Monday, 8 September 2014

Public Service Announcement : Bottles Bottles Bottles !!


“Every human being is the author of his own health or disease". This Buddha quote in real terms fits perfectly on this blog post. I chose to name this post a public service announcement in the wake of all the many ailments and epidemics running around in the capital and sub region as a whole.

I happened to have chanced on the information online during my regular weekend reads where i randomly pick out blogs and sites to read anything. I have become a fan of reading over the years and i found this note very useful to share to my readers.

We know in recent times, bottles has been the in-thing for packaging soft drinks, fruits juices, our favourite sobolo, brukina to mention but a few, but do you know what chemicals these bottles entails as well as it's hazards to our immune system? Take a read and be aware.

Lately, when buying bottled water, consumers are advised to check the bottom of the bottle, in order to protect their health.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Plastic bottles labeled with letters like HDP, HDPE, PP and a few others, do not release any toxic material in the water, and the remaining letters can represent the chemicals found in the water you are drinking.
Every brand must label the content of the bottle, and we offer you a little help to recognize the toxic water bottles.



PET or PETE – stands for single-use bottles. These bottles can possibly release heavy metals and chemicals that affect the hormonal balance.

HDP or HDPE – plastic that practically releases no chemicals. Experts recommend choosing these bottles, when buying bottled water, because it is probably the healthiest water you can find on the market.

PVC or 3V – releases 2 toxic chemicals that affect the hormones in your body.

AWARENESS IS KEY
LDPE – this plastic cannot be used in the production of bottles, but plastic bags, even though it does not release any chemicals into the water.

PP – another white colored or semitransparent plastic, used as a packing for syrups and yoghurt cups.

PS - releases some carcinogenic substances and it is commonly used in the production of coffee cups and fast food casings.

PC or non-labeled plastic – the most dangerous plastic in the food production which releases BPA chemicals and it is often used in the production of sports water bottles and food containers.





As of today, check the bottom of the bottle twice!



Credits:
Photo: Google

Wednesday, 27 August 2014

Confidence Is All That Matters

Even when you're not talking, your brain is chattering away with inner dialogue. Often the conversation is harmless, more a running commentary than a voice of influence.

But when you run into a challenge, the tone shifts. That innocent self-talk, if uncontrolled, can talk you out of doing things that push you past your comfort zone.

To save you from yourself, listen to these thoughts.


Consciously put a stop to unreasonable worries and replace them with thoughts that embolden and uplift.

Friday, 18 July 2014

When The Pieces are Joined Together

As I journeyed around the country, I was caught up in so many spectacles of the countryside. Some familiar, some beautiful, other disgusting to the eyes, a few mind bugging ones and others that gives hope that are worth tapping.

I happened to be on a project with a production team for a documentary project. I was drafted in to help as a production assistant. It was another experience that was gained and I believe will propel me if any of such similar opportunities are to arise in any of my future endeavors. It afforded me the opportunity to sleep in some very good hotels, enjoyed some sights and sound of the country and met some great people as well,as seasoned production stalwarts, some good township meals and made some valuable networks of people.

As we journeyed along the countryside, by road after connecting via flight in Kumasi to Wa in the a upper West Region, a lot of things caught me eyes. I had a point to shoot camera on me to take some photos and possible videos. This because I love photography and didn't know when I will make that trip up the country again or anytime soon.

Over the years I have been fascinated by the skies after I watched series of videos by Louie Giglio who demonstrated the Awesomeness of God through the galaxies, stars, moon and all that is up skies as we all see with our naked. I am sure you know it's a different thing when you are up there on the moon...at least that is what science and astronaumy teaches us. In recent times, photography has also made it a spectacle to look forward to. Shooting the skies, clouds, sunset, sunrise and anything skyline .
On and on as the journey went on, we had several conversations amongst ourselves on various issues ranging from politics, animal life, history, some fun moments in Ghana's history and many more. In all these, I was looking out for something to photograph so I had a very divided attention looking out through the windows of our bus. I at one point spotted a cloud I thought was beautifully shaped and took the first shot of it. 


As you can see above, it was the first of frames I took. I had no idea of the cloud approaching the sun at that particular moment. Here you can see the cloud adrift the sun. Wait till you see the others as you continue to read this post. It made sense to me later. The next frame follows;


Her you realize this very cloud in the first frame is almost close to the sun. Still at this point I was still taking shots of this particular cloud that caught my attention without knowing the spectacle and reason I could make of it.


Now this frame struck me immediately I saw it. I had stopped taking frames of this particular cloud. At this point our bus was more of moving away from this cloud-sun encounter I was experiencing. Luckily for me this was the only shot of frame I had as the cloud immediately drifted from the sun within seconds and luckily again I guess, I got the very one which moved away from the sun. Check it out now;


All these photos as I said earlier in this post, didn't mean anything special to me when I was going through after we had landed in Wa and had checked into our hotel. I was going through them on my camera until I returned to Accra and downloaded all the photos to my computer. Going through it one by one it then struck me. I took several looks to it trying to figure something out from those set. I later realized the sequence of it and with my little photography appreciation, the pieces came together.

It has taken some time to get this post out for whatever reasons I never knew, I always postponed the publishing of this but now I am sharing it with you my various visitors to this blog. I don't mind sending you the untagged copy of these photos if you'll want to use it for any project. Just go ahead and leave a note in the comment box and I will send them.

I hope this post was worth a read. Till the next post, remember that; WHERE PURPOSE IS UNKNOWN OR IGNORED, ABUSE IS INEVITABLE !!

Cheers!!



Monday, 30 June 2014

Words Words Words- Be Motivated.





If you are frequent visitor to my blog, I am sure you would have noticed some trend. I am passionate about being inspired and motivated. And with my background as a Christian I happen to get this naturally especially in my life and current situations, these words come to me as self motivator to move on.

I know the caption may seem obscure if I can say that but that was the only vocabulary that came to mind in putting down this post.
LIFE IS A GIFT TO BE GRATEFUL FOR


Trouble is a part of life. We live in a fallen world and are part of the fallen race. It is impossible to fathom the magnitude of the troubles that encompass the globe, or even a single breast. It often is overwhelming and even those who profess to believe in God sometimes forget that he is the source of help in the time of trouble.

When struggling with trials, sickness, and losses it must be remembered that God is sovereign and He is working in our life even when we cannot understand the unfolding of his providences. When trouble comes to a marriage, or parents are struggling with a rebellious child, it must be remembered that God's Word is our source of counsel and that God does not forsake them that seek him.

ALWAYS BE HAPPY


Satan may suggest your trouble is too great, that there is no hope; but God is the God of hope and it is to him that you must turn. The psalmist says "they that know thy name will put their trust in thee." True knowledge of God brings trust.

To understand God is all powerful brings you to believe nothing is too hard for him. To understand He is merciful gives you hope to call on him in your time of need. To understand he is faithful assures you He will keep his promises.

Even though it may tarry and seem not to be getting better, the good book always reminds us that in His own time, He maketh all things possible. Be steadfast and put your Trust in Him!!

Positivity Rules!!!

Friday, 23 May 2014

When a Song Gives You a Second Look at LIFE.

Music they say is the food to the soul. Well for me I think it goes even further.

I am a big fan of music where my interests spans very wide. It'll shock you the kind of music tunes I would die to have and listen to. Personally I am a big fan of listening to full albums than singles. I have mostly discovered much better tunes on albums than the very popular ones that might be running wild on the airwaves.

As a background to his post, I will attempt to lay out how two tunes gave me hope and the mindset to take a second look at life and how it could play out with a new framed mentality.

I had been involved in a trust and failure issue one afternoon and was very dejected. Trying to cut myself out, I launched my tunein app on my tablet to listen to some hard music, no matter the genre. I just needed something to fill up my mind for that moment. So randomly, I chose a station from the favorites and with my headphones on, a song being played was just about ending. A few tunes came by and the tune which I think did the trick for me was from Coldplay titled LOST. I had always known this song but never knew the title. Actually there is a rendition of this from BOB and its the tune that drew me to the original. I did a few searches online and I got the title and the lyrics. It has also been downloaded.
 


It ends and the very next tune that comes on was the tune from Labrinth feat Emile Sande and guess the title, BENEATH YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. Initially I didn't know who did the tune so I recede out for my soundcloud application to track who did that tune. I later downloaded it and have been enjoying it. 

After these two particular tunes I was really motivated to take another step and push further no matter what had happened. I got these tunes for myself and the next morning, there were on my playlist for the whole day. I am sure when I put down the lyrics of the two tunes you'll get to understand what I am driving at.

Motivation and upliftment can come in various forms, it could be from a speaker, your pastor, life lessons, friend, or even yourself. This time round I got it from the tunes of the music artists. No matter the genre of music they do, those tunes gave me some hope. I have always said this, I appreciate Life and I will cherish it in any form it comes.

Check out the Lyrics to Coldplay's - Lost below;

Just because I'm losing 
Doesn't mean I'm lost
 
Doesn't mean I'll stop
 
Doesn't mean I would cross
 

Just because I'm hurting
 
Doesn't mean I'm hurt
 
Doesn't mean I didn't get
 
What I deserved
 
No better and no worse
 

I just got lost
 
Every river that I tried to cross
 
Every door I ever tried was locked
 
Ohhh and I'm...
 
Just waiting 'til the shine wears off
 

You might be a big fish
 
In a little pond
 
Doesn't mean you've won
 
'Cause along may come
 
A bigger one
 

And you'll be lost
 
Every river that you tried to cross
 
Every gun you ever held went off
 
Ohhh and I'm...
 
Just waiting until the firing stopped
 
Ohhh and I'm...
 
Just waiting 'til the shine wears off
 

[piano solo]

Ohhh and I...
 
Just waiting 'til the shine wears off
 
Ohhh and I..
 
Just waiting 'til the shine wears off

This song gave me an opportunity to take a second look at Life after my ordeal. I am motivated and encouraged to go on and make it work.

I hope you also don't give up and push on. Maybe this tune and post might help you take a second look at life as it helped me do.

Credits:
Lyrics: AZLyrics
Download Coldplay - Lost EP: Download on iTunes
Download Labrinth - Beneath Your Beautiful - iTunes Download



Wednesday, 14 May 2014

#WhatJayZSaidToSolange - The Meme funside!!

Trust the new era of technological advancement to highlights every little thing into a massive spectacle. That notwithstanding, social media aside it's much tauted benefits can really create humour to the core no matter the situation whether a serious one or not.

It is obvious that during the weekend, one of the famous celebrity families had a brawl and guess where, in an elevator after an event. May be this is the tweet that sparked all the wahala after the incident happened. This tweet has since been deleted thanks to TMZ for this one.

On Monday, popular celebrity gist TMZ released a few post Met Gala footage in what appears to be Solange, Beyonce's younger sister wailing or better ranting at Jay Z in an elevator.
Immediately the footage was released, people took to the various social media platforms, to create either their own opinions of what might have caused that scene, asked questions or get answers to the scuffle exhibited by the footage.

Initially I decided to storify ( Check Out my STORIFY profile) the fun and excitement that went on especially that on twitter but after going through a few more of the tweets, I decided to blog this. My reason, the MEME funside that were blotted online really made me laugh my ribs out.

If you missed some of them, well don't worry, that's the reason for this post. Immediately after the footage was released, the hashtag that came up was #WhatJayZSaidToSolange. And in a few minutes, it was trending on the social media site Twitter.

Sit down, relax and enjoy my side of how things transpired on the platform. I look at the meme version of the brouhaha.












Thinking I had had enough, I chanced on this Vine clip of how many times Solange hit Jay Z, and that blew my head off (I am still alive anyway with my head on...lol). Watch this!


There are many more flying all over social media especially on twitter. Just follow the hashtag link I placed in the earlier paragraph and you'll get more of such meme being paraded.

I hope I made you crack up your ribs a little. Thanks for stopping by my blog once again.





Wednesday, 7 May 2014

When your First Yawa Stares You in the Face




I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.

I am sure you will be wondering what will be coming up in this post especially if you have visited my blog on the previous posts, we'll this time might be a little different. In as much as I will always want to chip in some food for thought or motivation here and there, I also have some real life issues that trust me, some of you readers share. Well I don't mind putting mine here so those of you who relate to it can have some laugh if not more of some sort. At least ahiaa is life as we say it Ghana.

It was a fine Friday evening to fast forward it. The early hours of the day went perfect and even had some free banku lunch sponsoring spree from a colleague. I decided not to go out that evening despite the numerous calls from my folks to get out and chill small.
Sky Line Brakofi
Clouds and Sun


As a social media enthusiast, I participated in a debate online, to be specific a twitter debate, hmm the topic was on sex education and it's implication on society as well as its perception among the various age limits. It was a fruitful one with people sharing various information and sentiments on the subject matter. I really learnt a lot and even had a banter with one of the participant on something that we both didn't agree on. There were a few exchanges on what one thought was the case and others thinking otherwise. All in all it was a good session which ended in some folks with the fastest fingers and connectivity winning some airtime credits.

So I organized my playlist of tunes I will be enjoying at home as I had decided not to step out on that TGIF evening, stepped put to the convenience store nearby to grab some fruit juice to chill out the night all by myself. The fun started for me and I was really getting into the groove to enjoy my alone time at home, and BOOM ( As my personal favorite Piers Morgan of Arsenal) would express anytime his team got a goal in the EPL, the Electricity Company of Ghana did their thing. Dumsor was here in my face, my lights were taken off. The whole neighborhood was shrouded in darkness. To some extent I was so pissed, I made some comments that trust me cant be shared here, if you want to know the few I said, link up with me some where at the corner so I tell you...lol! 

After waiting in the dark room hoping the lights would be brought back, as the minutes ticked, all hope of it been restored proved futile, hence an action for the non-Friday outgoing man stucked at home to take a decision and act on it fast. With less options at my disposal, i concluded in going out then. I then dressed up, took my cards to make some withdrawals when I hit town fully and spotted an ATM. And that was the beginning of more misery for me on that night.

I then stepped out at about 8:30pm, the exact location I had no idea. Jumping into a taxi, I concluded in going to the N'Joy Hotel to trill myself to some cocktail and salad meal as I enjoyed their wifi services to kill the time. They have some good meals there trust me. They are located in Sakumono near the popular Fridays entertainment center and the Sakumono Community Clinic.
Luckily for me, some few steps to the hotel, I spotted my mother bank's ATM. I hurriedly approached it to cash some money.
Accra Brakofi
SkyLine- Accra Ghana


Now the moment of truth beckons. I started the process by keying in my pin and it was verified for me to proceed to the next step. Since I had a fair idea of how much my current balance on the account was, I straight away proceeded to press the Withdrawal button. The machine then asked me to key in the amount I wanted to withdraw. After going through all the 'wahala'(trouble), hoping to see cash come out of the till, BAM.....in my face was the notification on the screen of the ATM, "Sorry your card has Expired, kindly contact any XXX bank branch or the nearest branch available to apply for a new one".

Immediately, my heart stopped beating for a second, disappointment drew all over my face at once. Thereafter I started to ask myself so many questions, like how come I never checked when my card was to expire, but at least the bank should have also sent me a notification about my card's expiration date, so if I had taken a lady out, was that going to be my disgrace and a whole lot more that I will have to pull breaks on.

So with that much disappointment, I gathered myself briefly, then decided to go home like that, luckily I had transportation money that could take me back to my house. After a while I got over it though and now started teasing myself as I walked on the short path to my house that became a very long one all by myself.

Well, it thought me some lessons, that has been recorded in memory because trust me I will not want this to happen a second time. I might not be that second time lucky to even have transportation back home.

This has been my recount of the very Fisrt YAWA of the year 2014 for me. Hope you had fun reading. As always, thanks for stopping by my blog.

YAWA- can be refered to a misfortune....it's a slang used in Ghana.
ATM.....trust me everyone of you reading knows what it is and means.