Weekly Review
Imagine a machine called a “Protocol Generator” that receives one or a variety of themes as an input and then begins to produce writings and images related to that theme as output. There is some randomness involved and several variables which might cause certain deviance or chaotic manifestation, but on the whole, the machine produces a body of largely consistent riffing material on a particular subject. Such a machine or mechanism of operation could be useful for just about any project conceivable that requires brainstorming or idea incubation.
What I have described above is exactly the type of plant growing right now at C0MM/DAO, except it is not a machine but a living community of writers, designers, and academics harnessing activity into organized input/output cycles. Indeed, it has the feel of a seedling that is taking off on its own, as we see more active content creation on various themes from week to week, to the point where the plant needs a bigger pot to truly flourish.
This week’s results are in for the graphic design-themed contest on “Winning Sports Moments”: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e0eouZf2Bhmpsu57C-jNucmCCLmJiB6c1XV3AeYjJVQ/edit?usp=sharing
We received 65 accepted submissions this round, initiating a series of quality filters to help cull poor content and keep everyone doing their best to get a piece or pieces included. Take some time and explore this document. Note the volume of content as well as the structure of the various contests providing the incentive. And just have some fun. It is a blast for the imagination! We are amazed at the consistency and improvement of all of our designers out of Africa, each of whom is developing their own unique styles. This week’s theme of Winning Sports Moments will rev you up and have you ready to achieve victory in all of your daily endeavors.
But even beyond that, on the writing front, we sent out a bid for 1000+ word essays on “Memories on Music,” and for the fourth consecutive week, we received 15 or so original articles!!! And these accounts are full of rich, passionate, poetic narratives from our Nigerian writers. Alina has selected 3 of these essays for publication here in Commlink 28, as well as 2 from our original bid of unpublished material on memories from Commlink 25. So, 5 new accounts surface this week. And we are glad to keep rolling along!
View that growing database here, curated and maintained by our Editor, Dr. Alina Okun: https://www.notion.so/pulsar-innovation/Community-DAO-ebaaa160c93040dd8c85b88af7a1ade0
As our collection grows, the possibility of realizing a significant study on contemporary African culture in the Age of Crypto becomes an increasingly viable reality. This will surely be an epic study, and we are grateful for Dr. Okun’s efforts in this direction.
The subject of music, too, being so rich and involving elements beyond the written word, has created another aspect of curation regarding an analysis of contemporary references to musicians, styles, and trends in Nigeria currently and over the past 20 years. We are in talks with a well-known ethnomusicologist to develop some unique playlists that will demonstrate a solid spectrum of African music for the public to enjoy and in order to create a record for posterity.
As we move into a new era of collaboration with other organizations on this front, “protocol generation” becomes a realistic business function for our organization’s growth and survival. Check our upcoming project in tandem with Rogi’s ListenUp DAO. We will begin offering outsourced bounties to our team to support ListenUp as well as give our workers a chance to earn a significant amount more than they are currently able to do within our basic reward and contest structure. ListenUp will pay 25 RVN for each acceptable 100-200 word feature on landmarks in the Scottsdale/Greater Phoenix, Arizona area. DM me @theDowDao on Twitter or on Discord to get more details and examples of how this is done correctly. If we had 10 or so of these active projects and 100 content creators, COMM/DAO would have achieved a serious level of viability as a working business in today’s international market.
On the metaverse front, progress continues with lining up investors and making preparations for our NFT sale to launch access/ownership of the Commtower in Sky City by Alterverse. Look out for the “Sapphire Penny” coming soon to a variety of Ravencoin NFT exchanges. Every week we get more excited about new partners that join in and fresh footage from the latest evolution of the world. Catch their review of August 2022 here: https://medium.com/alterverse/alterverse-monthly-progress-august-2022-6a95cf15599a
Regarding Ravencoin, C0MM/DAO continues an effective networking campaign to explore all the artists and projects currently growing along with us on the RVN blockchain. By filling up our weekly pinata with Ravencoin NFTs of all different stripes, we are circulating this blockchain over to Africa and creating a foundation for the RVN movement to catch fire as we approach the Ethereum merge over the next 2 weeks. It continues to be a wild ride! Help us gather all of these contacts together into the Commtower as we move into Fall. Special preference is given for gaming, NFT, and organizational meeting style projects.
If you like the work we are doing at COMM/DAO, please donate $RVN and/or Ravencoin NFTs: R9zqFy4uLrWTkAYgjNRSKJqPfxgvUvrPeN
Donations can be anonymous or we are happy to promote those who do contribute through social media posts or any other desired advertising venue. Email dow@commdao.org for info.
In conclusion, enjoy the rest of the show, and we will continue to entertain and bring you first-rate material from a growing body of content creators week after week. Whew! Busting at the seams with information flow. Let’s go!
Best,
Dow
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My Railway to Music Heights
I was only in Primary school when mum suggested that I join the church choir. This was around 2007/2008. I really can't recall how I felt initially, but then I was so happy. Not to join the choir but because I would have extra days and more reasons to leave the house once in a while.
She went ahead to make inquiries concerning rehearsal days for the children's choir. They would be held on Wednesday and Saturday at 4pm. I commenced rehearsals immediately and joined the choir to minister on Sunday. With my white shirt and black skirt, a pair of designer white socks, which were my best socks at the time, and my new pair of black cover shoes, I headed to church with so much readiness.
The music mistress told me that I didn't have to wear socks in my choir uniform. That was the last time I ever wore socks to church. After about 2 years in the Young Messiah Choir, I was given an opportunity to lead a song in the choir. I did really well, and the mistress commended me for my work and corrected my mistakes. This was the beginning of my music career in the church.
LEADING THE CHILDREN'S CHOIR AS THE DIRECTRESS
After high school, I returned to lead the Young Messiah Choir. Being dedicated, I was easily accepted as I introduced many innovative programs for the children. During the children's week, I introduced the children to the process of making bowties and mufflers, which would be used as their choir accessories.
I also led the choir in a two-time competition that was held during the annual children's week at the Christ Apostolic Church Headquarters. We took 4th and 3rd positions respectively. Returning with the bronze cup, we were so excited as we kept dancing on our return that evening. I recall how intensive rehearsals were during this time, as the children showed a great deal of diligence and determination. They took the rehearsals very seriously. We learned our flaws and weaknesses in the course of these competitions. We also had the opportunity to meet several young music artists and choir members. Their ideas helped us a great deal.
As we became more popular, we were usually hosted by several choirs to minister during their church programs and music concerts. In addition to the publicity, the hour was spent on new skills that would help build the church choir. Several talents were unveiled, and skills were built for maximum utility in praising and uplifting the name and glory of the Lord. I was to be a part of the main choir, which was the classical choir. I didn't really like it because I had dedicated my time to contemporary music, making the transition to classical music difficult.
Ever since then, I have remained steadfast in the vineyard of the Lord in several churches I found myself in, such as Christ Apostolic Church, Victory Chapel, Beautiful Gate family church, and currently Breakthrough Palace Mission. There are several churches because I had to change locations so many times.
TAKING A SOLO LEAD IN THE CHOIR MINISTRATION
When I first joined my current choir, Breakthrough Voices, I felt a little intimidated because I could see that the older members were better than me musically. I honestly felt I wasn't good enough, but I remained fervent in attendance and continuous rehearsals. I was surprised when the music director appointed me to handle a lead ministration during the weekly service.
Although I was shaken at the time, I believed in the abilities of good practice. I was given the song If God by Casey J. I had a hard time taking Casey's note for a head voice. I downloaded some materials that would help me get better. Even though these actions stressed and opened up my voice, I also learned some musical exertions that were important during the course of my training. I learned new skills, including accelerando, crescendo, staccato, and a few others. I also learned some riffs and run, which helped me so much more.
Stepping on the altar, I was aware I was shaken as I could feel my limbs shake. I found some strength to carry myself before the church as I began my ministration, but to God's glory, lives were touched. The drummer had frustrated me earlier because he had scored the song incorrectly. The choir wasn't fortunate to provide diesel for the generator due to the hike in prices of petroleum products. Although we were told to listen carefully all day, it was realistic to expect that most people wouldn't. I simply flowed with his new derived tempo.
Every year the youths and choristers of Christ Apostolic Church gather to sing praises to God in a gathering of more than one thousand young persons, with at least 40 choirs. I particularly enjoy meeting old friends who live far away due to distance. During these 3 days, all choristers and youths are expected to be full-time campers at the venue. Every choir presents a musical piece.
During the ministrations, the choir and church wear all white, including a long-sleeved white shirt with a long flowing 8 pieces skirt and a black head tie. I've had several experiences of people asking why we choose to wear such long apparel. It is believed by our founding fathers that the chosen apparel is symbolic and portrays modesty in dressing as the church teaches against the immodest dressings. Most importantly are the lectures held by great men of God. This year's musical was so massive and great. We learned a lot from it. God's healing power through the ministration is usually very strong.
My 3 Memories of Music
INTRODUCTION
According to Wikipedia, music "is the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content." Many often believe that music is food for the soul. There is good music and bad one too. It totally depends on people's opinions about it. Good music has a way of commanding physical expression by the listeners. That's why you see people respond to music by dancing and gesturing. A song can make people do crazy things. It can also influence emotions and character. For the purpose of this essay, I would be narrating my three memories of music. I trust you would enjoy reading every part of my experience and also learn from it. Happy reading.
HOW I FORGOT LYRICS ON STAGE
Imagine singing to a large congregation of about a thousand people and suddenly forgetting the lyrics of the song. It sounds impossible, right? Well, let me burst your bubble. It's not far from reality. It happened to me. And it is one of the most embarrassing memories of my life.
I was 20 years old and a newly-recruited member of a church choir. In one of our rehearsals, a song titled Break every Chain by Tasha Cobbs was brought up by our choir director. The song was meant to be ministered on a mid-week service. Unfortunately for me, I was chosen by my choir director to solo the song. I told her that I was not familiar with the lyrics, and she said I should learn. According to her, since the song was to be rendered by the following day, I had the whole night to prepare. I agreed to do it.
All through the night, I tarried to master the lyrics. When I woke up the following morning, I felt I was good to go. The service was meant to start around 5pm, but I was already in the church by 4pm. While in church, I was still listening to the song. I did that until service started. The time for choir ministration finally came. We had claimed the stage as usual, and the microphone was handed to me. I became so tensed, coupled with the fact that it was my first time singing in a large congregation.
Before I started singing, my hands were already shaking. The microphone almost fell from my hands. I began the song well; I was on key too. But then, when I got to the last part of the song, the lyrics escaped my mind. I stopped singing, and during this time, my whole body was shaking. I turned to look at the backups. Having been aware of my situation, my choir leader immediately continued from where I stopped. After everything ended, I felt so embarrassed that I could not talk to anyone. I couldn't even attend service that Sunday because I was ashamed of myself. It really took a lot of months to get over that horrible experience.
HOW I ENDED MY 3-YEAR-OLD RELATIONSHIP BECAUSE OF A SONG
Have you ever given up on something because of a song? This may sound ridiculous, but it is a true life story of how a song cost me my 3-year relationship.
It all started when I met my first boyfriend. I was 19. He was a bit more advanced than me. It was actually a distant relationship, but we got so fond of each other. No single moment passed without hearing from each other. Our relationship was enviable. After one year in the relationship, he proposed to me. I didn't accept the proposal because I wanted to finish school and probably work before marriage. He was so understanding and said he was going to wait.
After a few weeks of not seeing each other, he sent me a song titled Don't give up on me by Andy Grammer. He told me that every single lyric of the song was exactly what he felt for me. After listening to the song, I fell in love with every lyric of the song. I got really obsessed with it because there was not a single night I didn't listen to it. It even became my ringtone. Each time I listened to the song, it usually gave me a sense of belonging. Sometimes I would smile and say to myself that I'm the luckiest girl to have him.
He was perfect until things began to fall apart in our third year of dating. Everything happened so suddenly. It was during my last visit to his house that I got to find out that he had been seeing another lady. I discovered that every single lyric of that song was the opposite of what he had been professing. At that point, I felt I was used for 3 years. While he tried to explain himself, I played the song for him. I could see tears rolling down his cheeks, but that didn't stop me from walking out of the relationship. It wasn't easy, but I got over it. Regarding the song, I think that was the last time I heard it.
HOW A CAR ALMOST HIT ME BECAUSE OF A SONG
Have you ever been obsessed with something to the extent that it becomes a problem for you? Well, this is similar to what I experienced. I got obsessed with a song titled My Mum is Amazing by Zain Bhikha.
One of my friends, who came to visit, first played the song for me. The lyrics of the song captured my mind. I didn't hesitate to transfer it to my phone. The song talks about the unending love of a mother for her child. Whenever I listened to it, memories of my childhood usually came back to me. I got so addicted to the song that I couldn't live a second without it. It became part of me. I slept and woke up with it. This little obsession got me into many problems. For example, I almost got hit by a car.
The memory of that experience is still fresh in my mind. I was returning from school. I had my earpiece plugged into my ears. While walking on the road, I was listening to My mum is amazing. The memories of how my mum suffered to train us in school encapsulated me. I remembered how she single-handedly took care of five children without an assistant. She would go to the farm in the rain and in the sun just because of her children. She made sure that we never lacked anything. She would even stay hungry so that we could eat.
The song played on repeat. While I was still walking, someone dragged my left hand and pulled me to herself. She screamed at the top of her voice, “What is wrong with you? A car almost hit you.” I was completely speechless. I couldn't utter a word. Before I could pull myself together, people came out. I overheard some saying that had the car hit me, I would have learned a lesson to not always have an earpiece in my ears on the road. I realized that I was walking in the middle of the road without even knowing it.
I was thankful to God that I didn't know how the narrative would have been: a girl had an accident while listening to a song. It would have been really absurd.
Three memories of Music
TEENAGE MEMORY
We all love different things. I love many things as well. But my love for music can never be compromised. I once told a friend that if the music were to be human or a man to be specific, I would have loved to walk down the aisle marrying music. Funny though.
The journey for me started when I was a kid. Of course, my Mom too was a very good singer. To an extent, she had a great influence on my love for music.
But I didn't want to end up like her, who only sings, courtesy of her passion for music.
When I was a teenager, and my Mom and I were going to church, I would hold her by the hand so we could sit in the front seat and be able to have a complete view of the choir during their ministration.
There was one particular sister I really looked up to whenever she ministered in the choir. I was overjoyed and thought, "when I grow up, I want to sing like her." She was my favorite in the choir.
One thing is to develop a love and passion to do something. Another is to have the privilege and a platform to be able to showcase or display the little you can do in that field.
One of those thrilling moments for me was being able to stand amidst my peers to render special ministration in the church. There I was, a little Mommy's girl all dressed up in a colorful white gown with the rest of my peers in white stockings and white hand gloves.
The joy and the excitement began to flare up on hearing the cheering ovation emerging from the audience as my little voice sailed through the microphone.
What a moment! Then I knew I was going to become a shining star someday.
It was a joy for parents, especially our mom, to watch kids perform with their beautiful voices. Their tears of joy and happiness were super encouraging.
THE JOURNEY
In my journey of life from childhood to adulthood, music made life more meaningful to me. Often time when the feelings of emptiness and loneliness crawl in, I simply lay my ears to my favorite songs to awaken my spirit. I call it the ultimate medication and food for the soul.
Although my love for music began in the church while I was a teenager, out of childhood fantasy, I couldn't really ascertain if I would end up being a gospel artist or doing secular songs. Between the age of 14 and 17, my perception of music took a new shape.
During this time, l started paying more attention to the kind of music my Dad was fond of playing. That was R&B, Blues, and County Classic; the likes of Dolly Parton, Boys 2 Men, Don Williams, Whitney Houston, R-kelly, Micheal Bolton, and Celine Dion. In fact, the list is endless.
My understanding became wider as I grew up. I realized that every successful music artist needs a mentor, a role model to look up to. From listening to my Dad's choice or collection of songs, I was able to pick my favorite artists: Whitney Houston and Celine Dion were my mentors.
Every journey has a story behind it and a passion for a thing that does not guarantee success in the pursuit. Looking up to my mentors, I started practicing how to write my own song when I was in my early 20s.
With the burning desire in me, I was able to meet a producer who truly believed in my talent to record my first track. It was a remarkable day for me due to lots of dramas that occurred during the recording session. Even when I knew my lyrics quite well, the phobia of voicing those lyrics on beat through the microphone was a battle. My voice was shaking; there I was in the Boot training, heavy with sweat like embarking on a 100 meters race.
Oh, thanks to the producer who was kind and patient enough to keep encouraging me.
THE MILESTONE
The journey was never as easy as I visualized.
It is one thing to record a good song. It is another to win the crowd while on stage, given an opportunity. Facing the crowd for the first time to perform the song one recorded could be compared to jumping off a bridge. I remember facing the crowd for the first time. It was too frightening. My heart began to beat faster on hearing the MC calling my name as the next performing artist to come up on stage.
Music requires money, and when you don't have the right sponsors in place and support or backup, you only get to have the title of a music artist. It is even more challenging when you are a female upcoming artist. It is not easy to scale through the limelight. Most producers want to take advantage of you in disguise of rendering a low cost in booking a session or free session.
Music is a business. It requires investors, management, promoters, and marketers. It's even more challenging when you are an independent artist trying to fund your music career alone.
I recall one certain time after my performance in a Get Together. A man called me. I was so full of hope and optimism, thinking I had met my Messiah who would push me to the top of my career and give me all the necessary support I needed. Disappointingly, when we had our appointment, the story changed from him being a music promoter to "He wants to get down with me" before we can proceed with any song promotion. It was the hardest punch in my face. I left feeling disappointed.
Well, music is my life, and someday I'll definitely hit the limelight.
My Three Favorite Memories
This is the compilation of the three most outstanding memories of my life and the ones I chose to write about as my childhood memories. The essence is to portray my life in the light of my cultural background, the practices that brought these memories, the outcome which eventually left indelible marks on my life, and the lessons I learned from them.
My first favorite memory is about ‘How I escaped Fattening and circumcision.’
In my culture, the Ibibio culture of Akwa Ibom people, Nigeria, there is a practice called Fattening. Fattening is the practice of isolating a woman or girl to prepare her for marriage; it used to be one of the rites of marriage. The process of this fattening includes the practice of female genital mutilation and, in most cases, isolation and excessive feeding of the girl to achieve the societal standard of body size for a fattened girl. Most uneducated women saw nothing wrong with the practice. They call it a healthy practice claiming they underwent it at a young age, so every young girl and woman should be made to undergo the process.
Growing up and even today, I have a serious phobia of cuts, wounds, incisions, and their equivalents. At every point where this practice is mentioned, fear grips me immediately. I dread accident scenes and cannot look at a corpse for any reason. The events of fattening made me feel worse when I imagined how I would be made to go through it.
A young girl is due for fattening from the age of 14. When plans have been concluded for her fattening to take place, she is kept in an isolated room. Only females are allowed to enter that room. A female genital mutilation specialist (mostly elderly women) would have been booked for the exercise. On the scheduled day, she comes to carry out the trimming. After the cutting, the girl bleeds and is treated with native herbs and spices to heal the wound. She is overfed to become too fat. She is finally presented to the world during the masquerade festival. The process takes between two weeks to two months, depending on how quickly the wound heals.
When I was told the reasons for the circumcision, it sounded ridiculous to me, and I vowed to never be a part of it. Some of the reasons were:
Girls were told that circumcision aids childbirth. Anyone who is not circumcised experiences complications during childbirth. This sounded like a convincing reason to give in.
Women whose daughters were not circumcised faced stigma during female gatherings. Those women were mocked that their daughters are not complete women.
I wasn’t interested in any of their stories. All I knew was that I didn’t want anybody to touch me.
My decision became stronger when I turned 16 years old. My mother supported my decision not to be circumcised, and at that point, I was happy and ever grateful to God for my mother’s understanding. Since then, no one ever mentioned that practice to me until I totally outgrew the practice.
The second memory is based on the experience I had during one of my visits to the stream to get water.
Growing up in my community in the early 90s, I was told the story of drought and how my community had no source of water: no pipe-borne water, no personal stream, and no means of water other than rain. So the only time for abundant water was the rainy season, and this experience was not palatable.
There was a neighboring village blessed with numerous streams of water. Through negotiation with the ancient fathers, they had allotted one of their streams to be owned and used by the people of my community. Many years went by, and we were making use of that particular stream.
The distance from my village to that stream was nothing short of 400 meters so imagine how hectic it was to tough that distance three times a day. We had a customary time for going to the stream to fetch water. Because of the distance, we had to go as a group at all times.
We also had to pass through several bushes to get to the stream, and we believed that it was safer as a group. If one was attacked by wild animals, others could always help.
On a certain day, my cousin and I went to the stream to fetch water during the holidays. I was the only female in the stream on that day. One of the villagers suddenly attacked me, using a branch of the palm tree to beat me. He asked why I was the only female in the stream. I wept uncontrollably and left the stream to report the matter to his village head, who told me to do unto him as I pleased.
We did nothing to him even though my relatives threatened to beat him up, but no one could find him after the incident because he traveled to the creek and didn’t return for a long time. I grew up with the memory and was always embittered about the ill-treatment meted out on me that day.
But the story changed when I turned 20 years old. I had forgotten about that incident and didn’t take it to heart anymore. One day, I was sited outside our compound when a young man walked up to me and introduced himself as the perpetrator of that act many years ago. He pleaded for forgiveness, asking if there was anything he could do to make amends. I simply told him I forgave him a long time ago and that he could go. I was excited that he finally realized his mistakes and restituted.
The third memory is about my bicycle learning experience.
As a young adult, I adored bicycles and loved to see people ride them. At every chance I got, I always wanted to learn riding on a bicycle.
At 15, I made up my mind to learn the art of riding a bicycle, but my father disapproved of it, saying I would injure myself. He told me of the common belief that until you fall and get badly injured while learning how to ride a bicycle, you may never know how to ride perfectly. I never believed him, and I asked one of my big cousins to teach me how to ride.
He taught me with the ancient bicycle, claiming it is better to learn with it than to learn with the sophisticated bicycle. I believed him. It was actually a high bicycle, and I had to manage the height to place my leg on the pedals.
I was getting better, and my cousin felt he could leave me to ride independently after a couple of days.
One day, I went out on the bicycle and rode myself from a pretty far distance to a certain location. On my way home, I did not know there was a pit at the entrance of the street I was about to enter. I just imagined myself riding into the pit, but I thought to myself if you enter the pit, would you come out alive? At that point, I knew I needed to do something because I had lost control of the bicycle.
While I approached the pit, I unconsciously jumped out of the bicycle, leaving it to roll into the pit by itself. The bicycle got damaged almost beyond repair. I was awestruck and grateful to God at the same time that I didn’t find myself in the pit. I sustained a minor injury as a result of the jump, but it could not have been compared to the injury I would have sustained if I had entered the pit with my bicycle. After that wound healed, I mastered the art of riding a bicycle till now. This went on to confirm what my father told me before I started learning how to ride a bicycle.
My Three Favorite Memories
Favorite memories are common to everybody as all days in people's lives can never be the same. Some days come with happiness, while some come with sadness. However, favorite memories are said to be those days or moments that one can never forget amongst other memorial days. It may be the day that one has his or her big break or the day or moment that a dream comes true. It may be the day that one got married or had a wedding. It can be the day that everything changes for good for the person in question. It can be the day one buys his or her first car or private jet. It may be the day you receive some valedictory reception after retirement or passing out like in the case of the military and even National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, among others. Nevertheless, in my own daily experiences, I have three favorite memories I can be so proud to tell the world about, and I will outline them for easy comprehension as follows:
My first day at Hilltop Mansion
The first day I addressed a large audience in Ibom Township Stadium
The first day I was interviewed by members of the Press
MY FIRST DAY AT HILLTOP MANSION
Hilltop Mansion is where the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State and his family reside. February 3, 2017, was a day I had been dreaming of when it came true. It was the day that I had a one-and-one conversation with the Governor, His Excellency Udom Gabriel Emmanuel. This was possible as a cross-section of Akwa Ibom State Children's Parliament members made a courtesy visit to the Government House. The whole day became a favorite memory for me as the joy was extended when the Governor had a handshake with me and encouraged me to work hard if I ever wished to be a great person in the future. On the other hand, the wife of the Governor, Dr. Martha Udom Emmanuel, advised that we should by no means promulgate 'gender disparity,' advising that all genders are the same and stressing that there will be a time when a woman shall be the President of our beloved country, Nigeria. The girls were so happy to hear such a mind-blowing prophecy from Her Excellency. This day became so memorable that I can never joke with any gender, be it a boy or a girl. It was such a moment that my whole life changed for the better.
THE FIRST DAY I ADDRESSED A LARGE AUDIENCE IN IBOM TOWNSHIP STADIUM
Ibom Township Stadium is located in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. It is the Stadium that the state government always uses to host major events, and mine in question was 2016 National Children's Day which was on the 27th of May. It was on this day that I had the opportunity to address such a mammoth crowd for the first time in my life. I almost felt timid, but I was cheered up by the fact that I was an Honourable since I was in the Parliament.
At first, I was worried that I might make a mistake in my address as the address was long. But I was excited to find out that I never minced my words despite the audience being intimidating. Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Dr. Glory Emmanuel Edet, praised me.
This day, however, became the second memory I can never forget, yet one of my favorites. It is not really because I made the address or because I addressed the people, including the State Executive Council members led by the State Governor, but it is because I was able to deliver such a lengthy address that I wrote to tender requests from the State Government to promote Child Right Act and make sure that any defaulter was sanctioned accordingly. That day often reminds me that I can always do anything even beyond my doubt.
THE FIRST DAY I WAS INTERVIEWED BY MEMBERS OF THE PRESS
I was interviewed by Members of the Press from Atlantic FM, Uyo, on Children’s Day, the 26th of May 2015. I was asked how I enjoyed my childhood and how the forthcoming Children's Day would be. I answered accordingly, and I was so happy because it was the first day I could have such an expansive opportunity.I remember how I used to admire people on television when they were being interviewed. My interview was special because I was chosen to speak on behalf of all the children who were celebrating the Children's Day. I did very well, according to my uncle, who said he watched the interview live at home. My parents and siblings all shouted, "bravo!" when I returned home that day. They further chanted "Honourable" in eulogy of the wonderful response I made during the interview.
I felt so special that day. During the interview, they asked me what profession I would like to enter and I told them that I wanted to study Mass Communication. They were so happy to hear that and counseled me on the ways to get there. It was through the interview that I had the privilege to chat with an Air Personality, Mr. Samuel Essien. It was all fun-filled, and I enjoyed every bit of my engagement.
The interview made me feel special because it was broadcast across their social media channels and web channels. The interview made me famous, and at times, I was surprised when people recognized me and whispered to others that they'd seen me on television. It's a favorite memory indeed. Finally, everyone has a day to write, as I said earlier, either about sadness or happiness. My favorite memories remain the days when my dreams came true, and these memories are still counted among my favorites.
Danoskie’s Development
Ethereum Merge: Miner's Pros and Cons
From the creation of humanity, knowledge has remained a paramount and the most valuable asset installed in everyone's mind.
The proper utilization of these different levels of knowledge led to the understanding of life and man gifted with many skills in health, business, and other works of life.
In the world of business, there exists an everlasting hunger for superiority and power. People tend to have control or influence over the other, even though they operate on the same platform, but as the superior suppressing the inferior.
People made it possible for the exchange of goods and services to upgrade from trade by barter system to its current state where money can be exchanged for goods and services offered. This brings us to selling and rendering services in order to earn money. In doing this, one needs to be skilled and equipped.
Individuals progressed to making use of digital assets, from physical currency to notes.
Since the creation of digital assets (cryptocurrency, to be precise), the government created by people has never been on good terms with it. It bugged the formal financial institutions with ease of transactions, the ability to transact across borders within a short period of time, and the most annoying part to the government is the high level of decentralization.
Cryptocurrencies were created to function as independent financial institutions across the world with little or no restrictions placed on them. This got so many people's interest to own, trade, and mine it using their resources as the main tool for the entire process.
Mining cryptocurrency was and is among the first thing that got popular in ways of earning these digital assets. Individuals and companies invested huge amounts of money in purchasing and running mining farms of some popular cryptocurrencies in order to earn without having to buy and wait for an increase in the selling price.
Bitcoin mining gained ground from year to year and also dominated the entire crypto mining business as it appears to be the highest mined cryptocurrency from crypto genesis. Miners all over the world invested lots of money to share fragments of the hashes mined per hour and this greatly affected the consumption of the electrical power supply negatively.
The higher energy consumption of the mining facilities led to many hard forks of Bitcoin, year after year, and it never stopped. Instead, it increased. This issue of high energy consumption has brought about many critics on the neck of Bitcoin miners.
Cryptocurrency regulation to date is far away from the mining activities since they are not operators with badges or license and registration numbers. This implies that miners are more anonymous than traders or holders of these digital assets.
As Bitcoin mining continued to dominate the entire mining activities, Ethereum, on the other hand, took it as a challenge to solve the difficulties of Bitcoin mining. Mining Ether coins was not quite simpler than that of Bitcoin and has screwed the developers into one goal, to beat Bitcoin mining efficiency effectively without wasting much time.
Taking Bitcoin mining as a rival ignited the thought of reducing the cost of mining Ether coins which could be more preferable than those of Bitcoin Satoshi.
In order to create an easier and more convenient way for Ethereum miners, developers went underground and created new ways that would allow mining devices to solve complex puzzles in order to maintain the security of the network. Additionally, this would mine some new units of Ethereum and verify transactions at very low energy consumption and time.
This is believed to have worked out well for them before the public announcement of its planned merge to take place in two phases, all in the month of September 2022.
The proposed new system will carry out its tasks by using the already existing stakeholders as the consensus mechanism, having some human estimated suggestions that it would easily switch from Proof Of Work to an upgrade known as Proof Of Stake.
The new system (Proof-Of-Stake) is believed to reduce Ethereum's electrical energy consumption by a great factor of 1,000. This will definitely divert the interest of miners all over the world to consider mining Ethereum as their most preferred over Bitcoin.
These two periods of the upgrade are expected to take place on the 6th of September (the first part of the upgrade), while the second part is scheduled to take place between the 10-20th of September, 2022. This is interpreted by some wealthy crypto enthusiasts as "the most anticipated event in crypto’s history.”
There are many questions and confusion in the crypto space concerning the success of this upgrade, as all plans to do so for Bitcoin have failed many times. More people are greatly expecting the same for Ethereum as it's assumed that the use of proof-of-stake would definitely lead to more centralization and potentially even greater influence of the government and their interferences, kicking the gallivant Ethereum to its earliest death.
Miners, on the other hand, are a little bit confused and would feel devastated if the upgrade is achieved.
Truth must be told, these miners have invested so much in the procurement of machines and equipment which does the work of cooling the systems, generating an alternative power supply, and many more materials needed for the process and are yet to recover their investment, but would face the new era of Ethereum with the breaking of the 6th of September.
On the other hand, other miners who haven't been able to build a standard mining farm are more excited for the great day to come.
Looking at these two categories of persons, you will discover that some persons will not find the upgrade pleasurable while others would.
In conclusion, Ethereum has endured seven years without a great punch in the face of Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining. This is the only very visible upgrade that could lead to Bitcoin miners switching to Ethereum mining, but it remains to be seen whether this actually happens.
Ambassador Report
In the life circle of humanity, growth is highly acknowledged. We've grown from strength to strength and will continue to grow both by numbers and influence on social media platforms. For week 27, we created many beautiful and educational articles and shared them on different social media platforms with many relevant hashtags. The leaderboard contains the sum of our reward points.
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