Filed under: Uncategorized
From the very first time I heard Stage Gone Bad, I was certain it was the front runner for the 2020 Road March.
With one week to go till J’Ouvert, barring a massive turn of events, it is likely going to be the winner.
For most, many would say it a well deserved win for Kees Dieffenthaller, who many felt should have won last year with Savannah Grass, as well as his collaborator, Iwer George who has many fans (not excluding himself) who would say George was shortchanged a few times.
And that’s where the underlying brilliance of this song truly comes from.
While Iwer has quipped “If yuh know they rob me last year” to stir his fans during his performances , the KES the Band lead singer has been a bit more circumspect, but not silent on the adjudication of the competition.
From as a far back as his success with the hit “People”, Dieffenthaller has expressed his reservations in multiple interviews, as to how the Road March is selected.
He’s said it should not be solely about the song played when crossing the stage.
And that’s the argument that’s cleverly placed in Stage Gone Bad.
For Panorama, the stage is good. Dimanche Gras, same, even Kiddies Carnival sure.
But Carnival Day itself? Not so much.
That’s what the song says, and while you may say it’s because the masqueraders are going to mash it down, shell it down and turn it over. The object isn’t explicitly the stage. It’s Port of Spain.
The city. The town, the streets. Not the stage.
Masqueraders, stop me if you’ve heard this before. You play mas and there’s this song you hear and vibe everywhere during your two day experience and then you reach a judging point and the designated Road March song slots in.
I’m sure everyone has this story and their corresponding song. A lot of people said this about Savannah Grass, or Lucy, or Come to Meh, or Bachannal, or 3 Miles or First Experience or It’s Carnival.
The list is exhaustive.
To further emphasize the critique, the Bridge’s refrain continues the protest:
“Bad for the Road
Bad for the road
Bad for the road. “
Bad for the road March.
Let me know if you disagree.
Filed under: Uncategorized
For a really long time I have promised this list.
We’ve experienced a bit of a renaissance in terms of the local soca music video with some really high quality videos emerging in what I call the HD era.
But there was a lean patch, particularly a period in the mid to late 2000s where the music videos weren’t really that good.
In this list, I’m going to list the top ten Soca music videos before the renaissance in my opinion.
Now I’m stressing, these aren’t the top 10 Soca songs with music videos or else songs like High Mas, It’s Carnival and others would dominate these lists.
These are videos which in my opinion brought visuals which more than complimented the song or artistes, but in many cases elevated the song itself.
This list is going to only include videos from the pre-High Defnition era. As I compiled this list I realised these bright and clean videos of the new age need their own list.
10. It’s kinda amazing that people forgot how good Ajala was in the late 80s, early 90s. It had a lot to do with his ability to attach his music to iconic visuals. He effectively channeled the Shadow’s style in the track, and the music video brought his conversation with the Calypso legend to life with vigour.
9. The mid-2000s was a great time for Soca music. The ragga soca artistes had found their personalities and it contributed to several years of great music. However, there aren’t many music videos which capture that age well.
Yet somehow in the wake of Blazer’s arrest for the murder of his father, this video managed to give a glimpse. Although seemingly simple in execution, it stood head and shoulders above many in that era.
Blazer Dan- “Somebody ” ft Maximus dan ,Faye Ann, Bunji,Anna Assing
8. I have literally searched for years for this video. In the 90s, the Kiskidee Karavan was a pioneering group which saw many reggae dancehall inspired artistes transition towards soca. This video fully evokes what that group achieved, particularly as you realise how some of the artistes featured in particularly the latter half of this video evolved.
Yes, that’s everyone’s favourite Ultimate Reject (I assume) Maga (not yet Maximus or MX Prime) Dan, Precious (before she was Riding It) and KMC (before we loved him and decided to fall out of love with him).
Soca Billboard – Various Artists – Kiskidee Records – Jason Riley (1997)
7. Before he made the stush go in the bush a couple years ago, 3rd Bass had a hit in the mid 90s called “Making Me High”
If you remember the song, you’re awesome. If you remember the video, even more so.
It stood out for its unique visual as Trilo-G (which he now calls himself) plays a bellhop who has an interesting conundrum of getting a bit too much attention from (mostly) the women riding his elevator.
111rd Bass – Making me High -Watson Records(Kaman Ads)
6. I know most people would think Iron Bazodee. But the visuals in that video never sat well with me. The best soca music video with Allison Hinds is this one right here. Shout out to Ragamuffin as well.
Aye, Aye, Aye – Square one (Feat.Dereck Yarde) – Rituals Music – Earth TV (1998)
5. For a while, Rembunction was the guy went it came to quality music videos. Especially in the dark ages. This video clip and it’s regular run on Synergy elevated what still is a largely slept on Soca riddim. It also gave team Fay Ann some quality ammunition in the then war against team Destra in school yard debates.
ESCAPE TO SOCA RIDDIM MEDLEY – OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
4. This was a hard choice for me. A lot of people will expect Ha Da Dey to be here. And I get it. It’s an iconic video with silver body-painted topless women, Akinde hanging from the walkover on the highway (and letting go!) , the jetty scene and so on.
(Maybe I should put it anyway)
But you see the story in this video just shades it for me.
Kindred Hotter than Fire
3. The unofficial song that became the official anthem of the 2006 Soca Warriors team. It is one of the few soca music videos in the mid 2000s that does not drop the ball on execution. The inclusion of Kerston Manswell was a great subtle nod to the widely ignored fact that this song’s name is actually ‘Fighter’ and not ‘Soca Warrior’. I mean the majority can’t be wrong, can they?
Fighter – Maximus Dan
2. 3 Canal are actually quite good at making videos. When I first thought about doing this list I had ‘Talk Yuh Talk’ as a certainty. But then I watch this video and was reminded that they recoloured the Red House Blue.
As true to the song’s concept as you could get, it was 3 Canal’s breakthrough hit as well.
3 Canal – Blue
1. In the 90s, Machel Montano and Xtatik had a lot of really good music videos. Some aged well, some didn’t. And this was the best of the lot with Music Farm being the 2nd best Xtatik Music video.
MACHEL MANTANO ft. SHAGGY / TORO TORO
Honorable mentions:
Second Imij – Soca Daddy
Kindred – Ha Da Dey
Xtatik – Music Farm & UFO
Colin Lucas – Iwer Butterfly Shadow Wave
Chinese Laundry – Browning
Denise Saucy Wow Belton – Work
3 Canal – Talk Yuh Talk
Chris Garcia – Chutney Bacchanal
Taxi – French Man
Traffik featuring Steve Sealy – Breakawa
Filed under: Music/Entertainment
Yesterday morning, I received news.
I did not want it to be true, but I knew it was based on the reporter who broke it and her connection to the Calypso world.
The Shadow was no more.
On Twitter, I already shared my father’s view on the man’s music and by extension my own.
But he resonated with my entire family.
My father had his records.
My eldest brother had his cassettes and CDs.
My laptop and iPod, still hold his mp3s.
When I was 6 years old, my parents took me to Shadow in concert at the Spectakula Forum. I remembered him walking through the crowd to get to the stage.
In retrospect, it was fairly simple act.
But it was effective, as was much of his music
His lyrics, if read on paper do not seem complex.
His rhyme schemes are rarely elaborate.
But his messages impacted.
Generations.
From the his personal battle against his anxiety in “Bassman” to the cautionary in “Yuh Looking for Horn” to potent poetic simplicity in “Dingolay” his songs dripped with relatability.
Even his dance, was simple and accessible to all. Hop on the spot.
His music was unique that apart from subtle changes in the instruments behind him, 1970s Shadow music could be released today and few may be able to discern the difference.
He needed no reinvention to remain relevant. He just need his baseline to knock and topic to speak on, and the Shadow had you entranced.
Stranger’s 2001 Road March win underlined his timelessness musically, as in an era where soca music had began incorporate the riddim driven ‘ragga soca’ music of KMC, Bunji Garlin, 3Suns and Maximus Dan, a ‘Kaiso’ man was still able to capture the hearts of revellers.
Winston Bailey was able to connect to the younger audience in more ways than one. In 1997, he gave two of Soca music’s brightest lights; Machel Montano and Ronnie McIntosh, songs which are among the finest in their catalogs.
‘What They Say They Say’ on Xtatik’s classic album Heavy Duty allowed a Winer Boi/Big Truck Montano to preview the energy which now charms much of his groovy music while “Lunatic (Cheating Lover)” moved McIntosh from the fete front lines to the Calypso Monarch finals.
Shadow went on to become one of the artistes I witness performing live. In the 2000s, when I had come of age to pick which events I could go to, Shadow was a prevalent recurring act.
I would not have it any other way.
It truly saddens me that I would not be able to see Dr Winston Bailey perform live again, as he passed days before he was to receive his honorary doctorate.
But his music will continue to fill the world with happiness, plenty sweetness and, togetherness.
Filed under: Uncategorized
It has been six years since my first day at the Caribbean Media Group.
And it is now seven days short of two months since Minister of Communications Maxie Cuffie announced the state owned media house would be winding up.
It was an announcement which had been expected, but one that had taken so long, there was a belief that perhaps it may not come. Not this year at least.
This blog has been long overdue.
I had hoped that it would come after further declarations, but at least the time has passed to allow the initial emotion to be quelled a bit.
Almost a year ago, I sat in my bedroom in a conundrum.
I was in a position where I should have been contented. I was in good enough financial stead to pick myself up and travel just about anywhere in the world.
I had a roof over my head, I had a job.
But I was unhappy about both arrangements.
I was aware that there were things I could not do, and things needed to change.
The changes came, albeit unplanned.
I write this from my apartment of which I have occupied for now six months.
Now it seems a change of job is also required.
But I digress..
My relationship with C didn’t start six years ago, but as a CCN Multimedia desk journalist.
Assigned to the Express South Office, yet in my first year in UWI, meant my commutes swung between Point Fortin and Petit Valley.
It meant watching news at 7, was near impossible.
But there was the C report at 9.
It wasn’t just convenient, it seemed fresh.
It was a sharp newscast, with both familiar and new faces that would later become household names.
I would then grow more impressed with their product as I caught First Up! on mornings.
A review of this blog would show just how often I referenced the show.
They continued to be a TV station doing things differently.
While Keisha David was out on the promenade for Morning Edition, Juhel Browne was out by the highway overpass intersection doing a stand up at 7am.
I would grow more impressed while covering the Water Taxi launch in 2008, as Desha Rambhajan would do a piece to camera at King’s Wharf during the event.
Lives and stand ups in the southern half of Trinidad remain rare to this day.
But being fresh, being different somehow could not work for C.
It seemed like it was never allowed to work to be honest.
Reports of significant debt were in the newspapers, but then came the real killer.
The curse of interference.
Suddenly Jabari Fraser was at Outta D Blue venting to me about stories which were changed.
Suddenly I found myself on Gayelle speaking on Fazeer Mohammed’s removal as First Up! host.
Then suddenly after a chance encounter with Raymond Edwards during an internship I found myself, after believing my career in mainstream local media was over, interviewing for a job at CNMG.
The question would come up, how would I deal with the rumoured happenings.
I said I could only focus on what I know to do, which is my job.
It’s a mantra I’ve held.
Yet despite the rumors, and the departures of a impressive collection of journalists like Jabari, Mark Bassant, Faine Richards, Kejan Haynes, Jovan Rovello, Charlene Ramdhanie and Golda Lee Bruce, I came into a solid newsroom.
I reunited with former CCN colleagues in Leeron Brumell, Juhel Browne with Darryl Heeralal starting the same day as me.
Darryl would point out to me that the newsroom was well staffed, and for that first month (especially when Karen Cozier-Phillip arrived) we, to quote Geoffrey Boycott commentating on Brian Lara in full flight, “had two shots for ever ball.”
But it would not last.
The exodus would continue.
The journalists would become disheartened by the mandates and decisions made above, and the departures kept going.
By September 2012, I was one of those who wanted out. It took a colleague’s words, her insistence that I did have a significant role to play in local media, that stopped me from walking away again.
Yet in the cruel twist, she would be forced out in a less than savoury manner not long after.
I saw the newsroom pick itself up again, and saw decision makers break it back down.
Over and over.
I came to realise that I was caught in the perfect storm.
It simply did not matter what I did or what we did.
We could not defeat the stigma.
This was not a rare occurrence..
It doesn’t matter that this was not the only time that TV6 or CNC3 got the story out later.
It didn’t matter how well Jonathan Chase covered the oil spill.
It didn’t matter how Lenn Almadin-Thornhill had our newscast up with the trends.
It didn’t matter what new angle I found, or thought piece I did which would go viral years after it was done.
It didn’t matter how well we covered elections before 2015.
It didn’t matter that what the people asked for in the consultation had actually been done by both GISL and CNMG to some extent.
It didn’t matter that the long list of journalists who left C, have become some of the major names of broadcast media at the main stations in the country.
The people did not believe, and the powers would return to what they knew.
The wave would come again, and what momentum we had would be lost.
Our brand could never survive this.
Especially in an industry that was already crumbling. WINTV went down, IETV downsized while OCM and GML have both sent home journalists.
The ship had been sinking for some time.
In May, Dr Terrence Farrell delivered a scathing speech at the Trinidad and Tobago Publishers & Broadcasters Association dinner, critical of media in general.
His views fell in line with opinions of many across the country.
All but those within his generation seemed capable of quality journalism, according to his words.
But as I sat at the media table I could not help but think of the saying: When you point a finger, there are three pointing back at you.
For all his vitriol, he seemed to exclude himself from the mess the media appeared to be in.
He scoffed of the lack of qualifications within the newsrooms yet he was on the board of CCN, when the choice was made to ask a young journalist to choose between finishing his thesis, or giving the Express his priority when a request for no pay leave to study was made.
He criticised the prejudices within the media yet throughout his speech he took jab after jab at the Guardian Media group, emphasizing his own bias.
I could only crack half a smile when Jones P Madeira would retort that all the time he took crying down the quality of local media, he spent much of his speech referring to incidents reported within that very media.
So as much as there were indeed segments of truth within his discourse, I could not help but think that his words were tainted.
But Dr Farrell is a highly regarded member of society. One regularly called upon to make decisions. And he is not the only one who has shown flawed thinking about situations.
Yet despite this, these decision makers continue to be given the reins to make critical choices about the country without ever really making a critical assessment of their track record.
These decision makers continued to be cycled along with their viewpoint, seemingly given a chance to say what isn’t working while they wait their turn.
So when he made his prognosis on state media, the August announcement could not be a surprise.
But the question remain, was this thought through?
I don’t know.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Yesterday the West Indies lost a test match.
They also lost a test series.
A lot of people blame Shannon Gabriel for this.
And I completely understand why, I was one of the first people to tweet my disappointment with his shot.
Why was my question…
Then in attempting to find a clip of the horror shot, I came across a still picture of the field prior to his dismissal.
It was then I understood why he did it. Shannon Gabriel, with 9 Pakistanis hovering waiting to snatch anything that came off his bat or pad, felt the pressure.
Two balls earlier he had been given out caught at silly point, but was reprieved by a review.
The ball came off his shoulder, not his glove or bat as the jubilant Pakistan players had hoped.
This was fresh in his mind.
Yasir Shah bowled and Gabriel did what he thought was the best thing, not give Pakistan a chance to appeal.
Take the fielders out of the equation.
Take lbw out of the equation.
In a way he succeeded, the absolutely worst kind of success in the scenario.
The ball dragged back onto his stumps.
No appeal needed, no catch to claim.
He was out, and for West Indies fans he’s the one to blame.
But he shouldn’t be the target.
Gabriel, a fast bowler, should not be the man tasked with saving a test match with the bat. Especially when he is a specialist number 11 batsman.
The West Indies team lost the series, not Shannon Gabriel.
It’s worth reminding those claiming Gabriel’s West Indies career should end, that he was a major reason the test series went to Dominica tied at 1-1.
But that’s the risk faced by the modern sportsman. Hero one day, villain the next.
But not for the first time the crucified has borne the cross for the misdeeds of others.
Vishaul Singh & Shane Dowrich aren’t being pilloried on social media right now.
But their failures in their roles gave considerable advantage to Pakistan.
The West Indies top order, to be frank, had largely let down Gabriel and the bowlers all series, Chase being the exception.
But even Chase, for all his heroics would also have to ask himself if turning down a single the ball before the aforementioned review was the best option.
That decision left a number 11 exposed to the most prolific wicket taker in the series.
But beating down a stand out performer while ignoring glaring problems has been endemic in West Indies cricket for some time.
So often that it has been milked by the WICB as a means to turn fans against quality players while they justify inadequate selections to the team.
So don’t blame Shannon Gabriel alone, although I understand why you do.
Just understand there’s more to it.
Filed under: Uncategorized
“When we go on stage, everything will explode..”
The results are in, and the tally was devastating.
Full Extreme copped the Road March title with a record setting 556 plays.
The voice of the people seemingly served, emphatically.
Yet the victory of the Ultimate Rejects comes with a cautionary tale.
The people’s voice almost had no say in the matter.
Full Extreme was easily the most popular song of the Carnival, with its lyrics latching on to the psyche of a population bogged down by economic trouble.
However with MX Prime on the crew initially swearing off competition, it remained off the list of songs registered to win the competition.
Fortunately as Mr Edhill Thomas explained, the voices of the people, especially the older members of the populace, convinced him to register the song.
But that isn’t the only loophole in the competition. The road march’s flaws have been on show for the larger part of a decade.
It has moved from being the most popular song for the season to the song deemed most appropriate to cross, actually no, to wild out on the stage.
Occasionally we’re blessed with a song which fulfills both criteria, but more often than not the song that’s the true heartbeat of the season isn’t the winner.
We’ve seen far less Strangers and far more Pump Your Flags, and that’s been down to mindset cultivated.
There was an actual debate this year that Full Extreme was too slow to be Road March, ultimately underlining how distorted the thinking towards the competition has become.
This has adversely affected some of our artistes. In some cases making them jaded or in other cases pushing them to churn out formulaic songs in a hope to get that coveted title.
Songs for the road are mistaken for songs for the stage and what are the revellers left with to enjoy the other 80% of the festivities?
The stipulation that the song needs to be played the most at the stage/judging point has also occasionally seen clashing artistes hoping from truck to truck in their own version of canvassing votes (See Iwer v Superblue 200o).
Although to be fair this hasn’t really been seen since brass bands almost entirely evaporated from the road.
Thankfully this year we’ve actually seen one artiste, Kees Diffenthaller, call for a change to be made. In his view it can’t be about the song being played at specific areas, but on a wider front.
A change I agree with, the Road March can’t solely be about the song to which the bands cross the stage.
And we have seen the people somewhat revolt against the stage song in recent years. While ‘Waiting On The Stage’ almost won by default last year, both ‘Full Extreme’ and 2015’s ‘Like a Boss’ have defied the need for the Road March to be made for the stage.
But the Road March isn’t the only competition in a major need of a revamp.
But I’ll discuss that in a few more blog posts.
Filed under: Music/Entertainment | Tags: Bazodee, Machel Montano, Soca Music, Trinidad and Tobago
What’s to be said about Bazodee?
Well there’s a lot of Carnival in it.
The Machel Montano headlined film opened in his native land last week, and I happened to catch it on opening night.
The film is entertaining, but far from exceptional.
Simply put, this show is a very anglicized version of an Indian movie.
With Soca.
It works more as a musical than a romantic comedy as well.
The sooner the viewer accepts this, the smoother the ride.
That being said, Bazodee will make you laugh.
The Taipan is a limited actor, but the show does its best to play to his strengths.
This allows the film to access some of his charm as a stage performer.
And it works for the most part, especially since he spends a lot more time singing/performing in this movie than speaking.
And with that the film finds a bit of its own charm.
The script however is paper thin, and does the more seasoned actors no favours.
A couple witty one liners aside, the dialogue is largely forgettable.
The overall story is widely cliché, inclusive of a “villain’ with a British accent.
(See the Deadpool opening credits if you missed that one.)
Many of the scenarios are downright ludicrous or implausible.
But then again refer to rule 1.
This is an Indian Movie remixed with Soca.
With the people popping up behind trees singing and all.
Except it probably explains why that happened a little better than the Indian movies you watched on TTT, or in Kay Donna.
The actors for the most part do their best with what they’re given.
Natalie Perera exhibits good range in depicting the conflict of Anita Panchouri as she considers the implications of her relationship with Machel’s Lee De Leon.
A conflict which is undersold as the script hardly allows the audience to get invested in the wider reaching implications of her actions.
Chris Smith was generally a scene stealer, with most of the best quips and reactions throughout the movie despite his supporting role.
But the real lead of the movie was Machel’s music.
Armed with a slew of his hits, many of which were specially remixed for the film, any soca fan or Machel fan would definitely not be let down.
The Water Flowing remix in particular sets the table well for most of the film.
So in my view, Bazodee is worth a watch.
Just accept it for what it is.
Filed under: Music/Entertainment
So I went to Soca Monarch last night.
I didn’t pay, I was working at the event.
It was my first Soca Monarch in six years.
My first at the stadium.
And it was a very very good show.
But disappointingly, not many people saw it live, as from an attendance standpoint, Soca Monarch faltered badly.
My greater fear not enough will care to watch the TV broadcast.
When they should, they should care about the Soca Monarch.
Because while the CPF may have got it wrong in their attempts to sell this year’s edition to the locals, the performers didn’t shortage those who came.
This Soca Monarch had everything that made Soca Monarch great over the years.
It was filled with moments, moments that rivaled Machel’s reveal during Destra’s “It’s Carnival” performance in 2003.
Or the crowd chanting Maximus’ name in 2002 as he did “War”
Or Bunji Garlin’s sword and dragon for “Warrior Chant” in 2004.
The moments were there.
The Crowd may have looked good on camera/ stage front but the attendance was poor
But the people weren’t.
They weren’t there for Patrice’s money shot.
Patrice Roberts delivered a few moments during her performance
Or Preedy’s veteran moment.
Or Blaxx finally Mastering the final stage.
Or Voice’s ascension.
But I also have to raise questions about the people.
The common complaint has been that the music this year has been poor.
I strongly disagree, as many of the younger acts proved that the music is there, but the people aren’t coming to get the music.
They aren’t coming for our culture, instead dancehall snippets are being used to bolster sets.
Seasoned acts (Machel probably the only exception) are going to fetes and unable to perform their songs as the crowds are generally unfamiliar with the music.
At AM Beach I saw Bunji Garlin perform Touch the Stage, and the crowd simply did not know the song.
The younger acts are similarly given blank stares until there song strikes up and the crowd recognises they know & like this one.
It simply doesn’t matter, the people aren’t interested enough to look for the music.
Unless the artiste has earned a level of rank in their eyes, usually by a title.
Yet are eager to complain that the music is bad, and in the process undermining our own culture.
And this isn’t a new phenomenon.
We only accept artistes as established based on their moments on the grand stage.
KMC was unknown, until Bashment to Carnival hit, and he lit up Soca Monarch in 1998.
For years I didn’t even know what KMC looked like but I was singing his songs word for word.
Then Bunji Garlin and Maximus emerged in 1999 & 2000, and were labelled as imitation KMCs at first, before they became established.
Bunji has since gone on to be one of Soca’s biggest stars, while in the 2000s Maximus was one of Soca’s main generals.
Destra evolved from the sweet red girl from Roy Cape to the sweet red soca superstar before our eyes.
A rise that also has connections to the Soca Monarch stage (and to be honest Brass Festival).
Olatunji, Kes and Kerwin all had years of music before Soca Monarch success solidified them in the public eye.
We have already lost brass festival and if we turn our backs on Soca Monarch now, we may rob many of these acts the opportunity to rise.
So I urge Trinidadians to have a rethink about the attitude to the music.
And if you can, watch the Soca Monarch.
Don’t let it die.
I start this piece by stating I’m no psychologist.
So this isn’t a professional advice piece.
This post was inspired by a topic that’s been on my mind for a while, and one that was given some much needed attention in the Sunday Guardian in an article written by Cherisse Moe.
The topic has also been raised regularly on social media posts by Trinidad Express Journalist Joel Julien, (especially in light of news that we currently lack volunteers /funding for Lifeline)
In recent months, I’ve heard a lot about people taking their lives. I think it’s definitely been reported in the media a lot more of late.
(Which I don’t necessarily agree with, but let’s not get side tracked)
In many of these cases, I have heard people close to the departed claim that they saw no warning signs or rather the person had so much going for them.
But that’s where I have a theory, I believe that the signs are there, but we don’t look for it.
Simply because we don’t approach mental health care in the right way in this country.
I have a friend who works in mental health care who regularly complains about our neglect in that regard, and I’m inclined to agree.
Personally I have always tried to be aware of where my psyche was, perhaps because I have seen people break down before.
I took counseling in secondary school when I noticed my academic drive changed dramatically as news of my family moving house set in & I was more than glad to accept the sessions the Trinidad Express offered to it’s crime reporters while employed there.
Because a mind is a hell of a thing to waste.
But most people aren’t willing to open up & admit they have a problem.
Especially when people close to them keep telling them that because such and such is good about their lives that they don’t have a problem.
And that’s a real problem.
Now again I say I’m no trained professional in this field, I speak my opinion based on my experiences this year.
There’s been no year that has shaken me mentally than this year.
It’s the first year I’ve properly noticed my usual releases/stress relief techniques had lost its effectiveness.
It’s the first year I legitimately felt like I didn’t know who to talk to about what was happening.
It was the first year in my life, I felt like I needed something that I wasn’t sure how to get.
Most people spoke with, even if they were supportive when I opened up to them, lacked the empathy to really give me the reassurance I really needed.
We tend to try to cheer up people with a look at the bright side/count your blessings approach or worse yet the HMA (Drink a rum and live your life) tactic . These approaches may mitigate anxieties for some, but for others it isn’t enough.
It’s not healthy for someone who is genuinely concerned about some facet of their life, to be told to simply shrug it off because so many other things are going well.
It’s not healthy because that problem wasn’t addressed at all, in actuality all you did was allow time for the untreated wound to get infected.
The tactic is especially weakened by social media, where I suspect more than ever insecurities and anxieties are stirred more and more by fitness gurus and Instagram posts.
Where the unsettled are mercilessly targeted by people none the wiser while making crude jokes.
So especially in this time, where attention spans are invariably shortened & distracted maybe we aren’t paying enough attention.
It’s definitely time for us to review our approach to people with problems.
We need to start working on that mental fitness.
Take your mind to the gym in 2016, and work out for a friend.
Please.
Filed under: Uncategorized
We had an election, that wasn’t too clean.
But the two main competitors ended up at 23-18.
Dr. Keith Rowley and his family celebrate after winning the election
It meant victory for the People’s National Movement although the 5 seat margin may have baffled those who placed faith in pre-election polls.
Or happened to be following the early part of the count on TV6. (More on this later)
But I personally never thought the poll was too close to call and expected a victory that it would be a 4 to 7 seat margin of victory.
The evidence was actually there in the polls with their large “undecided” figures.
The vast majority of undecided voters spent this entire election trying to figure if voting back in the People’s National Movement would give them an even more sour taste in their mouths.
In most cases, while they probably weren’t sure about placing an X by the Balisier, they were generally so unimpressed, disgusted or disturbed by transgressions of the PP administration that they were not likely to vote for them.
The Independent Liberal Party (more on them later too) was not enough of a viable alternative to gamble on as well, meaning the undecided was left with a pick your poison choice.
With this in mind, it was always on the cards that the PNM would win most, if not all, of the marginal seats in the election, particularly along the East-West corridor.
I even expected that the traditionally strong UNC/People’s Partnership seat of St. Augustine could concede ground to the PNM.
I was wrong here, as admittedly the UNC did mobilise its traditional support very well.
This lead to massive victories in their safe seats(with very large voting populations) and the moral victory of the “popular” vote.
It also meant many of their safe seats were being called or identified early, which brings us to TV6’s coverage.
TV6’s coverage was actually quite good, but their presentation of the incoming numbers sold a fake to quite a few people.
Their leading topic bar in particular caused a few heart palpitations and the mood of various party supporters fluctuated with its every change.
But if one paid attention to the initial results they brought in, and really looked at the map and what sections were coloured red or yellow, you could see that Rienzi Complex’s premature celebrations would turn to whimpers.
Many of the early results came in UNC strongholds, while several PNM safe seats in the North West Trinidad had not been tallied. Additionally for a significant portion of the broadcast Point Fortin (which absurdly continued to be labelled marginal by some pollsters) had been marked yellow without a significant result being reported by CCN.
Barring an unexpected turn of events, that early 20-16 leading graphic in reality meant 19-21 to the critical eye.
Other stations also regularly reported that the PNM were ahead in the crucial marginal constituencies of St. Joseph & Tunapuna while also stealing away Moruga/Tableland.
Now back to the ILP.
The ILP did not have a major say in the election at the polls.
But Jack Warner’s suicide bomber approach allowed the PNM to campaign differently.
“The kabal is dead, dead, dead. My gift to the country.”
Essentially Jack’s Sunshine newspaper and his platform revelations served as the anti-thesis to the PP’s No Rowley campaign.
This meant the PNM didn’t really have to engage the mudslinging as much, allowing for a more subtle approach.
This aided in their courtship of the “undecided” and ultimately crucial votes for victory.
The future of the ILP is another story, as again Jack Warner aside, the party’s approach to campaigning could be eye-catching to those who are fed up of PNM/UNC politics.
But then again, so was the COP at one point.
Speaking of which, what will become of them in the wake of the Partnership’s defeat?
That answer, is still to come.
Plain Talk, Good English 