Soulmate Sunday - with the Crown Prince of Reggae

Dennis Brown was born Dennis Emmanuel Brown in Kingston on the Caribbean Island of Jamaica, on February 1st 1957.
Singing as a youngster aged 9yrs, Dennis had his 1st hit aged 11yrs, with - No Man is an Island.




Dennis Brown, died of pneumonia, July 1st 1999 aged 42.
Brown, a phenomenal singer was alleged to have had only one lung.
It's alleged that his latter drug use ( cocaine ) weakened his remaining lung, and is reported to have died from lung failure related to pneumonia.

Other sources state that although never confirmed/diagnosed, Brown was believed to have the AIDS virus and died from AIDS related pneumonia. Only people that knew Dennis closely knew that his health was failing.

Dennis Brown was truly the crown Prince of Reggae and left us a catalog of some of the greatest ever music.
and i'm told by those who met him, that he was a really nice man.

It's a beautifully sunny day, I hope you enjoy..
and... enjoy the sounds of the Crown Prince of Reggae. x




















For a Dennis Brown biography click {here] and [here] and [here]

Just a Saturday music journey

Featuring

Bassekou Kouyaté
Rokia Traore
Habib Koite
Baaba Maal
Youssou N'Dou

It's a Media Circus - Weekend WOW Factor

Wet your appetite...with..

The Seven 'Digital Deadly Sins [click here for interactive page]

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Rollup rollup...

Cage 1

Ukraine has a new president
How sweet :)

I only know what I've heard.. that he's a billionaire

Petro Poroshenko [click]

Cage 2

Is one American solider equal to 5 Taliban commandos?
I've heard various comments about the story of Bowe Bergdahl

Yes, his father may look like some cool anti government tali-brand of the American variety. But then I wondered...Is he Jewish? I don't know, but, his speech... was interesting.

What was also interesting was why he thought his English speaking son may not be able to speak English anymore. He was away for 5yrs.. not 25.
Unless English was not his first language,( lord knows I struggle with it at times) , but I don't think that was the case


I wonder....
Was he the only captured American?
How, when and where did the swap talks take place..?
Why now?
and .. was he a deserter?.
Some think he was, and a home coming celebration was cancelled due to the anger of some, ( as it's alleged that American soliders died looking for a man that walked out of his base, unarmed in search of the Taliban) [click]

At least 1 person knows the real story..
one of which is Bowe.

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Cage 3

..has got to be ..

Big Brother UK 2014.

A very clever format whoever 1st came up with the idea, that's for sure.
Big Brother was 1st aired in the UK in the year 2000, and has been popular viewing ever since.
Big Brother is an interesting study of human behaviour, or a human experiment if you wish to call it that
( the best study of human behaviour perhaps after 'life itself')

You can study the show, or better yet.. those who admit to watching it.. and those who passionately never will
But more so, I think Big brother is an interesting insight into British culture, a culture that some may not wish to see, or acknowledge, but one which exists nonetheless.
In many ways.. it's a slice of white British popular culture.

Or... perhaps the culture of 2,069, 809 Sun newspaper readers/and/or buyers at the very least

It can be funny to watch.

At one stage Big Brother was a little like watching those old Tarzan films.. when you knew the black one would be killed off first
Blink.. and they're out. Either that, or they would be accused of behaving badly - bitching, scaring or bullying, or just simply being too black, or ... not black enough.

Big brother is the 'Eton Mess' of TV

.
But it has begun to lose it's way, under a mess of big tits, wanna be 'Katie Price's', and just not enough original folk.
I saw the first episode by accident.

Two of the women had on pretty much the same dress ( the shame of it..) there was a 'handsome gay guy', a few 'up-tight-ers', and god knows who else. The audience were on top form. They booed a tall successful, driven, and goal oriented millionaire, and cheered heartily', an Essex boy who called women birds, and whose 'funny tale' was throwing up all over a girl after kissing her.
Right.
Did he throw up in her mouth?
Classy.

Wha- hey

The only non white woman was a black lady ( and dancer/or former dancer) called Pauline who's 49 and who, on immediately entering the house, took up the role of house mammy.
.. and in doing so.. was immediately rewarded and promoted for it
you really couldn't make it up.

Wha-hey

You don't need to do that Pauline.

Nice arse though. and.. she seems like a really nice lady

Big Brother - A decade of history [click]

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Cage Open!

First it was thier integrity...and now Lib Dems lose deposit

The sign said - DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS.. :)

Gosh I Love the Lib-Dems..

..till next time

AfroCubism

[info]

'Afro-Cubism is World Circuit's dream project - the original intention for Buena Vista Social Club was a stellar collaboration of musicians from Mali and Cuba.
Cuban singer/guitarist Eliades Ochoa and the Malians Bassekou Kouyate (ngoni) and Djelimady Tounkara (electric guitar) joined by Eliades' Grupo Patria and Toumani Diabaté (kora), Kasse Mady Diabaté (vocals) and Lassana Diabaté (balafon)'.















**



[Backstory of the song Guantanamera from Wiki]
The lyrics to the song, as written by José Fernández, are about a woman from Guantánamo, with whom he had a romantic relationship, and who eventually left him. The alleged real story behind these lyrics (or at least one of many versions of the song's origin that Fernández suggested during his lifetime) is that she did not have a romantic interest in him, but merely a platonic one. If the details are to be believed, she had brought him a steak sandwich one day as a present to the radio station where he worked. He stared at some other woman (and attempted to flirt with her) while eating the sandwich, and his friend yanked it out of his hands in disgust, cursed him and left. He never saw her again. These words are rarely sung today.[citation needed]

Another history behind the chorus and its lyrics ("Guantanamera … / Guajira Guantanamera …") is similar: García claimed he was at a street corner with a group of friends and made a courteous pass (a polite pick-up line, like "your mother made you good" or "you came from a star", piropo in Spanish) to a woman (who also happened to be from Guantánamo) who walked by the group. She answered back rather harshly, offended by the pass. Stunned, he could not take his mind off her reaction while his friends made fun of him; later that day, sitting at a piano with his friends near him, he wrote the song's main refrain.

Katies' song

This song reminds me of Ti's girlfriend. She said she liked it as an IKEA commercial came on one day, and started to bop. Now I can't here or see it and not see or think of her.
In fact, the song has grown on me, so I searched to find it .. and here it is.
..Da song off the IKEA commercial.. aka Katie's song.

The message in the video is interesting.
So tell me Bloggereno's.. or rather..Bloggaficionardo's...
Have you ever run away from something you loved dearly, perhaps out of fear, or perhaps for another reason, only to be reminded of it year's later, but to go for it at whatever stage you are in your life , would mean sacrificing something else?
No..??.. phew me neither.. who does that right!?

Okay.. truthfully?. the only thing I wish I never gave up is athletics. It was my dream to run 800m and 15000 at the Olympics. ( I used to love cross country too.. I used to find myself in an almost meditative state)

Anyway,
I let it go.
Whenever I watch the Olympics or track, it's a bitter sweet experience for me.
but what I let go with one hand, I gained something else with the other.

I don't know if I could have had both.. I don't think so. I would have had a different life for sure, but I quite like the life I've lived.
(just a slight regret that I didn't try and maintain both)

But that's the only thing - weird huh.
Oh.. and maybe lead guitar. I can play rhythm guitar but not lead.. I wasn't patient enough. ( or maybe I just didn't have that particular gift). Now, I'm always in awe of lead guitarists.
I have a feeling you might know that
Oh.. and a double bass. The 1st electric instrument I ever had and learnt to play was the Bass, but I have always loved that big double bass. It's just majestic.
a thing of beauty to behold.

So i'm in awe of double bass players also

Hope you enjoy the song

I think the message is... don't run away from your dreams...

Music and War

I've been toying with a music and war thing I have in mind, and as if by chance came across this Aljazeera documentary. (see below)

Some of you may not be able to view it (USA) but perhaps you can watch it on Youtube. (time permitting)

It's amazing the way music has, and is used in war, and also as a means of torture.
(I don't condone the use of torture at all.. do any of you?)

Interesting interview with the band Drowning pool ( never heard of them before) and 'Bodies', ( a song popular with US military apparently ) is (imo) a very odd song. Where did that song come from.
Just yesterday I met a musician and we spoke about music, where it comes from, how and why it holds the power it holds, the various genres and thier unique messages and associations, music and politics, music and war,, music and love. Music chronicling histories, music of resistance.

We spoke about music and the civil rights era, artists like Ray, like Stevie.
What began as a conversation about the world cup unearthed something quite different.

you can watch it here [ click ]

It's no coincidence that I came across this documentary

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Also that day, I bumped in Keith D. The lead singer of the band Black Slate. It took him awhile to remember me, but he did. (I used to see him around in my much younger days).

As he walked around unrecognized. I kinda wanted to remind him of who he was.. before life took over. That he hadn't been forgotten.
"Aren't you a singer" I said
His eyes lit up..
and for a very brief moment , he was that guy again

**

Black Slate formed in (1974) were/are a British Reggae Band

Amigo charted at no 9 in the UK charts
... but I can honestly say I don't remember ever seeing this video

.. and you thought Pharell was king of the funny hat



I do however, remember this performance



Night night x

Weekend WOW factor; So... If they're not trying to F*** us, they want to kill us.. It's a crazy one this week.

[Typed into Google] - Man kills wife after she returns to ex husband - returns about 36,500,000 responses, in 0.44 seconds

With some very bizarre cases..

E.g - Man beats wife for serving him lentils.. [click]

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In Pakistan last week a woman was apparently stoned to death by members of her own family ( her father included ) for marrying a man they did not approve of. Oh... did I forget to mention... this took place in front of the 'High Court' [click]

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[Typed into Google] - Woman sentenced to death returns approximately 59,000,000 responses, in 0.30 seconds.
Top of that list, was the recent case of the Sudanese woman Meriam Ibrahim who, it's now reported, is to be freed from her shackles and pending death after international [aka western] intervention.

Good news.

Meriam was charged with apostacy ( from the Islamic religion to Christian) Meriam stated that she had been raised a Christian. after her Islamic father had left them.
She fell in love with, and married Daniel ( a Christian) a marriage which was later annulled [by the authorities] so she was also sentenced to lashes for adultery [click] although I'm sure you know the case by now.

**

I met a woman ( UK born Indian) whose marriage had fallen apart because she had given birth to a girl and not a boy as the family had hoped.
She is in her late twenties. Fortunately her parents welcomed her back home from her 'in-laws'. But not before she had been hospitalized with depression.

Her daughter is beautiful.. and she is medication (and husband) free thankfully.

Question - Does anybody remember biology classes at school?.
Men (and women ) need to ask themselves.. ( as simple as it sounds )

'Where do men come from'?
You simply can't have a man, without a woman.

It's absolutely crazy.

Domestic or state - these attacks on women are horrendous.
But lets be honest.
They occur right here in the UK, and America also.

The reporting of these horrendous cases and their association to Islam, or non western (aka non-white) countries is very effective propaganda, in part, because...they are rooted in truth. That they play to the image of non western barbarism is something we still need to be wary of.
Subliminal messages can be very powerful.
It's an oldie, but goody.
Non western emotionality vs western rationality.
What can I say but...

**

Most of you know by now that I'm quite passionate about the causes of wars (across African states in particular) and especially the plight of women in the Congo conflict zones.
Rape, as a 'weapon of war' captured my attention a few years back, and ( although I haven't yet done any work on that) I came across a statement somewhere which made me wonder...

The statement was ..' What the right hand possesses'

Apparently, whatever or who-ever you capture in war.. is 'yours' ( a man's) to do as you he sees fit.
Rape - in war - is not recognized..
If .. what the right hand possesses, is implemented, and the solider's are Muslim, then it's not rape - to them. A woman is a 'spoil of war'. [click]

If that be the case, then that.. is an issue.
We may need an amendment to the rules of engagement. A commitment to Universal rules of engagement
Better yet.. stop fighting.
Easier said than done.. I know.

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From war to comedy :)

Last week was further evidence that you really couldn't have chosen a better colour for the 'Lib Dems'.

( I still adore him but.. ) My Vinceometre went down a notch.

Vince knows that he cannot be seen to be disloyal to his leader...that it could be political suicide for him, if his yellow colleagues do not follow through.

Vince should also know that should be fail to show strength at this crucial time, his own credibiltiy raiting may slip as well.

His back peddling last week was unfortunate. Necessary I guess, very British I guess, but unfortunate.

Well done Nick.



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Apparently white racism is on the rise. [click]
although news reports last week failed to state who was polled.
British Social Attitudes Survey

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[Typed in to Google] - Number of men attending lap dancing clubs returns approximately 131,000,000 in 0.35 seconds.

...Me...

Until next time..

ps.. thank you all for your thoughtful comments this week..x
..Have a great dayx