Another Wonderful Trip

Once again I am sending out an "I'm still alive" post, that's what I term it due to my infrequent blogging. It seems Twitter and photography has grown so much that it seems to be crowding out blogging and suffocating my urge to blog. But it still lives one, somewhat.

Just in my previous post I am still unemployed and looking. Finding suitable employment in this hard economic time is like trying to find water in a huge desert as your thirst for life saving water grows exponentially. I am still indulging in my photography too in hopes that I will make some money from it to at least survive. that may be way off from now, but at least for now it helps me to keep my sanity in this challenging time.

Turtle Bay, Portland.

Speaking of photography, I went on one more of the monthly JWI/LOP group trip. this time we went to the easter coast of Jamaica, covering two parishes, St. Thomas and Portland. Once again it was a wonderful trip, which took me to places that I have never been before including Turtle Bay, which in my home parish, Portland. Other stops included Botany Bay, a quarry and a beach in Manchineal where we ate some curried chicken, curried lobster and fish. The fun on the trip was not limited to taking photographs of the scenery and of the beautiful models that spiced up the trip. Meeting up with people who you have become friends with through the common medium of photography and the internet and sharing experiences and jokes certainly add to the good times on these trips. The bus ride itself tends to be very interesting and amusing, to say the least! The conversation on the bust this time peaked when the original conversation morphed into man and woman story and fidelity, when the bus ignited it a combination of laughter and emotional expressions!

Two of our hot models on the trip

Of course the trip did not end without a hiccup, which happened just when we were ready to head back home from our final stop in Manchioneal Portland. One of the photographers who drove his own vehicle accidentally locked his key in his vehicle. Now locking your keys in your car in deep rural Jamaica and not having a spare on your person is not a good predicament to be in! Driving back to Kingston to get the spare key and then driving back to Manchioneal to open the vehicle is a hard reality to swallow. Also, calling wrecker to tow the vehicle back to Kingston would be a financial disaster and made breaking the side window look palatable to the mind! However, the flickr group decided to stick to the code of "never leave a soldier behind" and the decision was made to break into the vehicle, car jacker style. It took two hours and several attempts by several members of the team to get the door open. Now we all know how to break into a Prado!

I am still looking a job but also I am looking forward to the next trip. Food, rent and bills are important when spending my funds is being considered, but I still have to sacrifice some of this scarce funds for these trips. After all, it's one of the few outlets and sources of entertainment for me these days, one still has to try to enjoy life! You can view more of the photos on my flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/stunnerj/

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Irregular Posting, But Still Around!

Basking, originally uploaded by Stunnerj. A crocodile i spotted on the bank of Black River.

I have been so busy, and somewhat uninspired to blog lately. Being unemployed gets to me sometimes, but my photography and a website I am building has been keeping me occupied. So for now blogging has been placed a bit on the back burner. However, as I said, my photography has been more constant in my life these days. A part of my photography is the monthly Jamaica West Indies Flickr/ Lovers of Photography Flickr group trips that I look forward to every month end.

The latest trip on Sunday January 31 took me to Black River, infamous for it's crocodile population. It was a fruitful trip as we spotted two crocodiles basking in the midday sun at the very beginning of the tour. At first when we saw the crocodiles basking in the same position on either of two concrete walls we thought they were fake as they both laid there motionless with mouths open. But as we got closer were were totally convinced these were the genuine article as we say their eyes move as the watched us cautiously. One finally moved a bit when the boat got closer making us know they were not comfortable with us getting so close, much to our excitement! We spotted several smaller and even larger crocodiles and various birds along the river tour. These poor creatures were subject of several camera clicks, flashes and the attention of a boat load of excited photographers.

Apart from the wildlife and fun boat ride along the Black River, I also enjoyed a wonderful photo shot with a model who one of the photographers brought along. This young lady was beautiful, great facial features, beautiful skin and a banging body! The other big plus was that she knew how to work the camera and was a natural in front of the lens. It made shooting her fun and exciting, not just for me but for the huge throng of amateur photographers present. It was like a super model surrounded by hungry paparazzi seeking the best shot! We were so serious about getting hot photos of her that we literally stopped traffic, including a huge truck, which we ended up turning into a prop for our shoot!

Traffic Blocking originally uploaded by Stunnerj. Our Model striking a pose in front of the truck we stopped!

I am still job hunting and keeping my hopes up, even though it can be depressing at times. But despite the down times, I am glad I have my hobby of photography, photographers like those in the flickr group who make these trips a success and the special persons in my life to keep me going. So have no fear Stunner is still here!!!

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Ground Zero

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stunnerj/4270287677/

We build our houses on it, our roadways, our places of work and worship, and it's there with every step we take. We would like to think it is stable, safe and secure when we set our feet firmly on the ground beneath us. But, this is nothing but a false sense of security, because just as we move to and fro, so does the earth, but often times with a profound effect.

Condolences and sympathy goes out to those in the Caribbean island of Haiti and their families world wide in the wake of the disastrous effects of the 7.0 earthquake that devastated the island on Tuesday January 12, 2010.

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Michael Jackson and the Repo Guys!

If your weekend isn't that wonderful so far, this is certainly going to put you in a better mood! This is a clip from one of the episodes of Operation Repo on truTV. I never knew this show could have been so funny.

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No, Bounty, No...

Bounty, Bounty, Bounty, when will you learn? The iconic Dancehall Artist, Mr Cross, Angry and Miserable Bounty Killer (Rodney Price) certainly lived up to is titles at the Shaggy and Friends charity show which took place on the lawns of Kings House over the weekend.

Bounty Killer is well known for his hit Dancehall songs and as the leader of the Alliance Dancehall conglomerate, but the self proclaimed Poor People Governor is also well known for his incessant onstage tracing (cursing). So much so is his constant bickering and arguing that, that it seems on every performance he has to spend a good portion of his segment cursing someone or some entity.

Not even the upscale Shaggy and Friends Charity show was not spared the onslaught of the famous Bounty lap-skirt-tail cursing! The Jamaica Star, recalls the actions as the unfolded,

Minutes after 2 a.m., Mavado who was not booked for the show, was called onstage by Shaggy.

The Alliance member after reminding everyone that he's So Special, pledged to make a donation but said he could not do it "without him daddy... (Bounty Killer)".

Bounty Killer then entered the stage to a cheers from the crowd.

Those cheers would easily die away and make for a moment of relative silence and a few dropped jaws as the deejay came out blaring, "...... (Fassyhole) an' ...... (Battyman) nuh waa dem aroun mi ..." part of the chorus to his 1997 hit, Eagle And Di Hawk.

"Sorry but me haffi talk," he then said before continuing, "nuff a dem a ... (I figure he said Battyman) dats why dem nuh have nuh pickney ..."

Come on Bounty, after being in the Dancehall business for as long as over twenty years, you still don't know when and where to say certain things? This is a well known, well rated, benefit concert with patrons spanning form the influential business people, politicians, overseas interests, diplomats and the rich "uptown" ("upper" class) people in the society and this is how Bounty Killer conducts himself! According to The Jamaica Star, it is believed that Bounty's action resulted in the premature end of the show and a very embarrassed and upset Shaggy, who left the stage without thanking the patrons for their support. I understand that Bounty as well as basically all Dancehall Artistes are very outspoken against homosexuality, and in Jamaica there is a time, place and audience that will welcome such sentiments. However, Mr. Bounty Killer, this event was not definitely not one of those occasions!

Bounty Killer, has since released an apology for his latest tantrum at the event. But no amount of apologies can undo the effects of his thoughtless, selfish and stupid behaviour at the event. Bounty as well as several other Dancehall artistes need to wake up and learn how to conduct themselves appropriately based on the given environment.

Source: http://www.jamaica-star.com/thestar/20100104/ent/ent1.html

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It's A New Year So Let's Look Behind at 2009

It's officially 2010, a new year and the dawn of a new decade in human history and 2009 is a year that has been marked in history. 2009 has been a year of changes, a year of struggles and hardship and a year of accomplishments on the world seen and personally for so many people, myself included. So many things happened in 2009 that it would take more than one post to cover, but I will limit this recap to the most significant events in 2009 through my eyes.

The year started of with an event that was a highlight in the history of our modern civilization and for people of African decent the world over. The great United States of America witnessed the swearing in of the first black president, Barack Obama, a feat most of us only dream of seeing.

However, even though such great history was being made, the world was still feeling the repercussions of the financial plunge the world experienced beginning the year before in 2008. 2009 marked another year of global economic downturn and turmoil marked by the closure of many businesses and massive loss of employment.

The music fraternity and millions of fans worldwide experienced the loss of the greatest music icon to ever grace our century, Michael Jackson. the King of Pop, passed under questionable circumstances at the age of 50. The news of his death and subsequent memorial was filled with emotions as the world said good bye to this awesome yet controversial musical genius and humanitarian.

The loss of celebrities did not stop at Michael Jackson though, as well know actors Farrah Fawcett and Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze passed.

2009 like the year before, witnessed another lightening storm on the tracks the fastest man on earth, reinforced his title by shattering his world record at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin Germany. However, the onslaught of Gold and recognitions were also shared by the Jamaica track team as several members of the Jamaican entourage claimed record and Gold medals much to the delight of the Jamaican fans.

H1N1, aka Swine flu rocked the world as reports of death and increasing infection gripped the world, including Jamaica. The attack of the Swine Flu reached epidemic rate and scared many nations prompting governments all over, including Jamaica, to formulate plans in an effort to contain the outbreak of this deadly flu.

Locally, both the media and the performing arts fraternity lost two of its well known members, Michael Pryce and Trevor Rhone, respectively. Both of which has made a considerable contribution to their respective fields.

Jamaica continues to feel the effect of El Nino as the drought stretched along the greater part of 2009. The resulted in an increase in water lock-offs throughout the greater corporate area as the government and the NWC grapples with water management.

Famous Jamaican Reggae and Dancehall artiste, Buju Banton, was arrested by the US Feds, on charges of of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and faces up to 20 years in prison.

The ruling JLP announced the most dreadful tax package the nation has seen, just before the Christmas holidays, much to the displeasure of the Jamaican people.

On a personal note, I experienced what it feels like to see a close family member battle with cancer. I like so many of my coworkers was made redundant and joined the ranks of the unemployed. However, I see my hobby of photography grow over the months of 2009 and purchased my first DLSR camera as swell as the never ending purchase of photo gear.

2009 was certainly a challenging year with it;s fair share of ups and downs, or probably more than it's fair share of downs. 2010 will no doubt be a challenging year, but it too will be full of endless possibilities. It's up to up to try and capitalize on some of those opportunities and hope for the best. May you all make the best of the new year and accomplish your goals.

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