I became aware of AjegunleLIFE through my computer teacher who usually volunteers for the program.
My initial plan after I graduated from secondary school, was to learn a skill (Makeup). But when I heard about the LIFE program from my teacher, I chose to join the program because I wanted to learn more about ICT and entrepreneurship, which I know will be useful to run my makeup business.
Before I joined the program, my ICT knowledge was negligible. I was not taught computer in the secondary school I attended, and the school didn't have computers. The few times I had access to a computer, I just played games on it, because that is the only thing I knew how to do with a computer.
When I joined the training I was prepared to go an extra mile to get the knowledge that I wanted. And am glad I did. I learnt a lot. Now If I wish to apply for a job, I can write a good CV and proudly include my ICT skills. Also, I have a good knowledge of entrepreneurship that I can use to establish my own business.
My plan after the program is to acquire makeup skill I initially wanted to learn before the program. I plan to use the knowledge I have on entrepreneurship and social media marketing to promote the business. I also have plans to further my education in a higher institution.
An old friend of mine introduced me to AjegunleLIFE program. One of the things that inspired me to join was the change I noticed in my friend. Prior to the training, he was a thoroughly careless and carefree guy. All of a sudden he had been transformed into this serious-minded person. I was intrigued by that change and wanted the same for myself. Another thing was he told about computer programming which he learnt at AjegunleLIFE. That was the first time I heard about computer programming, and it sounded like something that was going to be worthwhile. These two things inspired me to join the AjegunleLIFE program.
You need to understand where I was coming from. I sincerely thought technology was only meant for graduates and wealthy people. Before I joined the program, I thought business was just all about owning a shop, so the thought of starting a business never crossed my mind. Rather I was thinking of going to school, get a job and manage my life anyhow. But now I have discovered what entrepreneurship is, that business can be more than a shop, and one can even run a business online.
My knowledge in ICT before the program was very little, because my schools didn't have computers, and we were not taught computer.
AjegunleLIFE was, therefore, a life-changing experience for me. Within ten weeks, I had gone from not knowing how to boot the computer to using CorelDRAW to make design and playing around with Java. I had learnt how to save money and make investments now. I had learnt how to build a business and sustain in. Within ten weeks, I was fired up to go conquer the world.
Now, I am planning to own a company that will create websites for corporate organization and private individuals. My next step is to learn more programming languages and deepen myself in ICT know-how. Paradigm Initiative has given me a strong foundation, now it is my job to build a great structure on the foundation.
On the 25th of July, 2017, a friend sent me a direct message on Twitter with the link to the Google Policy Fellowship posted on the Paradigm Initiative's website. I was preparing for the first semester examinations in my final year at the University of Ibadan Nigeria at the time and I remember telling him I would check it out after the exams so I could give my all to my application.
My exams came to an end, and I turned my focus to the fellowship application. I went through the requirements and I chose the African Academic Network on Internet Policy as the host organization I would love to work in for two reasons. Firstly, the host organisation is based in Ibadan and I school and live in Ibadan. Secondly, the fellowship's thematic focus included intellectual property, privacy and security, all areas that interested me. I was working on my research on 'Intellectual Property Laws in Nigeria and Digital Media Technologies; A Copyright Perspective' at the time I applied and this fit right in.
The recruitment process was seamless. I applied online, the host organisation sent me a mail with some forms attached and a date for the interview. I filled out all the forms and got ready for my interview. It was a very wet morning and I felt the usual jitters and fear that accompanies interviews. I was also worried that being in school would factor against me.
I was interviewed by a panel of five and they realised I was very tense. So to make me relax, one of the interviewers asked me why I decided to learn Japanese. Talking about that made me relax a bit. They proceeded to ask me questions on Internet Policy, Internet governance, Net neutrality and copyright amongst other things.
They asked me how I was going to balance school and the fellowship program if I got in and I informed them of my flexible timetable for the second semester and how it allowed me time to work adequately. I left feeling quietly confident about the interview.
A final interview with the Project Director of the Network was conducted between myself and another candidate as we were the top two. I was offered the position which I accepted and I signed my contract on the 3rd of October, 2017 as the Google Policy Fellow at the African Academic Network on Internet Policy.
It was exciting resuming at my host organisation, meeting the members of the organisation and learning how things worked in the organisation. In the beginning, I felt odd because I was the youngest person but every single person in the organisation made me feel very welcome. The management worked with my class timetable and we were able to come up with a suitable work schedule.
More of the tasks and skills I learnt can be found here.
It is almost impossible to pick just one time that can qualify as a "best moment" during this period but two particular moments stand out for me. First, it has to be the 1st conference African Academic Network on Internet Policy (AANOIP) organised in December 2017. Organising the conference taught me a whole lot of skills from management, to organisation, research writing, logistics, budget-writing and so on. The second was when I was on a panel on Cybersecurity and Trust at the Nigerian Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) in Abuja earlier this year. It was a scary task but also an opportunity to talk about Privacy and data protection in Nigeria and answer people's questions on privacy issues.
I can't begin to quantify how useful the fellowship has been for me. This fellowship has introduced me to Technology Policy, Privacy and Security. I have had the opportunity to work with and meet a lot of professionals and individuals while writing on internet policy and governance.
At the end of the Fellowship, I will be going to the Nigerian Law School for the compulsory one-year legal training. I also plan on writing the International Association of Privacy Professionals professional examination to be a Certified Information Privacy Professional/ Europe (CIPP/E). After law school, I will serve Nigeria and I hope to do that by working for the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) or Ministry of Communication to have some experience in the public policy space of Nigerian Technology.
This has been the best one year of my life and I am truly grateful for this opportunity.
Adenike Adejuwon serves as a Google Policy Fellow with the African Academic Network on Internet Policy, Ibadan.
Nigerians on social media have expressed concern at the delay surrounding the transmission of the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill by the national assembly to President Muhammadu Buhari for the presidential assent. The much anticipated Bill was passed in March by the Senate, following passage by the House of Representatives in November 2017. Since then, the national assembly has not transmitted the Bill to the Presidency.
In a campaign led by Paradigm Initiative, hundreds of posts were made on twitter and other social media platforms, calling on the national assembly leadership to immediately transmit the Bill to the president. Using the hashtags, #DigitalRightsBill and #HB490, social media campaigners ensured the Bill received adequate attention throughout last week.
According to 'Gbenga Sesan, Paradigm Initiative's Executive Director, "As we have said times without number before, The Digital Rights Bill is an important piece of legislation, not only for human rights in Nigeria but also for the economy of Nigeria. The Bill provides for the protection of human rights online, protect internet users from infringement of their fundamental freedoms and guarantee the application of human rights for digital platform users.
The Bill empowers law enforcement agencies in Nigeria to leverage technology to carry out their work with best practices obtainable anywhere in the world, It also empowers young Nigerians who want to learn, innovate and do other forms of legitimate activities online by safeguarding their rights to do so. The Bill when it becomes law will boost technological innovations in Nigeria and reverse the adversarial tendencies often displayed towards young people who embrace technology by security agencies as demonstrated by recent outrage against SARS in Nigeria.
Creating exceptional digital and graphic design work for a variety of projects and activities such as infographics, website banners and displays, posters, newsletters, maps, charts, posters, corporate souvenirs, banner, signs and digital reports; and providing support to the Communications Officer on tasks including web and social media management.
Design content for websites, newsletters, and media packs etc.
Timely completion of creative design solutions across multiple platforms from conception to completion.
Ensure high quality of design, photography, pre-press and printing output at all times.
Excellent work-life balance with paid annual, casual and sick leave totalling 25 working days per annum.
Apply below via the Google Form.
Do apply immediately, if you are interested in the role, as applications will be reviewed as received, and candidates may be shortlisted and interviewed before the closing date.


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We were rather amused by Rev the two year old Labrador from Windsor Colorado (just north of Denver) who "sings" along with Adele to "Make me feel your love".
We once had an Irish Setter who would dance to the Neil Diamond version of Robert E Lee . Our header is of Jack the Lab who has his own website at Jackthelab.tel!
We'll leave you with Adele's version unaccompanied by Rev!
Links are generally to Wikipedia – we will update Dale Lee's status on discovery!
A rather telling graph from the WSJ in conjunction with Internet Retailer. There's an interactive version available if you want to look at the individual retailers and underlying $ numbers.
The article has arisen apparently because of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pushing for greater disclosure of the eCommerce element of revenues by certain large chains. This arose following a, we think, not untypical statement accompanying a results announcement. In this case it was during a conference call by Target when an almost classic "grew faster than industry averages" statement was attributed to their latest quarters online & mobile sales! Internet Retailer also has the story.
We would be wholly in favour of this increased disclosure by all retailers. To us the proportion of revenues by channel where one is/some are growing, whilst others contract is an important consideration for all investors both here, over there and elsewhere!
Getting back to the sheer size and growth of Amazon it is quite remarkable how little, relatively, market share has been obtained by other top online retailers in the last decade.
In 2003 Amazon represented in revenue terms 30% of the (then) top 11 and Dell was in second place with 16%, third was Office Depot with 15% and the only other one over 10% was Staples at 12% . Now ten years later after the 4 additions (Office Max, Macys, Newegg and WW Grainger) Amazon has grown to just under 50% of the total (48%) and the only other retailer with over $10 billion sales is Staples with a mere 8% of the total.
On the overall size front Amazon overtook for the first time in 2007 THE TOTAL GB online sales and last year at $61 billion was some 26% greater than our £29 billion at current exchange rates ($1.55=£1). OK we know there's some double counting of Amazon sales in the ONS figures but even so ….
This years Tech Rich List retains its popularity, and Peek's Vision has had a lot of views!
Interesting / useful site over at Justdelete.me. In a nutshell it has direct (URL) links to the main social media email & online retailers " delete my account" sections.
We'll leave you with Lady Gaga's latest video release which already has had over 23 million views!
Well, sort of. Mr Zuckerberg (for Facebook) and several "partners" namely, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm and Samsung at this stage, have got together to implement plans to get the remaining 5 billion of us connected to the internet.
We thought it a rather impressive set of words, very well delivered.
The words are sort of extracts (with a bit of poetic licence and some reordering) from J F Kennedy's speech made just over 50 years ago (June 10 1963) at the American University.
We've done a Pdf from the JFK Library transcript italicising the video's content (it starts on page 2) and at the end we've done our transcript from the Internet.org video.
Here's the original speech – to be honest we think this definitely, in delivery terms, far outshines the latest cover version!
Increasingly trailers for upcoming TV series are, sort of, prereleased on the internet.
Here's J J Abrams latest teaser.
If you want, sort of, analyses / hypotheses about the likely event then read this, otherwise just wait & see!
Bad Robot is J J Abrams production company.


Michael Goodfried is a staff attorney for the e-discovery analysis and technology (e-DAT) group. Mr. Goodfried manages all aspects of the e-discovery process, from advising clients on document retention and information governance, through document production and litigation support. Mr. Goodfried has managed e-discovery on multi-billion dollar lawsuits, government investigations, and international arbitration. Mr. Goodfried's role also includes evaluation and testing of new e-discovery software; training lawyers and staff on the use of e-discovery software; and managing Legal Holds for several clients.
Mr. Goodfried is a frequent speaker at CLEs and presented at the Ringtail User Conference. He is a graduate of the University of California, receiving a degree in economics. He then attended Boston University School of Law, where he graduated with honors. He was an editor of the Annual Review of Banking Law, and published an article on mergers and acquisitions.


text:
Zombie Media: Should It Stay In The Grave?
By Izen Martinez	in Comics, Film & Television, Horror, Pop Culture	on April 18, 2021
Walkers. Zed heads. Biters. The Undead. Zombie. For decades, what we've come to know as the classic brain devourer risen from the dead has flooded mainstream media with endless waves of adaptations and interpretations.
George A. Romero being a man of the people
Well regarded as the GodFather of the modern zombie, George A. Romero created the first imagined creation that all future iterations have come to replicate in various ways both successfully and not. Romero's first venture as a feature film director came in 1968 with The Night of the Living Dead. He cited Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am Legend as a source of great inspiration when looking for the unique direction of the creatures in his film. Romero admitted to "ripping" off the idea of even referring to his film's creatures as zombies from Matheson as well: "I mean, Richard starts his book with one man left; everybody in the world has become a vampire. I said we got to start at the beginning and tweak it up a little bit. I couldn't use vampires because he did so I wanted something that would be an earth-shaking change. Something that was forever, something that was really at the heart of it. I said, so what if the dead stop staying dead?". Romero never imagined however, that decades later he'd be responsible for the one of the most popularized genres in modern cinema.
Fast forward to the 2000's with Robert Kirkman's debut graphic novel of a group of survivors making their way in a zombie apocalyptic version of America titled : The Walking Dead. A successful story in its own right that would go on to be adapted into one of the most watched television series in the 2010's. The first crack at a serialized zombie production that became a nationwide phenomenon. Anyone who owned a television was tuning in each week. This eventually led to the 2010's being flooded with more than 50 films based around the undead creatures. Many faltered and none were able to capture the glory of the trailblazers that came before them. The country's obsession with zombie media could only lead to it being shoveled down our throats past any conceivable point of capacity. Hollywood saw they had the golden egg of the decade and wouldn't stop the content train till it went off the rails. The turning point was upon us.
Now in the 2020's, the modern zombie has become an unrecognizable concoction of what Hollywood proposes is what the audience demands in their zombie film. Gone are the days of the dread and suspense built through the ever slowly approaching monster, replaced by marathon sprinters screeching at the top of their lungs. Both deliver horror in their own ways, but one always holds on to something that the other does not – a serious sense of hope. With the modern zombie being able to sprint without tiring, leap further than any normal human being and (in most recent adaptations) having the ability to purposely react and move their bodies to dodge strikes in close quarter combat scenarios, what does the audience have left to look forward to? The heart and soul of the zombie genre since its inception has always been the struggle by our protagonists to survive against overwhelming odds. There was always a sliver of hope for any group due to the limited mobility of the creature they were facing and there still being a way to navigate in the world. The true fear lies in the audience knowing that once someone gets too close, their fate is sealed and riding the train of suspense through the entirety of the journey. There was a game to be played, a chess match of sorts. A handful of rooks and knights attempting to not be overwhelmed by a board completely filled with pawns who by themselves were not a threat but in mass were an unstoppable force. The creatures from films such as World War Z and Zach Snyder's upcoming Army of the Dead leave no such room. There is no chess match, no back and forth where hope can survive without extreme showcases of suspension of belief must be executed. The pawns have all been replaced by Queens who don't abide by the rules of the board any longer and instead become a free for all with no foundation.
Zombie ingenuity in the in the 21st century at it's finest – The Zombie Pyramid
Despite its over saturation in media, the zombie genre continues to be a constant source of popularity. With its evolution, the standard of appreciation will inevitably shift along with it. The demand for a faster paced and action oriented film will only increase. Does this speak to a much bigger issue at hand pertaining to audience attention span? Are audiences in favor of films that demand less investment mentally and provide the pay off in nonsensical action sequences. Is there no longer a need for a dynamic plot with interwoven character arcs that ask me to invest myself emotionally in its characters? Are we now transcending into the age of Zombie-Action franchises? Ask yourself, is this truly what's best for cinema and the legacy that George Romero created? Zombies should not be the next vampire. Remember what Twilight did to the vampire? Yea, that's where we're headed folks. Fuck you, Stephanie Meyer.
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Tags: film, genre, george romero, Horror, Television, the walking dead, twd, walkers, walking dead, world war z, zombie, zombies
Published by Izen Martinez
A former sports journalist making the big leap off the deep end in to his true passion - nerd culture. If there's anything I want readers to take away from my work, it's that they leave with any lasting impressions. If you come back next week, then I've done my job.	View all posts by Izen Martinez
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2 comments on "Zombie Media: Should It Stay In The Grave?"
emiileo says:
Here's hoping that the Resident Evil Reboot takes a lesson from the game, Resident Evil 7 in having a more nuanced character driven story as opposed to giant action set pieces and Micheal Bay levels of Explosions everywhere.
thenerdandco says:
We may just have to cross our fingers and hope to see a resurgence on the indie circuits perhaps. Festivals may be the key to bringing the genre to a grounded and narrative driven formula that has always been paramount.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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I was an ultra-shy child who hardly said a word. My mum still can't believe I am now a public speaker!
Art has been the biggest part of my life since I could hold a pencil. I created my own art desk from a very young age and have continued to fill notebooks/sketchbooks my whole life.
I am formally trained as a primary teacher, special education teacher and art teacher. My illustration side is just one arm of my art world. I also paint in oils, pastels, pencil portraits, etc. My art journey is always evolving as new opportunities arise and my direction expands.
I love watercolour at the moment—and creating collage work, which is kind of funny, as it has taken me over 30 years to feel comfortable with this medium. My artwork always comes from my heart—sometimes it feels like I am possessed. There are many times I look at illustrations I have done and wonder how on earth I have created them!
I generally start with a scratchy idea, sometimes on a scrap of paper, a sticky note or, if I am lucky, in my sketch book. When illustrating for a publisher, I take these ideas and start with some rough sketch layouts, then once approved (with all changes), I complete final rough sketches to 100% of the final book size.
I then begin painting my final illustrations—after I have stretched all the paper, of course!
To be honest, I am not sure how I manage to balance everything. I have a family of four boys who keep me very much on my toes. I try to have a routine, but I learned very early on in parenthood to adapt and be flexible. I draw/paint every spare second I have. I carry a sketchbook and pencil case EVERYWHERE I go. Many of my book illustrations begin in these sketchbooks.
My sketching and drawing are done anywhere. I have never been much of a TV watcher until we got Netflix! Now, my favourite place to sketch is on my comfy couch while bingeing on a Netflix series.
I am also very blessed to have a beautiful studio where I complete all my painting. For many years, it was a storage room. A couple of years ago, as my youngest child grew older, I was finally able to spend more and more time out there. It is my absolute haven and I have been known to disappear out there until the early hours of the morning many of times!
The Challenge (founded by my dear friend Tania McCartney) has changed my world. Not only have I produced a lot of artwork for my portfolio, I have also made lifelong creative friends who are just like me.
Being the Challenge Director, I have gained such delight in watching others grow, develop, fall in love with their own artwork and blossom to become amazing creators.
Since the beginning of the Challenge in 2014, I have been contracted to illustrate seven children's books.
The launch of Grandma Forgets is on Saturday the 16th of September at Beaumaris Library in Melbourne, Australia. You will find all the details here.
I am currently illustrating three books, with a fourth signed to start early next year. These are due January 2018, August 2018, September 2018 and March 2019. Phew...... no wonder I am so busy!
I have a range of greeting cards with Nuovo Group, and the majority of the illustrations were from Challenge themes! I love cards, and I love seeing my illustrations on gift cards.
I have written a number of stories I would LOVE to find time to work on and illustrate. One in particular is very close to my heart… timing is everything in this industry!
I am a second Dan Black Belt in karate (a great qualification to have bringing up 4 boys!), and I was an only child until I was adopted by my Dad and his two sons (I don't think of them as step brothers though).
Thank you for sharing Nicky! LOVE your studio and your tiny black pencil.
What a wonderful story, Nicky. Thanks for sharing. I'm with Penelope on this. Your studio is gorgeous. What a delicious work space.


text:
Address by the President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor at the ceremony marking the opening of the monument to all victims of wars and war-related victims
Ljubljana, 13. 7. 2017 | press release, speech
The President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor today attended the ceremony marking the opening of the monument to all victims of wars and war-related victims.
The address given by the President at the ceremony is published below (the spoken text will prevail in the event of differences):
Esteemed relatives of victims,
Slovenians at home and around the world,
Fellow citizens,
Excellencies,
With the creation of its own state, the Slovenian people established itself as a nation. With the unveiling of this central national memorial to all victims of wars and war-related violence, it now establishes itself as a mature nation.
We gain, with this memorial, a central space for shared remembrance. A people, a nation, a mature nation is constituted by its shared memories. What we are, we are because of our memories. That is not to say that they are identical, uniform or even the same. They are, however, shared. Now we stand on the shoulders of these memories and look to the future together.
It sometimes seems as though history has been testing the Slovenian nation – sternly and cruelly – to see whether it has, at last, attained the maturity it needs to look after itself and, together with others, the modern world. The hand of foreign enemies has attacked us. Brother has raised his hand against brother.
The road to national and political freedom has been a long one, soaked with ebbing life force and bathed in bitter, sorrowful tears. Along it, on either side of the road, or forgotten, far from it, lie the victims.
Now we have at last symbolically summoned the echoes of all their suffering souls to find redress, repose and peace in one place.
And it seems to me that I can hear their sincere appeal – no more war, no more fratricidal war, never again. Like an echo of Prešeren's lines: "Let oneness, happiness, reconciliation return to us."
This memorial, then, invites all of us, all Slovenian men and women, to pacification and reconciliation.
It has been erected in memory of all victims of the wars suffered by the Slovenian nation, and events connected to them.
It is a memorial to:
the victims of the First World War,
the combatants who died fighting for the northern border and in Carinthia,
the men and women of the anti-fascist TIGR movement,
the men and women who fell in the National Liberal Struggle,
the victims of revolutionary and counter-revolutionary violence,
the victims of extrajudicial killings and wrongful convictions, and
the victims of the war of Independence of the Republic of Slovenia in 1991.
I will endeavour to ensure that this is stated in written form somewhere near the memorial.
Although this central national memorial commemorates, first and foremost, all victims and those who have died, in a metaphorical sense it will actually speak to the living, to all who will stand in front of it. It will urge us to seek coexistence, understanding, forgiveness, cooperation, peace and reconciliation. Within our own nation and with others.
The memorial invites us to reflect, to think. No one is obliged to accept this invitation. Everyone must act according to their own conscience, and freely.
Even as regards this memorial and its messages. Everyone has the right to understand them in their own way. And yet it seems to me that there is a kind of metaphysical, profound human duty: that no one should hate anyone.
Or, if I may borrow the words of Kocbek: righteous anger is understandable and even necessary. Yet at the same time Kocbek warns that "it would be good if among us there were less hatred, that deaf instinct that is hammered into the earth."
I am very proud to be a Slovenian. Not because of a sense of superiority in comparison to other nations. But because I have no sense of inferiority of any kind.
Without fear, my nation, the nation I belong to, now stands on the shoulders of the past in freedom and gazes steadfastly at the challenges of the future. We will survive, because despite all our quarrels, we do not hate each other.
Our children will be spared this terrible emotion. They will be brought up in a spirit of coexistence, respect and cooperation.
The words spoken by Antigone shine through more than two thousand years of human civilisation and culture: "I was not born to hate, but to love."
This memorial is a monument to love.
Photo: STA/Nebojša Tejić


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text:
Bourgoin-Jallieu és un municipi francès del departament de la Isèra i la regió d'Alvèrnia-Roine-Alps.

Referències

Municipis de la Isèra

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


It's interesting. A couple of my housemates keep trying to talk me into changing careers. They tell me that teaching makes beans and isn't worth the effort. I find it interesting that people can have such differing takes: In my family teaching is a good job and the average house in my hometown costs around $200,000, but in the neighborhood I now live, $400,000 is a bargain home. The smaller homes around here cost $600,000 to $700,000 and people drive around Porsches because it is a status symbol. And apparently, teachers make beans…The job is not worth the effort. Teaching may not be a worthwhile job to them, but it is to me. You don't make a lot but you don't make minimum wage either. I think it is fair. I want to work in a field I enjoy, not one where the money is the goal. Perhaps that makes me narrow-minded and lazy as it is a lot more tiring to do work you don't enjoy. I know myself and I know I don't have the energy to do something I don't love. Maybe if I had a family to support, I'd muster up the energy, but teachers are pretty capable of supporting a family with a little saving so at the moment, a career change seems completely unnecessary.