Time To Live Local, Eat Global At KRW 2010

Every November for the past six years several of Kingston's eateries offer their culinary creations to the public at a discounted rates in what is called Kingston Restaurant Week (KRW). This well anticipated culinary experience, under the theme "Live Local, Eat Global", begins today Saturday November 13 and runs to Saturday November 20. The participating restaurants offer a three course meal consisting of appetizer, a main course and to top it off a dessert all at a price lower than their normal price. However, over the years the popularity of KRW has grown to include even more restaurants in the city of Kingston, and even beyond to include Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. The restaurants are grouped into four categories based on price ranges, namely:

• "Tasty" $1,450
• "Savory" $1,750
• "High Rollers" $1,750
• "Delectable" $3,300 and
• "Epicurean" for $3,800

I have been eating out during restaurant week from the inception in 2004, but due to budgetary concerns I have been limited to the Savory category. This year I wanted to elevate the luxuries for my taste buds and try the Delectable, but alas, I am even in more financial constraints this year and will be limited to the Savory Category yet once again. I am a bit disappointed about not going to one of the restaurants in the Delectable or Epicurean category as I was looking forward to try the talk of the town, Susie's Bakery & Coffee Bar or the restaurant overlooking the city, Strawberry Hill. So confronted with my immediate reality I have gone through the Savory and High Rollers for possible restaurant that I have not tried as yet and came up with a few choices. The choices are:

• Gimbilyn Restaurant - Alhambra Inn
• Grogge Shoppe Restaurant
• East Japanese
• Hotel Four Season

However I am still not sure which of these participating restaurants I will try for KRW. This is where you my values readers come in, yes I am relying on you to help me choose where to go for KRW. I will do this by a a vote, the restaurant that gets the most vote by Wednesday November 17 will be my choice for KRW! So here is your task: Check out the menus of the four restaurants that I have chosen and vote for the one you think I should dine at for KRW below. As easy as that!

I will provide a review with pictures of the restaurant that you choose, which will highlight my entire dining experience, including: ambiance, service and the quality and taste of the food. But just don't take my word for it, go out and enjoy KRW and let me know your experiences. Happy, discounted, dining!

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I Tested the Kingston Beta

Members pose for a photo at Kingston Beta 17 floor Jamaica Pegasus

I have heard about Kingston Beta for a while now and have been been invited to their meetings before but for one reason or the other I never got the chance to attend. So This time I made it my duty to be present for their November meeting, especially since this was their last meeting for 2010. But what in Kingston Beta? And why would I be interested in going to their meetings?

Michael Campbell of Virtual Mall Jamaica making his Pitch

According to the Kingston Beta website, it is a bi-monthly networking meeting and a startup pitch forum where both Jamaican and Caribbean tech, internet, mobile, business professionals, entrepreneurs and enthusiasts can learn, network and gain inspiration from others in the varied industries. Well as a budding entrepreneur and photographer, such an event would of course spark my interest and would be very advantageous to me! After all, I would get to network with individuals in many of these industries in a bid to introduce my services. It would also give me the opportunity to see what ideas and businesses are out there and to gain some experience and encouragement from those who are successful business people. Also, it would be a very good opportunity for me to work on refining my event photography skills... sshhh, nuh tell dem! Now I wonder to myself, why didn't I make it to these meetings before? [slap self in the back of head]

L-R: Chris Mills, Monique Powell of Roaming Donkey and Gordon Swaby

I consider my experience at Kingston Beta to be a good one, which was held at the Jamaica Pegasus, as it lived up to what it was all about. I got to learn of new businesses that are now on the market in the stages of breaking out to be successful ventures as well what help there is out there for those wishing to venture to the route of entrepreneurship. There were pitches (or presentations) from Roaming Donkey a online guide with a difference; Virtual Mall Jamaica, a local online shopping website featuring local companies; and ICT4D, a "Jamaican-based network organization established to define, promote and facilitate the use of information and communication technology in the development process." I also got to do a little networking, which I hope will pay off, and of course I took a lot of photographs of the event. It was not all just pure talking as there were several giveaways as well as wonderful finger food which I did enjoy! To learn more about Kingston beta you can visit their website http://kingstonbeta.com/ and follow them on twitter @kingstonbeta. The next Kingston Beta meeting will be in January, which I will make every effort to attend! Will you be there?

For more of my photos of Kingston Beta November 11, 2010 you can view them on my facebook fan page in the folder Kingston Beta November 11, 2010. Please remember to "Like" my page!!!

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Doubtful Tomas

Early projected path of Tomas

Just a few days ago all eyes were on the eastern Caribbean as a young hurricane called Tomas tore through a few of the Leeward Islands and almost completely destroying the entire St. Lucia. According to the the weather  website projected path Tomas had Jamaica lined up like a sniper looking through his aiming lens on his rifle. Jamaica was projected to receive a direct hit from what would be a category 3 hurricane called Tomas!

However as time passed Tomas seemed to loose some of his confidence and was downgraded to a tropical storm, but had the potential of regaining strength to a category 1 hurricane by the time it reached the vicinity of Jamaica. But that was not all, as it seem Tomas changed it's mind about a direct hit and was projected to head north between Haiti and Cuba, but was supposed to skim the eastern end of Jamaica as a strong tropical storm or category 1 hurricane!

Line outside Pure Water store Kingston Jamaica

With this sigh of relief, but still a heightened sense of preparation Jamaicans began to get ready for a similar downpour of rain like with our recent visitor Nicole, but this time with even some storm force winds! On the day before the storm people could be seen shopping for supplies! Even yours truly got caught in a line at the pure Water store getting some purified water even 2 days before the projected date of the storms arrival. Jamaicans were taking no chance with Tomas and got prepared to some extent.

The day of the storm the anticipation filled the air and this was also evident on Twitter as tweets were flying all over about Tomas expected approach. The countdown continued, the anticipation grew, the satellite image showed an ever closer approach... but... wait... Where was the rain? Where was the wind? Where were the outer bands? Where was Tomas? The hours went by, but all I could see was overcast skies, but no rain and no wind! As I checked the storm track I saw Tomas wobbling east of Jamaica, like an insecure, doubtful child! Finally the rain started, it seems it was here... What! It stopped! That was it? As the night went by, it all seemed that Tomas was a figment of the satellites imagery and our imagination. Tomas passed by Jamaica without even a good shower or puff of wind. The only evidence of Tomas we had was the overcast skies, a few short showers and the satellite imagery.

I am not complaining though, I am happy and give thanks that once again Jamaica was spared a disaster. Especially after how Nicole battered us with endless downpours. We braced ourselves, but never go hit. However, it's never a disadvantage to be prepared and those 3 tins of mackerel and corned beef I bought will certainly be eaten in the coming weeks! Jamaica missed another direct hit, yes we were bypassed by doubtful Tomas.

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Farewell Cool Ruler

Image from http://www.jahreggaeshop.com

The man dubbed as the Cool Ruler, an icon in the Jamaican Lovers Rock music, Gregory Isaacs has passed. This great Jamaican musical icon succumbed to his fight against lung cancer on October 25, 2010 in London at the age of 59.

Gregory Isaacs forty year musical career produced several hits such as Love is Overdue, Out Deh, Sad To Know, Big All Around, Rumours and my all time favorite Night Nurse. Like most great artistes he had his fair share of problems, due to his well known abuse of cocaine and subsequent run in with the law. Nevertheless Isaacs still managed to continue to produce hits and to have a successful career. He was also a staple and well anticipated performer at the Heineken Startime show which featured artistes and songs from the 70's.

Gregory Isaacs was certainly a great artiste and a powerful force in the Jamaican music and entertainment industry. Another great Jamaican icon has passed.

Enjoy my all time greatest Gregory Isaacs song, Night Nurse, below.

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New Photo Blog!

So true to my words in my last post, I finally got my own domain name and blog for my photography, joelfinnigenphotography.com! With the aid of my fellow blogger and photographer Jamaipanse I was able the setup the photoblog with relative ease. So now I have a platform to blog about my photography, yes a blog dedicated only to photography and my journey to photographic bliss!!! So far I two posts on the blog, on an introductory post and the other is about my first shoot with my new Nikon D90. The other good thing is that I now have my own domain name, which looks much better on my business card... which I have ordered from Moo.com. I could stay here and tell you a lot more about the new blog, but that would just spoil all the fun for you. So head on over to joelfinnigenphotography.com and explore!

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Opps, I Did It Again!

It has certainly been a while since I have posted anything here... I seriously think I have lost my Blogging Mojo. I used to be able to write a post sometimes even three or four time a week! but alas, I just can't seem to do that anymore, I'm averaging about one post a month now. I need to get that Mojo back, because it's not even that I am extremely busy to the point where I can't find time to blog. This is very urgent as I am about to launch a brand new blog... yeeesss, I said brand new blog. But this will be different, as it will be totally dedicated to my photography, so no random post about the weather, just pure unadulterated photography. I am hoping to start that blog by as early as next week. I think it will be a good Idea for me to document my journey in my passion, photography. I should have started that blog a long time ago, but procrastination got the better of me. Have no fear Stunner's Afflictions will still continue to be around for all my other useless musings. So you can look out for the launch of my new photoblog in a few days.

The bride's shoot shot with my Nikon D90

Since I am on the topic of photography, let me give you an update on how that is going. Well, I have improved a bit since I last spoke here about my photography, but I am still oh so far away from where I want to be. The journey is long, hard and very expensive, but photography is something I love so I am still walking the perilous journey. I have now done two weddings as a second shooter and have gained enough confidence to take on a wedding of my own, yes a a primary shooter. I have to admit, being a wedding photographer is one of the hardest jobs one can do! One has to be prepared to sweat, put up with pain all over: hands, feet, back etc, organize a chaotic bunch of nervously overjoyed people, get the exposure right, catch every special moment... and the worse thing is, you mostly only get one shot, no retake! And if you think it's finished there, you are wrong, as there are several days of post work in front of the computer to really wow the client. I have a few prospective ones in the wings, so I am looking to getting those contracts and of course the pay! Hehehe...

My new Nikon D90 and Nikon 18-105 kit lens

My passion of photography has cause me to do some really crazy things, get on my belly, climb up on dangerous ledges, venture into secluded places... and it still continues to make me spend money that I don't have! This is still true as it was demonstrated recently with two new major acquisitions. I had been noticing that my Nikon D60 DSLR was somewhat limiting my creativity and had started to toy with the idea of upgrading to a new camera. however, it was not until after my first wedding as a second shooter that I was convinced that if I am going to be serious about photography, I needed an upgrade. With this in mind and a lot of thought, calculations, budgeting and sweating I made a leap of faith, yes went out on a very frail limb and made two major purchases. I sold my Nikon D60 and upgraded to a new Nikon D90. At the time I could only afford the body, thus I was lacking a general wide angle zoom lens as I had sold the one I had with the D60 body. So a few days ago I again sacrificed and bought a 18-105mm lens, which I got just yesterday. Was all that money worth it?

A photo from my first model shoot with the D90

It certainly did! I shot the second wedding as a second shooter and was not disappointed and depressed as when I did my first with the D60! The D90 proved itself at that wedding! I must admit that even though I have not done much shooting with the D90, I am loving it! I did my first model shoot with it a few days ago and the camera was great to use. So I have no regrets making the move to upgrade my camera. Now I need some good fast lens, but that is for the future. Right now I will have to work with what I have and hopefully make some good money to support this expensive addiction. You can take a look at the photos from my first model shoot using the D90 here in the set titled Crissie.

Wow! that was a mouthful and a half! Please make this be the Mojo coming back... please...

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