Greetings from Trinidad and Tobago

Greetings from the beautiful Trinidad and Tobago !


This time last night I was stressing over my trip here. First it was whether or not I had everything I needed clothes, shoes that kinda thing. Next it was checking off the requests of everyone who knew I was coming.
“Bring meh dis nah?” or I know yuh rushing to leave but when yuh comin bring some ______ nah?” To top it all off, I had slept a mere two (yes I said TWO) hours. There was a period of about two hours where I SERIOUSLY was considering NOT coming. But then as if out of the V-8 commercial someone appeared and clunked my forehead as if to say, “Yuh mad or what? Is Trinidad yuh going!”

I began to suck up all the worries and continued with the errands I had planned for the night. Fast forward a little and well let’s just say all that is water under the bridge now cuz guess what?????? I am here!!!! I was so excited on the flight because it was then it begin to sink it. Actually the closer I got the better I felt. When the pilot released the landing gear, I felt a little flutter in my heart. It was kind of funny actually because for some reason I began to think of all the times I had been to Trinidad and a little ritual I had always been privy to.
To be honest, I am not sure when this ‘tradition’ began or if you can call it a tradition per se but IT happens EVERYTIME a plane lands in T&T. It goes like this …. when the plane actually lands, passengers (usually locals, foreign-born children of locals like me and those who have been to the island long enough to know the ritualistic behavior of Trinidadians) clap and start tuh cheer. It is almost like saying, “Thank you God for getting us here safe!” I know for a fact this is an island thing because I have traveled internationally to other places and have never experienced this. Anyway back to the story….There was a bit of a delay in the clapping and cheering and I thought, “Ok. Maybe people don’t do this type of thing anymore.” Well, either they were reading my mind or they were just being a LITTLE slow because as soon as the thought left my mind, guess what???? they DID IT! Don’t ask me why but it felt good. I had to bus a lil smile. Fast forward again and I am now at my Dad’s and just had a little dinner. I am sitting here trying to digest all of the things he has said to me about what I am going to be doing over the next couple days. Truthfully, all I REALLY heard was the fact, in between him giving me orders, is that they DON’T have Internet at the house. So that being said I can only post when I get to an Internet Café. I cant wait! That’s all for now

Onyx Magazine closing

I live in the Houston area and enjoy the snippets of the middle/upper middle class upwardly mobile. It's nice to occasionally see how the other half lives. Needless to say, when I saw this in the Houston Chronicle I was saddened. I had the opportunity to meet Onyx publisher, Ms. Burton-Allen about a year ago. She talked about starting the magazine, the day to day of magazine publishing and most importantly the joy starting a magazine of this caliber in the City of Houston. The article states she plans to pursue her "media relations and crisis-management consulting business." Seeing this article made me think of black publishing on a whole. Is it still necessary to have this niche in the world? She mentioned in the Houston Chronicle article that Onyx only "scratched the surface" adding "hopefully someone will pick up the torch." Could mainstream publications pick up that torch and cover this side of the black middle class? As a journalism major I know magazine publishing on a whole is a difficult business. The topic of the closure of some well-known black publications was discussed some time ago on Richard Princes's Journal-isms site Check out what publishers of now defunct magazines had to say on the topic. What are your thoughts on the subject

She’s Coming Clean

Play on words…I know I know I am really wrong for that( I really am quite empathetic to this situation) BUT according to Fox Sports online, it seems Marion Jones is in court today to fess up about her steroid use and the fact that she lied to an investigative committee. The story was first reported by one of my favorite newspapers, the Washington Post. Jones will reportedly admit that she used a type of steroid called ‘clear’ for two years starting in 1999. She says she thought what she was taking was flaxseed oil and didn’t realize it was dope UNTIL she stopped training with Trevor Graham. The kicker part was that she attempted to sue the distributor of the drug…go figure ……..Anyway she has been under speculation for quite some time and as part of this plea could lose all, yes ALL of her medals from the 2000 Olympics and other world championships. Several months back MSNBC reported that she was broke.
Call me an optimist, (I like her) but I believe that she didn’t intentionally take the drugs and then panicked....Not everyone would've responded to the situation in that manner but she did. People cannot say what they would or wouldnt do in a similar situation because most of us wouldnt make it to that level in any sport field to have to find out. Now I wonder what she will end up doing. Is she going to be able to rebuild her life? Earlier this year she married Barbadian sprinter Obadele Thompson. Hopefully he will help her through this. While she may have deceived all her fans, the only person she really hurt is herself. Everyone deserves a second chance.

A Sad Ending...

Ok.... so it took me a day or so to wrap my brain around the sad ending to the Nailah Franklin case. I like so many others wanted her to be found alive and well but deep down I think we all knew something was terribly wrong when the car and personal items were found. In an article on ABC News.com Ms. Franklin was identified two days ago through dental records as her body was badly decomposed. The family has asked through a statement thanked all those who helped in the search for Nailah and kept her case in the media. They also asked that they be kept in your thoughts and prayers as they move forward and prepare to celebrate her life. I will do just that ......

Documentary Announcement

I'd like to believe that I have readers EVERYWHERE ( I know I know its probably all in MY mind) so with that in mind I thought I'd write about this movie review I saw in the New York Times today. The name of the documentary is Banished and it was directed by Marco Williams A well-respected filmmaker, he holds an undergraduate degree from Ha'vard as well as two graduate degrees from UCLA. He currently teaches at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Back to the movie.. Banished was released in 2006 and was first seen by various groups through outreach events. For those of you from or around the Texas area you may remember he directed along with Whitney Dow the Two Towns of Jasper. The story was part of the Point of View series on PBS and aired in 2003. Since the release of Banished he has been making the rounds at various film festivals and hitting the media circuit to discuss his latest project. The site is not up to date, so I'll keep checking for its premiere in the Houston area. If anyone in the New York area has seen this documentary or plans to see it, stop by my blog and tell me how it is. Enjoy Lady Writer

Did he REALLY say that??????

I may have mentioned in a post or two that this is my last semester of school.... Let's just say its the best of times and its the worst of times. I am trying to enjoy this last semester but with papers and projects and group meetings there just isn't time. The brain is working overtime. Inevitably, I get the same question from all - "What are your plans after graduation?" I haven't actually figured it out yet. I am thinking graduate(teaching) or law school (comm law) Pros and cons on both sides makes it even tougher. I recently met a Vanguard adviser who said to me -without missing a step mind you- "Do it all!" (Profound moment, I tell ya! I never thought of that!) .....Anywho as I said nothing is etched in stone but after reading this article by Peter Baker at the Washington Post, I am thinking graduate school may not be such a bad road to take. All I could think when I first saw this was WOW! Then I went straight into song ........I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way...I would love to to get my hands on a five-year report detailing the successes of the No Child Left Behind program. I know EVERYONE makes mistakes but... what do you think?

As Long as I Have a Platform From Which To Speak...

I echo these words of novelist and frequent NPR commentator John Ridley. This is a picture of missing Chicago woman Nailah Franklin. The 28 year-old has been missing since 18th of September. Franklin is listed as 5’2” and weighing about 115 pounds. The pharmaceutical representative was reported missing after she didn’t show up to an important meeting with her boss. Her car and some other personal belongings were found a couple of days ago. Check out the link from the local CBS station in Chicago for more information. It is well documented that when the missing aren’t blond or blue-eyed there tends to be less or no real coverage at all. I grapple with my thoughts of issues dealing with race and race relations. I try to find a deeper reason as to why it appears at times one person’s life is valued more than another in this country. I am cautious as to how I approach this issue as I don’t want to offend readers who may see it as just a black/ white issue or more importantly forces them to label my writing. I think the most important thing is to stay focused on spreading the word about the missing. I think by keeping the names of the missing out there even it is only this medium will help and I wanted to do my part. As a communication student this is one area I would like to see change. I always always always want to be part of the solution and never a part of the problem. Earlier this June, Ridley commented on the issue on The Huffington Post .As I mentioned in my 23rd of September post, I am a blogger in training and thanks to The Write Stuff, I have acquired another skill in the blogging world – Hyperlinking! I had actually given up on this and had planned to just copy and paste all the links to the relevant stories. Thanks again, Write Stuff! Because of you dissemination in its proper form will continue.

Wish Me Luck.....

Happy Monday
In this-my final semester (I get chills EVERYTIME I say that)- I am taking a course in African-American Women Writers and Film Adaptations. One of the novels assigned is The Color Purple and through my daily peruse of blog sites I saw this sweepstakes being advertised on Blackvoices. Needless to say I quickly signed up. I am actually in the early stages of planning a trip to my favorite city and one of the things I would like to do while there is to see the play. Wouldn't it be nice to go for FREEEE!!!!!! I think so!

Testing

This is just a test. Not only am I a writer in training, but I am also a blogger in training hence the amount of posts. Today I added some of my favorite blogs, many of which I visit daily and of course this one lonely pic. It was taken about two weeks ago at a friend's b-day party. My goal is to have this technique down by the end of the year. This is only the beginning.... Have a productive week!

1500 miles from farm to fork? The lid from your take out coffee will be here when your grandkids get here…

I woke up this morning to the heavy sound of rain and everything in me said "go back to sleep" but for some reason I couldn’t. I decided to get up, went into the living room, got into my favorite chair and turned on the TV. I flipped the channels a couple of times and landed on a show called the EcoZone Project. Think TLC while you Were Out. It’s hosted by Daisy Fuentes along three others architect John Bruce, eco-journalist Simran Sethi and Ryan Sutter who you may remember from The Bachelorette (I did!). The shows premise is similar to other home makeover shows with a small twist- they do it in the name of being green. All of the changes the team made showed the homeowner (in this episode actor Ron Livingston) ways to make a home more eco-friendly thus protecting the environment. The team used reclaimed wood (wood from torn down homes); paint that doesn’t give off any gasses (called off-gassing) recycled paper towels etc. It was interesting. Through out the show they offered ‘green’ tips, things like unplugging your cell phone charger when not in use and changing out light bulbs to protect the environment. I didn’t know that a light bulb released anything into the environment. Any ways…it was kinda cool to see a show presenting green like that. You hear a lot about ‘going green’ and for some reason in my mind that equates being a vegetarian. I don’t know why it just does. I guess maybe if we knew a little bit more about being green and the consequences of not making even the smallest of changes they suggested in the piece we may not like the results.

What I really wonder though is if all of the things they suggested will help the environment, why do we continue to make things that hurt. I guess I will attempt a start and unplug my phone charger when its not in use

Where did the time go??????

I cant believe I haven't written in over a month. It seems like last week I started this blog to help with my writing. Lots have been going on in the news, namely today Libby's sentence being pardoned by President Bush. Bush said the sentence was just "excessive" I guess in retrospect I expected this to be the outcome but I didnt think it would playout this way. I think of all the individuals who were convicted and could have their sentenced overturned. Tavis Smiley hosted a debate on PBS for all of the Democratic candidates. They covered all the expected topics the war, AIDS and education. It seemed as if everyone was saying all the right things. I couldn't pick a real winner though Clinton and Obama were the obvious standouts. I hope voters active and otherwise are keeping up with this. I don't think a vote for any candidate should be taken advantage. London has been experiencing some terror attacks and we now know all involved are DOCTORS. I don't have access to cable so I didnt get the full blasts of the hour to hour reporting. I would have like to have seen how it was covered. Lastly tonight was Stone Phillips last broadcast. His contract with NBC was not renewed. He did Dateline for fifteen years. I will miss that style of story telling. I will try to keep up with my blogging.

Memorial Day

In memory of all those who have lost their lives in war.

The Beginning......

Summer school starts Tuesday morning and all I could think about was starting this blog. I see so much going on in the world that I want to give my two cents on and this seems like a good way to get it out. Hopefully I can get the hand of technology quick enough to keep the postings up.