Seasons Greetings

 

Enjoy the season!

Wishing you all the best for 2010.

Take those resolutions seriously.

Above all, be happy!

Thanks for the support on my blog and otherwise.

What a Wick: the last 7 days in 19 (12th-18th Dec, 2009)

It’s hard to decide on gifts for certain people. Sometimes we go with what we can afford; other times we aim for practicality. In some instances we wish the persons concerned would help by dropping a hint and in other cases we’d prefer if they stated emphatically “All I want for Christmas is…”

1. A better report card: President Obama gave himself “a good solid B-plus.” Many people give him a failing grade. Castro is one of the many. 
2. To maintain the status quo: Some Italians are upset about the dark-skinned Jesus, Mary and Joseph on display at a local courthouse. 
3. A wholesome hobby: The Chinese government will continue its anti- pornography drive in 2010. 
4. Kudo: Ben Bernanke was named TIME magazine’s 2009 Person of the Year, and Bolt was on the shortlist.
5. A few good men: Westerners were advised that the Taliban has no shortage of volunteers from their own region. Therefore, they need not apply.
6. Some common sense: A gay Jamaican man who had both his eyes dug out by his lover, pleaded for the court to release the offender to come home to take care of him.
7. An airtight alibi: Buju Banton was arrested in the US and charged for his part in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
8. A Porta Potty: A Trini man broke into a roti shop to use their toilet.  He fell asleep and was discovered there in the morning. He was fined TT $3000.
9. Home sweet home: After 35 years in prison, a US man was exonerated by DNA evidence.
10. To be a worthy competitor: A controversial billboard in New Zealand shows a sour faced Joseph in bed with Mary after the deed. The caption underneath reads “Poor Joseph. God is a hard act to follow.”

11.  No privatization of the water service: Some Jamaican men drive around,  approach people using water for what they consider unimportant activities (e.g washing a car) and demand that tax be paid to them immediately.

12.  A change of climate: 193 nations gathered in Copenhagen to discuss solutions to the global climate crisis. 

13.  Suspension of all political roro: Marcus Nicholas accused St. Lucia’s PM and the leader of the oppositionof conspiring against him.

14.  A new story: Rihanna posed for half naked pics in GQ magazine to make us forget the pictures of her battered face that were leaked onto the internet earlier this year.

15.  To befriend the big O: Oprah donated $1.5 million to a school in Atlanta.

16.  Clean atmosphere: A Jamaican woman assaulted another. The offense?  The woman had bad breath and continued to speak to the attacker despite warnings to desist.

17.  A role model: in the US, a 4-year-old boy was found drunk, roaming his neighborhood wearing a little girl’s dress, saying that he wanted to go meet his father in jail.

18.  A date: Allen Stanford’s trial will begin January 2011. He will face 21 charges.

19.  A chill pill: First Colombia, now the Netherlands. Chavez accused the latter,  “along with the Yankee empire, of preparing aggression against Venezuela.”

Consider yourselves up to speed….

Video of the Week

What a Wick: the last 7 days in 19 (5th-11th Dec, 2009)

Kids are told that there are benefits to being Nice and drawbacks to being Naughty and the verdict is handed down at Christmas time. (Hopefully) We adults don’t believe in Santa but we do believe in consequences. In the grownup world, who was naughty and who was nice this week? And what were the consequences?

1. Gatorade was nice enough to drop their endorsement deal with Tiger Woods amid the golfer’s sex scandal. They actually did him a favor. At this point, can you imagine Tiger repeating the Gatorade slogan “Is it in you?”
2. UK parents have deemed all shops encouraging the ‘pinkification’ of little girls, naughty and they called for a boycott of those businesses.
3. Tennis Star Andy Murray was a naughty videogame obsessed boyfriend and his girlfriend broke up with him as a result.
4. The Australian police thought that two stars were naughty for killing and cooking a rat for consumption on a reality show. The stars were charged for animal cruelty.
5. Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on the heels of agreeing to more troops for Afghanistan and he was nice enough to speak on ‘just wars’…
6. But Fidel Castro criticized his actions as naughty. In Castro’s view Obama should not have accepted this peace prize after committing to the Afghan war.
7. Some St. Lucians were nice enough to point out that their prime minister should inquire into his health if he is becoming too exhausted to address the nation.
8. Buju was naughty when he sang Boom Bye Bye in 1992, but a gay and lesbian organization in the US is protesting his Grammy nomination even if his current album does not promote violence against homosexuals.
9. It was nice that the Guyana Police Force embraced and promoted a police officer who was blinded in both eyes while on duty.

10.  The ‘dance hall summit’ was a nice move. Dancehall artists Vybz Kartel and Movado met with Jamaican Cabinet Ministers to hammer out a truce between Gully and Gaza factions.

11.  The English football team is entertaining naughty thoughts of using Viagra just before they go out on the field. Research shows that this drug helps athletes perform better at their sport.

12.  The International Baseball Federation was nice enough to elect one of Castro’s sons as a vice president of the organization despite prevailing anti –Cuban sentiments in some areas.

13.  A Jamaican man who was bitten by a dog was naughty enough to go looking for the dog after he left the hospital. And he bit it back!

14.  Some Americans are saying that it is naughty of CBS to cancel ‘As the World Turns’ after 54 years.

15.  It’s nice that there are major plans in the pipeline for St. Lucia’s Boys Training Centre.

16.  The thieves who stole the corpse of the former president of the Republic of Cyprus are undoubtedly naughty. Neither the motive nor the corpse has been uncovered.

17.  It was nice that a Vincentian was recognized for his ‘Welectricity’ innovation.

18.  It’s nice that the US has organizations to answer kids’ Santa letters but it’s disheartening when they receive a naughty letter from a kid stating “Dear Santa, I am going to kill you and steal the toys from your workshop.”

19.  It’s nice that the US pay czar is the one who gets to decide the compensation packages of the companies that received bailout money from the government. Top executes are already fearful and threatening to quit.

Consider yourself up to speed….

Video of the Week

Video of the Week

What a Wick: the last 7 days in 19 (21st-27th Nov, 2009)

My North American friend, Carolyn, wants to know what some Caribbean terms mean. As the Trinis would say, ‘I find she too damn farse’. But I concede to just 19 (this time); however Ms. Lady will have to read between the lines. I also warned her that Caribbean talk is not as forgiving as what she is used to:

1. Slackness: A Canadian woman lost her insurance benefits because while on sick leave she posted vacation photos on Facebook. The pics showed her in slackness – having fun at the beach, a nightclub and her birthday party.
2. They dread eh: Iranian authorities are so dread that they confiscated a Nobel Peace medal conferred on a native human rights lawyer.
3. Lawd put a hand: In this recession, someone purchased Michael Jackson’s white glove for over US $350,000.
4. Star boy: US Pilot Chesley Sullenberger who became a star boy for safely landing in the Hudson River in January, claimed that his feat resulted in ‘rock star sex’ with his wife.
5. Dem fellas sick: Two Jamaican thieves were hospitalized after falling from an ackee tree while they were fighting over who had the right to tief from the tree.
6. Under heavy manners:  Government officials want to have Italians under heavy manners by cancelling lunch breaks. They claim that this will benefit both health and the economy.
7.  Mate ignorant-ee: is what Colombia’s leader really wanted to say about Chavez and his threats of war when he actually said, “We will not be provoked. The insults bounce off us.”
8. Pappyshow: A Japanese gamer officially got married to one of the virtual women in a video game – now that’s pure pappyshow.
9. Guava season: In this guava season, Venezuelans are spending more than ever on facelifts, liposuction,      and breast augmentations. They say that it helps them forget their money woes.
10. Poor jab: A Taiwanese man was robbed of more than $2 million in cash as soon as he withdrew it from the bank.
11. Fire burn!: That’s directed at the person who started a group on Facebook urging a mass suicide on December 21^st. Approximately 190 people joined the group; Hong Kong police are investigating.
12. Anti- man (and that’s being nice): Everyone knows that Adam Lambert from American Idol is an anti-man, but he angered Americans when he kissed a man and smashed another man’s face into his crotch while he performed at the AMAs.
13. Bon Dieu!: is what I said when I heard that in Jamaica, a gay man gouged out both of his lover’s eyes because the poor man didn’t sleep at his house on Saturday.
14. Feel a how: Rihanna said that she felt a how about the nude photos of her that were leaked onto the internet in May, but she added “If you don’t send your boyfriend naked pictures, then I feel bad for him.”
15. Bobol: Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford is suing Lloyd’s of London for defense costs. The insurer refuses to give him additional funds based on the claim that they do not provide coverage for bobol.
16. Fete: Hopefully the Commonwealth leaders had no time to fete in Trinidad this week. This summit was supposed to be so serious that it was actually referred to as a “crisis summit” due to the recession and climate change issues.
17. Big Up: to St. Lucia. 209 yachts are headed there as part of the 24^th ARC.
18. A-A: is all I could manage when I heard that a US man wanted to shop; therefore he locked his two young sons (3and6 yrs) in the trunk of his car while he did so. 
19. In two twos:  A beer with an alcohol content of 32% was launched in Scotland. Some are upset because this means that in two twos they will be tipsy.

 (Carolyn and all yuh) consider yourselves up to speed…..

Video of the Week

Adam Lambert’s controversial performance:

What a Wick: the last 7 days in 19 (14th-20th Nov.)

 

After seeing the movie 2012, I’m thinking that we need to enjoy the rest of our days here just in case the Mayans were right. Here are your 19 Dos and Don’ts to keep you safe and happy for the next three years:

1. Don’t bow (in Jamaica or otherwise): Some Americans are upset, saying that Obama’s deep bow at the waist while meeting Japan’s Emperor Akihito was disgraceful.
2. Do watch what you eat:  Russian police have arrested three homeless men suspected of killing and eating a man then selling the rest of the corpse to a local kebab house.
3. Do follow tradition: A Jamaican man attacked his wife with a machete for preparing canned mackerel and white rice as ‘Sunday food’.
4. Do wear proper underwear: A thief was caught in a small window and his pants fell off as a result of all the wriggling. And for the hours the cops tried to free him, the world got to watch his boxers.
5.  Do something new: Oprah will move on; her show will end on its 25^th anniversary, in 2011.
6. Do lose weight: In Peru, four people were arrested on suspicion of killing people to sell their fat and tissue for cosmetic production in Europe.
7. Do seek asylum: A young man in Jamaica, who went to purchase tampons for his girlfriend, was beaten by a group of men who called him a ‘mama man’.
8. Don’t pass judgment: In Trinidad, a man sentenced to hang warned the trial judge that he “will pay.”
9. Do start a neighbourhood watch: A Missouri girl killed her 9-year-old neighbor because she “wanted to know what it felt like”.

10.  Do find love: A 94 year old man in Barbados just got married again. It’s his 4^th marriage.

11.  Don’t question the obvious: South African teen, Caster Semenya gets to keep her medal but the results of her gender tests will not be made public.

12.  Do ignore the bill of rights (but not the bill): An American couple was arrested and charged for ‘theft’ for not giving a tip after they finished their meal at a restaurant.

13.  Do take advantage of happy hours: A study showed that men who drink alcohol every day cut their risk of heart disease by more than a third.

14.  Do appreciate freeness: At a bookstore in US, customers who buy Palin’s new book will receive a free bag of “Just Plain Nutz.”

15.  Don’t mix up Big Mac and Mac Daddy: Some white teenage boys will go to court for rapping their order at a McDonald’s drive thru in Utah.

16.  Do choose your friends carefully: Trinidad plans to fight crime by posting photographs and other information about wanted criminals on Facebook.

17.  Do avoid Bòbòl: Based on a corruption index, Barbados was found to be the least corrupt in the Caribbean. Out of 180 countries they ranked 20^th; St. Lucia ranked 22^nd .

18.  Don’t be jaded: St.Lucia’s Jade Mountain won the first ever Gava Gold Award.

19.  Don’t take this lightly: Iranian leader, Ahmadinejad wants an alliance with Venezuelan bad boy Chavez.

Consider yourself up to speed….

I’m donating my football boots. I’m done!