THE MAFIA MANAGER (by V.)

SUMMARY
THE MAFIA MANAGER (A guide to the corporate Machiavelli) is a 1991 nonfiction book that significantly references Machiavelli's works on the art of managing stuff. A book mainly intended to not only offer insight into the dark, dark world of, as the author would call it;  ThisThingOfOurs (Mafia) -- but also provide 'knowledge of a particular sort' to persons looking to get to the top of the otherwise more legit world (ThisThingOfYours). And staying there.

THE PLOT
The book opens with a quote from the infamous Al Capone: "You can get a lot more done with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone".

The Mafia Manager consists three very distinct parts:
1.  MANAGING YOURSELF: which has a couple of subplots that discuss various topics like; decision making, time management, problems, handling business, concept of friendship (and enemies) and politicking.

2.  MANAGING OTHERS
The second part of the book discusses at length, under well structured subheadings, appropriate disposition, temperament and general advice on dexterity in the art of managing others.

3. THE REST OF IT
The final part of the book discusses more general stuff like negotiating, lying, secrecy, the rich, the equilibrium between business and family et all.

MY VERDICT
Once upon a time, I decided to clean the cobwebs around the house. So I took my broom and started to. Then I heard a silent hum somewhere in the room. Upon inspection, I saw that a fly had been caught in the convoluted web of a spider. It was fascinating. The spider was wrapping the fly with more cobwebs in very slow motion, and I imagined that must've been the Culicidae-ic equivalent of a man slowly burning to death.

I felt bad for the little fly, but I understood that the spider must also eat to survive. Am I no longer a good person for watching a little, vulnerable fly die a slow, painful death? Would I have been a bad person had I used a broom stick to save the fly from death's clutch? In the pursuit of happy-ness, you'll have to ask yourself these questions that are intrinsically embedded in the grey areas of moral ambiguity.

THE MAFIA MANAGER discusses manipulation, respect, authority, ruthlessness, discipline, loyalty, patience, women, restraint, men, enemies, friends, adaptability, obsequiousness, communication, faux-honesty and a great many other topics. There are axioms one is bound to learn by rote at the tail-end of each part, but the most remarkable thing is the quality of writing and quantity of memorable epithets that pervade the book. Check this:
"The most important thing in (y)our business is a reputation for honesty. If you can genuinely and sincerely fake honesty, you'll be a success"

And that's not even close to being the 'worst' bit of advice.

MY RATING
106 pages that'll inundate you with 'knowledge of a particular sort' AND further erase the already blurred lines of virtuosity -- what's not to read?

A bloody awesome read.

--->>>Captaincue (let the spider kill the fly, let the spider eat its kill & then kill the spider 24hours later)

BETTING TIPS (21-22/03/2015)

Good people of the football betting confraternity; I hail thee. Again, we are gathered here today to continue our bid to win N2million with a stake of N200 every other weekend. Godspeed. Here goes:

LYON vs OGC NICE
A huge slap in the face/A monumental kick to the groin of the much heralded 'best league in the world' aka the EPL that two Ligue Uuuuuuuuuuun sides are still in the Champions league. Nice have four losses on the spin. Lyon will make light work of them.
Comfortable home win

NORWICH vs NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Two form teams that play the most expansive style of football in the Championship. It'll be an entertaining match with a tonne of goals.
Over 2.5

ATLETICO MADRID vs GETAFE
Atleti looked a bit leggy in that entertaining match against Leverkusen in midweek. Still, they'll have too much quality for their opponents.
Home win

FC SCHALKE vs BAYER LEVERKUSEN
Over 2.5 goals

GO AHEAD EAGLES vs VITESSE
The stupidest club name in all of football. For that only, I'm staking big against them. Lol. Really, Vitesse have won four of their last five and GAE have lost four of their last five matches. Go ahead, see the writing on the wall with your eagle eye and bet on an away win.

TOULOUSE vs BORDEAUX
Christmas has come early boys! 2.75 on a Bordeaux victory. Am I mad?!
No. That's why I'm betting on an away win.

CD NATIONAL vs FC PORTO
Porto are really, really, really good. Consistent too. I see naught but a straightforward Porto victory.

ATHLETIC BILBAO vs UD ALMERIA
Bilbao's strong run of form has been somewhat surprisingly swimming under my radar. Not anymore motherfvkas. Not anymore.
Home win

FEYENOORD ROTTERDAM vs PSV
Feyenoord are in good nick, but PSV will edge a tight contest by the smallest of margins.
PSV win

Fsv MAINZ 05 vs VfL WOLFSBURG
Such is their attacking prowess that Wolfsburg don't bother defending. The bastards always outscore their opponents.
Away win

STADE REIMS vs AS MONACO
One of the rotten sides in Ligue1. I think Monaco will continue their beautiful run in the league by edging this.
Away win

QPR vs EVERTON
Two sides with fast, dynamic attackers and underperforming defenses. Recipe for a shitload of goals.
Over 2.5

UDINESE CALCIO vs AC FIORENTINA
Unlike those above, these are two sides that play brilliant, fast-paced attacking football. Another recipe for lots of goals. Variety is the spice of life, you see!
Over 2.5

RC LENS vs OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
Marseille victory all the way. And that's a banker.

FC BARCELONA vs REAL MADRID
A brilliant fixture to wrap things up. Why worry about who'll win and consequently fail to enjoy the match -- when you can just bet on over 3.5goals, open another can of beer and enjoy the spectacle.

That's your lot for the weekend. See you after the international break. I'll post a book review before the weekend runs out. A brilliant weekend. Bottoms up

Yours in tipster-y;
Captaincue

BETTING TIPS (14/03/2015)

CRYSTAL PALACE vs QPR
Palace have hit a bit of a purple patch in recent months due in no small part to the effects of their white haired coach. QPR will score too.
Over1.5

INTER vs CESENA
Comprehensively beaten by giant-killers; Wolfsburg in midweek, Inter will surely get back to winning ways against lowly Cesena.
Home win

WOLFSBURG vs FREIBURG
The first I dated was the one I thought was going to give me the most problem. We started dating two weeks after I asked her out. The one in my neighborhood that I was totally sure I'd get in my bed with minimum fuss has been consistently giving me the short end of the stick. I think Wolfsburg should start killing the minnows this weekend.
With some trepidation, I'll bet on a home win.

SEVILLA vs ELCHE
Home win with at least a two goal margin.

BORDEAUX vs PSG
PSG victory. And that's a banker

PSV vs GRONINGEN
Another home win

CELTA vs BILBAO
Promises to be an exhibition if attacking football played at breakneck speed.
Over 2.5

HERTHA vs SCHALKE
Absolute breathtaking stuff from Schalke at the Bernabeu in midweek. Do I think they'll keep it up? Fcuk yeah, I do!
Away win

EVERTON vs NEWCASTLE
Two sides with awesome attacking talents and woefully out of form defenders. The result? Goals. Lots of goals.
Over2.5

HEERENVEN vs AJAX
What the hell is wrong with Ajax? Dropping points regularly and consistently destroying accumulators. Still, an odd of 2.5 on an Ajax win is too good to pass up for me.

ESPANYOL vs ATLETICO
Espanyol have an OK attack, but I reckon their defense will be their undoing here.
Atletico Madrid win

HELLAS vs NAPOLI
Will be a tight fame, but Napoli will edge this one.
Away win

All the best. Good luck boys. And girls.
Yours in tipster-y;
Captaincue

AMBITION, CONTENTMENT & MATERIALISM

I was going to do a three-part miniseries with the titles(ambition, contentment, materialism), and post on separate dates, but that seemed too much like a corporate thing; like I'm writing a newspaper column. So I decided to incorporate all three in one little, lovely blog post -- as this is a personal blog & I don't want to lose that personal feel to whatever missive I come up with. Besides, I can revisit this page and expand on it at a later date. Hope you people enjoy this one.

As a scientist, you gotta have a little bone of atheism in you in order to be able to follow (and believe) Darwin's theory of evolutionism. Geologists will have us believe (with good explanations, mind you) that the entire solar system was formed about 6billion years ago when a spinning, disc-shaped hot cloud of interstellar gases (and dust) in our part of the galaxy (the Milky way) developed a very hot epicenter which resulted in a series of thermonuclear reactions that provided the proto-Sun's energy through hydrogen fusion. Further turbulence of the solar nebula led to the condensation of these gases, and invariably led to the birth of the planets; as it were.

What evolutionism fails to effectively account for is the origin of those gas clouds.
Outside of school, most everyone believe there's a God somewhere/everywhere in charge of everything. Religion provides us with an alternate explanation of a being decreeing stuff to  'BE'. On the surface, the demographic of Nigerian citizens are essentially Christians and Muslims. Christianity/Islam comes with rules/regulations that serve as guidelines for people of those faith(s).

To contextualize the post, I'm gonna fictionalize an instance: "In one of the technical drawing classes that a sweet bastrd of a young man (Captaincue) took in senior secondary, the class was to design a spanner. When he got his drawing sheet back, he scored a 6/10 because there were a couple of double-lines on his work. He wasn't particularly chuffed-- as he'd put in a lot of work in that stuff. So while wallowing in his unhappiness, a mate told him he ought to be thankful. That some people got as little as 2 out of 10." End of story.

By his (my) reckoning, 60% of the score wasn't enough. 80% was the aim for him. That resolve, that aspiration, that intent,  is what I define as ambition. 

Recognizing the fact that he would've scored higher had he (re)sharpened his pencils AND eventually accepting that '6/10 isn't that bad!'. That equanimity, that tranquility -- that's contentment.

Knowing there are double-lines on his work and sneaking into the teacher's office to correct all errors in order to score higher however; that greed, that animalistic hunger, that steely-eyed determination to get more; often at the detriment of religions' core values -- that's materialism.

What will you be content with? How lofty are your ambitions/goals. What're you willing to do to make those goals of yours come to fruition? How unscrupulous can you get? How ruthless can you be? How godly can you be? How low are you willing to go? Are you going to look at those that got 2/10 and say Alhamdulilai or you're gonna look at those that scored 10/10 and punch your desk?
When does being content with happenstance become a steady decline into the cesspit of mediocrity?
When does untamed materialistic tendencies escalate into a narcissistic spate of blatant disregard for basic human decency? Why does this even matter...?!!

Well, I think everything we achieve is somewhat dependent on what your definition of those three words are. Just do your thing. Surely, God will judge us all on judgement day.
I think.
They say.

(Cue: lots of the former, agreeable amount of the middle & a healthy dosage of the latter)

---CAPTAINCUE (...is a freelance writer taking on gigs for unridiculous money. Send me a direct message on Twitter @Captaincue or send me a mail with your writing needs at kaptaincue@gmail.com)

Football Betting Tips (07/03/2015)

Yo! We back. A bit of advice to begin with; do NOT stake with money that, if lost, will disrupt the linear flow of your life. Don't get yourself in ruinous debt to bet on games. As I always say, N200 (a week) to win N2million. I think I'll write a short story on gambling. If you're here for this weekend's tips, here goes:

HANNOVER vs BAYERN MUNICH:
18goals in their last 3 Bundesliga fixtures. The odds on an away win is a meagre 1.22, but they all count in an accumulator.
Bayern victory

HAMBURG vs BORUSSIA DORTMUND:
I had the distinct displeasure of watching Hamburg play 'Gladbach a fortnight ago. They're truly a horrible side. Against a resurgent  Dortmund, it should be a straightforward away win.
Dortmund win

EVIAN vs MONACO
A deceptively competent side steadily getting their key players back from a debilitating injury crisis. What's not to bet on!
X2

HERACLES vs VITESSE
A game that guarantees goals.
Over 1.5goals

AUSBURG vs WOLFSBURG
Wolfsburg's form reads like : WWWWD. A sure banker for me
Away win

PADERBORN vs BAYER LEVERKUSEN:
This is a no-brainer for me.
Bayer victory

EMPOLI vs GENOA
I have no doubt Genoa are going to win at Empoli, but better to err on the side of caution when staking on an accumulator. Plus, there's the small matter of my N200.
X2

AJAX vs EXCELSIOR:
You see 16, 17 year olds making thousands of dollars every week in the Dutch league and reminisce what you were doing at 17. I'll tell you what I was up to. I was trying to lose my virginity. Without perspective, it could be rather disheartening. The young, little bastards!
Ajax win

ATLETICO MADRID vs VALENCIA:
My favourite kinda game to stake on. I don't care who wins (though I'm leaning towards a Valencia victory) -- so I'll just bet on goals and watch them score all those goals in the first half. A high-scoring encounter.
Over 2.5goals

NOTTINGHAM FOREST vs BORO
Over 1.5goals

Ten games. That's it for this weekend
Good luck boys.

Yours in tipster-y,
-->>>Captaincue (thank God for perspective)

WHITLOW, BRAS & ALL THAT...

Hi all, I'm Captaincue. Remember me? I thought as much! The betting tip(s?) I provided to folks, who like myself, hope to win 200million naira with 200naira, last week was disastrously bad. So I was contemplating skipping this week's -- to get me back on my tipstery feet, so to speak. Fortunately/unfortunately, that decision was made for me when my right thumb contacted whitlow. I think its funny how something as trivial as a sore finger can affect the whole person. Like that one time I had a little boil square on my groin. It was situated right where my trouser band usually is -- such that I couldn't pull my shorts up to my navel & look like Honourable Obahiagbon. Neither could I sag more than I usually do; else, the good boy image I've been cultivating in the neighborhood would be eviscerated in the eyes of puritanical hypocrites around here. That shi made me miserable. This whitlow thing likewise.

Trying to type on your phone with a sore thumb is akin to trying to fondle boobs with the bra still on; totally doable, but very frustrating. (Captaincue, March 2015)

During the brief recess occasioned by a little health niggle, I've not been totally useless though. I read and reviewed quite a number of books. I managed to jot some stuff in my books which I'll develop into articles shortly. In the meantime, let's end this little get-together with a little benediction. Everyone should grab a drink while I say that prayer:  Here's to pressing boobs (living life) through the bra (regardless of frustrating confinements) & hoping she (Providence) will take that fcvking bra (challenges) off pretty soon. Amen?
Bottoms up.

--->>>Captaincue (Amen)