it has been a while

Yeah I kind of fell off this posting thing in August.

I get the month of August as my summer holiday and I have been working harder during the last few weeks than I do when I'm at uni!

So posts have been slow.

Might pick up soon, check in occasionally...

letters

I met a man, who leaves long handwritten rambling letters hidden in the library for me to find.

It's the stuff literary love affairs are made of.

I'm not sure I know what to do with him - I'm not used to romance.

jamaica jamaica

If you know me, you may be aware that my family is Jamaican. I'm 2nd gen British born, but the connection with JA is still there. My grandparents and a lot of other older members of my family who came to the UK to make some cash are now back home, enjoying life in the sun. I haven't been back for a while. 8 years it must be now, that's ages! I didn't think it was so long.

I am most definitely aware that Jamaica has some issues (putting it mildly), but until recently all I'd experienced was the natural beauty of the island and the warmth of the people.

Then my uncle got shot

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/letters/html/20090726T230000-0500_156193_OBS_NO_DESIRE_TO_VISIT.asp

Click the link to read how my uncle was shot execution style in the temple (or neck, depending on reports). No money was taken (he had $60,000 JAM on him, which is approximately £410 - damn that exchange rate!) but his phone was stolen. Allegedly he had received a phone call asking him to come to the bar and the theory is that the phone was taken to stop the police tracking the murderer.

Now I'm not really looking for sympathy. My uncle lived in New York, I'd only met him about 3 times in my life, but this situation is fucked up! Every family member is repeating that he was such a calm, quiet person. Never in trouble with anyone. The W_____'s are in shock!

So now I'm hearing that the plot is getting thicker - but since it is bad to pass on gossip I will hold my tongue for now.

RIP Uncle Michael

Jamaican authorities need to catch the animal who killed you. An island whose main income is tourism CANNOT have this level of lawlessness continue unchecked.

blockage!

I used the "block person" option on facebook for the first time today. The same person was also msn messenger blocked + deleted (a feature which is used with increasing regularity) and would also have been deleted from my phone except I would like to know when they are calling so I can ignore it - no surprises.

Can you block phone numbers? How?

It was cathartic. And it was long over due.

I can't control the negative energy of others, but actually inviting it into my life repeatedly? That's stupid.

And today I'm feeling smart.

the orishas

While travelling in Cuba years ago I was introduced to Santeria. Santeria is to Cuba what Voudoun (Voodoo) is to Haiti, and Candomble is to Brazil.

West africans forcibly transported across the Atlantic brought their beliefs, languages, traditions and Gods with them to the new world.

But the beliefs were beaten from them. Languages were lost as families and clans were seperated, and severe penalties inflicted on those not speaking the language of their oppressors. Traditions became hidden rituals or ignored.

Through it all the gods remain.

Kind of

Santeria was hidden during slavery by combining the gods (orishas) with Catholic saints. According to wikipedia this is called "syncretism"

"the attempt to reconcile disparate or contrary beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought"

Each orisha was melded with a corresponding catholic saint, often with equivalent characteristics

For example
Oshun "goddess of love, feminine beauty and art" became Our Lady of Charity
Elegua "the trickster god of crossroads and opportunity" became St Anthony (patron saint of roads and gates)
Ogun "god of war and iron" became St Peter (patron of war)
Shango "also a warrior god strongly associated with thunder, lightning and male sexuality" became St Barbara (patron of thunder, lightning and fire)

Last night I dreamed of Eleggua. There was a song I heard people singing along the Malecon in Havana which repeated his name and last night that song was the soundtrack to my dream. I have no idea who sings it and I haven't thought about it in years.

The dream was simple. I walked along the Malecon at night, past Friday night revellers drinking rum from the bottle and dancing under the stars, the ocean crashing on the rocks below them. The details of the landscape were sharp, but my companion's face is hazy. He was young, shorter than me and ran in circles around me, distracting me and tripping me. There is no doubt in my mind who this was, in that specific certainty that is only found in dreams.

It's odd that he should come to mind now, especially when in the past few days many little things have been going wrong. Maybe these events triggered my memory subconsciously, or maybe the dream served to show that Eleggua the trickster is causing trouble in my life. Eleggua isn't evil, this isn't the same as dreaming that I walked with "the devil" (in whose existence I still doubt). Eleggua transcends good and evil. In my mind he resembles the duality of human nature, however I would prefer if, in my dream, he was more playful, less vindictive.

I need to learn more...

a message to the leering and lascivious...

...you make me hate summer.

I found myself this morning dressing as if donning armour for battle.

Why?

Because in sultry south London, a woman's body becomes community property in summer. The level of community ownership is directly proportional to the physical assets that said woman possesses and I possess said assets.

So my message to all of you optical sex-pests that want to mentally undress me when I leave the house:

Stop the ogling!

A quick appreciative glance is flattering.

A 5 minute stare is not only not flattering, it's borderline harassment.

I actually can't take it. It makes me ridiculously self conscious, hence my need to dress like a centurion on occasion.

*rant over*

beyonce - sweet dreams

Is Bey becoming a parody of herself?

This what happens when an artist has no legitimate competition in their field. They start repeating the same old tired-ass moves.

So far I've noticed

The Lace-front Flick

The Shimmy

The Snake Walk

and the ever popular Booty-pop

Watch Bey's new video and see how many you can spot!