2004

Happy and creative 2005 to all, may the new year bring all that you work for! I'm inclined to do a Trinidad Top 10 list for 2004 but there are so many faux pas that there is stiff competition for the top 10 spots.

There will be so many things that we all thought we would do for the last year but didn't. I hope that changes for all of us next year. To steal a phrase, "just do it".

Let me go home before I start to wax nostalgic...*sniff*

Here's one list I found, if you're into the paranormal, jumbie an' t'ing.

Tsunami

It's interesting to note that the earliest pictures (clk on the headline) I've found are from a surfing forum.

I'm at a loss for words.

I know that natural disaster strikes but this seems to be the grandpappy of them all. I really don't know what to say, I watch the news in shock. I still can't wrap my mind around how much people died in so little time.

Sri Lanka on Wednesday listed more than 21,700 people dead, India about 7,000 — with thousands more missing. Thailand put its toll at more than 1,650. A total of more than 300 were killed in Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Somalia, Tanzania and Kenya.

Wildlife enthusiasts in Sri Lanka noted their surprise in seeing no evidence of large-scale deaths of animals, suggesting they had safely made it to high ground. Maybe what we think is true, that animals have a sixth sense...

Here's a site with help information: http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/
Another with contact numbers: http://www.tsunamivictims.org/

A Sri Lankan eyewitness account

Update on Death Toll
December 29, 5.05 pm IST :

Total : 65,000
Indonesia : 32,0000
Sri Lanka : 25,000
India : 10,000
Thailand : 1500
Malaysia: 60
Myanmar: 30
Maldives: 52
Somalia: 100
Tanzania: 10
Kenya: 1
Seychelles: 3
Bangladesh: 2

The UN Health Agency warns that outbreaks of diseases could double the deaths. I can't wait for the religous fanatics to declare the end of the world...

[Source : NDTV]

Christmas Eve

Well it's Christmas Eve...hams are in the oven, bread rising on the kitchen counter, parang on the radio...I'm going home, soon after I finish some last minute shopping. I'm finally recovering from the Arafat (dratted thing), so I'd better finish buying gifts today.

Every year its the same question...what to get your mother? What do you get someone who has everything?

Oh...did you hear that someone patented the word "Christmas"? All the chain stores in the US now have to use Happy Holidays....riddikulus...isn't it?

Well, Merry Christmas everybody! Have a happy and holy holiday...

The Arafat

We Trinis name our flus. Yes, if you're a true true Trini you know exactly what I'm talking about. The current flu circulating that has our PM in its grasp is called the Arafat, in honour of the passing of Palestine leader Yasser Arafat. I wonder if he ever knew the impact he would have on Trinidad and Tobago?

How the name is decided and propogated, is anyone's guess. If anyone has a clue, please let me know. I think its an insight into the macometer index of our society (scroll down to 'M' on the link). Usually, the name is reflective of an event which has a negative impact on society or part of society, maybe something gruesome or awe inspiring. One of the latest flus was called " D' Ringbang". A typical conversation would be, "How yuh doing, man?", Response: "I doin' so so, I have d' ringbang"...

Some of the past flu names were:

Jaws - after the movie

Ten Percent - a 10% pay cut of civil servants during the NAR regime

VAT - or Selby Wilson? - When Value Added Tax was introduced

COLA- When the cost of living allowance was suspended

Saddam - during the Gulf war

Abu Bakr - after the 1990 coup attempt

Hijab - after a conflict which arose when a new student entered a catholic school wearing the hijab

Dole (Chadee) - after the "druglord" who was hanged in 1999 together with his 8 companions

Hangman - after the 1999 hangings

Donald Trump- After he was here in 1999 during the Miss Universe show- this cost the country 70 million dollars

y2k - needs no explanation

Ringbang - Eddie Grant's bust Ole Year's fete (1999/2000) which was televised around the world from Tobago , costing 40 million TT dollars

Impasse - (between President Robinson and Prime Minister Panday 2000)

Wang Yu- Called after the Kung Fu movies which were the craze in Trinidad at that time

The Dhanraj- After "The Sheriff", Dhanraj Singh - January 2001

The 18/18- The election results of 2001 with an 18/18 deadlock of the PNM and the UNC

The Bin Laden- speaks for itself, after the Sept 11th 2001 attacks in the US

I think I'm getting The Arafat.

Angels... gone too soon....

Baby back home. Three 3 y.o. Brian Bedasse was kidnapped from his parents in a botched robbery attempt and was found by police. Three teenagers were held. A 17 y.o. security guard kills a 16 y.o. boy. A 6 month old baby boy was beaten by bandits when he began crying as they prepared to rape his mother at the family's home in San Fernando. The child was reportedly slapped and placed in a corner of the bedroom before one of three thieves raped his 17-year-old mother. A Mother abandons a day old baby boy in some bushes. A security guard is accused of murdering his one-month-old daughter, Kimberly. Her mother, Genelle De Rouche neighbours say, is mentally slow and is unable to grasp the gravity of the situation.

What is happening? What de hell is happening? In three weeks, five teens and a 1 month old baby has been killed in a country with a population of 1.5 million people.

Where are the social services? Why in God's name am I paying taxes? For someone to kidnap my family?

Anil "The Spalksman" Roberts (first time songwriter) of radio fame was moved to pen a song called "Angels, gone too soon".

Kees Dieffenthaller of Imij & Co, Slaughter and a first time recording artist called Nicole Wong-Chung (if her name is wrong, please correct me...) appear on the recording.

It is guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes. The song is about not being able to have your first kiss, bearing the final brunt of the father/mother conflict, not being able to attend your graduation, about all the other things that make life worth living, things that these murdered people will not experience.

The song is produced by Biete of Audiocon Studios, St James...(62-audio) and will stand up to international scrutiny. Biete is a fantastic musician.

The CD will cost TT 40.00 and all proceeds go to FEEL, a charitable organisation in T&T. Buy it and give to your family and friends as Christmas gifts. Lets not say as we usually do, "It won't happen to me"...anymore.

My father once told my youngest brother in desperation, "When you feel you want to say something, count to 10....then decide if you want to say it, then count to 10 again..."

I urge every person who reads this blog to think about that, maybe circumstances could be avoided...and listen to the song, these people did not have to die.

Nightmare Upgrade

Dont ever try to upgrade an archaic old-arse P866 machine running your server directories to Win 2000 server. If you have to pay through your nose to outsource it...do it. Its 8:42 pm and I'm still here.

Step 1. Reformat a spare PC to WINNT, 2 hours

Step 2: move user database and pointers to that machine from old-arse machine. 2hours

Step 3: Buy more cigarettes. 15 mins

Step 4. Call for help

Step 5: Kick yourself for not remembering WINNT serial key: 10 mins...and so on and so fifth.

Step 1001: Go the f***K home. 20 mins
I've gotten a new meaning for NT...The list included: Nice Try, Neat Toy, Not Today, Nearly There, Next Time (maybe), Nothing but Trouble, and NoT and some others that I shouldn't type here cuz maybe my future children might read this. One has to keep up appearances.

Windows and lots of other applications leave detritus and junk all around the place as they butcher and fudge their way through installation and configuration. Certain components are ignored or overwritten according to invisible and unfathomable rules. Reinstalling and even uninstalling components rarely removes all related files. It is possible in many instances to reinstall components and still have them read flawed configuration files or registry entries.

But...alas, there is only one way to successfully resolve software problems. The hardest possible way. Usually you know this the second you realize you have a problem, but the denial stage is very tenacious. Hard-won experience is the only way to avoid countless hours of installing and re-installing when it comes to Windows NT. This is a true story. As Ralph Grabowski would say... "serves you right!"

For the ultimate time...I'm switching to Linux.

To-Do List

Went to church on Sunday, I'd recommend it (temple or mosque or whatever) to anyone, a soul is a terrible thing to waste. Choir Christmas music, a service with only likkle people singing carols, good stuff.

There's a new comet in our night sky, Comet Machholz. The Geminids are on show all through December, so grab your significant other and stare at the night sky for a while, you might see some shooting stars.

Oh and uh, keep a space in your thoughts for Onika Bostic of the Burning Flames. Car accident this weekend, she's fighting for her life.

Spork

It seems like I haven't posted in a month, but its only been 4 days. Nothing of real consequence happened except that my house is spotless and prettified for Christmas, christmas tree decorated, no kids to ogle at it yet though except the neighbours' spawn of Satan.

I think I'll dedicate this post to Things I Dont Understand.

Spork, not to be confused with foon. If I wanted a spoon, I'd ask nicely for one.

Car Indicators: I swear that car indicators are very expensive accessories that don't come with the purchase of your car and there's a heavy tax on its usage, you pay in USD by the blink.

Why is the targeted killing of terrorists and their supporters lauded when done by the United States in Iraq, but not when done by Israel whose civilians face a daily threat of terror attacks?

Did you ever notice when you Google for Trinidad, you get Trinidad Colorado, the surgical sex change capital of the world?

Why Japan is the foremost producer of the steelpan when it was invented here?

Why do women in the same location experiencing PMS, always gang up on you.

Why I missed Orange Sky last Friday.

Trinidad Companies require experience from last years UWI grads.

Why our banks won't finance ideas.

Why our politicians constantly play the race card, and why we always let them.

...Go figure...if you have others, please add them to comments...

The Orange Sky

"Well ah doh min' being born in any livin' form, just as long as I can feel,
And with two eyes that see, I get down on my knees and thank God that I am real,
Just want to feel love, real love...In this life..."

That's how the second verse of "Real Love" begins...The Orange Sky, a quintet from Trinidad and Tobago. Ode to a Puncheon Rum induced teenage tabanca. kycKAss Music

Having been in a preferred band (no names) in the club scene in T&T for about 7-8 years I know where these guys came from. They were a "never-give-a-flying-fuck-pass-the-spliff" band. Until they got on stage.

Seeing Sky onstage back then was like fondling your first breast. You really didnt know what to do. Join the mosh pit, watch Nigel's guitar work, wonder why in God's name there were so many people on stage, laugh at the other bandmembers that were in awe, or just simply take in the music.

Nigel Rojas, lead singer, is an amazing guitarist. Someone who makes playing look so effortless, until you go home and try it. Thats the major difference between Orange Sky and all the rest. All the members are excellent musicians.

I remember going to soundcheck at **** 1 with Sky and all of them were sprawled on the ground passing a spliff. They offered and we refused, well some of us anyway. We bought 2 cases of Carib instead. We had never got along as well with any other band. Great ole talk. Peer Support. No, I won't take a pull, thanks. We both opened for The Outfield that night.

BC Pires commented in 1996 that the addition of Nigel as a songwriter for Jaundis-I, "has made Jaundis I's music something relevant to and part of Trinidad and Tobago". Nigel has patented his songwriting with the Sky. A far, far cry from this, proving US popvomitus has infiltrated the spending public. If you are a displaced Trini, check them out, they really are worth it.

The Orange Sky has already overpaid the required dues, with interest. They have recorded an international album with worldwide distribution by spring 2005. Congrats to vocalist/lead guitarist/song writer Nigel Rojas, rhythm guitarist Adam Murray, keyboardist Richard Hall, bass guitarist Nicholas Rojas and drummer Obasi Springer... from the heart.

Traffiq

That should be the name of Trinidad's version of traffic, simply because there can't possibly be an iteration of this kind of traffic anywhere else in the world.

There is only one entrance to Port of Spain and one exit. It is estimated that 60,000 cars go to POS every morning of the work week. I spend an average of 2 hours in traffic every morning. That's 10/week, 40/month, 480/annum, a total of twenty days of the year. My vacation time isn't that much. That's not counting the numerous accidents that pile up traffic for miles. Last night, I spent 3 hours from POS to Grand Bazaar, then another hour to Charlieville. One accident. I had an ongoing conversation with the drivers behind and in front of me whenever we moved a few inches and stopped for ten minutes.

Former UNC Minister John Humphrey designed an elegant overpass that might have alleviated the traffic at the Grand Bazaar junction. The PNM shelved the idea and is doing absolutely nothing. I think that thousands of people would have a better quality of life and be more productive citizens if we didnt have to deal with this every morning. We're stuck in traffic of our own design. Improper planning and the whole inefficient nine yards.

Studies repeatedly show that people making long commutes are at a higher risk for a host of maladies. High blood pressure, sleep deprivation, and depression top the list. Meni Koslowsky, a psychologist from Bar-Ilan University in Israel and author of the book "Commuting Stress", notes that Type A personalities, competitive and anxious about wasting time, are particularly prone to being unnerved by traffic. Koslowsky has also found that women who face long commutes are more stressed and depressed by the experience than men and show greater unhappiness with their home lives. That translates to less sex for the men and more frustration at home.

All cities have their traffic problems, but they're doing something about it. We do nothing. Trini's would feel better if we were stuck in traffic because we were doing something about the situation. Like building a new highway/overpass/metro/donkey track.

This is my idea. The Government can use it at no charge, and that's only because it won't be implemented.

Plan A
Set up secure 10 acre parking lots at Mt. Hope, Grand Bazaar, UWI, Barataria and various points East and West. Let people pay to park their cars for a minimal fee. Put the both lanes of the Uriah Butler highway as one way into POS from 5-10 am every morning and outward from 3-7 pm every afternoon. Provide regular and timely shuttles in and out of POS from the parks. Provide amenities and services at these parking lots. Build offshoot toll highways off of Charlieville, directly to the Beetham. Probably a Metro along the Bus Route. I know some of it is swampland but we can import the civil engineering technology like we always have. Other countries have done it.

Plan B
Pay me to develop teleportation technology. Either way it will take the same time if we let history be our guide.

Catch-22. Will building new highways help people who don't want to use mass transit or who can't afford to live where it's available? Not really.

Consider what it would take just to accommodate the projected growth in traffic in POS over the next 20 years if auto dependency isn't reduced. The East West corridor is expected to grow by 250,000 persons by 2020. If current patterns continue, that would mean an additional 200,000 cars into POS. Today, there are 0.25 parking spaces available for every car in POS. To find sufficient parking spaces for another 200,000 cars, the city would need an additional 20 square miles of parking lots.

The next time you're stuck in rush-hour traffic, say tomorrow morning, consider for a moment that you and your paused vehicle are vital cogs in an efficient economy, one that requires in large part that we all go to work, go to school and shop at the same hour. Makes sense to you?

Weekend

The weekend is when you have the time to do things you couldn't do during the week....??? If I find the person who said that alive, I'd shoot him (or her). Just kidding....

Saturday: Finally got the christmas house decorations out. Bought a beautiful christmas tree. Couldn't find the christmas tree decorations. Scrubbed the yard. The entire yard. Any one who says that exercise is cathartic should also be shot. Spent most of the afternoon in San Fernando looking for tree decorations. Played pool for the rest of the night. And lost. Oh well...

Sunday: Rearranged the house. The whole phreakin' house. Cleaned, then cleaned some more. Went to sleep. See?? No time for blogging....

I'll do that when I have time at work on Monday ...

Here's how you know that you have too much time on your hands. Sung to the tune of "What is the letter we love?" (The 'W' Song), Sesame Street.

One
There once was a man from Kanass,
Whose nuts were made out of brass,
And in stormy weather, he'd clack them together,
and lightning shot out of his ass...

Two
A sexy young maiden named Jill,
Tried a dynamite stick for a thrill,
They found her vagina, in North Carolina,
And bits of her tits in Brazil.

Three
There once was a man from Kent,
Whose cock was so long it bent,
To save himself trouble, he put it in double,
And instead of cumming he went.

Shouldn't you be doing something??? ... :-)

Just a thought

Butterflies, panic, hearing your heart thumping like it was going to burst out of your chest. Wobbly knees, fight or flight response kicking in... The feeling of something caught in your throat, unshed tears in your eyes. We've all been there. Remember?

Sometimes, first times lead to very embarrassing moments, some are so wonderful that it stays with us forever. What about personal first times? First time you realised you will die, someday...or like when you wondered if you should tell your first crush that you really, really, really like them.

The first time you held on to something so hard, it slipped through your fingers.

Remember your first job? First lover... first time you had weird sex, first time you spent quality time with someone who didn't really want to get into your underwear but liked you for who you were? The first time you made someone happy. The first time you laughed so hard...it hurt.

The first time you got into a fight... :-)

The first time you were so caught up in the moment, people were staring at you. The first time $100.00 was so much money, you didn't know what to do with it. The first (of many) times you put your foot in your mouth.

The first movie that made you cry. The first time you saw the beauty of a child discovering something for the very first time. The first time a "wicked" plan comes together.

The first time you saw dolphins escorting the boat to Tobago.

The first time somebody told you..."Everything's going to be okay", and you believed them. The first time you truly recognised the value of a person.

Sometimes we get so caught up in today that we fail to recognise, yesterday's lesson. Just a thought.

Cross or Crucifix?

I wanted to continue with Calypso 101 but I think I need to vent a little about an interesting situation here in our country where "every creed and race find an equal place".

The Trinity Cross, our nations highest honor, is under scrutiny again. There are some sections that believe that in a multi denominational culture, the Trinity Cross is offensive. The Secretary General of the Maha Sabha, Mr. Sat Maharaj, has filed a constitutional motion against the state saying the Trinity Cross contravenes the freedom of individuals who are not christians. France banned the hijab in schools. The US removed every connotation to the Bible in their court system. Are we following fashion, or is there a real issue here?

Sat alludes that since inception of the awards in 1969, only 8 Indians were awarded the medal out of the total 66, and of that, only 2 were Hindus. My immediate reaction was, "Er.... so...?? Whats your point? I have no doubt that there are Hindu people who are deserving of the medal, (lets not call it the trinity cross, at least for a while).

My understanding is that all Chief Justices routinely get the medal. Meaning that the award is politicised. But then all national awards are, in every country, unless there is an obviously, above the call of duty person whose identity and good works practically screams, "Give me the @#%#-ing medal!!!".

Then they don't get it till they're dead. I have not seen a Mahatma Ghandi or a Malcolm X in Trinidad, and I'm 30 something. Even then I dont think they would have gotten it. Our history is littered with people who should have... but didn't.

I tried to find a list of requirements or criteria for adjudging the nominees for the Trinity Cross but came up blank. Or a list of the names of the panel that submits the nominees to the President for award selection....zilch. If anyone finds it, let me know.

The teenager who pulled a woman out of a burning house at risk of her own life. She got the Humming Bird Medal. So did the disabled fireman. Kitchener refused the Humming Bird Medal and said he deserved the Cross. I think he deserved it. He didn't get it. What differentiates the Trinity Cross from the Humming Bird? Someone please educate me.

All this debate has devalued the award. GOPIO, by virtue of institution of their own national awards has also devalued the award and the national perception of awards.

Everyone knows the award but does the man on the street know who got it? Ask anyone for the first recipient's name of any Trinidadian national award and yuh go get cut eye. A look that says, "Doh tes' mih patience young man...grrrr!". Ask who Lennox Pawan was. Try it on the first person you can ask. You'll see. That's how collectively important it is to us.

Fast Forward to 2099. The ethnos consists of 61% dougla, 10% Indian, 10% African. Will the 1970 awardees be regarded any less? I dont think so. Will the increasing number of Dougla awardees for the Trinity-Shiva-Buddha-Mohammed-Selassie Award be questioned? Probably. There will probably be a "Sat Maharaj" from the Institute of International Douglarism. Times change but people don't...and that I think, is the critical issue.

The debate should be that it's not about the name of the award, but the transparency and validity of earning such an award.

If I have offended anybody, so be it.

Calypso 101

Rupee was on MTV this morning. All power to him. His song, "Tempted to Touch" is the featured track for After The Sunset starring Selma "Perfect Boobies" Hayek and Pierce Brosnan. I am humbled, just like when I heard Kevin Lyttle's "Turn Me On" on every radio station in Houston. BTW, Rupee is not Trini. He's Bajan. That's fine...expect MTV and Recording Label scouts for Carnival 2005.

Calypso 101
1830's - Calypso singing competitions, held annually at Carnival time, gained mainstream acceptance after the abolition of slavery by the British. (The French brought the tradition of Carnival to Trinidad.)

1914 - a landmark year in the history of calypso. The first calypso recording was made. Gramophone business.

1920's - gave birth to the first calypso tents. Originally, calypso tents were actual tents where calypsonians would practice before Carnival.

1930's - exceptional calypsonians such as Atilla the Hun, Lord Invader and the Roaring Lion were making an indelible impression on the calypso music world which was Trinidad and the Caribbean. Lord Kitchener, the GrandMaster, rose to prominence in the 1940s and dominated the calypso scene until the late 1970s. His calypsos are still legend in the panyards.

1944 - the Andrews Sisters (an American trio) did a cover version of Lord Invader's hit Rum and Coca Cola. Reportedly stolen by US producer Morey Amsterdam. Since then, the rest of the world has identified calypso with the Caribbean.

1956 - Harry Belafonte recorded the Banana Boat (Day-O) song. His "Calypso" album became the first album to sell 1,000,000 copies, that means Platinum, from a dubious (read underestimated) estimate in the 1960's. The Mighty Sparrow's hit 'Jean and Dinah', opened the market for politically charged calypsos. This calypso is a classic. Buy the greatest hits if you like it, and I'm sure you will.

1960's and 70's - Dominated by The Mighty Sparrow and The Lord Kitchener and songs like "Flag Woman", "Lenoir's Well", "Lolo",(those who know what a Lolo is....say yeah...!!!), "Sugar Bum Bum", "O'Halloran Cock", gave way to the uncompromising rise of Calypso Rose, in an arena dominated by men. Timeless classics like, "Tempo" and "Fire in yuh Wire". 1963 saw Ras Shorty I, take calypso to soca. Inspiring a generation of artistes such as David Rudder, Tambu, Charlie's Roots, Machel Montano and Xtatik, SuperBlue, Colin "Dollar Wine" Lucas, Marvin and Nigel Lewis, Traffik, Atlantik, Anselm Douglas, Blue Ventures. Still doing so today.

Class continues tomorrow.

Typical Weekend

Weekends are blackholes of productivity. Things are planned but never get done except for Sunday lunch. Don't mess wid de belly.

Scrub the yard. Not. Scrub the dogs. Nada. Sort Christmas Decorations. Nyet. Wash car. Nope. Make award winning website. Huh? Update Blog. Yeah right. Grand Theft Auto and FIFA 2003 for PS2. Yes, definitely.

Saturday is usually a runaround day for me. Exactly what I did. Running around getting nothing done. *dammit*

Bits of Stuff.
Looks like the TT football association has some sense. Finally. Article here.

Trinidad secondary school football has always had a bigger crowd following than our Pro League. This is why. Vessigny Secondary, a canal fish among the sharks of school football has made it to the 2004 Intercol Finals. Vessigny's unlikely dream.

Guide to the geek girl.
For those wanting tips, here's a guide to the geek girl. The most beautiful things on two legs. The definition of real wimmin'.

Katy Rose
The 16 y.o. "please don't compare me to Avril". I like her stuff. Joni Mitchell reborn and very, very 2004. Check out "Because I can", the single. She writes her own stuff. Don't tell anybody, it might catch on.

Miss World 2005
Our representative for the Miss World Pageant in Sanya, China has qualified for all the categories for the final via the prequalification stages. She's the only delegate to do that so far. Following American Idol, interested people are invited to vote for their favorite online. I prefer The Miss World Pageant because its about educating the world about real global issues. The past and present Missus Universus makes money for the Miss Universe Franchise. Still, great eye candy. So vote for Miss Trinidad and Tobago, Ms. Kenisha Thom.

Strike Squad

Its November 19th 1989, once again.

I realise that there isn't a Trini football fan who doesn't ruefully shake his head on every anniversary of the Trinidad and Tobago vs the US, World Cup 1990 Qualifier. To clarify, it's known as soccer to the US, football to the rest of the world. "The beautiful game" to everybody.

I was there. A red speck in a stadium nation of red world cup euphoria. I remember the then Minister of Sport Jennifer Johnson congratulating the Strike Squad on the radio for the yeoman's job they had done thus far and that win or lose, they did us proud.

Really they did. Who could forget Kerry Jamerson's scorching bullets from outside the box against Guatemala. Leonson Lewis beating enemy right backs through sheer speed with the occasional spanner thrown in for good measure. Leo used to intimidate his college 100m opponents by jiggling his massive thighs. Russel Latapy, weaving his magic in midfield with Hutson Charles and Philbert Jones, releasing Maurice Alibey to zoom in on goal. Our most famous football export, Dwight Yorke lurking in the penalty area.

I think three calypsos were penned for the event, "Road to Italy", SuperBlue, Colin Lucas' "Football Dance" and Power's "Goal". "Football Dance" had an actual dance for it. If you remember it, post a comment, heh heh. It was hilarious. I don't care if the Hasely Crawford stadium was oversold or who paid who. We lost. One stinking goal.

I watched the current incarnation of the Strike Squad, the Soca Warriors, vs St Vincent and the Grenadines on Tuesday. Pathetic. No midfield. No strategy. Hold on let me get a tissue.

We scraped through 2-1. Scored in the 86th and 90th minute, St Vincent having scored first. We played better football in school back in 1986. Presentation College vs El Do' in the League. At least we had a plan and won the league.

We were lucky against St Vincent. Football is like that. Remember Haiti 1974? I was too young but I read about it. We qualify for the final round of World Cup 2006 qualifiers with the US, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama. The first three teams qualify for the World Cup Finals, Germany 2006. Fourth place plays off against the fifth best Asian team to qualify as well. Bertille St Clair has his hands full.

Maybe consultations with some of our past greats like Gally Cummings, Earl (Spiderman) Carter, Sedley Joseph, Jean Mouttet or Aldwyn Ferguson might work. A senior, experienced objective view can do a world of good. Hell even get Jumbo the nutsman. Provide support to Bertille St Clair and his technical team. Probe for solutions, not point fingers as is the norm.

I wonder where Brian Williams is? Please don't get Michael Maurice.

Trinidad football today is better than it has ever been. Look at the amout of overseas pros. Not that that means anything in this Strike Squad reincarnation. Maybe we should have a friendly: local based players vs foreign based players. See what happens. I'll bet on the local team.

Citizen Dougla

I am and always will be a Trinidadian. My mother is half chinese, half french creole and my father, east indian. My maternal grandfather came here as a chef on a ship from Hong Kong. My father's parents were indentured labourers. So I'm a dougla. And proud to be one.

Having been an oilfield whore for most of my working life so far, I've had the opportunity to travel/work. Some experiences good, some bad, some indifferent, but it's always a pleasure to see how other people live and play.

To other people in different countries though, I look strange, and I mean that in a very real sense. You can see confusion in their faces when I meet them for the first time. In the US, they automatically try to categorise you. In the UK, they really dont care. In South America, it just means they can hustle you for more money. I've been called Cherokee, Indian, Negro, African American, Pakistani, Habenero.

There's the time stopping for gas while driving from Houston to New Orleans. A guy there couldn't place my accent so he asked me where I was from. So I told him. He never heard of Trinidad, so he thought I was lying. He then asked my ethnicity, so I told him I dont really know. A clerk there immediately came to my defense saying that she was half Cherokee, and I look like one so therefore I am. Cherokee. I laughed my way out to pump my own gas. Real Trini skettel laugh. FYI... Trinidad is not in Jamaica.

There's also the time in Walmart. Imagine hearing a Trini accent through a cacophony of American chatter. This little old lady on a bench just inside Walmart complaining Trini style. True true Trini ole lady dressed to kill, complete with one calf high stocking at her ankle.

Having been out of Trinidad for three months it was refreshing to hear a little raucous bit of home. So I went up and introduced myself. I was invited, in predictable Trini fashion, to her home, to meet her daughters and her doctoring son. Complete with an invitation for lunch although it was about 11:00 pm. She was from Point Fortin, twenty years ago. Of course she asked if I knew Mr. Jim from by the samaan tree by the church in Point and about four others in various parts of the country. Trinidadians really miss home when working/living abroad, I can tell you from experience.

I had no problems in Cuba because everyone looked just like me. I just had to keep my mouth shut. Even my spanish has a trini accent. Pretty soon I was just another mute habanero. After Cuba I had to return to the US. Through Miami Immigration.

I got the TREATMENT. I swore to every God that ever will be that they were going to check my prostate. With a backhoe. The guy who was snapping on rubber gloves had bigger fingers than Shaquille O'Neal. The other gorilla with the gleaming metal prod was leering at me. Turns out that they were going to check my luggage. A lone two foot pilot case. Oh... and my laptop was perused as well. Good thing I delete my porn. Every time after that, travelling to the US, I miss my connecting flight. It never fails. I set my meetings to it.

That trip I bought a telescope in the US. Presshah! When I tried to bring it home. X-rays, sealed x-rays, the sniffer wand thingie. I told them it was a telescope, showed them the eyepieces that I didnt want broken from my hand luggage. The x-rays showed it to be a telescope, all the scans said it was a telescope. It was a mechanism for me to miss my flight home so they could check on the "plastic tubular object, glass inserted at one end, mondo thingus". With a Cuban Visa affixed to my passport.

I have no problems with Homeland Security, metal detectors or even the fact that at a major immigration port like Miami, all the attendants speak spanish. I understand the military ethic that is the US. I have a problem with Trinidadians willingly subjecting themselves to condescension.

Trinidad supplies the US with 76% of their natural gas requirements. 70% of our oilfield ancilliaries and supply companies are american or allied with US suppliers.

The US government calls the Caribbean the "Third Border Initiative". In theory. Every time I get through Immigration in Miami, at least two Caribbean people get sent back.

Trinidadians need to realise that we have the resources, willpower, character and history to stand with any country and be proud of where we come from and who we are.

In our trade agreements we need to seek the interests of our country as well as our future pockets. That might be a loaded sentence, but I'll leave it. Feedstock for another post.

Our governmental bodies as well as NGO's need to realise that we can provide first world goods and services to satisfy a very real global demand. We're not asking for anything free nor are we going to continue to give away our human and mineral resources for honey roasted nuts. We're not going to be taken advantage of... anymore. We really dont need to jump through unnecessary hoops.

I do not want to live in the US or anywhere else for that matter. Leave my prostate alone. It is in your better interest to see where my soul is.

Geologi-political global warming

Port of Spain, Nov 14, 2004 (Trinidad Express) - A Penal landmark is gone, cattle drowned and families marooned.

HELP flood-hit PENAL - MEMBER of Parliament for Siparia Kamla Persad-Bissessar has written to Prime Minister Patrick Manning and other ministers asking for help for her constituents in Penal who were hit by severe flooding last week.

Our Venerable Prime Minister, Mr Patrick Manning, toured the flood hit Penal area today. He surmised that part of the problem was global warming. This was on tonight's 7:00 pm news on 100.1 FM.

*&#$*Q%#$% !!!!!

For the record about global warming while I try to breathe...

"We will not know the validity of global warming theories (and predictions) until it actually happens. Some predictions can be tested over historical periods in order to decide which theoretical models most closely resemble the behavior of earth's climate, and so some models may be better than others (i.e. more valid for known data). but no one can predict the future yet. I am skeptical about the idea that earth is a self-equilibrating system (i.e. that it tries to "get back into balance" when it is somehow disturbed). I think it is a very open and chaotic system and that the climate has been fluctuating pretty wildly and unpredictably ever since the planet acquired an atmosphere". From a scientist.

This site argues for and against the theories. Check it out.

I hope our Prime Geologist Minister's speech writer was ill and not cleaning his house in Penal from the aftermath of flooding. Since the PM's area of expertise is geology and maybe politicks.

What about Barrackpore? That village has been flooding since the 1980's and that's as far back as I can personally remember. Barrackpore Secondary school still closes its doors when rain falls and villagers pull out their nets for fishing. In the street... Entire ponds of cascadura are lost.

What about South Quay and Brian Lara Promenade? Not to mention the flooding on the down streets of Port of Spain when there is fifteen minutes of rain from over the hills. Let's not forget Kelly Village, Caroni and Chaguanas. This editorial dated May 2003 summmarizes the situation nicely, without cussing. All the areas listed were flooded this year and it costs the victims money. Remember, global warming doesn't occur in Westmoorings or Fairways, Maraval.

Maybe our Prime Minister knows what he is talking about and Global Warming selectively chooses these areas all the time, when rain falls, for the past twenty years. The information in the previous link only goes back to 1981.

It has absoutively nothing to do with storm drains, proper drainage for rural areas and general proper city management. It's not even about acting on the flood reports of people living and paying taxes in these areas for over twenty years.

Trinidad dollars have gone to Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Let's see how much is allocated for global warming.

FTAA or Cat in Bag?

You cant make an omelette without breaking eggs. George Orwell, when confronted with the argument, immediately pointed out that you should ask to see the omelette.

Trinidad is bidding to host the headquarters of the FTAA Permanent Secretariat. Other cities bidding are: Atlanta, Georgia; Cancun, Mexico; Chicago, Illinois; Galveston, Texas; Houston, Texas; Miami, Florida; Panama City, Panama; Puebla, Mexico; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Bahamas and 14 other CARICOM nations have promised to support Trinidad and Tobago.

From the Ministry of Trade website: "It is undeniable that Trinidad and Tobago possesses the ideal environment to host this prestigious organization. Our neutrality in the region is a plus, and we can easily be regarded as the "Brussels" of the FTAA, presenting the least threat to the super powers of the region. These factors are reinforced by our strategic position at the convergence point of the Caribbean, linking the English speaking north with the Spanish-speaking south, thus making this country the natural home for the FTAA Secretariat."

What verbage ... as I understand it, free trade is an increase in the flow of goods and services across national boundaries that will improve the average standard of living of people on both sides of a border. Will the FTAA do this? I can hear the eggs cracking...

The above is based in the law of comparative advantage which maintains that, under free trade, people in each country will concentrate on producing or providing those things that can be produced or provided most effectively and inexpensively relative to other countries.

As a result, gains in efficiency, in real income, and in GDP are expected in each country; costs are reduced because investment is spread over a larger market of all the countries in a trade agreement; and procedures, processes, and operations become more efficient due to international competition.

These results of free trade between nations are expected to raise the standard of living in nations participating in a trade agreement. This is the concept of free trade, the concept behind NAFTA, the FTAA's grandpappy, but also a concept debated and, at times, rejected by some economists, particularly those favoring trade liberalization instead of free-trade agreements. Didn't work with NAFTA, ask Mexico.

True free trade between countries is beneficial and rarely complicated, but the FTAA does not promote free trade. It furthers government control of trade, as well as industrial, environmental and taxation regulation. You know what our TT government does with control of money which, if we get even a small piece of the pie, is what it simmers down to. Like bhagi ...

If we look at NAFTA, we can see:

Worker Displacement: Occurs when a worker must acquire different, enhanced, or new skills in order to maintain a present job, or must secure a different job in his or her company. This requires retraining, sometimes at the worker's expense, extended periods of time between jobs, and possibly entering the new job at a level lower than the worker occupied at the previous job. Flour Mills, TSTT, (whenever the Telecom RFP's come out), Petrotrin, Trinmar. Note, the FTAA aint here yet.

Loss of Job: Occurs when the employer is unable to compete in the international marketplace or enhances plant and equipment to compete more effectively, thereby retaining fewer employees for the same productive operations. In short, the employee is discharged from the enterprise. This scenario may occur in those firms and industries that are labor intensive rather than capital intensive. Caroni Ltd, sorry, The Sugar Manufacturing Company to be exact.

Labor intensive enterprises will experience increasing difficulty competing against the relatively lower out of country wage rates. Given this generalization, it is reasonable to say that firms in such labor-intensive industries as furniture, glass products, shoes, and textiles may experience loss of jobs to countries like Suriname and Guyana, if we had such industries here, while such capital intensive industries as chemicals, plastics, metals, pharmaceuticals, petrochemical downstream and telecommunications may be expected to fare well in the FTAA era.

But wait! Wouldn't the US, Canadian, Mexican, Brazilian, Argentine, Venezuelan and Colombian businesses have full access to our Caricom markets? Given our TSTT and US expatriate hegemony, I dont know if this is a good thing. What about Haiti, Grenada or Dominican Republic? *gasp* Cuba?

Loss of Industry: Occurs when firms are unable to compete with foreign competitors because of the lower cost structures of those competitors. In such situations, management may decide to close a firm or to relocate it from its home country to a foreign country and consider the investment in plant and equipment in the home country a sunk cost to be abandoned.

That decision is made easier when the wage rates are lower in the foreign country; when health care cost and pensions are lower; the cost of capital is low; the foreign government provides a welcoming environment that may include favorable tax treatment or government arranged financing; the labor force in the foreign country is attractive, eager to work, well educated, or amenable to training; the foreign country offers a pleasant climate and an improving infrastructure; the foreign country's political and economic structures are stable; and the foreign country offers access, as in the case of CARICOM, to an unsaturated market, and from Trinidad, a gateway to the rest of Latin America. Does it sound familiar yet?

"Trade is a positive-sum game in which all parties stand to gain, and there is no natural limit to the number of jobs that can be created by it", as written by Robert E. Reich.

This does not, however, imply that there will be no loss of jobs in some companies and in some industries as the result of FTAA. Or rises in cost of living, or an influx of migrants seeking the almighty dollar, while the educated seek opportunities elsewhere.

As usual, the rich will get richer and the poor will vote for priapically neutered moguls.

I need someone from the Ministry of Trade and Industry to tell me, the tangible benefits to Trinidad and Tobago, or if my children's university education will make me mortgage my house...for the second time. The first mortgage was taken to pay my ex-wife after she ran away with an expat. She had an American lawyer.

I cant see the omelette, maybe boiled eggs in a dirty wooden cornershop glass case. Right next to the boiled bhagi.

At home with Isaac Hunt

Another T&T Holiday on Monday 15th November, Eid. Eid marks the end of the Holy month of Ramadan for Muslims. Anyone who doesnt know what a Muslim is, see Webpedia entry for Middle East.

So, Eid Mubarak! to all Muslims. Especially in Iraq, Sudan and OPEC.

Definition: A phrase of greetings said among Muslims to congratulate each other on holidays. It literally means, "Blessed Festival!" The appropriate answer is, "Allah yubarak feek!" (May Allah bless it for you also!)

Didnt get Sawine, (knowledge is about the seventh down on the link), didnt go anywhere. Stayed home to be lazy. That didnt work as well. This is why. Ordinary Jigsaw puzzles are the most myopic, self absorbing, addictively frustrating thing on the planet. If you want to remind yourself what writing lines in a high school detention classroom was like, just open the puzzle box. 3d puzzles are aptly named...it increases the dementia another dimension. It got done, finished, fucking finally, but I dont have the willpower to dismantle it because I know I'll want to build it again. Its like self flagellation in the Da Vinci Code.

I havent finished reading it yet but here's my take on it so far. I read Angels and Demons, the ?prequel? to the Da Vinci Code and it was a let down. Dan Brown sends you around escher loops, jacks you a-la-Neo into your way out, only to drop you flat on your ass with the ending. Pulp fiction. Maybe it was the research for the Da Vinci code, who knows. TTD 69.95 at Nigel R. Khan Booksellers. Yes, a shameless plug for a high school mate of mine. The only reason I bought the Da Vinci Code was the multitude of books about the Da Vinci Code.

The Da Vinci Code is a thriller. It starts with an assassination. Read the rest. Come up with your own conclusions, its better that way. He gains your trust by repeating what you know, adding some verifiable trivia, like the "crux gemmata", and then launches into unravelling what you think you knew about the New Testament and the life of Christ. Best seller material. The most elegant phrase I've found in the book so far is:

" ... the sacred feminine ...". That phrase was designed for debate at the University of the Nearest Rumshop.

Everyone knows of the Catholic churchs' suppression of information, the recent spate of homosexual priests, the index liborum prohibitorum and its suppression of females while elevating Mary, Mother of God. This makes the Da Vinci Code believable reading.

In this global era of phantom WMD's, election rigging, corporate puppet shows, (can you say Halliburton?), big business corruption scandal, airport runways, political bags of cocaine, everyone loves a conspiracy theory. Dan Brown spins the best I've read so far. The book highlights paganism, in the original sense of the word, it posits that God is not personal but can be seen in all. Including wiccan nature worship. Not what the Church would have us believe.

Its a good book so far, reminiscent of a taxi drive from San Fernando to POS, a white knuckled, seat clenching affair, but knowing you're in the best hands to take you there. You think ...

Just dont believe everything you read.

Divali

I decided that I would try to post every day, and I really have tried. One of the great things about a blog is that it requires you to organise your thoughts. Impossible.

Or at the very least improbable. I guess the root problem is not time or lack of it... but the effort it requires to organise thoughts. Yes, I'm inherently lazy, but you are too, so there.

Diwali or Divali, Noun

Hindu festival: an important Hindu festival associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, held in the autumn. Late 17th century. Via Hindi diwālī from Sanskrit dīpāvalī “row of lights,” from dīpa “light, lamp.”

I dont know what Divali is like in India, but in Trinidad its wonderful. I'm Presbyterian, went to a seven year, all boys Roman Catholic school. The religous cross section of my class was approximately equally Hindu, Muslim, RC, Presbyterian. So usually we would bum food off of our Hindu friends for Divali, Muslim friends for Eid everybody else for Christmas and so on. Typical teenager Trini male stuff.

This translates into adulthood though, with a difference. I have always been captivated with Indian women in their Saris tending to visitors or family, bending to refill deyas. They're beautiful. Not erotically so, let me explain. There is an unspoken essence of pleasure in duty, each woman a monologue in character with a grace borne from navigating the little flames without catching yourself afire.

November 11th 2004 being a national holiday for Divali, (one of the many in our beloved country, I really dont know how we get anything done), I woke up at the usual time swearing I was late for work. After realising the horror of my ways, promptly settled back in to sleep. Woke up at the glorious hour of 12.00 p.m. Its been years since I've done that. Being aversely allergic to cooking on a holiday, I called the maternal provider for lazy sons who informed me that she was cooking chinese food.

WHAT...!!!!!!!!!! On Divali...!!!! No curry?!?!!? *Dammit*

It seemed as if the entire universe shifted a few millimeters to the left when she told me that. How could you not cook curry on Divali? Mind you, she's not Hindu nor is any of my immediate family. My brain now jump started into being awake and fully functional, my body trying to follow in fits and starts, I crawl off my ever enticing bed to grapple with the immediate dilemma. Who cookin' curry?

Called a Hindu cousin of mine who, like the people I'm accustomed to, invited me over. Play the odds, eventually you'll win. You can't lose all the time. After making myself somewhat presentable, I purposefully drove to San Fernando to visit the maternal curry sellout person, whom I love dearly, to find out the thought processes behind the no-curry-on-Divali syndrome.

Seems that my aunt and her husband from the UK are staying over at their house for vacation and requested her chinese cooking. And that's wonderful, I would vociferously request her chinese cuisine too if I didn't have it for the past three years. After sampling her exquisite Hoisin chicken, the universe back in its place, I ventured five minutes away to my cousins house.

In many villages in Trinidad, people take pride in laying out their deyas in all sorts of intricate patterns. On driveways, on bamboo frames, in their porches. All this in order to welcome Lakshmi , Goddess of Light in to their homes and lives.

Divali is widely celebrated as the day that Lord Rama returned triumphant to Ayodya after defeating Ravana. Many people believe that Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth and good fortune, visit the homes of devotees on this day. It also helps Lord Rama to find his way home. Worship of Lakshmi is performed in the evening. It is usually done on the darkest night of the year, when I find out how they determine that, I'll let you know.

Fireworks, Sari and Kurta clad devotees laughing, visiting everyone on the street. Teenaged girls under the watchful eyes of their parents...and the boys across the street. Children playing, running or quarrelling with like minded friends. Babies in their mothers and fathers arms, captivated by the activity and the lights, always the lights. Everyone sharing Hindu sweetmeats, parasad, kurma, barfi, gulab jamon, all packed in oily brown or ziplock bags depending on who caught the grocery open. Sharing with neighbours regardless of religous or ethnic persuasion. All under the glimmering lights of hundreds of deyas. If I were Laksmi or Rama I would be proud. Maybe Divali should be everyday, just like Christmas.

Apparently you can't light deyas extensively if there was a recent death in the family. Maybe you're treading on Kali's turf if you do that. Or maybe not.

My aunt passed away earlier this year and my uncle, who was almost a pundit, lit two lone deyas. In a somewhat uncharacteristic emotional manner, he proceeded to bless all of us. Watching his eldest grand-daughter, he circled her with the lighted deya. "Yuh know what to do with that?", he asked her. Confused and baffled she said no. Making a movement with his hand, gracefully symbolic for an old man, a gruff man of little words, uncle passed his hand through the smoke of the lit deya to cover his face and head. "Do that", he said and left to purify or bless the rest of the house. Including the parrot.

What about the curry quest? ... you're thinking? Well maybe some things when put in its proper perspective aren't as important as you thought they were. I still got good curry though with a healthy side dish of resolve.

It's good to live here, when you let yourself.

The Gladiator

Nasty...!!!! Blasted Fools ....!!! Stink....!!!!

On my radio this morning. But I digress...

Its 9:00 a.m. Traffic is crawling along the Uriah Butler Highway into Port-of-Spain at 5 km/hr at best. Manufactured US pop from most stations and could only find my prized "Sting Greatest Hits" to feed my CD player, but the DJ in my head decided that it wasn't quite right for the mood this morning.

While "When we dance" is a great song, its not something to mull over when you want to delve into the evolutionary ancestry of the driver that just cut in front of you.

So I arrive at Power 102 on the dial and caught myself listening to...

Ricardo "the Gladiator" Welsh is extolling the comparisons between Pregnant Mary and Joseph and a displaced family in his studio to anyone listening. The father is an ex-national boxer, of African descent, the mother is in a wheelchair and is of East Indian descent accompanied their teenaged daughter. Not that the daughter had a home she could stay at. (East Indian is a local term for descendants of Indian Indentured labourers)

The father has been applying to the Ministry of Sport for a coaching job for twenty years, is currently temporarily employed at PETROTRIN, our white elephant crude oil refining facility.

Apparently, their humble abode was razed by fire and after spending the night on the streets of POS, having nowhere to go, they were asked to vacate the Brian Lara Promenade in the wee hours of this morning by our police, they made their way to the steps of the Power 102 radio station and was subsequently found by the Gladiator. Unsheathing his sword, The Gladiator investigated their situation, voila, radio show material. On air appealing for help.

While that is all fine, our esteemed Gladiator invites calls from the public and is instantly barraged by abuse. To which he responds in kind...in spades. Nasty...!!!! Blasted Fools ....!!! Stink....!!!! Dutty, Nasty People...!!!!

Just as an aside, the Gladiator is crass, moody, envisages himself as a champion of the poor, speaks broken english, controversial and hence, totally marketable.

He then calls on our National Housing Authority (NHA) to respond, calling on the Minister of Housing and his "cohorts" to call the station to be abused. The Communications Officer of the NHA calls in and promptly tries to explain the NHA business objectives, then recognising the family highlighted, he tries to explain the position of the company that writes his cheques, certainly resulting in abuse and being hung up on. Poor fellow. Collective national chuckles. Traffic entertainment.

The interesting thing is this: The family is multi-ethnic.

The callers begin to subtly polarise themselves on air in many ways. Pro-NHA, Pro Indian, Pro Gladiator, Pro Trinidad, Pro African. And all of the converse.

In case you didnt know, Trinidad and Tobago is a multi ethnic and therefore multicultural society. Faith in reality is a wonderful thing. I switched when a guy called in and invited The Gladiator to his home for Divali.

My point is this: Our Government sells homes at marginal cost to qualified citizens. And they really try to make it affordable. There are temporary shelters available for displaced families, at least I think there should be. For every one family highlighted like this, there are dozens more, each with their own challenges. While we shouldn't subscribe to the "free t'ing" philosophy, help should be available when needed. Not handouts. Vision 2020 my ass...

Highlighting the bullshit in our governance is the right of any citizen. Certainly, no one does it quite like The Gladiator.

Private citizens stepped up and contributed money, clothes and a temporary place for this family to stay, renewing my faith in the obvious.

The Gladiator served his purpose, at least this morning:
Unknowing hordes of other drivers were spared my Godlike, all encompassing road rage,
Some help was recieved for this family and last but not least,
He upset people in the process.

If upsetting people gets the job done... so be it.

To blatantly plagiarise B.C. Pires, you can email your firetrucking NHA houses to me at nhasucks@tt_no_help.com

Just Do It

There, or more appropriately here... it is.

After lurking at other people's blogs for 4 years or so I've decided to do it....about 20 times ago. The usual left shoulder devil excuses: not enough time, what will I say?, will I be cast into blog Hell or worse, Blog Purgatory? (can you imagine waiting?).

So....Finally....Here it is. I dont know if you'll be interested but if it interests me...it'll be here.

Trini quirks, customs, life, sex, politics (maybe), business, experiences of a thirty-something in the tropical isle of Trinidad and Tobago.

If you work on Murray Street, after hours, at night. Or if you're just as curious as I am. Interesting read, especially how she got started.

A New York Escorts Confessions

...if you dare...