The Beginning...Band Launch Season is here!

Oooooh band launch season has begun and I'm soooo excited. With D Krewe's launch already getting lackluster reviews, some of these bands better come good. I'm always excited for Spice and since I did not play with them this year, I'm eager to see their ideas for 2012 (can you believe we are already talking about carnival 2012!!!!). Their theme is "The New World" which like any carnival theme is so vague and broad that any costume can be incorporated and hailed as representative of "The New World". Since the loss of Richard and Anthony designs to YUMA, Spice's costumes have not been at the same standard since their entry in 2009. So let's see what Anya and her team wows us with on July 9th. I'm hoping that there will be a live stream or I'll just be following the updates on Twitter....

The Day When a Young Professional Embarassed her Institution...

So yuh girl is a cebrelity since pics of me being wotless during Machel's performance at CFW last weekend. But never underestimate the power of fame; there will be a lot of haters and backbiters. Honestly I was very happy when I saw the pics on live stush. Besides a kind of weird expression on my face; I felt I looked good and saw some results from my zumba classes. To me, these pics are in no way different from those you would see of me at Carnival so I don't find them racy or provocative in any way. In fact, it just represents me doing what I do best- enjoying myself.

But apparently once you are a "young professional" this behaviour is "inappropriate" and will make you "ineffective" in doing your job at the university. I mean look at what happened to the American politician , Anthony Weiner! But the person who used the university's toner to print several copies of the photos and distribute them is not chastized, nor is this action considered "unprofessional".

The higher ups were appalled when my response to these supposedly pornographic photos is: "so what?". What do you expect from me? Shame for enjoying myself? Shame for looking hott in a blue mini dress? hell no!

If you knew me, I live for Carnival and anything soca related. If you read my facebook profile, my religious beliefs centre around carnival so the fete is my church and soca is my hymn so why is an image of me in my Church, praising my false god, Machel Montano and singing in the most high, offensive and shocking?

And how does this affect my job? My job is to deliver lectures on topics most of my students do not find relevant...but I do it in the most effecient and effective way. I am never late with my grades and I fulfill all course requirements. Now if my students saw me partying and they choose to let that be a distraction and not focus on learning which they have paid for then that's something they need to work out. Lecturers are people too and they do have lives outside of the university. I do not hide in my home and only emerge when I go to work...sorry. This situation reminds me of back in the day when pregnant women were not allowed to in front of the classrooms once their bump was visible. It was evidence that they were sexually active (omg, how dare they have sex!). And here I am in 2011, providing evidence that I am sexy and carefree (which some people see as immoral).

No matter how successful you are as a young woman, your sexuality is always at the forefront. No matter how much feminism has impacted on our society, women's bodies will always remain a source of ridicule, praise, downfall, embarassment and degredation...

CFW 2011- Runway, Fashionistas, Mogelers and Machel!

I know I've been saying that I'm not into fashion but I must admit that I like the Kingston fashion scene...I guess because I like posing and in the Kingston fashion scene everyone is a mogel (that is Jamaican for "model"). But Pulse's Caribbean Fashion Week is the real uptown Kingston must be eeen kind of scene. I've been to the event 2 years ago and enjoyed the Jamaican touch to the generic fashion show.

What's with these fashion shows and the late start? The show was scheduled to begin at 7:00pm and didn't do so until an hour and a half later...steups. I was pissed because it was really uncomfortable sitting on those non padded bleacher seats in the National Indoor Sports Arena..that's a big fail for Pulse. During the show, the long breaks to accommodate those sitting near the runway was also really annoying; I didn't understand why people had to get up EVERYTIME there was a break and then we had to wait forever for those same persons to be seated for the show to resume. I also felt that they needed to integrate the performances into the show rather than leave the performances for the end when the majority of the patrons had left.

Despite these drawbacks, I enjoyed the event and the presentations with my favourite being Meiling, Zaad and Eastman, the Cloth and Shanna Carby, the winner of Mission Catwalk (a local Project Runway). The pieces looked like something I would wear and not just some weird couture piece that belonged on Lady Gaga. Oh how I wish I could own some of those Meiling dresses!

I also like that the Jamaican fashion scene is just as much about the top models as it is about the fashion. It's amazing that Kingsley Cooper has promoted so many Jamaican models on the international market. In fact Mr Cooper has contributed to the destabalization of popular concepts of beauty which has found a space in the global fashion world.

But the real winners were the Kingston fashionistas. I mean these patrons would not let the models outdo them...bless up to all the mogelers...

And the best part of the show was Machel Montano which was the most impressive thing Mr Cooper could have done for me that night. Machel sans HD gave a great performance and drove the small crowd into a frenzy. The performance was so intimate that your girl got to wine on stage...who knew?

**you could view more pics on Stush's fb page

Thunderstorms,Trinis, Gems, Boots, Bunji & Faye Ann, a Chick with a Huge bottom, and no Kamla...

After recovering from an embarrassing hangover, I was able to get my makeup done at Face Forward which came out really well....big up to Sharon and Krystal! I still didn't feel 100% so I took a nap and met the band on their way to the lunch spot. Talk about rain....one piece of thundershower...big up to all the girls that waterproofed their feathers! The Frenchmen lunch included Chinese and grilled items...I still wasn't feeling so hot so I didn't eat. Back on the road, I stayed close to the Renaissance truck with DJ Smoke and Alicia the Duchess. Bunji and Faye Ann was also on this truck so there was a lot of vibe. The music was current and I didn't have to hear the same 10 songs. The highlight was the performances from the power couple who delivered song after song....bess. And talk about trinis; nuff trinis on the road, on the truck, performing, Mcing; DJing...I mean the only Trini that wasn't there was Kamla.

Later in the afternoon we got a couple wings with bread or crackers which was a life saver since I didn't eat the lunch. I chased the wings with lucozade which was my drink for the day so I was sober and energized. After the wildness in Half Way Tree, we had the best chip down Knutsford Blvd, again with Bunji and Faye Ann on the mike. At mas camp, I collected my dinner, jumped in a taxi and went home. After all the fuss about the costumes, closing down the wall on the Bacchanal Fb page, refunds, reselling of costumes etc.. people did have a ball. Everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves even after the rain had completely washed away make up and eyelashes. I didn't see much of the other sections since I didn't really leave the Frenchmen section but Frenchmen's 2 sections looked the best. The green in Avalon and the purple in Shangri la stood out over the other costumes. The most diappointing were Capetian and Digicel's Ming Dynasty....no surprise there right.

Can you say gems and boots. It was like a bedazzler exploded that morning! Gems, gems and more gems...small, medium, large, on the face, on the body and even on lips...my word, Samaroos would be proud. And then there were the boots in varying colours, styles and height. So it's safe to say that the Jamaican masqueraders are moving with the times and it's now left up to Bacchanal to update the costumes designs. We need back packs, tails, collars, bigger headpieces, less plume feathers, more creative color schemes and bras that fit. Now the bra issue was a big problem that I hope that somebody plans to fix next year. All Bacchanal has to do is provide sample bras from the supplier during registration so that women could select the correct size because these bras were obviously not standard sizes.

Personally, I had a great time. My corset was FAB. I bought it at Sincerely Yours in Trinidad for TT$400 and it is most comfortable corset I've ever worn. It's pretty easy to cover the corset with fabric using a glue gun and use applique and gems that match the bra. To top it off, I had a GORG collar made by Carnival Diva that complimented the costume really well. It was very light and easy to carry. My pouch from Bacchanal Divas held all of my necessities and was coincidentally made from the same fabric used on the corset. I'm glad that I ordered a size 8 boots from Carnival Kicks because they fit like a 7.5 but had enough room for the toe protectors and the insoles. My Micles stockings did not rip!!!! This miracle could be attributed to the plastic gems or the short time I spent on the road; It's so in tact that these could be worn again.

Despite all the costume problems and my hangover, this was one of my best carnivals in Jamaica. The music was bess, my costume was comfy and the crew had vibes....

Check out some photo albums here, here and here.

Machel Friday and Saturday...Advantageous!

Attending the Lime All Island J'ouvert on Friday was kind of iffy since this was their first event I've attended but once Machel was going to be there...I dey! It's a good thing I got there really late because the party was LAME, the music and selector were LAME and worst of all there was the false advertsing of free drinks in VIP. Not even the bar man knew that the drinks weren't free. The explanation given was that it was a Smirnoff sponsored event so only Smirnoff and Red Bull were free...wth! But it's a good thing I'm a vodka drinker so it wasn't a big deal but why would you only have 2 bartenders especially when they were obviously on a go slow. The other fail in VIP was that there were no restrooms. You had to walk all the way to the back of the venue to access the 6 toilets provided for the entire party.

But the VIP was on a platform with good viewing access to the stage; we also had seats and tables and jerk from Scotchie's. A little after 2am, Machel came on with the band and his dancers....he reall mash up the place with all his hits from this year and earlier...The crowd got into a frenzy when he did Big Truck, Footsteps and Mad Bull. Big up to girls like Brithany Dookie and her bend over skills; but an even bigger kudos to the chick from the crowd who proved that she could match Brithany's skills. The most improved award should go to Patrice Roberts...my girl, why were you holding back all these years? And what a slamming body! Zan and Nappy did performed their usual songs giving the set variety. Overall, Machel saved this party but I wouldn't expect any less because he's the biggest soca artiste in the world!

The next night we were off to Bazodee. After last year's disappointment, I didn't expect much but I was happy that Frenchmen masqueraders got the tickets for $5500 instead of the regular $6000. We got there around 10:00pm and there was the typical crowd. By now, I could identify the usual Frenchmen suspects (I guess they could say the same about me). Alicia the Duchess from Trini delivered all the hit soca songs sharing the spotlight with DJ Smoke- the music was bess.

I got my Trini food first- doubles, bake and saltfish and roti and later on I had the barbeque pigtail (it sell off). This year the Johnnie was flowing which didn't end up being a good thing for me. However the dessert station had been significantly cut down and Haagen Daz was absent...no scene because the Johnnie was flowing.

We eventually moved to dance floor which had mucho vibes. I was surprised that Machel came on for an impromtu performance but then bradap! no Machel! Apparently he fell off the stage allegedly being shocked by one of the generators....???

The only downside of the night was the power cut and Machel's short performance. We eventually left the fete around 2:30am although I had planned to leave at 1/1:30am. The only thing I would regret was not counting my drinks cause did I feel it a couple hours later....

And the Prep Begins...

My Jamaica Carnival week was supposed to start on Wednesday with the I Love Soca fete at Devon house but after an almost 3hr wait for my costume at mas camp, I did not feel up to it. I had a headache and was extremely upset. I did not get the belt that I ordered; Bacchanal claimed to have ran out of Frenchmen armbands and I would get my band on the day of the road march...which did not make any sense to me because we know that on Sunday no one will be doing so. To top it off, miss thing CSR needed a serious attitude check. Bacchanal, please hire CSRs who are informed, efficient and can work well under pressure and don't tell me crap like"I'm just helping out" because guess what? the costume is not free...well you know that I had to tell her that I don't care about her working for her free costume...

By Thursday I got my belt adjusted by a seamstress for JA$1000 (wth!) and got the items to decorate my corset. By this time, I'm feeling better and thinking about going to Frenchmen Blocko but I also want to wake up to watch the Royal Wedding (yes, I'm a sucker for weddings). But my fete friend also had to wake up early so we decided to just settle for William and Catherine (my girl drop the "Kate" yes).

I took a nap after the wedding and decided to try mas camp for the armband because the guidelines clearly stated that persons without bands will not be allowed in the band even in the costume. So I got my band and even collected my boots from Carnival Kicks. The size 8 boots fit my size 7 feet really well with enough room for my insoles and toe protectors. They gained mucho points by bringing the boots to Jamaica to reduce the ridiculously high shipping fees....

At this point, I had my boots, my belt, armband and my corset was being decorated. I also had my VIP tics for the Machel show later that night so I was really pumped cuz nothing could be better than getting a good dose of Machel....

What's in my Carnival bag?

On a regular day, my handbag can also be referred to as a survival bag so why would Carnival day be any different? I got my fab green bag by Bacchanal Divas to match my Avalon costume. Kudos to Ms. Diva for a bess bag and professional service. My fave aspect of the bag is the plastic lining! Next year ensure you get your bag from her!

So I packed my necessities and they all fit!

• MAC blotting powder



• Clean and Clear blotting sheets



• Blistex lip balm



• MAC lipglass



• Mini toothpaste and toothbrush



• Antibacterial wipes



• Mini sunblock



• Band aid



• Safety pins



• Clear nail polish



• Lomotil



• Excedrin



• Gravol



• Ibuprofen



• Zantac



• JA$1000



• My extra pair of tights!