Nigerian Times

Julian Barnes on Tuesday night. London based writer Julian Barnes, 65, has won the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel The Sense of an Ending . The announcement was made the evening of Tuesday 18 October, 2011. The Sense of an Ending went straight into the bestseller list on publication by Jonathan Cape. The novel is the eighth Man Booker Prize winner to be published by Jonathan Cape, a Random House imprint. Barnes has been shortlisted on three occasions without him winning the prize and said "as much relieved as delighted to be receiving the prize." He was previously shortlisted in 1984, 1998, and again in 2005. He is the author of ten previous novels with translations in over 30 languages so far. Barnes is the only writer to have won both the Prix Médicis (for Flaubert's Parrot) and the Prix Femina (for Talking it Over) in France. His other important awards include the Austrian State Prize for European Literature and the David Cohen Prize. Amazon's...

KBB.COM’S 2011 TOP 10 COOLEST NEW CARS UNDER $18,000: EDITORS RANK THIS YEAR’S BEST AFFORDABLE, COOL NEW CARS, PLACING 2012 FIAT 500 AT NO. 1 Personality-Filled, Amenity-Laden Vehicles Dominate This Year’s Kbb.com ‘Cool Cars’ List IRVINE, Calif., June 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The expert editors from Kelley Blue Book’s www.kbb.com, the leading provider of new car and used car information, today name the 2011 Top 10 Coolest New Cars Under $18,000. In a new twist on an annual list published by Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com, this year the editors ranked their top choices from 10 to one, naming the 2012 Fiat 500 as this year’s No. 1 affordable ‘Cool Car.’ Getting a bargain is special in good economic times, but in economic times like these -- when the economy is teetering, home prices continue to fall and fuel prices inexplicably bounce up to near-record levels -- getting a bargain is more special than ever. Despite the rising specter of inflation, there are still plenty of new cars available f...

The shortcomings of the Nigeria Prize for Literature The Nigeria Prize for Literature, endowed by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited is a great thing. It is an unprecedented initiative of immense benefit to Nigerian writers and the society for the appreciation of our literary culture. I have been following the progress of the Nigeria Prize for Literature without any objection to the administration, but not impressed by the impact on the sustainable development of Nigerian literature. There is too much emphasis on the cash prize of $50,000 when the focus should be on promoting the revival of our reading culture for the intellectual development of the Nigerian society that is presently breeding philistines. The Nigerian Prize for Literature has made the lucky winners richer, but it has failed to make us wiser, because many of the prizes winning books have not reached the majority of the Nigerian society, except the intelligentsia. The Man Booker Prize, Orange Prize, Pulit...

The name of Nigeria is being dragged into the mud by François Bancilhon, the CEO of Mandriva, the French vendor of Linux, who alleged that Microsoft snatched a Nigerian contract from Mandriva in his "open letter to Steve Ballmer , the CEO of Microsoft. François Bancilhon said they closed a deal with the Nigerian Government for affordable hardware+software solution for Nigerian schools, to install Mandriva Linux in 17,000 Classmate PCs from Intel. But were surprised when Nigeria dropped their Mandriva Linux and decided to install Windows OS. I have investigated this matter and to be honest and transparent, Mandriva's CEO François Bancilhon, did not tell the whole truth on this deal. Please, see "Intel Donates 3, 000 Classmate PCs To Nigeria" , to understand the background of this case. Microsoft has no business with Mandriva in this case and François Bancilhon's "open letter to Steve Ballmer , is totally a waste of time.

Call For Nominations For The 2008 Br!ck Awards « on: Today at 01:57:05 AM » “The Oscars of youth service awards…”-CNN. Since 1996, The BR!CK Awards have honored the nation’s finest young world-changers. Winners represent the best in their field or issue and are rewarded with a huge community grant and a special televised award ceremony. Know how athletes have the Olympics and singers have the Grammy’s? It’s about time world-changers have their special night too. The goal of the BR!CK Awards is to shine the spotlight on these amazing leaders and give them the recognition and applause normally given to athletes, actors, and certain “personalities” or socialites who will remain unnamed…You could say that The BR!CK Awards ARE THE ANTI-AWARD SHOW. Instead of asking “who are you wearing?” the show asks “what are you doing?” Celebrities are included as presenters, not honorees. Former winners include a homeless teenager-turned lawyer who sued New York City for failing to provide adequate supp...