Dope or Dogfood?

The hip hop heads will get the reference.

Ever since Ben Johnson in Seoul 88 I've kind of gotten used to the fact that some if not a majority of our sportsmen are doping up, using some sort of enhancing drug, to take them to the next level. Its gotten to a stage where I wonder who the next big name to test positive or to be scrutinized as having used drugs will be. When someone does test positive its almost like an "ah ha I knew he was too good to be true!" moment and I wonder how some of the others who test negative consistently continue to beat the system.

Who's using the Juice? Who's got the Juice and I'm not talking about Bishop or GQ here or even a bronco riding O.J.

Everyone is a suspect.

Seems like with the level of competition and the rewards, cash, endorsements, prestige, glamour and glitz (Some are preoccupied with glamour and glitz, actin all bougie and making big movies) associated with excelling in certain sporting arenas you're almost seen as a the exception not to take some sort of substance to get better.

"So what you on hops dope or dogfood?"

No I'm not advocating steroid use I'm just saying if steroids and using drugs has become so common place that it almost seems like you're first impression is that an athlete is using instead of he isn't. The playing field isn't level anymore and it seems like in order to compete, keep up with the Joneses so to speak, no pun intended, one needs to play the same game they do.

So did Landis and Gatlin cheat? Hmmm I don't know. I hope not but that's me being naive again. I aint no Guru but as he said "Fallen heroes are zeroes" so The Question remains.

And as a die-hard sports fan I got to say the whole steroid, illegal substance business is killing me slowly. Up until it started getting publicity I was a naive little sports fan who figured I was cheering on all natural talent but as the years have gone by and more and more sportsmen have been caught I must say I'm feeling more tainted than a Slum Village joint.

Its like when you were a kid and believed that Wrestlers actually fought real fights and really beat the crap out of each other, lashed each other with chairs, got up put each other in secret coma inducing grips, traded punches and still at the end the winner looked like they could go another half hour in the ring.

Yea I used to believe that sprinters ran under 10 seconds without drugs or baseball players could hit hundreds of home runs without injections, that human growth serum was some sort of secret portion from the comics like the kind Henry Pym used to turn into Giant Man or that supplements were vitamins that your mom gave you every morning with your juice and cereal so you could grow up strong and healthy not needles that you got your homie to stick in your thigh in the locker room.

Juicing was squeezing piece of orange on one of those little round things in the morning and I thought "the cream" was something you put on your skin to stop yourself from looking ashy. Definitely had no idea what "the clear" was either although if somebody say "the clear one" I would have known them mean somebody who "fair skinned".

I was simple enough back then to think it was only big "man-looking" woman from Eastern Europe and China with facial hair and big deep bass voices that was dealing in this enhancing drug business. When woman look big, square and obzocky and can throw a truck at a fella from cross by the corner shop like she name She-Hulk it was then that I wondered about drugs. Yea man she must be using one a them things with a name that end in lone or rone or ine and zine. Look at she why she looks more of a man than me or you.

Never thought of sprinters or swimmers or baseball players or cyclists as the ones on the drugs. They just looked like normal cats.

But that was back when I was an innocent sports fan and believed that everyone was natural. Back when I would have believed Landis' and Gatlin's stories without blinking cause they were innocent until proven guilty. It was clearly a mistake they said and I would have believed them at face value.

Now? I'm more skeptical. Blame BALCO, Andro, Bonds, McGuire, Canseco, Tim Montgomery, CJ Hunter and the rest. Seen too many positive tests, too many apologetic athletes, too many I'm not sure what they were giving me or what my trainer rubbed on me or I thought it was olive oil or sesame seed oil or flax seed oil or it was in my cold medicine excuses. How can you seriously believe these cats when the average athlete knows more chemistry than a second year pharmacy student?

Oh well judge not less yea shall be judged they say so I guess I'll reserve my skepticism and just watch and see what the fallout will be.

Pity about Gatlin though, his rep is shot regardless. I kind of liked him too as he seemed to be one of the less knuckleheaded, big headed sprinters around.

Flier than a Flyer

You see, I'm flier than a flyer to a hip-hop jam

Fly MC - Special Ed

For the Toronto crew another Afropan blocko this weekend at the Afropan panyard, 1 Jefferson Ave (off King east of Dufferin) just south of Lamport Stadium. Features an evening of pan including the aforementioned Afropan along with other top Toronto steel pan groups like Pan Fantasy, Panatics and Silhouettes. Should start around 5ish I'd say. Did I mention it was FREE yep key word that free business.

But anyways promoting this little thing here got me thinking about some other promotion I did last year. Was doing a favor for some people and I end up as a designated Flyer guy outside an event.

Yea a flyer guy, you know the dudes that stand outside the jam and try to beg you to take a piece of paper into your hands as you leave the fete. Yea boy one a those guys.

So see me last year outside this venue trying to convince, read beg, patrons who were leaving as that event wound down to come over to our little FREE event down the road. Again key word free.

Well people let me tell you, I see people sending around email about worse jobs out there and showing men cleaning out elephant crap and sewers and that sort of business but I have to tell you Flyer guy has to be up there with the worse occupations in the world.

Why?

People just don't like flyers and they just don't like anyone trying to hand them a flyer whether you push it at them or even if you are the most courteous about handing them out that you can be. From the time they realize you standing up with your flyers ready to hand out their faces duz set up like rain start fall. People getting blue vex like you is the tax man tekking money from them instead of an innocent fella giving them something for free.

When you have flyers in your hand, people blatantly ignore you, tell you to carry ya bleeping bleep from roun dem, look at you like ya begging them for money, stupse at ya, tell you they aint have time for you, tek the flyers and fling them at ya, and give you some looks that duz mek ya feel less than a human being. Lawd ave mercy!

And I think I can safely say that guys are a little more receptive to receiving flyers. A guy will probably take it, take a quick peek and then dash it way if he aint interested or stick it in his pockets if he is. Women on the other hand......oh gosh don't get me started.

Maybe its because they look or they feel they looking nice, in they nice outfits, skirt match bag matching high heels and hair and all that business, that they feel that the flyer man shouldnt give them a flyer. Like them feel they is queen and you is beggar on the street "pardon mum can you spare a shilling?" or something like that. Women coming out a venue on seeing a Flyer man in their path will give you some cut eye, some you not worth the effort, some I know I better than you so move from in front a me looks that will make a man feel like he is piece of chewing gum to be scrubbed off the bottom of their shoe. Dissed and Dismissed!

Mek man feel like him should pull out resume and prove that he just doing this thing on the side and that he really aint a high school drop out and him have job and bank account and dreams and aspirations and that sort of business. Serious serious they duz look down on you like dirt and you duz feel like you need to redeem yourself somehow as you holding the flyer. Maybe you should pull out framed diploma and hold it in the next hand to mek them know that like Jesse say You are somebody and they shouldn't look on you like dog do do.

Cuhdear!

So with that experience I nominate Flyer guy as one of the worse jobs out there.
--------

On another note just wish to say that a great lady has passed. Louise Bennett Coverley aka Miss Lou a pioneer in the field of Caribbean storytelling in we own words, none of this prim and proper exact English business, storytelling the way we duz talk, we words, we patois, we dialect died yesterday in Toronto. Clap Har! Thanks for paving the way Miss Lou. Rest in Peace!

Afri-centric

Some day last week this article jumped out at me on the front page of the Toronto Star. In case the link dies or you choose not to read it its about the implementation of an "Africentric" curriculum at certain schools in Toronto.

Now I'll be honest my first thoughts when I hear about these special programs for Black students is why is all of this necessary? Its probably definitely a bias on my part since I figure hey I grew up learning more British history than Caribbean history and it didn't negatively affect me why cant these black kids here deal with the teaching system and just put their best foot forward and do what they can do.

But then I realize like I said its a bias on my part. I haven't been through this Canadian school system so I cant shouldn't make direct comparisons. Plus from the statistics offered it just seems as if there is something lacking here as too many of our black youth are falling by the wayside. Of course this could be due to attitudes, systems, parents, teachers, society and a host of other factors but hey we need to get these kids back on track and we need to start somewhere. I guess if Afri-centric programs can save some of them then hey I say more power to them and lets get it going full speed.

The part of the article that threw me for a loop though was this section:

And we're looking at a data-management unit that would use statistics about police and racial profiling

A who with a what? Ok is this only disturbing to me? I don't know about y'all but to me this just sounds like the draft for a bad Chappell show skit. I'm all for the Africentric curriculum but ummm just leave the race stats and police profiling out of math class please. I'm just imagining questions like "Over the past 5 weeks Lil Johnny has been harassed by Po Po 8, 10,5, 3 and 12 times. What is the likelihood that Lil Johnny will be harassed by Po Po more than 6 times this week?"

Ok so it probably wont be stuff like that but still I just find it a bit disturbing to have a stats course featuring racial profiling stats and I also question how or whether that is going to encourage black kids to study harder or put in a greater effort in stats class. I mean the point was to use stuff the kids are familiar with to help them learn right? But shouldn't it be stuff that they like to learn about? Yea maybe the kids are familiar with racial profiling but I'm sure they don't want to be dealing with the stats in math class. Shouldn't the stuff that the kids are familiar with be something positive not something negative?

I know I'd be right pissed if I was in stats class and we were calculating how often police stop black men while driving or how often blacks were arrested for minor crimes compared to other races. Man a couple of hours dealing with that and I'd be about as upset as I was when I left the movies after watching Rosewood.

I hope these folks realize that sometimes in trying you can go just a bit too far in attempting to incorporate this whole Africentric stuff in the curriculum and sorry I just don't see how that helps anyone.



p.s: For those interested HiphopQuotables been updated.

Gone in 60 words

or less!

My good sistren Abeni over at And still I rise challenged me to write a 60 word story. Something about my posts being always long. Well then! Here we go!
---------------------------

The jingle of keys.
Click!
"Meow?"
"Shhhhhhhh stupid cat!"
A pause.
Silence followed by a soft continuous creaking.
An animal screams!
"Wha de? ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"
The sound of tumbling.
Bruggadown!
"Uhhhhhhh"
"What's going on down there?"
"Nothing Dear."
Lights go on.
"Oh Michael why must you always trip over the cat on the stairs when you come home drunk?"
--------------------

There you have it, excuse me while I stand here chilling in my b-boy stance. And I'm ghost!

I remember

Ol time sumting come back agin!

I remember those days when .......

I was a little boy living in Barbados going to primary school. See me there with me short, bony self in some khaki short pants and khaki shirt. That was uniform, neatly pressed or sometimes starched along with some nice brown or black leather shoes that I used to polish up on the weekend with the kiwi shoe polish and a old piece of rag. Added to that was the khaki socks held in place on skinny shins with elastic bands. Oh and don't forget me with my hair part or my little afro cause my father didn't like cutting my hair too often.

Anyway see me dey not a care in the world. Is just school, run bout and talk foolishness to deal with. Yea we had to study for big Common Entrance exam to go high school but still no worries is only de parents that worried that you get into the 'right' school and thinking about your future an all that nonsense. All we children, like 8 or 9 years old, thinking bout is nothing so serious at all so. We just living life, pitching marbles, playing football, running up and down the school field trying to grow up and get big. We figure well the set above we pass common entrance, some for good schools, some for not so good but well them didn't look too much brighter than we so we should do just as well right? Sounded like good logic to our small brains true?

Oh boy and yea now we talking about pitching marbles boy I remember those days when....

We used to play 'killa' and other marble games. Marbles was like 5 or 10 cents each so every boy had about a good 3 or 4 at least. The glass ones were nice and very common but we liked the ones that look like real marble betta cause they were more expensive and a bit rarer. Pretty pretty white marbles with the little swirls of red or blue or green. Yes boy I want some a dem! We playing marbles like is pool without a stick or golf without the club no? Set up a starting line and aim for the hole and try to make it in 2 or 3 shots like them golf man that shoot birdies and eagles, albatrosses and bogeys. But what we local boys know about birdies and eagles is only black bird and wood dove we seeing round we. Naa star is marbles we playing man.

The aim is to get to the hole so you can be a killa and then mek the odda fellas run roun the place and hit/kill their marbles one by one till you win. Watch we in the dirt, all over the dusty ground or standing with one eye closed aiming to take a serious shots. Flick that thumb and brax marble lik! Spawning off distance between marbles, calculating angles and rotating the shot like pivoting on the basketball court, setting up what seemed like impossible kill shots and more brax! Looka that. Haw haw looka that man marble crack! It used to be round now big piece chip off and marble useless. Sometimes we even play if ya win ya get the other man marbles. Little boy gambling I guess but we never see it as anything so although you used to wonder why ya mudda would get so vex if she find out ya playing for marbles. We would chalk it up to just another of those things children do that parents get vex at for no logical reason.


But anyway.....

That was at break and lunch time. During school time we behave like all school children......try to get away with things when we can if not behaving we self. Yea boy cant let the teacher see you behaving bad at all. Must behave yaself at school if not is a good cut ass in ya backside in class and maybe another one when ya reach home. Teacher scary too cause teacher have ruler, leather belt, strap and bamboo taller than you to use as Weapons of Ass Destruction (WAD) looking to target any rude boy that misbehave. No matter how much a rude boy ya was you could pretend but that bamboo used to bring tears to ya eyes so was serious fear of that instrument.


Yes I! I remember those days when ....

Well one day in particular. I Remember teacher maulsprig almost the whole class over one math question. Wasn't the hardest question, wasn't the simplest question either but by the time the four people in the front row miss and get it wrong and get liks everybody too frighten to even remember the answer if they did know it previously.

I Remember her saying something like 'Wha wrong wid wunnah? My 5 year old at home could answer this question. This is simple. How you going pass common entrance if you cant answer this?'

That time all we feel we big at like 8 or 9 so to compare we to a 5 year old is pure embarrassment and shame plus we living in fear as she goes from bench to bench sharing liks with the big dry flexible bamboo.

And is not like the teacher woman was small either ya know. Woman a good 5'7" or 5'8" and solid, solid, solid. Must be a good 250lbs plus but know how to use that weight to advantage. Arms big, big like leg ham and when she flex that bamboo and that bamboo descend is like serious serious physics business a gwan. Mass times acceleration and transfer of energy kinetic to energy potential to "behind sore" energy leaving you in distress. All ya hearing as ya bend over the bench is a woosh! and a pax as the bamboo connects with pants bottom. All wind knock out ya khaki pants and then a few seconds later ya bottom stinging ya. Girl and boy trying not to cry but nuff man a cry me say nuff man a cry cry, bamboo force brings tears to 'im eye.

That stinging of the bamboo wuhloss boy! Serious thing that.

And so the teacher went on and on from row to row sharing out liks like Bajan politicians sharing out corn beef and biscuits come election time. Ruthless and efficient she was moving down the line. What is the answer? All most could muster was a blank stare cause we felt that guessing and answering wrong might be worse than not answering at all. Whoosh, pax! Another man down. Next!

Everybody get a share. Man face set up, eyes red, eyes water, man a cry bucket a tears but yet the carnage continues. Till one man without a clue but figuring lemma guess and hope for the best step up and guess an answer. What do you know he was right. Save like the last two rows from distress.

All I can say is a good thing I used to sit at the very back.

What women want

If only one could throw a block called emotion into the enormous chasm that separates the sexes. If that was possible maybe we might understand each other better. Maybe it is possible who am I to say. All I know is that men and women are different and one of the major differences is in emotional responses.

'Cause I'm so sick of love songs , so tired of tears, so done with wishing you were still here.....'

I'm not that big on r'n'b aside from a few female artists with some soul in their voices but I confess I actually like the words to Neyo's so sick. Yea usually r'n'b for me is about complaining about whose beat they jacked, which rapper will hit the remix with tight rhymes and can dude or sista girl actually sing without getting too deep into the lyrics but something about "So sick" yea I'm kinda feeling that joint.

Driving across the 401 singing the first verse to the song I was asked by my wife why I liked the song. I don't know I replied its just the way its put together I guess. Its almost poetic. But its so unlike you she said cause you know you'd never do something like that. Yea that's true but that doesn't mean I cant like the song.

Anyway a brother figured these comments were some underlying dig about my emotion or lack of emotion going on. A conversation ensued and I came to some realizations somewhat afterwards which may or may not be flawed but whatever I'll share.

Women don't know what they want. Ok that's a silly way to put it. Lets rather say that what women want in a man always seems a lot more complicated than what men want in a woman. I think its because we probably prefer to deal more in absolutes than they do. They comfortably operate in some really grey areas while we prefer black and white.

Woman doh like soft man.

That's what Penguin said in his calypso back in the 80s and why a lot of cats on the prowl out there have this veneer, this machismo, this Plexiglas thug portrayal that they persist with because they have seen it work for other guys. And it does work actually. Think about it. When a lady checks out a guy 9 times out of 10 she'll be first attracted to the cat who portrays that strong, hold it down, confident sometimes to the point of cocky attitude over the more emotional cat. But women always say they want someone who is in touch with their emotions. Still the crying sensitive type only gets the girls in the movies.

Am I the only one getting mixed messages here?

Oh and I should confirm that I've come to the conclusion also that when women say emotions they mean vulnerability and crying. They want to see you shed a few tears if not flat out lose it and bawl like ya mudda dead. Somehow that's sexy or something. It says you are vulnerable and can share your feelings and bare your emotions and apparently that you are strong enough to show them your sensitive side without feeling like it makes you weaker.

So while guys think women want a strong, silent type, hunter gatherer, take charge cat what women also want is a guy who can cry. Oh not saying that women don't want the take charge type cat its just they want one who can also cry. You must have duality be strong when you need to be strong be soft when you need to be. Or so I'm told.

What?

Its like that Friends episode where Rachel was going out with a character played by Bruce Willis. Cat is all android like, wont show any emotion so she sets out to break him and make him cry. It takes awhile but she finally does and then the guy cries ...and cries and cries and he wont stop crying. The flood gates were open and dude just couldn't control his emotions. Then she dumps him because she says he is too emotional.

So all that to say I guess its a thin line and in this dog eat dog, competitive for affections world how are we men supposed to know what the boundaries are? Too much emotion you lose the girl too little the same happens. What's the correct dosage to avoid screwing up?

Beats the hell out of me.

All I know is that crying and vulnerability apparently are good things to show. Hmmm I should really work on that side of my personality.........naa !

"I saw tears in your eyes this week when you had those allergies bothering you so that means your tear ducts actually work"

"Yea maybe they do but that don't mean you going be seeing me crying and bawling down people place like a hired mourner at a west indian funeral anytime soon though."

Of course now I think she sees it as a challenge to break me.

West Indian Restaurants

(Forgive the recent lack of posts.)

Last week I had a serious craving for some West Indian food. At home, we does cook a bit of everything but I just had a taste for something with a lil' Caribbean flavor; some serious rice n peas, pelau, or macaroni pie, some curry goat or stew chicken or something like that.

So eventually I cook up a nice macaroni pie and some fried chicken (complete with trans fats so don't sue muh) and put a good hurting on that food.

Only thing was that I left back two pieces a chicken for the next day and the wife eat them off at lunch and when a hungry, tired man like de I reach home after work mouth salivating at the thoughts of digging into my chicken what greet me but the empty plastic container staring back at me from the sink. Cuhdear talk about let down then! Dat nuh right! My craving for West Indian food was still not completely fulfilled and I just didn't feel like cooking no more. Cho!

Oh well so I decide I would have to reach one of the numerous West Indian restaurants in Toronto sometime soon to satisfy my craving later that week.

West Indian restaurants in Toronto you say? Yes man is plenty, plenty West Indian restaurants we have here in the T-dot. Yardie food, Trini food, Bajan food, Guyanese food you name it we have it but most of the typical spots tend to be the little Roti shops and those little hole in the wall Jamaican places whose staples are Jerk chicken, Curry Goat and Ox tail.

Not that the food not good in those places I just saying most of the West Indian places around Toronto are of the no frills variety, nothing fancy.

Now like other types of restaurants when dealing with West Indian restaurants you have your good, your bad and your ugly. I aint calling no names cause I don't want to diss nobody for them to come looking to say I give their business bad name and they want to beat me up. No sah I frighten fa my skin!

Same way I aint want to big up no specific place cause nobody aint give Jdid money to mention their name on my blog. Although I will big up the fella that used to sell Roti down in Kensington Market back in the day as the best Roti I taste in Toronto. He shop shut down years back so I will make an exception and give he a mention.

Anyway like I was saying plenty plenty West Indian restaurants in Toronto and I would say that the experiences I've had in them run the gamut from your usual, typical restaurant experiences to some "But wait these people really running a business?" type moments.

Oh the stories I could tell. Like the one about the place that just never seemed to have beers on Friday night even though they knew for certain that every Friday a big bunch of us Caribbean men would be liming there for a couple of hours playing dominoes. You would think in a case like that where it was certain they would sell a fair amount of alcohol and knowing that alcohol is where restaurants tend to make a little profit that they would have something waiting for us but nooo.

Or the one about the fella that sell we the chicken Roti one night and how the curry was sweet sweet sweet. Only problem was ....... well you guys have heard of boneless chicken roti well his was meatless chicken roti. Every bite was pure bone. No exaggeration! So much snap crackle and pop business going on that the Rice Crispie fellas nearly threaten we for infringement of copyright.

Or the story about the place with the whole wheat festival which had a man well offset cause I accustom to dealing with white flour when it come to bakes, festival and dem sorta business. I guess them musse think I worried about trans fats cause whole wheat festival and bakes just don't taste the same as the regular ones. chupse!

Or the one about the place that tell the lady they didn't make the special of the day that particular day cause they just didn't feel like it that day.

Or my favorite West Indian restaurant story where the two non-west indian ladies were all bubbly and order off big load a food; rice n peas, jerk chicken, plan-tain like they know what they doing and then after a little whispered discussion a few minutes later call back the waitress and say "umm we were wondering what exactly is rice n peas?" True true story that, even a fella with my imagination couldn't make that up.

No boy too many stories to tell, we would be here for days.

No let me not go there and let me just give you a few of my simple rules and observations about West Indian restaurants and leave it at that.

Observation one: The fancier the establishment the worse the food usually is. Its like there has to be a trade off of decor for seasoning in the pot when it comes to West Indian places. So usually a hole in the wall, take out only spot where somebody auntie from the country cooking in a dutch pot in the back can be counted on to bring the real flavor while the nice sit down fancy drinks with umbrellas, nice tropical paint up, bob marley playing in the background playing places aint as good.

Oh and on that note if the menu doesn't have on any sort of Kola champagne, Ting, Solo, Busta, Grace or any sorta drink from the Caribbean so on the menu and is pure Pepsi and Sprite ya seeing well boy dem naa ready yet so nuh bodda wid dem.

Observation two: If you walk into the place and is pure non-west indians in the place eating something wrong. They aint cooking authentic food, they cooking for delicate palates, they watering down the food and if you want the real experience of West Indian food that place is not for you. Actually same observation holds for any sort of so-called ethnic food. If you go in a Indian restaurant and aint see no Indians or a Chinese restaurant and aint see no Chinese break north son, break north.

Observation three: Never go into a West Indian restaurant if you are starving and want food in a hurry cause you will most likely die of hunger while waiting. I aint saying all the service always slow or bad all the time its just that its a gamble as to what the service is going t be like so don't press your luck thinking cause yesterday you got your meal in 5 minutes that today is going to be the same. Today you might be lucky to get your meal within 40 minutes.

Sometimes ya duz butt up on some screw face young waitress that really feel that she doing you a favor by taking your order and who vex cause she was busy doing nothing until you come in and wake her up and make her do work for her wages. She face set up , she hands a kimbo and she would like to chupse at ya but she know you might complain to the boss so instead she just giving you a lil cut eye. Naa ok I'm being a bit facetious but sometimes you just get the feeling that West Indian restaurants are not businesses that want your business. Like is as if you the customer begging a favor by buying food from them. Not all now is only some of them but is quite a few of the some of them if you follow me.

Observation number 4: Just like number three this one is about consistency but only in this time with regards to the food. Consistency! Not sure about this but is like at certain places the pot does have a different taste depending on what time of day or day in the week you go to a restaurant. Maybe the regular cook show up late or forget to add salt or add too much salt or whatever but sometimes you sit and wonder if the food you eating prepared by the same fella that cook yesterday.

Observation number 5: actually this is more like a rule. For the uninitiated a usual rule of thumb for me with West Indian restaurants is to first try the Jerk Chicken. My thoughts are if you cant get the Jerk Chicken right how am I supposed to trust you to do cook something more complex like curry goat, ox tail or stew chicken? I lie?

Anyway those were just some random rules and observations I felt to share today. Still through all the complaints and stuff I will still support anyone that can cook a good West Indian meal even though I may not understand the rationale behind some of those who run West Indian restaurants.

Actually though to be honest I think its all becoming clear to me because a few weeks ago I finally unearthed the secret doctrine of West Indian resturanteurs in Toronto and quite likely worldwide.

I went into one of my current favorites late one evening just before closing time. Nice friendly staff, cant really complain about the service and very authentic food. The staff was sorting me out with some curry goat when another customer came in wanting curry goat. Well sadly I had ordered the last of it as it was only about 15 minutes before closing so the other customer was out of luck. The customer was a little upset and her face start push up when the server started offering her some other eating options.

"We 'ave curry chicken left and it nice ya kno"

"But I really wanted some curry goat" she said

To which the server dropped the line which I personally feel is a major part of the West Indian restaurant mantra; "My lady is not about what you want its about what we 'ave."

And in more raptors news

They just traded Charlie V. That's the first thing I saw this morning. Damn Damn Damn Damn Damn! Not only did they trade Charlie V but they just traded him for a dude in T.J Ford who spent a hell of alot of time on the injury list in the last two seasons.

I'm sorry but the Colangelo luster is wearing off with me. The Bargnani draft could go either way but in Charlie V we had a cat who in his rookie season proved that he could play with the big dogs. I mean he had a 48 point game at one point for pete sake.

Plus Charlie V was a fan and Toronto favorite. Why trade him? Ok so we needed a point guard but Charlie V for T.J Ford? Is the situation that desperate?

This is upsetting to me. Where can I go and vent about this trade. How do you trade a guy with Charlie V's potential and worth for a question mark like T.J Ford? Is Colangelo trying to clean house of every pick made by his predecessor? If I was Joey Graham I'd start packing now. The Raptors are putting a hell of a lot of faith in this Italian guy Bargnani. What's next are we going to trade Bosh for a bag of magic beans and start building around Bargnani?

Ok so no Charlie V and most likely no Mike James next year, a questionable draft pick in my opinion, Nesterovich for Bonner and we did rid ourselves of 'Hoffa' but pardon me didn't our offense get worse while our defense hasn't really improved. If the new NBA is going to fit a run and gun Phoenix style of play where the best defense is a good offense how can you lose two of your better offensive players in James and Charlie V and be better?

All I'm saying is Colangelo is betting the farm on Bargnani aka "Il Mago" and the price he paid for TJ Ford is too much. I really hope Chris Bosh buys into Colangelo's deal because if not we're going to have another Vince situation and Bosh will be out of here cause we haven't really improved this team.

Oh well the Raps are under the cap and the wheeling and dealing aint over most likely. Still Charlie V proved himself NBA caliber and him and Bosh made a great combo on the floor. I hope he lights up the Raptors for 30 plus points everytime we play Milwaukee and oh wait a minute didn't we just make another team in our conference stronger? Great way to strive for the playoffs. In the immortal words of Red Foreman the Raptors are a 'dumbass'.

Yea if the Raptors actually do well this year I'll have to eat all my words but to me this trade sucks! I'm just waiting till Bargnani turns into a bust, TJ Ford drops down with an injury and Bosh starts talking about wanting to win a championship and how management isnt doing anything to progress, that should start oh I dont know maybe two three months after he signs his big mega million dollar max contract this summer.

So long Charlie V good luck in Milwaukee. I'm a cheer for ya.