PRESENTING CHARLIE VALOR.........

The popularity of the internet has undoubtedly thrown everyone into a freedom of chat, photos, expression and unlimited information, both solicited and unsolicited. It has also become such a huge influence on our everyday life to such an extent that we cannot imagine how one is meant to survive without it.

Internet, Phone, Blackberry, Android, iPads ..........are no longer items of luxury to most people even the younger generation because as early as from the age of 8, a child in our own country can be a customer of a telecom network and they are duly recognised!.....and just in case you haven't noticed, you should watch one of the network providers' adverts to confirm.

The issue of the influx of information has been one of concern to us as an organisation but don't get me wrong, it has made life a lot easier for us and we actually thrive on it but what is worrisome is how poise our teens are to protect themselves and not get carried away by the wave while 'surfing' the world of information.

With about half of the population of young people having acess to the internet through various medium, it definitely has become mandatory for us to help the our younger ones deal with the realities and possible negativity the internet brings along.

So after we did the Bridge Forum in April, focusing on the Media, we found an organisation out of the country who is as concerned and has gone a step further to provide the needed guidance by way of publishing a comic that is fun to read, adventureous and teaches the importance of online safety and other related issues. The comic is 'The Complicated World of Charlie Valor'.

Charlie is a high school teenager who has to deal with real issues of rumors, violence, frienemies and so much more in a world of the internet and social networking not in his life alone but in relationship with his friends as well. His character reflects the life of a typical teenager who just loves to ive his life and stay out of trouble. But things are not always the way they seem.

The comic is available online but copies can be picked from BackDoor Connections as well. I have read it and some teens in my metwork too and it comes highly recommended.


Please contact us for a copy for yourself or that teen that you love.

E-mail: timsyn@backdoorconnections.com


Stay blessed

Family on Fire -The Movie Premier

Even though the event happened some two weeks back, it is still quite fresh in my head because it was such an outstanding movie or because the producer is such a man of excellence who made sure the premier was interesting and breathtaking all the way or because it was a movie centered on good values............i really can't place my hands on it,...... but it was such a night!


Oh! did i mention the fact that i took a whole six years to get the movie out?, not for lack of respect for time but for the fact that someone believes that much in excellence that they would rather not release the movie than produce a 'wishy-washy' movie to the public. And for that, was i grateful or what?! I have been a victim of some horribly-produced Nigerian movies that left me either feeling robbed or abused for the fact that i even subjected to watching it .....you know those ones you see at the salon and you can help listen to the hairdresser re-narrating to you?.......yeah, those! 

Anyway, Family on Fire' centers on young people make careless decisions without considering the consequences of their action. A Young man does the unthinkable by using his illiterate mum to lift drug into a foreign country and successfully so too. It turns out that the family abroad discovered the drugs before he got a chance to move it out of the house and a younger boy with no record of bad behavior stole and traded the drugs cheaply. 


The whole family is thrown into a catastrophe as the Baron and other drug dealers seek to regain possession. Outrage! Murder! Deaths! Police! Illegality! and so on unfolds and tears a once happy and thriving family apart!

Family on Fire is such is an unusual but apt movie not because of the story line but because it is not intended to be at the cinema, which is another thing that distinguishes the producer as a man of vision. According to Mr. Tade Ogidan, 'we do not want the movie to be perceived or viewed for entertainment alone but as one that teaches value and serves as a wake up call for parents to take charge and live up to the realities of the decadence in our society'


The movie is a must watch for every family and i say this with a lot of emphasis especially because of the character of 'Bayo' - the good boy turned bad given a circumstance he was not prepared for.


Screening of the movie is available at sponsored location and the team can be reached on the following numbers:


Toyin Omolodun -    0802 316 9000
Praise Fowowe  -    0803 726 9483
Sola Sobowale  -    0802 738 7723




Thumps Up, Uncle Tade!


  

My Angry Episode 2 - GO ON.....GET ANGRY!......

The tension and coldness in the home definitely sent me on a guilt trip and that i felt very bad is an understatement. But a good man is hard to keep down, so i decided to douse the tension, swallow my pride and engage my son in a conversation.

For whatever reason the talk with him was not on the schoolwork or his attitude. Not because i didn't think he was completely excusable or justifed but because the session did something to me and i was going to share with him how human his mum is and perharps be able to teach some valuable lessons about anger and also learn from him. So after all the preamblling, i asked him and his little brother what their opinions were about being angry and whether they thought it was okay for anyone to get angry and the responses were a wake up call even for me....'the almighty mummy'!

'We can't help getting mad sometimes because people make us by what they do that they shouldn't have done,....... 'my friends get me upset sometimes',.......' even God gets mad at his own people in the bible'......and they went on and at this point i felt like hugging them both because my heart felt such ease knowing they understand afterall,.....what a relief!......What a relief that they had looked beyond the surface and haven't judged me for being hard on everyone for the slightest reason. They looked at my action from the window of their heart and understood that there was more to me than the reaction of anger that i displayed the day before.

Now here is the catch about anger management that i'm sure will benefit everyone reading this.

1. Anger reveals passion: Think of the things that provoke anger in you. They sometimes are situations and occurences that others do not have a second thought about or are quite indifferent about but they just happen to make you uneasy enough to speak against them or get upset for. Where your passion lies is a strong indication of your purpose. For one, i still see teens on the streets and get really upset with the kind of negativity their lifestyle is tagged with.

2. Anger is a motivator: This one is my favourite because God experienced this Himself. In Isa 63, God was angry with the emenies of His people and had looked for someone to send to deal with the jerks but He didn't find nobody but His anger was big enough that it 'fueled Him'. The anger became a driving force for the achievement of a good cause.

3. Anger brings about changes: If something makes you upset constantly, the anger becomes a good reason to make some changes so you don't continue to thrown trantrums each time. For all i care, the wind blew out the candle on Thomas Edison to the point he got angry enough to figure out he needed to invent the light bulb. 
When a persons gets angry about a situation everytime and they don't do anything it, then they are no better than a lunatic or someone who's lost their minds. A wise saying is that it is a fool who does the same thing the same way each time and expects different results.

4. Anger can be learning process: Now, this is very important in relationships as friends, family, colleagues etc. For the one who is the receiver or the giver of the anger, both can leverage on the situation to learn valuable things about each other. So your boss or teacher is really upset about something you did is the easiest way of knowing their standpoint on an issue. 

So if you happen to be on a guilt trip like i was or just want to make a change about your anger, you might want to practice these ideas and you can have a money-back guarantee if they dont work.........oops!?.....except that you didn't pay anything!


R


Timsyn

My Angry Episode!!!!!

I got home from work after a hectic time in traffic and my son could barely wait for me to settle down before he approaches me for help on his homework, and even though i was quite not in the mood, i manage to look into the textbook.

I realise the topic he needed help on was one we had practiced a few times together and i did not expect him to be needing help on it.........i got a little irritated but i still proceed to find out what aspect he is having difficulty. He muttered a few words of explaination and as i normally do, I in turn asked some leading questions that may give him a clue, but the boy appeared to be missing the very obvious clues.........now i am really upset because apart from him not encouraging me, i am thinking....this is not what i planned to do on my arrival home that day.

I am now totally loosing it and my mind is racing and asking why i am doing what his teachers are paid to do and of what essence is the school lesson too?.....with no obviously no teacher to answer me or calm me down, i turn to the boy and started scolding him on how he's been playing too much lately, loosing focus and being forgetful. 'I am so going to stop you from friends visit henceforth'.....'you'll only ride your bike outside once a week and if i ever find you near the TV before i say its ok?, you've had it with me!........... and the drama goes on.

I eventually left him in anger and the boy also retired to his room for the rest of the day to avoid more confrontations.


Oh boy! What have i done? Everyone in my household can now feel the tension.......what could i have done differently? Did i have a right to be upset with my son for not being attentive enough? or is it the school that should be responsible for this commotion in my home because they didnt live up to expectations?...............


Could use some answers, really!