Stories about Caribbean from July, 2008
Jamaica: Patois Parlance
Transition Sunshine says that “all Jamaicans are multilingual, and while some may not speak patois, they all understand it”. Posted with video to prove her point.
Dominica: Tattoo You?
“An adult’s desire for body art should be respected. However a misinformed obsession for tattoos, especially among Dominican and other Caribbean teenage girls…should be a cause for deep concern”: Dominica Weekly guest blogger guest Danielle Edwards thinks that West Indian women are being judged by their tattoos.
Jamaica: Stolen Beach
“Apparently, some ‘enterprising’ Jamaicans have figured out a solution to the growing problem of private ownership of our beachfront lands”: Long Bench reports on the stealing of a beach, adding: “If this kind of theft weren’t a sign of how actively we are digging a serious hole for ourselves in...
Jamaica, Guyana: “Small Boys”
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp features a poem by Guyanese writer Marc Matthews.
Serbia: Bob Marley Monument; Serbian Reggae
Belgrade 2.0 writes about a monument to Bob Marley that's about to open in northeastern Serbia and posts YouTube video samples of Serbian reggae.
Jamaica: Green Space
Montego Bay Day By Day posts photos of The Old Hospital – an area that many Jamaicans agree “should remain as one of the very few green spaces in the city.”
Bahamas, Turks & Caicos: Political Storm
Bahama Pundit reports that a political storm “is brewing right next-door to us in the Turks & Caicos Islands, but most Bahamians don't have a clue about what's happening.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Now Hair This!
“I’m a twenty-something overachieving chick with dreadlocks and a predilection for wearing Converse to work”: Trinidadian blogger The Liming House says her hair “is about defying stereotypes.”
Jamaica: Sex Tapes
Jamaican youngsters are engaging in a “[not so] new form of sexual exploration and entertainment” – the sex tape – and Long Bench says: “It's the absence of healthy attitudes about sexuality that creates the market and the appetite for these videos.”
Climate change, the view from Haiti
Writing about climate change [Fr], Note d'Or doesn't remember it ever getting this hot in Haiti when she was a child and says the trade winds don't blow as often as they used to.
Trinidad & Tobago: Draft Constitution
Jumbie's Watch wonders “wither did it come from?”, referring to Trinidad and Tobago's new draft constitution.
Bermuda: Communication Breakdown
Bermudian Vexed Bermoothes is amazed at “how Government can have so many communications people yet be so bad at communicating its message.”
Dominica: Local Food Alternatives
Danielle Edwards, guest blogging at Dominican Weekly, says that “we should all make the effort to resist rising food prices by being more innovative with our meals.”
Barbados, U.S.A.: Controversial Cartoon
Barbadian blogger Cheese-on-bread! comments on the controversial cover of The New Yorker: “Some people are really scared Obama is going to be the 43rd President of the United States…”
Guyana: Summer Time?
Guyana-Gyal notices some strange weather patterns at work in her neck of the woods…
St Vincent & The Grenadines: Bollywood Magic
From St Vincent and the Grenadines, Lullabies, Fairy Tales and Other Self Delusions sees Jane Austen through an Indian film director's eyes—that's when he begins to realise he can't resist the attraction of Bollywood movies.
Trinidad & Tobago: Polluted Olympics
Looking ahead to the Olympics next month, Trinidad's Life from a caffeine hyped point of view says pollution is a sobering reality of these Games. Seeing photos of pollution, she says “makes you almost wish that Beijing was still The Forbidden City, and one cannot help but be saddened by...
Trinidad & Tobago: Internet Connection
Trinidadian blogger Four Fingers and a Thumb 2.0 learns a few things about music, and discovers there's a lot she still doesn't know about her mother.
Jamaica: Press Freedom
Jamaican blogger Diatribalist uses news clips showing an ugly interaction at a council meeting to illustrate how the media self-censors itself.
Jamaica: Conference Call
Active Voice gives an insightful report on a number of note-worthy academic gatherings, including the conference held in honour of the eminent Jamaican-born sociologist and poet MG Smith.
Trinidad & Tobago: Survival Strategy
Trinidadian blogger, The Coffee Wallah, isn't impressed by the G8 leaders’ tree-planting exercise, and says our approach to the environment reminds her of a Hollywood action movie. “Are we really going to wait until we have four minutes to save the world?”, she asks.