MARK LYNDERSAY REMEMBERS WHEN The Jackons came to Trinidad.

Mark Lyndersay remenbers the visit of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5

came to Trinidad in 1978. as usual there are great pictures and very good reading take a look.

"At his request, John Cupid and I accompanied him to the top of Picton Road in Laventille, his security rolling along in a car a respectful but close distance behind as he set out to "meet the people" as he put it."

wow.

Encounter with Michael Jackson.

Ffteen Seconds of Fame.

MEMORIES OF MICHAEL JACKSON. 1958-2009

Sometimes you don’t realise the impact the man had on your life.

Damn he’s good!

YEAH BOY

I remember watching this live in Trinidad and being blown away!!

THE KING

http://www.michaeljackson.com/

Michael Jackson dead at 50.

It’s true it’s been confirmed. May he rest in peace...

A MINSHALL INTERVIEW

Found this on You Tube the lady in the back 'stormin' the man interview, ahhh YES Carnival!

Yes lady Hallehujah is joy! lol

NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL 2009:DRAGONS WITH RDR PRESENT CHICOMOZTOC (EL DORADO, THE LOST CITY OF GOLD).

Last year Dragons and RDR brought Curse of the Red Death, I thought that was a big theme, which might have been a little heavy for the designer to handle, however I did think there was a hint of great things to come if time and thought was well applied to future productions.

Up comes Carnival 2009, and the minds at Dragons come up with another, challenging yet impressive theme, ‘El Dorado, the city of gold’.

What a thing.

Now I have never heard of Chicomoztoc before now myself, El Dorado the City of Gold however, yes, so if Chicomoztoc is another name

 for the ancient mythical (because they have not found it yet)

 city, then so be it, you live and you learn.

A little rese

arch did reveal the theory on the seven caves or seven cities of gold theory and I thought cool, they on the mark with this one. And I like the idea...  

BUT THE BAND DOESN’T CUT IT!

While the theme and concept seems to be well thought out the execution is piss poor.

The concept of the city of gold is old, very old, almost 

every year a band looks at the tribes of central and South America to depict in Carnival. Just last year South Connections did ‘Aztec,

 

with great success. There are hundreds of books, movies and the internet that can provide thousands of pictures of Central American Indian art, architecture, and people, that if needed a child can gain influence from to come up with a concept to properly match such a theme.

So what happed to the grown ups at Dragons?

My question is did the designer do any research at all???

I seriously doubt it.

Sadly these costumes carry next to nothing for the theme. Only the names of the sections point you in the right direction, one or two of the male costumes show a hint of research, but

 unfortunately the designer has disappointedly sacrificed substance for style and cheaply ruined a potentially winning concept in the name of popularity. There are patterns and motifs that are unmistakably central American in design and would gave taken the band a long way in the

 

development of the theme. 

Novice at best, these mas bands of today are destroying the very cultural integrity of the Diaspora with these insults to the creative history of Carnival, how can any outsider to Trini if not Caribbean culture take us seriously if so called designers and present day mas men do nothing but copy or make piss poor reproductions of what the popular big bands in Trinidad are doing year in year out.

And it seems to be getting worse.

Today we live in an economic climate that does not allow big spending for everyone, but this should not be an excuse for the creative bankruptcy, that Dragons and RDR dare to present for 

the world to see. On the contrary the very roots of Carnival were borne out of hard times and

 economic drought and it is from such conditions that creativity by necessity is hatched.

 These bands and their designers should invest time in developing original creative expressions instead of making mas nothing but a boring repetitive joke an adding to the circus like reputation of the fraternity.

One of the first lessons in Mas that I was taught is to depict peoples culture or heritage with respect.

This presentation fails to do so, making a mockery out of an

 

ancient culture and mythology and in the process making a bigger mockery of West Indian culture and the history of the West Indian presence in London.

Think about it, in London there are Central and South Americans that are going to be on the streets on Carnival day thinking ‘is that supposed to be us...on any level, past present or future?’ or better yet how would you feel as a West Indian if we were depicted as much much less than what we were, are, or could ever be.  What if we were depicted as a bunch of dunces that thought 

everything on Earth was a bikini a couple of beads and any kind of feather...would that be a crap representation of us, an insult to our Islands and heritage, or will it be a true representation of a crap reality of what we have become?

This year the external  powers that truly control the road on Carnival day, have increased the pressure on Notting Hill Carnival ever so slowly trying to control the spirit of Carnival if not Kill it off, and as I watch this presentation I can’t help but think, no wonder we are facing our own APOCALYPTO.

 

This is what it could have looked like with a little thought.

AND SO THEY TIGHTEN THE NOOSE 9pm CURFEW ON N.H.C.

Parade restrictions: Kensington and Chelsea council says revellers will “automatically disperse” after this August’s parade finishes

The Notting Hill Carnival has been given a curfew for the first time in its 45-year history to avoid a repeat of last year's violence.
Organisers of the annual event have been ordered to clear the streets by nightfall under strict conditions from Kensington and Chelsea council.
They will also be forced to turn down the music after noise levels breached the official pain threshold of 140 decibels last year.
Council bosses have cut the number of vehicles allowed in the parade to ensure an earlier finish time.

Kensington and Chelsea drew up the new rules after 50 police officers were injured in violence, with mobs throwing bricks and bottles.
A council report found the event was let down by "profound organisational failure". Stewards were being recruited only three weeks before the carnival, leaving little time for training.
This year the judging post for floats in Great Western Road must close at 6.30pm so all finish the course by dusk - deemed to be 9pm.
Refuse collection lorries and street sweepers will then be sent down the parade route to help clear crowds and begin the clean-up.
A council spokesman claimed onlookers would "automatically disperse" after the parade on 31 August stops. In previous years the judging post has stayed open until 10pm, which means the event did not finish until almost midnight. Police will not be asking people to go home but the council said an earlier start and finish time would mean the streets are clear by nightfall.
Council leader Merrick Cockell said: "We want to make Carnival 2009 a safer and more enjoyable event and hope the three proposed limits will help us to achieve this.

"The sound levels must fall so the emergency services can hear instructions and this is vital if someone needs medical attention or if there is a major incident. Equally, we don't want people left with permanent damage to their hearing.
"The event must be completed before dark as violence tends to peak at nightfall."
At the August bank holiday festival vehicles will start at 10am, compared with a 12.50pm starting time in 2007 and 10.45am last year.

There will also be a limit on the number of floats to 125 - an estimate of the number which can complete the route by nightfall. Last year 135 had gone past the judging point by 9pm. And a noise limit of 135 decibels will be imposed.
Organisers have promised to meet the demands which have been discussed over the past few months.

However, they are yet to sign a final agreement to allow Kensington and Chelsea to close the roads.
Michael Williams, director of London Notting Hill Carnival Limited, said: "We have had lots of discussions and they are mostly satisfied. It is going to be business as usual."
The carnival started in 1964 as a celebration of the abolition of the slave trade and London's

Caribbean heritage. However, in 1976 and several subsequent years, it was marred by fights, predominantly between Caribbean youths and police due to the harassment to which the population felt they were exposed.
Last year officers came under attack in Ladbroke Grove, near the Westway and Cambridge Gardens.
A spokeswoman for the Met said they were aware of the new conditions and supported them.
* Stokefest, the free music festival held in Clissold Park since 2001, will not go ahead this year. Some 80,000 people tried to attend the 15,000-capacity event last summer, forcing organisers to shut the gates. Hackney council says it cannot raise £40,000 for a fence.

Evening stanard

WELL WELL WELL!

Slowly but surely the establishment tightens the noose around the neck of the N.H.C. and the biggest celebration of Caribbean Identity in Europe.
An institution that once represented the strength and promise of the Caribbean community in London, has been plagued, with financial shortages, politics, lack of imagination, and senseless violence, by ignorant youth who don’t have a clue what the very existence of the Carnival represents, and how those who came before them had to battle so they can now come to add nails in the coffin of the Notting Hill Carnival.
But is we to blame.
And the Man has to do what the Man has to do.

So basically 630 pm judging stops Carnival done!

But as a student of Mas and History I know this, they can’t stop de Carnival! it is under these pressures that the sprit of Carnival thrives.

MAS ASSASSIN.

BARACK OBAMA WENT TO TRINIDAD

So President Barack Obama came to Trinidad, but found some time to say hi and bye to the people not just the big boys, and a Cricket lesson with Brian Lara, but the little boys too. Look at the little boy’s eyes...he’s shaking hands with a living legend, awe and inspiration all over his little face bless!

And as the leader of the ‘free world’s’ first 100 days in office draw to an end, he says his goodbyes, to Trinidad and heads back to Air Force One, back to his wife and kids, and his job repairing America and its relationship with the world.