Rihanna wows at the Grammys

Congratulations to local superstar Rihanna, who not only brought glamour and sophistication to the Grammy Awards carpet last night, but won, along with Jay-Z and Kanye West, int he categories of Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Run This Town.




Simply elegant. This look suits you, Rih-Rih. Keep it up.

Soon come back

Hey, peoples. Sorry for breaking my promise about posting last Thursday, but things are hectic now. Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho are in town and so the entire media's busy right now. So, I soon come back with more BMA pics.

To tide you over, here's a cute one of Prince Harry at the QEH on Saturday. He visited the Paediatric Ward there.



Too cute. Credit for the photo goes to the GIS. The Princes also did a number at Farley Hall during the telethon for Haiti, joining the Red Plastic Bag on stage to dance to 'Something's Happening'. I tell, yuh, you had to see it to believe it. I'm sure it's on youtube or twitter as we speak.....

Cookie Master

Tim Senecal did this homely pinup.

Bas just won't give up

Basdeo Panday just doesn't know when to call it quits. Kamla Persad Bissessar crushed him in the election for leader of the United National Congress, but Bas says he ain't going nowhere.

Show some humility for once, Bas, and give up graciously.

Barbados Music Awards Red Carpet - The ladies

Hey, peoples. As promised, here are some of the red carpet photos from the recent Barbados Music Awards, held at the Wildey Gymnasium. All photos are the property of Bajantube.com.


These ladies made some bold fashion choices, and they paid off.


I don't know if it's the contrasting colours or the angle of the photo, but soemthing looks a bit off in the top part of this ensemble. It's a bit swimsuit-ish, not the look I think she was going for.


I'm not sure what was the purpose of the netting over the dress, but it killed the outfit entirely. Also, my dear lady....support is your friend.


This outfit screams elegance, but the gloves are a bit much for a music awards show. Unless you're Michael Jackson, leave the gloves at home.


I don't usually go for white at night, but these ladies are so picture perfect it's all good.


Damn that Betty West. That's all I have to say.


Two of the most talented women in Barbados, Terencia 'TC' Coward (left) and Natahlee Burke (right) came out on in style on the night. Their friend in the middle looked stunning as well.


This trio looked young, hip and fresh, but dem purple tights with matching ankle boots gotta go....


This is one brave lady. Papa Joe, Fantasia and PM Thompson nearly had to deliver her baby....


Local songstress Keann Walters is rocking the ish outa that lil black dress. Do you, honey, do you.


Heyyyyy, Fantasia.

Tomorrow, the men.

The Pulsing Heart of SAC, Slim Pickens & Me

Last Friday, I found a link on The Kansas City Star's website regarding this story.

Air Force film was a Cold War attack on ‘Dr. Strangelove’

By STEVE EVERLY
The Kansas City Star

A recently discovered Air Force documentary took a more sober approach in deriding the notion of an unauthorized nuclear strike.

“Well boys, I reckon this is it: nuclear combat, toe to toe with the Russkies.”
— Maj. T.J. “King” Kong

More than 45 years ago, actor Slim Pickens delivered those words in “Dr. Strangelove,” a seminal Cold War black comedy.

In the film, a rogue Air Force general, Jack Ripper, convinced that fluoridated water is a communist plot, orders a nuclear attack on the Soviets, triggering Armageddon.


It’s a tad late, but the United States Air Force has more to say on the matter.

“SAC Command Post,” an 18-minute film made in 1963 belittling the possibility of such an unauthorized U.S. nuclear strike, has been unearthed at the National Archives in College Park, Md.

The SAC film also countered “Fail Safe,” a 1962 novel that would be made into a movie in 1964. It was about an attack order accidentally sent to a SAC bomber, which carried out a nuclear strike.

A couple of years ago I blogged about living in Mulvane, KS in 1962 when my dad worked at the Boeing Overhaul Base in Wichita. The vast majority of the planes being overhauled were SAC B-52s.

I've always loved that SAC Crest! You have the blue sky and clouds in the background, and an ARMORED FIST in the foreground holding both the lightning bolts of war and the olive branches of peace.

The message to the enemy was "I can destroy you, or I can protect you. What's your pleasure motherfucker?"

It was generally understood at the time that SAC had B-52's loaded with live, armed nukes in the air, 24/7. That particular weapon was always loaded, aimed and cocked at all times, just waiting for the president to pull the trigger.

During periods of heightened alert, like during the Cuban Missile Crisis, you even had crews of fighter pilots, in their fully armed jets, on the runway, engines idling, just waiting for the wave of an arm to hit the afterburners and go to war.

It was an exciting time to be 7 years old. Nothing concentrates the mind of a child like knowing you and everyone you know and love could be dead in 20 minutes. Maybe that's why I tend to live in the moment and kinda suck at planning things. I'm a child of the Cold War.

But what I think you will find most interesting about watching this Air Force movie is the level of the technology. SO primitive!

This was the absolute state of the art, bleeding edge of technology in 1962. This is what we relied on to protect us from nuclear destruction. Rotary dial telephones. Analog circuitry. Switchboards. Teletype machines. Mechanical switches. Sealed paper envelopes.

It's a miracle that it all actually worked.

"Besides obscurity, the SAC film had another problem: Its assertion that “the expenditure of nuclear weapons against an enemy” could be ordered only by the president wasn’t exactly true."

"Fred Kaplan, in his book “The Wizards of Armageddon,” tells about Daniel Ellsberg and a midlevel government official taking an afternoon off in 1964 to see “Dr. Strangelove.”
Ellsberg, the man who would later leak the Pentagon Papers, had been a RAND analyst and a consultant at the Defense Department. As he left the theater, Ellsberg turned to his colleague and said, “That was a documentary!"

The human race has never come closer to complete annihilation and extinction as it did between 1960 and 1965.

So I guess you'll have to forgive me if I'm not all that anxious to give up all my freedom and privacy so Jack Bauer can protect me from some lunatic fucktard in a suicide vest.



Terrorists? That all you got?



Try again.



Oh, and just as a little sweet desert, here I am sitting next to Slim Pickens (Maj. T.J. "King" Kong) at the bus stop at LAX.



You can find the story behind that picture here.

Enjoy! Goodnight!

Barbados Music Awards

Hey, peoples. The fifth annual Barbados Music Award came off on the 10th of January, and I was all set to blog about hte winners and thr red carpet, but then the tragedy in Haiti occurred and I had to focus on that.

It was a fantastic show, by all accounts, and R&B sensation Fantasia almost literally brought the house down during her performance. Michael Jackson's father Joe was also in attendance to collect a Lifetime Achievement Award on his son's behalf.

So, it's a bit old but here's the list of winners of the 2010 BMA's.

Soca Up-Tempo Single
Edwin Yearwood- In De Middle A De Road

Soca Mid-Tempo Single (Male)
RPB- Something's Happening

Soca Mid- Tempo Single (Female)
Natahlee- What We Do

Best Social Commentary
RPB- Home Drums

Best Collaboration
Alison Hinds & Richie Spice- King and Queen

Song of the Year
RPB- Something's Happening

Album of the Year (Artist / Group)
Shontelle-Shontelligence

Album of the Year (Compilation)
Monsta Piece- AWOL

Producer of the Year
KB Sharp

Songwriter of the Year
Mr. Dale

Backing Vocalist of the Year
Indra Rudder

Instrumentalist of the Year
Darien Bailey

Best Music Video (Male)
Kirk Brown feat. Justin King & Tejay- Shawty Get

Best Music Video (Female)
Tarah- Push Back / Love De Carnival

Best New Artist
Sir Ruel

Reggae Artist of the Year
Buggy

Jazz Artist of the Year
Kellie CaDogan

Gospel Artist of the Year
Mya Daniel

Soca Artist of the Year
TC

Pop / Rock / Alternative Artist of the Year
Philip 7

Rap / Hip- Hop Artist of the Year
Ruby Tech

Soul / R&B Artist of the Year
Jaicko

Band / Group of the Year
Krosfyah

Entertainer of the Year (Male)
Edwin Yearwood

Entertainer of the Year (Female)
Alison Hinds

Song of the Decade
Rihanna- Umbrella

Band / Group of the Decade
Krosfyah

Entertainer of the Decade (Male)
Lil Rick

Entertainer of the Decade (Female)
Rihanna
________________________________________
2010 BMA HONOUREES
Cornerstone Awards
Arturo Valentino
JoAnne Sealey
Andrea Gollop- Greenidge
ANTHONY BRYAN
Natahlee
Herring
Biggie Irie
John Sealy
John Roett
Tony Thompson

Lifetime Achievement Award
Tony Hoyos

Living Legend
Marvo Manning

BMA Award of Excellence
Terencia "TC" Coward

BMA Platinum Award
Shontelle- (Shontelligence, T Shirt)

International Award of Excellence
Toni Braxton
Fantasia Barrino

International Lifetime Achievement Award (In Memoriam)
Michael Jackson

Tomorrow I'll recap some of the red carpet fashion, courtesy of Bajantube.com.

Away With A Fairy

Nice new school piece from JimmyLajnen.

Happy 1st Anniversary, Obama + Haiti Relief Concert

Yesterday marked the first anniversary since the inauguration of US President Barack Obama, and what a bittersweet year it has been. He's had to deal with the financial crisis, opposition to his health care reform and now he's lost the major Senate seat of Massachusetts.

Anyhoo, Mr. President, keep fighting the good fight. You still have a lot of support in your corner.

Last night, Hollywood and the music industry combined to stage the Hope For Haiti benefit concert and telethon. Rihanna performed alongside Jay-Z and Bono of U2 on a beautiful track entitled "Stranded". Check it below.



Here in Bim, the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation has hit the streets today to raise donations and on January 30 Barbados will be stagin its own telethon. I'll bring more info on that as it comes to hand.

Peace, my peoples.

Going Rogue

Nice comic book chicks from Shane Somers. Vampirella and Rogue respectively, for you non-geeks.

Sexual Harrisment

I'm hula-loopy for this Tim Harris pinup.

Holy Cowgirl!

Another Nikko Hurtado masterwork!

Ted Kennedy's Senate Seat Goes Republican

Several things happened here.

The Massachusetts Democrat Party assumed that any Dem they ran would win and no further effort was necessary. That was a huge fucking arrogant mistake and miscalculation.

Health Care Reform was Ted Kennedy's passion.

The irresistible catnip of disrupting the Dems health care reform plan by replacing Teddy Kennedy's Senate seat with a young, inexperienced, hunky, Playgirl centerfold Republican was a Perfect Storm of grass roots mobilization. Massachusetts Republicans and Independents saw an opportunity to send a message to power-drunk Democrats.

I don't really have a problem with this. Sorry to disappoint.

I think that either party having a filibuster-proof majority is dangerous.

Our Democratic-Republic is best served when both parties have equal sway.

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely" is a cliche because, like all cliches, it's true!

Obama had a year to ram through what he could. He did the best he could. The next 7 years will be politics as usual.

Prosthetics for Haiti

I know that the immediate need in Haiti for the past week has been just food and water. The medical need was urgent, but you had to keep the injured alive long enough for medical treatment to arrive.

But there is a long term need that will need to be addressed as a result of the past week.

Injuries that could have been treated rapidly and successfully with an intact, medical infrastructure have gone days without treatment. The injuries became infected. By the time medical help arrived, the only way to control the infection was by amputation.

According to a news story I saw tonight, doctors have been performing an average of about 70 amputations a day.

I have no idea how the numbers play out, but I can easily imagine that in addition to being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti could also wind up with the highest number of amputees per capita in the world.

Prosthetics are expensive. Each one is custom made to fit the patient. The patients need to be trained to use the prosthetics.

There will need to be a huge humanitarian effort to provide prosthetics and physical therapy to the quake victims.

I don't know how to set up a fundraising effort like that and I'm not responsible enough to lead it even if I did.

But if any of you can suggest the best venue for channeling funds to this very specific cause, I would support it and promote it in every way possible.

Haiti Relief Effort

Hey, peoples. Well, the mobilisation of relief efforts is well under way here in Bimshire. On Saturday, over $1 million was pledged through the radiothon on Starcom Network and more donations are pouring in.

I have a list of the items and personnel needed URGENTLY to assit Haiti. Check it out below, get involved.

List of Distribution Outlets

Emerald City Supermarket
Six Roads, St. Philip

Carlton A1 Supermarket
Black Rock, St. Michael

SuperCentre
Warrens, St. Michael
Worthing, Christ Church

Popular Discounts
Spooners Hill, St. Michael

Trimart Supermarkets
- Haggatt Hall, St. Michael
- Bridge Street, St. Michael
- St. Martin’s, St. Philip
- Rendezvous, Ch.Ch.
- Mile-and-a-Quarter, St. Peter

Jordans Supermarkets
- Fitts Village, St. James
- Speightstown, St. Peter

National Cultural Foundation
West Terrace, St. James
Tel: 424-0909


UWI Guild of Students
Cave Hill, St. Michael
Tel: 826-5631

WAREHOUSES

Unit# 7 BIDC Building
Six Roads
St. Philip


Opening Hours
Mondays-Fridays
-9:30 am – 10:00pm
Saturday 9:30 am –11:00pm
Sunday 9:30 am – 9:00 pm

Monetary Donations may be donated to:

First Caribbean International
Account# 1001059963

Barbados National Bank
Account# 01801513-2002

Haiti Relief Command Centre - Kensington Oval
274 - 1100
274 - 1101
274 – 1102
274 – 1106
274 – 1107
274 – 1120
274 – 1150
274 – 1151
274 – 1152
274 – 1153
274 – 1154
274 – 1155

Email: barbadoshaitirelief@gmail.com

Items Needed

NON-PERISHABLE FOOD SUPPLIES
Tuna, Sardines, Canned Milk, Dry Foods (crackers)

MEDICAL SUPPLIES
Gauze, Pain Killers (Panadols, Tylenol), First Aid Kits, Disposable Gloves, Disinfectants, Cots, Bedding, Medical Equipment, Tents

BABY SUPPLIES
Wipes, Milk, Baby Foods, Pampers

SANITARY SUPPLIES
Feminine Hygiene Napkins, Hand Sanitizers, Sanitary Wipes

SHELTER
Tents

BUILDING MATERIALS & SUPPLIES*

Cement, aggregate building blocks, lumber, PVC, Doors,
Electrical Fixtures, Construction Tools,
Windows, Sheetrock, Roofing Materials

*Please call Command Centre to make pledges.

PERSONNEL NEEDED

Medical Personnel
Emergency Medical Technicians
Surgeons
Anesthetists
General Practitioners
Internists
Obstetricians
Nurses
Midwives
Psychologists
Radiologists
Nutritionists

Construction Personnel

Civil Engineers
Carpenters
Masons
Plumbers
Electrical Installation Specialists
General Labourers

Communications Personnel

Linesmen
Technicians
ICT Specialists

RIP Teddy Pendergras

Amidst the reports of the turmoil in Haiti, the news that soul crooner Teddy Pendergrass died yesterday at the age of 59 might have gone unnoticed. I wanted to acknowledge his passing and I'll do a fave list of his songs a bit later. Oh yeah, Love TKO, Close the Door, Turn off the Lights, Wake Up Everybody, it's gonna be fun.

For now, I'll post up a video of the legend in his heyday, performing one of his hits, Close The Door. Good stuff.

Aid for Haiti

Hi, peoples. Since I last blogged Prime Minister David Thompson left the island for an emergency Caricom meeting in Jamaica, before heading to Haiti to see firsthand the devastation wrought there by Tuesday's earthquake.

Also, aid is pouring into Haiti. Trinidad and Guyana are donating US$1 million each, and President Obama has earmarked US$100 million. As I mentioned yesterday, the Starcom Network will hold a radiothon on Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon. The numbers to call are 434-1790, 434-1791 and 434-1770. For those of you overseas, precede those numbers with 1-246.

In addition, you can deposit cash on an account set up at the Broad Street branch of First Caribbean International Bank. The account number is #2645374.

I'll update you as more information comes in.

Showoff

Haiti

As we all know by now, a powerful earthquake struck Haiti yesterday completely destroying the capitol city of Port-au-Prince.

Already the poorest nation on the planet with virtually no government, building codes or infrastructure, it is now a pile of rubble and casualty estimates range from 50,000 dead to 500,000 dead. In truth, we will probably never know how many died.

Assistance from the United States started pouring in immediately!

The Coast Guard, Navy, Marines, Army, Air Force all have units on the way. There are aircraft carriers, amphibious units, C-130 cargo planes, hospital ships all headed for Haiti as quickly as they can get there.

A local group of physicians, Heart to Heart have people on the way with medical supplies.

The University of Miami sent a chartered plane full of students to perform triage and evacuate as many critical patients as they could.

The American Red Cross is already in place and providing aid.

Bill Clinton, who was appointed the U.N. Ambassador to Haiti has been very active coordinating the response.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled trips to Australia for annual security talks so they can continue overseeing relief efforts following the earthquake in Haiti.

The World Bank and Ted Turner's United Nations Foundation have both pledged millions of dollars in grants to Haiti to help with the rescue, recovery and rebuilding efforts.

Social Media nerds like me, donating just $10.00 by sending a text message donated hundreds of thousands of dollars within hours.

Oh, and then there were these responses.







This is why the Conservatives aren't in charge any more and never will be again.

Because they are simple-minded idiots.

They believe in supernatural forces and ridiculous Communist conspiracies.

They are totally detached from rationality and reality.

In some clinical arenas, that would be defined as insanity requiring hospitalization.

But here, we just laugh it off as crazy politics and Opinion Journalism.

They are doing NOTHING to help.

Help Haiti!

Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean are at this moment mobilising resources to assit the people of Haiti, following the massive 7.0 earthquake which occured yesterday. So far, reports are that 20% of the island's housing stock has been destroyed. Even the Presidential Palace has been seriously damaged.

Here in Bim Starcom Network and the OCM network are arranging a radiothon on Saturday to raise funds. I'll post up the information on the numbers to call as soon as I get them.

Prime Minister David Thompson held a hastily convened press conference to address this tragedy. Here's what he had to say:

It is with a sense of profound sadness that Barbadians learnt of the earthquake that struck the nation of Haiti yesterday, January 12, 2009. While the world is only now coming to understand the scale of destruction and loss of life as the first pictures and reports are being seen and filed, initial assessments indicate that Haiti has again suffered a calamity of horrendous proportions. This comes at a time when Haiti is still recovering from a series of hurricanes which struck that nation two years ago.

At this painful and trying moment for all Haitians, I extend, on behalf of the people of Barbados, my deepest sympathy to the Government and people of Haiti and especially to those who have suffered the loss of loved ones.

I want also to give every assurance of Barbados’ support for Haiti during this difficult period as it seeks to cope with and recover from the aftermath of the earthquake. I have already been in consultation with the Heads of other CARICOM countries, particularly the Chairman, to ensure that an adequate and meaningful response to this disaster is also made by the Caribbean Community. The pain of this disaster is felt throughout the Community, and we will do whatever is in our power to show our support and solidarity with our fellow CARICOM state as it faces this terrible trauma. Our prayers and thoughts continue to be with the Government and people of Haiti during this trying time.

For this tragedy to occur after suffering four hurricanes in 2008, it's just too much. My prayers are with you, mes freres at soeurs haitiens.

Image: Damage to the Presidential Palace following the earthquake

Fuck Sports

I've always been a big guy.

Over 6 feet, over 200 lbs.

High school coaches always bugged me to try out for football and wrestling.

I always told them to go fuck themselves.

Every coach I've ever known have been like Frank Martin or Mark Mangino.

They were either an overly-aggressive Alpha Male whose only desire was to dominate young boys, or an over-weight athelete-wannabe who has never competed but thinks he knows shit from book-learnin'.

They are all single-minded idiots in charge of meaningless games. They represent the most trivial aspect of society. Nothing, NOTHING, is less important in this world than who wins a football, basketball or baseball game.

I hate every form of organized sport.

I hear KC may get a World Soccer event of some kind.

I could give a shit.

I am against any attraction that would result in even a minutes delay in my commute from work to home.

An Epiphany!

I live in a "town home". In New Jersey we called them "patio homes".

It's a lot like a duplex, except it's a fourplex, it has two floors, includes a garage and in some cases a basement or patio.

My garage is fairly small and it is lined with my old crappy bookshelves filled with tools and sealed Tupperware storage containers housing my old darkroom equipment, GTO's family heirlooms and such.

When I pull in, I actually have to be cognizant of which side of the vehicle I need to unload stuff from. Inches matter.

Tonight, I was especially aware of these constraints.

I thought to myself "this spring". This spring I will separate the wheat from the chaff. I will throw stuff away, I will have a garage sale, I will move stuff up to my attic.

Yes, I actually have some accessible attic space just off of my 2nd floor walk-in closet that leads to some impressive storage.

I could make my garage a lot more useful if I moved a lot of that crap into my attic!

But I can't do it by myself. That shit is heavy and the access to my attic space is small.

But then I remembered.

My daughter, young Galadriel Tanqueray Onassis, has a BOYFRIEND now!

He's 16 years old.

I'm the father of his girlfriend!

That gives me some leverage!

I can get his eager-young ass over here to help me haul shit from the garage to the attic! He'll be happy to do it!

But wait! There's more!

Why should I have to do anything? He has friends!

I can get "Jimmy" and his friends over here to clean out my garage, haul heavy shit up stairs to the attic, and I won't have to do anything but make a batch of tacos.

But wait! There's more!

My dad and step-mom in Olathe have a sleeper-sofa they want to give me. It's in their garage. All I have to do is come and get it.

But they live in MORDOR, I don't have a truck, and even if I had a friend with a truck willing to make the trip, I don't know that I could handle my end of the sofa to get it up a narrow flight of stairs to the spare bedroom without blowing out my already compressed disc. Those hide-a-beds are HEAVY and AWKWARD!

Jimmy! I bet you have some friends with a pick up truck!

Mwahahahahahah!

Do The Right Thing, Jay

Leno retired from the "Tonight Show" and bequeathed it to Conan O'Brien years ahead of time in order to avoid the dramafest that ensued when Johnny Carson retired without naming a successor.

That fiasco resulted in the Leno/Letterman sausage fest that sent Letterman to CBS (The Hospice Network).

But Leno didn't want to leave TV and NBC didn't want to stop milking Leno's financial tit.

So they put a lame-ass, truncated version of what they considered to be the best parts of Leno's Tonight show in the last Prime Time slot EVERY FUCKING NIGHT. In a time slot where most viewers were used to seeing smartly scripted, well acted, Emmy winning (but EXPENSIVE TO THE NETWORK) dramas.

It was a COLOSSAL FAIL! Local affiliates rose up like rabid teabaggers because Leno's crappy show drove viewers away from their nightly news broadcasts.

Studies have shown that if you go to bed with a network, you tend to wake up with a network. With most families being dual income families, the daytime demographic is negligible.

The local affiliates have a few hours in the evening and even fewer hours in the morning to make money off of you. Probably 7 out or 24, tops. For NBC, Leno was killing 5 of those hours and everyone was PISSED!

So NBC's proposed solution? A Mulligan! A redo! Put Leno back where he was and make everybody, O'Brien, Fallon, the NBC viewers all pay for Leno's failure to attract viewers.

WRONG, NBC! WRONG!

I'm not a Leno hater, but he has clearly run his course. He's done. He's not a charity case. He has bragged about the fact that he has not spent a dime of his Tonight Show money ($15 million a year for how many years?). He lived off his stand-up routine money! So, he's gonna be OK. He won't be homeless anytime soon.

The ratings are quite emphatic about the fact that he no longer has anything to offer NBC.

So let him go! Fire him if you have to. Let him do 20 years of "unscripted" walk-ons like you did with Bob Hope and his life-time contract. Whatever it takes. But put the fucker out to pasture and let O'Brien and Fallon chart the future.

Quit being a dick, NBC.

And if NBC won't quit being a dick, then Jay Leno needs to quit being a dick and do the right thing.

You have a lot of fucking cars to work on. Get busy.

P.S. I apologize for the lack of links. But I have one more post I want to squeeze in tonight and don't have time for my customary due diligence. So go google my shit.

Pressure Hooker

From sketch to the finished product from Joe Capobianco. By the way, his awesome new sketchbook can be previewed here...
http://www.joecapobianco.com/news3383.html

The Top 10 Blog Stories of 2009 pt. 2

Hey peoples. I'm back with what, in my lowly opinion, were the top four blog stories of 2009. These are the news items that generated the most buzz on my blog and among the public.


4. The death of Michael Jackson
The outpouring of grief I witnessed in Bim for the late pop icon Michael Jackson is usually reserved for Prime Ministers, and left no doubt that his fans and detractors alike felt his passing. Live coverage of his funeral was viewed by hundreds in Kensington Oval and the 24 hour sessions of Jackson's hits on the radio stations were spine-tingling. RIP, MJ.


3. The Inauguration of US President Barack Obama
Barbados came to a standstill almost a year ago as persons were glued to their tv and computer screens to watch the first African American being sworn in as President of the USA. It was a day that will live on my memory.


2. Rihanna vs. Chris Brown
You all know the story on this one, so I won't bother to rehash this dark episode. You can check out my numerous posts last year on this topic. I'm done.



1. Ryan Brathwaite wins gold at the World Championships
When hurdler Ryan Brathwaite beat out his competitors to win the gold medal at the World Championships in Berlin, Barbadians were overcome with pride and joy. I was in Bridgetown when he ran and I can tell you, even the City vagrants were fussy fussy. Well done, son of the soil.

You Da Man, De Masi!

Awesome colour work from Mike De Masi

My Gadgetriffic 2010!

Enough talk about death! Let's talk about toys!

Here is the short list of shit I'm going to be getting with my tax return in what I like to call Gadgetriffic 2010!

Nexus One (the Google phone) $180.oo for T-Mobile customers like me.


Just introduced today! I'm finally going to bite the bullet and get a 3G phone. I'm especially intrigued by the voice recognition and the integration of built in GPS with Google Maps. Just tell it where you want to go and using your current GPS position it will map out a route for you. Fucker will even show you the Google Maps street view of your destination when you get close. Email, Internet, 5 mega pixel camera, MP3 player, all kinds of shit. Rumor has it, you can even make phone calls with it! Fuckin', sweet! I'm gettin' one.



250 GB Sony PlayStation 3 $350.00


I originally just wanted a Blu-Ray DVD player, but my friends convinced me that I would get more digital bang for my buck with a PS3.

Product Features

Next-generation gaming
Opens up new worlds of high-definition gaming intensity with astonishing graphics and audio.

Lighter, slimmer design
Fits easily into your home and your life to expand your entertainment horizons.
250GB internal hard drive
Provides massive storage for games, music, videos and other media.

Built-in Wi-Fi
Makes it easy to connect to the Internet for exciting additional entertainment options.

Blu-ray Disc player
Delivers pristine picture quality and an incredible high-definition viewing experience.

DVD up scaling
Brings your favorite DVDs to life on screen in high definition, so you can enjoy them in a new way

PlayStation Network membership
Gives you access to a wealth of online services, including free online gaming, game, movie and TV show downloads, music, movie and photo streaming, text and voice chat and more.

DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller
Puts high-intensity gaming power into the palm of your hands.

HDMI output for 1080p resolution
Ensures that visuals come alive with incredible depth and clarity on your high-definition screen.

7.1 audio
Envelops you in the sound of your favorite movies and games, immersing you fully in the viewing or gaming experience.


Boxee Box Under $200.00

"As described in D-Link's official press release, "The Boxee Box by D-Link reinterprets what TV should be. The Boxee Box delivers movies, TV shows, music, and photos from a user's computer, home network, and the Internet to their HDTV with no PC needed. Additionally, Boxee's core social features make it easy for friends to discover new content from each other through social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and more.

Some of the entertainment destinations that will be available as apps on Boxee will include Netflix, Pandora, Last.fm, and Next New Networks. And just like the Boxee software for your computer, users can add RSS feeds, XML feeds, or install other apps onto the box of their favorite Internet entertainment destinations."

VIDEO:
Adobe Flash 10.1
H.264 (MKV, MOV)
VC-1
WMV
MPEG-1
MPEG-2
MPEG-4
AVI
Xvid
Divx
PCM/LPCM
VOB

AUDIO:
MP3
WMA
WAV
AIFF
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So for less than $750 I am going to be wired and networked to the fucking gills! Anything I can access from my 3G phone, DVDs, home computing Wi-Fi network or the Internet I can access from my big ass HD TV!

Awesome!

Top 10 Blog Stories of 2009

Happy New Year, y'all! Hope you had a great Christmas and I wish you good health and prosperity in 2010. I also want to welcome on board four new followers. Thanks for signing on, hope you enjoy the ride!

Anyhoo, 2009 was quite a year for news. Actually the entire decade was one that saw many firsts: the first Grammy for a Bajan singer in 2007; the first African American President of the USA in 2009 and hopefully many lasts: the fall of the Twin Towers in 2001 and the Tsunami in the South Pacific in 2004.

I checked back through my blog archives and as a sayonara to 2009, I listed what I thought were the top blog stories of that year. I ranked them based on the interest generated locally and their significance to the country. Let me know of any others you think should be included.


10. Contractor Al Barack vs. the Government of Barbados
This story is a news gift that keeps on giving in the new year. To make a long story short, about six years ago a tribunal ordered Government to pay Barack about $35million dollars for terminating his contract to construct the Warrens Office Complex. With the dragging of feet by successive administrations the figure has since grown to $65 million. At the rate things are going, with a war of words between the two sides, Barack may own all national properties lock, stock and barrel soon....


9. Usain Bolt shatters 100-metre world record
Following on from his gold medal winning ways in Beijing in 2008, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt smoked the track at the World Championships in Berlin, lowering the 100 metre world record to 9.58 seconds. And the Caribbean rejoiced.


8. Mia Mottley vs. Owen Arthur
Those of you newbies to the blog can read all about this particular story here.


7. The Tiger Woods scandal
Tiger, Tiger, Tiger. Who knew you had it in you? I don't know whether to be impressed or disgusted. You can read my post on that matter here.

6. Barbados' new immigration policy
Further proof that the road to hell is sometimes paved with the best of intentions, Government's unveiling of a new immigration policy whereby all undocumented Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nationals living on the island for five years or more can regularise their stay here, created a furore that reverberated throughout the entire Caribbean.


5. The Swine Flu epidemic
Like a storyline straight out of Hollywood, the H1N1 or swine flu epidemic spread quickly and left hundreds of deaths in its wake. Barbados had its share of deaths as well, and with the winter season in full flight now, we can only hope that we don't see a resurgence of the virus here.

I'll be back soon with the top four news stories of 2009....