The music of Alkan

Here's a story about how I made a spur of the moment purchase which led to various things happening.

I went down to Liguanea yesterday to go cash a check. Before heading to the bank, I went to this pharmacy in the plaza across from the bank, and discovered that they were having a sidewalk sale. In this sale, they had two thriller-type novels going for less than $10 US a pop. I haven't read a good story in a while, and they both seemed interesting so I picked 'em up for the heck of it. I started one of them last night called "The Book of the Dead" by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and am currently just past the halfway mark. While the story has engaged me thus far, I freely admit that it is a totally weird story. It's taking a while for the connections between 4 seemingly disparate plot lines to come together (right now I can see circumstantial connection but I'm still reading on to the grand reveal) and it seems that this novel builds upon events in previous novels which I never knew about. Lack of knowledge about these events isn't crippling me TOO much, but the characters are currently acting in a vacuum to me. I have an idea of WHAT the previous events are from dialogue, but I don't know WHY the events happened. Still, I've gone too far to turn around. I'll look it up on Amazon after I finish it.

However, the point of this blog post comes from a throwaway reference by the tale's chief villain. Think of a twisted cross between Frasier Crane and American Psycho, and that's him. In the book, he is full of high class tastes, drinking absinthe, reading all manners of books and authors I've never heard of because they'd be "out of my class and intellectual level". Snob to the MAX. I took a pause when he mentioned this composer called Alkan, the "forgotten musical genius of the 19th century" and said "few pianists are up to the challenge" of playing his pieces. I've never heard of the man, and if I hear "forgotten musical genius", i'm all over that. So I took a gander at Youtube (:drops on knees: "Oh Lord, thank you so much for inspiring whoever it was that created Youtube. May they truly enjoy the money they get from selling out to Google, because they've damned sure earned it." :rises from knees:) and searched to see what clips I could find.

I've heard Chopin's Revolutionary, and while it's difficult, I could play that with a whoooooole lot of practice. I did Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# minor on my own time, and did it pretty fairly. I can get back up to speed and finish it to performance level if I include it in my new practice routine, which I will probably do. I plan to try Rachmaninoff's Prelude in B flat in the near future; while it's just as hard as (or harder than) the Revolutionary, I like it more and that's enough motivation to keep me working at it when I get the score. But there is NO WAY, no way at all, that I could ever hope to play this fellow's work. A wise man knows his limits, and I believe I just met mine. Take a look at this, y'all.




I'm going to see what else I can find from the composer (and maybe the artist) on tha tube and on Amazon/iTunes. I suppose it's not surprising I never heard of him, since it's not everyone who'd be able to play this. You can't write music that no one can play, 'cause who will listen to it? On the other hand, we all should aim for the stars, eh :) Here's to Alkan, that forgotten virtuoso.

Fortunate Son

Creedence Clearwater Revival. One of the best anti-war songs from the Vietnam Era.

Bill Evans

I really really like this arrangement of this song.

Fantasy Basketball time, baby!!

yeah, it's time for me to lay a smackdown on some suckas!! Of course, I haven't yet won a league, but my time will come :)

I started playing fantasy bball on Yahoo's free leagues about 3 years ago, and I was immediately hooked. It took me a while to get the hang of it, and I am still working out certain things but I did pretty well for my first year. I came in second in one league (rotissiere), and while I missed out on the playoffs for my other two leagues, I did win the consolation league playoffs in both. My second year wasn't as good, because I made the mistake of having 6 teams on two Yahoo IDs, and trying to pay equal attention to all of them. Yeah, that wasn't a smart move...I placed no higher than 7th in all of them. This year, I determined to focus only on 4 teams on my main yahoo ID, and I wasn't going to get any more teams.

Then I said "bugger that, I wanna play."

Thing is, I've gone overboard. Right now, in addition to my main 3 leagues (the 4th league doesn't seem to be taking off), I've set up 4 teams on my secondary Yahoo ID, and I'm about to add an additional 4 on another ID for the heck of it. Yeah, 12 fantasy Bball teams. How will I manage it???

I won't :)

I'll just focus day-to-day on the main yahoo ID leagues, which are all head-to-head. The secondary leagues are all rotissiere, and as far as I can tell, those mostly need regular checking to make sure that the guys on the team are all playing up to par. The last ID leagues, well I'll probably just draft 'em and leave 'em. See if I can actually win without doing anything. That worked for me the one time I tried fantasy football; I came in second for that league and I didn't have a CLUE what I was doing.

So for next season, let me know if you want to take me on in fantasy bball. I promise I won't hurt you. Too much.

The Adama Maneuver (from Battlestar Galactica's episode 4 season 3)

Ain't no way the Enterprise could have done this :D

Oh Lord this one thing I beg of Thee,
Don't let me get hooked on Grey's Anatomy

Travelogue#2: Australia

In 2000, during my sophomore year of college, I became intrigued with the notion of studying abroad. Well, I was ALREADY studying abroad, but I began to think of doing it again for another semester. Heck, why not? Of course, I was limited by my language skills...I was barely holding it down in my mandatory Spanish classes that semester, and I didn't have the time or interest to learn a new language. So, if I wanted to study abroad, I was going to have to go somewhere that spoke English. Canada? Not exotic enough. England/Scotland? The UK has never really appealed to me. I should visit at least once to see my family over there, but I don't think I would like an extended stay. Ireland? Hmmmm, that could have worked, but for some reason it didn't cross my mind at the time... What did cross my mind was Australia and New Zealand. Exotic, but not unfamiliar (especially as they are Commonwealth countries like Jamaica), far away that I can really be out of my element, the ability to awe people when I say "yes, I've been to Australia, don't you know" etc. I chose Australia over New Zealand for a variety of reasons. Firstly, Australia admittedly has it going on over New Zealand. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that NZ is a beautiful country and it is definately on my "must see before I die" list...but if you've never been to either place, which place sounds more exciting, or has stuff you've heard about before? I also liked the schools I saw in Australia, but the main reason I chose it was because I had a "foster" mother of sorts down there, named Barb Loman whom I met on an Adventist email forum. She took an interest in me, and was very helpful to me when I was there, I'll never forget it (or her). She's also the reason why I chose Adelaide as my city of interest, as opposed to the expected Sydney or Melbourne.

So, between Jan 2000 and July 2000, I applied for and was accepted to Butler University's Study Abroad program. I chose this program on the advice of Dr. Klingelhoffer (W&L's INTL student advisor at the time) and I have no complaints about their program. I'm sure the others are good in their way, but I highly recommend Butler University's program for anyone who's interested in study abroad. I got my travel grant, started to save up for living expenses, got my student visa, and in January 2001 I went back home to Jamaica to visit for a month before heading out to Adelaide in February 2001. I left from BWI on Feb 6, and flew to Philadelphia, then to Los Angeles to meet with the rest of Butler SA students heading to Australia. We all got on the same 14-hour flight heading to Sydney, then broke up to head to our various cities. Our Adelaide group was split between two universities: the smaller group going to University of Adelaide and the rest (including myself) to Flinders University. We were together for Butler orientation with Cathy Romeo as our co-ordinator. I just have to give props to her, she did an AWESOME job with us! We arrived in Adelaide on Feb 6, and classes didn't start until Feb 21, so we had a lot of time to acclimatize ourselves.

For me to go into detail with what happened for the entire 5 month period would take a book to account, and maybe one day I'll write such a book. I will sum it all up by saying that that semester abroad was the best time I ever spent in college. To me, it was the right mix of people at the right time, and it all just clicked for the most part. It wasn't all perfect all the time, and I had some rough times there too...but the entire experience was one that I wouldn't have changed for the world, and one that changed my whole outlook on life and on myself. If I could go back and change anything, I wouldn't change a thing. Well, I probably would have spent more time hanging out than studying, especially this one time when I had to turn away a welcome guest in order to hit the books. I'm sure that I was under pressure from the books then, but in retrospect...damn, that was a dumb move!!! Still, who knows...

Things I loved about Australia:

1. The people. Before I left, someone was telling me that Australia was a racist society, akin to South Africa in some respects. I've read the history and I agree that all wasn't rosy in their history and there may be some grey spots here and there; but I didn't experience any racism when I was there. Based on the people I met when I was there, I say this without apology: Australians are the coolest people on the planet. Hands down, objectively speaking, they just rock. Friendly, funny, plain-spoken, no frills or airs, what you see is what you get. Aussies of the world, I salute you!
2. Adelaide. It's a big city with a small country town feeling. That's the best description I have of it. It's the third or fouth biggest town in the country, but it feels comfortable and home-like. I could see myself living there.
3. The environment: To have a kangaroo hop out of bushes to within 12 feet of you and watch you watch him is an experience to remember.
4. The people: I have to mention it again :) This time, I would include the schoolmates I met there, but that's for a separate post about my experience. This post is about the country.
5. Low prices. The US dollar was worth about $2 AU, but prices in Australia are numerically comparable (a meal that would cost $5 in the USA would cost about $5 AU in Australia.) So, if you go to australia, don't do what I did and keep some money in the USA. Take it all with you, change it all, and budget.
6. Danish Caramels from Balfour's Bakery. I would import that stuff to Jamaica if I could, in all seriousness. I never had a pastry like that before I went to Adelaide, and I've never had one since I left. I'm here remembering the texture and flavor, and wata come to mi eye. mmmmmmmmmmmm...yeah, I really miss those :(
7. The People (you see a theme coming out here? And remember I'm not really a people person either :D), especially those at Adelaide City church. Will say more about those experiences later.
   

Things I didn't like about Australia:

1. Lack of ice. Call me weird, but don't Australians ever use ice in their drink??? The only time I might have gotten any ice was if I went to a fast food store. Besides that, it seems that the only thing they drink that's non-alcoholic is cordial (aka syrup) and water. Their food is great, and the wine and liquor is very good if you do that sort of thing, but they need to step up for the "dry" people of the world.
2. "Neighbours" and "Home and Away." It takes a lot to beat "Dawson's Creek" for the title of Worst Show Ever, but these two manage to do so.
3. The cafeteria food. The caf workers were nice people, but God only knows what they did to the food, yo. I mean, how can you make RICE unedible? I ate what I could when I could stomach it. All of us on dorm lived for Tuesdays when they had an Asian cook come in for Asian night, because the food was then just a bit above mediocre. Interestingly enough, the Asian students on dorm HATED Tuesdays. Not only was the food borderline for eating, but the caf was closed on weekends, so we had to fend for ourselves those times. There were kitchens on dorm, but funds to buy food to prepare in said kitchens were limited. I had no luck in finding a part time job, and I found myself having to subsist on ramen noodles and cordial on Sundays and some Saturdays, if I was unable to hustle a lunchtime invitation from people at church. To this day, I refuse to eat ramen noodles unless it is the only thing between life and starvation.
4. "Live hard, party harder" seems to be the Aussie motto. I've never seen an official uni orientation where a pub crawl was the focal event, until I went to Flinders. Well, that's a plus for some people, but I'm a square :) besides, it's not healthy.
   
5. Hmmmm...that's pretty much it. Any other negative thing were experience-based. I told you it was a cool country :D

I was hoping to go back to do some further schooling after New Mexico Tech, but it didn't happen...if I ever return to school, I think I'll try to go down there. Highly recommended!

Travelogue #1: California

I lived in California for 3 and a half months, from May 14 2005 to September 3 2005. I was in Orange County, in the city of Tustin and worked in Irvine. It was an interesting experience...and I don't just mean my entire job thing, which I will not detail on this website.

I liked the time I spent there, because it was different from anything I had experienced before. However, I don't think I would have been able to stay there for more than 3 years or so, and I definately would not want to settle there. I had heard that Northern California was the place to be, and Southern California was all congestion and sucktitude. Well, I didn't get the chance to visit NoCal, but SoCal wasn't as bad as I had feared, in some respects.

What I liked about California:

• Tustin. It's a nice suburb of the OC. It wasn't as slick or yuppie as Irvine, where I'd drive past the apartments and say "yeah, I ain't gonna be able to live up in here for a loooong time, if EVA!". It wasn't as beat-up/ghetto as Santa Ana or La Brea, where I'd drive through and say "don't these people ever clean up the place?" Tustin had the perfect mix of upper-middle class and blue collar-class, for me at least. My apartment was the right type for me at the time, too bad I didn't have any furniture for it :D It just felt "real". I just wished I could have gotten to know more people around there, but I'm a quiet guy anyways.
• The Orange Coast SDA church. Beautiful people, multi-cultural church, all that's good about so-called "California Adventists" and nothing bad...at least not from what I saw in my three-plus months over there. It was a bit weird to see the church go out for dinner at Soup Plantation after church, but to each their own. Pastor Ken was a really wonderful pastor, and I always had a blessing whenever I went to church there.
• Bible study at Russ and Megumi's place. Their house was the first place I went after I moved to California, on the emailed advice from Pastor Ken, and this bible study became the high point of my week. The people I met there had a great impact on my spiritual life, and Russ and Megumi really helped me during my stay in California in more ways than one. I'll never forget them, and they've got a friend for life in me. Open line for any assistance I can give 'em! Special mention to Courtney and David as well :)
  
• Anything I wanted was within 10 minutes drive. From Ikea to groceries to chinese food to car marts to Barnes and Nobles to sushi to movie theaters...you name it, and it's around close enough. Coming from small towns in New Mexico and Virginia, this was enough to make my head spin...and I loved it ('specially that B&N thing, hahahaha.)
• Variety of scenery. When I was driving to Tustin from NM, all I saw was desert, and the two-hour stretch from the Arizona border to Bakersfield, CA (where I-40 merges into I-15 N&S) was probably the second worst stretch of driving landscape I've had the displeasure of passing through. I'll describe the worst in another travelogue. Anyways, I was surprised when I headed south on I-15, and saw the whole range of scenery! From desert to snow-capped mountains to beach scenery, all within 3 hours of driving. The range in the OC wasn't too bad either. I went out on a drive a couple of times, and took a bike ride a few days before. The first drive was through the south mountains, and the second drive was through Malibu with Lauren. The bike ride was along one of the trails to the beach, but I didn't get to the beach. I did find this really nice small park, and had a good meditation there. My point is that California does have a good range of climates.

What I didn't like about California

• Traffic. Freakin' Traffic. Sodding, bloody, disgusting, traffic. Let me tell you, I have experienced rush-hour traffic in Jamaica every morning heading to work. I've driven in NYC, and I've been in the best of beltway traffic in DC on many an occasion. None of those in any way prepared me for the horror that is Southern California rush hour traffic. It has to be seen to be believed, but let me give you an idea. Imagine a 12-lane highway, 6 lanes running one way, and 6 lanes running another. Now imagine this highway packed to the brim with cars that aren't moving, for about 30 miles or so. That, my friends, is I-405 every day after 5 pm. I mean, I lived about a 10-minute drive from my office at a regular time. Leaving early in the morning, I would make it in about 15 minutes or so. Coming home in the evenings, if I reached home in an hour, I was lucky. It made no difference if I used the freeway or tried to find local roads, it was clogged either way. Traffic would have played a major role in making me leave Cali if I had kept my plan of working for a while in that state.
• Heat. The whole place was just MUGGY, and the fieldwork I was doing in the Inland Empire (near Loma Linda and San Bernardino) made me aware that smog is really REALLY bad around these parts. If you live near the coast, you might catch some breeze, but other than that, you salt.
• High cost of living. I never did understand why everything was so overpriced over there. Was I supposed to pay for the privilege of living in this "wonderful" state? sheesh! From rent to movies to groceries, it was all high-priced. I learned a lot about living on the cheap...
• Fakeness of people. It said a lot to me that in my time in California, the only friends I made were people who were not native to California. Every last one of them came from somewhere out of state or out of country, or even out of SoCal. I never knew that people could be so two-faced until I experienced OC natives.
  
• Being black in California. I had my first and only DWB experience in California.
• Earthquakes. I experienced two tremors in my time there, and it only reminded me that the Big One is overdue. If you live in California, keep on dreaming that it won't come. People in New Orleans thought the same thing about the levees.

All in all, I had an eventful and fruitful time in California. It would not be my first choice of a state to live in, but I would go back there to work for a while if the situation was right, with the proper expectations in mind.

And i never even got a chance to truly go through Los Angeles...but that was probably for the best.

My favourite memory of California: Visiting Whistler Island (if that's the name) on July 4 with the OC young people. Beautiful place, and it got me into kayaking. Honorable mention goes to my bike ride through Costa Mesa towards the beach, the Monday Bible studies at Russ's place (and James's place sometimes), and the times I spent hanging with Bev and Lauren, especially with Lauren and her friend at that free Jars of Clay concert at Angel Stadium. Also, finally getting to meet Rachel!

Not so cool memory of California: Traffic, feelings of confusion after my experience, feelings of being BROKE, uncertainty of the future, speeding tickets.

Another review of "the wire"

This is the tail end of The Sport's Guy's review of Gridiron Gang. I was pleasantly surprised to see it as I came to the end of that column, on www.espn.com/page2
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One more thing ...

I found it fascinating that, in the same month that "Gridiron Gang" became the No. 1 movie, HBO ignored perpetually crummy ratings and renewed "The Wire" for a fifth and final season. After plowing through the first 37 episodes of "The Wire" in three weeks this summer, I agree with others who argue that it's the most important television show of all-time, surpassing even "The Sopranos" because of its ambition and social relevance. The "Sopranos" worked because the acting and writing was so exceptional, we found ourselves identifying with unlikable characters who were basically unredeemable (save for Tony's wife, his children and his therapist). We excused every horrible action because we grew to like these characters personally over the years. In real life, we probably wouldn't like any of them, and we would definitely be afraid of them. It's fantasy disguised as reality: Lose yourself in the show for an hour, digest it when it's over and move on to something else.

Well, there's nowhere to hide in "The Wire." The characters are stuck in Baltimore, a washed-up city ravaged by drugs, poverty and political corruption. Our closest thing to heroes are renegade detective Jimmy McNulty (a likable, hard-drinking iconoclast who disappears for much of Season 2 and becomes completely irrelevant in Season 4) and a gun-wielding nomad named Omar (a scarfaced Robin Hood, only if Robin Hood was gay and stole from drug dealers). We spend three full seasons watching Baltimore police break the city's biggest drug syndicate ... only to watch an angrier, more ruthless group of rival dealers immediately pop up in its place. The current season centers around four poor teenagers (all of them threatening to succumb to the drug lifestyle) and Baltimore's incompetent school system (which can't even begin to hope to save them), with the show elucidating in painstaking detail why these kids can't be salvaged: They have no role models and no chance to escape, and things will never change because the lead politicians and major police heads only care about themselves. There's no overall plan to save the city, no passionate leader on the horizon, nothing. All of it would take too much effort. Like a dead fish, Baltimore rots from the head down.

It's an exceptional show, and I'm not even sure "exceptional" is a strong enough word. Of course, barely anyone watches it. HBO deliberated over its renewal all summer until the gushing feedback for Season 4 left them no choice. Late to the party, I spent the past few weeks devouring the show, then the next week wondering what took everyone else so long to jump on the bandwagon, and more importantly, what took ME so long to jump on the bandwagon. Two weeks ago in this space, I explained how I'm one of those people who doesn't like when other people tell me, "YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS SHOW!" If anything, that makes me not want to watch it. I like to stumble across these things organically.

Now I'm wondering if I avoided "The Wire" because its central themes -- drugs, corruption, urban decay -- were realities that I simply wanted to ignore. Instead of being haunted by a show like this, it was easier and safer to skip it entirely. Most people feel this way, I'm guessing; it's the only conceivable reason why five times as many people would watch "The Sopranos" over a show that's better in every way. See, when most Americans dabble in inner-city TV shows or movies for our "taste" of street life, we're hoping for the Hollywood version. We don't want despair and decay, we want hope and triumph. We don't want the zero sum game of drug dealers killing each other, we want the Rock coaching juvie kids and turning their lives around in two hours. We want them to win the big football game, we want the movie to end, and we don't want to think about these people ever again.

That's the real reason why "Gridiron Gang" became the No. 1 movie last weekend, and that's the real reason why "The Wire" was barely renewed for a fifth season. Upon further review, maybe the problem isn't Hollywood after all.

Bill Simmons is a columnist for Page 2 and ESPN The Magazine. His new book "Now I Can Die In Peace is available on Amazon.com and in bookstores everywhere.
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Jimi's best rendition of his best work

No one would ever be able to cover this song, I don't think. It's in 2 parts because it's kinda long.

BSG

Good TV is coming back, baby! Both BSG and The Wire at the same time, mmm...

Who Knows

Youtube+Geoff+blogger= a whole lot of experimenting :)

This is one of my favourite Jimi Hendrix tunes. It's not his greatest work, but it has a really funky groove to it and I just wanted to put it up here.

Down in the hole...

Credits of Season 4 of the Wire. The best version of the theme song they've used.

Animation Domination

I am (was? no, am) a fan of Fox's Sunday night animation lineup. The Simpsons has always been on my radar, and when Family Guy first came out, I thought it was really funny and gut-busting. I wasn't too impressed with American Dad, I thought it was too derivative of Family Guy.

My, how times have changed.

I caught the premiere of all three shows last night, and it confirmed to me what I had suspected all throughout last season.

Firstly, The Simpsons. "The Simpsons" is in imminent danger of becoming more of a guest actor winker show instead of a comedy. I mean, I was totally stoked to see Metallica do a spot...but what was the point of it? I love it when Fat Tony and the Sopranos do their mafia thing...but they've done it better on the Simpsons before. It was watchable, but I was more chuckling than laughing out loud. I know that you've done everything before on the Simpsons, but they should keep the stories a lot tighter, I think.

Next, Family Guy (which actually came on at 9 pm after American Dad, but I'll deal with it now). This show has totally lost its humor to me. Peter Griffin has gone from Homer Simpson likeability to "Will someone PLEASE kill this moron!" territory for me. I miss the Family Guy of old, and I hope they get it back. It says volumes that I didn't finish watching the episode, I just turned it off before the half hour finished...and it's not the first time I've done so. I'll keep giving it a shot, but right now they are on borrowed time with me.

I never thought I'd see the day where "American Dad" would be the funniest of the three, but it happened a lot of times last season and it happened again here tonight. This was the only one of the three shows that made me laugh out loud, even though the story here was not the best that it's been either. They've come a long way here, and I hope they keep it up!

no more needs be said

Experience; that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you
learn.
--C.S. Lewis

Random thoughts...

"Lost" begins its new season on October 4, and "Battlestar Galactica" begins on October 6th. I cannot WAIT for those dates to come!

"The Wire" begins this coming Sunday. It's unfortunate that I can't get my parents to get HBO for 12 weeks, but if I have to spend weekends at my uncle's house so I can watch it...well, I will.

I have to be willing to walk away...and I'm developing that willingness slowly but surely.

I also need a chill pill :) what's the balance between taking yourself too seriously, and taking everything as a joke? And which is worse? (i think taking everything as a joke is worse).

Is there anything new worth watching on TV this season? It's not a lament, it's a genuine question. For some reason, I haven't been really watching any TV since August.

It's easier to curse the opposite sex than it is to wait for the few members of the opposite sex who aren't completely clueless. And that goes for both men AND women.

Those who say you can't be platonic friends with someone you once had feelings for...they're lying. I will admit that the situation and people involved have to be pretty special though...but it happened to me, so anything's possible. Of course, there are situations where it HASN'T happened for me too, hahahahaha.


For Adventists, dating a non-SDA is almost always never worth it in the end. The exceptions only prove the rule. If God wants you to do missionary dating, He will show it to you clearly. Trust me, there are fish in the sea up in this church. Tons of 'em. Just because the ones you know are dysfuctional doesn't mean there aren't other schools of fish out there. Forget them crazy sprats and God will help find your king (or queen) tuna.

ok, that analogy was a bit corny, but so what?

He who swats a mosquito has done a good thing.

If I could pick only10 albums to listen to on a desert island, I would include "Persuaded" by Richard Smallwood, "Jars of Clay" by Jars of Clay, "Superunknown" by Soundgarden, "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" by Sarah McLaughlan, "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis, a burned CD of my favourite Phillip Aaberg tunes (or if they hold me to the album rule, i'd pick his "Out of the Frame" album), "One More Remains" by Alter Bridge, "Joe Satriani" by Joe Satriani, something good by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and "Best of Bach".

Then I'd go crazy because I forgot something I'd have wanted even more.

Wikipedia is the greatest thing to hit the internet since Google.

There are some things you can't find on the intenet. Believe me, I've tried.

Steve Irwin was a great man, and the world has lost much for his death. He was no Tim Treadwell (from Grizzly Man)...I'd have to think some more to back up that statement, but I do believe that these guys were different. Steve was exhuberant, Tim was crazy. Steve knew what the animals could do to him, and was a conservationalist. Tim thought he was immortal, and that he was ONE of the animals...he was just nuts. I'd have to ponder it some more.

If your child says they don't want to take piano lessons, find some way for them to keep it up, or make it fun for them. I have yet to meet someone who was sorry they took piano lessons; I have met many who are sorry that they didn't continue.

Country music has no redeemable qualities except to illustrate the lives of people who are more miserable than you.

Praise and Worship music is almost as bad as country, for the most part (but not for the same reason).

The man isn't alive who won't look at some great cleavage when it appears.

In Jamaica, Adventist musicians are taken for granted and under-appreciated. It's not easy to play the piano/organ every weekend, and calling it "The Lord's Work" applies only when you're at your home church. If you ask someone to come from their church to play for your choir or your church, you better be ready to offer some form of assistance. He/she is doing you a favour if it's free, and the worker is worthy of his hire. In the same vein, don't ask someone to play for a wedding and expect it to be free. You're paying everyone else; why should the music be gratis?

Funerals are a different story; but you should still offer or something.

Facebook messed up in their new re-design. There is going to be fallout from that, wait and see.

Adventists, seriously, don't decide to go the non-SDA route. You're depriving some deserving SDA person of a wonderful spouse, and trying to convert a non-SDA for the wrong reason. Now you've gone and made 3 people miserable. Or two, if God decides to carry your intended spouse to another option while you do your own thing...

I nearly went the non-SDA route. Twice seriously, and once semi-seriously.

No, i won't tell what happened, at least not on this site :)

The day Jamaica's leaders put country over party, and the day Jamaicans start taking themselves and each other seriously and start to suck up some deprivations in order for a long-term benefit is the day this country lifts off like a Saturn V rocket.

I am going to KILL this freakin' mosquito in my office!

Rain on a zinc roof is the best sleeping aid ever. And the best aphrodisiac too. No, I don't know the second one from personal experience, but my time is gonna come...

The only reason I would buy an xBox 360 is to play Halo 3, and the only reason I'd get the new PS3 is for the next Grand Theft Auto.

just wanted to reiterate my last blog to credit card people; y'all SUCK.

American food is fattening and gets its flavour from the oil. They need more spices in the mix.

I hate the "game." Why do I have to be fake or do what I don't want to do in order to get what I desire? Why can't I be myself and have someone be attracted to me; why must I "generate" it?

If you're bored, it's your own fault. Find something to do, whether it's productive or not.

"Boomtown" isn't coming back and I have to forgive NBC at some point in time.

Nah, they're still idiots. I may watch that one show though, just because of Aaron Sorkin.

I got the little cabron, hahahahaha!!!

I hope I can make it to GYC this year.

Finally for now, I think that taking piano lessons again is going to be a very good thing in more ways than one. I'm not sure what the other benefits besides the obvious will be, but i feel that they are there. We will see what transpires.

drowning under tons of debt? priceless

If you’re reading this and you work at/with a credit card company, I just want to tell you that you suck. Shylock would look at you and cross the road because he doesn’t want to be associated with you. Tell your boss that I said he/she can kiss my nether regions. The system is so rigged to keep people down, it’s not even funny. The WORST part of it all is that it’s not those who spend recklessly that get screwed the most, it’s those to whom life happens (lose a job, get sick, big move, etc) and then fall into hardship. Do the financial companies care? Take a wild guess.

You predators make me sick.

Just when u thought he was dead...

...he pops up with new pics of the Jamaican countryside and fascinating (to him) hydrology information! hahaha. First off, let me just say good riddance to August. It's the month of my birth and I usually love it, but this August was just stressful for me in so many ways and I am not sorry to see the back of it.

Anyways.

Yesterday, I went on yet another investigation for my job, this time looking at possible sources of silt in the Dry Harbor Mountain basin. Apparantly, there is a hydroelectric power plant located on a river, and they reported having issues with their intake getting clogged with silt that was coming from outside the area, since that silt was all brown and sandy; but the dam is in a marly limestone region with white dirt. The river rises out of this AWESOME blue hole at the foothills of the Cockpit country, and there is at least one known river that sinks about 20 miles to the southeast of the blue hole which connects to it.

So.

We, the WRA crew made our way firstly to the headwaters of this smaller river in Manchester, outside of Spaulding. See the pic with a small river in this sandy river bed (for the life of me, i can't figure out how to put these pics where I want them to go.) We didn't actually go to the actual headwaters, but stopped off right below where it pops up. Some Rural Water Development people are building a treatment site near there, so we checked it out to see if it could be a potential silt site. It COULD be, but with the relatively small volume of water at this location, I wouldn't hold my breath on it. The soil here was pretty hard and clayey, stuck together.

Next, we went to the place where the river sinks into the karstic limestone. If you don't know what karstic means, go ask your geology teacher ;) There's one pic where the river seems to flow right under the limestone outcrop; that's the low flow sink. The other pic with the whole bunch of bambo debris and the other pic staring into a dark crevasse with bamboo debris is the high flow sink...and I would not want to be there at high flow! The debris was piled up from the last major flood event (Hurricane Ivan) and hasn't been cleared yet. As per the course for this place. One note about the crevasse pic; you can clearly hear the water flowing off under the rocks to points known in routes unknown. Where does this water come out? We got a soil sample here, regular river sand...

Then we took a long haul into St. Ann, through Browns Town and into the edge of the Cockpit Country where the Rio Bueno rises up. See the Blue Hole pics. From this point, the river flows to the sea, and gets dammed for useage. We checked it all out, went down to the dam head and the hydro station, saw these two people having sex in the river with no shame, and made our conclusion. Basically, the dam people have to suck it up and build a better intake, plus dredge their dam more often. :)

Anyways, that's what i've been up to. Hope you like the pics...back to lurking and chilling until i get inspired again. Thanks to those who left comments, I only just got them! I will be getting more notice of them now, so please let me know you read all this.

I will check it out

Ok, I’m sold. Even if it’s only to see THAT line, I have to go see “Snakes on a Plane” sometime soon.

and now...

This very interesting month continues, just past the half-way mark. What is left? What more is waiting for me? God only knows…

Just one thing to say today...

Let it not be said that I never did my best to make it clear what my intentions were.

Thoughts on voting

I have not yet voted in my life. This is not due to a desire not to vote, it’s been mostly due to a combination of things in the two elections that have occurred since I turned 18...On the first occasion, the enumerator came around about 5 months before the election date to see if anyone wanted to get enumerated. I told her that I was 17, but would be 18 when the election date came around; could I be enumerated? She said no. I didn’t get the chance to register to vote before that election. In 2002, I was living abroad, and Jamaica has not given its foreign citizens the ability to vote in absentia. I think both parties are scared shitless about what would happen to them if they did that.

At any rate, elections are on the way again…no one knows exactly when except Portia, but they are due soon and both the JLP and PNP are beginning to rev their campaign machinery. And no matter what both parties do, there are a significant number of people who say that they are not going to vote.

I find this hard to comprehend.

I will be the first to admit that politics is a crock of bull manure, and in this day and age (especially in Jamaica), politics is a time-honored method of transferring money from the poor to the rich and setting up those who want power and authority so that they can feel like kings and queens over the unintelligent and feeble-minded masses, and piss away the resources of the country. 90% of the politicians do not deserve to be in any position of authority, and 100% of them are tarred with the same brush of responsibility for Jamaica being in the state it is in. However, does this disgust with the political process automatically mean that one should boycott the vote? To my mind, it does not.

Many people say that they can’t find someone to vote for, “one jus’ as bad as the other, no difference between them.” That is lazy thinking, in my opinion. If there really is no difference between them, then there wouldn’t be a multiplicity, would there? These people do not seem to realize that their vote is the one thing, the ONLY thing that any politician desires from them. The politician will promise heaven on earth, chickens in every pot, increased wages and rollbacks of tolls, ANYTHING to get that little X by their party. Other than that, he/she more than likely won’t care about you. When you realize this, you realize the power of the vote, because while he/she may not care about you after you cast the vote for him/her, you can remember whether or not he/she lived up to their promises the next time elections come around. Parties want to stay in power, and if we don’t use our vote to punish/reward them for fulfilling the promises they made, then they won’t care about fulfilling those promises. Both parties are not deserving of your vote, you say? Hold your nose and vote for the one who disgusts you the least. Either you take some control of your destiny, or you leave your nation in the hands of the party who can best agitate its rabid base to turn out and vote. Do you really want to leave your future in the hands of party loyalists? That is what you do when you leave it up to them to decide who will be victorious.

We all complain about the way things are run; it is human nature. The vote is the only time, short of a coup de etat, that you can show your approval/disapproval of how things are being run, and you give up your power over the politicians when you decide to not use it. I believe there are two reasons for people to not vote: either they don’t for religious reasons (and I respect that), or they just don’t give a damn. If you honestly don’t give a damn, and you don’t care about what happens to you or your country, well, I suppose less power to you by your own choice…

Get up, stand up for your right. Vote. It’s the least you can do.

boycott!!

I’m going to boycott the Portmore toll. I don’t live in Portmore, but I’m boycotting it nonetheless. This government takes us for idiots, but sometimes I can’t blame them…

I have a vibe to post about voting, but it’s not ready yet. It will come soon enough.

stupdidty

I can’t see what Hamas intends to accomplish by kidnapping Israeli soldiers. If there’s a bully on your block that can beat you up, and if you have no way to beat him up (though you can sting him pretty well), you don’t go around jamming your finger in his eye every chance you get. What good would that do you?

stupidity

I can’t see what Hamas intends to accomplish by kidnapping Israeli soldiers. If there’s a bully on your block that can beat you up, and if you have no way to beat him up (though you can sting him pretty well), you don’t go around jamming your finger in his eye every chance you get. What good would that do you?

Update

What have I been up to for the past few days?

Well, my social life has taken a dramatic upswing, and I am enjoying it a lot. It’s almost time for my cousin to get married, and I’m looking forward to making the trip to see him and his wife-to-be, as well as do some other stuff as soon as I can…

Work has been good too, for the most part.

The future is looking quite interesting.

Im still alive

I’m still alive, still traveling, still living large thanks to God’s grace. I did have a field trip yesterday but haven’t gotten around to posting pics. I had to reformat my laptop for the first time since I got it…it went ok for the most part. It’s definitely working better than it was before, and now I’m not so scared of doing it again (.

So, don’t despair because I haven’t posted in a while. I’ll put up more info soon.

still more photos

The Trench Town massive at the singles retreat...

More TT Massive...
Me and Andrea Oliver, 3 days before I left the USA
Me and Tiff Brown, 3 days before I left the USA. 

more pics!

Yeah, it's like "nothing" for a while, and then "plop!" a whole bag of random pics. Well, take 'em or leave 'em!



Me, circa the same time as before.
Ewarton, coming down from Mount Rosser, with fog present. That's the flash of the camera, not the sun...this pic was taken on the way back from the singles retreat.

The minature golf course at Starfish Resorts, site of the singles retreat.

the latest in actual Geoff activities...

...as opposed to ramblings on current events and random thoughts...

Yesterday I went on a field trip into the hills of St. Thomas/Portland. Our aim was to investigate potential water sources for this community up there, and while I don't think that the river we looked at will do any good for them, it was still an exhilarating trip. We went up the Hector's River bed and tracked it up until we entered the John Crow Mountains, which I've heard of many a time but never actually BEEN to. The river bed was very awe-inspiring, and I bet it would have been even more inspiring if water was flowing in it...then again, the way the rocks appeared, we would have been in major trouble if caught in that waterfall. I'll bet that when this river is in flow, it would rival any major waterfall currently well known in Jamaica. As it is, the flow is sub-surface for the most part...and who would want to hike all the way up there just to be at peace in nature, with just janga (small river shrimp), fish and wild hogs for company? (I didn't see any, but I know they're up in the hills).

Anyways, the pics show some of the views, as well as the river bed itself and the various channels we measured. The Mississippi it ain't...

it was a nice trip though, I had a good time. The hike nearly busted me, but I got my second wind and was able to continue after the first rest with nary a break...I was drinking like a fish the rest of the day though!

more picis forthcoming

more Colbert

A few thoughts on Stephen Colbert’s skewering of the White House and the press…

Humor is a subjective thing. Something you may find funny, I may find totally disgusting, and vice versa. It’s kind of hard to judge what’s funny and what’s not, based upon how many people laugh, or how many say they thought it was hilarious. One has to consider WHO those people are, and WHAT was the subject at hand, whether they were predisposed to think it funny or not.

Those who focus on whether or not Colbert’s performance was successful because it made (or didn’t make) people laugh are missing the point completely. Humor had nothing to do with what Colbert did. It was witty, but it wasn’t meant to be humorous. Someone wrote an article about that; I don’t recall who, but do a search for humor vs. wit and Colbert to find it.

Personally, I read the transcript before I got a chance to watch it, and I will admit that I found it funnier to read than watch (not that I didn’t laugh either time.) But the main focus to me, which can be totally lost in the “argument” about whether Colbert was funny or not, was that it was a well-incised camouflaged-yet-very-obvious reminder to the president and the press corp that they ain’t doing DIDDLY and that they should not stick their heads in the sand too much anymore, because we aren’t buying it. This wasn’t about being liked by anyone there, this was about getting a message across to the people you want to hear it. Colbert could have said all those things the same way many of us do; to our friends and people who think like us…and no one else would have heard or cared. You think Bush gives a fig about Michael Moore? However, Bush got a dose of reality that he would not have gotten any other way because he doesn’t listen to anyone who doesn’t agree with him; they all get pushed away or ignored or otherwise put out of focus. Now all of a sudden one of those people gets a chance to tell him the whole truth guised in truthiness? OOOOOOH man.

Stephen Colbert had the titanium cojones to speak the truth to the captive audience, and that’s the story. It’s not about how funny he was, it’s about the way in which he preached his message. Anyone focusing on anything but that is trying to cover themselves, because they know they got dinged in his words and the truth HURTS.

Singles retreat :)

So I was on a retreat a couple weekends ago. It was a very nice occasion, relaxing, invigorating, Spirit-filled, all that good stuff. When I first heard about it, I thought that it would be a waste of money, but having gone there, I admit that it was funds well spent. The retreat was at the Starfish Resorts in Trelawney…it was a very good hotel. Not quite 5 star, and even 4 stars is a bit generous…but I’ll be generous. 4 stars it is! I had fun there, the buffet-style menus were varied enough for my tastes, and it’s the only place I’ve seen so far in Jamaica that actually has a sushi restaurant (which I was unable to partake of, because it cost extra). Anyways…the first impression I got of the place was that of a giant motel, ‘cause that was what it looked like upon initial approach. Just goes to show that first impressions can be wrong sometimes. The rooms were clean, the facilities were working, the pool and Jacuzzi were good, the conference room was nice as well. I would go back there.

The retreat itself proved to be a great idea, and I feel that great things will come from it. The presentations included self-esteem, coping with loneliness, boundaries in dating, being comfortable and happy when being single, and a few others. The program was a bit cramped; there wasn’t a lot of social time besides mealtimes and Sabbath evening…you had to do your own meet and greet. Then again, that’s what you’re SUPPOSED to do.

One thing that was troubling was the male-female ratio. Including the people from Cayman, there were about 20 or so guys there, tops. This compares to about 90 or so women. What is going on here?? This is a pressing concern, I think…

I met some interesting people on the retreat. It’s always good to make new friends, no? Pics may come later; can’t post them right now.

A plug for the dearly departed.

Go buy/rent this TV show on DVD, and see what manner of quality TV NBC decided to cancel, in favor of taural fecal matter such as "Deal or No Deal" and "The Apprentice." It's been 4 years since they canceled this TV show, but my bitterness at NBC still burns and will never die. I hope NBC stays in the graveyard of network television, may UPN and WB leapfrog it and send them further to obscurity. My review of this TV show on Amazon is one of the spotlight reviews (incidentally, "Boomtown" has a 5-star rating there too!).

Stephen Colbert

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/30/1441/59811

This is a transcript of Stephen Colbert’s devasting satirical monologue about the president…it is a work of ART and perfect TRUTHINESS. Viva!

Also, the bees moved out :-( Oh well…

New Tenants

A bunch of bees moved into the orange tree on our property! I don’t know if I’m intrigued or nervous, or both…they just flew in this morning and hived up. I am not sure if they are moving in or if they are just resting for a few minutes. I think it’s a good omen (not that I really believe in that…too much :D)

I haven’t forgotten about the retreat pics and breakdown. It’s forthcoming.

Off to the church workday…

Singles retreat prelim

Yes, I went on a singles retreat this past weekend. Yes, I have a few pics, though not too many. Yes, I will tell the tale of what went down and how great it was…I just am not going to do it right now.

Correction

A correction about my blog on the Moneague lake…

It’s not a new feature, in that the lake has been in existence as a small pond since the discovery of Jamaica, and the rising of the waters has been previously noted since at least the 18th century. The last time the waters rose was either in 1933 or 1971. The 1933 event had the waters sticking around for about 4 years, finally draining out in 1937. The Doc center has a geological report that I’m going through which was written in 1972 and was examining whether or not the lake could be made permanent…interesting, since the goal these days is how soon can we be rid of it (I think). I don’t know why people built their houses so far down in that vale…guess they either forgot about the lake or thought it wouldn’t happen again.

Going Home to Teach

This morning on the way to work, I finished re-reading Anthony Winkler’s “Going Home to Teach.” I hadn’t read it in a while, but found it while cleaning out the garage this past Sunday morning. Anthony Winkler is a really gifted author and he has a talent for clearly reproducing the essence of raw Jamaica, even if it is a Jamaica that existed before I was born. He also wrote “The Lunatic” which I need to find and re-read again as well. He is a white Jamaican who currently lives in Atlanta, GA.

This book “Going Home To Teach” recounts his experiences when he returned home to Jamaica to teach back in the 1970s. Those were tumultuous times for Jamaica, when Michael Manley was in power and socialism was the philosophy du jour. Many people left, while Winkler was coming back. The book has a lot of pathos, humour, and drama; but what really makes it impressive and relevant to me are the observations on Jamaican, American and English culture. Here are some samples. I don’t necessarily agree with all his observations, but I think they are worth noting.

On being white in Jamaica, specifically referring to his American wife’s experience:
“To be white in a black country with a long English colonial history is to be a pariah, an ambiguous entity. It is to be simultaneously respected and despised, to arouse suspicion and curiosity, to evoke defiance, rudeness, envy and condescension. It is to be separated from that inalienable birthright every white American enjoys in his own country; the expectation of being treated with indifference in a public place. When you are white in a black land like Jamaica, you are no longer merely a man, or a woman, or a child. For good or ill, you are also immediately transmogrified into a living symbol of a detested colonial past.”

On Jamaican and American attitudes towards economic roles:
“The American nation is essentially a confederation of economic tribes known as businesses and corporations, each with its own totemic history, identity…when you work for an American corporation it defines you, moulds you…and eventually changes your values and perceptions...Americans are reared with the expectation that a large part of their personal identity will eventually be defined in adulthood by an economic role. One becomes what one does…Jamaicans DO their careers, their occupational pursuits; Americans BECOME them…This wedding of personality and occupation is a most peculiar trait for Jamaicans to comprehend mainly because they have inherited from their own cultural experience a deep-seated dislike for ready-made economic roles. Jamaicans revel in the expression of an idiosyncratic self, and reject any occupational role that brings with it blanket expectations of the self. Why this is so no doubt goes back to our experience with slavery when we waged and endless war of passive resistance against the slave master’s desires and struggled hard to repudiate what he wanted us to become.”

On “getting on bad”
“This expression has a peculiar meaning to the Jamaican, and no known equivalent in America. To ‘go on bad’ is to employ the behaviour of the lower class in a sphere of life where it is outlandishly inappropriate. One cannot ‘go on bad’ in a true democracy like America, but only in a society that separates people into classes by a strictly prescribed code of manners. Under the Englishman’s colonial blueprint, the ragged brute in the streets is expected to rant and rave over grievances and raise his voice in profanity, but not the tuxedoed gentleman at a formal dinner. And should the gentleman so behave for whatever reason other than rare excusable drunkenness, he is said to have ‘gone on bad.’ His sin is not so much bad behaviour as it is a degenerate hybridisation of manners-bringing the lower-class brute into the drawing room- and the penalty is social expulsion. He simply will never be invited back.”
The unfortunate thing is that many times, getting on bad is the only way to get anything done! He notes this in the anecdote that follows this quote, which I won’t replay here.

It’s a great autobiographical novel told from a point of view that I haven’t even considered too much; that of the person who is born in Jamaica and is just as Jamaican as I am, except that he is white. It is an accurate snapshot of Jamaica in the 1970s as well. Well, I assume that, since I wasn’t born then :D At any rate, I highly recommend it. Also read the rest of his books: “The Lunatic” “The Painted Canoe” “The Great Yacht Race” and “The Duppy”. I have read them all except for the last one, those I have read have been very good also.

Easter Weekend

Aah, the joys of a 4-day weekend. It was a good break, with a beach trip thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, I did not take any pics because I was stupid enough to buy Maxell batteries. They SUCK. They didn’t even last one day. I took the pics from Moneague on those batteries and then they died that same day, fresh out the pack. Never again, never again…

But the trip was a lot of fun. Those in attendance were Andrew, Sarah, Gairy, Tameka and yours truly. We didn’t end up at our intended destination (which was my fault) and had to go to Dunn’s River instead, but next time we go out we’ll check that original place out, Cranbrook Falls or something like that.

Back to work it is now though…let’s see what can get done.

Moneague- a tale of flooding

Today, I went to take well readings around the Moneague lake. This lake is a pretty new feature, having come into existence about a year or so ago when heavy rains saturated the earth and the water just started to raise up beyond expected levels, as seen here in this picture. The waters stayed high, and seem to show no sign of going down...or rather, whenever they start to go down, rainfall makes it stay up. It is quite deep. Two people actually drowned there in the course of this week, how they ended up doing that I don't know. Some of the locals have made a brisk business providing a ferry service across the lake, since the lake has submerged the roads that connected communities in the lowland and it's about a 30 minute drive to go around. Me, you couldn't pay me to take them ferries. It's a two-man kayak with one lifevest, and guess who wears it? (Hint: it's not the passenger!) Just goes to show how enterprising Jamaicans can be though...

I had a few ideas of how to use this water, since it will be around for a while...it all depends on water quality and an investigation into the area's topography. A lot of sewage pits and other junk were submerged by the waters and I find it interesting how quickly an eco-system has formed around the area. I saw water-birds, fish, and aquatic plants there, so while the water isn't that chemically polluted it would require a fair bit of biological clean-up. All I've divined from the topography so far is that the region was a natural sink; one river called the Rio Hoe apparently flowed into a small pond which was the genesis of the lake...where that pondwater went, I don't know. I intend to find out.

I also took some pics of the Bog Walk Gorge, and two dogs who were romping on the lakebanks as I went around. It rained this afternoon...it's been raining every afternoon for the past few days. I like it, we needed the rain and it's surprising how the lawn has come back to life. I'll bet Hope Gardens is worth walking in now, I'll check it out after the holiday weekend. Good Friday AND Easter Monday off, ooooh yeah :D being a Jamaican has its benefits, hehehehehe...

The Colorado River as it goes through the Grand Canyon 

August 2004 at the Grand Canyon. I think my legs were about to fall off at this point in time. 

Inter-racial relationships

http://fiyastarter.com/fs-pages/fs-socgen-interrelation10.html

take a look at how inter-racial relationships are viewed…

daylight come and mi waah go home

I have been to the bowels of hell here on this earth, and its name is Berth 8 at the Kingston Wharfs. Therein, I spent virtually all day trying to pick up the remainder of my few earthly possessions that I shipped to myself from the USA, and for which I was nearly charged $6780 Jamaican. Thanks to my uncle Alvin, who told me to go home and get my school transcript so I could prove myself to be a returning resident, I managed to only pay $600 in duty on that…but why would it have been so much if I hadn’t proved myself to be a broke student coming back home? All I had were bunches of clothes, pots, pans, a couple game systems and a VCR and textbooks…plenty of THOSE. Sigh…plus I had to give the shipping people their cut, and the driver to deliver it out here in Spanish Town. At least it’s all over now…virtually all of my junk came over the way I packed it. I now have a bit more clothes to add to my work wardrobe, a lot more books to read, I can now fry my brain even more with the PS2 and assorted games…

So, back to work tomorrow, which might actually be easier on my system than today was.

The mangoes on Uncle Alvin’s tree are starting to bear…and I’m happy for that, hehehehehe. Ain’t no mangoes like those ones.

Exhaustion sets in, so I turn in. peace out.

Sista P and crime in Spanish Town

Well, Jamaica now has a new prime minister, a lady Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller! I, for one, welcome our new female overlord :-D No, I support her and I am willing to give her a chance…pundits say that elections are going to be called soon. If so, I hope it can be done without the violence that has been a hallmark of Jamaican elections. Then again, its pretty violent these days ANYWAY. Spanish Town has been in a state of virtual lockdown the past two nights I’ve headed home. On Wednesday evening the bus terminus was closed because two people were shot (seemingly indiscriminately) there, and when I got into town all of the taxis/buses were out on the road in front of the shopping center. Yesterday evening (Thursday), our bus didn’t even go into Spanish Town; all of the executive buses pulled off on the highway for passengers to transfer right there on the roadside rather than go into Spanish Town. I didn’t quite hear what had happened earlier that day, but I’ll check today’s paper to see what it says. Hopefully there will be no issue this evening, but I won’t hold my breath.

I’d say something about my personal life but I don’t know who’s reading, so I won’t :p

look for the long post

I recieved a very interesting set of essays about Armageddeon and Islam in my email a couple of days ago, and I also found another one I got 2 years ago about evolution. I've posted all of them somewhere at the bottom of the blog since they are kind of long, but I think it's worth your while to scroll down and look for 'em. They are dated in the month of January.

Question

All those who practise Islam should ask themselves this: Is it morally right for someone who is a Muslim to be killed because he/she no longer wishes to follow this religion?

It's official!

I finally got my diploma from New Mexico Tech today, the proof of my blood, toil, sweat, tears, and Mexican food. Thanks be to God that I managed to finish…

Chuck Norris can't touch Jack Bauer

For all you guys who watch “24”  on Fox, you know how tough Jack Bauer is? This is how tough he is :D I got these from a site online, I’ll post the link once I find it again…
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The city of Los Angeles once named a street after Jack Bauer in gratitude for his saving the city several times.  They had to rename it after people kept dying when they tried to cross the street.  No one crosses Jack Bauer and lives.
                         
Jack Bauer once went into a bar, and asked for a 'Jack Bauer'. He received three shots of Jack Daniel's, a shot of kerosene and four shots of tequila mixed. When seeing this, another man approached the bar and asked for a Jack Bauer. He got a 9mm round to the face.

Don't beg Jack Bauer to shoot you. He will simply shoot your wife. No man tells Jack Bauer what to do.
              
If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.
                               
Jack Bauers calender goes from March 31st to April 2nd, no one fools Jack Bauer.

In order to control illegal immigration in the United States, the president installed cardboard cutouts of Jack Bauer along the US/Mexico border.
              
Upon hearing that he was played by Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer killed Sutherland.  Jack Bauer gets played by no man.

If everyone on "24" followed Jack Bauer's instructions, it would be called "12".

Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys.  He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.
  
Jack doesn't believe in Murphy's Law, only Bauer's Law: "Whatever CAN go wrong, WILL be resolved in a period of 24 hours."
                   
If it tastes like chicken, looks like chicken, and feels like chicken, but Jack Bauer says its beef, then it's freakin’ beef.
                   
Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.
                   
When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer hates lemonade.
                   
It wasn't the needle that killed Tony... it was Jack's death grip in thinking he was already dead.
                   
1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight.
                   

            
Lets get one thing straight, the only reason you are conscious right now is because Jack Bauer does not feel like carrying you.

Jack Bauer played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.
                   
Jack Bauer once won a game of Connect 4 in 3 moves.
                   
Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin. Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.

Jack Bauer is the leading cause of death in Middle Eastern men.
                      
There have been no terrorist attacks in United States since Jack Bauer has appeared on television.
                   
Jack Bauer sleeps with a pillow under his gun.
                   
It's no use crying over spilt milk... Unless that was Jack Bauer's milk. Oh you are so screwed.

Killing Jack Bauer doesn't make him dead. It just makes him angry.

Osama bin Laden's recent proposal for truce is a direct result of him finding out that Jack Bauer is, in fact, still alive.

Tony was once shot in the neck, rushed to the hospital, underwent emergency surgery and was back on the job in just a few hours. Jack Bauer still can't believe that wimp went to the hospital first.

Jack Bauer doesn't miss. If he didn't hit you it's because he was shooting at another terrorist twelve miles away.

When Google can't find something, it asks Jack Bauer for help.
                   
Jack Bauer shops at Costco... without membership.
                    
Superman's only weakness is Kryptonite. Jack Bauer laughs at Superman for having a weakness.

Jack Bauer doesn't speak any foreign languages, but he can make any foreigner speak English in a matter of minutes.
                         
Jack Bauer killed 93 people in just 4 days time.  Wait, that is a real fact.
                               
Quetin Tarantino was asked to direct a biography about Jack Bauer.  He passed.  It was too violent.
          
            
In 96 hours, Jack Bauer has killed 93 people and saved the world 4 times. What have you done with your life?

There is the right way, the wrong way, and the Jack Bauer way.  It's basically the right way but faster and more deaths.
                   
There are three leading causes of death among terrorists.  They are all Jack Bauer.
                               
If Jack Bauer shot you while quail hunting, it wouldn't be an accident.

Jack Bauer could strangle you with a cordless phone.
                   
When you open a can of whoop-ass, Jack Bauer jumps out.
                      
On a high school math test, Jack Bauer put down "Violence" as every one of the answers.  He got an A+ on the test because Jack Bauer solves all his problems with Violence.

Sun Tzu once wrote, "If your enemy is weaker, conquer him.  If he is stronger, join him. If he is Jack Bauer, you're freakin’ dead."
                   
In the 18 months where Jack Bauer was presumed dead, Tony Almeida was put in a coma, Michelle and David Palmer were killed, a major hurricane raveged the Gulf Coast, and Rob Schneider made another movie.  See what happens when Bauer isn't around?

If Jack Bauer misspells a word, your dictionary is wrong.

Jack Bauer teaches a course at Harvard entitled: "Time Management: Making the Most Out Of Each Day."

Men are ok with their wives fantasizing about Jack Bauer during sex; because they are doing the same thing.

In high school Jack Bauer was voted "Most Likely to Kill the Foreign Kid"... and "Best Eyes."

When President Palmer quit to start doing Allstate commercials, it took him 43 takes before he could stop saying, "You're in good hands with Jack Bauer".

The Black Eyed Peas were just The Peas until Jack Bauer heard their music.

When the boogie man goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Jack Bauer.

Jack Bauer once called the Vice President "Mr. President", but realized his mistake and shot the President.  Jack Bauer is never wrong.            
            
Jack Bauer can get McDonald's breakfast after 10:30.
                   
Jack Bauer got Hellen Keller to talk.
                   
My parents told my little brother and I that Jack Bauer was "just a television character". We are now orphans.
                   
Jack Bauer removed the "Escape" button from his keyboard. Jack Bauer never needs to escape.
                   
Jack Bauer once killed so many terrorists that at one point, the #5 CIA Most Wanted fugitive was an 18-year-old teenager in Malaysia who downloaded the movie Dodgeball.
                   
When Jack Bauer was a child, he made his mother finish his vegetables.
              
People with amnesia still remember Jack Bauer.
              
One time The Rock raised his eyebrow to Jack Bauer.  This is why he is no longer able to wrestle.
                   
When Batman is in trouble, he turns on the  Jack Bauer signal.
                   
If Jack Bauer saw a terrorist reaching for a bomb to blow himself up, Jack would shoot the bomb first. Nobody steals a kill from Jack Bauer.
                   
You can lead a horse to water.  Jack Bauer can make him drink.
                   
When Jack Bauer goes to the airport and the metal detector doesn't go off, security gives him a gun.
                               
In kindergarten, Jack Bauer killed a terrorist for Show and Tell.
                   
There are no such thing as lesbians, just women who never met Jack Bauer.
                   
"Jack Bauer" is Arabic for "I'm screwed".
                   
If Jack Bauer was gay, his name would be Chuck Norris.
                   
During the commercials, Jack Bauer calls the CSI detectives and solves their crimes.
                   
Nobody says 'hit me' when Jack Bauer deals Blackjack.
                   
After 7 minutes of interrogation at the hands of Jack Bauer, Tom Cruise admitted that he was gay.

Due to Jack Bauer, no one looks forward to the weekend anymore, they look forward to the weekend being over, and watching 24 on Monday.

Jack Bauer makes onions cry.

If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Stalin and Hitler so they wouldn't have to bear witness to what he'd do to Nina.

If you're holding a gun to Jack Bauer's head, don't count to three before you shoot.  Count to 10.  That way, you get to live 7 seconds longer.

Finding Nemo would have been vastly more exciting had Jack Bauer been looking for him.

If Jack and MacGyver were locked in a room together, Jack would make a bomb out of MacGyver and get out.

Jack Bauer literally died for his country, and lived to tell about it.

The rules of poker have recently been revised. Now the winning hand is the one with the most Jacks in it.

Jack Bauer knows Victoria's secret.

Jack Bauer uses #1 pencils on standardized tests.... Jack Bauer doesn't associate with anything that is #2.

Jack Bauer was conceived by torturing the other sperm until they gave up the location of the egg.

The Wonder and Glory of the GC

The Grand Canyon is even more impressive in person, believe me. 

Andre's wedding

This is my cousin Cheryl and myself at my cousin Andre's wedding, back in 2004 I think it was... 

Hercules!

Do I have muscles or do I have muscles? hahahahahaha 

The Didgeridoo

This is me in Australia, circa June 2005 on the Great Ocean Road trip from Adelaide to Melbourne. It took three days to make the drive, and it was totally awesome. The pics here aren't as good because they are scanned from the original; still it's better than nothing. I'll put up a few more soon enough. 

Just say no to curry!

Ok, the picture thing is working again...these are some goats that I saw on my last field trip a couple of weeks ago. Those guys know how to move, I'll tell you that! 

Web Email Services

I spend a lot of time online, some may say I spend too much time. To those people I say… “whatever.” There are a lot of free email service providers out there, some well known, others not so well known.  Some are good, others should pay you to use them. Which is the best one? In this day and age, I don’t think there is any good reason for someone to pay for a personal email account; thus I don’t discuss the merits of the paid versions of the webmail services. With care, planning, patience and common sense, you can avoid much of the spam that exists on the web, mostly with multiple addresses and knowing that forwarding stupid emails helps spammers.

Anyways, I’ve had experience with various email providers. The main ones I’ve used (besides school and corporate programs) have been Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, AIM mail, with some other website-specific stuff like blackplanet.com, collegeclub.com and other gimmicky stuff like that which no one should use for any kind of serious emailing, in my opinion. I have formed various opinions and have ranked the main four that I’ve used, from worst to first

4: Hotmail.
It was the first email address I had, and it won over yahoo because it sounded cooler, hehehe. Plus, I was able to get the address I wanted, and that in and of itself makes my hotmail address one that I won’t throw away; plus MSN Messenger is the main IM program that I use. However, I cannot recommend hotmail to anyone as an email program anymore. It’s not as crappy as it used to be, but when compared to all the other free email programs out there it is sorely lacking. The spam filter is decent, but the storage space of 250 MB limited only to North American-based customers is a deal-breaker. Of course, it’s a big increase from the 2MB limit they used to have…but other than that, the only thing that Hotmail has going for it is its rapidly fading marquee status. Also, the advertising and pop-ups that are starting to take it over are not at all becoming of a prime free email service. If you already have a hotmail address, I would say to keep it; but I would recommend that you migrate to one of the top two and use hotmail solely for MSN and Passport features.

3: AIM Mail.
I hate AOL. I detest everything it stands for, and I would rather not connect to the internet at all than use AOL to connect to the internet. I also strongly dislike AIM messenger, and I use it only sparingly to speak to a few friends who do not use any other messenger service. As it is, I haven’t signed on there for a while anyways, but I don’t hate AIM as much as I hate AOL, mostly because AIM is free. That being said, I have nothing very negative to say about AIM mail, surprisingly. Nothing very positive either, but nothing very negative. The AIM mail is a new service that grew out of the netscape.net mail service, and since I got it for free as an AIM member, I decided to check it out. It’s a barebones email system to me. It has very good storage (2 GBs) and all the basics you’d need for emailing, but nothing more. I am not a “perks” kind of guy; I daresay that I find all them “bells and whistles” that people use in their email and Imming these days very annoying, but the austerity of AIM mail is pretty amazing. If all you’re looking for is a free email client, you could do worse than AIM but you could also do a lot better. If you have an AIM ID, then you automatically have an AIM email account and I guess you can do what I do; use it for various email forums that you find kinda interesting but don’t have the time to read on a regular basis. Or, you could use it to give to girls you don’t really want to talk to :p everyone needs a valid decoy email, hahaha.

2:Yahoo Mail
Yahoo is the best all-rounder of the lot. A Yahoo ID can be used with the best IM client around, its features of movies, weather, personals, sports, profiles, etc. is better than MSN’s in almost all aspects to me (the only thing that MSN has over Yahoo is the blog/spaces feature), it’s a lot easier to meet new people on yahoo than it is on MSN, and best of all, its email client stomps the heck out of hotmail. I don’t know why I didn’t make my yahoo account my primary account from back in the day, I guess because I didn’t get the username I wanted and the differences were not as vast between Yahoo and MSN back then…as it is, the current Yahoo email has 1 GB of free storage, decent enough spam control, a pretty intuitive and clear layout and is very robust and can fit everyone from the internet novice to the savvy gaming pro. It has a lot of bells and whistles too, unfortunately, but I prefer their default smiley package over MSN’s. If you’re just beginning your internet experience and you want to get an email that helps you to be a part of a community and not just something that picks up mail, then Yahoo is definitely your choice. However, it doesn’t get the top pick for me…

1: Gmail from Google.
All hail Google, who shall one day become the all-encompassing rulers of planet Googleia. This internet company has a gift of making existing things better, and email is no different. I was trying for the longest time to get a gmail account, since you have to be invited by someone to get one. It took me a while, but I finally got one through a friend in Indonesia (of all places). About a month after I got that invitation, Google finally deigned to send me an invitation about a year after I signed up for updates. Sheesh…

Anyways, Gmail completely changed the way I think about email. I had initially created a new yahoo ID to migrate from hotmail, but after I played around with gmail, I migrated there instead and I’ve never looked back. Free storage space of more than 2.7 Gbs and growing? A clear and easy user interface? A convenient way to check if you have mail without having to open the client? All of these things are present, but the feature I find most attractive is how they treat email conversations as, well, conversations! In regular emails, your messages come to you in sequential order so if you email someone and they email you back, you just get their message in your box and it’s presented in the order it was received. In Gmail, all email conversations based on the same topic where you’re just replying back and forth are grouped together so you don’t have to dig through anything to figure out who said what in response to whom. It’s all there for you to look at whenever you want! It’s easier seen than explained, so take a look at it when you get a chance. Granted, it is not an all-rounder like Yahoo; while you have the new Googletalk, I think that’s come a bit too late to make a dent in the IM market and I don’t really see Google as a community-based service like Yahoo. However, for pure email services with innovative solutions and great settings, Gmail gets my vote as the best free email service on the web.

One last thing: Any issues about privacy and ads in Google are overblown, I think. The ads that Google uses are text-based and not in-your-face like MSN and Yahoo ads are. Besides, it’s interesting to see the links that come up if you email your friend about some weird random thing like “why do we park in driveways and drive in parkways?”

So, if you want a great email service, pick Gmail or Yahoo. Use AIM if you already have an AIM ID and want an email for various purposes, and only use hotmail if you need to get an MSN passport.