Winston Riley Died
Without me knowing it at the time, Winston Riley was responsible for the deep falling in love moment I had with Dancehall. It was a summer vacation and I was in New York…and not New York City but upstate New York. Faaaar! My cousin had a walkman and a cassette with Dancehall on it and … Read more
“A vote is a very important thing.”
Early afternoon on December 29, 2011 Grandpa was ready to go and vote. He’s voted in every election for which he’s been available and eligible so Jamaica’s 16th general election was no different. As we prepared to take him – me, younger sister, mother – he said the above: A vote is a very important … Read more
Jesus Versus Religion…?
Earlier this morning I saw this video in my Facebook feed…and rolled my eyes and kept scrolling before logging out. I was miserable and annoyed with feeling unwell and just wasn’t in the mood for another one of those videos…but just now I logged back in and saw it again in my Facebook feed so I … Read more
Happy New Year (+ Top & My Favourite Posts)
Happy New Year! Whether you do the resolutions thing or not, hope that you achieve your goals for 2012. WordPress does this nifty thing where it sends a year-end summary for your blog. Now that I’ve been with them for a full year, I finally got my own summary. It’s really quite useful for … Read more
Where Are the Songs About Tivoli?
Last week on my way home I was listening to U2′s “Under A Blood Red Sky.” When “Sunday Bloody Sunday” came on I put it on repeat and let my mind wander. It’s not the first time that “Sunday Bloody Sunday” has gripped me in this way…something about this song gives me chills, from the … Read more
“Be Inspired!”
A simple but powerful two word command. Those were the last words tweeted by Heavy D, a popular rapper who was key to bringing Dancehall and Reggae music to mainstream America in the ’90s. I was shocked to hear of his sudden death. True, I wasn’t a fan but I do remember seeing him all over … Read more
Do You Know Your Status?
I am HIV-negative. I know this because I get tested every year with no exceptions. So, do you know your status? Get Tested It’s been 30 years since the first AIDS case was identified. There are 34 million people on this planet with HIV/AIDS, 2 million die each year. There is no cure. I blogged … Read more
My Grandpa Speaks
Quite by coincidence I planned to post this during November….turns out to be good timing since my Grandpa is a prostate cancer survivor and November is really Movember aka prostate cancer awareness month. But more on that disease later… About 6 years ago Grandpa had surgery that left him unable to speak without covering the … Read more
Amid the Cacophony…
I’ve been thinking about what to post today…so much trouble in the world and my spirit is disturbed by much of it. There is a great noise in my head. Naturally I turned to music to calm me, distract me, inspire me, motivate me…to help me sort through all the competing thoughts. I decided … Read more
Penn State University and The Golden-Age Home (Updated)
The recent news about an apparent child sex abuse cover up at Pen State University is so very angering and disturbing to me. I don’t understand how university officials could not have have reported the incident witnessed by the grad student to the police. Even if not legally required (two now former Penn State officials are … Read more
