Walaba Board

"Significance is found, self-respect established, identity determined
by leading a life which commands attention,
no matter whether the response is applause or [....] condemnation." (Kurt Baier)

"Disinterestedness and active kindness wield an extraordinary influence over men's minds and are
the sources of a curious kind of non-compulsive power." (Aldous Huxley)

Disabled by design, Enabled by ideas ...

Since 1980, reading, listening, experiencing, ... well, trying to absorb the collective intelligence that is laying naked in front of each one of us, has been my daily occupation. In 1999, engulfed by the Internet maelstrom whilst working over Europe, a change happened. Then, as if driven by what would be later called 'content production', writing became my preoccupation. Everything was haphazardly laid down on ... paper, be it a small post-it or the leaves of a large manuscript book. As of today, December 2010, nothing was binned, torn apart or lost. Most of the notes were triggered by a meeting with somebody or by the reading of a post on the web, which provided the seeds for ideas to be projected off to my mind.

Nowadays, with the Social Media, there are so many people vying for our attention that we don't have time anymore to listen to our own conscious reflections. At least, mines were safeguarded. Friends who have read my draft notes or listened to my daily flow of ideas were always wondering why I did not publish anything. If you read the quote of Kurt Baier, the answer is an easy one: the fear of not commanding any attention! A voice in the desert ...

Fortunately, Social Network rests on a brilliant concept: virtual companionship whereby the attention is mutually shared among people who participate to communities. Moreover, it doesn't matter whether the response is applause or condemnation. Being dew in the desert often brings more than a drop of rain over the ocean.

So, Phil's blog will now be the digital attic of my past notes and current posts.

Happy Walaba's travels!
Philippe V.

What is Walaba ?

Before picking the word 'walaba', here is what I found about this lovely word:

This is the name of a hardwood timber of South-America, also called wapa. The scientific name is Eperua falcata Aublet
In some South-African dialects, walaba is the name given to the Hyena
It is also the nickname of Puerto Viejo, a town in Costa-Rica :
There is an African language (Luganda) using the word quite often, it simply means "Good Bye!"
With a bit of imagination, it's an invitation to go over there (in French) "Va là-bas ..."