the great wall

I cant write on my experience on the great wall without first giving an overview of the great wall.
UNESCO enlisted the Great wall os china as one of the greatest wonders of the world, in the world heritage in 1987. It was originally built in the spring, autumn and warring state periods as a defensive fortification by the three states: Yan, Zhao and Qin. Just like a gigantic dragon, the great wall winds up and down across deserts, grassland,mountains and plateaux stretching approximately 6,700 kilometres. (4,163 mile) from east to west of china. With a history of more than 2000 years, some of the sections of the great wall are now in ruins or have completely disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions around the world owing to its appealing architectural grandeur and historic significance.

The great wall went through cconstant repairs and extension in later dynasties. In fact, it began as independent walls for differnet states when it was first built and did not become great until the Qin dynasty. emperor Qin Shihuang succeeded in his effort to get the wall oined together in his effort to fend off the invasion from the Huns in the north after the Unification of China. Since then, the Great wall has served as a monumen t of chinese nation throughout history. A visit to the grat wall is like a tour through the history backwards; it brings great tourist attraction in each step of the wall.

The great wall has been incorporated into the chinese mythology and popular symbolism. The most popular of several legends is the collapse of a section of the wall caused by Meng Jiangnu who cried bitterly over the death of her husband in the construction of the great wall.
The legend has been spread widely through textbooks, folk songs and traditional operas. it is well known in china
Stepping through thee great wall was for me like a lifetime achievement. I saw the zealous and collective effort of a people that shared the same aspiration of fortifying their city against attacks. Walking on top of this wall could be tedious as one's legs could pain enormously but in my view, it is worth it

***also on ciao.co.uk and dooyoo.co.uk by me with same username***

The forbidden city

Here is a warning for the adventurous and spirited: Please do not venture her without a trusted guide, for the forbidden city contains 9,999 buildings. S it is that easy for you to get lost. For your sake do no think you can do this.

Most likely, your tour would start from Wumen like mine did. Wumen is called Meridian Gate in English. It is also named five phonix tower, Wufenglou in chinese, for it looks like a phoenix with five pavilion buildings up there. it is the Main gate and south gate of the forbidden city. Inside the Meridian gate are the Inner marble bridges. Water flows beneath this marble bridges. The golden water river is very gorgeous and well decorated. The river bed and sand are paved with white stones. Decorative marble columns and banisters were established along the river. Standing on the bridges, you can see a grand and impressiveb structure with two bronze lions guarding the front called Taihemy ( Gate of Supreme Harmony).


There is the grand Taihedian (Hall of Supreme Harmony), where emperors exercised their autocracy over the whole country. This is where the emperor ascended his throne and gave audience to visiting officials and other important events were celebrated. Flanking this hall are two other halls called Wenhuadian (hall of literary Glory) and Wuyingdian (hall of martial valour). The fformer on the right side used to be the study of the crown princes, where banquets and some rites were held. In the north of Wenhuadan lies Wenyuang (Pavilion of literay Source), the imperial library where the world's largest encyclopedia Sikuquanshu (complete library of the four treasures of knowledge) was housed. The library architecture has many chinese cultural factsin its structure and decoration. Nanxundian (south france hall) near Wuyingdian is where portraits of emperors of dynasties are kept. I really appreciated the guide that was with me as he was well versed in the history of every room and structure as he got me there.

**** also on dooyoo.com and ciao.co.uk with the username donnaheff****

UNCHARTED

Nathan Drake is rather forthcoming when he states that everything he touches seems to turn sour … Ok, that’s not precisely how he phrases it, but you get the drift.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a visceral romp that takes the formula from the first highly successful game and pushes it to new heights – both figuratively and literally. There are a lot of inside jokes and some really good chuckles stemming from the dialogue and cut scenes. There are new characters and familiar ones.

The story revolves around the adventures of Marco Polo and, specifically, his return from China. When Polo left China, he had 14 ships with more than 600 passengers and crew. When he finally made his home port, only one ship remained with 18 passengers. The initial idea that intrigues Drake and draws him into the adventure is what happened to those other ships. But as is usually the case, it evolves into something much bigger – the Cintamani Stone (purported to be a fabled jewel that grants the owner great power … as in world-conquering power) is one of the items in the equation, the other is the path that leads to Shambhala. Of course, this swings Drake into full adventure mode, but one of the elements here is not knowing exactly who to trust.



(There will be no spoilers here.)

Drake’s initial adversary is a war criminal who heads a private army and is on the trail. Along the way he teams up with Chloe, who seems to have her own agenda in all this and eventually he meets Elena, and there are nasty, voracious monsters that seem to crawl out of legend and are very hard to kill.

Developer Naughty Dog has crafted a game that is somewhat linear, and has a fair amount of repetition in terms of raging gun battles and puzzles, incorporating the platform elements very well. It is simply a case of if you think there is an easy path, but look around and find that there appears to be handholds in the wall, then that is usually the way you will need to go. You kill the bad guys, pick up weapons – all of which seem to range from nice guns to RPGs. And lest you think some of those weapons are a bit extreme, wait until you go up against a tank and you will definitely see the need.

The game starts out in Borneo and moves into the Himalayas. True, some of the mechanics in the journey are similar, but the pacing seldom slows – something that Drake often comments on.



From a control standpoint, Uncharted 2 is nothing that is too difficult to learn. In fact, the control scheme is rather straightforward in design. That alone helps to put the focus on the game itself. The dialogue is often quite humorous, and even pokes fun at itself. When Chloe and Elena are first introduced, Chloe says she senses some history between Elena and Drake. Elena then introduces herself as “last year’s model” – an obvious but entertaining reference to the first Uncharted title.

The game also brings multiplayer into the mix, with some nice cooperative sessions through game maps. There are also a bevy of achievements that can be earned; you can gain achievements particular to each weapon, as well as score for the type of attack, such as headshots.

For the most part, Uncharted 2 does not reinvent the action-adventure wheel, but from a graphic standpoint, and from a pure fun stand, this game soars on the PS3. This is a lot of fun.
When you play a game that stops non-gaming members in the family dead in their tracks to watch and enjoy the way the game is playing out, that says a lot. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves did precisely that.

Review Scoring Details for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves


Gameplay: 9.0
The controls are easy to learn and use, the game flows well, with some cut scene interruptions. There are repetitious elements and the game does get to the point where you are not surprised by the path you have to take to get from point A to B.

Graphics: 9.0
The eyes on Chloe and Elena are a bit glassy and not that good looking. But in spite of the problem with the eyes, there were other issues that reduced the score in this department. The code received for this review was for the PS3 debug or test unit. During one of the opening missions, when Drake is attempting to break into a museum to steal a lamp, a jump was missed and Drake ended up hanging over the railing. At the point one could see the lack of environment geometry under the stone - that vast blue void that falls away to nothing. Drake was trapped and eventually fell, into the void and to his death. The camera gets stuck far too often, not affording a view around to see what needs to be seen. The world is grand and wonderful, but the code received had problems. Reviews are based on code in hand, and for that reason, and these glitches, the graphics take a hit.

Sound: 9.3
The musical score and dialogue are terrific.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard

Concept: 9.2
A great story, coupled with multiplayer brings this game alive.

Multiplayer: 8.8
Fun, fast, furious are all keywords in how this plays out.

Overall: 9.0
The game has some repetition, but the look of the game is wonderful and the action flows well, drawing players through the game. This is an enjoyable game that keeps players on their toes, tantalizes with stunning vistas and some cool animations and keeps the story flowing well.

also on ciao.co.uk

speaking english

English we all know is the second most spoken language on earth but the thing is most english speaking countries like Nigeria have mostly illiterates as leaders and those on top. Their so called lingua franca becomes a problem for them. I ran into this site that teaches people how to communicate in English. I realised that even though I consider myself literate, I still don't know the right pronunciation for certain words. The site is available below
exchange recovery

NIGERIAN MUSIC ICON P SQUARE IS AT IT AGAIN

I think the music industry is getting saturated with people that keep dispensing untrue information to the press so that they would comand more respect from people. I remember vividly how Dayo Olubanjo aka D'Banj said he earns ten million Naira every week. Now, it is This cool dude that once claimed that they put a kettle of water on fire and before it got boiling, they had sold a million copy of their previous album. it is no longer news that the long awaited new Album of the duo is out but what keeps baffling me is the large figures that they always announce as sales in a very short period. In 2007, they claimed their album "Game is over" sold over one million copies in just six days, Now they have come again. They are claiming their new album "Danger" has sold over one million copies in three weeks. i hope the tax authorities have heard this, atleast I don tire to dey hear jeck

Kelly Hansome – IGWE (Kom Kom). Dissing Wande Coal, D’Banj, & Terry G

I stumbled on the track below on the net and It amuses me.
I dont think this poses a bright future for nigerian music. Kelly wowo where neva sell any music dey follow diss person. Wonder they say no go end. Imagine kelly and Wande na who fine pass. Abeg make this person where dey callperson empty kom kom shut up
Kelly Hansome – IGWE (Kom Kom). Dissing Wande Coal, D’Banj, & Terry G

winners at MTV Africa music awards 2009

Dapo Olubanjo aka D'Banj, Innocent Idibia aka Tuface were some of the nigerian acts that went home with the prestigious MTV music awards. Some other nigeriann recipients include MI that is renown for his raps but got the award for the best new act and best hih hop award. P Square got the award for the best group in Africa, D'banj was artist of the year while Tuface was best R and B category winner