This Week's Playlist

I'm glad that I'm not the only person disappointed in Mas camp's soca playlist...you see Bacchanal, people have access to that little invention called "the Internet" which can lead them to sites such as youtube, toronto lime and various trini radio stations that feature 2011 soca... so they are expecting the soca ignorant DJs at mas camp to follow suit. Bacchanal FB's group echoes the disappointment of many soca enthusiasts but ofcourse there's no proactive response from Bacchanal because they know that people will patronize them any way...




With about a week left to the greatest show on earth my (2011) playlist includes:

1. Consider it Done- Faye Ann Lyons


2. Advantageous- Machel Montano


3. Illegal- Machel Montano


4. Wotless- Kees


5. Come Gyal-Kees


6. Bend Over- Machel


7. Give Him Bam Bam- Patrice Roberts


8. Feteing for Days- Michelle Xavier and Imij
9. Carnival Jumbie- Blaxx


10. Ah feel tuh- Terri Lyons

Bacchanal Jamaica 2011 Update

I guess it's no surprise to Bacchanal that the Frenchmen costumes were sold out in a matter days so they had to introduce a "third" section to appease the disappointed masses. This pic is from their FB group and not even the group administrator has seen the costume but we know that it will be JA$19500! wth! From past years, this 3rd section always look like an "add on"; it never seems as if much thought was put into it. But by now Bacchanal should know that they will always need this section; why are they surprised by the overwhelming response? Because I could have told them that....

They have also released information about the tshirt sections which will cost $11,500 for Frenchmen and Digicel tshirts will be priced at $9,500. Wth x 2! I went back to a post on their discussion board from last year which stated that tshirts were JA$8000 and JA$6000...now that is a ridiculous price increase! just for a tshirt? Now I don't know too much about the tshirt business but I know that Sun Island, Island T or Magic T are not superior tshirt brands so tshirt masqueraders will bring in the profits that Bacchanal couldn't get from the costume masqueraders.

But the bottom line is that, just like alcohol, marijuana and crack cocaine, no matter the price...people will pay for what they are addicted to....

Blissfulness...

After I received the Bliss costume distribution schedule today...I got so much more excited for Carnival Monday and Tuesday. Titans will be distributed on Tuesday 1st but I won't be there yet so I'll just have to wait. I am praying to the costume gods that there won't be any problems with my costume. And since I opted for the fast track payment I hope I can collect quickly and try on the swimsuit since that's the part that always needs adjustment. But I also started thinking about how ready I am for Carnival.

Necessities

The 3 most important things are confirmed: my plane ticket, my costume and my man...I am not in the business of wining on other people man so I walk with my own (I'll do a separate post on that).

Fete tickets

So far I'm confirmed for the beach house fete which I've never attended because I always felt it was an overpriced fete where people just went to look good...well look who paid for a seat on the bandwagon...Sunny side says that their couple tickets are sold out which is weird because we got tickets the day before the fete last year. And I'm still waiting on the crew to decide if we are going gold or platinum at Soca Monarch.

Monday Wear

Well after paying out of my eyeballs for my costume, there's not much left over for one of those gorgeous blinged out Monday wear options by Akin Ross I've seen on trinidadcarnivaldiary. So I'll just wear something from my closet- most likely simple white shorts, white top and my boots with my Chou Chou belle headband.

Footwear

One of my girls got my boots at Shoekeepers last week- I don't think that I will ever divert from the picadilly brand which has been the most comfortable boots I've purchased. My ami club boots from last were very uncomfortable even though they were gorgeous. I also got my insoles online and will be reusing my toe protectors from last year.

Diet and Exercise

This time it was existent (more the exercise than the diet) but no results...I found myself backsliding on the weekend but on the plus side I've cut out or down on a lot of crap but don't judge if you see me lining up by kfc in New Kingston. So besides the kfc and the chocolate muffins from megamart (hence the muffin top), I think I'm on my way to healthier eating (might be a looonnng road).

Leave

Could you believe that the leave was appproved in a week????I guess they just decided not to fight me and just give in...

Accessories

Earrings will be recycled as well as my gold avon swingpack from last year. You could see the post I did last year about my bag contents.

Make up Appointment

In true diva style, I made my appintment with Makeda from Shades of Sugar for both days but this was before she informed me that she had increased her fee to TT$250 and a downpayment is required so I'm not confirmed. I know that she's running a business and she wants to decrease the chance of someone not showing up but this will be my 3rd year and I think I have some credibility. In addition she knows I'm in Jamaica and it's inconvenient for me to do this. So we'll see how that goes...

Misc

I ordered my fletch dry powder a while back to waterproof the feathers since I need to ensure that the lovely feathers on the costume remain in all its glory...I still haven't found the weave for my hair so I'm off to the weave shops this week to find something long and straight....can we say a Beyonce ponytail...

Mess-tra at the Soca Monarch Semis

Who knew the Soca Monarch semis would have attracted so many fans especially since CNC decided to broadcast the Grammy awards instead of the bigggest show to hit Arima. I didn't watch the entire show because the power 106 stream was not the best and the show was extremely long but I was grateful for the little I could catch...I was also able to catch some of the rebroadcast on CNC the following day. My Mom is right when she says that competition always brings out the worst in people and boy did it bring out the worst in Destra. But her behaviour should not surprise us since we've always heard about incidents where her true colours came out...(the 2004 incident with Denise belfon and the cursing incident at the trini posse fete). What I don't understand is that Ms. garcia swore that she would never enter the competition since the judges "cheated" her the last time she entered, but that $2 million dollars could make a dent in her daughter's college fund. It is clear that Destra has too much ego for a competition since she is completely unaware that there are artistes who are better performers or who have better songs than her. Her performance was lukewarm; again she depended too much much on the hype and glamour and too little on singing the damn song. Destra needed to stop talking all that crap about Machel and Faye Ann and perform. It seemed that she was frustrated that she could not get the same reaction that Faye Ann and Bunji got and resorted to low blows. And what was the deal with her trying to ad lib on stage??? fail!

Now on to a real performer, Ms. Lyons; dressed in a black tank top and pants, the only prop she had was her sneakers! No frills, no fuss, she just sang "Consider it done" and let the crowd do the rest for her. Bunji was also able to mash up the velodrome with a simple performance focusing on lyrics and vocal skill. Now the man to watch out for is the Boss; I am not a fan of Iwer George but Iwer has Soca Monarch experience and has his followers, and I have to admit that "Come to meh" is one of his best songs to date. In my opinion, Destra cannot be considered a serious entrant compared to these 3.


Mr Machel did give an okay performance but like Destra, he had to try too hard to get the crowd hyped. At first I didn't think Soca Monarch would be a problem for the HD but the Soca Monarch crowd is not a One fete crowd or a Tribe Ignite crowd; I don't think that it's going to be easy for him no matter how many props he brings on on the night. Faye Ann, Bunji and Iwer all have Soca Monarch experience which Machel lacks as a competitor. The three have their die hard supporters and they know what the crowd and judges want. Backing tracks, lip syncing, and sexy dancers would only get you so far.


My picks for the finals are Faye Ann, Bunji and Iwer for Power Monarch, and Kes, Kerwin Du Bois and Shurwayne or Destra for Groovy.


And I just heard it's about TT$680 or something like that for the platinum section! I don't know about that! But since Machel in the Soca Monarch, there are a lot of people who would never even consider this event on their Carnival Friday line up and would go platinum....I admit, I have not been to SM since 1997...mostly because I could not handle the roughness but I always enjoyed watching the broadcast.... but this year the competition is fierce and I want to be there...

The soca monarch image and list of finalists can be found on the official soca monarch website.

Once Upon a Dynasty- Bacchanal Jamaica's Launch

Trini dougla diaries big this year because we were eeen the Bacchanal Jamaica media launch last night! So we are a step closer to being recognized as "official media" for carnival in Jamaica. Everything to be expected from a launch was delivered: a well decorated space; brief comments from the corporate sponsors, Bacchanal and the Minister of Culture; LATEST soca; food; nuff smirnoff and of course, the costumes.

I have to address the opening comments made by the Honorable Olivia "Babsy" Grange Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sport (yes, she has a large portfolio). The Minister first praised Bacchanal for developing the carnival culture in Jamaica. However she also praised them for bringing Jamaicans from uptown, downtown and the inner cities together...now I'm not too sure who wrote Babsy's speech or even if Babsy knows a lot about Bacchanal Jamaica but one thing I know Bacchanal does, is bring together the whole of uptown and the upper middle and definitely not the inner city...Probably someone can correct me on this.

She also made a call for Bacchanal to start producing their costumes here, not just assembling them but the costumes should carry a "made in Jamaica" tag...now Minister, unless we start killing birds for their feathers, China and New York will always be a necessary source for costume materials. Have you considered the labor cost for mass production of costumes in Jamaica? and how will this affect the cost of the costumes especially since there are so many "inner city" and "downtown" masqueraders....

Now on to the costumes.....the costumes did not look that much different from the pics on the websites. I would confidently declare that this is the year of the green (and variations of green)! I can't wait to see the greens on carnival day... But what was up with the models? Why didn't someone train them? If you are modelling a costume, you need to have some vibes which most of lacked....some of them actually looked bored and tired....Anywho, my fave teal was Atlantis mainly because of the color scheme and the embellishments on the bra reminded me of a Spice costume. Atlantis is really moving forward with a contemporary touch to their design and even offering a Frontline option. I also really like Bacchanal Babes' Princess of Persia which has a fabric lined bra with beads connecting the bra to the bottom piece. Frenchmen's Avalon also stood out; I like the color combination which is really bright and blinged out....Let's just say that Digicel's costume remains the worst in the bunch for yet another year.

On the fete side, Bacchanal has confirmed Kes the band, Shurwayne and You, Bunji, Faye Ann and the Asylum band, Imij and Co., Benjai and of course their must have, Destra for beach j'ouvert. I was really hoping for Machel at beach j'ouvert again...oh gosh that was the best beach j'ouvert EVER! I don't think the mas camp crowd is familar with Benjai although he's doing well in T&T; but I know the Trinis will be up front and centre...i za trinee ah trinee...woiiiiii!

On another note, if you haven't registered, you better move quickly because Atlantis and Frenchmen's Avalon and Shangri-la are all sold out....I suspect Babes and Macedonia will be next and if you are not registering online, they are only accepting cash at the mas camp...no card!

So thanks to peeps at Bacchanal who never brace me at the door to the launch.....

You could check out more pics on my FB page here

Getting Customized Carnival Gear

I am always impressed with young persons actively pursuing their success especially when it relates to their talents. Many of us Mas Divas are looking for specialized accessories to match our costumes and to add some extra bling. ChouChou Belle is doing a great job with customized headbands for those looking for blinged out head wear on Carnival Monday to match their costume. You can check out her FB page here to place your orders.

Bags by Mimi is also a great pick for those who want a bag to fit with their costume. She does a perfect match to your costume and each bag is different so you will not see someone in your section with the same bag. Chech her out if you also need fletch dry to waterproof your feathers. Great job Mimi!

Thank you 22 Followers!

Okay, I'm sorry I missed this one but I just realized that the blog is officially a year and about a month old! I've really enjoyed posting stuff that interests me and hopefully a couple other people as well. The blog did start off with an intention to document my carnival journey but it quickly transformed into a diary of my life here in Jamaica and all the things I enjoy doing. I am surprised that people actually read the posts and comment! So big up to my 22 followers and the 1 facebook follower. So keep the comments coming...what do you want to see improved? carnival advice (cuz I'm not so good at personal stuff or fashion stuff)? or just any topics you think I should address...

Unlike other blogs, I'm not doing any giveaways...sorry :( .....I don't have any corporate sponsors or have any free stuff...or offer any special services but I'm going to think about this seriously and consider doing a giveaway some time this year. In the mean time, I have some free digicel phone cards for Ja digicel phones...so ummm......