How the Internet is Killing EVERYTHING

First of all WOW. This Esquiire article is really well written. I have a good writer friend who's OBSESSED with Esquire, I also know someone who thinks it's a joke wannabe Playboy publication. I agree with the former, I thoroughly enjoy reading Esquire particulalrly for articles like this one detailing the fall of the mighty movie rental company, Blockbuster.

That said, I've never gotten into Blockbuster. I've tried to use it once when I needed to rent something right away, but I ended up buying it. Sidenote: I was doing a class project on the American Dream as seen through the lense of Titanic (ha! I know. Ridiculous.) Double Sidenote: WTF kind of movie rental store doesn't have Titanic in stock, I mean it's only the great movie of our time. No sarcasm there, I'm 100% serious.

Anyway back to Blockbuster. I'm pretty sure that Netflix, the wildly popular online movie rental site, has a lot to do with Blockbuster's demise. I'm a Netflix subscriber, even though I now live in Trinidad where the service isn't even available. The draw lies in their ability to suggest similar movies based on my tastes. Yes, I know that they're using my info to sell shit to me, I know. I know that the internet is an information sucking monster. But I guess I don't mind when my info is used to make life better. On the other hand when Facebook does it, it's really annoying, sometimes terrifying and never of any obvious benefit to its users. Ok, I'll stop now because if I start complaining about Facebook I may never get back to work.

Ciao!

Happy Independence Day Trinidad and Tobago !!!!!

Forty-eight years ago my home, Trinidad and Tobago gained Independence from the United Kingdom. I love my country dearly, there really is no place like home and I'm grateful for all the people that have helped to make it the multicultural paradise that it is. In a few hours I'm going to attend our Independence Day parade and then later tonight we'll all be going out for fireworks. Ahh these are the things that I miss when I'm away from home.

Did I mention that Trinidad is also an excellent place to be a writer? Our tiny island boasts two Nobel prize winning Trinidadian authors, V.S. Naipaul and Derek Walcott within the last two decades. Naipaul won in 2001 and Walcott in 1992. I'm more familiar with Naipaul's work, in fact I'm a huge fan of Naipaul's work. When I returned home earlier this year I re-read a few of his novels to get myself out of my post New York funk. My mom thinks I could be the next Naipaul, hahaha I wish.

New Word

I learned a new word today: susurrant. I keep saying it over and over again. Susurrant. Susurrant. Susurrant. Susurrant. I found my new word in a newspaper article but I cannot find my new word in my dicitonary. Bah

Well the internet knows my new word so it doesn't matter. According to the Merriam Webster online dictionary a sussurant sound is a "hum or a whisper: a whispering or rustling sound"

I like it. I'm a really good mumbler, it's one of my bad habits, sometimes I wish I were a whisperer. Whisperers can get away with it under the guise of being ladylike and delicate but mumblers are just brash and awkward or at least that's what my teachers told me throughout my adolescence. Ever notice how the caretakers in Austen and Bronte novels are always either ramblers, mumblers or just plain non-communicators? I think I'm going to spend the rest of the day speaking in susurrant tones like an Austen heroine instead of grumbling like a caretaker as I usually do. I'm also going to see how many times I can use the word susurrant in a conversation without getting something thrown at me. I've already used it about eight times in this post, I'd say that's a good start.

A Better Way to Use that Deposit Slip

Today at the bank I saw a little girl doing her little girl drawings on a deposit slip at the bank. When she finished each one, she put it into a little envelope sealed it and gave it to her dad. Adorable. She reminded me of myself at her age, my mumz would always use those slips to keep me occupied while I waited for her at the bank. I wonder how many people do that? Why don't banks include a little stack of colouring pads for the kids?

I'd like to say that I've outgrown this little pastime but that would be a lie. I still draw little flowers on mine whenever I'm in line at the bank. If they started making colouring pads I'd totally use it. No shame or hesitation whatsoever.

Fun Times at the Supermarket

It must have been tea time at the supermarket today. The sample stations offered Lipton tea, toast with Flora unsalted butter and some kind of coffee. I skipped the toast but went for the coffee and tea. Both were delicious, the Lipton Chai tasted a lot like a popular Trinidadian tea that we make from the leaves of the Bay Laurel tree. The only downside is that I forgot how much sugar Trinidadians tend to put into their beverages. I'm bouncing of the walls a little bit which is fun for me but sucks for my my mom and sis. Anywhoooo the real find was the set of stickers that I found in the disposable diaper aisle. I think I'll use them in my room to add some kitsch those cringeworthy red walls.

World War III: The Squirrel Edition

SQUIRREL WANTED ON 8 COUNTS OF LARCENY.
SUSPECT AT LARGE. LAST SEEN
WITH 2 MANGOES CONCEALED IN HIS CHEEKS

My mother is currently waging a battle against a 2 pound squirrel that has recently decided to make our backyard his home. At first relations between the two were fairly cordial but things started to fall apart after our squirrel friend began taking huge bites of our barely ripe mangoes forcing our mumz to pick the fruit well before it was ripe. To protect it from the squirrel. Of course.

Now that the mango season has been ruined by the squirrel war, said squirrel has recently been spotted on the cherry tree. This was a surprise attack, we didn't know that squirrels like cherries. But then again why wouldn't they? Cherries are delicious. My mother has retreated for the moment to re-assess her plan of attack. Never has the world known such a conflict.

My guess is there will be a war and it will be bloody. Squirrels bite don't they?

EuroPopDance

So I guess this is the "boredom" part. I'm putting off a phone call that I don't want to make and I have absolutely no idea what to post about today. I figure this is as good a time as any to practice posting a music video. Since no one reads this thing anyway I feel like I can share my cheesetastic taste in music without shame. See? I'm all about the silver linings.

Last week I read an article about the Swedish singer, Robyn in The New Yorker and since then I've been having a throwback to my euro pop dance (is that a genre?) phase. Since the nineties Robyn has continued to release great music, she just released a new album called Body Talk Pt. 1 which The New Yorker described as "near perfect pop songs embedded with a casual kind of feminism." Oh yeah and she also managed to do this while keeping her bits and pieces covered in what the article describes as a "small but significant comment on her status as a sexual object, she typically wears outfits that, tight as they may be, usually cover her from head to toe." Remind me, why are we listening to Lady Gaga? Or is the fact that Lady Gaga has been able to distract the world from her lack of talent a talent in itself? Well played Gaga. Well played indeed.

Anyhoo! Clothed or not Robyn and her new album are definitely going to be regulars on my Ipod. I like to listen to her when I'm in the final stretch of writing a paper, usually at the editing stage when I need that extra push of energy. Who could forget her late 90's classic 'Show Me Love' it's such a good driving in the car song and the video is pure 90's cheese. In other words I love it! I'm pretty sure one of my aunts started wearing a single earring in her right ear like Robyn and my cousin definitely had that haircut. Ok I'm going to try to add the video...




Sweet! Success! You can read the entire article from The New Yorker here.

Mrs. Prime Minister

I just overheard a family discussion at my grandmother's house. Our Local Government Elections are coming up and we all got our polling cards today. I tuned into the conversation just as they started talking about our newly appointed Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar who my sister and affectionately call "Kams". The consensus was that Kams is doing a great job and the changes in our country are evident. Trinidad is known for taking the "lazy island lifestyle" to extremes usually resulting in an embarrassing level of inefficiency and corruption on all levels. But Kams is setting out to change all of that and my aunt noted that it's the first time in a long time that she's excited to vote. On the other hand, my grandmother isn't a supporter of Prime Minister Bissessar's political party but regardless of our political affiliations we'll all be heading out to the polls on Monday July 26th to exercise our right to vote.

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to have grown up within a society and among a family that recognizes and celebrates the freedom that is denied to so many other people around the world. I've always been encouraged to follow the news, to express my opinions and to form my own views about the world around me even when they were in direct conflict with everyone else's.

As for Kams she's already an inspiration to me as the first female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. If she can maintain the momentum of positive change that she's established over the last two months, she will be well on her way to becoming one of the great leaders of our time.

Chinese Market

I came across some pictures of my family shopping at the Chinese market and I had an instant craving for salted prunes. I like the really unhealthy ones with orange food colouring and enough salt to send your blood pressure through the roof. Ohhhh I can almost taste them! There's a complex art to prune selection because some of them look exactly the same but taste radically different. The pic below shows my sister, wearing a confused/distressed look on her face while she tries to decide which bag doesn't taste like feet. Go for the salted ones!!!!!