Food for thought

Words, writing, and more words.

noreply@blogger.com (Alexei Mahabir) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 08:57:00 +0000

Good Morning SLY.
Here goes my first blog in two years. No spell check, no third party editing. Just natural brainstorming. It's raw, rugged and complicated....just the way y'all like it.

I'll start by stating that the theme of simplicity shall be kept throughout all my blogs effective immediately. See what I did there? I know for sure one member caught on to the irony. I could have plainly written, "I'm keeping it simple from now on," which would in fact have been the simple thing to do. Ha. Tricky tricky. My reason for keeping the simplicity is to avoid scrutiny. I wouldn't want to ramble on with my thoughts, using big words to amass plaudits while forgetting the basics of grammar such as subject and predicate and run-on sentences, at the risk of sounding foolish, now would I? Ha. That was a mouthful. There goes the irony again, mixed with sarcasm this time. I crack myself up.

I guess I was just under the impression that because all of us have been blessed enough to receive tertiary education, it implied that we could write at a certain level. I have come to realize, however, that words come more naturally to some than others. SLY is actually part of that "some" category. I have always been impressed with the level of literacy during our interactions, the exception of course being Laura's typing (God bless her poor soul, she claims that she has big fingers). For me, words just seem to flow and fall into place. Whether it could sound better to some is irrelevant, as it is better than most.

I bow to English majors such as my younger sister, whose age by no means signifies inadequacy when it comes to the English language. Was I ever to write a book, only her or a hidden genius such as queen procrastinator could be seen as a suitable candidate to serve as my co-author. But enough about writing, back to words. Truly talented writers get inspired by great lines they read or hear. Some even make up their own words (Koshenin? Really? lol). These lines appeal to their inner author and often appear in their bbm and facebook statuses.

So how do we know if writing appeals to us ? To test this theory, one should listen to "You and I Both", from Jason Mraz. His second verse sums up a writers personality perfectly, grammatical errors and all:
"See I'm all about them words,
Over numbers, unencumbered numbered words,
Hundreds of pages, pages pages forwards,
More words than I ever heard and I feel so alive."

If, after listening to the song, this was the verse that most appealed to you; we know there is a little Hank Moody waiting to make his way into a notepad near you. Collini out.
(stay tuned for my next blog entitled, "The Smuttiness of SLY.")
I also left a very bad, brand new Kartel for your listening pleasure.

The King of Reggae, Bob Marley

noreply@blogger.com (Alexei Mahabir) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:26:00 +0000

Recently all the hype has been about the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Fans across the globe mourn his loss, and have dubbed him "the world's greatest superstar." Taking nothing away from MJ, I would like to remind people about another legend; the King of Reggae: Robert Nesta Marley.

Bob Marley represents everything that is roots, rock, reggae and rasta. The latter being Rastafarianism, one of the quickest growing religions in the world today. Though not popular in North America, it is a way of life that many inhabitants of the Caribbean have adopted. Bob was a forefather of reggae music and the largest reggae icon to date. He is responsible for bringing both reggae music and Rastafarianism to an international stage, and was a superstar in his own right. Such a superstar that it has been 28 years since his death in 1981, and younger generations the world over still listen to his music on their ipods. And yet he was only on this earth for 36 years. No other individual, besides the likes of Jesus Christ (who lived 33 years), has made such an impact in such a short span of time.

His most popular songs include:
No woman no cry,
Buffalo soldier,
Is this love,
Waiting in Vain,
Turn your lights down low,
Roots, rock, reggae
I know a place,
One love

And these are just to name a few. Bob Marley has paved the way for artists such as Buju Banton. Jah Cure, Anthony B, Sizzla Kalonji, and Beres Hammond to grace todays airwaves. Music seems to run thick in his bloodline as well, for his legacy is carried forth by all his sons; the most successful of whom are Damian and Stephen Marley.

Those who are interested in reggae music will be able to relate to many of Bob's songs. He sings about love, oppression, and hope; things which we have all experienced. His brand of reggae is widely regarded to be "roots reggae," because it is considered to be the foundation of today's reggae.
Below I have left an interview and song from Bob Marley. I have also posted a video from Jah Cure, one of the biggest reggae artists today. Readers will be able to see how reggae music has developed through the passage of time.

Dwight Yorke, The Smiling Assassin

noreply@blogger.com (Alexei Mahabir) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:06:00 +0000

If you grew up in the Caribbean and once had dreams of being a professional footballer, then he was surely one of your childhood idols. Dwight Yorke, affectionately known to many football fans as "The Smiling Assassin," is now nearing the end of his football career. Due to the recent poor performance of the Trinidad and Tobago national football team, the hopes of qualification for South Africa 2010 are almost dead. It also means the end of the road for Yorke, whose career has reached the better part of two decades. He can still hold his head high, however, as football fans around the world will not soon forget the illustrious journey of this small island boy from Tobago, who managed to climb to the pinnacle of the footballing world and become the star striker of Manchester United. For those of us who have forgotten, or never knew in the first place, here is a brief recap of his career.

Born Nov 3rd, 1971
Scouted in 1988 by Aston Villa (who luckily were vacationing in Tobago)
Top scorer for Aston Villa 94-95 season, 96-97 season,
Player of the Year 96-97
Joined Manchester United for 12.6 million pounds.
Top Scorer for Manchester United 98-99 season
Won the treble with Manchester United 98-99
Joined Blackburn Rovers in 2002
Joined Birmingham City in 2004
Joined Syndney FC in 2005
Joined Sunderland in 2006
Captained Trinidad and Tobago in World Cup in Germany 2006

As for myself, I have met Dwight twice in my life. And both times, I was filled with nothing but admiration. Scouted when he was only 17 years old. At 17 I was worried about homework assignments for my grade 12 English class. He was worried about facing the best players in the world.
When I was younger, my football team went to Tobago and had the pleasure of meeting his old high school coach, Bertile St. Clair. When asked of Dwight Yorke, he told us, "Dwight was the hardest worker I have ever seen. When he was a teenager, he used to practice corner kicks everyday for hours at a time. He would kick the ball, have to run it down himself and take it back to the corner flag. He did this hundreds of times everyday. Hundreds. That is how hard he worked to get where he is now."