Archive for September, 2006
Friday, September 29th, 2006
At 9:08 this morning 29th September I saw my life flash before my eyes. This after Trinidad & Tobago was hit by a major earthquake measuring 6.1 (or 6.0 depending on which scientist you ask) on the Richter scale. The quake was centred 25 miles NW of Port of Spain.
That was the news report, now hear what really happen.
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| Star showing center of activity |
I sit down my desk, I just finished replying to comments left on the blog, and I was in the midst of writing a post on a story I had just read in the Guardian, when I feel like the house shaking. 1 second later I realize it was an earthquake. So I say, ok it must be one of them jokey 4.0 earthquake we does get so I will sit it out. Then all of a
sudden thing get strong. The whole house start to shake like mad. Allyuh I was actually hearing the rumbling. Then all of a sudden I hear things downstairs start falling and crashing. Now by this time I done leave my desk and call out to my mother to come downstairs. So I start heading downstairs to sit under the dining room table (which is our agreed upon earthquake sanctuary), but I could hardly walk. Because when I tell allyuh shake, is real shake for true. The whole staircase was swaying like a rope bridge (and the thing is the steps done slippery already). All this time I hearing thing crashing, and the truth was I thought the house was coming down. Because I have never in my whole life felt anything like that. When I tell you I bawling out Jesus name, I eh lie you know. I calling Jesus like is first time.
So I am sitting under the table and hearing things falling down all around me and I am just waiting to hear a concrete wall crumble and the wood floors to just give way under me. Because not only is the earthquake strong, but it going on forever. We sitting there and is like the thing just won’t end. It just kept rumbling, and rumbling. You hearing children from the primary school nearby bawling for dear life. I began thinking about recent earthquakes in Turkey, Iran and Pakistan and I start wondering just how bad is this thing going to be? Is this the big one?
I don’t know if anyone has ever experienced anything like it but let me tell you something, it’s a very unnerving experience, because there are so may things you just don’t know. You know know if it’s going to get stronger, how long it’s going to last, is your house going to start crumbling on top of you? You sit there and wait till it has its way and maybe you’ll be alive still when it’s all over.
Nevertheless, in about 15-20 seconds it was all over. It may have been sooner, but I was trembling so hard it was hard to figure out when it had actually ended. We got out from under the table to see that vases and picture frames had fallen of shelves, and a very secure oven door was flung open and still swinging. But surprisingly, nothing was broken. Across at the primary school, all the children and their teachers came out into the yard still looking a little wobbly.
Surprisingly there was no damage to our house, which I am quite frankly shocked at, considering the beating it had taken. On the CNC3 midday news, they reported that the roof of the President’s House was damaged. Also they showed us a spot on one of the twin towers where a window pane had popped out and was hanging from the frame. CNC3 also showed us scenes where hundreds of office workers were milling about on the Promenade, post-earthquake.
On the radio a woman said that the quake was so bad that it shoved her car over onto the shoulder, and that other drivers whose cars were also affected by the quake thought that they had been hit from behind.
The thing I was mad about, however, was that power went out for about 2 hours, which made it impossible for me to blog about it till almost 1 pm. It’s funny but the first thing that came to my mind following the quake was “I have to blog this”.
Well it all turned out fine. There doesn’t seem to be any injuries as of yet and all dog, cyat and rat seem to be doing ok. It’s back to normal. Peace.
*So we got hit by a second quake that the seismologists are referring to as an “aftershock”. For my money that could have been a whole other earthquake. Here I am at about 2:30 sitting at my desk again trying to type up a letter, when I feel like someone picks up my house and the drops it back down and starts shaking it again. This time I am all along and I run under the dining room table again to wait it out. Thank God that it doesn’t last as long as the first one (it lasted maybe 8-10 seconds). Of course I stayed sitting under the table for another 2 minutes to make sure it was over. I spoke to my neghbour after the second one and she said she had the same sensation of being lifted and dropped. We had a series of smaller afershocks afterwards, some of which I felt. Seismologists say that we could get yet another aftershock, which will be smaller between 5.3 and 5.1 - of course these are the same people who say earthquakes can’t be predicted. So I’m still jittery from the whole drama and I think it would be a while before i get over it.
Posted in Environment, Miscellaneous, Personal Story | 9 Comments »
Friday, September 29th, 2006
The TT Pro League has taken a big step into the world of technology by revamping its website and in so doing, giving the Trinidad & Tobago Pro League a bigger audience than it had experienced before. Today at the launch held at Pier 1, officials at the TT Pro League unveiled the new website (www.ttproleague.com) that is capable of (get this) streaming live matches over the internet.
They promise to stream at least two football games a month, with the first game being streamed tomorrow (29, September) with the First Citizens Cup Final at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium.
The revamp of the TT Pro League also includes the publication of a bi-monthly magazine and an online store where allyuh ex-pats can secure allyuh TT Pro League replicas. So no more Arsenal and Inter Milan wear, iz W Connection and Caledonia AIA.
The new site will also be a good place for information as they will provide real time news updates as well as forums and chat rooms.
One thing I do disagree with is the notion that this new website with all the new techie stuff will somehow give our players a lot more international attention.
League Chairman Larry Romany said, “This will now allow our local players to showcase their talent on the international market, foreign clubs and scouts, can now see our players week in week out as they ply their trade on local soil.”
Let me tell yuh something, If it didn’t happen for the World Cup, chances are it’s won’t happen because of a website.
I mean how many of our players were snatched up by big name clubs? The only person who really gained anything from the World Cup was Chris Birchall and Dwight Yorke, which really wasn’t the great recognition we’d been hoping for. All the talk we heard about Carlos Edwards and Manchester United was apparently all just old talk. And at the end of it all all our dreams of seeing people like Aurtis Whitley and Cornell Glen play in better leagues vanished. So although it will be great if it happens, I won’t hold by breath for anyone to be discovered from the internet.
But for the new website and all the other stuff the TT Pro League is doing, I’m happy. At least they not stickin’.
Posted in Football | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, September 27th, 2006
Since Saucy and Hottie gave their lists of Carnival Dos and Don’ts, I decided not to be upstaged and submit my own unscientific list. Here is my list of 6.
- Know who is vagrant. Come carnival and worse yet Jouvert morning, everybody does look the same. Vagrant does begin to look like ordinary people. Sometimes, they walking along with the band and pick up two/three piece ah costume and they look like normal masquerader. This warning especially for tourists who does wine and jam with everybody. Don’t wine on the vagrant. One good way of telling who is who, is the footwear test. If the footwear not matching, run. If on the left is a Nike, and on the right is Adidas, run. If one slippers red, and the other side green, run, run , run. However, the footwear test is not the end all of it. Some vagrant does have family who does give them clothes and shoes although they still living on the streets. So if in doubt, check out their hair. If it matted (not dreaded mind you), and nasty-looking, run. Overall if the winer looks a little off, run.
- Do however wine on the hard-working police officers on our streets. Police officers are people too and appreciate a good wine. Do not however wine one the female officers or the horses. That may get you aressted. While I’m on it, don’t pet the horses or talk to them. Women, if your winer-man is talking to the horse, run.
- Learn that cute children can steal and pickpocket with the best of them and they can run faster than your drunk self.
- Know that a doubles on any given day, does not cost $5. If you pay $5 for a doubles is because you are a tourist or looking like one.
- Over the course of that weekend, don’t take your drunk self and go and say you taking a sea bath. You will die.
- Don’t drink any “juices” that aren’t labelled and sealed. You will get the runs first, then you will die.
Posted in Carnival, Culture, Humour | 24 Comments »
Tuesday, September 26th, 2006
The TnT Mirror went ahead and published the tamer Sampson Nanton pictures for all to see. And why not? What else do you expect from the Mirror? This is the most tangible story they’ve had in years compared to all the allegations of “Hot Teachers having sex with students” and “Government Minister in love triangle murder plot”. I’m glad now that I decided not to post them, though. Especially as Attilah put down this column on Saturday, I feeling a little bad.
Posted in Media, Miscellaneous | 9 Comments »
Tuesday, September 26th, 2006
About a couple weeks ago I blogged my own opinion that if money were poured into Ram Leela and Divali, it could become a major money earner for Trinidad. However, not everyone shares my enthusiasm for it. Reading the Guardian today I came across this story whose author was uncredited:
Ramleela council peeved at Govt
The National Ramleela Council is peeved at Government’s decision to blank its annual cash grant to Ramleela groups taking part in Carifesta IX.
Deosaran Sankar, vice-president of the NRC, said in an interview yesterday that he was informed by a senior official of the Ministry of Culture that the ten groups participating in Carifesta IX would not be getting their annual grant to stage celebrations in their village.
Sankar said the organization received $28,500 from the Carifesta IX committee to stage celebrations for Carifesta.
But, he said, the production staged by the group has already crossed the budget and is now in the $30,000 bracket.
What madness is that? How can they decide to just cut the funding because the groups were already funded for Carifesta? When I tell you sometimes that we can be backward when it comes to development, iz no joke. and you have to wonder sometimes if Government ministers are playing with a full deck. Once again it’s tall buildings, smelters and useless stadia, yes; and culture, no. Culture must once again take a kick in the teeth. And you can understand why people accuse the Government of being high-handed and aloof.
Posted in Culture, Politics | 7 Comments »
Sunday, September 24th, 2006
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| Paul Keens Douglas |
With the help of Paul Keens-Douglas, the ICC will be kicking off it’s anti-infringement campaign. Paul Keens Douglas will record a variety of radio ads that will aid organizers in helping the ICC “protect its interests” of the tournament’s global partners. Hence no free advertising, no competitive advertising (ambush marketing as it’s called), no stealing officially-registered logos and slogans.
The ads won’t only be aired in Trinidad & Tobago but throughout the Caribbean where his voice is equally recognizable. Who is better suited to do this anyway?
In related news, you know that they’ve just about run out of accommodation for the participants of Carifesta IX? So tell me what will happen when we host the Cricket World Cup next year and iz thousands more people go be here? Now I understand why there are all these radio ads and newspaper inserts calling for ordinary citizens to provide accommodation to visitors. Accommodation is going to be a big concern come next year.
Posted in Cricket | 4 Comments »
Sunday, September 24th, 2006
Aparently Winston Dookeran’s new party the Congress Of the People has been undertaking a massive membership drive since launching on September 10th and member Sadiq Baksh now reports that the party has over 4,000 members. Now you know for all that ol’ talk Panday, KPB and Warner going on with about good riddance and whatever else, they have to be at least a little scared. Why on earth would Ramesh be asking Dooks to form a coalition if they weren’t? All the time they talking about they glad the man gone, now they asking for coalition? Mind you, all the time they saying how COP wouldn’t win a seat and Dooks wouldn’t even keep his own. And now Ramesh coming with “is for Dookeran benefit”. But I never see more.
And guess who also on board COP? None other than Nicole Dyer? Remember her? In case you forgot, she was T&T’s most lambasted beauty queen whose only crime was to represent T&T in T&T the year after Wendy Fitzwilliam won the crown. But I’m happy for her. By the way I found this site while looking for a picture of Nicole. It has a great list (although incomplete) of beauty queens that have represented T&T since the 70’s. Some of them I am too young to have known and others still I had completely forgotten about till I saw their pictures there.
Posted in COP, Miscellaneous, Politics | 7 Comments »
Thursday, September 21st, 2006
A reader in England (who always sends me some good stuff) sent me this excerpt a couple days ago from a story carried in this month’s issue of Yachting World. The story is about the crime wave in the Caribbean and more specifically Trinidad & Tobago. Yay, at last we get recognized for something right?
Now, Yachting World is referred to as the oldest, most read, and most widely circulated magazine about sailing there is on the market. And that makes me wonder how important is the yachting industry in Chagauramas to Trinidad and how much does Trinidad stand to lose from the backlash coming from the publication of this article?
Of course I don’t mind that it was printed, but it’s worthy of note that our crime wave has more observers than we’re willing to acknowledge.
I’m not sure if it’s the whole story, but what the person sent to me is as follows. (Unfortunately the story itself was not printed on Yachting World’s website, although tidbits on this month’s issue were posted.
Crime wave in the Caribbean
The yachting community in Trinidad is
increasingly targeted for thefts and gunpoint raids.
Katherine Gilbert reports
AFTER ARRIVING in Trinidad on 15 August ready for two months of yacht maintenance, I was alarmed to hear of the increase in armed robberies on yachts and aboard the local ‘maxi’ taxis. Only two days after arriving in Trinidad, at 0300, sailing yacht Vestler was boarded by three men who held the crew at gunpoint and stripped the yacht of valuables. As the only crew member on board our yacht, it was unsettling to listen to the Mayday and unnerving that it took the coastguard around two hours to respond.
Worrying statistics
Reports of the Yachting Services Association of Trinidad and Tobago (YSATT) record that in the last half of May, five dinghies were stolen from boats and one robbery was foiled. It may have been coincidence but the crew that foiled the robbery found their dog floating dead in the bay. In July, five dinghies plus engines and two generators were stolen from boats at anchor and in marinas, even though the dinghies were chained, locked and/or lifted out of the water.
In addition, two boats were broken into, robbed and vandalised. Nor were boats the only targets. A yachtsman was robbed at gunpoint at 1000, when two men boarded a maxi-taxi near Tropical Marine. Their target seems to have been someone who had just left and ATM with a pocketful of cash. However, many more crimes have gone unreported to YSATT and are therefore not included in this summary.
So far the relevant authorities have done nothing substantial to address the issue, forcing individuals and concerned groups to set up their own night-watch systems.. These have helped to prevent some crimes, but it’s a losing battle against armed robbers.
Did you notice the part where it said that it took the coast guard 2 hours to respond? That’s my favourite part. A little worrying eh?
Posted in Crime, Development, Politics | 5 Comments »
Thursday, September 21st, 2006
A word to the adventurous: No matter how fine you think you look, no matter how perky your boobs, hot big your manhood or how tight your gluteus maximus, don’t take pictures of it - especially if you’re a “celebrity”. And especially don’t take neked pictures of yourself with a girlfriend if she tells you she’s not the “marrying type”. Unless you have a ring on this girl’s hand and she has eyes only for you do not snap neked pictures of yourself in amorous embraces. Even if she is entirely yours, I still won’t recommend it.
Why do you ask? It’s because gripping T&T right now is the release of pictures featuring CNC3 anchorman Sampson Nanton in the neked embrace of two young ladies (individually sorry, no threesome). Some of these pictures have now found their way to the inbox of my Hotmail account. And not only has he taken neked pictures of himself and this young lady, but also many pictures featuring the man of the hour, the star of the show, his penis. And he seems to be very proud of that penis.
You think the boy since he working in the media, you think that boy would have heard of people like Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton, Scott Stapp and countless other celebrities who’ve made the mistake of filming themselves having sex only to have the tapes mistakenly released to the public.
Sorry no more comments on this story…thanks for stopping by.
Posted in Media | 68 Comments »
Wednesday, September 20th, 2006
Oh what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive.
- Sir Walter Scott (not Shakespeare)
So when I last blogged about the Prime Minister’s Joy Ride, I failed to mention the name of the aircraft company who, if you believe Mr. Imbert, dry, dry so, out of the blue, ups and fly down to Trinidad to offer our 2×4 Prime Minister a flight on a US$50m plane that he has absolutely no intention of buying. Well, the name of the airplane company is Bombardier. So besides offering joy rides to disinterested Prime Ministers, guess what Bombardier also does? They build rail systems. Guess who’s now bidding on T&T’s $15b proposed rail system? Bombardier.
So in the sound clip I gave you to accompany the aforementioned post when Minister of Works and Transport, Mr. Imbert says,
“The manufacturer of the aircraft I believe is Bombardier? I didn’t read the entire story, but I believe the aircraft is Bombardier…”
One tend to get the feeling that Mr. Imbert is playing a very bad game of pretend. I’m thinking that it’s not every Tom, Dick and Harrilal that’s able to bid on a TT$15b rail system. There are probably very few who can. And you would think that with the enormity of the project, the Minister would already be aware of a few of the bidders. Especially as the Minister has declared that trains would be rolling by 2009 - less than three years away.
By the way do you know that Tobago Express’s entire fleet (purchased in 1998) is comprised of 5 Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 aircraft - a fact that Bombardier carries on their website? It’s also confirmed on Wikipedia’s Tobago Express Page. What an absolute coincidence. And how funny it is that the Minister would pretend like he had never heard the word Bombardier before. It’s a wonder that he didn’t stumble on the word for good measure.
So what is really the significance of this joy ride, which the powers-that-be would like to convince us is nothing? In my experience, everything that is done has some reason behind it. I don’t scratch my head unless it itches, and Prime Ministers don’t take joy rides on US$50m jets unless they’re buying.
Now, I’m going to propose this to you: A TT$15b rail system works out to about US$2.38b. Just as a frame of reference, that’s about US$2,380M (using US$1 = $TT6.3. If I were to use US$1 = $TT6.2 the cost in US dollars would be about US$2,419). When we juxtapose that with the cost of the jet, we see that the jet is just 2% of the cost of the rail system (regardless of the exchange rate). And when I say the cost of the jet, I mean the sale price. The cost of building the jet will be substantially less.
So in light of all that, what’s a US$50m jet between friends? Considering the money that is involved here, there is something the Government isn’t telling us, and obviously they think we are either too stupid to know or too stupid to find out.
Posted in Development, PNM, Politics | 11 Comments »
