Chinekwu Nwosu - Igbo: Attitude, The Crucial Resolution.

At the beginning of each year, we draw up “resolutions”, in our quests to become better people. We decide to drop old habits and acquire new and better ones. Recently, I read a couple of these on social media … I’ll go to the gym five times a week; no more alcohol; no chocolates; I’ll read at least one book a week, etc. It’s great to have these goals but it takes discipline to achieve them.One resolution I would really wish I could see more is… “I’ll improve my attitude to others in the New Year”. Attitude is everything! Have you ever spotted a well dressed person at the mall, and they’ve caught your attention because you admire what they are wearing or their hair do, and you just want to tell them how great you feel they look? Only to come closer and when you see the look on their faces, your smile literarily freezes. They know you were looking at them because there was an eye contact… in fact, they saw the smile and admiration on your face… but they chose to look away… without even smiling back (ouch)… and you think yourself… I just wanted to give an honest compliment… That’s all! Well, THIS person is US most of the time.Have you ever walked through a door, you know there’s someone (whom you do know) behind you, and being (oh well) the nice individual you are (wink), you hold the door for the next person; but when they come closer, it seems you are the only one who has got some etiquette lessons? The person just fails to acknowledge with even a smile, not to talk of saying “thank you”! They are even looking away… almost like they do not notice you were even there, holding the door for them! Well, WE are THAT person a lot of times.The other day, I was in an elevator with eight other people in an office building in the heart of Victoria Island during official working hours and suddenly we heard “YOU ARE AN IDIOT, I NEED MY MONEY BEFORE TOMORROW!” I turned to look at the man speaking and a very loud telephone call, riddled with abusive words continued. I could read other people’s minds by the perplexed look on their faces. This gentleman did not care that he was in a public place with other strangers, he just continued with his very loud phone call.

The society has misled many young people to believing that it’s not fashionable to give a warm smile to a stranger who passes by you at the mall, or saying “please excuse me” or “I am sorry” belittles you or gives you away as maybe “not too classy” or “not too tough”. I personally think seeing a smile and a positive aura around a person portrays that individual as very confident.

A smile and an easy attitude, even on a bad day, will help lift your spirit and that of others around you. Yes, you can still define your boundaries, even when giving a warm smile. We all pass through different situations everyday but you must understand that it’s not the next person’s fault; hence there’s no need to allow it reflect countenance.

It’s important to show consideration for others always by using the simple respect markers in appropriate circumstances and keeping the conversations and telephone calls low or excusing oneself entirely in public. Remember, not everyone who tells you “nice shoes” wants something from you –  especially when considering the context and environment you are in. You can just smile and say a warm “Thank you” and continue with your business

It’s true that we live in a changing world and we do not know whom the next person is, but hey, a good attitude won’t hurt.

As the New Year lurks, determining to wear a positive outlook in our daily dealings with others will save us stress, build better relationships and maybe, who knows, even open some new doors! Let’s keep our smiles up… It’ll do more good than harm!!!

WISHING YOU A HAPPY 2016!

About Chinekwu Nwosu-Igbo

Chinekwu Nwosu-Igbo is a Marketing, Customer Care and training consultant with over 5 years’ experience in building brand identity, effective Customer relations and unique contact centers.
She is also a writer and training facilitator.
Email- chinekwunigbo@gmail.com

Serena shows off her toned frame at Perth Airport.

She was named Associated Press' Female Athlete of the Year for the fourth time last week. 

But with the Hopman Cup taking place on Sunday this week, Serena Williams has had little time to kick back and celebrate.

On Saturday, the busy 34-year-old athlete was spotted with French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou arriving at Perth Airport, just one day ahead of the international tournament.

The statuesque beauty flaunted her glowing complexion by wearing minimal makeup, choosing only to throw on a slick of red lipstick while covering her eyes with a pair of spectacles.

Dressed in plane-appropriate attire, Serena wore a pair of Ugg boots, leggings and a comfortable tank top that displayed her muscular arms.

Trendy as ever, Serena completed her jet-setting look with a pair of drop earrings and a delicate silver necklace, while her quirky perfume bottle-inspired phone case hung from a chain wrapped around her wrist.

Hinting that she may be dressing glamorously in the not-too-distant future, Patrick could be seen holding an Armani Exchange dress bag 

Two weeks ago, Serena graced the cover of US Sports Illustrated's highly-anticipated annual issue.

Clad in a black lace leotard and patent leather heels, the sporting goddess was pictured lounging on a gold throne, the words 'Sportswoman of the Year' written behind her.

Taking to Instagram to gush about the glossy feature, Serena wrote: 'This year was spectacular for me. For Sports Illustrated to recognize my hard work, my dedication, and my sheer determination gives me hope to continue on and do better'.

'As I always say, it takes a village, it's not just one person. This is not just an accomplishment for me, but for my whole team. I am beyond honored. I love you guys! 2016?'

Her Instagram post has earned nearly 33,000 likes in just one hour, with followers lauding her for her achievements and inspiring tenacity.

In the feature, Sports Illustrated praises Serena not just for being considered by many to be the best female tennis player of all time, but for making headlines all year long in entertainment, pop culture, fashion, and even politics.

 


 

 


 

Beyonce is desperate to be taken seriously as an actress.

She famously coined the term Bootylicious in her 2001 Destiny's Child hit of the same name.

And it looks like Beyonce is just as devoted to the female derriere now as she was back then as it's been reported that the singing sensation is penning her own film, based on the story of Saartjie Baartman, a woman who was exhibited in the 1800s for her large bottom. 

The Drunk In Love hit maker is reportedly hoping the project will bag her an Academy Award - and has hired an entire team of acting coaches and writers to get there.

'Beyoncé is desperate to be taken seriously as an actress. Even though she's had a string of well-received movies, she still feels her breakthrough role is yet to come,' a source told The Sun. 

'She now wants to write a screenplay that gains her respect - and hopefully awards - from the film industry, and thinks Saartjie's story could be her ticket. Winning an Academy Award would mean everything to her, and she's a woman who is used to getting exactly what she wants.'

Baartman was believed to be just 25 when she died after being sold to a Scottish doctor in the 1800s, who put her on show in London because of the shape of her body.

Before her tragic death, the South African woman - who was given the name Hottentot Venus - was involved in a court case after it was argued she was being forced to perform against her will, though she sadly lost. 

It's claimed Beyonce - who will star in the movie herself - is so passionate about her new project that she has even requested countless books on Saartjie's life to ensure she does her story justice. 

MailOnline have contacted Beyonce's representative for comment

While her singing career has seen Beyonce take home more awards than her arms could carry, her acting career has been less triumphant. 

The Pretty Hurts hit maker made her feature film debut opposite Mike Myers as Foxxy Cleopatra  in Austin Powers in Goldmember in 2002, before going on to star as Xania in Steve Martin's The Pink Panther. 

While her performance in 2006 musical drama Dreamgirls earned her praise, the singer was overshadowed by co-star Jennifer Hudson who went on to win the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role

 

 

 

Roger Federer takes his two sets of twins out for a stroll.

He's widely considered the world's finest tennis player with a string of Grand Slam titles under his belt. 

But Roger Federer was like any other father as he doted on his brood on Saturday, pushing his youngest son in a stroller as he took his two sets of twins out in Brisbane. 

The 34-year-old cut a low-key figure as he enjoyed a stroll with his children, keeping his face hidden beneath some sunglasses and a hat.

Wearing a white and orange t-shirt, Roger looked ready for the court in some blue sports shorts and sneakers.

He finished his off duty look with a flashy silver watch. 

The father-of-four pushed one of his two-year-old sons in his stroller and was later seen carrying the other through the street.

His six-year-old twin daughters, Charlene and Myla, held on to each of their brother's strollers. 

The family was joined by a female companion who pushed along the other boy's pram. 

It is not known whether Mirka, the children's mother and Roger's wife of six years, was in the city at the time. 

Roger is preparing to take part in the Brisbane International, with the former Wimbledon champion among players to participate in the Men's Singles category. 

On Sunday he will be among stars to entertain children at the tournament's kids' day. 

Federer and his wife welcomed their youngest sons, Lenny and Leo, in 2014. At the time the World Number Three took to Twitter to share the happy news.

'Mirka and I are so incredibly happy to share that Leo and Lenny were born this evening!' he said, adding the hashtags 'twins again' and 'miracle'.

 
 

Vivid Verses.

Kicking off Vivid Verses in 2016 is Omotoyo Nathaniel. He is an outstanding writer, minister and spoken word poet and has featured in various spoken word events. His writings teaches about good moral values, Faith and inspires individuals to do more. Popularly known as Nathaniel Ace. He started writing poems as a child and engaged in spoken word early 2015.

Also this Sunday on Rhythm FM, Lagos, We shall be hosting Uduak Otongaran (Cocosista). She has a special love poem dedicated to all.

Kindly tune in as scheduled

Saturday 2nd January, 2016 at 11:15am - Metro 97.7FM Lagos

Sunday 3rd  January 2016 at 7:30pm - Rhythm 93.7FM.

You can stream online at www.metro977.fm
and
www.rhythm937.com/live

Visit us on www.vividverses.org

For more info kindly email: info@vividverses.org

Twitter - @Vivid Verses

Vivid Verses...Stay Creative.

Happy New Year Everyone, so glad we made it!
                                                          

Uduak Otongaran: City Life.

City life.

Life in the city is full of stress. Stress awakens you to the realisation of the hustle and bustle of city life. Thinking about the mere traffic is enough to put your stress nerves on alert mode. The easiness of rural life eludes the city people and brings homesickness to one's mind. Is it in the market place? Mammoths of traders are there at your beck and call sending confusing signals to your brain, you are left with a school of choice to select the merchandise from the team of traders. It is not a familiar place for the first timer but an intriguing and somewhat scary place. Driving in the city is another matter to be discussed on a different day, learning the art of driving in the city cannot just be thrust on you. You have to master the art! You have to be so skilled as to avoid being bashed by an irritable bus driver  and keep to your lane and pretend that you  have been doing this for a while; driving in the city I mean. It is like the survival of the fittest on the express roads, if you are not avoiding being hit by a bus, you are then targeted by a tanker driver.
Life in the city is fun but with a cost. You lose some hours of sleep to have some fun. When some country folks are rising by 6am, you are already on the road by 4am competing with other irrate drivers to get on time for your daily bread. The tall buildings make you stare in awe, the lovely signboards and signages flood the streets and the neon lights blink at every stop yet all is still part of the glitz and glamour of the city that pulls you like a magnet and makes you settle for the busy life in the city. It is not boring at all because there is always something happening somewhere, your eyes are being fed with all sorts of scenes and a plethora of events fill the air. That is why the eyeballs of a city dweller seem more enlarged than that of his country folk because he is always on alert to happenings that flood his daily activities.
By Uduak Otongaran aka Cocosista.

Abramovich's wife sails into New Year with their mega yacht.

Most hostesses preparing for a New Year’s Eve bash might be doing a bit of last-minute tidying up, but the wife of billionaire Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has no such concerns.

Instead, art collector Dasha Zhukova, 34, was spotted sunbathing in St Barts, where she and her husband will host the shindig aboard their £1.5 billion mega-yacht, Eclipse. 

She was joined by pal Jen Meyer, wife of actor Tobey Maguire, while Roman arrived carrying a less-than-chic plastic bag.

One figure unlikely to be attending is Jose Mourinho, who was unceremoniously sacked as Chelsea manager before Christmas.

Not so glamorous: Roman - the billionaire owner of Chelsea - arrived carrying a less-than-chic plastic
                                                   

                                                                 

Sean Tizzle is going off twitter.

Music star Sean Tizzle has been the source of a lot of controversy on Twitter recently.

From sOmawumi’s “Hello” cover killed the original Adele song (click here if you missed it), to throwing shade at Nigerian girls and their career list, he has been at the receiving end of a lot of insults from his fans and followers.Last night he tweeted that he’ll be going off the social media saying:                                       

 

 

               So sorry 2 announce that tomorrow will be my last day on this social media platform...I'm leaving it 4 U...sacrifice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kanye West is GQ's Most Stylish Man of The Year.

Kanye West has emerged GQ’s Most Stylish Man of 2015 based on fan votes!

The poll was originally a 64 man bracket which was eventually brought down to just two: Kanye and model Lucky Blue Smith. In the end, Kayne beat out Lucky 53.89% to 46.11%.

GQ writes “West has arguably been the most influential fashion figure in hip-hop since his debut album, The College Dropout, dropped in 2004. Over the years, he’s built a fanbase that doesn’t just love his music, but actually aspires to dress exactly the way he does. (Which in 2015 meant a lot of suede Chelsea boots, sweatpants, hoodies, and of course, Yeezy Boost sneakers.) In fact, when it comes to devout followers wearing the outfits of their heroes head to toe, Kanye West’s influence is rivaled probably only by that of James Bond.

”

According to GQ, in the final moments of this year’s showdown, tweets from Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, and even Kris Jenner spiked the number of votes cast in West’s direction. And in the end, there were a lot of votes; nearly one million cast in twenty-four hours. The final tally: 520,119 votes for Kanye, 445,073 for Lucky Blue.

Do you think Kanye was the most stylish man of 2015?

Calabar Carnival 2015.

The 2015 Calabar Carnival has come and gone and from all indications , it was a huge success!

In the past couple of days  several stars had been spotted at the different walks and parades including the newly appointed Brand Ambassador for Cross River state, Iyanya as well as Ubi Franklin, Lilian Esoro-Franklin, Ini Edo, Ruth Kadiri, Uche Ogbodo, Patience Ozokwo, Shan George, Osita Iheme, Chinedu Ikedieze, Osas Ajibade, Joseph Benjamin, Enyinna Nwigwe, Chacha Eke Faani, Eucharia Anunobi and more.

See some of the photos from the carnival below.

 

 

Moet Abebe enjoys romantic getaway in Seychelles.

TV personality Moet Abebe is currently on a romantic getaway with her boo, who she has referred to as her “Baby Daddy” and as “M” on social media.

The couple is in Mahé, a large island in Seychelles. From underwater kisses to swimming with turtles and more, Moet Abebe and her boo are in lala-land.

On Christmas day Moet posted “Merry Christmas guys!!!!!! I’m spending the holidays with the man of my dreams that I thought I would never find… Sigh… Hope you all are spending this time with those who matter to you!!! I love you all and next year has to be a bang”.

See more cute photos of the couple below.

  

 

Oprah Winfrey Speaks Candidly About Her Diet Struggles.

She's struggled in the past with yo-yo dieting.

And after a lifetime of diet woes, Oprah Winfrey has given a candid insight into her weight loss struggles, delivering a powerful speech in a new advert for Weight Watchers. 

The 61-year-old speaks frankly in the emotional video, which shows the star at various sizes, as she hopes to inspire people to start their own weight loss journey.

Showing off her svelte new figure in a cream suit with suede trimming, the talk show host explains: 'Many times you look in the mirror and you don’t even recognize your own self because you got lost - buried - in the weight that you carry. 

 

'Nothing you’ve ever been through is wasted, so every time I tried and failed, every time I tried again, and every time I tried again, has brought me to this most powerful moment to say, "If not now, when?"Looking directly down the lens and pleading for others to take control of their diet, she concludes: 'I feel that way, and I know millions of other people feel that way. Are you ready? Let’s do this together.'

Oprah is a passionate follower of the support group Weight Watchers, and became a spokesperson for the brand in October, as well as paying $43.2 million for a 10 percent stake in the company.

The television personality first joined the group in August, and managed to shed an impressive 15lbs in a month.

Speaking about her decision to work with the company, she explained: 'Weight Watchers has given me the tools to begin to make the lasting shift that I and so many of us who are struggling with weight have longed for. 

'I believe in the program so much I decided to invest in the company and partner in its evolution.'

It's clear the star is taking her weight loss routine seriously, sharing pictures of her healthy meals and workouts on Instagram.

At her heaviest, Oprah weighed 237lbs, and her weight continued to fluctuate, until earlier this year when she began to shed the pounds gradually.

And the star famously lost 67lbs in 1988, dropping down to a size 10 after living on a liquid protein diet.

Proud of her weight loss, she even wheeled out a wagon loaded with fat on her eponymous talk show, which represented all the weight she had lost.

However, the star has gone on to publicly say she regrets her unhealthy fad diet.

And the results were shortlived, as within two days of returning to a diet of solid foods, Oprah could no longer fit into a size 10.

 

 

 

 

Ever youthful Sharon Stone,57, holds on tight to son Laird, 10, as they leave LAX.

She was prepared for whatever would come her way. 

And Sharon Stone, 57, held tightly to son Laird, 10, as the duo arrived in Los Angeles on Monday.

Upon exiting LAX, the mother of three was swarmed by fans seeking autographs of the famous movie star.

The blonde-haired actress battled the cool weather in a pair of distressed skinny jeans, a simple black sweater and an army green coat, heavily lined with fur. 

She completed her military-inspired look with a pair of black sunglasses and dark shades. 

Son Laird wore an all navy ensemble with his T-shirt and trousers. He finished off his airport attire with black hiking boots.

The Life on the Line actress has been married twice, once in 1984 to TV producer Michael Greenburg, and another in 1988 to Phil Bronstein, a former executive editor of San Francisco-based publications. 

It was with ex-husband Phil that Sharon adopted her first son, Roan Joseph Bronstein in 2000. The former couple split four years later. 

The year following her breakup, Sharon adopted son Laird Vonne Stone in 2005 followed by Quinn Kelly Stone in 2006.

The Agent X star has a busy year approaching.

In 2016, the actress has six film projects in the works, including Mother Day's, not to be confused with the Garry Marshall project of the same name. 

The film features an A-list cast including Sharon, Courtney Cox, Christina Ricci, Selma Blair and Roselyn Sanchez. It's set for theatrical release in May of next year.

Jasmine: Men, Women and Our Love for Football.

This post was inspired by Thierry Henry who I had a childhood crush on. I saw a picture of him at Wimbledon and he is still as cute as ever. It brought back memories of the Arsenal I knew and loved that consisted of other greats like: Pires, Reyes, Bergkamp, Viera, Campbell,

Ljumberg,Lehman, A.Cole, K. Toure, G. Silva, R.V. Persie, Edu, Wiltord. This team, plus a few others, is the reason why we loved arsenal.

We weren’t allergic to silverware back then. I recall the season we went undefeated for 49 games until Manchester United threw a wrench in the works. Those were the days of the INVINCIBLES. I remember us losing Champion’s league in 2006 to Barcelona with great sadness. I was preparing for a major exam the following day, so in between reading in my room, I would dash out to the living room whenever I heard my Dad yelling at the TV so I could catch some of the action.

Now, men and women love football differently. Some women are loyal to a team because their significant other is a fan. They may become invested along the way or just go along for the ride, claiming to be a Chelsea fan whilst thinking the team is managed by Louis van Gaal and their home is Emirates. *rolling my eyes*

There are others who watch just so they can ogle Cristiano Ronaldo (CR7) and swoon over his abs whenever he takes off his shirt.

And then, there are others who start watching because of a crush, end up becoming invested in the team and wouldn’t give them up for anyone or reason – people like me. You guys remember Atlanta 96, and how fantastic Papilo (Kanu Nwankwo) was, well I started following him in the papers after that. I read he was signed on by Arsenal, decided to start watching their games, realised my dad was a Gunner too and then I met Henry and promptly dumped Nwankwo (these girls ain’t loyal…. Chris Brown, na you sabi). I had tears in my eyes when he played his last game for Arsenal. These days, I will confess I’m not an ardent fan, but in my heart, I will always be a Gunner. Infact, top on my bucket list is to watch a game at Emirates. British embassy, please note.

As for men and football; that is true love, passion, dedication, sacrifice. I know only one woman who loves football this much. They will trek for miles to find a viewing center, have heated discussions on the subject, fights have even broken out on account of football. When my Dad is watching a match, you could do anything and get away with it, because all he will see and hear for ninety minutes is that game on TV. I swear an earthquake could occur and if the spot where he is seated is spared, together with the TV, he wouldn’t notice. I’m sure we all know at least one person who is this obsessed.

This is for the love of the beautiful game and the men and women who love it. Special cheers to the Gunners in the house!

About Jasmine

Jasmine is a medical doctor and wife who loves to read, surf the web and experience new things. Writing about her observations, thoughts and life experiences is a passion that has led her to maintain a personal blog atwww.jazzandzara.blogspot.com. She would love to someday host her own talk show.

Davido fails to perform at Olamide's Live in Concert due to" 3am traffic".

As top music acts stormed Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos last night, December 27 for the second edition of Olamide Live In Concert, #OLIC2, Davido was dramatically missing from those who thrilled fans.
The HKN boss, who was one of the headline acts, was expected to mount the stage like all others while the hosts kept announcing that he will be coming up soon.
Even while the concert was coming to an end, the host kept assuring that Davido was still on his way and will be coming in shortly but the singer never turned up.
An excuse was later given that the ‘Gobe’ singer was hooked in traffic.This was around 3am. Many of the audience were heard lamenting where traffic was at that time of the day.

Kome Agulonu:Righting the Gender Wrongs is One New Year Resolution that Matters.

 

28.12.2015 at 4:15 pm By Kome Olori Agulonu Leave a Comment

From a young age, I realised that there was something different about being a girl. Though I couldn’t have explained what set genders apart at my age, it was clear to me that not only were we different, being female was the less glamorous of the two genders.

What gave me that idea you may wonder?
Maybe it was the fact that every time I mentioned in conversations that I had three sisters and no brothers, the look on the other party’s face usually changed from that of mild curiosity to something closely resembling pity.  At first I did not understand why not having brothers was such a big deal. Then one day when I was in primary 6, Nnenna our class loudmouth casually asked what she must have heard from an adult. She said
“Who would carry on your family’s name seeing as you don’t have a brother and who is going to protect you when your parents are old?”

I cannot remember exactly how I replied Nnenna all those years ago, but it was something along the lines of: I do not intend to change my surname thank you very much and I am sure I can take care of myself too.

Even though I had proudly and properly shut up ‘little Miss neni, I began to describe my sisters with adjectives, every time someone asked about my siblings. Beautiful, intelligent, very smart, amazing. But as you probably guessed, those words did not change the reality, nor the reaction I got, and soon afterwards I got a brother. A gorgeous, gentle, baby brother; so I too was able to give a satisfactory answer when asked about my siblings.

As the years went by and I grew older I continued to notice how differently boys and girls were treated. It was everywhere around me. It was there in the little subtleties and even big ones. It was there in the way people asked straight away the gender of a newborn baby and proceeded to celebrate loudly if it was a boy and a bit quieter if it was a girl.
I saw it in the way my teachers at school always chose a boy as class captain and a girl as his assistant even though the best ten pupils in my class were females and the boys were left to trail behind us.

On one very vivid occasion, my class teacher flogged all the boys in my class for letting the girls do better than them. In his opinion, boys had to be smarter, more intelligent and essentially better at their studies than us girls because they would in future have to provide for their families. He went on to explain how we girls would grow up, get married and have children.

What he did not say, which I heard anyway was that, it was okay for girls to be at school, it was okay for us to listen attentively in class and apply ourselves to our studies. It was even okay for us to be intelligent and smash our examinations. In fact, education was okay as long as:

a) we were not more intelligent than the boys in our class
b) we understood that no matter how brilliant we were, we were only going to end up being wives and mothers
c) While it was expected that the boys go on to greater heights, make a living, slay some dragons, run the world. There was no real expectation for the girls save (b) above.

I have thought of that talk many times later especially when I was old enough to hear stories of wives who were thrown out of their homes by their in-laws for failing to have male children or men who had had affairs in the hopes of getting a male child with their mistress. It was a theme I heard so often that the righteous anger I felt every time I heard such incidents was slowly watered down to plain pity.

I felt pity for the women who lost their homes, husbands, and security in one go by no real fault of theirs and I felt pity for the children – girls who by the acts of their father or relatives were told that they were not good enough and most times were swept out into the streets along with their mothers.

I remembered my teacher’s words and I knew deep inside me that our society was very quick to write off female children because they did not expect them to amount to much. They did not expect them to be too intelligent nor did they expect them to become presidents or ministers or ambassadors or pilots or great leaders or lead surgeons, great writers or anybody significant.

It is almost funny sometimes that the women who have against the odds risen to high positions in our society seldom get the accolade they deserve for their expertise. Instead you’ll hear some silly people attributing their success to their husband, father, brother or any man they can pin it on.

Alas! You would think that by now we would hold our children – both boys and girls to high standards. We would expect them to be the best version of themselves and pursue their dreams with equal vigour but it seems that many ethnicities are yet to get the memo that irrespective of biological programming, both genders are equal. Giving birth does not fry your brain after all

Recently too, I have had an epiphany of sorts. I now have a clear understanding that while many women have experienced a pre-programming that tried to teach them that being female is being second class, we all have the power to shake off those teachings and decide to shape positive futures for ourselves and daughters. It may not be easy but we have to try. Come out of the shadows knowing that you have something to contribute to the world.

Though I would very much love to smack that my daft teacher for his stupid impartation that day, I am aware that time travel is still impossible, so I have decided to settle for writing this and hoping that even one female out there who has been cowed by society will see this and make a new year resolution to chase her dreams and believe in herself even if no one else does.

Merry Christmas and happy New Year in advance.

Photo Credit: Dreamstime | Sam74100

About Kome Olori Agulonu

Kome Olori Agulonu is a writer and trade finance analyst. She is also the CEO of Chunky Jewels, a brand of unique, African inspired costume jewellery sold online in the United Kingdom. You can read more of her writing on her blog: www.shedarestosucceed.com
Connect with her via twitter @komeolori or email her at komeolori@yahoo.com

Kanye West bought his wife Kim over 150 presents for christmas.

They're one of the most famous couples in the world and boast an estimated combined net worth of over $200million.

So naturally no expense was spared in the Kardashian household this Christmas, where Kim was treated to a staggering 150 presents by her devoted husband Kanye West.

The extravagant nature of the gift giving was revealed in a behind-the-scenes Sister Sunday holiday video shared on kourtneykardashian.com.

'You've got to Kim, from Kanye,' explained a voice. '150 gifts and counting,' as the video panned to heaps of neatly wrapped black presents and a multicoloured fur coat.

Kim lavished Kanye with a silver Can-Am Spyder bike, with models retailing for $14,999 and over on the company's website.

'You know we do silver cars, so I had it made it matte silver,' Kim explained as Kanye took it on a test run around the property.

North was seen riding her pint-sized fire engine toy truck. 

 

 

 

Carlos Tevez hits the beach in Uruguay.

He's enjoying a well-deserved break from his sporting duties in Uruguay with his family.

And Carlos Tevez couldn't resist putting on an athletic display as the gang hit the beach on Sunday, showing off his defined abs as he dived into the sea, racing up and down the sea with his three children.

The 31-year-old Argentine footballer was also joined by his stunning wife Vanesa as they holidayed by the coast in Punta del Este.

He was seen helping his daughters Katia and Florencia building sandcastles, while Vanesa looked after their youngest son Lito.

The glamorous WAG showcased her figure in not one, but two different thong bikinis, making the most of her shapely posterior in the skimpy swimwear.

Vanesa, who wed the Boca Juniors player in 2012, was smiling as she stood by Tevez's side, watching their kids splashing around in the shallows.

She turned heads in a patterned bandeau number, before changing into a striped blue two-piece.

The former Manchester City player previously opened up about his difficult childhood back in Argentina.

Tevez says he worked hard to not go down the same route of crime as many of his peers and will always be grateful to the career opportunities he has been given.

He told FIFA.com: 'I lived in a place where drugs and murder were part of everyday life. Experiencing difficult things, even as a very young kid, means you grow up quickly.

'I think that enables everyone to choose their own path and not just accept the one others have taken before you, and I went my own way.'

 


 

 

Superyacht.

Symmetry superyacht is believed to be the world's most luxurious mobile home. it could be considered a home to some super rich fellas, even though it is floating on water because home is where the heart is. For the super rich yacht loving fellas it is really comfortable and it can still afford you some workspace and there is a theatre too for entertainment. Enjoy the pictures below.

 

 

 

 

Isio knows better:Winchi Winchi.

I sincerely lay no claims to being more knowledgeable than anyone, but I do confess that better than I did yesterday, last year and a decade ago.

Isio Knows Better is an attempt to capture the shocking and highly entertaining conversation within myself. The conversations between my mind (the sharp witty one), my soul (the lover and the spiritual one) and my body (the playful one concerned with the more mundane things of life). She is the eternal referee between the caustic mind and the sensitive soul. This is Isio. So, here’s to making private conversations public.

Enjoy!
***
We decided to skip afternoon classes that day. Wait, wait, wait… it wasn’t like my friend and I were bad students.It was just that, that day we had already had our normal school day (8am-2pm) and we would have evening prep (let’s say another two hours) and then further night reading (another two hours); then, as seniors we would still have “over-night reading” – which was typically from 11pm until such a time that your brain rebelled and refused to cooperate anymore. Therefore, “stabbing” the ninety minute afternoon classes was only logical. After all, we had heard about (but never seen) students who had allegedly over exercised their brains to such an extent that they just had to run mad.

Such madness was definitely not our lot -we agreed – so we decided instead to go gist at the Students’ Second Home – the car park. Besides the teacher was going to be teaching Organic Chemistry, the one subject I detested more than other people’s saliva. My friend agreed, and we both walked to the biggest bench in that car park and gisted about the many mundane things sixteen year olds consider important.

Of course there were several students from the school’s primary school playing in the area. While my friend (Rukayat) and I were gisting I noticed from the corner of my eyes a small group of kids who were bullying a younger boy. He looked frail and about six years old. He kept trying to play with them but they kept pushing him away. Then the biggest girl pushed him away so hard he fell to the floor. Not being able to take it anymore I chastised her sternly and called for her to treat him with respect.

The biggest girl ran to us, her eyes twinkling with the eagerness of an over-sabi child who was about to snitch on a sibling.

She said to us, “Ahhh, elder prefects, please don’t be angry. [She curtsied briefly] But this boy [she points accusingly at him] is not a human being! He is a wizard! A big one! At night he changes shape to a lion!”

I hissed at such foolish talk, “Sharrap there! What manner of rubbish are you saying? Lion ko, antelope ni!”

“Ahhh, dear senior, I swear that I am not lying to you. Yesterday after classes, this boy changed to a pussy cat!”

She bent to touch her fingers to the earth, then to her lips and then the heavens. This was a cultural symbol of truth telling that had been passed down from our ancestors. It was said that this had all started when he had asked a hostel-mate to kindly accompany him to the toilets in the middle of one night, and halfway there, he magically became a lion to the horror of the hostel-mate who fled screaming down the halls. Many juniors were happily bed wetting since that incident.

Still, I was in doubt. There were no such things as shape-changers! She saw the doubt in our eyes and barked at the accused to come explain that she was telling the truth. He came woodenly and then slowly lifted up his head to fix a liquid gaze at me with such an intensity I almost peed ice pellets. His eyes looked six hundred years old.

He spoke…

“It is not my fault. I did not mean to turn into a lion. It was the witches in my former coven. They vowed to punish me.”

My mind kicked me mentally and frothed her displeasure. It was obvious she did not want to hear or deal with any supernatural matters. AHHHHHHHHHHHH! WITCHES KE?! Haba beast changing witches and wizards?! Mba ooo! Oya make we dey go school!

Rukayat and I exchanged looks. Sistehhh, are you hearing this?

We spent the next few minutes trying to bamboozle the boy with logic. We said things like, It’s-okay-we-are-not-going-to-punish-you, you-don’t-have-to-lie-eh, human-beings-don’t-change-to-lions, what-witch-and-wizard-abeggi! You-this-small-boy-what-do-you-know-about-winchi-winchi? How-old-you-be-sef? Taaaaaaah!

We laughed the high embellished laugher people who are nervous but trying to hide it laugh – you know the kind- where deep down they sense you just might be telling the truth about something they refuse to accept, so they laugh loudly but with darting, nervous eyes to convince you that you are the mad one.

He didn’t budge

He insisted he didn’t mean to frighten anyone. The witches in his old school had decided to punish him for wanting to leave their coven. At first they had begged him to stay, but when he refused, and his parents had brought him to our school, far away from their territory, they got angry and decided to make him an outcast amongst human beings. He demonstrated how they made a miniature version of him and put him into cup. They would toss him around and laugh. He insisted it was highly spiritual. They wanted his soul.

“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Sweet Jesus of Nazareth! Soul ke?! This one seems like he is possessed o. What if his coven members and evil spirits were watching? What if they decided they would shakara these two seniors who were querying their former member? These ones he was telling their secrets to? Oghene biko o! Isio! I no dey put hand for winch matter o! Hian! Don’t shout on him too much o. Please be kind.”

Hmmmn. My mind made a valid point.

And so I did the best thing a God fearing Christian would do. I whispered questions to Rukayat, who in turn asked the six year old with the six hundred year old eyes. He answered all of them. He was looking at Rukayat now. I wasn’t about to receive a demonic visitation that night. Rukayat looked like she could take care of herself. What are friends for?

Needless to say the things I heard shocked me greatly. He explained his situation to us in detail. How and where he was indoctrinated into the coven (happened in kindergarten!) Why he wanted to leave, some more deeply spiritual stuff a six-seven year old has no business knowing, how his parents handled the issue, their initial dismissal of his claims, then attempted exorcism. About him being trapped in the body of an animal and feeling helpless – because he had renounced his powers he couldn’t do much to defend himself. About how all of these torture was to make him re-join the coven-

Gring…Gringggggggggg…Gringggggggggggggggggg!

The school bells, they rang.

Afternoon classes were over and it was time to leave. We scurried away, not looking back at the liquid eyed boy.

And then that cold, dark night… the distant cries of the wild cats that roamed the school grounds filled the night. I lay in bed, my bible clutched tightly to my chest after reading several psalms. It was going to be okay. I smiled and drifted into a soft dreamy sleep. It felt good, like I was encased in clouds. It was a good feeling. It was too good a feeling. I felt… woozy

And then- BAM!

Something yanked my pillow right from under my head.

Two words, one moment.

OH SH*T!

About Isio De-laVega

Isio De-laVega Wanogho is a Nigerian supermodel, a multi-award winning media personality and an interior architect who is a creative-expressionist at her core. She uses words, wit and her paintings to tell stories that entertain, yet convey a deeper meaning. Follow her on Instagram @isiodelavega and visit her website: http://www.idds.pro to see her professional body of work.

Uju Chukwu: Your Mind is a Power Tool.

The thoughts in your head are a reflection of what your mouth says. How powerful can our thoughts be? Very very powerful. Has it ever happened that you thought of something, without having the intention of seeing it happen and the next minute you see it happen? Sometimes it might not be as fast as a minute; you might have gone for hours and the next thing you see, it happens. Most times, people even mistake it for a dejavu, but then it is just your thoughts.

So if your thoughts can be this powerful, what then are we supposed to do? It’s pretty simple, GUARD THEM RIGHT.

We need to think positive at all times. How does that work? It is a CONSCIOUS effort. I will list 2 major points of the conscious effort we have to make:

By minding the things you let get into your head: Everybody has something to say, (the good, the bad, the ugly and the worse) but not everything everyone has to say is for you. You do not necessarily have to open up your mind to digest everything or every word that passes because some are for you and some are for others. Sometimes you intentionally avoid being in the conversation.for others. Sometimes you intentionally avoid being in the conversation.

I read a billboard one day and I noticed that the pastor of my church was going to visit a different church. I had been to that church and I did not really like it there, and then I saw that the pastor of my church was going there. A few of my friends said, “now you have to be there because your pastor is there” I replied, “I would not be there because my pastor is going to be there. That which I do not like about the church might just automatically get at me even when my pastor is speaking. So to avoid myself the power of negative thoughts I chose to avoid going because the program he is going to attend will be for him to speak the word for someone in that congregation and definitely not for me.”

There was nothing was obviously stopping me, but was it going to be my word? Not so sure of that.
So it is a conscious effort for us to mind the things we allow to get into our head. Sometimes, you play deaf or better still avoid it completely. play deaf or better still avoid it completely.

Mind the things we see: The things we look at or study affect how we think and automatically affect how we speak. Our minds get to store images faster than even words. Just like a child, the ability of an image to affect our thought is about 75%. However, what differentiates an adult from a child is the ability of owning up and deciding not to look in that direction – unlike a child where you have to help them watch what they see. Not every book, article or pictures is for our consumption; most times we need to take in things that enlighten us and energize us to move on. Imagine having to watch the news every day and you keep seeing people dying in various countries, the ability for you not to live in fear will be very low.

I actually lost the love for travelling after hearing consecutively on the news the number of plane crashes reported. But does that mean that people do not fly and land safely? The image I have seen and that which I have heard, I let it sink in. Now I try to avoid the TV as much as I can.
If you think of a big future, why not live in that light and look for images that portray same. Rather than watch the TV, I would rather go on YouTube and watch Awesomeness fest. It is an image I am seeing but a different one.

How do we effectively work on our mind?
We should constantly apply the rule of meditation. Learn to meditate. It is the best form of clearing our minds and our thoughts. Maybe you have let in the wrong things; with effective meditation, you have the ability to sieve your thoughts.

Think before you speak, not the other way round. Think first put your words together and then let them out. Consider if the words you speak will make or mar you. Will they make people see you as someone else and will your words make a difference in the lives of those around you in a positive way or cause destruction? These are factors we need to consider.

Learn to put your thoughts first before your words.
Are you willing to take action today? Are you willing to take control of your thoughts, mind what you see and things you hear?
Leave your comments below on how your mind has helped or improved you as a person or your speech to others.

Photo Credit: Dreamstime | Hugo Felix

About Uju Chukwu

I am obsessed with success, I am a motivational writer, a business speaker and a white collar job lady(YES!!9-5 hustles).  I help individuals and businesses to be more productive, less stressed and happier through the application of humor at work and everyday life. Read my motivational articles on Life's Treasury