If they aren't already obsolete already. Oh wait a minute what am I talking about? Actually I guess I should really title this blog have men adjusted to their role in relationships and what exactly is that role but the obsolete title is more catchy and a purely jdid way to look at it?
Well this is part two in my relationship series. Its the Luv Dr J bringing you all the finest in relationship material. ha ha ha. Whatever! This one is just to get everyone especially the guys to think. I'm thinking of making this relationship thing a part 4 series though because I realized there was one other thing I wanted to talk about and then I found a half finished blog from earlier this month on that exact topic. Maybe I'll post that next week but you can the first part of the relationship stuff here.
So where to start this segment? Well I wasn't sure how to tackle this but then I figured just come up with something so here goes.
I had a dream. Nope not one like Martin Luther King or those types of guys. Let me weave a story of the future, an alternate history type story if you will. Picture this: Have you seen the movie Matrix? Well imagine the world of the matrix except that instead of computers ruling the earth women rule (way way scarier aint it?). The men have been relegated to a matrix like existence, somehow kept apart from reality while their bodies are stored somewhere hooked up to machines (like in the matrix) just to be used for their biological materials for reproduction purposes. Ok if this actually happens I hope nobody like Morpheus wake me up cause I don't want to live in no Zion like underground city if is wid bare men. Oh helll no!
Anyway so why did this occur? Well somewhere along the line men failed to adapt and women realized that they were obsolete. How did that happen? Well somewhere in the late 20th century women realized that the only thing they really needed men around for was reproductive purposes and it was starting to be not worth the effort dealing with them in the real world for that purpose alone so they started planning (and ya know women duz plan good and can keep secrets from men even better) and a few decades later, 2050 to be exact, with men still totally oblivious to the planning and the secret underground female societies, they put their plan in motion. The men were caught napping (some literally) and were ambushed, herded into special areas and removed from the real world equation.
Whoa! Hold on son, how did things get to this point? Why would the women want to do that? Ok, to explain I got to give some history so lets go back. Way back, Back into time. Flash back lets say to anywhere before 30 to 50 years from our present. To a time when women actually needed men. Men wore pants, women wore skirts. Men lifted things, women cooked. Ah a kinder gentler time that some may refer to as the good old days. Men were providers, hunter gatherer types, strong personalities, fixing stuff, bringing home the bacon and sometimes the whole pig too. Women were defined by their men. Men dominated (we spoke about another form of domination in part one). Women lived to serve men or at least had little choice but to serve them since they were dependent on men in large part for their welfare and survival. Men did the heavy lifting, men governed, men controlled the households, men had the jobs, basically men ran things things no run men! You get my drift?
Women were 'barefoot and pregnant', very few job options available to them and very few career opportunities. A "good" woman knew her place. Her main goal, which was impressed on her from the time she was a child, was to attract a good man and get married. After that she stayed home and reared the kids (should I push this point anymore or will I soon be receiving death treats from feminists?). She was faithful, loyal and she knew her place. (Feel free to send the hate mail now yall)
Ok Basically I said all that to paint the picture that it was truly a man's world, women were subservient to men and hence as the dominant sex men took much about women for granted. Women were basically trophies, child bearers and rearers, cooks, property and how could I forget sex symbols.
Ok lets fast forward to the present. (don't ever say I don't take you guys anywhere cause so far ya been to the future, de past and back to the present. lawd dat is nuff airmiles ya kno!) Well somewhere between that past and this present women made gains. Some say it started when all the men went fighting the last two world wars. The lack of men to do jobs in the home countries opened up the way for the women to enter the workforce. Add to that, better schooling for women, the opportunity to pursue careers, the invention of the pill and other reliable forms of contraceptives, the rights to vote, and reform regarding discrimination and the granting of most (I said most not all cause I'm not 100% sure if all is true) rights to women etc and whoa rather quickly that male dominion was eroded as women gained independence and power. Hurray!
Women in the workplace, women as businesswomen, entrepreneurs, politicians, leaders. Whoa slow down son!
And as these changes occurred the relationships between men and women changed. No longer are women at home rearing kids, cooking dinner and waiting for men to bring home the bacon. More women were less dependent on men, they could now survive without a man. Gasp! Say it aint so!
So the role of having to be the sole breadwinner disappeared from the man's portfolio. Women had more choice now. No longer were they reared just to be mothers and wives they could be pretty much anything they damn well pleased. Ah sweet Freedom!
Ok so where do the men fit in? Women's roles have changed in society. (whether for better or worse is a another blog which I wont be writing anytime soon so feel free to run with that topic) Their roles have been enhanced, they now do more right? What about men?
Well men seem to be slow to adjust with that major breadwinner thing gone. What else do these men bring to the table? Men now needed to do stuff like cater to women's emotional needs more than they previously had. Wait a minute did I say emotional needs? What tha????? Most men are clueless to those words emotional needs? (just for the record I personally am not clueless but sometimes it suits me to ignore them. Yes I live dangerously. ha ha ha) So men have struggled to actually fill that role with what most women would probably agree was a poor success rate? That is the men who actually try. Some still haven't grasped that or see no need to.
And why did women need men around besides for emotional needs. Ok well there was a companionship issue, there was the to safety issue (ironically its usually safety from other men), the sex thing and sometimes just because they are so cute and make good accessories and make other women jealous. Hey dudes do that too.
Anyway men still struggled with his new role. Ummm ammm, what exactly was his motivation beyond some need to procreate and possibly physical pleasure and companionship. Ummm and how exactly was he to deal with these now equal women? ummmm
The women were getting a bit peeved with the non-ability of the men to adjust. The men were still trying to impose some of the old rules but now the women to paraphrase Mc Lyte were 'just not having it'. The men were supposed to take on new roles, view the women as equals, assist in running the household, help with the kids , do that emotional needs thing, and at least play the role of father to their offspring. Did I mention some of us have sort of abdicated that role as well?
Oh oh! So for years the women 'tolerated' the men. It was sort of like well they are becoming obsolete but what choice do we have. Like when your old car or computer is giving trouble but you don't have the money for a new one. You tolerate the situation. Yea Women need men around for a few things they said but to be honest the started thinking that men were more trouble than they're worth. Wait a minute! Suddenly it struck them! They did a cost benefit analysis. What is it the men are bringing to the table these days anyways? Ok they aren't really succeeding with that emotional stuff, hmmm. They are either clueless, don't care or try but fail miserably. Imbeciles! Women said hey I can pay my own damn bills. hmmm. They said men aren't really stepping up to the plate with the child rearing. hmmm. They were only romantic around valentines. hmmmm. Sex? Hmmm we have toys in abundance out there to take the man's place. Remind us again why do we still put up with them they said?
They concluded that men have not adapted. Men have outlived their purpose. Men haven't stepped up their game to cater to their needs they figured. We need to restructure they said. We need to streamline this human race, trim down, cut some fat, look at the bottom line. Heads need to roll!
And the men continued to exist, la la la, complaining about how demanding and 'confuse' today's women are, and reminiscing on the good old days, but not really thinking about why times were changing and what was changing and or pondering whether there was some adjustment to be made on their part. Especially since any adjustments would make them look 'soft', not as macho as before and they would possibly lose face. They knew women had changed but the popular thoughts without any sort of serious analysis were that women had changed for the worse especially when compared to their mother's generation and it was women's fault that things were different so it was the women's duty to solve things.
Men were still completely oblivious to the fact that the women had come to the conclusion that they (the men) had started to outlived most of their usefulness and while they still needed to be kept around to keep the race going there really wasn't anything special men were bringing to the table. What was the male's role in the relationship? Why hadn't he adjusted over the years as the times had changed? And hence in 2050 women saw an opportunity to make a move so they declared the male to be obsolete and removed him from reality.
The End.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
What's the scenario?
Relationship series will continue tomorrow :-)
Monday I did this seminar. It was one of those management skills type things where they get you to change your thinking in certain situations or show you how to deal with people or listen or handle meetings and that sort of thing. I've taken a few before and find them interesting sometimes but while helpful in certain situations I always feel like the overall plot is somewhat to brainwash me into becoming a more subservient employee. I feel the same way about some professional organizations rules too.
I signed up for a whole bunch this winter and the one I had on Monday dealt with conflict and it actually came in handy at work yesterday. My wife used to say that I like conflict, not that we argue much but actually from this course I realized its probably because we deal with conflict in slightly umm make that vastly different ways. Hey conflict is all around us, its a part of life so you got to deal with it and most likely you deal with it differently in different situations.
Oh that's the other thing about the courses I find interesting. The types of skills you learn can be applied to personal life. I usually go to the courses learn some skill then come home and try it out first on the wife. shhhh she nuh know yet. Yes I'm evil but hey she's trying to kill me so I am allowed some defense. ha ha ha
Anyway enough about that. In this seminar we did a series of questions where they gave us a possible scenario and multiple choice options for how we would respond. We were then asked to rank the options on a scale of most likely response to least likely. This one caught my attention so I felt to share.
Your child borrows your car Friday night and brings it back way past curfew. He is supposed to borrow it again Saturday to go to the basketball game . What do you do?
Option (a) Not lend him the car for Saturday
(b) Tell him you were worried but you are glad he's home safe and he can indeed borrow it on Saturday.
(c) Tell him since he was late he has to put gas in the car and wash it Saturday morning and then he can have it Saturday night
(d) Chalk it up to kids being kids and let him have it on Saturday
(e) Ask for an explanation, if its a good one allow him to have the car on Saturday if not he cant have it but we'll explore other options for getting to the game Saturday.
Ok now first thing I notice was clearly this question was not written bearing in mind the average west indian parent because no where was there an option (f) which would have been 'Tek way the car keys, give him a good cut tail or as my trini friends might say planass (I learn dat word yesterda) and tell him something like 'oh I understand, ya start wearing long pants an so you feel you big now? Alright well if you suh big guh an find ya own car den cause ya aint gettin this wun agin. In fact I got news fa you ya aint gine nuhwhere tamorra night and plus ya gine eitha gotta find busfare or be slappin tar (walking) come Monday too'
You guys follow me? I mean F is a justifiable option in a West Indian household. I mean seriously I felt squeezed with the options they gave me. The only two viable options I had were a and e and I figured if I go wid e I'm just setting up muhself fa lies and the possibility that the chile gine feel them smart an cud get away with it again so thinking that well especially if it was real late and I real vex yea definitely I'm going with a.
Anyway I chose a and the people in my group look at muh like I is a madman or sum sorta bad abusive parent sort that will lead my children to have to seek therapy in the future. All them wid de lil niceness thing going on choosing things like chalk it u ta kids being kids and tell him you were worried and thing so. Yes I was worried and that is why ya gettin a good planass cause you putting more grey hairs in my head for no apparent reason. :-)
Anyway I chalked it up to both personal and cultural differences but it was good fun and anyways it actually helped my overall ranking on the scenarios. ha ha ha
Monday I did this seminar. It was one of those management skills type things where they get you to change your thinking in certain situations or show you how to deal with people or listen or handle meetings and that sort of thing. I've taken a few before and find them interesting sometimes but while helpful in certain situations I always feel like the overall plot is somewhat to brainwash me into becoming a more subservient employee. I feel the same way about some professional organizations rules too.
I signed up for a whole bunch this winter and the one I had on Monday dealt with conflict and it actually came in handy at work yesterday. My wife used to say that I like conflict, not that we argue much but actually from this course I realized its probably because we deal with conflict in slightly umm make that vastly different ways. Hey conflict is all around us, its a part of life so you got to deal with it and most likely you deal with it differently in different situations.
Oh that's the other thing about the courses I find interesting. The types of skills you learn can be applied to personal life. I usually go to the courses learn some skill then come home and try it out first on the wife. shhhh she nuh know yet. Yes I'm evil but hey she's trying to kill me so I am allowed some defense. ha ha ha
Anyway enough about that. In this seminar we did a series of questions where they gave us a possible scenario and multiple choice options for how we would respond. We were then asked to rank the options on a scale of most likely response to least likely. This one caught my attention so I felt to share.
Your child borrows your car Friday night and brings it back way past curfew. He is supposed to borrow it again Saturday to go to the basketball game . What do you do?
Option (a) Not lend him the car for Saturday
(b) Tell him you were worried but you are glad he's home safe and he can indeed borrow it on Saturday.
(c) Tell him since he was late he has to put gas in the car and wash it Saturday morning and then he can have it Saturday night
(d) Chalk it up to kids being kids and let him have it on Saturday
(e) Ask for an explanation, if its a good one allow him to have the car on Saturday if not he cant have it but we'll explore other options for getting to the game Saturday.
Ok now first thing I notice was clearly this question was not written bearing in mind the average west indian parent because no where was there an option (f) which would have been 'Tek way the car keys, give him a good cut tail or as my trini friends might say planass (I learn dat word yesterda) and tell him something like 'oh I understand, ya start wearing long pants an so you feel you big now? Alright well if you suh big guh an find ya own car den cause ya aint gettin this wun agin. In fact I got news fa you ya aint gine nuhwhere tamorra night and plus ya gine eitha gotta find busfare or be slappin tar (walking) come Monday too'
You guys follow me? I mean F is a justifiable option in a West Indian household. I mean seriously I felt squeezed with the options they gave me. The only two viable options I had were a and e and I figured if I go wid e I'm just setting up muhself fa lies and the possibility that the chile gine feel them smart an cud get away with it again so thinking that well especially if it was real late and I real vex yea definitely I'm going with a.
Anyway I chose a and the people in my group look at muh like I is a madman or sum sorta bad abusive parent sort that will lead my children to have to seek therapy in the future. All them wid de lil niceness thing going on choosing things like chalk it u ta kids being kids and tell him you were worried and thing so. Yes I was worried and that is why ya gettin a good planass cause you putting more grey hairs in my head for no apparent reason. :-)
Anyway I chalked it up to both personal and cultural differences but it was good fun and anyways it actually helped my overall ranking on the scenarios. ha ha ha
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Possessiveness
Well today I'm starting my three part relationship series. Yep ya heard it right! :-) I turning psychologist and romance doctor combined. New alternative career. You can call me the love doctor Jdid. Dat is LOVE doctor not SEX doctor so don't come to me wid no freaky stories about how you do dis, dat an the third. La la la, I aint listening cause I aint wanta hear nun a dat! Keep that to yourselves. Its LOVE doctor get it right ha ha. Anybody know that oldies song that goes 'I am your doctor love, call my number any time' or y'all too young fa that?
Just kidding though, romance doctor, love doctor or sex doctor I aint. Anyway by claiming that this is a three part series I'm putting some pressure on myself to come up with three blogs this week on relationships. Lets see if I can live up to it.
No but seriously I cant claim to have any expertise in these areas of relationships between the sexes so if you see something here and it influence you somehow don't come back looking to blame me or beat me up because you were stupid enough to listen to me. Read the name of the blog before you take me serious. Oh and look just for the record if ya got gay issues ya on ya own cause I aint know nuttin atall atall bout dat so brek fa yaself. Anyway to be honest its just I had a few things I felt like saying and sharing, mainly observations on relationships so I'm not really offering any solutions just talking out loud. Actually I'm more trying to solicit responses and provoke some comments as well hoping that my foolish self will learn a thing or two.
But enough dilly dallying. Today I'm talking about possessiveness.
Now, in some relationships certain parties are very possessive of their partner. It can either be the man or the woman who is possessive but since I'm a man I am going to struggle with it sort of from the man's point of view. Of course the woman's point of view may not be dissimilar but the ladies will have to tell me that.
Anyway I was listening to someone tell me about her possessive boyfriend's actions last week which really embarrassed her and I thought to myself what would possess a man to act in the manner he did. Why do some guys act so crazy over their ladies?
I don't think I really have an answer and the wife said since I am the complete opposite of possessive its unlikely I would ever understand (cheese on bread! Some women ya juss cann please nuh. chupse!) but I still find the behavior to be worth speaking of.
Well lets start by looking at symptoms of the behavior. Stuff like guys wanting to battle other men for just looking at their ladies, stuff like checking their woman's cell phone or not even wanting her to talk to her male workmates or male friends. Issuing directives to their ladies, checking up on their whereabouts at all times. That's just the start because it might then lead to behavior like restricting her movements, she cant go out with friends, cant go certain places etc then possibly onto battery and abuse to keep her "in line" and in the ultimate cases murdering the women due to some misguided thought process where the logic is if I cant have you no-one else can. What possesses men to be so possessive?
(Sitting in chair with lounge jacket while smoking pipe)To me the possessive behavior may stem from jealousy or it might signal one party's need to be dominant over the other party and possibly a certain deep seeded fear that the other party will leave them on a whim. It also could signal some conscious or unconscious lack of trust in the other partner. It could also infer that the possessive partner may have some sort of inferiority complex or it may infer that the possessive partner sees the other person as his/her property. Regardless of you view it, I'm thinking that the relationship just might not really be on stable ground.
Now ignoring the domination trait and the viewing your partner as property issue lets look at the other reasons I discussed. Well I'm no psychiatrist but everything else I mentioned seems to stem from one root which is some sort of fear. One party is afraid that the admirers of the other party given a chance will swoop in and take his/her partner away or is afraid that the object of their possessiveness is being untruthful in the relationship or that given the chance to be unfaithful the other party will act upon it. Now why this happens who can say? Maybe previous relationship experience where this happened or hearing of similar things happen in friend's relationships led to this thought process or maybe its just part of the person's psyche due to their environment or upbringing. I studied the sciences not this sort of stuff so I don't have concrete answers. However if some outfit wants to pay me to conduct a study hey I'm down.
Now I don't have time for the domination and seeing partners as property thing (this blog too long as is) cause we all know that nuff people mostly men got issues with dat but one other fascinating thing is that sometimes the partner actually likes the possessive behavior to some extents. Does it make them feel more wanted, more loved, more needed? Do they do stuff deliberately to inspire the possessive type behavior? In which case I'd ask who is actually the partner trying to exert dominance? Am I the only one finding this interesting? Probably that's a yes but oh well I will still indulge myself by talking out loud.
For example. To make a controversial statement that I guess most Caribbean people have heard and which disturbs me somewhat it is said that some Caribbean women like men who beat them up because it shows that the guy cares for them. (look don't come telling me no stupidness bout I dissing Caribbean people, is dem I grow up wid an know so don't expect me to base what I saying on French or Portuguese. I sure dem might have it too but I only know bout two or three a dem.) Why would this be the case if it is indeed true?
To offer a simple answer (aka cop out) without delving too deeply since I realize one could do a nice PhD on this stuff I guess its just a case where different behaviors in partners appeal to different persons right? We are all unique individuals so no one solution or formula fits everyone's behavior. Some people like to dominate, some are submissive, some can handle possessiveness, for others it would drive them crazy.
So the point of this blog? Well clearly as I wrote I realized I had bitten off more than I could chew and I also realized I really need to be more coherent but the blog wasn't to give answers just sort of put the whole possessive behavior thing out there and maybe provoke some feedback, maybe a few examples, maybe some other blogs hint hint :-). So what do you think about possessiveness? And Men why are you possessive if you are and ladies do you like possessiveness and if so to what degree?
Just kidding though, romance doctor, love doctor or sex doctor I aint. Anyway by claiming that this is a three part series I'm putting some pressure on myself to come up with three blogs this week on relationships. Lets see if I can live up to it.
No but seriously I cant claim to have any expertise in these areas of relationships between the sexes so if you see something here and it influence you somehow don't come back looking to blame me or beat me up because you were stupid enough to listen to me. Read the name of the blog before you take me serious. Oh and look just for the record if ya got gay issues ya on ya own cause I aint know nuttin atall atall bout dat so brek fa yaself. Anyway to be honest its just I had a few things I felt like saying and sharing, mainly observations on relationships so I'm not really offering any solutions just talking out loud. Actually I'm more trying to solicit responses and provoke some comments as well hoping that my foolish self will learn a thing or two.
But enough dilly dallying. Today I'm talking about possessiveness.
Now, in some relationships certain parties are very possessive of their partner. It can either be the man or the woman who is possessive but since I'm a man I am going to struggle with it sort of from the man's point of view. Of course the woman's point of view may not be dissimilar but the ladies will have to tell me that.
Anyway I was listening to someone tell me about her possessive boyfriend's actions last week which really embarrassed her and I thought to myself what would possess a man to act in the manner he did. Why do some guys act so crazy over their ladies?
I don't think I really have an answer and the wife said since I am the complete opposite of possessive its unlikely I would ever understand (cheese on bread! Some women ya juss cann please nuh. chupse!) but I still find the behavior to be worth speaking of.
Well lets start by looking at symptoms of the behavior. Stuff like guys wanting to battle other men for just looking at their ladies, stuff like checking their woman's cell phone or not even wanting her to talk to her male workmates or male friends. Issuing directives to their ladies, checking up on their whereabouts at all times. That's just the start because it might then lead to behavior like restricting her movements, she cant go out with friends, cant go certain places etc then possibly onto battery and abuse to keep her "in line" and in the ultimate cases murdering the women due to some misguided thought process where the logic is if I cant have you no-one else can. What possesses men to be so possessive?
(Sitting in chair with lounge jacket while smoking pipe)To me the possessive behavior may stem from jealousy or it might signal one party's need to be dominant over the other party and possibly a certain deep seeded fear that the other party will leave them on a whim. It also could signal some conscious or unconscious lack of trust in the other partner. It could also infer that the possessive partner may have some sort of inferiority complex or it may infer that the possessive partner sees the other person as his/her property. Regardless of you view it, I'm thinking that the relationship just might not really be on stable ground.
Now ignoring the domination trait and the viewing your partner as property issue lets look at the other reasons I discussed. Well I'm no psychiatrist but everything else I mentioned seems to stem from one root which is some sort of fear. One party is afraid that the admirers of the other party given a chance will swoop in and take his/her partner away or is afraid that the object of their possessiveness is being untruthful in the relationship or that given the chance to be unfaithful the other party will act upon it. Now why this happens who can say? Maybe previous relationship experience where this happened or hearing of similar things happen in friend's relationships led to this thought process or maybe its just part of the person's psyche due to their environment or upbringing. I studied the sciences not this sort of stuff so I don't have concrete answers. However if some outfit wants to pay me to conduct a study hey I'm down.
Now I don't have time for the domination and seeing partners as property thing (this blog too long as is) cause we all know that nuff people mostly men got issues with dat but one other fascinating thing is that sometimes the partner actually likes the possessive behavior to some extents. Does it make them feel more wanted, more loved, more needed? Do they do stuff deliberately to inspire the possessive type behavior? In which case I'd ask who is actually the partner trying to exert dominance? Am I the only one finding this interesting? Probably that's a yes but oh well I will still indulge myself by talking out loud.
For example. To make a controversial statement that I guess most Caribbean people have heard and which disturbs me somewhat it is said that some Caribbean women like men who beat them up because it shows that the guy cares for them. (look don't come telling me no stupidness bout I dissing Caribbean people, is dem I grow up wid an know so don't expect me to base what I saying on French or Portuguese. I sure dem might have it too but I only know bout two or three a dem.) Why would this be the case if it is indeed true?
To offer a simple answer (aka cop out) without delving too deeply since I realize one could do a nice PhD on this stuff I guess its just a case where different behaviors in partners appeal to different persons right? We are all unique individuals so no one solution or formula fits everyone's behavior. Some people like to dominate, some are submissive, some can handle possessiveness, for others it would drive them crazy.
So the point of this blog? Well clearly as I wrote I realized I had bitten off more than I could chew and I also realized I really need to be more coherent but the blog wasn't to give answers just sort of put the whole possessive behavior thing out there and maybe provoke some feedback, maybe a few examples, maybe some other blogs hint hint :-). So what do you think about possessiveness? And Men why are you possessive if you are and ladies do you like possessiveness and if so to what degree?
Monday, January 24, 2005
Winter Wonderland
Just a rather quick hail to everyone.
Still not 100%, this flu thing had me rather quiet this weekend. Got to go to work today though as I've got another one day course to attend. Oh well such is life.
Toronto was a winter wonderland this weekend. Snow cann dun! They said 15cms but to my estimation it seemed like alot more than that especially the one time I was outside and the snow was halfway up my leg in some parts.
Oh BET had a Fresh Prince marathon on Saturday. I watched a bit and surprised the wife with how many episodes I can actually quote from. Wonder if bloggerSolitaire a diehard fan of the show watched? Got to ask a question since I just saw the end of this episode but was Nia Long on the show before she had the reoccuring Lisa role?
what's going on? Well work's hectic. I'm still sick and I've got lots on my mind as usual oh plus time seems to be flying at a ridiculous rate these days.
Oh watched the new show last night NUmb3ers. Kinda cool. The ultimate nerdy detective show. Using mathematics to solve crime. How geeky is that? And I absolutely thought it was a brilliant concept at least from last nights episode. Oh well, I'm a wanta be geek but I got attitude. Gonna start me up a hip hop group called Geeks with Attitude (GWA). Our first single "Coming straight outta math class". Lyrics to follow. lol.
I got a few ideas for blogs just got to sort them out in my mind this week. That said I'm always curious as to what I can and what I cant write or what will my readers read into this or if I say this will they see me as bonafied crazy and send the padded vans. Oh well. Got a few weirdo theories in my head....not exactly conspiracy theories but just Jdid's thoughts on certain things in life like relationships etc. Trying to be a kinder gentler Jdid this week. Yea right!
Oh great blog post to read last week was this one by Xquizzyt1. For me it brought back some memories which since I mentioned it I'll now have to share maybe later this week.
Oh Johnny Carson died, Raptors won at home again, Barbados lost in cricket (guess every dog has his day), New England and Philli won (go Philli!). Hope everyone has a great day. Tomorrow hopefully I'll have something more to chat on.
Still not 100%, this flu thing had me rather quiet this weekend. Got to go to work today though as I've got another one day course to attend. Oh well such is life.
Toronto was a winter wonderland this weekend. Snow cann dun! They said 15cms but to my estimation it seemed like alot more than that especially the one time I was outside and the snow was halfway up my leg in some parts.
Oh BET had a Fresh Prince marathon on Saturday. I watched a bit and surprised the wife with how many episodes I can actually quote from. Wonder if bloggerSolitaire a diehard fan of the show watched? Got to ask a question since I just saw the end of this episode but was Nia Long on the show before she had the reoccuring Lisa role?
what's going on? Well work's hectic. I'm still sick and I've got lots on my mind as usual oh plus time seems to be flying at a ridiculous rate these days.
Oh watched the new show last night NUmb3ers. Kinda cool. The ultimate nerdy detective show. Using mathematics to solve crime. How geeky is that? And I absolutely thought it was a brilliant concept at least from last nights episode. Oh well, I'm a wanta be geek but I got attitude. Gonna start me up a hip hop group called Geeks with Attitude (GWA). Our first single "Coming straight outta math class". Lyrics to follow. lol.
I got a few ideas for blogs just got to sort them out in my mind this week. That said I'm always curious as to what I can and what I cant write or what will my readers read into this or if I say this will they see me as bonafied crazy and send the padded vans. Oh well. Got a few weirdo theories in my head....not exactly conspiracy theories but just Jdid's thoughts on certain things in life like relationships etc. Trying to be a kinder gentler Jdid this week. Yea right!
Oh great blog post to read last week was this one by Xquizzyt1. For me it brought back some memories which since I mentioned it I'll now have to share maybe later this week.
Oh Johnny Carson died, Raptors won at home again, Barbados lost in cricket (guess every dog has his day), New England and Philli won (go Philli!). Hope everyone has a great day. Tomorrow hopefully I'll have something more to chat on.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Disgraceful!
I was going to swear but I realized that it was Sunday morning so I'd try to be respectful but in my opinion disgraceful or shameful was too tame a word to describe this.
I'm listening to the Underground Railroad show on hiphopmusic.com right now and they are speaking about "the tsunami song" which was being played on Hot97 radio station in New York last week. Big up to Hiphopmusic.com for being the first to draw attention to this in Jay Smooth's blog on Friday.
what's the big deal? Well in case you don't check the link here are some of the lyrics to this tsunami song.
.All at once you could hear the screaming ch*nks and no one was safe from the wave there were Africans drowning, little Chinamen swept away you could hear god laughing, "swim you b*tches swim"
So now you're screwed, it's the Tsunami
you better run or kiss your ass away, go find your mommy
I just saw her float by, a tree went through her head
and now the children will be sold to child slavery...
See why I don't have the words to describe this. I'm sorry if there as ever a need to curse this is probably it ...but I will try and refrain.
Can you believe someone would actually make a song with lyrics like that. How heartless and callous can we get? And even if you believed that this song could be made would you have believed that someone on radio would actually play it? Un-frigging-believable.
And a radio station in New York of all places? New York which just 3 years ago was the scene of the 9/11 attacks. You would think New Yorkers would have some sympathy for someone else going through a tragedy and wouldn't play something like this right? I mean after all the comments about persons in Arab countries cheering as the towers fell you'd think they would be a bit sensitive to what they did involving another persons tragedy.
One of the things that additionally pisses me off is that Hot97 is one of those mainstream Hip Hop stations that's well known publicly (even though if its like the other mainstream stations it doesn't really represent for the real hip hop) so this is going to play out as ignant black people, ignorant hip-hop artists or listeners with no common sense showing their asses despite the fact that the first persons to actually condemn their actions were other hiphop listeners like the guys over at hiphopmusic.com and that the guys over at okayplayer.com, another hip hop site, took a very active part in condemning the station and compiling lists of its sponsors for persons to complain to. Once again we will be judged as a collective by the action of a few ignorant people! Just wait till more mainstream media outlets get a hold of this.
How can people be so blasted stupid? It boggles my mind.
I'm listening to the Underground Railroad show on hiphopmusic.com right now and they are speaking about "the tsunami song" which was being played on Hot97 radio station in New York last week. Big up to Hiphopmusic.com for being the first to draw attention to this in Jay Smooth's blog on Friday.
what's the big deal? Well in case you don't check the link here are some of the lyrics to this tsunami song.
.All at once you could hear the screaming ch*nks and no one was safe from the wave there were Africans drowning, little Chinamen swept away you could hear god laughing, "swim you b*tches swim"
So now you're screwed, it's the Tsunami
you better run or kiss your ass away, go find your mommy
I just saw her float by, a tree went through her head
and now the children will be sold to child slavery...
See why I don't have the words to describe this. I'm sorry if there as ever a need to curse this is probably it ...but I will try and refrain.
Can you believe someone would actually make a song with lyrics like that. How heartless and callous can we get? And even if you believed that this song could be made would you have believed that someone on radio would actually play it? Un-frigging-believable.
And a radio station in New York of all places? New York which just 3 years ago was the scene of the 9/11 attacks. You would think New Yorkers would have some sympathy for someone else going through a tragedy and wouldn't play something like this right? I mean after all the comments about persons in Arab countries cheering as the towers fell you'd think they would be a bit sensitive to what they did involving another persons tragedy.
One of the things that additionally pisses me off is that Hot97 is one of those mainstream Hip Hop stations that's well known publicly (even though if its like the other mainstream stations it doesn't really represent for the real hip hop) so this is going to play out as ignant black people, ignorant hip-hop artists or listeners with no common sense showing their asses despite the fact that the first persons to actually condemn their actions were other hiphop listeners like the guys over at hiphopmusic.com and that the guys over at okayplayer.com, another hip hop site, took a very active part in condemning the station and compiling lists of its sponsors for persons to complain to. Once again we will be judged as a collective by the action of a few ignorant people! Just wait till more mainstream media outlets get a hold of this.
How can people be so blasted stupid? It boggles my mind.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Rather Disturbing
Check this article Rather Disturbing need I say more.
‘Real risk of tsunamis’ in region - Saturday 22, January-2005
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Scientists predict killer tsunamis could strike the Caribbean, which lacks an adequate warning system even though its seabed is gouged by some of the world’s deepest trenches where tidal wavesare generated.
The last struck the region in 1946, but that was before island populations grew massively, major construction dotted shorelines and the region developed into a prized tourist destination which attracted 17 million visitors last year.
“The Caribbean is a very dangerous place for tsunamis,” said Uri ten Brink, a United States Geological Survey geologist, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and co-authorof an article on the threatin the Journal ofGeophysical Research.
The article was published two days before the Asia tsunami hit December 26 and killed more than 162 000 people. It was triggered by a quake along the long north-south fault where the edge of the Indian plate dives below the Burma plate, known as the Sunda Trench, which is about 25 000 feet deep.
The Puerto Rico trench – one of the deepest in the world at 8 207 metres (27 355 feet) – is a 900-kilometre-long (560-mile-long) underwater canyon and fault line that runs parallel to the United States island territory for which it is named and east of the Lesser Antilles.
Tensions in the Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Cayman Trenches which ring the Caribbean, force tectonic plates to sink under one another as they collide, producing earthquakes, underwater landslides or tsunamis. The deeper the water, the quicker waves form.
The last fatal tsunami here occurred in 1946 when an 8.1-magnitude earthquake in the Hispaniola Trench triggered a tidal wave that killed an estimated 1 700 people in the Dominican Republic andHaiti, ten Brink said in a telephone interview.
Major earthquakes erupt about every 50 years in the Caribbean, a region where even minor natural disasters can kill thousands because of environmental degradation, shoddy construction and the large numbers of people living in coastal areas or onlow-lying islands.
The Caribbean has an effective hurricane warning system and a number of tidal gauges to measure sea height.But it lacks a centralised system to alert all islands to a tsunami.
“The Caribbean needs a tsunami warning system,” ten Brink said.
The United States government uses a system called DART – Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis – with pressure recorders anchored to the sea floor detecting tsunamis as small as 1 centimetre. A link transmits data to an attached buoy that relays information to alert centres via satellite.
There are only six DART buoys in the world and they are all in the northeast Pacific Ocean, ten Brink said. And they are expensive. Lastweek, the United States government announced a $37.5 million plan to put 32 DART buoys in the Pacific and Atlantic by mid-2007.
“There is a real risk from tsunamis in the Caribbean, but the risk is small when compared to other earthquake hazards over history such as buildings collapsing and fires,” said Lloyd Lynch, a seismological engineer at the Seismic Research Unitin Trinidad.
“But that could change,” he added. “We’re more vulnerable now because of recent coastal development.”
Members of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency plan to meet in May along with scientists and disaster coordinators to discuss the need for an early warning system, said Terry Ally, a spokesman for the Barbados-based agency. (AP)
‘Real risk of tsunamis’ in region - Saturday 22, January-2005
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Scientists predict killer tsunamis could strike the Caribbean, which lacks an adequate warning system even though its seabed is gouged by some of the world’s deepest trenches where tidal wavesare generated.
The last struck the region in 1946, but that was before island populations grew massively, major construction dotted shorelines and the region developed into a prized tourist destination which attracted 17 million visitors last year.
“The Caribbean is a very dangerous place for tsunamis,” said Uri ten Brink, a United States Geological Survey geologist, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and co-authorof an article on the threatin the Journal ofGeophysical Research.
The article was published two days before the Asia tsunami hit December 26 and killed more than 162 000 people. It was triggered by a quake along the long north-south fault where the edge of the Indian plate dives below the Burma plate, known as the Sunda Trench, which is about 25 000 feet deep.
The Puerto Rico trench – one of the deepest in the world at 8 207 metres (27 355 feet) – is a 900-kilometre-long (560-mile-long) underwater canyon and fault line that runs parallel to the United States island territory for which it is named and east of the Lesser Antilles.
Tensions in the Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Cayman Trenches which ring the Caribbean, force tectonic plates to sink under one another as they collide, producing earthquakes, underwater landslides or tsunamis. The deeper the water, the quicker waves form.
The last fatal tsunami here occurred in 1946 when an 8.1-magnitude earthquake in the Hispaniola Trench triggered a tidal wave that killed an estimated 1 700 people in the Dominican Republic andHaiti, ten Brink said in a telephone interview.
Major earthquakes erupt about every 50 years in the Caribbean, a region where even minor natural disasters can kill thousands because of environmental degradation, shoddy construction and the large numbers of people living in coastal areas or onlow-lying islands.
The Caribbean has an effective hurricane warning system and a number of tidal gauges to measure sea height.But it lacks a centralised system to alert all islands to a tsunami.
“The Caribbean needs a tsunami warning system,” ten Brink said.
The United States government uses a system called DART – Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis – with pressure recorders anchored to the sea floor detecting tsunamis as small as 1 centimetre. A link transmits data to an attached buoy that relays information to alert centres via satellite.
There are only six DART buoys in the world and they are all in the northeast Pacific Ocean, ten Brink said. And they are expensive. Lastweek, the United States government announced a $37.5 million plan to put 32 DART buoys in the Pacific and Atlantic by mid-2007.
“There is a real risk from tsunamis in the Caribbean, but the risk is small when compared to other earthquake hazards over history such as buildings collapsing and fires,” said Lloyd Lynch, a seismological engineer at the Seismic Research Unitin Trinidad.
“But that could change,” he added. “We’re more vulnerable now because of recent coastal development.”
Members of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency plan to meet in May along with scientists and disaster coordinators to discuss the need for an early warning system, said Terry Ally, a spokesman for the Barbados-based agency. (AP)
Friday, January 21, 2005
Remedies and other stuff
Well my weekend's shot. Still sick, missed another day of work. Maybe could have forced it and gone in today but its freaking -30 outside and I'm still achy. The work doesn't get sick and it'll be there when I return so I'm trying to regain my strength today. And to paraphrase my better half 'THEY DON'T PAY ME ENOUGH FOR THIS !!!." Word is born
Still I kind of vex cause that means I have to miss this month's domino tournament tomorrow. Was looking forward to going in and liking some six. Was feeling well confident and looking to do big things in '05. Oh well, there's always next month.
Weird cold/flu I have right now. Well actually all my cold/flu illnesses always follow the same pattern. Sore throat, then fever then achiness and the rest of the symptoms jump in. The achiness is still here, a bit of fever still there but the other symptoms seem not to be appearing. A bit worrying that.
Plus this is the first time I've been sick where I actually have an appetite. Been eating down the house almost since the sore throat disappeared.
Yesterday I slept like maybe 12 hrs. Slept from about 8 till 10 then from 1 till 5 then from 7 to 11, then from 1 till this morning. All slept out now so I was watching Exit Wounds trying to relax this morning. I remembert when I watched this movie the first time thinking it was rather silly but it didn't seem half bad today. Must be the drugs. Oh and didn't realize that my man Drag-On was in that one too. He's in the follow up which is Cradle to the Grave. Its not really a sequel but its basically the same cast, DMX, Tom Arnold, Anthony Anderson etc.
Anyway I wasn't going to really blog today so this will be short-ish. I was just thinking about all the home remedies I've heard of growing up in the Caribbean so I was wondering if anyone had any unique ones to share.
Stuff like honey and lemon, or honey, lime and rum, cerasee tea, garlic and honey, coffee and lime, (hmm I think I see a trend here), aloes, salt apparently good for a sore throat, ginger tea, plain ginger to suck on for the sore throat as well. So let me see what you guys can come up with.
I'm going back to bed. Have a good day.
Still I kind of vex cause that means I have to miss this month's domino tournament tomorrow. Was looking forward to going in and liking some six. Was feeling well confident and looking to do big things in '05. Oh well, there's always next month.
Weird cold/flu I have right now. Well actually all my cold/flu illnesses always follow the same pattern. Sore throat, then fever then achiness and the rest of the symptoms jump in. The achiness is still here, a bit of fever still there but the other symptoms seem not to be appearing. A bit worrying that.
Plus this is the first time I've been sick where I actually have an appetite. Been eating down the house almost since the sore throat disappeared.
Yesterday I slept like maybe 12 hrs. Slept from about 8 till 10 then from 1 till 5 then from 7 to 11, then from 1 till this morning. All slept out now so I was watching Exit Wounds trying to relax this morning. I remembert when I watched this movie the first time thinking it was rather silly but it didn't seem half bad today. Must be the drugs. Oh and didn't realize that my man Drag-On was in that one too. He's in the follow up which is Cradle to the Grave. Its not really a sequel but its basically the same cast, DMX, Tom Arnold, Anthony Anderson etc.
Anyway I wasn't going to really blog today so this will be short-ish. I was just thinking about all the home remedies I've heard of growing up in the Caribbean so I was wondering if anyone had any unique ones to share.
Stuff like honey and lemon, or honey, lime and rum, cerasee tea, garlic and honey, coffee and lime, (hmm I think I see a trend here), aloes, salt apparently good for a sore throat, ginger tea, plain ginger to suck on for the sore throat as well. So let me see what you guys can come up with.
I'm going back to bed. Have a good day.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Darth Vader in me chest
Fa real! Kami like she pass on her cold to me. Cuhdear! I wake up and my operatic voice gone James Earl Jones on me, I cant even do me lil skettel concerto rendition. Throat hurts like crazy so I'm just sipping some ginger tea and hoping for the best.
Knew this was coming though. It always starts with the sore throat and proceeds from there. Oh well what was I to do? The combination of the cold weather and sick workmates and the fact that my body doesn't like this place always gets me. Actually I think its more the sick workmates. Been dodging different flu viruses at work for the past two weeks but at least one seems to have caught up. Oh well such is life.
Last night they get rid of my girl Betti, you know the sista with the hair issues from last week's blog on the Sports Illustrated model search show just as I predicted before the show started. I knew she was gone from the time the model shoot included cold weather. They had her posing with huskies as snow fell. She actually did a better job than I expected but you could tell that she was cold. Anyway girl don't feel no way you tried but you knew you weren't going to win.
Thought that the girl whose photo shoot was called its raining men but who then proceeded to dismiss the men from her shoot like she a run things was going to be eliminated but they kept her.
The judges were funny though. They aren't the most diplomatic but they aren't the most brash either like when they are talking about sagging butts or the girl with the big lips and last night they told one girl something about her smile. I was actually just thinking imagine if the judges were just some igrant west indians, cause ya kno sum a we aint got nuh tact atall. Conversations with the contestants would have gone like this.
To girl with big lips: "Looka girl you duz look real bad wid ya lips push up so ya kno! lemma tell ya straight if you doan stop dat foolishness one day them gine stick dat way. I aint mekkin sport ya kno!"
To flabby girl: " See wha me a say rude gal, me no say dat ya favor mampie but still ya body naa gine mek it in a de people dem magazine. yes ya face fe look nice but .... is why ya start cry for when me tell ya ya face look nice? cho! ya doan kno when big man fe gi ya compliment?
but listen rude gal, listen ya naa see tyra and dem big moggle gal dem in a de sports illustrated? ya feel say ya favor dem gal deya? cause me a tell ya de trut gal ya naa favor dem supermoggle dem, ya naa come close. ya no see how maga dem gal fe look like dem never look pun de stew beef or curry goat yet? is bare ital dem dat dem gal fe yam. And you think say dat ya body fe look like dem? yo rude gal, is like ya neva see pictures a ya body yet? hear wha me a say, ya need fe leave all dat fast food business, 'amburger business an pizza business alone."
To the girl with the smile issue: "But waittttt why you skinnin you teets so? chupse!!!!!!! I aint know if anybody tell you this yet but lemma tell ya cause I telling ya this fa ya own good. doan feel I trying ta insult ya ya kno but listen ta me good; all dat skin teet thing doan look nice ya kno! not nice atall atall atall. firss of all ya got two lil wuns at de side deyso dat look real sharp like ya is a vampire. then as juss a overall thing dem teet got you mout look like a Black Rock minibus punna weekday marnin. RAM off den!! pack down wid teets! ya got summuch teets in dey dat I wanta kno whapart you duz keep ya gums.
listen ta muh nuh. No I aint insulting ya but try an look in de yellow pages under dentist or ortha ammm wha dem name again? Yea, orthodontist or ona dem sorta fellas an get sumting do cause from whapart I standing, boy you, dem teets got me worried. Evatime I look at ya mout it duz frighten me, an dat is de honest to god truth! I duz feel like red riding hood looking at de wolf den."
I'm medicated today so I'm denying all responsible for anything I just wrote. Have a good day folks.
Knew this was coming though. It always starts with the sore throat and proceeds from there. Oh well what was I to do? The combination of the cold weather and sick workmates and the fact that my body doesn't like this place always gets me. Actually I think its more the sick workmates. Been dodging different flu viruses at work for the past two weeks but at least one seems to have caught up. Oh well such is life.
Last night they get rid of my girl Betti, you know the sista with the hair issues from last week's blog on the Sports Illustrated model search show just as I predicted before the show started. I knew she was gone from the time the model shoot included cold weather. They had her posing with huskies as snow fell. She actually did a better job than I expected but you could tell that she was cold. Anyway girl don't feel no way you tried but you knew you weren't going to win.
Thought that the girl whose photo shoot was called its raining men but who then proceeded to dismiss the men from her shoot like she a run things was going to be eliminated but they kept her.
The judges were funny though. They aren't the most diplomatic but they aren't the most brash either like when they are talking about sagging butts or the girl with the big lips and last night they told one girl something about her smile. I was actually just thinking imagine if the judges were just some igrant west indians, cause ya kno sum a we aint got nuh tact atall. Conversations with the contestants would have gone like this.
To girl with big lips: "Looka girl you duz look real bad wid ya lips push up so ya kno! lemma tell ya straight if you doan stop dat foolishness one day them gine stick dat way. I aint mekkin sport ya kno!"
To flabby girl: " See wha me a say rude gal, me no say dat ya favor mampie but still ya body naa gine mek it in a de people dem magazine. yes ya face fe look nice but .... is why ya start cry for when me tell ya ya face look nice? cho! ya doan kno when big man fe gi ya compliment?
but listen rude gal, listen ya naa see tyra and dem big moggle gal dem in a de sports illustrated? ya feel say ya favor dem gal deya? cause me a tell ya de trut gal ya naa favor dem supermoggle dem, ya naa come close. ya no see how maga dem gal fe look like dem never look pun de stew beef or curry goat yet? is bare ital dem dat dem gal fe yam. And you think say dat ya body fe look like dem? yo rude gal, is like ya neva see pictures a ya body yet? hear wha me a say, ya need fe leave all dat fast food business, 'amburger business an pizza business alone."
To the girl with the smile issue: "But waittttt why you skinnin you teets so? chupse!!!!!!! I aint know if anybody tell you this yet but lemma tell ya cause I telling ya this fa ya own good. doan feel I trying ta insult ya ya kno but listen ta me good; all dat skin teet thing doan look nice ya kno! not nice atall atall atall. firss of all ya got two lil wuns at de side deyso dat look real sharp like ya is a vampire. then as juss a overall thing dem teet got you mout look like a Black Rock minibus punna weekday marnin. RAM off den!! pack down wid teets! ya got summuch teets in dey dat I wanta kno whapart you duz keep ya gums.
listen ta muh nuh. No I aint insulting ya but try an look in de yellow pages under dentist or ortha ammm wha dem name again? Yea, orthodontist or ona dem sorta fellas an get sumting do cause from whapart I standing, boy you, dem teets got me worried. Evatime I look at ya mout it duz frighten me, an dat is de honest to god truth! I duz feel like red riding hood looking at de wolf den."
I'm medicated today so I'm denying all responsible for anything I just wrote. Have a good day folks.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Sticker for the Handsome gentleman
I know ya was a crook! Ya wretch ya, ya get ketch!
The above link is about the sticker lady. Who is the sticker lady? The sticker lady is this middle aged woman who one sees on Yonge street asking for donations to children's charities. She is a con-woman, a pure crook!
Now let me tell you about me and the sticker lady. Picture this: Spring 1992, Jdid juss a reach T-dot from foreign the year before, de gal a rush me and I have to beat dem off wid stick. True playa fa real ask puff daddy. yea yeah! Oh wait a minute sorry hallucinating again. Let me start over. Picture this: Spring 1992, Jdid juss a reach T-dot from foreign the year before and he was living on campus at University. First year away from family and loved one, adjusting to the lonely life in the big city, life as a minority and life in University, where he gained 15lbs freshman year (went from extremely maga to juss plain maga lol), all at the same time. Back in the days when I was a teenager. The sounds of A Tribe Called Quest Scenario Remix and Kris Kross' Jump filled my stereo along with artists like Black Sheep, Ice Cube, Slick Rick and Public Enemy. Back when I had the Pistons cap, the African medallion and the Kookabura hoodie. Back around the time of the disturbance/riot downtown Toronto in 92.
Had this thing for downtown Toronto (still do actually but I don't visit that often anymore), Yonge Street in particular. Maybe it was the preponderance of black folk that hung around Yonge and Dundas, going to the Worlds Largest Jeans Store or to the Eaton Centre's TV sized cinemas, before they decided to change up that area. It attracted hardcore hip hop heads, bums, youth with the same Caribbean accents as myself and this one particular bajan Muslim guy in whiterobes selling his incense on the corner but sneaking into the magazine shop a few doors down every now and then to look at porn (don't ask me how I know what the man used ta do, wunnah too malicious!).
Had to be the presence of HMV and Play-de Record, Star Sound (which changed its name to Traxxs a few years later and sadly closed about three years back and became a Quizno's sub place) and Sams and all the other record stores. See I was an addict, addicted to music (maybe its a habit, I gotta use it). Whatever it was, almost every Thursday evening, when the new shipment of hip hop came in to Play-De and StarSound from the U.S and many weekends you would catch me at some point walking around that area. Actually it was more than the record stores that attracted me, although undeniably that was a huge part, it was just the chance to get away from school and see everyday people. It was a good break from the stress of University.
Anyway it was a nice spring day, the first hints of green were appearing on the trees, the temperature was around 10C but felt warmer after my first experience of the freezing temperatures of the winter. I'm walking down Yonge Street just south of HMV by the flea market (now just boarded up with construction hoarding as they have been building something there for like the last 7 years which they haven't finished) with one of my bajan bredren, who I had known from home but had lost touch with and then ran into in that very same area, when she first came up to me and smiled and put this yellow circular sticker on my hand. "Sticker for the handsome gentleman?" she sort of said sort of asked as she placed it on my hand. I'm thinking to myself well that was kind of weird but still really friendly for this cold country that I was just getting used to and by cold I'm not describing the weather but actually the attitudes of its inhabitants.
Anyway she caught my attention and I stopped because I was curious. She was very softspoken and charming with eyes that sort of sparkled, not a hint of falsehood surrounding her, well in my opinion at least. She smiled and gave me some story, which in hindsight was rather vague, about collecting donations for some children's related charity. I thought naively well she asked so politely maybe I'll give her some of the spare change in my pocket. So I did and then that was it. I went along my merry way but still felt pretty good because of this random interaction amongst strangers on a busy street in Toronto.
Should have seen it as a con though because how often do people start off conversations with me with the words handsome. Damn, she played on my ego! I'm an idiot! Smart lady.
Fast forward to the next spring. I'm once again walking down Yonge Street this time a bit further north up by Sam's Record store and I'm once again confronted with a sticker on my hand and the same phrase "Sticker for the handsome gentleman?". This time now however I've had a full year to analyze the previous interaction, I'm hip to the game and I'm probably a bit more Jdid and a bit more street smart so sorry I have no cash to give you even if you do give me a sad look when I say no. But now I'm rather curious and after noticing her a few more times that year I kind of keep a look out for this lady and I watch her run the same line on stranger after stranger at various locations on Yonge street as the seasons change and as the clothing changes from heavy winter apparel to tank tops and jeans. She sometimes hangs out near the street youth up by the mission or most of the time closer to the busier intersections where there are more candidates for her to run her game on.
Its an interesting game she plays and quite a financially successful one it would seem for she keeps on working the same line over the years, here and in other Canadian cities apparently until finally it looks like they caught up with her (see link at top of this). Now they've discovered her $300,000 house in the suburbs and her nice SUV and the fact that none of the money she collects goes to charities. FRAUD! Well I didn't know about the house and car but I knew at some point 12 years ago that this money wasn't going towards any charity.
She caught me and probably numerous folks with that word handsome but later that was what clued me in to the con. Of course what does she care if I figured it out later she still got my cash. Sometimes I'm so stupid. When a man ugly like me and you start off with those words all sorts of alarms should go off.
Thing is though its cases of cons like this and the one with the shaky lady (excellent con. trust me if you ever saw her you couldn't help but have pity) that leaves one jdid and skeptical about helping the real street folk that need help. I realize that there are genuine lost souls out there who really do need some help at some point or the other because they are down on their luck although I don't really think one should encourage too much begging. Still it is the Christian thing to do to help your fellow man right? But when you get situations with frauds and confidence people you wonder whose story is real and whose is a fraud and why should I help the frauds make more money than I do or build an empire from my cash? And if I cant discern the fraud from the real why should I help at all. I'm not giving you money so you can play me. I tell ya this dat cant work atall!
Actually as an aside maybe the sticker lady started a trend because I'm seeing legit charities asking for money on the streets more.
Anyway I'm glad that the sticker lady has been exposed as a con woman. Its sad because it will probably make folk a bit more skeptical about giving to street folk but in the long run its probably for the good of society.
The above link is about the sticker lady. Who is the sticker lady? The sticker lady is this middle aged woman who one sees on Yonge street asking for donations to children's charities. She is a con-woman, a pure crook!
Now let me tell you about me and the sticker lady. Picture this: Spring 1992, Jdid juss a reach T-dot from foreign the year before, de gal a rush me and I have to beat dem off wid stick. True playa fa real ask puff daddy. yea yeah! Oh wait a minute sorry hallucinating again. Let me start over. Picture this: Spring 1992, Jdid juss a reach T-dot from foreign the year before and he was living on campus at University. First year away from family and loved one, adjusting to the lonely life in the big city, life as a minority and life in University, where he gained 15lbs freshman year (went from extremely maga to juss plain maga lol), all at the same time. Back in the days when I was a teenager. The sounds of A Tribe Called Quest Scenario Remix and Kris Kross' Jump filled my stereo along with artists like Black Sheep, Ice Cube, Slick Rick and Public Enemy. Back when I had the Pistons cap, the African medallion and the Kookabura hoodie. Back around the time of the disturbance/riot downtown Toronto in 92.
Had this thing for downtown Toronto (still do actually but I don't visit that often anymore), Yonge Street in particular. Maybe it was the preponderance of black folk that hung around Yonge and Dundas, going to the Worlds Largest Jeans Store or to the Eaton Centre's TV sized cinemas, before they decided to change up that area. It attracted hardcore hip hop heads, bums, youth with the same Caribbean accents as myself and this one particular bajan Muslim guy in whiterobes selling his incense on the corner but sneaking into the magazine shop a few doors down every now and then to look at porn (don't ask me how I know what the man used ta do, wunnah too malicious!).
Had to be the presence of HMV and Play-de Record, Star Sound (which changed its name to Traxxs a few years later and sadly closed about three years back and became a Quizno's sub place) and Sams and all the other record stores. See I was an addict, addicted to music (maybe its a habit, I gotta use it). Whatever it was, almost every Thursday evening, when the new shipment of hip hop came in to Play-De and StarSound from the U.S and many weekends you would catch me at some point walking around that area. Actually it was more than the record stores that attracted me, although undeniably that was a huge part, it was just the chance to get away from school and see everyday people. It was a good break from the stress of University.
Anyway it was a nice spring day, the first hints of green were appearing on the trees, the temperature was around 10C but felt warmer after my first experience of the freezing temperatures of the winter. I'm walking down Yonge Street just south of HMV by the flea market (now just boarded up with construction hoarding as they have been building something there for like the last 7 years which they haven't finished) with one of my bajan bredren, who I had known from home but had lost touch with and then ran into in that very same area, when she first came up to me and smiled and put this yellow circular sticker on my hand. "Sticker for the handsome gentleman?" she sort of said sort of asked as she placed it on my hand. I'm thinking to myself well that was kind of weird but still really friendly for this cold country that I was just getting used to and by cold I'm not describing the weather but actually the attitudes of its inhabitants.
Anyway she caught my attention and I stopped because I was curious. She was very softspoken and charming with eyes that sort of sparkled, not a hint of falsehood surrounding her, well in my opinion at least. She smiled and gave me some story, which in hindsight was rather vague, about collecting donations for some children's related charity. I thought naively well she asked so politely maybe I'll give her some of the spare change in my pocket. So I did and then that was it. I went along my merry way but still felt pretty good because of this random interaction amongst strangers on a busy street in Toronto.
Should have seen it as a con though because how often do people start off conversations with me with the words handsome. Damn, she played on my ego! I'm an idiot! Smart lady.
Fast forward to the next spring. I'm once again walking down Yonge Street this time a bit further north up by Sam's Record store and I'm once again confronted with a sticker on my hand and the same phrase "Sticker for the handsome gentleman?". This time now however I've had a full year to analyze the previous interaction, I'm hip to the game and I'm probably a bit more Jdid and a bit more street smart so sorry I have no cash to give you even if you do give me a sad look when I say no. But now I'm rather curious and after noticing her a few more times that year I kind of keep a look out for this lady and I watch her run the same line on stranger after stranger at various locations on Yonge street as the seasons change and as the clothing changes from heavy winter apparel to tank tops and jeans. She sometimes hangs out near the street youth up by the mission or most of the time closer to the busier intersections where there are more candidates for her to run her game on.
Its an interesting game she plays and quite a financially successful one it would seem for she keeps on working the same line over the years, here and in other Canadian cities apparently until finally it looks like they caught up with her (see link at top of this). Now they've discovered her $300,000 house in the suburbs and her nice SUV and the fact that none of the money she collects goes to charities. FRAUD! Well I didn't know about the house and car but I knew at some point 12 years ago that this money wasn't going towards any charity.
She caught me and probably numerous folks with that word handsome but later that was what clued me in to the con. Of course what does she care if I figured it out later she still got my cash. Sometimes I'm so stupid. When a man ugly like me and you start off with those words all sorts of alarms should go off.
Thing is though its cases of cons like this and the one with the shaky lady (excellent con. trust me if you ever saw her you couldn't help but have pity) that leaves one jdid and skeptical about helping the real street folk that need help. I realize that there are genuine lost souls out there who really do need some help at some point or the other because they are down on their luck although I don't really think one should encourage too much begging. Still it is the Christian thing to do to help your fellow man right? But when you get situations with frauds and confidence people you wonder whose story is real and whose is a fraud and why should I help the frauds make more money than I do or build an empire from my cash? And if I cant discern the fraud from the real why should I help at all. I'm not giving you money so you can play me. I tell ya this dat cant work atall!
Actually as an aside maybe the sticker lady started a trend because I'm seeing legit charities asking for money on the streets more.
Anyway I'm glad that the sticker lady has been exposed as a con woman. Its sad because it will probably make folk a bit more skeptical about giving to street folk but in the long run its probably for the good of society.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Dem got muh chipping
Well I woke up and its -23C with windchill its -35C, and the high supposed to be -10. What I like to describe as weather not fit for man or beast. I'm frightened to go outside because I might turn into an icicle on my way to work. Anyway just wanted to share a few incoherent notes inspired by my Saturday night at the steelpan show.
(1) Well this woman two seats over was trying to tief the seat next to me and in the process she juck muh hand wid a big hard false fingernail. Lawd ave mercy! Man I see stars. I think she give muh Tetnus, berri berri and carpal tunnel all wid one juck. My hand hurt me so bad den! All like now I could still feel it.
(2) Everytime I go around certain pan folk they are always looking to recruit me for Caribana. Bare sweet talk flinging at me about how I got potential and I should play and about practice and classes and all that. I haven't made up my mind about it yet though, I hoping since I am so prized a recruit they will offer me a signing bonus. Nothing big, I aint looking for no "kill-cow" (interpret that as big or extravagant amount). I would settle for two cocoa bread and a patty.
(3) I don't know about anyone else but have you ever studied the differences with how Caribbean people dance? I being real simplistic here because this would take several blogs to explain but let me break it down for you. Trini's duz do this thing they call chipping. The best way I can think to describe it is as a rhythmic slow march. That in my mind is the official dance of Trinidad and they can perform it to every type of music imaginable. Soca dem chipping, Reggae dem chipping, RnB dem chipping, classical dem chipping. I think it probably originate out of having to parade on the streets for two full days of carnival. When you dancing so long you cant have no big extravagant moves or by the time the second day come ya ketch heatstroke and pull muscles and must run to doctor for time off work and medication and therapy so you keep your movements simple simple.
Anyway Saturday night dem had me chipping to the steelpan music even though I is a bajan cause ya know they say when in Rome do as the Romans and since this was mainly a Trini thing well I had to chip.
Now I get a little sidetracked but as I was saying this is how it goes; Trinis chip to any type of music, Bajans duz wuk-up to anything (wont describe that here) and Jamaicans well amm umm. Man looka Jamaicans got too many dances for me to keep track of. Sometimes I think they should change their motto from out of many we are one to out of one people we invent many dances.
Its like a different dance for every day of the year. 365 dances and counting. I was still trying to learn the cool n deadly and all a sudden I lookup and bram! boggle and the butterfly in my face. Then Armstrong, then next thing I know I hearing about pepperseeds and go go wine, body basic and tate. How am I expected to keep up? Its like I need a dancing instructor or instructional video to keep up. Then I learn one or two and all a sudden mock de dread appear. Then I hear Angel and Log on(an step pun ch...), matrix, then row the boat, signal the place and now I hearing Thunder Clap. And I know the Thunder Clap about a year and a half old now so I know I way way behind the times. They just wont allow me to learn one dance good before I got to learn another one. Look, try and slow down the dances nuh. I aint no Fred Astaire nor James Brown, I got two left feet and it duz tek muh real long to learn dem dances.
(4) Caribbean language is the sweetest language out there. I trying to be a student of all of them and sometimes I get mix up and switch the bajan wid de yardie and the trinibago speech but is all good. Working on some accents too but they aint ready for prime time yet. Regardless its all niceness and it serves to help keep me sane in this proper English society. A few colorful West Indian words sometimes is all I need to bring a smile to my face. I could do a whole post on language actually. Some words mean the same in all the islands and some mean different things. Some words like the Bajans "Wunnah" and the Jamaican "Unna" both from the same West African language root word and both used the same way. Its really interesting to see how the dialects evolved in each island.
Anyway 'Dem got me chipping' is an example of the opposite where the words mean different things in different islands. If I said that to a Trini he's going to think I'm talking about dancing to the music cause that is what chipping means to him. But now if I said that same phrase to a bajan he would think I mean that I'm working really hard today, work busy busy and I cant even get a lil break cause to chip means to be in a hurry or to rush around. Ya see how the words is the same but mean different things? Boy this language thing real interesting I think.
(1) Well this woman two seats over was trying to tief the seat next to me and in the process she juck muh hand wid a big hard false fingernail. Lawd ave mercy! Man I see stars. I think she give muh Tetnus, berri berri and carpal tunnel all wid one juck. My hand hurt me so bad den! All like now I could still feel it.
(2) Everytime I go around certain pan folk they are always looking to recruit me for Caribana. Bare sweet talk flinging at me about how I got potential and I should play and about practice and classes and all that. I haven't made up my mind about it yet though, I hoping since I am so prized a recruit they will offer me a signing bonus. Nothing big, I aint looking for no "kill-cow" (interpret that as big or extravagant amount). I would settle for two cocoa bread and a patty.
(3) I don't know about anyone else but have you ever studied the differences with how Caribbean people dance? I being real simplistic here because this would take several blogs to explain but let me break it down for you. Trini's duz do this thing they call chipping. The best way I can think to describe it is as a rhythmic slow march. That in my mind is the official dance of Trinidad and they can perform it to every type of music imaginable. Soca dem chipping, Reggae dem chipping, RnB dem chipping, classical dem chipping. I think it probably originate out of having to parade on the streets for two full days of carnival. When you dancing so long you cant have no big extravagant moves or by the time the second day come ya ketch heatstroke and pull muscles and must run to doctor for time off work and medication and therapy so you keep your movements simple simple.
Anyway Saturday night dem had me chipping to the steelpan music even though I is a bajan cause ya know they say when in Rome do as the Romans and since this was mainly a Trini thing well I had to chip.
Now I get a little sidetracked but as I was saying this is how it goes; Trinis chip to any type of music, Bajans duz wuk-up to anything (wont describe that here) and Jamaicans well amm umm. Man looka Jamaicans got too many dances for me to keep track of. Sometimes I think they should change their motto from out of many we are one to out of one people we invent many dances.
Its like a different dance for every day of the year. 365 dances and counting. I was still trying to learn the cool n deadly and all a sudden I lookup and bram! boggle and the butterfly in my face. Then Armstrong, then next thing I know I hearing about pepperseeds and go go wine, body basic and tate. How am I expected to keep up? Its like I need a dancing instructor or instructional video to keep up. Then I learn one or two and all a sudden mock de dread appear. Then I hear Angel and Log on(an step pun ch...), matrix, then row the boat, signal the place and now I hearing Thunder Clap. And I know the Thunder Clap about a year and a half old now so I know I way way behind the times. They just wont allow me to learn one dance good before I got to learn another one. Look, try and slow down the dances nuh. I aint no Fred Astaire nor James Brown, I got two left feet and it duz tek muh real long to learn dem dances.
(4) Caribbean language is the sweetest language out there. I trying to be a student of all of them and sometimes I get mix up and switch the bajan wid de yardie and the trinibago speech but is all good. Working on some accents too but they aint ready for prime time yet. Regardless its all niceness and it serves to help keep me sane in this proper English society. A few colorful West Indian words sometimes is all I need to bring a smile to my face. I could do a whole post on language actually. Some words mean the same in all the islands and some mean different things. Some words like the Bajans "Wunnah" and the Jamaican "Unna" both from the same West African language root word and both used the same way. Its really interesting to see how the dialects evolved in each island.
Anyway 'Dem got me chipping' is an example of the opposite where the words mean different things in different islands. If I said that to a Trini he's going to think I'm talking about dancing to the music cause that is what chipping means to him. But now if I said that same phrase to a bajan he would think I mean that I'm working really hard today, work busy busy and I cant even get a lil break cause to chip means to be in a hurry or to rush around. Ya see how the words is the same but mean different things? Boy this language thing real interesting I think.
Monday, January 17, 2005
Monday again
Weekends rolling by way too fast for my liking these days. I was supposed to blog about the concert today but no time to really get into that since I have to hit work early today. Got a seminar to attend this morning. Just trying to keep the mind active I guess.
Anyway not much to talk about but will mention this article from yesterday's Nation. Alicia Keys in Barbados for the Jazz festival and her bodyguards beating up journalists. Chupse! I hate that celebrities and their entourages can get away with so much crap in the Caribbean. And why do Americans feel that them can unfair everybody an get away with it? Didn't seem to be no reason for him grappling up the journalist. Shame on the police for not doing anything about that.
Too much celebrity hero worship bow down to the big boys thing going on. Guess that's one of the outcomes when you do something silly like put all your eggs in tourism.
Anyway got to run or will be late for class. Hope everyone has a nice day.
Anyway not much to talk about but will mention this article from yesterday's Nation. Alicia Keys in Barbados for the Jazz festival and her bodyguards beating up journalists. Chupse! I hate that celebrities and their entourages can get away with so much crap in the Caribbean. And why do Americans feel that them can unfair everybody an get away with it? Didn't seem to be no reason for him grappling up the journalist. Shame on the police for not doing anything about that.
Too much celebrity hero worship bow down to the big boys thing going on. Guess that's one of the outcomes when you do something silly like put all your eggs in tourism.
Anyway got to run or will be late for class. Hope everyone has a nice day.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Big and Beautiful
Well hope everyone is having a great weekend. I sleep most of Saturday and went out last night to a really nice pan concert (full detail tomorrow). Actually the one thing I can say about the show was Afropan did a rendition of Barber of Seville using pan that was sweet for days. London Philharmonic and Boston Pops and them big bands aint got nuttin on Afropan. Lawd a mercy!
Anyway let me give you my entire show critique tomorrow.
Saw this article in the Barbados Nation today. Its about the "big and beautiful" beauty shows that that have been going on there recently. The shows are beauty shows for full figured women. Now while I aint too big on the whole beauty show thing (I gine still watch dem if dem show dem pun tv though) I am all for the concept of the big and beautiful shows because for one it shows that beauty is not confined to some concept of a bony half starved runway model with her ribs popping out. Voluptuous is good! The lord din mek all a we the same and everybody cant be light enough that a strong breeze pick dem up and blow dem way. Most women cant come close to those magazine models' statistics and looks but yet this is what the media pushes at us as the concept of beauty. And yes as a Caribbean man sometimes me like see woman wid likkle meat on her bones. Nuttin wrong wid dat. So yes lets show that big can also be beautiful. Its not healthy to make women believe that the waif look is the one to strive for.
These shows can build the confidence and self esteem of the bigger ladies out there and show us that even if ya coca-cola shape turn pet bottle ya can still be beautiful. That was jus a lil joke I hope it aint offend nuhbody.
In reality its about being healthy and living a healthy lifestyle. What weight are you healthy at? It appears different for everyone. For most people being pencil thin aint the healthiest. But because the media throws those images at us that's what the ladies strive to be. For men the image is either the muscle bound Arnold look or the sleek athletic Olympic type bodies. We must all realize that we cant all get to that ideal look so being healthy is actually the goal.
Anyway I still wanted to point out that we as a Caribbean people are still too big or not taking the healthy thing serious enough in general though. The show's organizers say that the ladies must be around 250lbs or above to enter. They said that the last show they did in Barbados most of the ladies they had were under that range and were some of the smallest in this series of events being held all over the Caribbean. Wow! Now like I said I'm all for the full figured look and think the contest is great but when you stop and think about it 250lbs is a real lot of weight for the average woman who somewhere between 5'-2" and 5-10". I mean even if you consider its like the average Caribbean beauty show where most of the contestants start at 5'7" and end up around 6'0" those ladies are still pushing into the realms of obesity with body mass index above 33. (Mind you BMI aint that great an indicator in my opinion because if you working out and put on muscle it duz tell ya alot a foolishness bout ya overweight and ting so and it don't take into consideration that certain groups apparently seem to have denser bones)
Yes I know that for alot of Caribbean (read that as black) people, you look at us and don't realize that we are heavier than you can imagine (myself included cause people used to always look at me and think me maga an weigh about 160 and I weighed about 185) but 250lbs no matter how you cut it is still quite a bit of weight to be carrying around. So are these beauty shows promoting obesity or unhealthy behavior? Because with obesity comes alot of health issues and I would hate to think that we going from one extreme to the next, from promoting the waif thin look with its health issues to promoting obesity with its own set of problems.
Maybe we need a beauty show for women who fall somewhere in between and healthy.
Anyway let me give you my entire show critique tomorrow.
Saw this article in the Barbados Nation today. Its about the "big and beautiful" beauty shows that that have been going on there recently. The shows are beauty shows for full figured women. Now while I aint too big on the whole beauty show thing (I gine still watch dem if dem show dem pun tv though) I am all for the concept of the big and beautiful shows because for one it shows that beauty is not confined to some concept of a bony half starved runway model with her ribs popping out. Voluptuous is good! The lord din mek all a we the same and everybody cant be light enough that a strong breeze pick dem up and blow dem way. Most women cant come close to those magazine models' statistics and looks but yet this is what the media pushes at us as the concept of beauty. And yes as a Caribbean man sometimes me like see woman wid likkle meat on her bones. Nuttin wrong wid dat. So yes lets show that big can also be beautiful. Its not healthy to make women believe that the waif look is the one to strive for.
These shows can build the confidence and self esteem of the bigger ladies out there and show us that even if ya coca-cola shape turn pet bottle ya can still be beautiful. That was jus a lil joke I hope it aint offend nuhbody.
In reality its about being healthy and living a healthy lifestyle. What weight are you healthy at? It appears different for everyone. For most people being pencil thin aint the healthiest. But because the media throws those images at us that's what the ladies strive to be. For men the image is either the muscle bound Arnold look or the sleek athletic Olympic type bodies. We must all realize that we cant all get to that ideal look so being healthy is actually the goal.
Anyway I still wanted to point out that we as a Caribbean people are still too big or not taking the healthy thing serious enough in general though. The show's organizers say that the ladies must be around 250lbs or above to enter. They said that the last show they did in Barbados most of the ladies they had were under that range and were some of the smallest in this series of events being held all over the Caribbean. Wow! Now like I said I'm all for the full figured look and think the contest is great but when you stop and think about it 250lbs is a real lot of weight for the average woman who somewhere between 5'-2" and 5-10". I mean even if you consider its like the average Caribbean beauty show where most of the contestants start at 5'7" and end up around 6'0" those ladies are still pushing into the realms of obesity with body mass index above 33. (Mind you BMI aint that great an indicator in my opinion because if you working out and put on muscle it duz tell ya alot a foolishness bout ya overweight and ting so and it don't take into consideration that certain groups apparently seem to have denser bones)
Yes I know that for alot of Caribbean (read that as black) people, you look at us and don't realize that we are heavier than you can imagine (myself included cause people used to always look at me and think me maga an weigh about 160 and I weighed about 185) but 250lbs no matter how you cut it is still quite a bit of weight to be carrying around. So are these beauty shows promoting obesity or unhealthy behavior? Because with obesity comes alot of health issues and I would hate to think that we going from one extreme to the next, from promoting the waif thin look with its health issues to promoting obesity with its own set of problems.
Maybe we need a beauty show for women who fall somewhere in between and healthy.
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Politricks as usual
Quick Saturday blog.
Well embattled Canadian Immigration Minister Judy Sgro resigned yesterday. Now when I was much younger and more naive I used to think that only West Indian politicians were shady. Silly me. Since I've grown up I've realized that sadly politics is poli-tricks the world over.
So many political scandals I can think of now that you wonder if that's the way things are really supposed to be. Gives credence to the saving that power corrupts. Anyway let me give you some details of this one. Well first off last year this politician Judy Sgro apparently was giving away favors in return for people working on her election campaign. First leaked story was that she promised a stripper from Romania asylum in return for working on her campaign. Now if the politician was a man this would have turned into one of those really big scandals. Then again this is Canada where we could really care less about politics. Politician scandal yea ok, big deal, who cares. Hockey lockout......... nuff man vex vex and cussing and crying an saying 'lord why thus thou persecute me so' or to paraphrase myself from previous blogs on my computer weeping and moaning filled the land and there was gnashing of teeth. Oh well a so it go.
Anyway so Judy get a bit of scrutiny for the stripper thing but now another story comes out that just sank her boat. She apparently offered another fellow asylum for giving her campaign free pizza. Shame! Free pizza? You can buy politician favor with pizza. Whoa! What happened to clandestine meetings in dark alleyways or deserted dockyards with dudes in darks shades and black suits with big briefcases full of money.
And What! But wait! Looks like politics a bit different here than in the Caribbean. In the Caribbean it would be the politician giving the electorate the free pizza or the corned beef and biscuits or the curry goat as the case may be not the other way around. Jamaica has Curry Goat politics, Barbados has Corn Beef and Biscuit politics but it seems that Canada has pizza politics and they flipped the scenario. I guess that's the difference between the first world and the third world. In the Caribbean politicians pay others to get votes to be elected, in Canada they get others to pay them in the hope of getting favors later. Ok yea that's too simplistic a definition of the differences since the same pizza type politics happens in the Caribbean as well but I felt like making that distinction.
Anyway another politician another scandal. Is there any question why our youth are jaded (jdid perhaps even) when matters of voting, politics and governing are brought to the fore. Maybe its time we rethink popular democracy or at least some issues of power.
Well embattled Canadian Immigration Minister Judy Sgro resigned yesterday. Now when I was much younger and more naive I used to think that only West Indian politicians were shady. Silly me. Since I've grown up I've realized that sadly politics is poli-tricks the world over.
So many political scandals I can think of now that you wonder if that's the way things are really supposed to be. Gives credence to the saving that power corrupts. Anyway let me give you some details of this one. Well first off last year this politician Judy Sgro apparently was giving away favors in return for people working on her election campaign. First leaked story was that she promised a stripper from Romania asylum in return for working on her campaign. Now if the politician was a man this would have turned into one of those really big scandals. Then again this is Canada where we could really care less about politics. Politician scandal yea ok, big deal, who cares. Hockey lockout......... nuff man vex vex and cussing and crying an saying 'lord why thus thou persecute me so' or to paraphrase myself from previous blogs on my computer weeping and moaning filled the land and there was gnashing of teeth. Oh well a so it go.
Anyway so Judy get a bit of scrutiny for the stripper thing but now another story comes out that just sank her boat. She apparently offered another fellow asylum for giving her campaign free pizza. Shame! Free pizza? You can buy politician favor with pizza. Whoa! What happened to clandestine meetings in dark alleyways or deserted dockyards with dudes in darks shades and black suits with big briefcases full of money.
And What! But wait! Looks like politics a bit different here than in the Caribbean. In the Caribbean it would be the politician giving the electorate the free pizza or the corned beef and biscuits or the curry goat as the case may be not the other way around. Jamaica has Curry Goat politics, Barbados has Corn Beef and Biscuit politics but it seems that Canada has pizza politics and they flipped the scenario. I guess that's the difference between the first world and the third world. In the Caribbean politicians pay others to get votes to be elected, in Canada they get others to pay them in the hope of getting favors later. Ok yea that's too simplistic a definition of the differences since the same pizza type politics happens in the Caribbean as well but I felt like making that distinction.
Anyway another politician another scandal. Is there any question why our youth are jaded (jdid perhaps even) when matters of voting, politics and governing are brought to the fore. Maybe its time we rethink popular democracy or at least some issues of power.
Friday, January 14, 2005
Tired
Wow, dont even have the strength to post anything significant today. I knew I was tired but didnt realize how tired I actually was until I fell asleep on the subway and missed my stop. Seriously strong sleep but at least I didnt dribble or snore.... this time.
Anyway had some stuff to talk about especially one news item I heard of this morning but I too tired to be really coherent so will leave that til tomorrow. Just have to make it through today and get back home safely. No domino night with the boys tonight I too tired for that.
Mind you I have a squash match in like 2 hrs. Maybe thats partially why I'm so tired this week. Will be the 4th time I play for the week. Usually I average about two outings so this is a bit much. Oh well its against this older lady who works somewhere close to my office who I met on the squash courts a few weeks back. We just go knock the ball around for 1/2 hr, no real games and I sort of play at 65% speed. Actually I think I've been playing at less than 100% all year so far againt everyone anyways. I believe its mostly psycological given that the last two Januaries I've injured myself (back and groin injuries which kept me away from the game for a few months) and everytime I step on the court I'm very very aware of that. So no playing with reckless abandon this month at least.
Oh, the weather here is interesting. Yesterday we had a high of 17 Celcius which is like late spring weather. Today its -2 with a windchill of -10. Oh well at least I'm not in Calgary and them places so where its -26 or -32 without windchill. Oh and on Wednesday it was also cold and the sidewalks were frozen over. My usually one minute walk to the bus probably took about 10-12 minutes. I had to say it was a good thing I had gone out and bought those new boots last weekend instead of trying to make the old ones that were tearing away at the sole last through the winter because if I had to wear the old ones I might have taken a nice fall.
Oh and I woke this morning to find out that the West Indies cricketers lost again. Badly. Australia kicked their butts. I guess the more things change the more they remain the same. You just have to keep it real and say they are a struggling team but some folks seem to think that everytime we start a series it will be revealed that our players are really superheroes and we will become number 1 overnight. Oh well!
Thats all for now. Will try to make it through the day without falling asleep and then go home and see if the Raptors, 4-1at home in their last 5 games can win a road game against the sixers tonight. Enjoy your day folk.
Anyway had some stuff to talk about especially one news item I heard of this morning but I too tired to be really coherent so will leave that til tomorrow. Just have to make it through today and get back home safely. No domino night with the boys tonight I too tired for that.
Mind you I have a squash match in like 2 hrs. Maybe thats partially why I'm so tired this week. Will be the 4th time I play for the week. Usually I average about two outings so this is a bit much. Oh well its against this older lady who works somewhere close to my office who I met on the squash courts a few weeks back. We just go knock the ball around for 1/2 hr, no real games and I sort of play at 65% speed. Actually I think I've been playing at less than 100% all year so far againt everyone anyways. I believe its mostly psycological given that the last two Januaries I've injured myself (back and groin injuries which kept me away from the game for a few months) and everytime I step on the court I'm very very aware of that. So no playing with reckless abandon this month at least.
Oh, the weather here is interesting. Yesterday we had a high of 17 Celcius which is like late spring weather. Today its -2 with a windchill of -10. Oh well at least I'm not in Calgary and them places so where its -26 or -32 without windchill. Oh and on Wednesday it was also cold and the sidewalks were frozen over. My usually one minute walk to the bus probably took about 10-12 minutes. I had to say it was a good thing I had gone out and bought those new boots last weekend instead of trying to make the old ones that were tearing away at the sole last through the winter because if I had to wear the old ones I might have taken a nice fall.
Oh and I woke this morning to find out that the West Indies cricketers lost again. Badly. Australia kicked their butts. I guess the more things change the more they remain the same. You just have to keep it real and say they are a struggling team but some folks seem to think that everytime we start a series it will be revealed that our players are really superheroes and we will become number 1 overnight. Oh well!
Thats all for now. Will try to make it through the day without falling asleep and then go home and see if the Raptors, 4-1at home in their last 5 games can win a road game against the sixers tonight. Enjoy your day folk.
Don't eva mess with a sista's hair
"Don't you ever touch a black man's radio, boy! You can do that in China but you can get your ass killed out here, man!"
Chris Tucker - Rush Hour
Well my computer is back yeahhh! Its partially fixed meaning the hardware is supposedly fixed (new harddrive, new video card, pockets flat flat flat) so now I've just got to re-install all my software and hopefully get everything back to where I want it which may take at least a solid 24 hrs of work. Must say with all the computer drama I've been through lately I'm a bit tentative and waiting for the next crash but I live in hope. Anyway last night I stayed up til about 1am working on it while listening to Joan Armatrading or leaving things to install while watching the Raptors play or Alias or Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search. Anyway needless to say when it is fixed the land will be aflow with jiggy drinks and the people will be content. (but that's another blog)
Oh for you youngsters and the North American raised who may be asking who in the world Joan Armatrading is I guess the best way for me to describe her is she was Tracy Chapman before Tracy Chapman but with a bit of a rock n roll edge. Actually her work kind of transcends genres so some of her stuff is folksy like Tracey Chapman, some's more funky, some more rock and roll but all in all good music (and the best part is I got the CD new for like 6.99). Oh and she a West Indian ,Kittitian born I believe.
Anyway the reason I used the quote from Rush Hour above was because I wanted to to flip that to what happened on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model show last night. For those who haven't seen the show let me break it down for you. Everyone has heard of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition right? Tyra Banks, Molly Sims, Heidi Klum, Christie Brinkly, Cindy Crawford, Cheryl Tiegs, Naomi Campbell, Rachel Hunter, Kathy Ireland and a host of supposedly the most beautifulliest women in the world have been in its pages over the years. Yes I know beautifulliest aint a real word but I using it for emphasis. Well last year they decided to do a model search and let the SI (Sports Illustrated) readers choose one amateur to join the professional models in the magazine so over the course of a few weeks the magazine showed various girls and readers were allowed to vote online until finally one of them was chosen.
This year they decided to get some additional publicity and do it all as a reality show with the winner getting in addition to a chance to be in the magazine a one million dollar modeling contract.. Yea pretty sad my watching reality TV but hey it's girls in swimwear every week so I make no apologies. Leave me 'lone! Plus as a West Indian, people who duz take criticism to the level of professional sport ya kno I can sit down and watch and laff and practice my criticism artform (how I gine get betta if I don't practice nuh?) and make bare sport of the girls.
Anyway nuff said. The drama this week involved a black contestant, Betti's hair style. Last week the judges said they didn't like her long weave so this week when the hairstylists showed up to do all the girls' hair they removed her weave and left her hair in this afro-ish, puffy look. To tell you the truth it really didn't look great ok enough pretense it did look real real bad when they had first finish doing it. I mean don't get me wrong the 'unbeweavable' style she had previously 'naa gine mek it' either but the new style ended up making her look almost troll like. I mean in all seriousness they had her looking like a pencil wid a big eraser on top.
I mean seriously I did really feel for the girl. I remember when I was growing up in Barbados if you went to the barber or ya fadda or brother or friend who cutting ya hair and he gave you a bad haircut; put patches in it or cut it uneven or aint round it up properly you would be subjected to comments like 'cuhdear lil boy dat barber really unfair you doah. ya mean you sit down an let he unfair you head so?' or the barber would have to deal wid 'man looka how you unfair dat lil boy head doah. man you like you aint nuh real barber fa true ya kno, you like you is a barber friend'. Well looking at Betti's hair after the hairstylists finished all I could think was 'cuhdear Betti dem unfair ya too bad fa troot.'
Anyway Betti was not at all pleased. After probably spending money and nuff time sitting in a hair salon waiting until 3:30 pm to finally get her 10:30am appointment to get her weave did so she could look good on TV these folks just up and take it out and left her looking all busted. It naa go so. So Betti spoke up. She told the hairdresser and anyone in earshot that she wasn't pleased with the hair and rightly said that she had never seen a SI model with this type of hair inferring that they were ruining her chances at winning the contest by leaving her like that.
Well as Paul Keen's Douglas would say. Who tell she say dat! For the rest of the show the hairdresser and the other models were all complaining about why Betti behave so, how she feel she is a diva, she didn't have to act like that, she got nuff attitude and a whole bunch of talk about her behavior.
Now from my perspective Betti was very restrained (at least what they showed on TV) after they had left her looking worse that a reject from Soul Train. She raised her voice a bit but didn't scream, just enough intensity to make them realize she was upset and she wasn't cussing anyone just telling them like it is. But no even the other black girl (who ended up getting the boot) had talk for Betti.
Now these people obviously didn't know that you "Don't you ever touch a black woman's hair ! You can get your ass killed out here, man!" Its just not done. Hair is a serious thing. You ever see how many hair magazines are out there for black women? Just from looking at that you have to realize that when it comes to hair the sistas don't play. Yea sometimes it aint gine look like all that but black women don't willingly let no-one play up in their hair to end up looking like Donna Summer's downtrodden step sister. To me those guys are lucky that Betti didn't act a fool up in there.
Anyway, Betti avoided getting kicked off. Actually the hairstyle turned out not that bad in the end. I think Betti braided it overnight and the next morning comb it out and it actually looked respectable and since they ended up on a 70s style photo shoot this week she did well. But how long will the hair remain that way one wonders because she's obviously not comfortable with it and as she said they don't put nobody in SI with their hair looking so.
Chris Tucker - Rush Hour
Well my computer is back yeahhh! Its partially fixed meaning the hardware is supposedly fixed (new harddrive, new video card, pockets flat flat flat) so now I've just got to re-install all my software and hopefully get everything back to where I want it which may take at least a solid 24 hrs of work. Must say with all the computer drama I've been through lately I'm a bit tentative and waiting for the next crash but I live in hope. Anyway last night I stayed up til about 1am working on it while listening to Joan Armatrading or leaving things to install while watching the Raptors play or Alias or Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search. Anyway needless to say when it is fixed the land will be aflow with jiggy drinks and the people will be content. (but that's another blog)
Oh for you youngsters and the North American raised who may be asking who in the world Joan Armatrading is I guess the best way for me to describe her is she was Tracy Chapman before Tracy Chapman but with a bit of a rock n roll edge. Actually her work kind of transcends genres so some of her stuff is folksy like Tracey Chapman, some's more funky, some more rock and roll but all in all good music (and the best part is I got the CD new for like 6.99). Oh and she a West Indian ,Kittitian born I believe.
Anyway the reason I used the quote from Rush Hour above was because I wanted to to flip that to what happened on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model show last night. For those who haven't seen the show let me break it down for you. Everyone has heard of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition right? Tyra Banks, Molly Sims, Heidi Klum, Christie Brinkly, Cindy Crawford, Cheryl Tiegs, Naomi Campbell, Rachel Hunter, Kathy Ireland and a host of supposedly the most beautifulliest women in the world have been in its pages over the years. Yes I know beautifulliest aint a real word but I using it for emphasis. Well last year they decided to do a model search and let the SI (Sports Illustrated) readers choose one amateur to join the professional models in the magazine so over the course of a few weeks the magazine showed various girls and readers were allowed to vote online until finally one of them was chosen.
This year they decided to get some additional publicity and do it all as a reality show with the winner getting in addition to a chance to be in the magazine a one million dollar modeling contract.. Yea pretty sad my watching reality TV but hey it's girls in swimwear every week so I make no apologies. Leave me 'lone! Plus as a West Indian, people who duz take criticism to the level of professional sport ya kno I can sit down and watch and laff and practice my criticism artform (how I gine get betta if I don't practice nuh?) and make bare sport of the girls.
Anyway nuff said. The drama this week involved a black contestant, Betti's hair style. Last week the judges said they didn't like her long weave so this week when the hairstylists showed up to do all the girls' hair they removed her weave and left her hair in this afro-ish, puffy look. To tell you the truth it really didn't look great ok enough pretense it did look real real bad when they had first finish doing it. I mean don't get me wrong the 'unbeweavable' style she had previously 'naa gine mek it' either but the new style ended up making her look almost troll like. I mean in all seriousness they had her looking like a pencil wid a big eraser on top.
I mean seriously I did really feel for the girl. I remember when I was growing up in Barbados if you went to the barber or ya fadda or brother or friend who cutting ya hair and he gave you a bad haircut; put patches in it or cut it uneven or aint round it up properly you would be subjected to comments like 'cuhdear lil boy dat barber really unfair you doah. ya mean you sit down an let he unfair you head so?' or the barber would have to deal wid 'man looka how you unfair dat lil boy head doah. man you like you aint nuh real barber fa true ya kno, you like you is a barber friend'. Well looking at Betti's hair after the hairstylists finished all I could think was 'cuhdear Betti dem unfair ya too bad fa troot.'
Anyway Betti was not at all pleased. After probably spending money and nuff time sitting in a hair salon waiting until 3:30 pm to finally get her 10:30am appointment to get her weave did so she could look good on TV these folks just up and take it out and left her looking all busted. It naa go so. So Betti spoke up. She told the hairdresser and anyone in earshot that she wasn't pleased with the hair and rightly said that she had never seen a SI model with this type of hair inferring that they were ruining her chances at winning the contest by leaving her like that.
Well as Paul Keen's Douglas would say. Who tell she say dat! For the rest of the show the hairdresser and the other models were all complaining about why Betti behave so, how she feel she is a diva, she didn't have to act like that, she got nuff attitude and a whole bunch of talk about her behavior.
Now from my perspective Betti was very restrained (at least what they showed on TV) after they had left her looking worse that a reject from Soul Train. She raised her voice a bit but didn't scream, just enough intensity to make them realize she was upset and she wasn't cussing anyone just telling them like it is. But no even the other black girl (who ended up getting the boot) had talk for Betti.
Now these people obviously didn't know that you "Don't you ever touch a black woman's hair ! You can get your ass killed out here, man!" Its just not done. Hair is a serious thing. You ever see how many hair magazines are out there for black women? Just from looking at that you have to realize that when it comes to hair the sistas don't play. Yea sometimes it aint gine look like all that but black women don't willingly let no-one play up in their hair to end up looking like Donna Summer's downtrodden step sister. To me those guys are lucky that Betti didn't act a fool up in there.
Anyway, Betti avoided getting kicked off. Actually the hairstyle turned out not that bad in the end. I think Betti braided it overnight and the next morning comb it out and it actually looked respectable and since they ended up on a 70s style photo shoot this week she did well. But how long will the hair remain that way one wonders because she's obviously not comfortable with it and as she said they don't put nobody in SI with their hair looking so.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Dem people "believe"
Very superstitious, writing’s on the wall,
Very superstitious, ladders bout’ to fall,
Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin’ glass
Seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past.
When you believe in things that you don’t understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition ain’t the way
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Just the other day Kami was blogging about superstitions and then yesterday I saw the article at the bottom of this blog in the Barbados Nation online and felt the need to share it. I would just post the link but the Nation webpage takes way too long to load even with highspeed.
Some folks really take this superstition thing serious. Me? Well my mother always tell me that them people dat "believe" (short for believe in the supernatural, obeah and spirits and such) really need to seek Christ. I've heard of folks back in the day going to the obeah man who told them to go to the four crossroads and sprinkle duppy dust at midnight or go and take a bush bath or walk backwards into the sea reciting some strange secret incantation but I didn't realize that these practices still occurred. My thoughts are although there is a lot of unexplained stuff out there I cant get with these superstitions. In fact to me the role of Obeah Man seems like one of the sweetest cons perpetrated on people in these days and times. Easy money for a fellow that can make someone believe that they are haunted or possessed or someone has put a spell on them. I was thinking that if things don't pan out in my chosen field as a fallback plan I should open me own obeah man business. Mek people walk into Lake Ontario backwards or put lil set a fireplace ashes in a ziplock an sell it as duppy dust but no I cant be so bad....yet
Anyway this story is an extreme example of when people "believe" too much. Pretty sad story in a way actually.
Link to Nation Story here or just read below.
Sex Ritual To Cast Out Demons - Tuesday 11, January-2005
by Roy R. Morris
There’s an old saying: Don’t judge a man ’til you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. Keep this in mind as you read this article.
Early last week I received a call from a woman who asked me to help her with a problem. I have to admit that while speaking to her I kept asking myself “how silly can a person get?”
But as I replayed the conversation in my mind over the week, it occurred to me that my judgment was particularly harsh. When I did a full interview, my disposition changed dramatically.
Andrea is 27 years old, but her level of reasoning suggests she is much younger. Her mother died when she was a baby. She attended secondary school until she was just 13 years old. She has not been to school anywhere since then. At the age of 14 she was raped.
The information in the preceding paragraph is purely for the purpose of setting the tone for her actual complaint.
In Bajan parlance, this simple girl “believes”. She believes that a woman who wanted a relationship with a previous boyfriend “put a curse on her”. She said she suffered intense bleeding during every episode of sexual intercourse after being “threatened” by the woman and attributes it to obeah. According to her, no doctor has been able to explain the bleeding.
But that was just the start. Andrea said she was constantly fighting at night with “little men” who had sex with her, tried to choke her, whose faces showed up in picture frames, in mirrors, even on the corn flakes box. She said she could not enter her home at Black Rock without seeing the face of a woman in the ceiling.
She complained of clothing turning up other than where she had put it, food disappearing from the fridge and table, people knocking at the door but seeing no one when she looked out.
The young woman said she went to church after church but found no relief. “I guess I was not strong enough,” she rationalized.
That was when, she said, a girlfriend of her brother drew her attention to an ad in The Nation, with someone identifying himself as a high priest offering assistance with situations such as hers. For $1 000 he offered to cast out her evil spirits and “cleanse the house”.
Andrea said she begged and borrowed to come up with the money, after the “high priest” shuffled some cards at her introductory visit to his home near the Ministry of Public Works, invited her to pull three and they all pointed to her imminent death.
The problem was that none of the “cures” worked. He then determined that the demons had inherited her jewelry and they too had to be brought to him for cleansing. As time passed and neither relief nor her jewelry returned, Andrea said, she was told the four rings, three bracelets, two chains , earrings and anklet were so deeply possessed they had to be buried to “get rid of the spirits”.
Still she believed in the man.
With nothing changing, he apparently determined it was time for the heavy stuff. According to her, she was told a ritual would have to be performed on her body and it would involve intercourse. For the first time, she said, she questioned his course of action, and was told she should not see it as sex, but the casting out of demons.
At the end of the “ceremony” which also included her performing oral sex on him, she said, she was told there were a total of seven demons, and that session had successfully removed one. She had to come back for six more sessions. She went back to have two more demons cast out, then came to her senses.
Since then, she said, her attempts to retrieve her jewelry and money have been met with threats of both physical and spiritual harm – enough to keep her quiet.
I spoke with Andrea’s brother, who “confirmed” he knew of her dealings with the so-called high priest, but only “at the end”. I also spoke with her grandmother, a devout Christian, who told of “bringing the Scriptures to her to help her fight the evil she was facing”.
They both described Andrea as “a very simple” person who had been taken advantage of. Neither have known her to be involved in the taking of illegal drugs.
Is it possible that an adult who consented to sex, and who willingly gave money to another adult to provide a service, can now reasonably cry foul?
I raised the matter with Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin and respected criminal lawyer, Ralph Thorne, both of whom “strongly” believe that if the facts are as she outlined then she was raped.
According to Dottin, rape can be by physical force or false pretense, adding that based on past court ruling, “a person can vitiate consent by fraud”, and that is what appears to have occurred in this case. Under the Theft Act, he added, he believed the man could also be prosecuted for fraud in relation to the jewelry and money he took.
Thorne said: “I am in absolutely no doubt that if things occurred the way she said then it was a case of rape. As you said a defense lawyer would argue consent, but I believe such a case can be successfully prosecuted.”
The commissioner’s advice was for her to go to the nearest police station and make a complaint.
This matter still presented one serious dilemma for me – how do I make contact with the “high priest” to get his side of the story,when I am satisfied that to do so would almost inevitably lead to him using fear to stop her from making a statement to police – as had occurred in the last.
Right or wrong, I considered the matter and decided that the greater good would come from offering her the protection of the time to make the complaint.
I will end with the words of Commissioner Dottin: “What this points to is an apparently increasing tendency by too many in our society to prey on the weak and simple among us.”
Need I say more?
Very superstitious, ladders bout’ to fall,
Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin’ glass
Seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past.
When you believe in things that you don’t understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition ain’t the way
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Just the other day Kami was blogging about superstitions and then yesterday I saw the article at the bottom of this blog in the Barbados Nation online and felt the need to share it. I would just post the link but the Nation webpage takes way too long to load even with highspeed.
Some folks really take this superstition thing serious. Me? Well my mother always tell me that them people dat "believe" (short for believe in the supernatural, obeah and spirits and such) really need to seek Christ. I've heard of folks back in the day going to the obeah man who told them to go to the four crossroads and sprinkle duppy dust at midnight or go and take a bush bath or walk backwards into the sea reciting some strange secret incantation but I didn't realize that these practices still occurred. My thoughts are although there is a lot of unexplained stuff out there I cant get with these superstitions. In fact to me the role of Obeah Man seems like one of the sweetest cons perpetrated on people in these days and times. Easy money for a fellow that can make someone believe that they are haunted or possessed or someone has put a spell on them. I was thinking that if things don't pan out in my chosen field as a fallback plan I should open me own obeah man business. Mek people walk into Lake Ontario backwards or put lil set a fireplace ashes in a ziplock an sell it as duppy dust but no I cant be so bad....yet
Anyway this story is an extreme example of when people "believe" too much. Pretty sad story in a way actually.
Link to Nation Story here or just read below.
Sex Ritual To Cast Out Demons - Tuesday 11, January-2005
by Roy R. Morris
There’s an old saying: Don’t judge a man ’til you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. Keep this in mind as you read this article.
Early last week I received a call from a woman who asked me to help her with a problem. I have to admit that while speaking to her I kept asking myself “how silly can a person get?”
But as I replayed the conversation in my mind over the week, it occurred to me that my judgment was particularly harsh. When I did a full interview, my disposition changed dramatically.
Andrea is 27 years old, but her level of reasoning suggests she is much younger. Her mother died when she was a baby. She attended secondary school until she was just 13 years old. She has not been to school anywhere since then. At the age of 14 she was raped.
The information in the preceding paragraph is purely for the purpose of setting the tone for her actual complaint.
In Bajan parlance, this simple girl “believes”. She believes that a woman who wanted a relationship with a previous boyfriend “put a curse on her”. She said she suffered intense bleeding during every episode of sexual intercourse after being “threatened” by the woman and attributes it to obeah. According to her, no doctor has been able to explain the bleeding.
But that was just the start. Andrea said she was constantly fighting at night with “little men” who had sex with her, tried to choke her, whose faces showed up in picture frames, in mirrors, even on the corn flakes box. She said she could not enter her home at Black Rock without seeing the face of a woman in the ceiling.
She complained of clothing turning up other than where she had put it, food disappearing from the fridge and table, people knocking at the door but seeing no one when she looked out.
The young woman said she went to church after church but found no relief. “I guess I was not strong enough,” she rationalized.
That was when, she said, a girlfriend of her brother drew her attention to an ad in The Nation, with someone identifying himself as a high priest offering assistance with situations such as hers. For $1 000 he offered to cast out her evil spirits and “cleanse the house”.
Andrea said she begged and borrowed to come up with the money, after the “high priest” shuffled some cards at her introductory visit to his home near the Ministry of Public Works, invited her to pull three and they all pointed to her imminent death.
The problem was that none of the “cures” worked. He then determined that the demons had inherited her jewelry and they too had to be brought to him for cleansing. As time passed and neither relief nor her jewelry returned, Andrea said, she was told the four rings, three bracelets, two chains , earrings and anklet were so deeply possessed they had to be buried to “get rid of the spirits”.
Still she believed in the man.
With nothing changing, he apparently determined it was time for the heavy stuff. According to her, she was told a ritual would have to be performed on her body and it would involve intercourse. For the first time, she said, she questioned his course of action, and was told she should not see it as sex, but the casting out of demons.
At the end of the “ceremony” which also included her performing oral sex on him, she said, she was told there were a total of seven demons, and that session had successfully removed one. She had to come back for six more sessions. She went back to have two more demons cast out, then came to her senses.
Since then, she said, her attempts to retrieve her jewelry and money have been met with threats of both physical and spiritual harm – enough to keep her quiet.
I spoke with Andrea’s brother, who “confirmed” he knew of her dealings with the so-called high priest, but only “at the end”. I also spoke with her grandmother, a devout Christian, who told of “bringing the Scriptures to her to help her fight the evil she was facing”.
They both described Andrea as “a very simple” person who had been taken advantage of. Neither have known her to be involved in the taking of illegal drugs.
Is it possible that an adult who consented to sex, and who willingly gave money to another adult to provide a service, can now reasonably cry foul?
I raised the matter with Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin and respected criminal lawyer, Ralph Thorne, both of whom “strongly” believe that if the facts are as she outlined then she was raped.
According to Dottin, rape can be by physical force or false pretense, adding that based on past court ruling, “a person can vitiate consent by fraud”, and that is what appears to have occurred in this case. Under the Theft Act, he added, he believed the man could also be prosecuted for fraud in relation to the jewelry and money he took.
Thorne said: “I am in absolutely no doubt that if things occurred the way she said then it was a case of rape. As you said a defense lawyer would argue consent, but I believe such a case can be successfully prosecuted.”
The commissioner’s advice was for her to go to the nearest police station and make a complaint.
This matter still presented one serious dilemma for me – how do I make contact with the “high priest” to get his side of the story,when I am satisfied that to do so would almost inevitably lead to him using fear to stop her from making a statement to police – as had occurred in the last.
Right or wrong, I considered the matter and decided that the greater good would come from offering her the protection of the time to make the complaint.
I will end with the words of Commissioner Dottin: “What this points to is an apparently increasing tendency by too many in our society to prey on the weak and simple among us.”
Need I say more?
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Overboard
Ok I lied. Well not so much lied as I felt compelled to return to the fold. Addiction is a terrible thing I tell ya.
Anyway some things you have to post timely or they don't make any sense assuming they made sense in the first place so hence today I blog.
I don't know how many of you are football fans, and I mean what Americans call football not what we Caribbean folk and the rest of the world call football, but the NFL has reached it playoff stage. Go Philli! Go Atlanta! Go anyone but the Patriots!
Anyway during Sunday's playoff game Minnesota vs Green Bay, wide receiver Randy Moss of the Minnesota Vikings scored a touchdown after which he pretended to moon the Green Bay fans. For this action he has received not only the required criticism for the childish act that he performed but is likely to be fined by the league. (not that a 5 or 10 thousand dollar fine affects someone making millions of dollars a year to play sports but thats another blog)
In all fairness to Moss, other players and coaches around the league seem to know why he performed this action. Apparently Green Bay fans are notorious for actually mooning the opposing teams on their way out of the ground after a loss. This was simply Moss returning the favor and I'm sure those teams who have had to bear that indignity must have cheered on his action and wished that perhaps he did pull down his pants and given the Green Bay fans the full effect.
However the criticism from the media and some parts of the American public has been extremely intense in reaction to this simple act. All he did was pretend to moon the crowd. He did not commit murder, treason or an act of terrorism. No fans were killed or injured by his action. It is not an unpardonable sin.
Some of the media's response has been amazing. Fox Broadcasting and ESPN refused to show replays of the incident. Wait a minute! Isn't Fox the leader in reality TV? Surely a pretend mooning cannot be as offensive as some of its regularly scheduled offerings? They've been showing some gross stuff on reality TV lately. Isn't Fox the home of the Simpsons where Bart Simpson has been known to tell others to 'Eat my shorts' and has mooned Principal Skinner and others numerous times. Wait a minute! Holdup! Why is it suddenly such a disgrace and shame to the American viewing public to see a pretend mooning?
Hmmmmm. I'll leave you all to come to your own conclusions. However lets look at some of last years TV faux paux's; Janet's breast incident (they are all around us people, you cant escape them, at some point (hopefully) one is bound to be exposed near you), Nicollette Sheridan nude escapades with Terrell Owens in a Monday night football add which from the outrage would have made one think that Al Quada had struck again and the Indiana - Detroit brawl.
Of these incidents the only one that was probably worthy of the coverage it received was the Indiana - Detroit brawl. Why is it that America with all its issues suddenly decides to take a moral highground on certain specific seemingly trivial incidents like the pretend mooning, janet's exposure or the sexual innuendo of the Terrell Owens/Nicollette Sheridan ad while letting other more important issues slide? Why?
Anyway some things you have to post timely or they don't make any sense assuming they made sense in the first place so hence today I blog.
I don't know how many of you are football fans, and I mean what Americans call football not what we Caribbean folk and the rest of the world call football, but the NFL has reached it playoff stage. Go Philli! Go Atlanta! Go anyone but the Patriots!
Anyway during Sunday's playoff game Minnesota vs Green Bay, wide receiver Randy Moss of the Minnesota Vikings scored a touchdown after which he pretended to moon the Green Bay fans. For this action he has received not only the required criticism for the childish act that he performed but is likely to be fined by the league. (not that a 5 or 10 thousand dollar fine affects someone making millions of dollars a year to play sports but thats another blog)
In all fairness to Moss, other players and coaches around the league seem to know why he performed this action. Apparently Green Bay fans are notorious for actually mooning the opposing teams on their way out of the ground after a loss. This was simply Moss returning the favor and I'm sure those teams who have had to bear that indignity must have cheered on his action and wished that perhaps he did pull down his pants and given the Green Bay fans the full effect.
However the criticism from the media and some parts of the American public has been extremely intense in reaction to this simple act. All he did was pretend to moon the crowd. He did not commit murder, treason or an act of terrorism. No fans were killed or injured by his action. It is not an unpardonable sin.
Some of the media's response has been amazing. Fox Broadcasting and ESPN refused to show replays of the incident. Wait a minute! Isn't Fox the leader in reality TV? Surely a pretend mooning cannot be as offensive as some of its regularly scheduled offerings? They've been showing some gross stuff on reality TV lately. Isn't Fox the home of the Simpsons where Bart Simpson has been known to tell others to 'Eat my shorts' and has mooned Principal Skinner and others numerous times. Wait a minute! Holdup! Why is it suddenly such a disgrace and shame to the American viewing public to see a pretend mooning?
Hmmmmm. I'll leave you all to come to your own conclusions. However lets look at some of last years TV faux paux's; Janet's breast incident (they are all around us people, you cant escape them, at some point (hopefully) one is bound to be exposed near you), Nicollette Sheridan nude escapades with Terrell Owens in a Monday night football add which from the outrage would have made one think that Al Quada had struck again and the Indiana - Detroit brawl.
Of these incidents the only one that was probably worthy of the coverage it received was the Indiana - Detroit brawl. Why is it that America with all its issues suddenly decides to take a moral highground on certain specific seemingly trivial incidents like the pretend mooning, janet's exposure or the sexual innuendo of the Terrell Owens/Nicollette Sheridan ad while letting other more important issues slide? Why?
Monday, January 10, 2005
No more blogs for a bit
And so it is also written. In the first month of the new year when the sun shone with a cold light and the frost blanketed the fields as far as the eye could see our hero rested. For his earlier quest for the patch had been successful and although the mighty computer was still prone to failure it appeared as if the worst of the battle had been fought and won.
Forsooth our hero had gone on to fight another battle of a personal nature against the mighty and dreaded block which had in times past become a constant scourge on the land. That battle had been fought like the battles of ancient times as heard first hand or even word of mouth by the tellers of tales of when the times were grim and the clash of steel echoed throughout the breath of the land. When titans met and their steel axes glinted with light brighter than the sun and the sparks from their clashes struck the earth like giant thunderbolts from the heavens. And all mortals lived in fear
This battle was one for the ages as the mighty block subjugated through fear and anger. He had captured our hero whilst he was yet sleeping and bound him tightly with chains of the strongest metals. Once secured our hero was roughly transported to the deepest darkest secret dungeons imaginably from which he could not escape for yea unto a fortnight. Our hero panicked and was afraid that all was forever lost for a darkness clouded his mind affecting his sanity (oh yea like we haven't heard that before). However he never gave up and continually sought to gird his loins with courage. And so it came to past that his struggle was not in vain for not only did he escape the tentacles of his adversary but he fought him in the darkest parts of his mind and banished him (not forever) from that place. And our hero was spent .
And once again the sound of joy was heard throughout the land and it was good for the people rejoiced and a time of plenty was about to be embraced by its inhabitants. Blogs for all they shouted. Hurray!Hurray! And the moet chandon and courvouiser and hynotiq and all the other jiggy drinks flowed like water from the Falls at Niagara and the inhabitants were content (which looks a lot like being drunk from a certain viewpoint).For the hero could now rest and recover his strength and write to his heart content and ideas and blogs overflowed like food in Egypt in the seven years of abundance as foretold by Joseph the one hated on by his bredren because of his coat with the bling bling..
But alas there could be no rest for the hero as the Computer once again succumbed to a pestilence like illness for which the hero had no portion or salve to fully heal. In sooth the hero could temporarily return him to consciousness but no sooner had he been revived he would slip into a deep coma once again. And again there was weeping and moaning throughout the land for the hero was saddened by his friend's illness. Our hero still recovering from the almighty struggle with the Block was powerless as it appeared that the 'Hard Drive' was corrupt and unable to be fully revived.
Hence, our hero decided to seek out technicians and soothsayers, wizards and computer persons who could solve the puzzle of this malady affecting the mighty computer. So he planned a journey over strange hills and deep valleys , across rivers wide and deep, through canyons of skyscrapers and in the paths of iron horses with the computer in tow to the land of the wizards and technicians who would attempt to lay hands with strange incantations like BIOS and drivers and DOS in an attempt to fully heal the computer.
And so it is written that whilst our hero would still continue to visit the land of blogs and comment on such items as he saw fit from time to time, alas he would blog no more until the computer was healed. And as that news filled the land some wept whilst others rejoiced and even more saith "chupse! ya feel I really care one way or the odda. ya mekkin sport!' But alas our hero rode into the sunset with the ailing computer in tow seeking healing. And so it is written and there was silence in the land.
Forsooth our hero had gone on to fight another battle of a personal nature against the mighty and dreaded block which had in times past become a constant scourge on the land. That battle had been fought like the battles of ancient times as heard first hand or even word of mouth by the tellers of tales of when the times were grim and the clash of steel echoed throughout the breath of the land. When titans met and their steel axes glinted with light brighter than the sun and the sparks from their clashes struck the earth like giant thunderbolts from the heavens. And all mortals lived in fear
This battle was one for the ages as the mighty block subjugated through fear and anger. He had captured our hero whilst he was yet sleeping and bound him tightly with chains of the strongest metals. Once secured our hero was roughly transported to the deepest darkest secret dungeons imaginably from which he could not escape for yea unto a fortnight. Our hero panicked and was afraid that all was forever lost for a darkness clouded his mind affecting his sanity (oh yea like we haven't heard that before). However he never gave up and continually sought to gird his loins with courage. And so it came to past that his struggle was not in vain for not only did he escape the tentacles of his adversary but he fought him in the darkest parts of his mind and banished him (not forever) from that place. And our hero was spent .
And once again the sound of joy was heard throughout the land and it was good for the people rejoiced and a time of plenty was about to be embraced by its inhabitants. Blogs for all they shouted. Hurray!Hurray! And the moet chandon and courvouiser and hynotiq and all the other jiggy drinks flowed like water from the Falls at Niagara and the inhabitants were content (which looks a lot like being drunk from a certain viewpoint).For the hero could now rest and recover his strength and write to his heart content and ideas and blogs overflowed like food in Egypt in the seven years of abundance as foretold by Joseph the one hated on by his bredren because of his coat with the bling bling..
But alas there could be no rest for the hero as the Computer once again succumbed to a pestilence like illness for which the hero had no portion or salve to fully heal. In sooth the hero could temporarily return him to consciousness but no sooner had he been revived he would slip into a deep coma once again. And again there was weeping and moaning throughout the land for the hero was saddened by his friend's illness. Our hero still recovering from the almighty struggle with the Block was powerless as it appeared that the 'Hard Drive' was corrupt and unable to be fully revived.
Hence, our hero decided to seek out technicians and soothsayers, wizards and computer persons who could solve the puzzle of this malady affecting the mighty computer. So he planned a journey over strange hills and deep valleys , across rivers wide and deep, through canyons of skyscrapers and in the paths of iron horses with the computer in tow to the land of the wizards and technicians who would attempt to lay hands with strange incantations like BIOS and drivers and DOS in an attempt to fully heal the computer.
And so it is written that whilst our hero would still continue to visit the land of blogs and comment on such items as he saw fit from time to time, alas he would blog no more until the computer was healed. And as that news filled the land some wept whilst others rejoiced and even more saith "chupse! ya feel I really care one way or the odda. ya mekkin sport!' But alas our hero rode into the sunset with the ailing computer in tow seeking healing. And so it is written and there was silence in the land.
Friday, January 07, 2005
Comparison Shadows
Wednesday night for some reason or another my mind wandered back to high school. The thought process was people I dislike, my hit list (oh don't act like you don't have one too! y'all do don't you?lol), prefect from high school who made hit list, trivial incident with prefect at school which led to detention (details; 12-13 years old, video games outlawed from being played at school, brought game to school purely to exchange with friend to play at home, game was not played at school but some other joker saw exchange told prefect, prefect went into bag found game, I got detention for the first time), comparison to other folks.
Then I read Solitaire's post about when Marlo visited her so I thought I'd share a comparison story. (hey don't hate me for trying to find inspiration when the block has me devoid of original thoughts). I'm sure we all have them (comparisons that is).
When I was in high school, actually my bad from the time I was in primary school I was always deliberately or maybe not deliberately compared to this one young man from our neighborhood. Lets call him Peter (definitely not his real name because for the life of me I can only just remember him as miss so n so's biggest boy chile). His mother was a friend of my mom's from church and he had gone to my primary school, done amazingly well, got into one of the so-called top schools in the island and gone on to greater things winning awards and going off to England to study etc. A real role model. Peter was this tall, slim, very modest, quiet and shy, very intelligent young man. What one would call a gentleman back in the day. Sort of like me except for the intelligent part oh and the role model part oh and the gentleman part too. ummm maybe we weren't that much alike in hindsight.
Somewhere along the line my mom and other folks probably saw his path as the blueprint for the path I was to follow so although I wouldn't actually say that I had steady and constant reminders of him I did have quite a few comparisons made and whenever they came up I bristled. I guess from small I just disliked comparisons. You just got to be you, you cant live someone else's life.
Anyway so being pretty smart at primary school (who would have thought it now?) and from the same neighborhood as Peter I lived though many a comparison.
I ended up following his lead to the same high school (he had graduated by then and headed off to England) and so the comparisons and the hopes and dreams of me walking in Peter's footsteps increased in my mother's eyes. So when I got my first detention in high school (above story with video game), I remember the lecture from my mom including a very biting line something like "Peter went to dat school and he mudda say he never get not one detention in de seven years he was dere" accompanied by one of those guilt inducing looks that everyone's mother is capable of. Ouch I guess the bubble burst and although on some level I rejoiced at being out of Peter's shadow, I felt really low because I realized that being in his shadow really hadn't been that bad. At least people had high expectations for me which was a good thing so that meant I had let down my mom somewhat.
Oh well! Life goes on. Not trying to be flippant or anything but I'm sure it wasn't the last let down my mom got from me and while at that age I did strive to please my parents alot now like I said you got to live your life for yourself and not to please others. Yea may sound strange and its not like I deliberately went out there to disappoint moms but just saying I aint losing no sleep over it. Anyway fortunately or unfortunately depending on your perspective that one detention was not enough to permanently dislodge Peter's shadow from engulfing me.
School goes on, detention goes on, grades weren't that great (at least not like Peter's probably were) so I still got the occasional reference to him. Its not like I was wilding out or anything just that I wasn't living up to those high expectations. I just had too much athletic yearning, not necessarily talent mind you, inside me. Guess I can thank my dad for that lol. I played cricket, handball, football, basketball, tennis at any time I could get a chance and I liked reading fiction from the school library more than I liked reading text books. Think I must have read every Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Famous Five mystery book out there....and then there were the comics and that incident which many many years later is still too painful for me to talk about.
Hey I had got through primary school without major studying why couldn't I get through High School the same way? Oh well the grades weren't that bad, they just weren't as good as Peter's (who had applied himself probably) or they didn't indicate I would be following in his footsteps. (anyways starting to ramble its not a life story I'm giving)
Peter finished his degree in England and came back to work in Barbados and went on to bigger and better things. Nothing remarkably spectacular about his story, no one upsmanship from me, no falling into drugs and ending up a bum for him. Not that I wished that fate on him its just sometimes as a kid ,and as an adult too, you think that the only way to get out of those comparison shadows is for the other person to completely slip up. Especially when they are so deep. Oh come on most of us do so like to see certain people falter, pass the hater-ade son. :-) But no in all sincerity I can say that Peter is/was truly a good guy so I never had those thoughts and it was actually rather inspirational where I'm from to see his success story. Oh somewhere along the line I came to grips with the comparisons I guess. Yea they still urk me a bit but sometimes I think if he could do it hey maybe there's a chance for me. So yep, I endured the comparisons, actually did better than him in certain areas, worse in others but I remember the comparisons occasionally, wonder how he's doing (heard he has a a 'big' job now) and from time to time he comes up in conversation. Me I think I turned out ok, except for the mental issues but I aint went postal yet so I cant complain. :-)
Still I do really not like the whole comparison thing although sometimes that's the only way for people to relate to you as an individual. They compare you to your siblings or your parents or someone who speaks like you, looks like you, has the same profession, came from your background but seems to have achieved more, dresses better, has aged better, mek more money, have nuff pickney an you still no have nun, have bigger car dan you etc. Its just human nature to categorize and sometimes stereotype folks.
I'm sure we all have stories like that where we have lived in someone's shadow as we were growing up and even if we're already grown there is always that someone who is still quick to compare us to someone else. Sometimes its good to see the comparisons, sometimes its not so good but hey don't fixate on them and just do you. Not saying we all shouldn't strive for improvement but we all cant live the same life and when you think about comparisons they are rather superficial in the sense that no one ever knows the full story of the individuals involved.
Could go on and on, the full has never been told
while I'm living, as I'm living
to the father I will pray
only 'im kno how me get thru every day
.......
(man, I fighting the block but is still struggle me a struggle)
Then I read Solitaire's post about when Marlo visited her so I thought I'd share a comparison story. (hey don't hate me for trying to find inspiration when the block has me devoid of original thoughts). I'm sure we all have them (comparisons that is).
When I was in high school, actually my bad from the time I was in primary school I was always deliberately or maybe not deliberately compared to this one young man from our neighborhood. Lets call him Peter (definitely not his real name because for the life of me I can only just remember him as miss so n so's biggest boy chile). His mother was a friend of my mom's from church and he had gone to my primary school, done amazingly well, got into one of the so-called top schools in the island and gone on to greater things winning awards and going off to England to study etc. A real role model. Peter was this tall, slim, very modest, quiet and shy, very intelligent young man. What one would call a gentleman back in the day. Sort of like me except for the intelligent part oh and the role model part oh and the gentleman part too. ummm maybe we weren't that much alike in hindsight.
Somewhere along the line my mom and other folks probably saw his path as the blueprint for the path I was to follow so although I wouldn't actually say that I had steady and constant reminders of him I did have quite a few comparisons made and whenever they came up I bristled. I guess from small I just disliked comparisons. You just got to be you, you cant live someone else's life.
Anyway so being pretty smart at primary school (who would have thought it now?) and from the same neighborhood as Peter I lived though many a comparison.
I ended up following his lead to the same high school (he had graduated by then and headed off to England) and so the comparisons and the hopes and dreams of me walking in Peter's footsteps increased in my mother's eyes. So when I got my first detention in high school (above story with video game), I remember the lecture from my mom including a very biting line something like "Peter went to dat school and he mudda say he never get not one detention in de seven years he was dere" accompanied by one of those guilt inducing looks that everyone's mother is capable of. Ouch I guess the bubble burst and although on some level I rejoiced at being out of Peter's shadow, I felt really low because I realized that being in his shadow really hadn't been that bad. At least people had high expectations for me which was a good thing so that meant I had let down my mom somewhat.
Oh well! Life goes on. Not trying to be flippant or anything but I'm sure it wasn't the last let down my mom got from me and while at that age I did strive to please my parents alot now like I said you got to live your life for yourself and not to please others. Yea may sound strange and its not like I deliberately went out there to disappoint moms but just saying I aint losing no sleep over it. Anyway fortunately or unfortunately depending on your perspective that one detention was not enough to permanently dislodge Peter's shadow from engulfing me.
School goes on, detention goes on, grades weren't that great (at least not like Peter's probably were) so I still got the occasional reference to him. Its not like I was wilding out or anything just that I wasn't living up to those high expectations. I just had too much athletic yearning, not necessarily talent mind you, inside me. Guess I can thank my dad for that lol. I played cricket, handball, football, basketball, tennis at any time I could get a chance and I liked reading fiction from the school library more than I liked reading text books. Think I must have read every Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Famous Five mystery book out there....and then there were the comics and that incident which many many years later is still too painful for me to talk about.
Hey I had got through primary school without major studying why couldn't I get through High School the same way? Oh well the grades weren't that bad, they just weren't as good as Peter's (who had applied himself probably) or they didn't indicate I would be following in his footsteps. (anyways starting to ramble its not a life story I'm giving)
Peter finished his degree in England and came back to work in Barbados and went on to bigger and better things. Nothing remarkably spectacular about his story, no one upsmanship from me, no falling into drugs and ending up a bum for him. Not that I wished that fate on him its just sometimes as a kid ,and as an adult too, you think that the only way to get out of those comparison shadows is for the other person to completely slip up. Especially when they are so deep. Oh come on most of us do so like to see certain people falter, pass the hater-ade son. :-) But no in all sincerity I can say that Peter is/was truly a good guy so I never had those thoughts and it was actually rather inspirational where I'm from to see his success story. Oh somewhere along the line I came to grips with the comparisons I guess. Yea they still urk me a bit but sometimes I think if he could do it hey maybe there's a chance for me. So yep, I endured the comparisons, actually did better than him in certain areas, worse in others but I remember the comparisons occasionally, wonder how he's doing (heard he has a a 'big' job now) and from time to time he comes up in conversation. Me I think I turned out ok, except for the mental issues but I aint went postal yet so I cant complain. :-)
Still I do really not like the whole comparison thing although sometimes that's the only way for people to relate to you as an individual. They compare you to your siblings or your parents or someone who speaks like you, looks like you, has the same profession, came from your background but seems to have achieved more, dresses better, has aged better, mek more money, have nuff pickney an you still no have nun, have bigger car dan you etc. Its just human nature to categorize and sometimes stereotype folks.
I'm sure we all have stories like that where we have lived in someone's shadow as we were growing up and even if we're already grown there is always that someone who is still quick to compare us to someone else. Sometimes its good to see the comparisons, sometimes its not so good but hey don't fixate on them and just do you. Not saying we all shouldn't strive for improvement but we all cant live the same life and when you think about comparisons they are rather superficial in the sense that no one ever knows the full story of the individuals involved.
Could go on and on, the full has never been told
while I'm living, as I'm living
to the father I will pray
only 'im kno how me get thru every day
.......
(man, I fighting the block but is still struggle me a struggle)
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Soliloquy of chaos
Well its snowing and freezing rain outside today. Not the type of weather one wants to be in really. The train ride into work was uneventful but walking from the station to the office I think one side of my face was power scrubbed by freezing rain. Extreme makeovers nature style I guess.
Seen some interesting blogs this morning, Kami's, Angry Dog's, Dr D , Piggy etc but alas I've still got that writers block. What's my motivation again? In case you haven't seen the writer's block he's like this big Sumo Wrestler looking dude who just follows me around the pathways of my mind. Everytime I pick up an idea he is there to say put that down or if I try to escape he runs after me wrestles me to the ground and takes it back from me. I guess sometimes you write sometimes you just sit back and read and absorb the wisdom that the others are giving. Its all good my time will come. (yea right like I have any sort of wisdom to dispense)
Actually my writers block is probably because my mind isn't really in a good place right now. I so hate Januaries (actually that was the name of a post I have to work on but gathering the thoughts coherently is escaping me). Pure drama a go on and I'm just struggling to keep my head above water. Oh well such is life!
The funny thing is in such times writing stuff like this is mad difficult but writing poetry just flows. Its rather cathartic. Not that I feel like sharing the poetry its usually a bit too dark for most and people tend to misunderstand it and think I'm some sort of crisis case, lost in the deep recesses of depression or on the brink of going postal (sometimes I'm all three but I hate being analyzed anyways) so I choose to avoid the comments by not sharing. I is a only chile I selfish :-)
So I'm rambling because my therapist says that I need to stay in contact with others instead of avoiding people :-) Yea right! Any therapist would probably just look at me one time and write on my chart 'HEAD GONE' and ship me off to the madhouse. LOL
Seriously though its a struggle at the moment, life, work, health, weather, stress you name it but as a born fighter and someone who believes God will never give you more than you can bear I battle on.
Oh what the, blah lets share an unfinished poem I just found, maybe I'll finish it today. Its not the greatest but with some tweaking who knows
I dwell within this beast
and this beast within me
strives to control my every activity
so there’s a battle inside while I battle outward forces
my frame shudders under stress and sometimes takes much losses
my frame cries as frame tries to not be crushed bear the balance
my frame wise but frame dies while its battling against this malice
my frame glides NO not so much as simply staggers
eternal mayhem
my soul long since ceased to matter
my soul long since ceased to gather
hope, ignoring passion
obscure visions loiter on
of scenes thought much too harsh to happen
my tongue much too parched for gabbing
my lungs much too tight for rapping
.
Seen some interesting blogs this morning, Kami's, Angry Dog's, Dr D , Piggy etc but alas I've still got that writers block. What's my motivation again? In case you haven't seen the writer's block he's like this big Sumo Wrestler looking dude who just follows me around the pathways of my mind. Everytime I pick up an idea he is there to say put that down or if I try to escape he runs after me wrestles me to the ground and takes it back from me. I guess sometimes you write sometimes you just sit back and read and absorb the wisdom that the others are giving. Its all good my time will come. (yea right like I have any sort of wisdom to dispense)
Actually my writers block is probably because my mind isn't really in a good place right now. I so hate Januaries (actually that was the name of a post I have to work on but gathering the thoughts coherently is escaping me). Pure drama a go on and I'm just struggling to keep my head above water. Oh well such is life!
The funny thing is in such times writing stuff like this is mad difficult but writing poetry just flows. Its rather cathartic. Not that I feel like sharing the poetry its usually a bit too dark for most and people tend to misunderstand it and think I'm some sort of crisis case, lost in the deep recesses of depression or on the brink of going postal (sometimes I'm all three but I hate being analyzed anyways) so I choose to avoid the comments by not sharing. I is a only chile I selfish :-)
So I'm rambling because my therapist says that I need to stay in contact with others instead of avoiding people :-) Yea right! Any therapist would probably just look at me one time and write on my chart 'HEAD GONE' and ship me off to the madhouse. LOL
Seriously though its a struggle at the moment, life, work, health, weather, stress you name it but as a born fighter and someone who believes God will never give you more than you can bear I battle on.
Oh what the, blah lets share an unfinished poem I just found, maybe I'll finish it today. Its not the greatest but with some tweaking who knows
I dwell within this beast
and this beast within me
strives to control my every activity
so there’s a battle inside while I battle outward forces
my frame shudders under stress and sometimes takes much losses
my frame cries as frame tries to not be crushed bear the balance
my frame wise but frame dies while its battling against this malice
my frame glides NO not so much as simply staggers
eternal mayhem
my soul long since ceased to matter
my soul long since ceased to gather
hope, ignoring passion
obscure visions loiter on
of scenes thought much too harsh to happen
my tongue much too parched for gabbing
my lungs much too tight for rapping
.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Quick quick blog
Alias returns tonight. Yipee. Aside from 24, that's like the only show I've followed closely for the last three years. Time to set the vcr running.
Not much to say today. Made it to work before 10 for the first time in a while (well my hours are flexible and I do work beyond 6 most days so its not like I'm slacking) and had a nice old school hip hop CD to keep me company on the train.
Finished a book last night Rule of Four. Its sort of Like Da Vince Code (no making mumbo jumbo out of biblical stuff though) with better character development but it moves slower in the beginning and the ending could be a lot better.
Also watched Gus and Hera get eliminated on the Amazing Race. I held out hope that they would stick around a few more weeks and maybe the racist Kendra and her partner would get the boot but alas Gus and Hera just didn't play the game well. Week after week they made extremely bad choices on the Detours. So seems like all the semi-likable teams are disappearing week after week leaving the annoying guys. If you watch that show I think in general they made the teams more annoying this season, they also sunk to Fear Factor type crap last night with the drinking pig's blood stunt and they are attempting to show more skin (first episode was like an explosion of breasts in low cut tops) which really does nothing in my opinion for the show.
I'm also reading Earl Lovelace's Salt and I must say I'm enjoying it a lot more than one of his other books I read a few years back The Dragon Cant Dance.
Still fighting the writers block, thought of a few things I wanted to touch on but having trouble remembering my motivation for this blog anyway so who knows what I'll write next lol. The key I believe is to stay loose and just write whatever pops into your head. Anyway I'll be blog, I mean back tomorrow. Hope everyone has a good day.
Not much to say today. Made it to work before 10 for the first time in a while (well my hours are flexible and I do work beyond 6 most days so its not like I'm slacking) and had a nice old school hip hop CD to keep me company on the train.
Finished a book last night Rule of Four. Its sort of Like Da Vince Code (no making mumbo jumbo out of biblical stuff though) with better character development but it moves slower in the beginning and the ending could be a lot better.
Also watched Gus and Hera get eliminated on the Amazing Race. I held out hope that they would stick around a few more weeks and maybe the racist Kendra and her partner would get the boot but alas Gus and Hera just didn't play the game well. Week after week they made extremely bad choices on the Detours. So seems like all the semi-likable teams are disappearing week after week leaving the annoying guys. If you watch that show I think in general they made the teams more annoying this season, they also sunk to Fear Factor type crap last night with the drinking pig's blood stunt and they are attempting to show more skin (first episode was like an explosion of breasts in low cut tops) which really does nothing in my opinion for the show.
I'm also reading Earl Lovelace's Salt and I must say I'm enjoying it a lot more than one of his other books I read a few years back The Dragon Cant Dance.
Still fighting the writers block, thought of a few things I wanted to touch on but having trouble remembering my motivation for this blog anyway so who knows what I'll write next lol. The key I believe is to stay loose and just write whatever pops into your head. Anyway I'll be blog, I mean back tomorrow. Hope everyone has a good day.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
nuff man a dead
Shots go off, mother's cry
Death still rise, homicide
Black on black crime needs to stop
Y'all can't blame it on hip hop
Cause what we say is what we see
What we see is reality
The ghetto's the ghetto you got them livin in sorrow
Soon they won't live to see tomorrow
Wycleff Jean - Industry
Simeon Peter 19 Gunshot
Omar Hotley 21 Gunshot
Elliot Reid-Thomas 29 Gunshot
Elon Rush 27 Gunshot
Brenton Charlton 31 Gunshot
Patrick Pitters 19 Gunshot
Jayvien Piper 22 Gunshot
Kayan Smith 24 Beaten
Curwin Clarke 26 Gunshot
Anthony Walker 24 Gunshot
Ted Erhirhie 25 Gunshot
Ricardo Brown 24 Gunshot
Farouk Musah 33 Gunshot
Lancelot Green 23 Gunshot
Shemaul Cunningham 21 Gunshot
Keino Trotman 32 Gunshot
Harry Asare 22 Gunshot
Andrew Christie 23 Gunshot
Harrison Yiga 20 Gunshot
This is a partial list of some of the young black men murdered (and their ages) in Toronto in 2004 as compiled in the Toronto Star last Friday. What can I say? This urban warfare is real and not only do I occasionally fear for my own life but I constantly fear for the lives of the young people especially the children out there.
I mean I could literally quote a million hip hop lines like the one above asking the youth to stop the violence , to think before they pull the trigger, to try and stay out of trouble, to show restraint. Does it make a difference? NOPE!
Gunshot, Gunshot, Gunshot! No their last names listed above is not gunshot its the way that their lives were ended. When you see the individual names written out and the photos it sort of rings home to you a lot more vividly than just reading the statistics. One dying here and there isn't as tragic as seeing them all lined up together and realizing that almost half the murders in this city were young black men.
You look at the faces and think this kid looks like someone I know, he is the same age as my cousin, he could be my brother, my friend or gee that kid looks like a good kid I cant imagine who would want to take him out, I wonder how his family is dealing with the death.
I could justify these deaths if we were at war, if we were all living in Iraq, dodging mortars and AK-47 rounds but what war is really being fought on the streets of Toronto except one for the survival of black men. Clearly that war is at a crossroads and guns are too easily accessible in this city.
And how do you justify these lives lost? You really cant, its just mainly senseless deaths where someone was in the wrong place at the wrong time or someone mistook someone for another person they had beef with or someone was retaliating for some earlier act of violence or disrespect or someone was vex because they were thrown out of the club. Murdered over nuttin but dumb ish! Senseless, juvenile, asinine behavior.
What happened to valuing life? What happened to make us so quick on the draw like Jesse James and Billy the Kid?
Guns no kill people, people with guns kill people. With all the struggles black men have to face daily in North America killing one another makes absolutely no sense. Its crazy!
This might sound a little strange to you
well here's the reason I came to you
We gotta put our heads together, and stop the violence
Cause real bad boys move in silence
When you're in a club, you come to chill out
not watch someone's blood just spill out
That's what these other people want to see
another race fight endlessly
Boogie Down Productions - Stop The Violence
Death still rise, homicide
Black on black crime needs to stop
Y'all can't blame it on hip hop
Cause what we say is what we see
What we see is reality
The ghetto's the ghetto you got them livin in sorrow
Soon they won't live to see tomorrow
Wycleff Jean - Industry
Simeon Peter 19 Gunshot
Omar Hotley 21 Gunshot
Elliot Reid-Thomas 29 Gunshot
Elon Rush 27 Gunshot
Brenton Charlton 31 Gunshot
Patrick Pitters 19 Gunshot
Jayvien Piper 22 Gunshot
Kayan Smith 24 Beaten
Curwin Clarke 26 Gunshot
Anthony Walker 24 Gunshot
Ted Erhirhie 25 Gunshot
Ricardo Brown 24 Gunshot
Farouk Musah 33 Gunshot
Lancelot Green 23 Gunshot
Shemaul Cunningham 21 Gunshot
Keino Trotman 32 Gunshot
Harry Asare 22 Gunshot
Andrew Christie 23 Gunshot
Harrison Yiga 20 Gunshot
This is a partial list of some of the young black men murdered (and their ages) in Toronto in 2004 as compiled in the Toronto Star last Friday. What can I say? This urban warfare is real and not only do I occasionally fear for my own life but I constantly fear for the lives of the young people especially the children out there.
I mean I could literally quote a million hip hop lines like the one above asking the youth to stop the violence , to think before they pull the trigger, to try and stay out of trouble, to show restraint. Does it make a difference? NOPE!
Gunshot, Gunshot, Gunshot! No their last names listed above is not gunshot its the way that their lives were ended. When you see the individual names written out and the photos it sort of rings home to you a lot more vividly than just reading the statistics. One dying here and there isn't as tragic as seeing them all lined up together and realizing that almost half the murders in this city were young black men.
You look at the faces and think this kid looks like someone I know, he is the same age as my cousin, he could be my brother, my friend or gee that kid looks like a good kid I cant imagine who would want to take him out, I wonder how his family is dealing with the death.
I could justify these deaths if we were at war, if we were all living in Iraq, dodging mortars and AK-47 rounds but what war is really being fought on the streets of Toronto except one for the survival of black men. Clearly that war is at a crossroads and guns are too easily accessible in this city.
And how do you justify these lives lost? You really cant, its just mainly senseless deaths where someone was in the wrong place at the wrong time or someone mistook someone for another person they had beef with or someone was retaliating for some earlier act of violence or disrespect or someone was vex because they were thrown out of the club. Murdered over nuttin but dumb ish! Senseless, juvenile, asinine behavior.
What happened to valuing life? What happened to make us so quick on the draw like Jesse James and Billy the Kid?
Guns no kill people, people with guns kill people. With all the struggles black men have to face daily in North America killing one another makes absolutely no sense. Its crazy!
This might sound a little strange to you
well here's the reason I came to you
We gotta put our heads together, and stop the violence
Cause real bad boys move in silence
When you're in a club, you come to chill out
not watch someone's blood just spill out
That's what these other people want to see
another race fight endlessly
Boogie Down Productions - Stop The Violence
Monday, January 03, 2005
Shirley Chisholm
Reagan is the pres but I voted for Shirley Chisholm
Biz Markie - Nobody beats the biz
I didn't know that much about Shirley Chisholm for years but I remembered her name from a friend of mine back in primary school who always used to speak very proudly about her family ties to Chisholm. (Sadly that friend also passed away last Christmas.) Then I heard that line above by Biz Markie back in the late 80s and followed the trail of crumbs that led me to realize that this lady had some remarkable achievements. Anyway I'll let this story speak for itself.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/267710p-229321c.html
Political trailblazer Shirley Chisholm dies
'Unbought, Unbossed,' undaunted
BY TRACY CONNOR
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Shirley Chisholm in 1997 (below) and in 1972 (above) when she announced her candidacy for President.
Shirley Chisholm, the beloved political pioneer from Brooklyn who became the first black woman elected to Congress, died yesterday in Florida. She was 80.
Chisholm was best known for her historic 1972 run for President under the slogan "Unbought and Unbossed," her fiery oratory and her commitment to women, minorities and the disadvantaged.
"She was an activist, and she never stopped fighting," the Rev. Jesse Jackson said last night. "She refused to accept the ordinary."
Mayor Ed Koch, who served in the House of Representatives with Chisholm, called her a "wonderful woman with enormous courage" and uncompromising integrity.
"We all go, but it's wonderful when you can leave with a name that unblemished," Koch said.
Chisholm was born to West Indian immigrants on Nov. 30, 1924, in Brooklyn, but spent her early childhood with her grandmother in Barbados.
Rejoining her parents in New York, she threw her energies into education. She graduated from Brooklyn College, became a nursery-school teacher in Harlem and later earned a master's degree from Columbia University.
From an early age, she thought of herself as a "fighter" - a quality she shared with her three role models: her grandmother, Harriet Tubman and Eleanor Roosevelt.
"I met Mrs. Roosevelt when I was 14," she said in 2000. "I'll never forget what she said to me: You are black and you are a young woman, but don't let anybody stand in your way."
She took Mrs. Roosevelt's advice seriously, and parlayed her work as a grass-roots community organizer into a landslide victory for a New York State Assembly Seat in 1964.
Four years later, she made history when she won a seat in Congress, where she hired an all-female staff and championed issues such as federal funding for day care and opposition to the Vietnam War.
A gifted speaker, in her first remarks on the floor of the House in 1969 she vowed to vote "no" on any bill that included funds for the Defense Department.
"My greatest political asset, which professional politicians fear, is my mouth, out of which come all kinds of things one shouldn't always discuss for reasons of political expediency," she once said.
In 1972, Chisholm set her sights on the White House, making a bid for the Democratic nomination for President despite what she acknowledged were "hopeless odds."
"I ran because somebody had to do it first," she wrote in her 1973 book "The Good Fight."
She lost the nomination to George McGovern but got 151 delegate votes and returned to Congress with newfound prominence.
After she retired from government in 1982, she remained active in politics and the women's rights movement. A documentary about her presidential bid, "Chisholm '72," was released last year.
She was married twice - her second husband, Arthur Hardwick Jr., died in 1986 - but had no children.
In a book published last year, Chisholm said she hoped her legacy went beyond her race and gender.
"I want history to remember me not just as the first black woman to be elected to Congress, not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the presidency of the United States, but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and dared to be herself," she said.
"I want to be remembered as a catalyst for change in America."
With Tamer El-Ghobashy
Originally published on January 3, 2005
Biz Markie - Nobody beats the biz
I didn't know that much about Shirley Chisholm for years but I remembered her name from a friend of mine back in primary school who always used to speak very proudly about her family ties to Chisholm. (Sadly that friend also passed away last Christmas.) Then I heard that line above by Biz Markie back in the late 80s and followed the trail of crumbs that led me to realize that this lady had some remarkable achievements. Anyway I'll let this story speak for itself.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/267710p-229321c.html
Political trailblazer Shirley Chisholm dies
'Unbought, Unbossed,' undaunted
BY TRACY CONNOR
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Shirley Chisholm in 1997 (below) and in 1972 (above) when she announced her candidacy for President.
Shirley Chisholm, the beloved political pioneer from Brooklyn who became the first black woman elected to Congress, died yesterday in Florida. She was 80.
Chisholm was best known for her historic 1972 run for President under the slogan "Unbought and Unbossed," her fiery oratory and her commitment to women, minorities and the disadvantaged.
"She was an activist, and she never stopped fighting," the Rev. Jesse Jackson said last night. "She refused to accept the ordinary."
Mayor Ed Koch, who served in the House of Representatives with Chisholm, called her a "wonderful woman with enormous courage" and uncompromising integrity.
"We all go, but it's wonderful when you can leave with a name that unblemished," Koch said.
Chisholm was born to West Indian immigrants on Nov. 30, 1924, in Brooklyn, but spent her early childhood with her grandmother in Barbados.
Rejoining her parents in New York, she threw her energies into education. She graduated from Brooklyn College, became a nursery-school teacher in Harlem and later earned a master's degree from Columbia University.
From an early age, she thought of herself as a "fighter" - a quality she shared with her three role models: her grandmother, Harriet Tubman and Eleanor Roosevelt.
"I met Mrs. Roosevelt when I was 14," she said in 2000. "I'll never forget what she said to me: You are black and you are a young woman, but don't let anybody stand in your way."
She took Mrs. Roosevelt's advice seriously, and parlayed her work as a grass-roots community organizer into a landslide victory for a New York State Assembly Seat in 1964.
Four years later, she made history when she won a seat in Congress, where she hired an all-female staff and championed issues such as federal funding for day care and opposition to the Vietnam War.
A gifted speaker, in her first remarks on the floor of the House in 1969 she vowed to vote "no" on any bill that included funds for the Defense Department.
"My greatest political asset, which professional politicians fear, is my mouth, out of which come all kinds of things one shouldn't always discuss for reasons of political expediency," she once said.
In 1972, Chisholm set her sights on the White House, making a bid for the Democratic nomination for President despite what she acknowledged were "hopeless odds."
"I ran because somebody had to do it first," she wrote in her 1973 book "The Good Fight."
She lost the nomination to George McGovern but got 151 delegate votes and returned to Congress with newfound prominence.
After she retired from government in 1982, she remained active in politics and the women's rights movement. A documentary about her presidential bid, "Chisholm '72," was released last year.
She was married twice - her second husband, Arthur Hardwick Jr., died in 1986 - but had no children.
In a book published last year, Chisholm said she hoped her legacy went beyond her race and gender.
"I want history to remember me not just as the first black woman to be elected to Congress, not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the presidency of the United States, but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and dared to be herself," she said.
"I want to be remembered as a catalyst for change in America."
With Tamer El-Ghobashy
Originally published on January 3, 2005
Saturday, January 01, 2005
In with the new
Once again Happy New year to everyone.
Was thinking about the significance of the new year last night. Resolutions, Goals feelings of a fresh beginning that sort of thing and I came to a realization which maybe I was slow in reaching.
The new year is really all about promise more than specifics isn't it? Promise of a better day dawning, a new tomorrow, a clean slate, living up to potential (damn I used the P word. You don't know how much I hate the P word).
We (definitely including myself on this one) view the new year as a defining point from which we can make statements like from here on out everything will be different and changes will be made. In the new year I wont smoke, I'll drink less, I'll diet, I'll save more money, spend less, be nicer, gain/lose weight, be more aggressive, take a course, find a new job, new man/woman, put more time into relationships, business, win the lottery etc. (by the way this all made more sense while I was sleeping lol)
The expectations for the new year for most of us are that we will progress. No we don't start over with a nice clean slate or necessarily get a do over but the new year offers a chance for improvement. A new chapter can open in our lives. (ok way too melodramatic)
Anyway what I'm trying to say partially is (beats the hell out of me I juss rambling)yes the new year gives rise to a natural pause in which we can make changes and redefine ourselves but if these things need to be done its not necessary that we wait till the new year to start them next time. Every day should give rise to the same promise that the new year brings. (wuhloss this year start out and I killing the melodrama. Is it me or is it like an afterschool special up in here)
All that lotta long talk just to say this: Promise, expectations, goals all look sharp in the light of the new year. Let them always look sharp and not dim for any of us as the year progresses.
Its 2005, Big Tings a gwan!
Was thinking about the significance of the new year last night. Resolutions, Goals feelings of a fresh beginning that sort of thing and I came to a realization which maybe I was slow in reaching.
The new year is really all about promise more than specifics isn't it? Promise of a better day dawning, a new tomorrow, a clean slate, living up to potential (damn I used the P word. You don't know how much I hate the P word).
We (definitely including myself on this one) view the new year as a defining point from which we can make statements like from here on out everything will be different and changes will be made. In the new year I wont smoke, I'll drink less, I'll diet, I'll save more money, spend less, be nicer, gain/lose weight, be more aggressive, take a course, find a new job, new man/woman, put more time into relationships, business, win the lottery etc. (by the way this all made more sense while I was sleeping lol)
The expectations for the new year for most of us are that we will progress. No we don't start over with a nice clean slate or necessarily get a do over but the new year offers a chance for improvement. A new chapter can open in our lives. (ok way too melodramatic)
Anyway what I'm trying to say partially is (beats the hell out of me I juss rambling)yes the new year gives rise to a natural pause in which we can make changes and redefine ourselves but if these things need to be done its not necessary that we wait till the new year to start them next time. Every day should give rise to the same promise that the new year brings. (wuhloss this year start out and I killing the melodrama. Is it me or is it like an afterschool special up in here)
All that lotta long talk just to say this: Promise, expectations, goals all look sharp in the light of the new year. Let them always look sharp and not dim for any of us as the year progresses.
Its 2005, Big Tings a gwan!
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