Much Ado About Nothing

It'd been so long since I posted something on this blog of mine. I guess it was a combination of work, carnival and laziness. So many things have happened and not happened at the same time. I am still single, this I am proud of I am not complaining. But I know now why I am single. It's because I can't bend over and put my head between my legs or randomly drop into a split. I can read though so I am holding out for the guy who would like me because I can read.

I still love my job. This is the first time that I am in a job and I am not looking for jobs daily. The one wish I have is that I get a pay raise. If I get fired I would be in deep shit. Because this is also the first time that I don't have some hussle going on the side.

I am still not pleased with the way the country is being run. But running a country is hard work so who am I to complain. Additionally, unlike the PNM the People's Partnership is new to this thing so they need to time to settle in and work out the kinks. Also while the PNM Members are fighting amongst themselves the government could take the opportunity to get away with maximum amount of shit.

I felt Iwer George should have won soca monarch only because the garbage he sang moved me more that the garbage that everyone else sang. And while we are on that what's up with advantage. I really didn't like that song. Illegal was the song I loved but after playing mas for more than twenty years what the hell do I know about a road march.

Anyways I am making a try at this blogging thing a little more consistently. Thank you always for the support.

Free Mas for 2011

The Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism has announced that there will be free mas for carnival 2011. As reported by the Express Newspaper the Ministry will sponsor music trucks for the People's Band, the only requirement is that masqueraders create their own costumes and not use costumes from China. The Minister is hoping that this initiative will bring back traditional mas. In addition, it would give the vendors on the street the opportunity to make money because when the bands with costumes for $3000 and $4000 pass with their premium bars the masqueraders pass the vendors straight.

This is a noble idea in theory, but in reality it sounds like total garbage. What nonsense is this? They cutting cost and fire Fazeer Mohammed former host of First Up but have money to put music trucks on the street for people to palance. Seriously though, I hope the Ministry understands that a modern carnival band must have security to control and protect the masqueraders. In addition there are carnival celebrations all over the country, would the music trucks be distributed throughout both islands? The People's Band must be represented in Port of Spain, Arima, Arouca, Tunapuna, San Fernando and Tobago.

Finally, we as Trinbagonians are great entrepreneurs we must always admit that. If there is a way to create a scheme in something we will find it. What is preventing some entrepreneur from creating costumes in bulk and selling them to John Public? Or what is preventing an entrepreneur from buying the same costumes from China that the Minister is so opposed to and selling them to John Public to play mas in the People's Band?

I would really like to see the details of this concept finalized. I would also like to see the proposed cost of this initiative and the actual cost after the fact.

Would you be playing mas in the People's Band for carnival 2011? Do you think this is a good way to spend tax payer's money?

Budget Day

Today is budget day in Trinidad and Tobago. It is an exciting day usually, however this year it is even more exciting, because today is the day that the People’s Partnership will show us what they are about and how they plan to do it. The national budget is an annual plan of how the government intends to earn money and how they plan to spend it. The budget is actually an Appropriation Bill and goes through the same process as any other Bill. As a money Bill it can only be introduced in the House of Representatives and it must be done by the Minister of Finance. Usually there is a limitation on the length of time a Member is allowed to speak, however during the presentation of the budget by speech the Minister of Finance no time limit is imposed. Simply because the budget is important business. The budget usually spans a number of areas including Tobago, Trade and Industry, Tourism, Agriculture, Energy, Housing, Infrastructure, Environment, Education, Health, Social Protection, National Security, Sport, Youth, Culture and Community Development. I am specifically interested in Health, National Security, Education, Youth Development and Trade and Industry.

So tune in my dear friends to Channel 11 at 1:30 p.m. because today is the day that the PP government is going to put their money where their mouth is. What aspects of the Budget are you looking forward to today?

Ten Things I want the People’s Partnership to Do

I was thinking about our new Government and there are a few things that I would like them to do as follows:

1. Stop campaigning. You all won, unless the new PM hires Patrick Manning as her political advisor you all will be there for five years. Get cracking.
2. Eradicate Corruption – don’t know how. Just do it.
3. Ensure that there is succession planning in the Police Service to ensure that we don’t have to hire another foreigner to be Commissioner of Police.
4. Recognize that crime is a social problem.
5. Use social media to get the message out. I love twitter.
6. Criticise in private, Praise in public. Especially in relation to public servants.
7. Elevate the content of debates in parliament. Let the younger one say something.
8. Don’t just make laws, enforce them too.
9. Do the right thing. Everybody may not like it, but its a good start.
10. Treat every citizen equally regardless of political patronage or affiliation.

What would you like the People’s Partnership to do?

How come we continue to believe in politicians and their promises, when so many fail to follow through and keep those promises?

Recently in Trinidad and Tobago we have had a change in Government. We are now being governed by a new group of people. But how new are these people? And how different are they from the people that were there before? Politicians are elected or nominated officials who are supposed to represent the interest of the people who put them in the positions they hold. Let us think about the term House of Representatives. This implies that it is filled with Representatives, that is, persons representing us. When did we get the notion that these people were better than us in any way? They are supposed to be one of us chosen by us to represent our interest. How many of us feel that our representative truly represents our interest.

Every time this representative speaks they are speaking for us. They are not speaking for the political party. This is solidified by the fact that if an elected member of the House of Representatives leaves his party he can still hold his seat in the House. Why? Because we put him there and it is based on that authority he is a Member of the House of Representatives. So then why do we allow these politicians to do to us whatever they want? Is the system of choosing persons to represent us truly representative of the people in our society? Or is it just a bunch of sawaties coming together to seek their own interest to the detriment of the rest of us? How can we get them to truly represent our interest?

During an election we are presented with a candidate chosen by the political party. How do we know that the person is truly the best representative for our constituency? What gives the political party the right to screen candidates behind closed doors? On what basis do they accept some candidates and reject others? Are there financial considerations when choosing candidates? When did party politics become more dominant that representing the people? Section 47 of the constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago sets out the qualifications for election as a Member of the House of Representatives, it states that a person must be a citizen eighteen years or upwards residing in Trinidad and Tobago for a period of two years prior to his nomination for election. Where does is say that the candidate must be vetted confidentially by a political party?

It seems that I only have questions. The more I think about it, the more I question it. So I end right where I started: How come we continue to believe in politicians and their promises, when so many fail to follow through and keep those promises?

Are Men really Dogs?

Time and time again I have had conversations with women where we get together and bash men. Going through our experiences and agreeing with each other that men are horrible little creatures. However, I am really beginning to wonder if men are really dogs? Or is it that we as women allow men to treat us any which way they please? Honestly, can a man really do anything to us that we do not want him to do? How many times have we had dealings with a man who is no good, yet for some strange reason we ignore the signs and continue to allow this man deeper and deeper into our lives.

Recently I received a call from an individual that I have known for a number of years. We have always had a flirtatious thing going but nothing more than talk. We exchanged the new communication number of choice, blackberry pins. That should have been the first red flag. Anyways so a few weeks go by and we communicate via BBIM and everything is good. Minding my own business Mr. Man starts to tell me that he likes me and he wants to see me, telling me we could meet for breakfast or lunch. That was a first for me because those are both daytime activities and I was wondering why not dinner. Well a breakfast date for me is out of the question because I usually leave home at 8 to get to work for 8 if you catch my drift. By lunchtime I am usually swamped doing things so I usually don’t get to leave the office. We finally agreed that we would go out for drinks. After all of the talk he gave me he stood me up, which I have no problem with because I was home in comfort.

The thing that irritates me the most about this guy is that his excuse for not coming was that he was sleeping. The following day when I told him that I was not pleased he could not understand why I was upset. Apparently I was just supposed to be cool with being stood up. Subsequently, yes I continued speaking to him via BBIM no doubt, he told me he wanted to check me home. The concept of men “checking” me at home is a little pet peeve of mine for a number of reasons. Most often when men visit you at home they come empty handed. The woman then has to entertain the man by providing drinks and food. In other words it is a great way to freeload. Additionally, no one sees us together so it is a wonderful trick for womanizing men. Now nothing is wrong with staying in, but doing so in the beginning of the relationship is definitely not good because it sets a precedent.

Based on this scenario, are men really dogs? I honestly don’t think so. At this stage it is totally up to me whether or not I continue to interact with this man and what our level of interaction would be. If I continue to “date” him and then in a few months he is still up to these tricks I would have no one to blame but myself. In which case he wouldn’t be a dog, he would be a smart man and I would be a damn fool.

What do you think? Are men really dogs?

Biased TV 6 Programme on the 1990 Coup

Yesterday was the twentieth anniversary of the 1990 coup. This is an event in our history that I have always felt distant from for a number of reasons. The first is that I was out of the country at the time, and by the time I returned things had gone back to normal. The second reason was that I was very young so for me that was big people thing. As a result of this I have always enjoy coup stories from people simply because I have no story to tell. Minding my own business I realised that TV6 advertised a special feature to be broadcasted on the evening of the twentieth anniversary. The programmed was entitled News Special: 1990 Untold Stories – Cocaine, Conspiracy, Coup. This programme aired against the back drop of the Attorney General, Senator Anand Ramlogan saying that he was going to place the notice in the print media for the auction of the properties owned by the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen. As well as the announcement by the Prime Minister in the post Cabinet press conference that there would be an enquiry into the coup.

At the beginning of the programme I instantly got vex because I realised the presenter was Sasha Mohammed, so they start bad already. Then it is stated that the PNM and the UNC governments made no attempts to enquire into the events of the 1990 coup and flashed to a video clip of Mr. Manning and Mr. Panday shaking hands. You would swear they were shaking hands agreeing not to enquire into the coup. Of course mention was made of the Prime Minister’s plan to have a Commission of Enquiry. Ms. Mohammed then interviewed a number of people including Imam Yasin Abu Bakr and the Attorney General in 1990, Mr. Anthony Isidore Smart. Generally I got from the programme that the presenter who is obviously a strong supporter of the People’s Partnership was attempting to place the blame for the coup on members of the NAR, while implicating Mr. Manning and Mr. Panday. I am no fool I have no doubt that there were persons other than the Muslimeens backing the coup. However, I was expecting the programme to be unbiased, and a true record of the events of the coup. Something for me to look at to gain a true sense of the events that occurred. Rather that it being propaganda and a political advertisement for the upcoming Commission of Enquiry. I guess from the title of the programme I should have known. Even the inclusion of an interview of Dr. Tim Gopeesingh who is a gynecologist claiming that he assisted the Prime Minister ANR Robinson. Unless the Prime Minister got shot in some part of his female anatomy how Dr. Gopeesingh got involved. Like I said earlier, I was not around so perhaps the man was the Chief Medical Officer or something.

I am looking forward to this Commission of Enquiry to see what information it uncovers. I am also interested to see what this Commission of Enquiry is going to cost the tax payer. The programme also alleged that the current levels of crime and violence in the country are a direct result of the events of the coup. This tells me that the Partnership Government is already looking for something or somebody to blame for why they cannot stop the escalating rate of crime. Imam Yasin Abu Bakr made an interesting point, he said that there are a lot of guns on the street and nobody in Laventille have any boat to get any gun so they have to be getting help from somewhere. He also expressed his intention to call names in the enquiry implicating a number of top government officials, politicians, and senior law enforcement officers.

So we shall see how the story goes. How do you think things are going to unfold?

My Favourites for Tribe 2011

It is that time of year again, Tribe has launched and the arguments have started. I am not too sure how Tribe registration is going to be this year but this is what I think about Tribe. I did not really give much consideration to Bliss because I got the impression that is the sawatie band so hopefully Max plays there or doesnt play at all. Let me say right off the bat that I got the pictures from Tribe’s Facebook page. I am not sure what the protocol is for reusing these pictures but I don’t want to get in trouble for plagiarism or copyright infringement. I also got one picture from Island People Mas. That being said I narrowed my picks to three options as follows:

I like the concept of the frontline of Mayan Eagle but the colour combination is a bit off. Mind you I could have been brain washed by Monique Nobrega because she designed Xi Ling Chi, which I played in and loved for 2010. While we are on this costume I wonder if the person modeling the costume has any effect on whether we like the costume or not?


After careful consideration I think I like Persian Gold the most, both the backline and the frontline. I like the relatively small headpiece and collar of the backline and the bra and belt are also quite nice.



As for the frontline I love the fact that the headpiece is like a tiara and I love the bra, belt, leg, arm and neck pieces. This is the same designer of Mystery of Loulan which I didn’t really like however, I must say I am really loving her contribution this year.
Xi'an, I must say it is different and it could only have been designed by Sandra Hordatt. The backline is nice however I do not like the headpiece and leg pieces. The frontline is way too skimpy for my liking even if I lose thirty pounds. Plus the frontline is a caged bra and I am not sure how that is going to work with big boobs. Finally my concept of a frontline costume is that it should be big and pretty. It must look outstanding and when comparing the backline to the frontline of this section you might as well save your money and go backline cause there is very slight difference and on the road non masqueraders will not notice. I have a serious problem paying more money for less costume.

This reminds me of Rays of Light of Island People 2009, where a sequined panty and a slightly fuller headpiece was considered frontline. After lunch when people ditch the headpiece they would just looked like a backline betty who lost her belt and is parading in a panty.

So there you have it. Like it. Love it. Leave it. What are your picks for Tribe 2011?

The Prime Minister is no Fool

Sadly my prediction of the dissolution of Parliament has become a reality. I was wrong about the date for elections to be held. The Representation of the People Act mandates that a number of things take place prior to the election which would require thirty-five days. However the Constitution states that the election must be called within three months. Therefore the election can be anywhere between thirty-five days and three months from Friday April 9, 2010.

Our Prime Minister is not a crazy man and I think that this election is no fluke. It may seem like something out of the blue but it is not. The Prime Minister is going to use this election to get rid of some of the bad eggs that are in his party. I use the term bad eggs because usually looking at an egg you cannot always tell that it is bad. It is only when you attempt to use the egg you would realise that it is bad. For the last general election the PNM had a lot of new comers to the political arena, while many of the stalwarts were pushed aside. Many of the newbies won their seats because the PNM had a strong hold in the constituency and any PNM candidate would have won. The population vote according to the overall party they support, whether or not they think the actual candidate they are voting for will do well as a Minister.

The Prime Minister was left in somewhat of an embarrassing situation where if he admitted to having bad eggs in his administration it would bring his ability to screen candidates into question. The fact that there was no major Cabinet Reshuffle is testimony to the fact that little could have been done with many of the persons within the Cabinet. The Prime Minister was then left with no other option but to advise the President to dissolve Parliament for a general election to be held which could then be used as an opportunity to get rid of some of the persons within the party who were bringing the PNM into disrepute. Some of the trouble makers include the Flag Man, Gary Hunt, Nunez-Tesheira, who did not ensure that there was proper public consultation prior to the introduction of the Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority Bill. While Indra Sinanan Ojah-Maharaj and Roger Joseph were allegedly not representing their constituents well. With the trouble makers gone the Prime Minister could now make another attempt to win the hearts of the population while saving face. This is also why the Prime Minister has been walking around the country visiting various constituencies over the last few months because he has been preparing for an election.

What do you think about the upcoming General Election? Do you think a change in some of the PNM candidates would improve the running of the country? or Do you think another party is the answer?

Aiding and Abetting the Criminal Element

I received a message via Blackberry Instant Messenger recently that was quite disturbing. I had previously spoken about this application concerning matters of the heart. Now I want to address matters relating to crime. It has become popular now for people to send broadcasts messages via BBIM. These messages range from stolen items to fete and club promotions to protest on the Beetham. My issue is when the messages involve the activities of the police. The message I received and I quote “Police road block on the bus route by aranguez savanah”. It is a quote so I had to spell Arranguez and Savannah wrong. The average citizen usually does not know the reason for a road block simply because the police do not need to indicate the purpose of a road block. Even if the road block is routine and they are not looking for anybody in particular the point is to catch people who break the law. That is the job of the police which would assist in them achieving their mandate of protecting and serving. Why would you want to alert people of this activity? Is it that we as Trinidadians are friendly with criminals and we want to help them avoid the police?

There are several implications of this activity that we often do not consider. The first is that supposed there is a rapist driving along his merry way. This person has gone undetected for several years, however his insurance happens to be expired. Stopped in the seemingly innocent road block he is apprehended and taken to the station where he is charged and his fingerprints taken. These fingerprints then happen to match a series of rapes in East Trinidad. Would the rapist have been caught if he was alerted to the road block in advance? Now don’t in your mind say this scenario is farfetched because the point is that we should not circulate this type of information as the only people who benefit from this are law breakers. We do not know where this information would end up. We do not know the motives of many of the people around us. The police already have a difficult time staying ahead of criminals who do not have rules, regulations and laws that govern their operations. Please I am begging everybody to be responsible in the information that we disseminate. Once the information leaves us we have no control over where it would end up. Finally people should question the type of friends they have that would benefit from receiving a message of that nature and possible have a chat with the person about their illegal behaviour or distance themselves from the person.

Needless to say the person who sent me the message to me got an earful. Admittedly she was not aware of the implication of transmitting the message. So my friends fix the ME in criME and stop making the work of the police more difficult.

Good Luck SEA Students

Today a little over 17,000 primary school students would be taking the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) Examination. This reminded me of my big day. The amount of pressure that this test places on children is unbelievable. I wrote this examination when it was still common entrance and a place was not guaranteed to every student. There were various possibilities that could come from the exam including failure, not passing for a seven year, or five year school. This is too much pressure for an eleven year old to endure.

My experience was quite interesting in that the night before the exam I did not sleep. This by the way was my first memorable case of insomnia, which is something that has plagued my adult life. Tossing and turning the night before the exam I was thinking of all sorts of things as I was quite nervous about doing the exam. Needless to say on the day of the exam I fell asleep while writing the essay, which was the first section. The sleep I got during the exam was probably better than the sleep I had gotten the night before. I awoke to the sound of the bell signaling the end of that section of the exam and I had only written two paragraphs. The sad thing about that scenario was that the person supervising my room was my neighbour whose daughter was my friend. The lady saw me sleeping and did not wake me up. Anyways I went on to do the rest of the exam without major incident.

I passed for a five year secondary school. I remember being a bit disappointed but I was grateful because I honestly thought I was going to fail. My neighbour’s daughter who was writing the exam that year for the second time passed for the illustrious St. Joseph Convent a seven year school. This whole thing about five year and seven year schools is nonsense because in seven year schools entrance into the A’Level programme is based on performance at CXC. However at the time of common entrance I was given the impression that it is was a guaranteed placement. Strange enough the young lady and I ended up in the same Senior Comprehensive School to do A’Levels. Essentially what I am trying to say is that please don’t put any undue pressure on the students. Even if the results aren’t what we as parents and adults would like all is not lost. Keep in mind that many times what we want for our children is often what we did not achieve for ourselves so while we may want the best it is important to love and support our children regardless of the outcome.

I wish all the SEA students the best of luck today.

Water Problems in T&T

This morning when I woke up it was raining. I don’t know how long it had been raining, but I was thankful for the rain. Although I am thankful, I am not naive to think that fifteen minutes of rain fall is going to solve the water problems in the country. I was thankful for the rain because I hoped that it would have extinguished some of the bush fires that have been burning for almost two weeks now, specifically the one on the southern side of the Beetham. I have been blessed in that I do not even have a tank and I always have an uninterrupted supply of water. Also strange enough my main problem would have been low water pressure but during this period of water restriction the water pressure has been excellent. Being mindful of the fact that there are a number of people who are without a regular supply of water I have followed the instructions of the Water and Sewage Authority. I have not washed my car, wash down my yard or use my hose for the year. However I cannot say the same for some of the people in my neighbourhood. Imagine that people are simply getting up in the very early hours of the morning to water their plants using a hose. This is not even a kitchen garden, I am talking about decorative plants and lawn. The beautiful thing about lawn grass is that it would withstand drought, winter and other harsh conditions and when the environment returns to conditions conducive to its growth, it grows back. Amazing isn’t it? The fact that people are getting up in the very early hours of the morning to wet their plants using a hose it tells us that they are aware that what they are doing is wrong. Pretty soon even the areas that traditionally had a constant water supply would be affected and these are the same people who would blame the government for not providing water.

How has the water shortage in the country affected you? Do you think that members of the public should report water wasters to the WASA Police?

Blackberry Instant Messenger is the Death of Traditional Romance

Forgive me if I am old, but I grew up in the age prior to cellphones. Cellphones became popular after I left secondary school. Recently thanks to Bmobile and Digicel the Blackberry has become the cellphone of choice for the masses. BBIM is an application that facilitates blackberry to blackberry messaging at no additional cost as long as both devices have a data plan. So for the last three years while I had five people in my BBIM contact list I now have about thirty. It has now become a trend when you meet a new guy to exchange pins instead of phone numbers. While this may be the modern thing to do, I think it takes away from the romance of a new encounter. Dating has actually been reduced to random disjointed messages. This is annoying on several levels. First Bmobile has proven itself to be probably the most unreliable mobile network in the universe hence there is no guarantee that the messages would be delivered in a timely manner, if even delivered at all. Secondly it allows womanizing men to carry on multiple conversations with various members of their harem. Therefore you no longer have the undivided attention of this man while chatting with him or in person because he is constantly tied to his phone. Third, men no longer feel the need to even pay for a phone call to make contact. And do not be fooled ladies the savings from these calls would not be seen in an improvement in the quality of dates. Finally, BBIM makes people think it is ok to message you all hours of the day or night. As opposed to a call where you would have to think about what the person may or may not be doing prior to placing the call. There is a reason that Machel did not sing “BBIM me anytime you want” and Jah Cure certainly did not sing “If you need a lover BBIM me”. That being said the next man to pick up the phone and call me I feel I will instantly fall in love simply because it has been so long. How has BBIM affected your dating life? Do you prefer dating life with or without BBIM?

Basdeo Panday – Politician or Actor?

Many of us in Trinidad and Tobago take for granted the ingenuity of Mr. Panday, Opposition Leader of the UNCA. This man is a stalwart in local politics. Born in 1933, Mr. Panday worked as a cane worker, teacher and civil servant prior to obtaining three degrees. Now this is where it gets interesting, Mr. Panday has degrees in Law, Economics and Drama. Who does that? Who combines those subject areas and why? Mr. Panday is a brilliant man in that he understands that politics is drama in its truest sense. Politics has been our reality TV for decades and unlike many other politicians Mr. Panday is well aware of this. Without a doubt Mr. Panday has changed the political landscape in Trinidad and Tobago simply by the strategic skits that he has played out throughout his almost thirty years as a member of the Parliament. I will take the activities of the Parliament yesterday to prove my point. The sittings which are governed by standing orders start on Fridays at 1:30 p.m. unless the House otherwise decides. Therefore Mr. Panday being a Member of Parliament since 1972 very well knows this, yet he arrived late for effect. Mr. Panday very well knew that there would be a media circus and as such for maximum effect he arrived after his opponent in the “mother of all elections” held on Sunday. In case you live under a rock the UNC-A held internal elections on Sunday and Mr. Panday and Mrs. Persad-Bissessar vied for the position of political leader, Mr. Panday lost. Upon arrival Mr. Panday theatrically offered his seat to Mrs. Persad-Bissessar, then as reported he proceeded to sit and say nothing to Mr. Warner his former cohort who was appointed as chief whip on his right and Mrs. Persad-Bissessar on his left. With Mr. Panday seated between them “KamJack” talked to each other and pass notes to each other. Well I anxiously await the next phase drama from Mr. Panday, after all the man is well trained in the field. I personally wish that Mr. Panday remains a Member of Parliament for as long as he is of sound mind to do so.


Do you think the actions of the Leader of the Opposition are deliberate? Do you appreciate the drama and theatrics brought to the Parliament by Mr. Panday?

The Piss Poor Conduct of the El Do Blue Teachers

Teachers in El Do Blue don’t want to work until 3 o’clock to facilitate the Ministry of Education’s attempts to curb the violence between El Do Blue and El Do Brown. I am totally disgusted with those bastards. Teaching is no longer a profession, it has become a job, something to do during the day to get money. For many persons teaching, it was not a first choice but a last resort after trying unsuccessfully to gain employment elsewhere. These same teachers give themselves a holiday for two months during July and August, and two weeks or more during the Christmas and Easter vacation periods. How much would it hurt to work an extra half hour. The Ministry of Education should start to make deductions from their pay for not showing up to work during vacation periods.

Originally El Do Brown was a Junior Secondary and El Do Blue was a Senior Comprehensive, with the former having younger students that the latter. When news of this violence between the two schools broke I wondered whether the change to both schools having students of the same age had something to do with the violence. I remember back in the day it was said that the reason for Tunapuna Government Secondary and Hillview College being dismissed fifteen minutes apart was because there were some fights between the two schools. I always felt that was urban legend though so don’t quote me on that.

My entire point here is that I am disappointed with the El Do Blue teachers who don’t want to give half hour of their time, which I am sure they are already being paid for. I think that the Ministry of Education has responded relatively well and the Teachers are now sabotaging the efforts of the Ministry.

What do you think about the El Do Blue Teachers? What do you think about the Ministry of Education’s response to the incidents between the two schools?

Bishops Carnival Fete 2010

I had the opportunity to yet again attend a fete for 2010, which was Bishops 2010 production. This was my second consecutive year in attendance. First off I would say that the fete had noticeably less patrons than the previous year. Again I would attribute this to the hosting of another event on the same day, which was WITCO One. Last year One was held on the same day with QRC and I chose to attend One. My issue with one is that it is like a regular fete with food on the outskirts and there is no designated area to eat. So Trinis just walk all through the fete eating as they feel like. Additionally One fete this year was $800.00 (confirmed by a call made to Witco) and with no HD himself but just his wayward disorganized followers, not me, I good.

Anyway back to the matter at hand. Bishops was nice I was pleased with decision to attend. The entrance was nicely decorated with a white back drop and some splashes of colour here and there. The customer service from the Hilarians who were easily identifiable in their red t-shirts was excellent. The vibes was nice in that even though there was a wide cross-section of age groups, everybody looked like they were having a good time in their own way.

My only issue was that there were only two bands, a reduction from the previous year, Asylum and Roy Cape. Bunji and Fayanne were ok I guess I really was not paying close attention because I was liming. I saw their performance at Amnesia and it was good and it sounded like the same exact thing minus Fayanne talking about old ass people. Rita Jones caught my attention because she was wearing some ridiculous nonsense, but at least thank God she was wearing stockings. Jason and Blaze I love them. That is all I have to say and I hope to be palancing on the road.

What I essentially realized at Bishops was that a fete is about the lime, meeting new people and old friends. At Bishops there was a great combination of all the right factors and I had a ball of a time. Once there is a Bishops 2011 and I am alive and well, I will be there.

Where did you go on Saturday 16th January 2010? How was it?

Cabinet Reshuffle?

Yesterday there was a Ceremonial Opening of the Third Session of the Ninth Parliament. It is quite interesting because a ceremonial opening is usually held at the beginning of Parliament, which is after a general election, not for the opening of a Session. It makes me wonder what our Prime Minister is up to and what prompted him to have this gala opening at such an unusual time. I am wondering if he is possibly going to announce a Cabinet reshuffle maybe today at the Cabinet Press Conference or at the next sitting of the House of Representatives. I have already indicated my opinion on this in a previous post, so let’s see what happens in the next few days.

What do you think our Prime Minister is up to?

Haiti Earthquake – We are Truly Blessed

Once again Haiti has been affected by a natural disaster, this time an earthquake. It makes me wonder if that country is cursed or something. How unlucky can one country be? We as Trinidadians should consider ourselves to be blessed and thank God that so far we have been relatively untouched by natural disasters. I often wonder if our blessings come from the fact that so many religions are represented in Trinidad and Tobago. We just can’t help but be blessed.

In viewing the pictures of the earthquake, I questioned the soundness of some of the infrastructure in the first place. A country such as Haiti that has been through constant turmoil, building safety may not have been high up on the list of priorities. As such buildings may have been constructed without proper inspections being done. Additionally, with corruption of Government Officials being a major problem, even if inspections were done I am sure that the quality of inspection would be below standard.

So at this time when we Trinbagonians are feting and spending money on lavish ceremonial openings for Parliament, we also need to keep in our prayers our brothers and sisters in Haiti. What are your thoughts on the Earthquake and the general trials and tribulations that the Haitian people have been experiencing?

Outta De Blue XI - QRC Fete

This year was my first time attending QRC’s fete. The set up was nice. I was a bit annoyed when I realized David Rudder was performing when I arrived. But I took the opportunity to eat. I did not even notice a band change as Roy Cape swiftly followed. I was starting to like Roy Cape last year, however I want to believe that it was really Trini Jacobs l liked, because I really not feeling the band this year. Rita Jones needs to realize that if the world famous Beyoncé could perform in stockings, it would not be a bad idea if she did the same thing. Dil E Nadan was great, what I like most about the band is that everybody has their little piece to sing. Contrary to what I thought they are not a Chutney band , they performed a nice mix of songs. There was one tiny band member with some interesting waist movements, very nice. Ladies you should check that out. They were followed by Kes the Band featuring Nadia Batson. Apparently Nadia lost some weight, she is looking very good. Left up to me, with a voice like Nadia’s she could look however she wants. Kes was wearing tights, I swear, but he could really move that tiny waist of his. I feel I want Kes to wine on me, I just have a feeling I would like it.

The food was the usual stuff, curry crab and dumpling (a favourite of mine), bake and shark, BBQ Chicken, main meal curry and fish broth. I am not too sure about the fish broth but it smelled really good when I passed. In addition to the regular bar there was a cocktail bar. I was the designated driver so I did not really explore the options at the bar. There was a sober zone though. I don’t really believe in that getting sober before you drive home. I really think the best option is to designate a driver.

Generally the vibes in the fete was a bit lacking. Although the DJ John Wayne tried his best to hype up the party it was just dead. Additionally I found that the fete was scanty and I wondered where were all the QRC old boys who are so proud to be a Royalian. I hope that the school was able to make a profit. This is not really a fete that I would go to next year. So I don’t know where I would be going on this fete night. I feel next year I will go to Blazing Fire Fete.

What did you think about QRC 2010?

Soca in Moka 2010

Carnival officially started for me at Soca in Moka, which has been the case for the last few years since I have been doing the all inclusive scene. The fete was pretty nice. The price of the ticket increased to $500.00 from $475.00 the previous year. My instant observation about the event was that it was noticeably more crowded than the previous year. I would attribute this to the fact that last year Amnesia was held on the same day. Honestly I preferred the scanty version of the fete, but in the name of making money for the school it was better to be jam packed.

The styles and fashions were wide ranging. This is why I like to go to Moka, to get a sense of the styles being worn for the season. Essentially what I realized is that hoochy is always in style, so anything short tight and revealing will always look good. I did notice a lot of long dresses, skinny jeans, tights with shirt dresses and cute short dresses. People were looking good generally. What I realize is that there are many chubby women who look really good, and the reason they look is because they are confident. Confidence is a key factor to looking good. It helps you to stand proud and feel good about yourself. So for me this year thick chicks are in because they were looking great on Sunday. Then there was general eye candy. I do not know what it is about carnival but this is the time of the year to gape. The men were looking hot. If kidnapping was not an offence I would have taken home a few. I even saw some very hot women giving me competition but it’s all good. What I want to know is where are these people during the year, obviously they don’t live in Trinidad.

The entertainment for the fete was interesting. Jason the ‘palance’ man was host of the show. He and Blaze performed their hit for the season with Kes the Band. Their performance was great and needless to say the same for Kes and his team. Roy Cape however was annoying. Apparently Blacks has taken over the complaining about fight down from Destra. He had to tell everyone that he is off the market. Let me take the opportunity now to thank that lovely lady for that bit of community service and taking one for the team. Blacks needs to realize that the only persons fighting him down is his fat, out of breath self. Blacks’ hit song last year was performed by Kes in Girl Power and if that was Kes’ song it could have been road march. So if Blacks fight down the gym gets his breathing under control and performs the hell out of those wonderful songs he would see his way. This was his year to just relax and step out because Machel and Destra off the scene. Dil E Nadan also performed but I was not really paying attention because I walked in when they were on stage and I was observing the scene at the fete.

The food was nice as usual with curry crab and dumpling, creole, Chinese, and bake and shark. I personally think that fetes need to give the bake and shark a rest but that is me. The bars however were out of stock of a few things at one time. I would not really complain too much about this because as I said earlier the fete had a lot less people last year so I don’t know if they adjusted their catering.

All in all the fete was great and I will be going to the fete again next year. It was a great start to my season and I am looking forward to my next event. What are your thoughts on Soca in Moka 2010?