'Jamaican-Made' Jamaica Day

 Hey World! :)

Today is celebrated as Jamaica Day observed under the theme ‘Celebrate Jamaica: We On It’, so in honour of my country i'm going to profile two Jamaican made products i love. The first is the exquisite leather sandals, Bridget Sandals by local Jamaican designer Bridget Brown.

Style Name: Fringe (pictured on the left)


The Bridget Sandals line is elegantly simple ranging from leather slingbacks and ankle wrap thongs to ornamental flip flops. Her delicate detailing is often inspired by nature with floral or leaf-like embellishments available in many colours particularly metallics and colours inspired by the Caribbean.
Bridget's philosophy is that her sandals are ornaments for the feet which can serve as a conversation piece.

 Style Name: Rose (above)

 Style Names : Valerie (top left),
                        Cutaway (bottom left and center),
                       Mary Kay (top second left to right & bottom right)

 

Style Name: Norma (above)

 

So treat your feet to something sweet! Call 876-968-1913 for details on prices or visit the

Bridget Sandals facebook page here.

 

The other Jamaican designer work i love and fully endorse is Peace-is of Bianca. Bianca Bartley is the creator of this dynamic and exquisite jewellery line. She is an incredibly talented young woman that i just can't wait to see more of her work. Peace-Is of Bianca is where abstract meets organic, giving birth to a fusion of copper, silver, gold, intertwined with semi-precious metals and stones, and a variety of raw materials. Her line is very much in the ethos of “living green”, inspired by nature and her moods.

Bianca’s work has been featured in many local and regional publications. In August 2012 the line was sought after by the ANISA production team of International Television Reality Series- America’s next Top Model, College Edition Cycle 19 which aired in October [where] contestants vie for over thousands of dollars worth of jewellery courtesy of Peace-is of Bianca.

Above pictures from the 'Kaleidoscope' collection.

Left, arm candy bracelets; right, layered chains.

 

'Peace-is The Cure' collection made for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

For more info. on this collection click: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20121015/flair/flair8.html

 'Water Lily' with Amethyst



I LOOOOOOOVE THESE 'Peace-is of Bianca' Staple Hammered earrings

 

To place an order or inquire about Peace-is contact: peaceisofbianca@gmail.com or go to the

'Peace-is of Bianca' facebook page here.

Stand Up Against Rape or Watch The Nation Fall

Hey World! :)

Take a listen to this song posted below by Jamaican entertainer Romain Virgo titled "Mi a wait".

Awesome song with an even more important message, which should educate the young minds on the respect women deserve and the meaning of the word no. Simply put, ‘no’ means NO!

The reason for waiting on consent and not forcing the other party into sex is not because of the legal punishment but it is out of respect for the other party. It is because we are both entitled to make decisions for ourselves about what we want to do with our bodies. How we want to treat our bodies. Who we want to get involved with. We have that right to decide for ourselves.

Every nation ought to stand up against rape. (Although the legal definition of rape varies from country to country, rape is generally defined as forced or nonconsensual sexual contact, against a female by a male. However, men can still be forced into nonconsensual sex either by a female or a male.) Whether it is from the soft voice of a female or the deep of a man’s, no still means NO!

Scary Fact: “[T]he fastest-growing crimes in Jamaica at the moment are rape and incest. Statistics show that the cases of sexual abuse have increased exponentially since 2007, moving from 121 cases in that year to 2,671 reported cases in 2011. And experts agree that the figure is actually much higher since there is an estimated high percentage of under-reporting. Not only are rape and incest increasing, but the ages of the victims keep getting lower and lower.”
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/When-rape-becomes-common_12667494#ixzz2LMYbVYNW”

Important To Know:

• “Stop” means NO!
• “I don’t want to” means NO!
• “Do not touch me” means NO!

(But it is not limited to only those words, there is a distinct difference in consenting, just listen.)

• Silence does not translate to consent!
• My dresscode is not consent!
• Being under the influence of drugs or alcohol does not necessarily translate to consent, so it’s best to postpone sex and wait. (Prevention better than cure.)
• Consent can be revoked at any time! Whether we just took off our clothes, or we almost started having sex or whether we are mid-penetration and it feels good to you. You have a right to change your mind at any time.
• In my view, your “don’t…. stop” rape jokes are only perpetuating the grotesque rape culture of our society! Don’t try to smudge the line between not wanting sex and consenting. It is not funny. Stop it!

Rocking in Trench Town

Hey World! :)

Below are some pix from the recently held staging of Trench Town Rocks, last Saturday (February 9). Enjoy!

 

 

                 

 

   

 

 

Photos courtesy of Ishangophotos

For more highlights from Trench Town Rock held at Culture Yard in Trench Town click the link above.

 

Fi Wi Sinting

 

Hey World! :)

 

 

If you are wondering what to do this weekend, this is where you should be.

Go to Fi Wi Sinting!



Jamaican Saturday Soup

 

Hey World! :)

 

 

Having a bowl of soup on Saturdays is a Jamaican tradition whether it is pumpkin, beef, fish, chicken or red peas soup. So i'm just sharing some of my chicken soup with you. It was soooooooo tasty and i could smell the hot pepper (but not taste it luckily, because i can't handle that kind of heat. Therefore i had no other choice but to full my bowl to the brim hahahaha #DontJudgeMe

 

 Enjoy! ^_^



Trench Town Rock 2013

Hey World! :)

Reggae stars Bunny Wailer, Andrew Tosh and Sizzla will headline the annual Trench Town Rock concert.

The concert, held annually in recognition of outstanding musicians who hailed from that community, takes place today (Saturday, February 9) at Vin Lawrence Park, first Street, Trench Town, at 6 p.m.

Set to take the stage also are Bunny Wailer, Andrew Tosh, Sizzla, Bob Andy, Roots Underground, Chino & Family, Junior Reid, Lutan Fyah, Cen'C Love, Nesbeth, and more.

Admission at the gate is $500.

Go out and support it you won't regret it!



Click the link for more info: http://mobile.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130207/ent/ent1.php

Chronixx At The Bob Marley Concert

Hey World! :)

Pree the above clip i found on facebook for a lil piece of Chronixx and the Zincfence Band's performance at the Bob Marley Concert last night (February 7) at Emancipation Park. It was goooooooood! Chronixx performed 'They Don't Know', 'Warrior', 'Odd Ras' and 'Behind Curtain'. From the look and sound of the patrons i was not the only person enjoying it. The comments i heard while walking through the crowd would be enough inspiration for any person to get through their year, "see di future of reggae deh", "who seh reggae dead", "a talented yute dat enuh" and last but not least - two words - "young Bob".

If you have never heard his songs and listened intently to his music, that is your homework this weekend. I promise you will thank me later!

 

"Because we ten step a.... ten step ahead of them!"

- Warrior

 

You can purchase his songs on iTunes here. You are most welcome! ^_^

 

(That is a good pic of Chronixx by the way!)

 



N.B.* Look out for Chronixx & the Zincfence Band European Tour April and Summer 2013! For
          bookings contact: info@jahlive.pt
          Dates and places will be posted at a later date or keep checking out the Chronixx facebook 
          page for more details.
          You can contact his regular booking agent in Jamaica at: chronixxbookings@gmail.com           

 

Emancipation Live : The Bob Marley Concert

Hey World! :)

Been on a crazy hiatus for a while [translation: a looooong ass time] but i'm back! My apologies for my deliquent behaviour in managing this blog but you know how crazy life can get.

Well last night (February 7) i attended Digicel's Bob Marley 'Emancipation Live' concert which was held at Emancipation Park. As per usual, i arrived late which is no surprise to my father because he is of the view that i am perpetually late and it will always be that way. ^_^ Hahaha i strongly object! Anyway, i arrived right before Nadine Sutherland was to perform and she was good, still energetic, her voice and delivery was very good. During her performance, i remembered that Buju Banton was missing in action. [Keep your head up Buju!]

Nadine, pictured above enjoying herself on stage.

 

A little later after a band change, came the young general Chronixx and i must say i thoroughly enjoyed it. Enjoyed it so much i found a clip of his performance and i will post that clip after this post. My best friend said he was shocked, according to him i went in military mode and that during his performance it was the loudest he has EVER heard me! *covers face* ^_^ #DontJudgeMe

"... But guess what, Selassi I alone mi salute
All when lie a di trend Chronixx a talk di truth
Say mi nah do weh babylon want mi do ...

All when mi a di only man wid pants pon waiste
Mi nah falla nobody
And when the whole Jamaica a bleach dem face
Mi nah falla nobody"



 

When i saw the poster and read the entertainers for the evening, there was one who puzzled me. I just could not understand the correlation between that performer and the cultural show. Surely, all are welcome to honour Bob Marley for his works but if you consider the type of music the portfolio contains, there is simply no link.  The entertainer to which i refer is Tifa, but then i remembered that she is affiliated with the main sponsor so then it all made sense. The crowd was not very recieving of her performance because apparently they felt the same way as myself. We eventually warmed up to her performance when she sang "It's not that i don't love you, you know how much i do" - Walk Away From Love by Bitty McLean. (The original song is by David Ruffin, from the Temptations). The person i would have been better suited for the show is Queen Ifrica but maybe she had other engagements or simply wasn't asked to perform.

I did love her outfit although.... you know what i'll reserve that comment.

Luciano performed his rendition of 'When The Saints Go Marching In' as well as songs such as 'Sweep Over My Soul', 'Give Praise to Rastafari' and 'It's Me Again Jah'. Good performance. I always love hearing Luciano sing at a live concert because he is one of the few entertainers whose voice sounds the same live, as over a record.

Then at 10:25pm [mind you the concert was slated to end at 10:00pm] came the King of Fire, Capleton on stage with:
                                       "What dey gonna do, when nuff a dem nuh true
                                               Say what they gonna do, dem get slew"

 

It was surely hit after hit and in true fire man fashion, Capleton brought out all the lighters and i even saw a blowtorch lol. It was an energetic set, i don't know who was feeding off of who's energy.
Whether it was Capleton feeding off of his supporters railing energy or the supporters feeding off of the heat Capleton brought to the stage. He sung hits to "bun out di inequity" like 'That Day Will Come', 'Jah Jah City', 'Burning You', 'Or Wah', 'Slew Dem' and for the empresses 'Call Me On The Telephone'.

"Slew dem a pure feelings dem a carry
Dem dun bow aready
And dem cyan seh dem sorry yah"

Burning you, blazing you,
Burning you, we ah go bun dem out"



 

The other performers who i heard were Jermaine Edwards, he brought Omari on during his set and he performed one of my favourite songs 'Help'. Leroy Sibbles had the crowd in a groovy kinda mood, we were all rocking and singing along. I just got to say his voice is still real smooth. I also heard Luton Fyah's performance. I didn't get to watch Ikaya and I-Octane's performance however, so i can't comment on it but i can only assume it was good.

 

Photo credit : SKKAN Media Entertainment

                      Check them out on Facebook for more pictures.