Ese Macaulay; A Musician with a Message

Ese Macaulay is...

-A talented young woman who against all odds has decided not to give up on her dreams.

-A graphic artist, musician, guitarist, professional guidance counselor and a multifaceted entrepreneur

-Extrovert

-A Believer and a Friend of God. 

-Was Born in Effurun, Delta State. 

-Graduated from Delta state university, Abraka

-Started performing and doing music professionally in 2002

-Musical Influences include Casting Crowns, Whitney Houston, Michael W. Smith, Tracy Chapman, Israel Houghton, Hillsong and Jeremy Camp

-Participated as a Judge at Number 1 Singer, a talent show in Delta State 

-She is a motivation speaker with a message for young people centered on Self discovery and self-esteem

-Presently working on programs that will inspire children in schools and on the streets

-Hopes to partner with institutions on projects that reflect the essence of Corporate Social Responsibility

-Sees herself raising a family and traveling around the world spreading the message of peace and love through songs of inspiration

For bookings and more information, send an email to esemacaulay@gmail.com or call E-strings Multimedia on 08060780240.

Top pictures in 2012

1. 

Jake Beaudoin, a U.S. Army Private of 508 BSTB, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, takes cover during a controlled detonation to clear an area for setting up a check point in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan May 31, 2012. 

A riot police officer is dragged by protesters after being knocked down off his horse with rocks thrown by workers of 'La Parada' wholesale market in Lima, October 25, 2012.

Swirls of green and red appear in an aurora over Whitehorse, Yukon on the night of September 3, 2012 in this NASA handout image. The aurora was due to the interaction of a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun with Earth's magnetosphere. The CME left the Sun on August 31 and arrived on September 3. 

A child jumps on the waste products that are used to make poultry feed as she plays in a tannery at Hazaribagh in Dhaka October 9, 2012. 

1. 

1. A double rainbow appears after a heavy monsoon storms over Nipton Road in Searchlight, Nevada, July 13, 2012. 
   
   
   
   

2012 Year in Review: In Memoriam

 By Yahoo! Canada News | Yahoo! Canada News – Tue, 4 Dec, 2012

• 
  The Canadian Press - In this Feb. 13, 2011 file photo, singer Whitney Houston performs at the pre-Grammy gala in Beverly Hills, Calif. Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson and Usher will pay tribute to the late Whitney …more 

As 2012 comes to end, we're looking back at the beloved heroes and icons to whom we said goodbye this year.

Whitney Houston: At just 48 years old, diva Whitney Houston, considered by many to have one of the greatest voices of all time, died of accidental drowning in the bath in her Los Angeles hotel room on February 11. The coroner also listed the effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors to her untimely death. Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" remains the best-selling single by a female artist in history. Her passing, which shocked the music world, coincided with the 2012 Grammy Awards where stars paid tribute to the revered singer.

Robin Gibb: One-third of iconic disco-pop trio, the Bee Gees, Robin Gibb died at age 62 on May 20 from liver and kidney failure after a long battle with cancer. The singer-songwriter, who rose to fame with his brothers in part thanks to the wild success of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, is considered one of the most significant figures in British music's history.

Michael Clarke Duncan: On September 3, Michael Clarke Duncan, 54, passed away. He had been in intensive care since suffering a heart attack on July 13. "Big Mike" Duncan — the former bodyguard stood an intimidating 6-feet-4-inches tall — was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in The Green Mile. His other films included Armageddon, Planet of the Apes, The Whole Nine Yards, and Kung Fu Panda.

Neil Armstrong: On August 25, Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, passed away following complications from coronary artery bypass surgery. He was 82. Known for speaking the now-legendary line, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind," Armstrong set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969. U.S. President Barack Obama called Armstrong one the nation's greatest heroes. The humble astronaut, however, famously shied away from attention, calling himself simply a "nerdy engineer."

Adam Yauch: Adam "MCA" Yauch, co-founder of the Grammy-winning Beastie Boys, died on May 4 at the age of 47. He had been battling salivary gland cancer for three years. His death came just one month after his platinum-selling band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Dick Clark: Legendary TV host Dick Clark, 82, passed away on April 18 of a massive heart attack. "America's oldest teenager" — and the man behind the very successful Dick Clark Productions — was a familiar TV fixture for decades, hosting American Bandstand, numerous TV game shows, and the annual Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Clark suffered a stroke in 2004, but returned to ring in the new year on his iconic New Year's show in 2006. He was determined to never retire — and he didn't.

Etta James: American songstress Etta James died of leukaemia on January 20, just five days before her 74th birthday. A multi-Grammy-Award winner — and queen of the professional comeback — the "At Last" and "Something's Got a Hold On Me" singer defied category: During her five-decades-long career, she was inducted into of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Donna Summer: On May 17, Donna Summer died at her Florida home of lung cancer. The five-time Grammy award-winning "Queen of Disco" was 73. Cited as an influence of artists like David Bowie and Duran Duran, Summer helped defined the '70s disco boom with hits like "Hot Stuff," "Last Dance" and "Bad Girls." Her success continued with "She Works Hard for the Money," among others, in the '80s. In 2004, Summer in inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame.

Anthony Sedlak: On July 4, Food Network Canada chef Anthony Sedlak died of an undiagnosed medical condition. He was only 29. Best known for hosting Food Network Canada's "The Main" — and for writing a best-selling cookbook of the same name — Vancouver-based Sedlak rose to TV-chef fame following his Superstar Chef Challenge II win in 2007.

Peter Lougheed: On September 13, former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed died peacefully of natural causes in the Calgary hospital named after him. He was 84. Lougheed became the face of Canada's emergent West during his 14-year tenure as premier — he led the province from 1971 to 1985 — overseeing the development of Alberta's oil and gas resources and later establishing the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund. Despite retiring from politics in 1985, he still helped negotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in 1987 and co-chaired the Canada-Japan forum in the mid-'90s. From 1996 to 2002, Lougheed served as chancellor of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

Pics from the National Geographic Photo Contest

Below are 45 Images from the 2011 Edition of the Contest in Three Categories of People, Places, and Nature, with Captions Written by the Individual Photographers. Enjoy!

Many people pilgrimage to Uluru, but what is seen there often depends on where you've come from. (© Robert Spanring)

2

Eruption of the Cordon del Caulle. (© Ricardo Mohr) #

3

Beluga whales in the arctic having fun. (© Dafna Ben Nun) #

4

This is a streetcar in New Orleans traveling back towards The Quarter on St. Charles Ave. I held the camera against the window sill, making sure to divide the image equally between the inside and the outside. (© Don Chamblee) #

5

This image captures almost 6 hours of climbing parties on Rainier going for the summit under starry skies. Wind shifts during the night would cause bands of smoke from fires 100 miles away on Mt Hood to pass over Rainier. This intermittent low-level haze caused the red glow seen in the sky and a Rainier that looks like it was almost painted on. Lights from Sunrise can be seen in the lower right of the frame. (© Chris Morin) #

6

Russia, polar region of West Siberia, Tazovsky Peninsula. Reindeer breeding is one of the basic means of employment for the indigenous population of this region. All pieces of land suitable for pasture are assigned to families of reindeer breeders, or Sovkhoz brigades. Reindeer grazing freely in search of reindeer lichen overnight can disperse across few kilometers. Here, the foreman of the shepherds examines a herd with the aid of binoculars. (© Dmitriy Nikonov) #

7

An adult male gelada rests in the early morning light after ascending the steep sleeping cliffs of the Simien Mountains, Ethiopia. This male won his right to mate by successfully deposing the old leader. Now he must defend his harem by tending to his females' needs and fighting off anxious bachelors waiting for their chance to become harem leader. (© Clay Wilton) #

8

An unexpected side-effect of the 2010 flooding in parts of Sindh, Pakistan, was that millions of spiders climbed up into the trees to escape the rising flood waters; because of the scale of the flooding and the fact that the water took so long to recede, many trees became cocooned in spiders webs. People in the area had never seen this phenomenon before, but they also reported that there were less mosquitos than they would have expected, given the amount of standing water that was left. Not being bitten by mosquitoes was one small blessing for people that had lost everything in the floods. (© Russell Watkins) #

9

Curious cormorants watch the start of the Gatorman part of the La Jolla Roughwater Swim. Athletes swim 3 miles from La Jolla Cove to Scripps Pier and back. (© Lee Sie) #

10

This place is very special to me. The fèllensee is placed at the bottom of the hundstei (dog stone). I know this might sound silly, but since my dog and I grew up just around the corner and the naming of the mountain, I chose this very calm lake as a final resting place for Spock (my dog) so he would have the biggest gravestone of all dogs out there. That morning we had a farewell ceremony for Spock. I took this picture and we summited the hundstei to his honor (which was a very emotional challenge). This picture of his resting place is now hanging in our kitchen to remember him. (© Nino Benninger) #

11

Copenhagen, The Gemini Towers, private residential building by the river. I had to wait about 2 hrs and hoped some residents would come in or out and kindly let me in. It was worth waiting coz this building its so unreal. (© Elena Baroni) #

12

Cage divers confront a great white shark. (© David Litchfield) #

13

Spark trails from cannon blast captured at the Moorpark Civil War reenactment, sponsored by the Moorpark Rotary Club. Soldiers manning the cannon were silhouetted due to a large light behind them shining down on the battlefield. The large flood light made it possible to also see the smoke from the cannon blasts. (© Robert Jensen) #

14

Snow Geese in flight. Kleinfeltersville, Pennsylvania. (© Charles Funk) #

15

The awesome power of a tornado displayed in Mapleton, Iowa April 11th, 2011. (© Timothy Wright) #

16

Yala National park of Sri Lanka is best known for leopards, but of course very difficult to get them in action. This is one of the well grown three cubs got excited and started jumping between branches. I got it against the light within fraction of a second.(© Lalith Ekanayake) #

17

Rare and endangered Australian Sea Lions (Neophoca cinerea) swim and play in the shallows of Hopkins Island, South Australia.(© Michael Patrick O'Neill ) #

18

This a portrait that I took of my Grandfather. He was a photographer and I wanted to show all his wonderful old cameras and his life in an editorial styled portrait. He just turned 95 years old and still remembers how all his old camera's work. I shot this with my cannon 7d body,and Tamron 17-55mm zoom lens. The lighting is with a 1200w Pro photo 2 head kit with 2 medium soft boxes. As well I used a 580 ex2 canon speed lite and diffused it with a paper lantern that I made into a diffusion for my speed lite. I really love this picture and hope you like it as well. (© Christopher Bellezza) #

19

Death valley averages just 1.58 inches of rainfall a year. Yet somehow, in my first trip there in four years, we catch a storm. Not just a storm, an electrical storm. At sunset, of all times. This was the reward for years of trips gone awry, blank skies, drenching downpours, and for every other cause of failed photography endeavors. To me, this is an example of the best thing that can happen to a photographer. To be in the right place, at the right time - and to not mess it up too badly. (© Jeff Engelhardt) #

20

Within an ultra modern society Japan still maintains to hold traditions passed down from generation to generation making it one of the most beautiful and intriguing places in the world. The city of Gion in Kyoto is one of those places that you will walk into and forget about all the flashing lights the rest of Japan has to offer. Its brick paved streets holds some buildings that have been maintained like the old traditional Japan. If you're lucky you will catch a glimpse of a beautiful geisha passing through the streets scurrying to her next appointment, make sure you have your camera ready. (© Clancy Lethbridge) #

21

This is a shot of one of the many thermal pools in Yellowstone National Park. (© Danielle Goldstein) #

22

An extraordinary display of spring frost covering everything in sight. This particular image of a frosted fence with a backdrop of a blue metal dumpster from a construction site was taken in late-March of 2011. (© Sara Worsham) #

23

After school fun at the river, in Laos. (© Danny Griffin) #

24

A male jawfish mouthbrooding eggs until they hatch. (© Steven Kovacs) #

25

This image was taken in wintertime in an arid area of the Canadian Rockies. Temperatures were below 30 degrees Celsius, yet because there was no snow fall the surface of the lake was uncovered allowing me to see and capture the bubbles (gas release from lake bed) that were trapped in the frozen waters. (© Emmanuel Coupe-Kalomiris ) #

26

Flight of an Eagle owl Photo by Mark Bridger A large adult eagle owl in flight. (© Mark Bridger) #

27

In a mud pool at the sea salt mines near Bourgas, Bulgaria locals gather. He applies the mud from the pool and then stands upright until it is dry only to take a dip in the nearby sea. Afterwards he gets a relaxing swim in the 30cm of water in the salt mine.(© Antoni Georgiev) #

28

One morning while on the Big Island of Hawaii, I was exploring my surroundings to see if I could find something to photograph. I almost went back inside when something on this huge palm tree leaf caught my eye. I stayed around and it was this little gecko, startled by my presence he was hidden between the ridges of the leaf. He would pop his head up periodically to check his surroundings; as soon as he saw I was still there he would hide again. We played this game for a while until I got the shot. (© Lorenzo Menendez) #

29

The weirdest market on planet earth must be the voodoo market in Lome,Togo. Thousands of dead animals are used for religious and health purposes. Freaky, frightening but also fascinating (© Jorgen Tharaldsen) #

30

My son, Jack, dune jumping. (© Betina La Plante) #

31

Every year around the month of October, Dubai experiences heavy fog due to the still-high humidity and the falling temperatures. With all the new high-rise buildings (including the tallest in the world, Burj Khalifa), this provides a great photographic opportunity.(© Catalin Marin) #

32

Bonobo Portrait, Jacksonville Zoo, Florida (© Graham McGeorge) #

33

Climbing the Harding Ice-field trail in the rain, has its rewards. I stopped to admire glacier, only to find an adult black bear eating in front of a glowing blue glacier. (© Colin McCrindle) #

34

Nathan Fletcher rides one of the biggest waves ever ridden at Teahupoo, in Tahiti. (© Ted Grambeau) #

35

Pinki Kundu,a 13 yrs old girl is suffering from a chronic disease & is being treated in Mother Teresa TB Hospital in Kolkata. She is under CAT 1 drug therapy & is doing well.The day I photographed her she was very hopeful mood that she would be returning back to her parents soon. (© Saibal Gupta) #

36

A Rufous humming bird takes a much need break on a pine tree, boasting his beautifully bright chest. (© Cael Cook) #

37

At safari not only animals can attract attention. (© Dmitry Gorilovskiy) #

38

The Himba Women of northern Namibia perfome daily rituals where by they annoint themselves with a mixture of ochre, oil and ash to protect themselves from the harsh desert climate. They never take a shower, but rather burn aromatic herbs in a pot each morning with which they smoke themselves as if applying perfume. (© Dominique Brand) #

39

Lone Tree Yellowstone Photo by Anita Erdmann A solitary tree surviving another harsh winter in Yellowstone National Park.(© Anita Erdmann) #

40

This lynx (Lynx Canadensis) flinches its ear at bothersome gnats in the late evening summer sun in Alaska. (© Jimmy Tohill) #

41

This photo was taken in the Upper Antelope Canyon near Page (AZ) and it shows the amazing effect of the sand thrown in the air and struck by the rays of the sun. (© Angiolo Manetti ) #

42

A "joey" (baby) Eastern Grey Kangaroo pokes a head out from its mother's pouch. The baby kangaroo will continue to peek until if feels safe enough to emerge for short periods. After 7 to 10 months it will leave the pouch for the last time. (© Brent Lukey) #

43

Morning light breaking through the windows of the 'Temple of Transition' during the Burning Man event 2011. (© Lars Tiemann) #

44

The sun gives us energy, even when underwater. This image was captured during free diving (diving on a single breath without scuba gear) in the Red Sea. (© Vaclav Krpelik) #

45

I have been trying to follow a leopard with cubs for the last year, and spend a lot of nights with them. She has no tracking device, so when I find her I try to stay with her as long as possible. On this particular evening a brown hyena stole her kill (a springbok ) and was sitting on a rock ledge with the moon rising behind her. I lit her eyes up with a torch to make it a bit more mysterious.(© Hannes Lochner)