Ricky Nelson – Garden Party 1985

This is one from 1972:-

According to Wikipedia “In 1972, Ricky Nelson reached the Top 40 one last time with “Garden Party“, a song he wrote in disgust after a Madison Square Garden audience booed him when he tried playing new songs instead of just his old hits. “Garden Party” reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and was certified as a gold single.”

‘n’ it’s all right now, learned my lesson well
You see, ya can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself

Not exactly an original thought but it’s stuck in my head with this song.

Sticking A Flag Pole Up in Trinidad and Tobago

So the flag and pole did cost around $TT2 million and nobody is surprised, just outraged and happy for the ammo. Though a breakdown of the expenses adding up to the 2 million was given by Team Hunt, I am not in a position to say if any, or how many, greased-hands were involved since I am not a flag man. The point is not only the credibility of the cost of the monster-flag and associated concrete but the reason we need a monster-flag during a recession and a white collar crime wave.

People are not saying it yet but  most think the flag is like the Honest Coast Guard with Australian interceptor boats seizing a shipment of coke or compressed marijuana – how many shipments were not seized – The majority. So, with the very visible waste-of-money flag and pole, we know where that extravagance went, but how many more extravagant waste-0f-money-items did we not know about? The majority – that is what most think.

Yet, despite all the evidence and citizens’ mounting frustrations with crime, traffic, unemployment, and Bailey bridges, our certified-stupid Propaganda Minister admits the current Cabinet made only few mistakes but overall, they are doing a wonderful job. He was quoted as saying the mistakes will remain mistakes until they (The Ministers) acknowledge them (the mistakes). How do you unscrew a pregnant woman?

A poll by CNC3 last night showed the disconnect between the citizens and the Government that Reginald Dumas is constantly talking about when 95% of the voters said the Government is doing a bad job. Once the Government think the kick-back ready 5% of the population is all that matter, is crapo smoke we ganaga again.

p.s – the new unit of measure for the cost of public projects in Trinidad and Tobago is now The Flag-Pole where One (1) Flag-Pole is equal to TT$ 2 Million. E.g. The Education Tower in Port of Spain, unfurnished and incomplete, has cost taxpayers 230 Flag-Poles so far. CHOGM will be costing in the order of 120 Flag-Poles. Somehow, those don’t sound so bad.

Photos to End With

Ever notice when somebody dies tragically the photo that makes the newspapers is from the victim’s driver’s permit, ID card, or passport; all photographic nightmares. To me, it’s tragic enough someone died terribly but why does the press see the need to humiliate the victim and the victim’s loved ones further with such a photograph. It’s like throwing salt in Diet Coke.

Since the reporters and editors are part human, part stone, part insensitive I want to suggest everybody carry in their wallets a good photo displaying their most flattering photographic side and label the photo “Just in case.” If you are not an attractive person, have the photo altered with Photoshop. If Photoshop fails, see a plastic surgeon, or cheaper yet, carry a photo of a better looking person instead but not so good looking as to arouse suspicion.  The aim is to make the public feel sorry you passed, not glad you left the world to make it a prettier place.

Hot Hops Bread and The Private Jet from God

Maybe it’s public mischief again but a big man from Boeing probably visited TnT to negotiate the new fleet for Caribbean Airlines, and hardly likely also one private jet on the side. With the public support for the government flagging, this may appear to be the wrong time to buy a luxury such as a private jet or a big flag. Is it, really?

This Government has been smarter and more righteous than most give them credit for. If the country buys that much needed pro-green, private jet at recession prices then the right economic signal will be sent. It will signal the start of a new round of much-needed high wage demands and the buying of big screen TVs with surround sound speakers in Miami. It will also signal the start of another economic boom, massive employment opportunities, foreign exchange availability, aluminum and no more layoffs. It will, however, mainly signal the start of spending on luxury food items like powdered-milk, sardines and crusty hops bread from St. Mary’s Bakery in Curepe.  PM PM promised the country manna from heaven (aka hot hops bread) during the last elections and if, God Willing,  he has to get a Private Jet to fly it in, then so be it. I want my manna now!

Barry Bose – A Party Speaker System?

There was once a party speaker system called Barry Bose. Barry Bose was highly recommended by some party people, so the house-owners choose the Barry Bose. They said Barry Bose was a house party speaker system and would faithfully reproduce the type of party music the house owner liked while pretending to reproduce all other types of music faithfully.

One day, there was a party in the house and two of the big house owners got into an argument. A guest in another part of the house heard the commotion and said some things about Barry Bose, and how, as a speaker system, Barry Bose was bad since it couldn’t drown out the squabble. The house owners didn’t like anybody saying bad things about their speaker system though they knew the bad things said were true. The main house owner, never famous for treating his guest well including the Chinese, complained through his propaganda agent, told the guest she was out of place, and that she had too much damn privilege in the house. Well, who tell them say that? To be continued.

Don’t Screw Us!

This is not a message to the Government but it can be as well. This is about making people understand what a photograph is and theft. It is about making people aware of their actions and guilt. This video is good and not as nasty as it should be. Visit dontscrewus.org when you have the time or conscience.

Trinidad and Tobago – The Flag and The Flagging Public

When they out for you, they out for you and if you happen to be named Minister Gary Hunt, they out for you even more. Yesterday a reporter asked the Minister Hunt if TT$2 million was too much to pay for the big Trinidad and Tobago flag at the Hasely Crawford Stadium and The Minister was politically clever to say if the flag cost around 2 million TT$ then that was a small price to pay for National Pride (not to be confused with Country Pride, which is a brand of flour).

The difference between Gary Hunt and the member of the media who asked Mr. Hunt the question is that, as a Government Minister, he is privy to information the public has no access to, such as the cost of national pride and salaries at UDECOTT. But Mr. Hunt misunderstood the question and the reporter did not ask about the cost of national pride, but the cost of the flag – two different things the last time I checked. Were the flag bids rigged? Was UDECOTT brought in to not only ensure unheard of transparency, but also to ensure we bought the best flag and hired the best flag installation contractor possible at the best price known to man? All the reporter was asking from Mr. Hunt was reassurance that when the public sees the giant flag flapping in the wind we will feel no nausea, but a sense of National Pride in where we money gone.

If You Can’t Beat Them, Shoot Them – The Public Cries

Cops Kill 3 Kidnappers appeared to be the best news the crime-battered Trinidad and Tobago public had since hearing their cricket team made it to the 20Twenty finals in India.

From the stories all three newspapers carried, a businessman from Champs Fleur was kidnapped yesterday morning. The police were alerted and soon found the kidnappers’ car and gave chase. According to the newspapers, it was a high speed chase and not a low speed one. The kidnappers, realizing these police officers were heavily armed and not easy, decided to abandon their victim and ran through some bushes to escape fate and possibly some good licks. The kidnappers – young men from Beverly Hills- had guns and concluded, like any good criminal would, that they cannot escape without shooting at the police. Little did these kidnappers know that this team of police officers was being led by ASP Johnny Abraham, a colorful character and a no-nonsense police officer. As the saying goes, a team is as good as its leader so the bandits, lacking leadership and bulletproof vests, succumbed to the several bullet holes they received from Abraham’s team. One kidnapper escaped and I feel it’s only a matter of time before he meets his bullet. I am not saying it is right but I am saying it will happen.

On the heels of this kidnapping and CHOGM, but probably not because of it, a strengthening of the Police Service was announced today by Minister Martin Joseph but not many people noticed or cared.

Noriko Sakai – No Prison, Please

The popular singer, Noriko Sakai, became a celebrity in Japan in 1987 when she was almost sixteen, after releasing the hit song, Otoko no Ko ni Naritai. She was, or is, very popular in Japan,  Hong Kong and Taiwan but strangely, almost unheard of in Trinidad and Tobago.   She was famous not only for her singing but her squeaky clean, girl-next-door image. Because of her popularity and high public expectations, she later went into acting and probably mild stimulant drug use.

In August this year the shock turned to horror when her husband was arrested for possession of illegal stimulants and Noriko disappeared, apparently she was on the run. When Noriko reappeared she was charged with possession of illegal drugs, a stimulant, a whopping 0.0008 grams of it which police found at her home. Noriko Sakai pleaded guilty to using and possessing the illegal drug. Prosecutors said they want an 18-month prison term for Noriko since she is a celebrity and setting a bad example for the public. The court’s decision is scheduled for November 9.

I am not too sure, but from what I have read so far I think the Japanese press went after Noriko after she was seen with a sexy tattoo on her ankle. A tattoo on a woman’s ankle is usually a sign which says “bad but exciting girl above.”

Noriko’s wants leniency and now intends to get a divorce from her trouble-making husband and she also wants to study nursing care in the future. A tearful Noriko was quoted as saying “I have a tendency to try too hard to live up to others’ expectations of me. I thought (stimulants) would help me move my body. … I used the drugs of my own will. … I am the one to blame.”

Here is what I think. Noriko Sakai should not go to jail since she already paid her dues to the society by losing face. Losing face is a big thing in Japan but the concept is quite alien to Trinidad and Tobago’s bad-john and big foreign bank account holding politicians. Noriko Sakai should not go to jail because she is too pretty for prison. How will keeping Noriko Sakai in jail for 18 months make society a better place. It’s not like she knocked a member of the public unconscious because the member spilled a drink or wine up on one of Noriko’s friends.  I can’t possibly see any judge looking at Noriko’s pretty face and sending her to jail. I don’t know much about Japanese legal traditions, but even the most heartless woman judge could see the folly in sending a celebrity this pretty to jail for a crime that is quite common in the manmade celebrity world.

CHOGM – Pressure Group Heaven

Despite claims to the opposite, pressure groups in Trinidad and Tobago are happy for the CHOGM (Chug Emm or See Hog Emm)  in November since most activist  think a CHOGM protest  can intimidate the Government into removing property tax and UDECOTT.

As frustrated as citizens are with the Government, I doubt our problems will impress many of the heads attending. Some of poorer countries of the Commonwealth are still trying to rake and scrape a few US dollars to buy a plane ticket to come to CHOGM and will have no interest in what we in this country call suffering. On the other hand, the more prosperous nations are glad for our high crime rate so they can sell us interceptor boats and helicopters. Some are just happy we still eat Weetabix and Canadian smoked herring.

The protests planned around CHOGM will not target  the leaders  since world leaders see pressure groups the same way citizens see property tax. What the local pressure groups hope to do is embarrass the Government into action via the international press. The international press will be told how the Government is squandering hundreds of millions on the CHOGM but have no money for poor Petrotrin workers.  Pressure groups will also talk about UDECOTT and the Commission of Enquiry that has no end, only a beginning in a far off land. There will be much talk about suspected corruption and billions the population claims was wasted in satisfying one man’s ego. I can’t imagine the activist leaving out the Chinese smelter or the WASA potholes.  The bed-ridden health services will also be mentioned but very little about CDAP and GATE. Everything the pressure groups will highlight internationally will not be new to them just quaint to the first world and laughable to the starving Third World.  As much as the pressure groups will disagree, I doubt our collective woes will impress other nations and it is we, the Poor and Suffering Arabs of the Caribbean, who will have to fend off the Government for ourselves.

Dykes in Trinidad and Tobago

How Greenhouse Gases Will Affect Trinidad

Due to greenhouse gases, the polar icecaps are melting faster than predicted and if it continues to melt at the current rate, we would need more dykes in Trinidad and Tobago sooner than expected. I am not too worried about the rising sea level not only because I live on a hill but because we in Trinidad and Tobago have a Government that is mega-projects prone and our Prime Minister will soon understand what mega- dykes can do for our country.

Though I didn’t measure it, the seal sea level around the world has been rising faster over the last 100 years that the 2,000 years before those 100 years just mentioned. This rise in sea level has been blamed on the accumulation of greenhouse gases emitted by factories employing people who need to feed their families who will in turn ensure mankind produces future generations of hungry mouths and factory builders. With the rise in sea level in Trinidad and Tobago, it is expected that costal villages like Mayaro may end up in Rio Claro and what is left of Vessigny Beach may end up in Alutrint. Also, with the rise in sea level, the property tax revenue stream will dry up as more properties end up as un-taxable because they will be under flood water.

The sea level rise problem is serious for Trinidad and Tobago and though a TT$16 billion road network is needed because road Ministers and contractors have to live too, we also need proper dykes, not just in South by Mosquito Creek, but all around the country. Don’t let us have to march for dykes, as is done in those 2020 countries.

The Queen is Coming, No More Flooding!!

The Queen will be visiting Port of Spain in November and hoping not to have to battle with flood waters like a regular Citizen

The Queen is coming, no more flooding!! Hip Hip Hooray!!

For years, neither bullying by PM PM nor cars covered by flood waters could get the Minister of Works and Concrete Barriers to clean the drains of Port of Spain.  It was almost as if The Minister would look down from his Ivory Tower and take perverse delight in seeing citizens pull up their skirts to cross the flooded roads.

But when the Minister heard on the BBC that Queen Elizabeth II was coming to Port of Spain and fearing his ass would be highlighted in the international press, he announced how, after years of looking, his Ministry suddenly found out what was blocking the drains of Port of Spain and it would be cleaned before the Queen arrives.  The Minister took the opportunity in a recent press conference to let citizens know he was doing it all for the The Queen.

Trinidad and Tobago vs NSW – CLT20 Finals Poll

Trinidad and Tobago beat Cape Cobras today and secured a place in the CLT20 finals tomorrow. Vote now.

Trinidad and Tobago became the favorite among the cricketing world and they moved from underdog at the start of the competition, to top dog today. The winner of the finals will take home $US2.4 million. The losers would hardly be considered losers and take home $US1.4 million. Not a bad dollar-haul considering Sir Allen Stanford is broke and beaten up in a US jail. The money is good but not as important as the example the Trinidad and Tobago team has set for West Indies Cricket.