My boss, a dyed-in-the wool journalist, likes to tell stories—tales of journalistic valor, frontline madness and gonzo adventures. Mostly we are entertained and very often baffled. Recently he told us about the movie,“The Network. You haven’t heard of this movie because it was released in 1976. In fact, nobody in the editorial meeting he was chairing had heard of that movie, because nobody had been born then. The movie is about a television newscaster, Howard Beale—a character beleaguered by slipping ratings and a new, corporation-driven society who wants him out of a job. To show his frustrations, he goes on air and calls his impending dismissal, “bullshit”.He is then forced to apologize on air by the suits upstairs; instead, he goes back on the set and kicks-off more vitriol.

He manages to galvanize the nation by persuading Americans to shout the phrase, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore”, out of their windows during a lightning storm. Ironically, his ratings soar and he manages to save his job. The lesson? ‘The Man’ is spineless in the face of true people power. (Never mind that Howard loses his soul in the process). The Network is a movie about how we don’t have to take injustice lying down; how we, when pushed to the wall by the system, should stand up and shout, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

Kenyans said this to oust the former Moi government. And they’re saying it again ahead of 2012. And I guess we’ll keep saying it, until we get it right. The old ways of doing things around here that involved intimidation, terror and thuggery are over. Otherwise, ‘say hello to my lil’ friend’ (I know you know that line). Oh, and he’s called The Hague. In this issue, we honor late laureate, Wangari Maathai—one of the most remarkable women of our time. She said she was ‘mad as hell’ when the system tried to stifle her dreams of a greener world. Though the war for public space and lands still rages, she has won many battles on its front lines.

And even closer to us, at Mondeas, we are of the mind to tell off the twisted system that sent a bunch of thugs to turn our offices upside down. We won’t take it anymore! (But much more on this in the next issue.) Meanwhile, we also tackle the issue of infertility and how young women in Nairobi are increasingly finding it hard to conceive. We also round up a few television and media personalities and ask them, “What is this whole Reality TV hype all about?” “Is there really life after your 15 minutes are over?”

You will also find your usualculture and arts regulars in this issue. Oh, please remember to participate in our competitions: Victoria Furnitures WIN A COUCH and our WIN A CASE OF LELESHWA WINE before they wrap up. Details are on our website www.upnairobi.com. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to look for this “Network” movie to get a bit more inspiration to fight the powers, and hope, at least, that it’s not in black and white. Happy reading, folks. Biko