Author Archives: Seyi Sandra

Nominated For The Liebster Award!

I have been nominated for the Liebster Award!! I was nominated by JackieP of  Change

Piers Morgan Tonight

Piers Morgan Tonight (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For Better Me. What an honour!

 Thanks Jackie for the nomination, it’s awesome and I have still got a big grin on my face as I am writing this but you may be wondering;

What Is A Liebster Award?

According to ThoughtProvoking Moments and I am going to quote her word for word, she says,

”The Liebster Blog Award is given to up and coming bloggers with less than 200 followers, and nominated by fellow bloggers. Liebster is a German word meaning sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.”

What a cute way to describe me, I am chuffed! So there you have it, I was nominated by Jackie and I would in turn nominate other eleven bloggers.

You see, I’ve got a big fat imagination and I could just envision been with Jackie on ”Piers Morgan Tonight” He is a British journalist who took over from Larry King’s show, you know, Larry is quite a legend.

Well as I was saying, based on this assumption that I am on air with Jackie of course, on Piers Morgan’s show. Piers is just listening, chipping in every now and then, and yes, Jackie is dressed to kill, I won’t describe her cos she’s simply gorgeous, and right now I will be answering the eleven questions.

This are Jackie’s questions;

  1. What got you into blogging?

That’s a straight forward question, as a writer, I probe my brain by blogging and I also want to rub minds with other writers, poets, great people who blogged everyday. It’s very exhilarating for me.

2. What have you learned about yourself through your blog?

I have learnt that I could juggle five things at once and still get an incredible result. I’ve met great people online, and my imagination is at the peak, and it’s all thanks to my blogging.

3. When you aren’t blogging what do you do?

I am a freelance journalist, working for a London-based magazine, ‘Black Heritage Today,’ and when I am not on field trips, I am glued to my computer in the office, typing furiously. I am currently editing three novels at once and I am also a reviewer for Bookpleasures.com (I am not been paid by the way, just loved reading novels) And I am a mom of three boisterous and active kids, that’s like a twenty-four hour shift job! Never ending but I love it.

4. If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?

Norway, I had wanted to go this year but obviously it’s October now and the kids are in school, So next year, it’ straight to Norway.

5. What’s your greatest vice?

None that I can think of, honestly! ‘Jackie why are you looking at me like that!’ (Piers is smiling everyone!)

6. Who is/was your greatest influence in your life?

My mother, she is strong, hardworking and very determined. She is also a great woman of faith, the word ‘impossible’ is not in her dictionary, I love her to bits.

7. Who is your favorite author?

I have a lot of them but I’ll pick John Grisham, I love all his novels especially, ‘The Firm’ His books are so real, it’s as if you’re in the story.

8. What music do you prefer to listen to?

I love gospel and cool smooth jazz. Music is powerful, I love all kinds, sometimes I go  country as long as it’s a great tune with inspiring words, I’ll go for it.

9. If you could, who would you like to have cook for you?

My husband! Yes, he is a very good cook but it’s been a while since he’d cooked last!

10. Imagine that you could meet anyone living or dead, who would it be and what would you say?

My best friend while I was in college, she died suddenly. I would ask her why she didn’t fight to stay alive! I missed her…

11. Are you happy?

Absolutely!

There it is, and we were honourably ushered out of CNN studio by studio hands, that’s what they’re called isn’t it? Anyway, Jackie and I had a great time.

Now I am honoured to nominate the following bloggers for the prestigious Liebster Award

http://wendy@escapeintofiction.wordpress.com

  •  WaytoKabul

http://waytokabul.wordpress.com

  • Talking Of Faith

http://talkingoffaith.wordpress.com

  • thebettermanproject

http://thebettermanproject.wordpress.com

And this are my questions, the same as JackieP by the way! Because I thought her questions are quite cool!!

  1. What got you into blogging?
  2. What have you learned about yourself through your blog?
  3. When you aren’t blogging what do you do?
  4.  If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?
  5.  What’s your greatest vice?
  6. Who is/was your greatest influence in your life?
  7. Who is your favourite author?
  8. What music do you prefer to listen to?
  9. If you could, who would you like to have cook for you?
  10. Imagine that you could meet anyone living or dead, who would it be and what would you say?

That’s it folks, and thank you again JackieP for the honours and good luck to all you glorious nominees!

Circle Of Life

Talkin' About Life and Death

Talkin’ About Life and Death (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A very good friend of mine lost her younger brother yesterday to the cold hands of death at the age of 35, which brought the poignant topic of death shrilly to my subconscious mind this evening.

Yes, we don’t like talking about IT but it’s all around us. I mean, we are born, we grow old with all our aspirations and we wither and die. Simple as!

But there is a catch. Death is not an end in itself, it’s a beginning, I believe firmly in life after death because I am a Christian but what about people who don’t? What is their hope?

My motto in life is ‘live life to the full and spread the love, don’t pile up hatred, you’ll be the one to stink and believe in yourself. Once there’s a will, there will be a WAY!’

My mind is still reeling from the news and my heart bleeds for my friend but the die is cast and the deed is done. The grim ripper’s done his worst, he can’t do more than that!

Borrowing the words of Mofasa in Lion King, ‘It’s just the circle of life’

Adieu Ambrose!

This was truly inspiring and beautiful, please enjoy!

ioanna angelidaki's avatarlife portOfolio

I am having one (or more) of those days where 
my middle finger is the answer to everything.

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Lately i ‘ve been coming across all sorts of lists, to-do and how-to posts.  Today i think i got at the end of my tether.

I found this:

Please tell me, IS IT ME, or needing to consult a list in order to be creative is just too much??? No.22 even says “Don’t force it” !!!!

1

Then i came across a blog post “S.M.A.R.T. Goals; Organizing your goals (1, 5, and 10 year)”. (I am not posting the link because it is a sponsored post. Plus it pissed me of. Google it if you like). Repeating, 1-ONE, 5-FIVE, 10-TEN year goal organization. Quoting “Maintain a strong habit of running your life like a business”. Wow, that’s great! This way we can replace the “bite the dust” phrase with the “went bankrupt”

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Behind Closed Doors

English: Kristen Stewart at Hollywood Life Mag...

English: Kristen Stewart at Hollywood Life Magazine’s 7th Annual Breakthrough Awards (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Have you ever wondered what happened behind other people’s closed doors! Wow! Wait there! You may holler and object but yeah, I do think about it sometimes and what brought about this weird idea?

The story of little April Jones, an innocent little girl snatched as she played near her family home, only God knows what happened to her! It was alleged she was abducted by a close family friend. And whatever happened to her afterward was behind closed doors! See my point? Wished I was right there in that seedy little house and punch the kidnapper in the face before taking her away from harm’s way.

Just imagine all kinds of atrocities people commit and at the end of the day when it’s revealed don’t you ever wish you could just bump in behind that closed door? Smashed it open and rescue the damsel in distress? Unfortunately, things don’t always go that way in the real world except in dreams! Or maybe Hollywood movies.

Right now am watching ‘Twilight’ as I am penning this post (the first series) and Kristen Stewart was saved several times from other predators by her Vampire boyfriend, I don’t really want to delve deeper on the movie but I just fantasised sometimes about having supernatural power that could help people in distress.

So there you have it. Which brought something to my remembrance, I was writing as usual in the living room after putting the kids to bed when I heard a piercing scream. I ignored it, it could be passersby playing pranks, it’s happened before but the screaming persisted so I had no choice than to investigate, (my husband was still at work by the way!)

To my horror, a lady was been assaulted in a car parked opposite my house! What effrontery!! I was shocked, didn’t know what to do so I went back upstairs and took my phone, when I opened the door downstairs, the screaming had intensified and then I dialled the police.

As if on cue, the door of the Vauxhall car opened with a vengeance and the lady was pushed out with such brute force, I almost fainted with the level of violence and the car zoomed off into the night.

I clicked my phone shut when I saw the look in the eye of the lady which seemed to say, ‘Mind your business!’

And I did, nothing more I could do. At least she wasn’t killed which made me quite happy.

What in heaven’s name is this? I think it’s symbolic though. I could just liken it to us, you, me, people every where. When we don’t forgive, that ‘s the kind of baggage we would be carrying around! What a heavy load!

rasb2's avatarrasb2

© http://www.rasb2.com

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A Writer’s Feud

Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer Lytton, 1st ...

Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, by Henry William Pickersgill (died 1875). See source website for additional information. This set of images was gathered by User:Dcoetzee from the National Portrait Gallery, London website using a special tool. All images in this batch have been confirmed as author died before 1939 according to the official death date listed by the NPG. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have argued ceaselessly with some of my friends who aren’t writers that the phrase  ‘Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword‘ which was coined by an English author, Edward Bulwer-Lytton in his play ‘The Conspiracy’ doesn’t imply that writers/ journalists/reporters etcetera are villains or mischief makers.

When Mr Lytton was coining the phrase in 1839 (according to Wikipedia) I am sure he won’t believe how undying or relevant it would still be over hundred years later.

Journalists have a penchant for news after all that is their job and believe me, the world would be a boring place if there was no print or electronic media.

Just imagine Obama and Romney battling it out in a Roman-like stadium, it wouldn’t have the same effect it does now, because I can confidently sit on the couch in my living room making my own comments about who won the first or second round.

I can tweet about it, make a comment on Facebook or blog the living daylights out of it, like I am doing now.

Writers (I should say journalists or reporters but we are in the same boat aren’t we?)are powerful, I agree, but we are not going to cause world war three, in actual fact we would prevent it!

We would inform America about Iran‘s plans to bomb Israel out of existence, we even sniffed out Gaddafi’s position to the rebels who silenced him like a cockroach. (Imagine calling your people rats and cockroaches! arrant nonsense)

We would tell  UN about Russia’s supply of arms to this despotic Syrian dictator…oh! I’d forgotten his name… yes! Assad something, and we are going to scream blue murder when a young girl was attacked for standing up for common sense!

I rest my case…

Shame Of Savile

It’s a little bit annoying that it was after the death of Jimmy Savile, a celebrity and BBC veteran presenter of ”Top Of  The Pops,” that some very repugnant details of his private life was revealed. Saville was known by some of his cronies that he had a penchant for young fresh-faced girls.

They were probably too scared to speak or were just guessing and have no facts to back up their suspicions or they might be indulging in the same dastardly acts…only God knows the truth.

But I find it outrageous, disturbing and utterly disgusting that many people knew of his nefarious escapades yet kept quiet. Even the victims should have damned all the consequences and come forward, although I read in some newspapers that there were complaints and nothing was done about it or as the police would put it, ”there were insufficient evidence to proceed with an investigation”

Hopefully now that the whole sordid secrets of his farce of a life had been leaked to the public, something would be done and the victims could finally find closure.

The celebrity culture in the society we live in is a little overboard. What ‘ordinary people’ would go to jail for, a ‘celebrity’ would probably just get a caution.

To the ‘Saviles’ of this world, ”I hope your shame would be exposed before your demise else, your victims will be locked in the prison of their pain for forever!”

And we don’t really want that, do we?

No!!!

I love ginger root, I have read so many wonderful things about it and it’s healing properties. This post is so informative and awesome that I just had to reblog it. Ha ha ha! It’s also brilliant! Brilliant!!

oneanna65's avatarcancer killing recipe

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Madness Of A Mob

The price placed on human life is significantly lower than that of animals in some countries and it is scary to even think about it. I was sent straight to the stone age when the news broke about a horrible lynching in Nigeria.

The scene was akin to something you’d watch in a low budget horror movie, it was gory and I couldn’t bring myself to watch the whole sordid thing on YouTube but this horrible madness should be vehemently condemned.

The story broke out on Friday evening and initially the facts surrounding the events leading up to the lynching were sketchy but by the time all the facts were laid bare, I was literally shaking with disgust. I think it was last Friday when four university students in Port Harcourt, River state in southern part of Nigeria were alleged to have been caught red-handed stealing mobile phones and laptop, and ‘jungle’ justice was meted out on them.

So the boys were caught stealing but that does not warrant such an act of barbarism and coward disregard for the rule of law and the sanctity of human life. The Norwegian monster, Breivik who murdered young people on a retreat was jailed for a mere twenty one years, actually he deserved the death penalty for his actions but Norway was trying to send a message out and I think it should be phrased thus ”WE ARE CIVILISED”

This act of taking laws into one’s own hands shows the level in which a society has disintegrated to, it’s disgraceful, inhumane and evil. I knew some people have been apprehended but what would come out from such a trial? It is really scary that at this age, human beings could descend so low to kill and even have the audacity of filming the whole sordid act.

The perpetrators should be apprehended and dealt with in a civilised manner. I am sure Hitler would be grinning wherever he is, because he’s got company.

Only God knows the madness inherent in people…

Do Yourself A Favour…Forgive!

Family Portrait

Family Portrait (Photo credit: Gideon Tsang)

I once heard the story of a guy who has been married for fifteen years and then his wife came to him one hot summer afternoon weeping uncontrollably.

”What’s the matter darling,” the man asked obviously concerned.

”I can’t do this anymore,” she bellowed uncontrollably, tears streaming down her pale red face in torrents.

Like most husbands, this man was confused and a little scared by the dramatics going on in front of him. After a couple of more ”oh God what have  I done?,” the wife calmed down and then there was an uneasy silence.

The man waited for an explanation behind the outburst of emotion but when none was forthcoming, he did what most men would do, no! let me not generalise. He did what ”some” men would do, he lost his cool demeanour.

”What the hell is wrong with you!”

”I am sorry,” she hurriedly apologised, ” but I can’t live a lie anymore.”

Well you can guess the temperature in that room must have dipped to about minus forty degrees.

The wife confessed and you’ve guessed correctly, she was an adulterer and has been having an affair which had lasted till that moment.

And can you guess the saddest part of the story?  This couple was blessed with four intelligent, healthy boys and not a single one of this kids was the man’s.

I am positive you can correctly predict the end of the tale but can you forgive such a woman?

This was a true story and the man in question did forgive but the woman couldn’t forgive herself…

Forgiveness is hard but it releases you from a prison of bitterness. God can help ease the pain though, only He can do that.

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