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?