It has already been a fantastic year for Modern British Art publications ranging from the very best in British Design to long awaited monographs on renowned masters of modern art in Britain.

The highly anticipated John Piper in Kent & Sussex concentrates on Pipers love of the British Landscape. With contributions by acclaimed experts including Alexandra Harris, David Heathcote and Richard Ingrams this title explores the full breadth of Pipers art including the stained glass and church vestment works produced for the Romney Marsh Churches and the famous Chichester Cathedral Tapestry commission. Some of Pipers most important works were produced in Kent & Sussex, and for those with a particular interest in Sussex includes notable works from the collection at Pallant House Gallery.

John Piper in Kent & Sussex is a must for both Piper fans, and those interested in art works associated with the Sussex and Kent Landscape.

Following the success of the recent publications on Ravilious – Ravilious in Pictures and Ravilious at War, the third volume in the trilogy has now been published. Ravilious in Pictures: A Country Life features twenty-two beautiful watercolours painted in north-west Essex and on the coast. Accompanying essays by James Russell explore the artist’s home life, introducing the people and places he know around the villages of Castle, Hedingham and Great Bardfield, and offering insights into the culture and customs of 1930s England.

For those with a passion for design there have already been a number of comprehensive books published.

The revised and updated version of Lesley Jackson’s Robin & Lucienne Day: Pioneers of Contemporary Design and A Symbol for the Festival: Abram Games and the Festival of Britain by Naomi Games are just a taste of the collection of design publications released in 2011.

Both books celebrate British design at its best and coincide with the 60th Anniversary of the Festival of Britain and the current revival of interest in post-war art and design.

For those interested in post-war British painting, the long awaited and first ever full-scale monograph on John Craxton, written by Ian Collins will be welcomed. Illustrated throughout in colour, this book brings to life his paintings from the early neo-romantic pastoral pieces to the vibrant paintings inspired by Crete. The book examines Craxton’s important role in post-war British art and covers his early relationship with Lucian Freud. It also looks at his wonderful work for ballet and book designs.

Later in the year, Pallant House Gallery will be holding the first major retrospective of the work of Edward Burra since 1985. The large collection of his paintings on show will be accompanied by a major publication written by Simon Martin and will bring to light previously unpublished paintings.

Bulldozers or “Crawler Tractors” first appeared in the 1930’s have proven themselves over the decades for earth moving, ground clearance and demolition, the most popular and well-known brand of machine is Caterpillar (CAT).

Bulldozers with their high-powered diesel engines are crawler type tractors. Bulldozers are for far more heavy-duty work than standard tractors typically using heavy-duty tracks instead of pneumatic tyres allowing them to spread their weight far more evenly over the surface, and allowing them to go places that rubber tyres would fail. Although they run slower than the average tractor they will be far more stable on uneven ground and due to the far greater surface area they are far less likely to sink into soft surfaces.

Bulldozer tracks allow these huge machines fantastic manoeuvrability and mean they can spin on their own axis. The bulldozer relies on its weight and strength to get the job done and are seen around the world re-shaping and clearing the ground.

Usually the bulldozer will have a front blade for moving and grading the soil and moving large objects. The front blade will be able to move up and down and tilt from side to side using its hydraulic pump. A ripper blade is sometimes fitted at the rear of the machine and using its hydraulic pump is forced into the ground to tear up any obstacles in the ground that were preventing the bulldozer from moving the earth.

Bulldozers will always be used in the building, forestry and agricultural industries due to their massive power and heavy-duty tracks. Other brands include Komatsu, JCB, John Deere, Case, Terex and Fiat-Allis. The main purpose of the bulldozer will always be to either clear the ground or move the dirt.

Food is one of our basic needs. Apart from that, most of us regarded food as a passion and perceive it with some degree of indulgence. And with the wide diversity of people and culture, there is such a wide variety of food and cuisine out there as well to cater to everyone’s taste buds. Now, since life provides boundless opportunities, there is no reason why you should miss to savor every food and cuisine that each region on Earth has to offer.

One of the most exotic food there is available is the Asian cuisine. Asian food, in all its hues and tastes, is becoming increasingly popular and well-liked by many Westerners. When compared to the food in American and European continent, the foods in Asia tends to stand out because of its diversity. The vast number of countries in Asia offer endless varieties of food, far different from each other. Indian food, for instance, has a wide array of cuisines to try out that it would take several lifetimes for even a food lover to taste and relish it all. On the other hand, Northern India has its own delectable examples of Asian food to offer you, while Southern India offers a whole lot more. Don’t underestimate the regions of North Eastern India as it is also abound with several examples of truly Asian food. In fact, they offer an amalgam of Burmese, Bhutanese and Bangladesh food. Moreover, Western India will never let herself fell behind from carving a name in the annals of Asian food.

Now, let’s go a little further into Asia. There is another Asian nation, the Singapore, which is known as the hub of authentic Asian food. A vast array of endless cuisines from various Asian regions can be found here. There is authentic Thai food, Chinese food, Nonya food or the cooking world’s last great secret. Also, there is the Peranakan food that is unique to the straits.

How about in the Far East? What is there to delight in? It is where the best example of Asian food is located – no other than the Japanese and Korean cuisine. As far as Asian food goes as a genre, Japanese and Korean cuisine has been re-defining the entire genre. How come? The Asian cuisine is supposed to be predominantly rice-oriented, right? But as you may have observed, a vast majority of Japanese, Korean and Chinese dishes use noodles in their dishes, instead of rice. Another thing, Asian food is supposed to be overcooked. However, what would you say about Sushi then? It is probably by far the best-known Asian food that is consumed raw.

Indeed, each country in the region of Asia has its own, unique cuisine, vastly different even from the cuisine of surrounding regions. Foods in Asia can therefore be considered as a classification of convenience, because these disparate cuisines are otherwise unclassifiable. There is no wonder why there has been a growing population of supporters and consumers of delicious, delectable Asian food.

Americans like to believe they are “#1” in everything, but what about our educational system? According to statistics, the American educational system needs to be reassessed and reshaped in a number of ways. Standardized testing scores lag far behind Asian Countries, and what’s more, our science and math levels are far below the average Asian scale. But what’s really at stake here, is not the educational reformations that need to be done, but that need to be seen in different perspectives. Western and Eastern philosophies tend to take on far right or far left stances and some middle ground should be met.

While westerners look to Asia in hopes of restructuring its educational framework, so are The Orients looking to western America. The process is running counteractive and parallel at the same time. How we reach optimal educational attainment is up for debate, and the two perspectives could not be more different in approach. It may be a bit difficult to approach this topic without stereotyping the East and the West. However, it remains that the most obvious difference is the philosophies of the east and west. Eastern implications of hard work, obligations, and educational success is capitalized and heavily emphasized in Asian philosophies. Not to say that the western mentality doesn’t also emphasize this, but it is approached much more lightly and not so intensely. Anyone from an Asian background knows either from personal experience or someone that grew up with a strict schedule of studying, maintaining grades, and learning material before it is taught in class, and even getting tutored after school. Academics and after school activities are extremely emphasized in the Asian philosophy of education and it is simply not explored in that extent in western countries.

On the other hand, Asia is also looking west as a role model in education. What is different here thought, is not to mimic our educational models, but to incorporate some western perspective in addition to their strict educational paradigm and framework. Education in Asia may be too strict, high-pressured, stressful, and too stifling in some cases. At its most extreme, of course any educational approach will not be as successful if they are too strict in any means. Most Asian countries are not trying to find other ways to include creative, fun, and less high pressure ways of incorporating education into their children’s lives. Extreme parenting may still be prevalent in eastern countries, but they are surely looking to western philosophies to lighten the load of academics.

Perhaps educational shifts may be met if we learn from both sides and take on a middle, more regulated and less method of pursuing education. As America’s universities as the envy of all countries, it seems that we are doing something right, in our own way. What we need to reassess is what America is missing that these Asian countries seem to be excelling – in science, math, determination, dedication, etc. Anyone can develop and instill a strong work ethic and it is through combing both eastern and western philosophies that we can both learn from each other and improve.

America has also capitalized on online accredited education, something that eastern worlds are lagging far behind in. Accredited online colleges give students an additional outlet to learn on their own time, which is another example of why the strictness of Asian educational systems seem not to be the best approach to education.

One sign the economic impact of the coronavirus may be easing is a significant drop in initial jobless claims reported in mid-March by the Department of Labor, representing the lowest levels seen yet during the pandemic. Another indicator of improving economic activity is that airports recently recorded their busiest days in over a year. While the United States and the rest of the world still have a long way to go to return to something resembling pre-coronavirus normalcy, the signs of recovery are there-and with vaccines rolling out, there is a sense of growing optimism.

“Among our customers, we’ve found that essential business travelers have continued to take to the skies and the roads throughout the pandemic, though in a somewhat limited capacity, while others, including students, have tended to stay closer to home,” explains VP of Marketing for Anaheim, California-based company Mobile Edge, which specializes in producing protective laptop cases, backpacks, and accessories for two of the segments hit hardest by the coronavirus lockdowns: travelers and students. “Whatever their situation, whether they’ve remained on-the-go or they’ve been working or learning from home, consumers have come to rely on Mobile Edge for peace of mind in organizing and protecting their expensive computer gear and valuable data.”

Just what 2021 holds in terms of travel, mobility, and prospects for a return to more traditional work and school settings is anybody’s guess. The signs are there, and airlines and hotels continue to operate under heightened safety and sanitization measures, but most consumers seem to be adopting a “wait-and-see” attitude. In the meantime, professionals and students still need solutions for protecting, organizing, and powering up their laptops, tablets, smartphones, gaming consoles, and other accessories.

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A traditional story relates how one fine day a group of monks were transporting the bones of a Dark Age Welsh Saint from one shrine to another. Having grown weary, the monks rested at a house along the way. One of the other residents of the house was moaning pitifully in pain and so the good prior took some water and blessed it solemnly.

Then most strangely the Prior took a little of the “earth” he found in the skull of a saint and “caused the party to drink it; which was no sooner passed downe into the sicke mans stomack, but he fell soundly asleep, and when he awaked, found himselfe of his daungerous and painefull infirmity perfectly recovered.”

This little story reveals succinctly the existence of a perception that the skull or head of a holy or blessed person could heal – or at least, the contents could. It is also part and parcel of the ‘skull and well’ phenomena, which has perplexed scholars for decades. No distinct idea has come through all the research and scholarly reasoning to clearly explain the reason for the link between the well and the skull or head. So let’s just turn to Skull Cups for a moment and see if there is anything peculiar to help us on our way.

Skull Cups

In Sanskrit these mysterious objects are known as kapala (hence cap and cuppella for cup[1]) and they are generally formed from the oval section of the upper cranium. They served as libation vessels for large numbers of deities, which were mostly wrathful. However, these skull cups are not always associated with wrathful deities, they are also seen with gods such as Padmasambhava who holds the ‘skull cup’ described as holding an ocean of nectar (Elixir) which floats in the longevity vase.

The selection of the right skull is paramount and the users were looking for Tantric powers. Therefore a violent death would always be better, such as decapitation. The symbolism of the Tantric Skull Cups is very similar to the Grail in that they are symbolic of immortality. Even some western alchemical writings advise the use of skull cups in the process of the “great work.” Whereas the Chinese alchemists used cups or vessels made from the “gold” of the great work.

In Old German skull is Scala, which is also a seashell; the symbol used by pilgrims on their way to the shrine of St. James in Spain – a symbol of life. Old Norse it is Skel, which means, “to have scales” or be “scale-like.” The word skoal, now a fairly common drinking cry is also closely related and means to “toast from a skull.” This alone shows the deep-seated element of the skull in Western Europe of the use of a skull for drinking, as skoal was also used to refer to chalice! (The Ukrainian word Cherep refers both to skull and chalice.)

We must not forget the Christian Messiah was also crucified at the ‘place of the Skull,’ Golgotha. That is, his blood was spilt into the skull! But there is more to this than meets the eye.

This place, Golgotha, is also connected to the sign Capricorn – the half-goat, half-fish or serpent. Capri is from Latin, meaning “goat” or “head,” and corn is “horn.” This then, is the ‘horn of the head’ or ‘goat’ – the Golgotha.

So Jesus spilt his blood into the secret Grail on that fateful day – the secret Grail being the horn or cup of the skull.

Like the serpent blood is found in the Skull Cups, so too is the blood of Jesus.

Now we can see why the Baphomet head of the Templars was seen as a skull AND a goat; it was a hidden mystery; a mystery which has been misunderstood ever since. The Brazen Serpent, the healing snake, Christ, was lifted up at the place of the skull and his offering of blood was collected – the ultimate sacrifice on the tree of life for the ultimate prize of immortality.

The Tantric skull cups are said to parallel the clay pots of the Vedic sacrifices and the begging bowl of Buddha, which we found in one myth contained the serpent. It is there to serve as a constant reminder of death. The contents of which are often blood, but also the blood of Rudra – the ‘Lord of wild animals’ like Cernunnos.

Rudra’s etymological origins are uncertain. It could mean “the red one” or “the weeper”, or as we have seen previously Rhad means serpent. In other areas it also means the removal of pain or healer. Rudra is identified with Siva and he is the divine healer and we know that Siva is seen as a ‘horned god’ and is connected with the serpent worship. Both Siva, and ‘Siva in the form of Rudra’ are seen in their dynamic aspect as being entwined with serpents. These are serpent deities of old and are connected here with the cup of the head, bringing several disparate elements together – probably because of their being closer to the origin. They have the element of being associated with serpents and they are regenerative serpent deities offering longevity via their blood within a cup.

Livy in Historae mentions a similar Celtic operation from the 3rd century and simply must be connected to the Indian skull cups. Apparently the Boii tribe when they got hold of a victim “cut off the head, and carried their spoils in triumph to the most hallowed of their temples. There they cleaned out the head, as is their custom, and guilded the skull, which thereafter served them as a holy vessel to pour libations from and as a drinking cup for the priest and the temple attendants.”

The sacred water used in the skull cups was often taken from a holy well, where we have established were places linked intrinsically with the worship of the ancient serpent – the idea here is that this ritual practice goes back beyond even the total memory recall of the Celts to a time when the cups employed the real power of the serpent, not just symbolic water. And this is where the story of the serpent and that of St Teilo merge and fuse into one.

As we have already seen the Tricephalic deity heads of Celtic times were hidden, or lodged in wells and watery holy places. The same is true of many cultures, from across the world and across time. Why?

There seems to be a pattern of the offering of heads and skulls of “special people” into a well or spring, followed by the drinking of the water of the well, or indeed the immersion of the body or parts of the body within the water. This placing of the head was not necessarily therefore an offering – more a medical practice . . . the giving of a sacred head, in exchange for health benefits. A votive offering of the most important part of the sacrificial human – like the head of the Baptist on a plate – but which was then altered into items that were human made in similar fashion as we got a little more civilized.

This process became even more direct when the drinking of the water straight from the skull was initiated. We had to wonder, just how far back did this practice go? Especially as we were to discover the practice was universal, with the previously mentioned Tantric Skull Cups also being found in Hindu cultures and similar practices in the Middle East. The question remained however, was it the skull, or the water, which was the healer? And, although it is fairly obvious that neither can heal, what origin did these strange practices point back to?

Back to St Teilo

As far back as the Roman period, Livy – writing in around 17 AD – described how Celtic warriors decorated skulls with gold and used them for drinking cups and for offerings to their gods. It is believed that this was the origin of such practices as those seen not too long ago with the famous St. Teilo’s skull.

St. Teilo’s well is in Wales, at Llandeilo Llwydarth, where the water is renowned the world over for its healing abilities. The skull, Penglog Teilo, is said to be the oldest surviving Welsh skull, still used for healing purposes – indicating the fact that there were indeed many others. At Carmarthen the skull of Ffynnon Llandyfaen was used in the same way – as was the skull of a Welsh nobleman named Gruffydd ap Adda ap Dafydd.

In a paper published in 1893 Sir John Thys cited the examples of Ffynnon Elian and Ffynnon Deilo as remnants of the priestly caste of ‘well keepers’, which had survived into modern times. But why would this practice have occurred? Why would it be so widespread and so ancient?

The answer is to be found in several places but firstly, and as we discovered in The Serpent Grail [2] – the wells and springs of the world are almost entirely linked with the serpent – especially in the healing aspect.

In cultures around the globe the Elixir of Life is hidden beneath the seas and is guarded by the serpent. In the Celtic culture the water is the hiding place and realm of the ‘serpent goddess.’ It is an ancient and wide-ranging association. But, why is the head also associated with these healing waters?

The answer to this one has been made increasingly more difficult with the inception of the Christian church. The church simply could not put up with the paganism found at these places, and, unable to stop the beliefs, which were thousands of years old, they simply hijacked them. Now there are wells across Europe, which are known as the ‘wells of the saints.’ The local pagan cult (which was more universal than local) was adopted into the fold of the Christian church and a “local” saint reinstated in its place. The most common Celtic goddess associated with the serpent and the wells was Brigid, who rapidly became St. Bridget.

Now, scraping back the years of Christian mold which has overgrown the true meaning of the wells and heads is ever more difficult, but not impossible. In-order to do this we decided that we needed to go through some of the stories for ourselves.

Although we in no way agree that there was a head cult as such, it can be easily seen, why some scholars have gone down this path. Take St. Julian for example: From Brioude in the Auvergne, his cult is first mentioned by Gregory of Tours in the sixth century – the same period that Arthur Pendragon is said to have lived. St. Julian is said to have been beheaded next to a spring and later this spring is then said to begin to heal people. None of this is necessarily true in a literal sense. What it may indeed be is a survival of a much older folktale, stolen once again by the church and therefore almost losing its original meaning. But, we can still see the skull or head being associated with the healing waters of the serpent deity. We were amazed to discover that virtually the same story is to be discovered in the stories of the founding Saint of the Sinclair family – the same family intricately linked with the Templars, the Holy Grail, Rosslyn Chapel and the Masons.

The name Sinclair comes from the hermit St. Clare or St. Clere who lived in the town, which is now known as St. Claire sur l’Epte and is located to the northwest of Paris. The area is now known as Normandy, after the Norse invaders, some of whom would later become the actual Sinclair’s.

Clare was born in Kent, England, to a noble family in the ninth century. It is said that his father wanted him to marry a rich heiress. But Clare was austere and aloof. He was too holy to be considered for such things. The lady however took no notice and pursued him with her wily charms. Finally Clare escaped her clutches, but she promised revenge and he had to run to Neustria (Normandy) where he began to live as a hermit.

Eventually the healing abilities of this Buddha like character made him famous and people flocked to him from far and wide. Moving his hut from first ‘this place’ and then ‘that,’ there was no escaping the people seeking cures.

Clare’s past was about to catch up on him however, as the rich heiress, seeking her revenge sent her agents to France to find him. On the 4th November 884, Clare was found in his hut at the side of the River Epte. He had been beheaded. This became the symbol for St. Clare, as it was for St. Denis – the figure of a man with his decapitated head in his arms. And St. Clare’s head and bones are said to reside in the local church, separated by the Altar.

It is said that the blood flowed from his neck in gushes and that a new spring emerged from the ground where the blood had flowed. The hut was transformed into a chapel, the chapel into a church and eventually the quiet, remote hermits dwelling place became the town of St. Clare sur l’Epte. Now the Salle de Fete (Town Hall) at St. Clare sur l’Epte is built entirely of wood from Norway, with the gables being marked with dragon’s heads.

The whole idea that a spring should emerge from where the blood of the dead healer fell is obviously nonsense. It is just not possible, and so, it must be a creation of symbolic element. The wells and springs of the day, and as far back as man can go, have been seen as places of healing and associated with the serpent. That this holy healer, who resided sometimes in caves, had his head chopped off and his blood creating holy water is full of clues. It is not, however, an unusual occurrence.

St. Julian of Brioude in the Auvergne was beheaded at the side of a spring, and later this very same spring was said to be able to cure. St. Juthware’s Well at Halstock in Dorset was created where the head of the saint came to rest – strangely right beside a sacred and so called miraculous Oak Tree. St. Thomas’s Well at Windleshaw was risen where the priest was decapitated during the persecution of Catholics, and there are many more.

The person said to be responsible for the death of St. Clare though was a woman; a similar tale to the Arthurian tale where a lady has a knight decapitated in-order to gain healing power. We also find that the patron Saint of the Sinclair’s is actually St. Katherine, who is often pictured holding the sword, which severed her head!

There is a real reason that the Sinclair’s found their origin in this place. The legacy was theirs to take, or so they believed. But just how did the Sinclair’s come to claim the legacy of the healing saint?

During this ninth century period the swift ships and navigational skills of the Vikings were making life difficult for many Europeans. They were able to swoop down onto a village or town – and although outnumbered by the townsfolk – it is by their speed and surprise that they are able to pillage the area. No sooner had the people realised what had occurred than their attackers were off, back to sea.

What helped them of course was also a difference of religion. The Christians would not attack churches. The Vikings on the other hand seem to relish the prospect, as they were themselves pagans – their religion based around many gods, including the large element of dragon lore.

However, one of these Viking rulers became Christian, Rollo, the first Duke of Normandy, and it is he who became the first in a long line of Sinclair’s, right down to, and beyond, the builder of Rosslyn Chapel – which has the largest collection of Green Men, heads, serpents and dragons we have ever seen in one confined space. This place is linked so deeply with the story of the Holy Grail, that it is therefore no surprise to see it linked-in with the initial stages to the ‘cult of the head’ – as if to see the Sinclair’s associate themselves with it, and then later to hide it.

Rollo, as the first Sinclair, became known as Sanctus Clarus, the ‘Shining Light’ and it is this shining light, which was to become one of the biggest clues in the search for the real Holy Grails. The book, Head of God by Keith Laidler claims that the head of Jesus is in Rosslyn, however we checked with the Rosslyn Templars in-order get their opinion on the matter, the response very kindly came forward “The official position regarding the possibility of the embalmed head of Jesus Christ being at Rosslyn Chapel is that no one knows what is below the chapel. The other ‘official’ position, from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, is that the head of Christ is not at Rosslyn Chapel.” (Email received on 23rd May 2003.) Even though there are several attempts to find something at Rosslyn, to date, nothing like the Grail or the Head of Christ has been found.

The truth of all this? The link between the head, the water and the serpent is now simple to comprehend and once thus understood the “shining” element of Sanctus Clarus will become also apparent. You see, the serpent is a world-wide archetypal image from the Other Realm [3] of existence, the place where the ancient shaman, witch, priest, whatever, would go to on our behalf for healing and to converse with the spirits. There are many aspects to this serpent, some beneficial, some terrifying – but it is universal. Water on the other hand was the abode of the serpent as it was the access to the Other Realm. Those who could “walk on water” were adepts at holding the position between this world and the next. We cannot live beneath the waves and so it must be the place after death. The skull is the container wherein lies our consciousness and our connection to these Other Realms. All three aspects come into full union when we access the part of our mind, which induces altered states of consciousness and we become fully enlightened. The gateway to this place is known as the hpnagogic or hypnapompic, between falling asleep or waking, between this world and the next, walking on water.

This ability was special and only the “Baptist” which means to submerge in water, could access this place and therefore his head was special. For this reason the heads of those who were able to access the Other Realm became special to us and we offered their heads to the water deities or indeed upturned their skulls, gilded them and drank from them. We were then ingesting the Other Realm powers within our very selves. Simple really!

Notes

1 The A in cAp covers from above, the U in cUp is a receptor for fluid and these are shapes that have pictographic meaning.

2 The Serpent Grail by Philip Gardiner with Gary Osborn, Watkins, 2005.

3 When we say Other Realm it is simply cover all the myriad names for such a places, which differ slightly across the globe.

I have often lectured and written about the fact that the most effective leaders need to be both committed and persistent. It is important to understand, however, that being persistent and a leader is significantly different than using stubborn leadership. While persistent leaders commit to their vision, and their vision motivates them and others to essential action, it is often the case that ineffective individuals who ascend to leadership often behave certain ways because they are stubborn. Stubborn leadership is when someone in a position of leadership refuses to look at the big picture, won’t change or adapt, refuses to expand his comfort zone, and often behaves in certain ways because his judgment is tainted by his preconceived notions, prejudices, biases, limited experience or expertise, etc. These types of people often believe that they know it all, and are extremely resistant to advanced training or learning.

1. While a persistent leader does all in his power to enhance his communication skill, stubborn individuals neglect open communication and replace it with limited and protected information.

2. An effective leader must always be open- minded, and be willing to change and adapt as necessary. Unfortunately, there are far more people in leadership positions who resist change and adapting, and this stubbornness keeps them from considering alternatives that would permit them to successful evolve for the future.

3. One of the most obvious differences between the persistent leader and the stubborn individual is their level of commitment. The persistent leader continuously undergoes and commits to enhanced training, education, and true learning. He realizes that even a knowledgeable person can and must continue to learn and to grow. The stubborn attitude, on the other hand, is a resistant one. It is generally an inflexible one, resistant to any type of new or innovative idea, or way of doing something. These stubborn individuals refuse to even consider thinking outside- the- box, and seem to spend more time and effort resisting alternative methods and thinking, than actually trying to accomplish something.

4. Persistent leaders have the can- do attitude, and are always positive thinkers. They persist even when others resist, because their vision of what can and should be motivates them to take action that they believe is important enough to fight the battle to motivate others to action. Of course, the stubborn individual generally avoids any types of conflicts, because he simply turns off to making needed and important changes.

5. The persistent leader always follows up on conversations, ideas, and alternatives. The modus operandi of stubborn leadership is to shy away from following up, and to defer taking action as long as possible.

6. While the persistent person emphasizes planning and details, it is rare for the stubborn one to get involved with making plans, often because he feels he is always correct.

After more than three decades of working with leaders, I continue to hope that people who get into leadership positions become true leaders, which requires many things, including persistence. There is rarely a poorer model for leadership than stubbornness.

What are the chances of Super Eagles’ of Nigeria at the first world cup taking place on the African continent? My guess is as good as yours or maybe not.

People have been reacting to what they feel would be another disgraceful outing for Nigeria in South Africa, while others believe the team could be the surprise package of the tournament.

Sincerely, I believe that only teams with good preparations and the desire to win coupled with discipline and prayers would go very far. Nevertheless, this is what I would be talking about and maybe at the end of this post,

You may either agree or disagree on how far the team can go. Let’s go back in time and see how far the team has come.

Nigeria participated in her first World cup at the USA ’94’ finals. They qualified as runners up to Argentina, whom coincidentally, they would be facing again this year in South Africa ‘2010’, and were knocked out in the second round by Italy.

In France ’98’, they qualified as group winners, playing against the likes of Spain and Bulgaria. They were knocked out again and failed to get to through the second round after suffering an embarrassing 4:1 defeat at the hands of Denmark.

They did not make it past the group stages in 2002 while politics and poor results ensured that Nigeria could not participate in the 2006 edition which took place in Germany.

A steady decline has been in existence from 1994 to 2006 which I’m sure you all agree. Never mind, let’s go on.

This time around, the Eagles narrowly escaped disqualification on the last day of the qualifiers. They needed to win game in Kenya, hoping Mozambique would beat Tunisia. That’s exactly what happened, and with that victory, Nigeria was able to leapfrog Tunisia and clinch the World cup ticket to South Africa 2010

Preparations are now they key to Nigeria’s’ chances at the World cup. However, there is a problem in the lack of cohesion between the generation of older players and the younger ones (coughing sarcastically).

Nigeria has always produced quality players. The likes of Stephen Keshi, Segun Odegbami, Rashidi Yekini, Mutiu Adepoju, Sunday Oliseh, Finidi George, Daniel Amokachi, Emmanuel Amuneke, Samson Siasia,

Christian Chukwu, Friday Elaho, Uche Okechukwu, Celestine Babayaro, Austin Okocha, Late Samuel Okwaraji (God bless his soul) have proven that the country indeed, has produced extraordinary football talents. But, with strikers like Martins, Osaze, Yakubu (I wonder how he made the team), Kalu, Obasi, Utaka, Kanu (Well?), Nsofor and Obasi, Nigerian’s would be praying that their eyes for goals would stare the team towards glory during the World cup. The partnership between the strikers is still yet to blossom, regardless of the style and formation the team would be adopting

However, a rebuilding project is now taking place after a new manager (Lars Largerback) has been appointed to replace the erstwhile coach, Shaibu Amodu. Positive signs are beginning to emerge with the Swedish tactician already making changes in the team. I personally believe these are minor indications for Nigerians to believe that the Super Eagles can spring a surprise. After missing out on qualification the last time out, I expect the Eagles to be a team with a point to prove

Let me know your thoughts and until next time, have a great day!

The Far Spent Day by Nihal da Silva promises much. The fact that it does not deliver all it attempts should not deter anyone from exploring its world. Those interested in reading about the society and politics of contemporary Sri Lanka will find too little to justify careful scrutiny of the 100,000 word text. But they will enjoy the unexpectedly complex thriller that unfolds. People seeking a rip-roaring story will enjoy the process, but the only real suspense is that of the chase, since the identity and deeds of the protagonists, and indeed their principal roles is never in doubt.

The Far Spent Day is constructed as a film. The characters live very much in the present of the events that confront them and rarely reflect. Nihal da Silva also inserts gaps in the text whenever there’s a new scene or a change of camera angle. There is also copious dialogue, enhancing the film-like effect. The style is racy but restrained. There is much promise of sex, but Sri Lankan youth seem to be more restrained than their Western counterparts, certainly their fictional counterparts.

The novel’s Sri Lankan experience is valuable, if under-played. Ravi, a Sinhalese, and Tilak, his Tamil friend, have returned from overseas with their university degrees. They go out to celebrate and have a couple of drinks. There is a brawl and punches are thrown. Ravi and Tilak’s problem is that they have picked a fight with a political bigwig and such people don’t fight clean, or give up until they have ground all opposition into the dust, usually dead.

Anyone who has driven in Sri Lanka knows about a minister’s cavalcade. It approaches from behind, comprises a number of large four-wheel-drives, and travels at speed with horns blaring and headlamps on full beam. Men in the passenger seats wave giant red and white gloved hands out of their windows to demand that all other traffic should get out of the way, immediately and without argument. They demand control, and get it, because if you don’t give way, they will run you off the road. If there were an accident, it would not be their fault.

Ravi and Tilak find themselves involved with such a character, and the minister decides to get even. How even that means only becomes clear at the end of the novel’s first section. Ravi’s life, and that of his whole family, has been utterly destroyed, ruthlessly destroyed. Every attempt he makes at securing justice results in more suffering for himself and others.

Tanya, a young attracting Burgher journalist, takes up Ravi’s cause. She is in search of a scoop, but her own security is soon at risk. Ravi and Tanya are soon involved in a chase across the country in pursuit of their minister quarry, whose allies pursue the two companions. They evade capture, but not consequences. They seek evidence, find it and a relationship develops between the Sinhalese Ravi and the Burgher Tanya to add further complication and twist.

Later a young girl called Janaki becomes part of the plot. She assists Ravi in matters that only a professional woman could conduct. But it does her no good as newspaper stories backfire and scandals fail to materialise. The minister’s influence seems to stretch everywhere in Sri Lankan life.

But Ravi has one final push to secure justice, to allow him to live his own life again without constantly fearing for his own safety. Eventually, when the book’s plot has worked through, the characters and the reader are all exhausted, but we got there.

The Far Spent Day would be a better novel at two thirds of its current length. It will not completely satisfy and reader, but its blend of fast-moving story with glimpses of Sri Lankan life is a rare mix, one that many readers will find compelling.

Online sellers who have built their businesses on Magento’s version 1.X can vouch for the reliability, scalability and efficiency of this eCommerce platform.

After all, they wouldn’t have managed to list products and manage orders as well as payments on their online stores and various marketplaces, such as Amazon and eBay, from a single screen had it not been for the extensive features of Magento 1.

So when word got around that version one will cease to receive support and updates, it placed a lot of sellers in panic mode.

It’s a good thing Magento quickly stepped in to prevent such baseless information from demoralising their customers.

Continuous support for Magento 1

Contrary to rumours, Magento has no plans of ending support for version 1.X anytime soon and forcing its users to upgrade to Magento 2.

They made that crystal clear in a blog post which they published on their official blog last month.

If your online store is still firmly anchored to Magento 1, put your mind to rest and carry on with your daily activities as it’s going to take 18 more months before the implementation of Magento’s new support system.

That means to say version 1 will continue to receive security updates until Magento has formally announced their new support rules.

We have below an excerpt from the blog post of Jason Woosley, Senior Vice President of Product and Technology at Magento:

“Magento stands behind our customers and will never leave a customer behind – you can rest assured that we have your back at every turn. Magento 1 has been and will continue to be supported for the foreseeable future. We have no intention of denying access to our world-class software and know your business relies on Magento to drive growth and differentiation for your brand.”

Are you ready for Magento 2?

While ensuring that he encourages users of Magento 1, Woosley found an opening in his article to push their company’s new flagship product Magento 2, which you were warned against upgrading to due to its untimely release in 2015.

Woosley wrote that version 2 has the capacity to enhance a website’s performance, give it better visibility and business results.

There is no doubt that Magento 2 will be the most in demand eCommerce platform over time, which could be three years or so from now.

However, unless the security bug which was detected by DefenseCode and other undocumented features on version 2 have been successfully fixed, we think the users of version one are going to hold off their migration a little bit longer.

What are your thoughts on the extended life of Magento 1 and its successor?