even Carnival's gone

OK, Carnival has been a bit too early this year, it is true. Even then, that's pretty much late in the year already.

And I have been blog-away for a while, more than a month. This happens in phases when I have enough of computer writing as my main job-related task. No will remains to come back and write something.

Moreover, I checked the statistics of viewers to this blog in the last three months, and only 12 visits were registered. Of course, once one visits and there is nothing new, one gives up. Even me, as our landlord says.

It's a good address to check internet statistics, alexa. I was having fun finding out this and that about internet surfers' habits. See, for instance, how many people visited Anand's site recently. His site is the 3,791,233 rd in the internet ranking viewing! Google is the 18,674th.

The main news is that our house is nearly ready for enjoyment. Peter's hanging the last pictures today, and I got a shelf for my office. And we're making bread and cakes, and tonight eating out - prawns til you die - , of course hoping the restaurant does not mean it literally.

High in the ranking of good news is our recent visit to Zanzibar to the Bi-annual Music Festival. We did have a lot of fun while there. The major negative point of going to Zanzibar is the trip by boat. Which could be really nice if it were not by the violent, bloody, ridiculously loud films they insist in broadcasting on the internal TV circuit, with no chance for passengers to escape. I've already asked, and then begged, and petitioned - many times, in many trips, mind you - for something more suitable for a 2 hour-trip between a place considered to be the "paradise"and the "harbour of peace", Dar es Salaam. On the boat, many people who are shocked with a woman in bikini, but who find dripping blood and torture quite ok. It's beyond me to understand.

I had to go to Mozambique quickly last week, and now am working quite a lot, preparing for the next trip, in 10 days. Peter's preparing for Germany (brrrrrrrrr, pretty cold over there just now).

Around us, Kenyans are still suffering the result of a tribe-and-hatred-based elections' campaign propaganda, which produced much loss and many refugees. One cannot start telling this story without having to have some chamomile tea before - to keep the heart rate down. In Mozambique, while I was there, the "youth" - I don't know yet what was behind it - caused havoc, burning buses, tyres and breaking and robbing shops, allegedly because of the bus ticket price increase (if one can call a "chapa" a bus). Last week the riots were spreading to other cities, but it does not look so bad. Some dead people, the same as, say, one day visit of the police to any favela in Rio.

In South Africa, the power cuts continue to make headlines, and by now our timers in the house must be all crazy, switching the lights on during the day and going off in the night.

In Tanzania, the Prime Minister was sacked and the whole Cabinet disbanded. Fight against corruption. The minister for public works was reinstated. huh?

Mr. Bush is supposed to arrive tonight, for a "good will" visit. We saw a nice banner today. "His Excellency, Mr. Bush, welcome to Tanzania. We cherish Good Governance." Is it to scare him? He said, before leaving Washington, that ``The compassion is at work through US initiatives that improve education, reduce poverty and fight pandemic disease``.

Well, I do not have new photos for my favorite spot of the week, because I do not have a camera any more. I have decided not to buy another one after mine was stolen. However, one can see in this week's pic how mother and son are happy together!