard of academic writing required at the college level, challenging students more than at any other time.

Students who are not able to conduct the extensive and intricate research required by academic writing, and then use it correctly in their work, will likely find their efforts undermined. The purpose of academic writing, first and foremost, is the purveyance of qualified, in-depth information. Therefore, while a standard of writing skill that is only average may bring a few frowns, it will not affect a student’s overall marks, if he has effectively achieved the goal of sharing the information that he initially set out to do, and supported each of his arguments with solid research material.

The best academic writing must aim to display not only a student’s writing and research abilities, but further, his ability and skill at drawing out interesting, and sound conclusions, based on their accumulation of data. The finalised document is naturally expected to have undergone a thorough editing process, inclusive of the vital spelling and grammatical checks.

Rock your Case study outline

In essay-writing, just as in case studies, crafting an outline organizes your writing, thus allowing your readers to follow your argument clearly and easily, which are the aims as well as the marks of a well-written piece. The organization of thoughts brought about by crafting an outline further serves to expedite your writing process. The outline’s importance increases with the intricacy of the writing project you are embarking upon. Certainly the case study outline is a mandatory step in the creation of a case study, due to the degree of detailed research and information that is involved.

In a case study, the case structure, or case study outline should be prepared after the writer has identified his study’s objective. The case study outline will serve as a framework for the project, upon which the writer carefully sets out his points and supporting arguments, data and research, in a logical order and flow that his reader will easily be able to assimilate. As such, the case study outline may be considered as the backbone for the entire project, and may determine its very success. A weak structure will promptly lead both the writer and his readers on a long convoluted journey to nowhere, due to lack of focus and clear direction.

The process of crafting a good case study outline is a logical one, and begins with the writer’s clear, concise determination of what his study will be about. His initial research must therefore be for an in-depth history of the person, group, company or other entity that he has chosen to examine.

The case study outline begins to come together when the writer follows his historical research by jotting down all of the points he wishes to analyze in his study, as case study milestones. Each of these will then be carefully researched and analyzed. Under each point, the writer must collect all of his analytical observations, and bolster them with adequate, detailed and relevant research material.

Case studies require detailed analysis, and this can very quickly become confusing even to the writer, if he does not use exactly what research material he needs, and does not organize his arguments carefully. Therefore, just as the case study format is neatly structured, from Title to References, the case study should essentially be broken down into sections of analyzed information. If, for example, the case study’s objective is the analysis of a merger between two companies, clear sections dealing with company A’s issues must be distinguished from company B’s. Subsequent sections will draw detailed parallels, comparisons and contrasts between them. Yet another section may consist in an analysis of the potential for success of this merger, and so on.

The case study outline is vital also because, once the meat of the study has been set down, the writer will still have to discuss the larger picture formed by his study, or its implications, which themselves must be analyzed in detail. Without being able to tie up all of his points, the writer is likely to lose points.

Online Custom Essays

There are literally thousands of companies on the Web who claim that they are ready to provide you with online custom essays, if you are unable for whatever reason, to write them yourself. Some are specialized services, dealing in a particular areas (science, law, medicine) while others offer a range of writing services, including editing. While it is wise to want an original custom product, there is no substituting individuality, so, as you surf these uncontrolled waters, it is important to arm yourself with all the information you need to make the right choice.

What Companies Claim

Custom essay writing services will claim that, upon your order of say, an original essay on the development of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, they will get to work and research all the fact required, and set them out for you exactly as required. The truth is that many online custom essays are sourced from pre-written or old research papers, also found online, or in the readily available archives of educational institutions. The writers plagiarize widely, taking chunks of information from pre-written material, and passing it off as their own.

In academic settings especially, however, these pre-written papers will be quickly detected, with adverse consequences to the responsible student.

Seal of Approval

Your seal of approval should be set on those services dealing with online custom essays that make considerable efforts, because they are genuine, to show you that their work is original. They may, for example, run their work through software designed to approve originality, and dispel plagiarism. They are able to achieve this because they employ a qualified team of tested writers, whereas many outsource their writing requirements to willing but perhaps ill-equipped freelance writers. Another indication of a reliable service for online custom essays is that they are easy to contact, should you have questions or clarifications to make.

The Advantages

Buying online custom essays may have many advantages:

·         Because of their quality, they will give you an edge in whatever you are trying to represent, be it a product, or a term paper.

·         They are time savers, allowing you to take care of business other than struggling away for hours over a writing project you feel ill-equipped for, or overwhelmed by.

·         The best online custom essays, if you study them carefully, may give you pointers to help improve you own writing skills, so that you will not need to use the service regularly in the future. Studying the use of grammar, the format and flow of your finished product may eventually help you master the skill yourself.

·         If you chose correctly, you will find that these services are good value for money, as there are many of them, and competition continues to lower the prices of your projects. Still, if you want an assured product, and you need it in a hurry, do not shy from the more exclusive services, as they are more likely to provide you with excellent service, including a guarantee of genuineness.

The 5 Basics of good Online Custom Essay Services

Harassed and overwhelmed college students are currently flocking to the Internet in droves, seeking to buy a custom essay online. College essays require a high standard of work, including extensive research, well written and clearly developed arguments, which the freshman in particular will find difficult to fulfill. While custom essays may help them to improve their high school standard essay writing skills, finding the right type of assistance is project in itself. When they get to the Internet, students will find thousands of custom essay services wooing them, and are like to become rapidly confused by the range and scope of the promises being made. Which essay services are the best? Which will deliver exactly what they promise? What at the best deals, and what, essentially, are they looking for? The following are a few tips that college students should look for in their important quest to buy a custom essay online will suit their needs, without depleting their pockets.

The Five Basics

When seeking to buy a custom essay online there are five basics to any reputable online custom essay that they may safe use:

·         Buy a custom essay online from qualified experts: The best services employ experienced writers with solid academic backgrounds, and are not shy about displaying them on their website. Depending on the type of essay required, clients will be able to identify the staff writer that will be appointed to their project, according to their stated expertise and experience. With a good service, it isn’t likely that you will buy a custom essay online on physics from an English Literature professor.

·         A wide range of custom services: A good custom essay service includes a range of products, including editing services, which display not only their thoroughness, but also their confidence in being able to provide high quality services. College essay types alone vary widely, from paper reviews to dissertations and term papers, or even the doctoral thesis.

Should a student merely wish to purchase a service that will return them their own edited work, a good service will display its use of various software programs that will ensure that they return a cleanly edited, correctly formatted and plagiarism-free product, that will meet the required college essay standards required by their client.

·         24/7 contact: A student should not buy a custom essay online from a service that does not allow him to contact the staff writer appointed to their project at any time. Students may need to change or clarify the requirements of their essay, which changes may make all the difference in the product they actually require, and expect to obtain.

·         A ‘money back’ guarantee: A good custom essay service typically offers a ‘money back’ guarantee, which is an excellent sign of their confidence and dedication to each individual project that has been commissioned from them. A good custom service will further welcome feedback from completed projects, and offer to perfect or rework them, if their customer is not satisfied.

The Substance of a Case Study

Almost everything we know about anything has proceeded from case study research. Certainly all the disciplines currently studied at academic institutions are based on knowledge that has been garnered from case study research, notably history, the classics, the entire range of sciences, from medical to political, and most popular, nowadays, business case studies. But what is a case study, exactly?

What is a Case Study?

A case study is basically the intricate analysis of an individual, group, or event or other object, focusing on how it has developed, within a defined context. What a case study might be, as a broad example, is one on the movie star Marilyn Monroe during the time she was known as Norma Rae. A narrower example would be a case study of Marilyn Monroe’s success as an actress during the time she was known as Norma Rae. In this narrower case, rather than presenting a general run up from the star’s childhood up to the time of her success, under the name Marilyn Monroe, the writer would trace and analyze the star’s career milestones. This case study in turn, could form a part of a larger case study on the development of successful acting careers by stars in the same era.

While the broader case study may be descriptive, the narrower one would be more explanatory, seeking to bring out the underlying principles, if any of a star’s success at that time. Case studies can also be prospective or retrospective, in which case the writer sets out what he is trying to prove through researched cases that are in progress, or else taken from historical record.

What is a Case Study template?

Case studies tend not to use any set formula or template, because of the number of areas it may touch upon and examine, in order to arrive at and therefore prove its targeted findings. What they do have in common is a progressive approach, which is natural, because the case study is a study of development. They will begin at the beginning of the event, and progress logically and systematically, covering the developmental period, to a point of conclusion. This trait is also the case study’s strength, as anyone who picks one up may read it and follow the author’s argument. The data collected and analyzed at each point in the timeline of development can be easily be assimilated. A good example where this would be useful is in a case study on a past cult, from its beginnings to its tragic end.

What is a Case Study supposed to do?

What is a case study’s purpose is to allow the writer and his followers to gain a deeper understanding of a particular event. Indeed, understanding why it happened may achieve a better understanding of similar events in the future; whether they are likely to happen again, and how to predict them if and when they do, possible solutions on how to prevent or encourage them, etc. They further allow writer and reader to evolve hypotheses, as well as to test them.