Tuesday, 24 December 2013

WRITING: Education & School

Today I woke up thinking out of the box. Actually, I am writing this while still in bed. Anyway, I think my current thought process stemmed from a conversation I had with a friend last night before going to bed. Basically, he said he likes school. I said all well and good but nobody actually likes it, we just endure it. What we do like are our friends and the fun part of school. He went on to say he actually enjoyed learning. True, learning is enjoyable but that depends on your environment.

I think I'll talk about school and education in particular today. According to Wikipedia, the definition of education is "in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledgeskills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research." School, on the other hand, is defined as "is an institution designed for the teaching of students (or "pupils") under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory."

From the definitions given, I would say education is simply the transferring of skills and knowledge from one generation to the next. School, however, is more constructing in the sense that there is a particular way something is done. So I like to believe that somebody can have an education without having been to school. You get? However, that does not mean I am against the concept of school and schooling.

School is important because it gives you an opportunity. Some of you might be thinking, " I have a talent. I don't need school." Sadly, you do. Making it in this world on talent alone is not the easiest thing to do. I'm sure some of you here may have tried that already. If you have made it already without having had schooling, I say wow. It's not so often that happens. I know we have examples of school dropouts like Steve Jobs and Mark Z-they've made it. Realistically speaking, chances of having a million dollar idea are slim to one. Also, you may have a talent in which you are riding on. You know, singing, dancing, acting or whatever it may be. Thing is you can't rely on that alone. 

So what exactly am I trying to put across here? Education and school are two different things. You can have a form of education but may not have been schooled. Schooled is more institution used and more likely to help you later in life. If you have talent, all well and good. Talent coupled with school would be a plus for you. If you feel like you have no particular talent, not to worry. School is the perfect fall-back plan. If you've been to school and had an education from a formalised institution, chances are that you'd be better off than if you didn't. Having yourself some papers would be beneficial to you.

Your thoughts on this? I would love to hear from you and what you think about this particular post. You can just drop your thoughts in the comment box below. Enjoy your day. 

Monday, 23 December 2013

BEAUTY & SKIN CARE: Baking Soda Face Mask

Yes, you read right. The title does say baking soda face mask. I know it sounds crazy to you. Trust me, it sounded crazy to me the first time. Basically, baking soda can be used both for pimples and blackhead removal. In the comfort of your own home, you can make this cheap and easy face mask.





STEP BY STEP GUIDE: BAKING SODA FOR PIMPLES


1. Clean. Make sure to clean your skin with a gentle cleanser or face wash
2.Pour 8 teaspoons of baking soda in a cup.
3. Water. Pour in half as much water into the cup.
4.Stir. If mixture is too watery, add more baking soda. If mixture is too dry, add more water. The mixture has to be soft and creamy-- not too dry or not too watery.
5.Apply. Once you have your creamy paste, apply it on your pimples.
6.Wait. Leave the paste on the pimples for 15 minutes or until paste dries.
7.Rinse. Now you can rinse off the hardened paste.
8.Do this process twice a week until pimples disappear. 

Site: http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Pimples-with-Baking-Soda


STEP BY STEP GUIDE: BAKING SODA FOR BLACKHEAD REMOVAL



1.Get some baking soda.
2.Add very little water to it, maybe one or two teaspoons.
3.Mix together.
4.Apply on the affected area.
5.Wait till it dries out.
6.Wash off.
7.Apply again. Keep this routine up regularly to banish the blackheads over time.

Site: http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Blackheads-(Baking-Soda-and-Water-Method)

NOTE: Baking soda can be drying to the skin so be sure to moisturise face after use.

FEATURED POST: Dont Judge Me

Today, I feature a friend of mine who opted to remain anonymous. This is what our anonymous blogger had to say:

Don’t Judge Me

More about nothing:

See, nowadays it’s hard to just be yourself around people because you're mortified  of what people might say or even think, okay mortified is too big a word let’s say maybe scared would be a better fit. Everyone has something to say about you, other things don’t even add up, one moment they are saying you don’t do much later you do too much and then again you are too average,  see confusing and crazy.

I have been called a player and mushy by the same person, see people are crazy!!. Those two things are not exactly adverse but they are not consistent either way. The reason I was called that was because I have  friends who are girls but are not my girlfriend and the reason I was called mushy was because I had expressed my feelings towards my girlfriend through picture I saw on the Internet (set that picture as my profile on one of my many social networks), the picture contained some touchy feely cliché stuff. See there is no way a person can be nothing and something at the same time, believe me if that was possible I would know about it, I love physics and anything science.

 All in all I guess what am trying to say is don’t go around making people change themselves because of what you think is best for them isn’t what they are, simply accept people because it’s not possible to know someone better than they know themselves.

 We are all trying to answer the question who am I? What are people’s perception of me? So we constantly drift from a path to path, testing the waters if we don’t like we move on it may be subconscious it may be conscious but it does happen. I do it you probably did it or still do it if you are fine and content with who you are that’s your limit stay there and let other people that have set there limitation bars somewhere above the clouds keep searching.

As 2014 creeps in, please say thanks to the good Lord because this is an awesome day and age to be alive. We have seen machines that talk to you, people that have mechanical limbs, free Internet music, and free Internet movies the list goes on. So before the year ends at least say thanks for one thing or everything. Merry Christmas and have a blessed new year.



MUSIC: My All Time Favorite Afro Beats, 2013.

It’s a few more days to the end of the year and I’d like to share with you my all-time favourite songs by African musicians. I’m African myself, Zambian to be exact. So today, I will share with you musical styling’s from the mother land. I’ll categorise the songs according to countries and I’ll also put the links so that it’s easy for you to listen. These aren’t all songs from the year 2013 but songs I’ve come to love. Enjoy!


ZAMBIA


NIGERIA


GHANA


SOUTH AFRICA































Saturday, 21 December 2013

WRITING: Cost Effective Ways To Celebrate Christmas.


Nativity tree2011.jpg



Happy holidays. I trust you're feeling the Christmas spirit. If  not, you better it's just a few days from now. Three to be exact. Anyway, are you faced with financial trouble that you just don't know how you are going to spend the holiday? Here's a list of cost effective ways on how you can spend your Christmas.

1. Have a Christmas braii or cookout. 

I like this one especially because it's relatively cheap. All you need, is friends, food and music and you have yourself a little Christmas get together. You could even ask friends to bring a dish. That way, you'll have yourself a variety to choose from.

2. Go watch a free Christmas performance.

They say the best things in life are free. This Christmas, why not go watch a free performance. This could be at your local church, playhouse or mall near you. To make it more fun, go with friends, family or a loved one and be part of the Christmas cheer. After all, it's not a day you'd want to spend on your own.

3. Have a picnic!

I know, it's winter and not many people would want to be out in the cold. As crazy as a Christmas picnic sounds, it's a wonderful way to spend the holiday with people you love. I suggest checking the weather forecast before hand to be sure of the temperature and going during the day to enjoy what little warmth and sunshine might be available. The bright  side to this is that you get to enjoy nature and have yourself a breather. 

4. Host a Christmas movie screening.

In the comfort of your own home, you can have your friends and family over for a Christmas movie special. You could watch classics or anything that rocks your boat really. All you'll need for this are movies and snacks. Popcorn should do just fine. After that, you can play games like charades, monopoly or even twister and have yourselves a good laugh or two.

5. Go for dinner.

If you really want to go out for Christmas, why not go out for dinner. I know many of you already have that Christmas outfit you just want to show off. A dinner at a nice restaurant, preferably one you know, would be a great way to spend the holiday. If you are not one to spend time in the kitchen, this would work out just fine for you.

I hope these few suggestions have been helpful. Eventually, I trust you'll find something that will work best for you this Christmas. With that said, I wish you a happy holiday.


Friday, 13 December 2013

WRITING: Flow.

Hello. Been a while since I blogged. I got held up with exams the last two weeks and I took a week off to recuperate and get myself back together; exams can be draining. Any this  is a post I didn't plan for. I've been thinking of what to post the past few weeks and I was thinking of writing part two to my series. I won't be doing any of that today. Today, I am simply going to let it flow. I'm going to post what's running through my mind and the thoughts may not mesh well together but that's the essence of it. Let's just call it "organised disorganisation" as my high school teacher would say.


I've spent the past three days cooped up in my room. It's winter and I don't really feel like going outside. I studied the book Ethan Frome in my high school literature class and reference to a bleak winter climate on the human spirit was mentioned. I must agree, winter isn't quite the spirit uplifter. Anyway, today I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. This, i will mot blame on winter per se. Have you ever felt that you are too nice for your own being? That's what's got me mad today. Not to blow my own horn but I like to think I did something pretty nice and then got taken advantage of. Total downer if I must say. I believe it's things like this that get people nasty. I mean, you need something and somebody helps you out and then you screw them over. That's so not crew. I actually know a few people that have become this way because of such behaviour. Uggh >:(


I guess it's a lesson to myself. You can't just trust anyone. I mean, after an encounter like this I'm probably going to turn into the Grinch-not that I'll dampen Christmas spirit but I'll be more selective with who I'll help out. So, what's the purpose of this post? I guess it's to remind you that when somebody helps you out, don't take it for granted. You might just need another favour from that person and if you didn't make a good impression, chances are they're not going to help you even if they can.



With that said, y'all enjoy your Friday.

Sunday, 24 November 2013

FICTION: Love Story Part 1

Hello there. I know I haven't blogged in quite a while. I was down with a cold for about a week and school's been keeping me quite busy. So, it's winter. Okay, it's some-what winter time; the nights are quite chilly. Anyway, a while back I promised a three part series. Uhm, it took me quite a while to put two and two together and I think I now have something enjoyable for you. Here we go.

As Amy lay in bed staring at her ceiling, she wondered how her love life had ended up as it did. Ever since she moved towns she'd had her fair share of emotional turmoils. Right now she felt like she was on an emotional roller coaster which had temporarily stopped. For once, she felt like she could make sense of her "love story".


..........

It all started when she moved to Dalesville and met Andrew. He seemed nice enough but she didn't feel the connection. He visited her often, called and got her a few gifts here and there. Eventually, it became something but she just didn't feel the way he did. Then one day she met James and she would never be the same again. Little did she know that James would become a recurring character in her life.


..........

The months with Andrew went by and yet Amy still felt the same. She knew she had to do something, it was time she told Andrew she just didn't feel the way he did for her. Telling Andrew seemed so hard because he just wouldn't understand. She was patient with him, hoping one day he'll get just what she was saying to him. Eventually, she turned cold. She didn't want to but he made her do it. This was the only way she thought he'd understand. She found it unfair not only to him but herself as well to carry on with something that wasn't real.
..........

Little did Amy know that Andrew was only part of the drama to come. Not too long after her fiasco with Andrew, she met Jake. He was tall, dark and handsome with piercing eyes that made him look both serious and thoughtful. She thought she had finally gotten it right with him. Maybe he was the one. He'd visit her and she'd visit him. They enjoyed each other's company what more could she ask for? Her fairy tale was short lived. She began to feel that Jake wasn't really in it. She too realized that nothing was going to happen between the two of them. It seemed like a mutual understanding developed between the two. Unspoken words, yet audible and understood. Eventually, they became and remained friends.

..........

The return of James..