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The African Queen

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THE AFRICAN Queen, by Ralph Jones Che , is an exquisite 90x90cm acrylic-on-canvas painting with hard paper collage laid out in surrealist style. Ralph attempts to present the extraordinary beauty of Africa by exposing its inner core, the Heart of Africa – The African Queen. He portrays the African woman as a jewel, fresh and raw on the day she’s born and in her maiden years, with unlimited potential and expansive dreams and ambitions. He identifies three stages in life which energize, mold, define and embellish her as she goes through life’s vicissitudes, learning and growing into a more focused and wholesome individual. This process elevates her into the magnificence of her role in society as she leans on nature in a seamless relationship that provides the foundation of African Society. In this state, she’s refined but natural; sophisticated and yet simple; strong but tender; aggressive but patient and rolled up into the finest and most inviting gift any man could ever dream of. ...
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Book Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time By Mark Haddon Review by Emmanuel W. Kijem for OHL Children Educational Magazine (Lagos, Nigeria) In Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, we enter a world of murder and mystery. The storyteller and principal figure is fifteen year-old Christopher Boone who suffers from asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. Christopher lives in a purely left-brain world of strict order and absolute truth. He entertains and consoles himself by manipulating large numbers and engaging in complicated mathematical operations. He loves solving riddles, puzzles and mysteries and knows all the countries of the world including their capital cities. He is obsessive in his pursuit of order and is prone to compulsive behaviour. Colours matter to him very much; yellow and brown are bad. Touch him and he lashes out; he keeps a Swiss knife for self-defence. He has deep knowledge of the universe and the world. People confuse and frig...
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Sam and the Wallet

SAM AND THE WALLET , By Uche Peter Umez Review by Emmanuel W. Kijem for OHL children educational magazine Sam and the Wallet is an instructive story that looks at the uncertainties faced by today's young people, the power of honesty, the endurance of truth and the warmth of the traditional family. It weaves these into an interesting mix that draws the reader into the fast-moving world of two homeless boys. The storyline presents a sharp contrast between the two boys: one is fully wedded to the solid moral principles he was brought up with and the other has grown into a tough, smart and streetwise character with strong survival instincts. Their two different worldviews collide in many ways but things really come to a head as the storyline quickly winds its way into a laser-like focus on the wallet. The wallet quickly becomes the focal point of and the source of tension between their opposing value systems. The author does a good job of portraying the simple fact that every human be...
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Your role is to play

By Jeanna Gabellini, CPPC, Law of Attraction Expert, publishes the weekly ezine Designing Your MasterPeace. If you're ready to attract more money, a growing business, and great relationships with fun and ease, get your FREE tips and tools now at www.MasterPeaceCoaching.com "We encourage you to decide, as early in life as possible, that your dominant intent and reason for existence is to live happily ever after. That would be a very good career choice: to gravitate toward those activities and to embrace those desires that harmonize with your core intentions, which are freedom and growth and joy. Make a "career" of living a happy life rather than trying to find work that will produce enough income that you can do the things with your money that will then make you happy. When feeling happy is of paramount importance to you and what you do "for a living" makes you happy you have found the best of all combinations." ~ Abraham-Hicks The quote above makes per...
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The Power Paradox

By Dacher Keltner, Ph.D. Professor Keltner is co-editor of Greater Good and a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Originally published in Greater Good magazine , Vol. IV, Issue 3 (Winter 2007-08). For more information, please visit www.greatergoodmag.org . True power requires modesty and empathy, not force and coercion, argues Dacher Keltner. But what people want from leaders—social intelligence—is what is damaged by the experience of power. It is much safer to be feared than loved, writes Niccolò Machiavelli in The Prince, his classic 16th—century treatise advocating manipulation and occasional cruelty as the best means to power. Almost 500 years later, Robert Greene's national bestseller, The 48 Laws of Power, would have made Machiavelli's chest swell with pride. Greene's book, bedside reading of foreign policy analysts and hip-hop stars alike, is pure Machiavelli. Here are a few of his 48 laws: • Law 3, Conceal Your Intentions. • Law 6, Co...
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The Power in Giving

We are all probably familiar with the power of giving. When we give, we draw to ourselves even more of God’s Grace and Goodness. Jesus exhorts us in the book of Mathew to give without relenting. “Heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” (Mathew 10:8). Many people think thatgiving is limited to providing the material needs in life but Jesus brings out the multi-dimensional nature of giving. His call suggests we should also give of ourselves in every way possible, using all our God-given talents, powers and resources. My late grandmother used to tell me that if you cling too tight to money, you’ll never be a rich man. That was another way of reiterating the profound power of giving and the necessity to give continuously. Giving has the power to heal our divisions and unite us as children of the one God. Giving has the power to bring out the essence that is in our lives, the stuff we are all made of – pure love. Givi...
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Keep it Real

The US presidential elections are over, Barack Obama has made history once more in his ongoing series of firsts, taking down age-old barriers and prejudices. He has excited, motivated and brought hope to millions of Americans and people all over the world with a simple but powerful message of unity, sacrifice, service and hope. He built his entire message on the premise of change - change from politics as usual; change from the divisiveness of the cultural and ideological wars fought out of Washington; change from a government that believed its own lies; change from the subversion of science; change from unilateralism in international affairs … as complete a break with the recent past as is practically possible. Obama built a message of change straight from his heart, a message that reflected his life, temperament and values. He delivered it through stirring speeches that hardly left anyone indifferent. The message bore exhortations that have echoed throughout the world and generat...
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