"Call Di Contracta (Tutty Gran')" - DJ Powa Refix Video

This was just too good for me not to drop on my blog! Best video since the Cliftwang Brown Cannon Cross it video back in 2011! Jamaicans are the best I tell you!

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The Bond of James

She came "From Russia with Love"  because I was recommended by "Dr. No" and she wanted me "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". She looked at me with her "GoldenEye" and said it was "For Your Eyes Only".

 Right then and there I knew for certain I had a "License to Kill". So I "Goldfinger" her "Octopussy"  with a "View to a Kill" because I am "The Man with the Golden Gun" and the "Thunderball". I made her see the "Living Daylights" which made her fingers become a "Moonraker" on my back.  She wanted to "Die Another day" because she was floating on cloud nine like she just scored big at the "Casino Royale".  

She said "Live and Let Die", because "You Only Live Twice" and "Tomorrow Never Dies". I told her without her "The World Is Not Enough".  She Held out her fingers and said "Diamonds Are Forever" because you are "The Spy Who Loved Me" so don't make my "Skyfall" because if you leave it would be a "Quantum of Solace".

- Stunner

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Farewell Cool Ruler

Image from http://www.jahreggaeshop.com

The man dubbed as the Cool Ruler, an icon in the Jamaican Lovers Rock music, Gregory Isaacs has passed. This great Jamaican musical icon succumbed to his fight against lung cancer on October 25, 2010 in London at the age of 59.

Gregory Isaacs forty year musical career produced several hits such as Love is Overdue, Out Deh, Sad To Know, Big All Around, Rumours and my all time favorite Night Nurse. Like most great artistes he had his fair share of problems, due to his well known abuse of cocaine and subsequent run in with the law. Nevertheless Isaacs still managed to continue to produce hits and to have a successful career. He was also a staple and well anticipated performer at the Heineken Startime show which featured artistes and songs from the 70's.

Gregory Isaacs was certainly a great artiste and a powerful force in the Jamaican music and entertainment industry. Another great Jamaican icon has passed.

Enjoy my all time greatest Gregory Isaacs song, Night Nurse, below.

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Yendi To the Universe!!!

Miss Jamaica Universe Yendi Phillips. Photo: Yendi Phillip's Facebook page

I watched one of the most exciting Miss Universe competitions I have watched in a while, in fact it's the most exciting since Lisa Hanna won Miss World way back in 1993! What made it so exciting? Well former Miss Jamaica World and now Miss Jamaica Universe, Yendi Phillips, seemed to be poised to snatch the Miss Universe crown! However, an additional bonus was that I was sharing the moment with several of my followers on twitter. Somehow, having a 140 or less character conversation with several people in support of Yendi made the Miss Universe competition even more exciting! The hilarious comments and views of other tweeters just added to the whole excitement of watching Yendi's progress through the competition. So how did Yendi do?

Photo: missuniverse.com

I watched in anticipation, on the edge of my seat, fingers on the keyboard as Yendi made it to the top fifteen. Then it was time for the swimsuit section and let me tell you Yendi nailed it with that awesome body of hers, getting a whopping 9.426! How is that for booty power! And we all know Yendi has that! This score no doubt catapulted her to the top 10, which stirred a combination of relief and even more anticipation both for me and for the many Yendi and Jamaica supports on Twitter and Jamaica.

Photo: missuniverse.com

The next round was filled with more anticipation as they contestants paraded in their evening gowns. I will admit, Yendi's gown was OK, but it was certainly not the best in the competition. Nevertheless, our hearts got a small relief from the heavy pounding as she made it through to the final 5. Now it was the time for the dreaded judges question and Yendi did a very good job of giving a political answer. However I feared that her use of God in her answer may have struck a wrong chord with the judges if any of them were aithists. Then came the real nerve wrecking part, the announcement of the runner-up and the winner of the Miss Universe 2010!

Photo: missuniverse.com

Hearts pounding, eyes glued to the TV, fingers still on the keyboard tweeting! Fourth runner-up... Yendi wasn't called... Third runner-up... still no Yendi! Heart pounding even faster... Second runner-up... still no Yendi! Could this be? Could Yendi really be the new Miss Universe 2010? The anticipation builds as I wait, as the entire Jamaica Twitter posse eager waits breathlessly! Heart pounding faster and faster, eyes even more glued to the TV, ears tuned to the audio, fingers still on the keyboard... First runner-up... Miss Jamaica, Yendi Phillips! "@StunnerJ: NNNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" My heard plummeted in disappointment, so close yet she did not win the coveted crown of Miss Universe 2010. Nevertheless, she did well, she did Jamaica proud as reaching first runner-up is a very good feat.

Congratulations Miss Jamaica Universe Yendi Phillips, you did well!

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Saint International Fashion Block 2010

A Saint International model wearing one of the designs

Sunday July 12 was the climax of the Saint International Style Week, The Fashion Block. The Saint International Fashion Block is held on the biggest catwalk in the Jamaican fashion scene right in the heart of New Kingston. It is held on Knutsford Boulevard right in the middle of the dual carriageway on a runway elevated some 5 ft above the street level surrounded by a huge crowd. On the night of Fashion Block Knutsford Boulevard is partially shut down as it becomes the stage for the Dewight Peters inspired free fashion show, which displays the craft of both local and international designers modeled by the Saint International models.

Another Saint model in a hot polka dot piece

I have been to Fashion Block once before, but at that time I had just bought my DSLR and only had my 18-55mm kit lens and as such had no real zoom power or even an external flash to capture a decent image. So this year since I have accumulated some more gears, I decided that this free fashion show could not miss me. Fashion Block is known for the display of creative designs, but it is also notorious for its very late start. It was scheduled to begin at 8:00pm, so I deliberately decided to arrive at some time after 9:00pm with this in mind. However, despite my best effort to keep in sync with the organizers, they still managed to "outlate" me and the show did not start until approximately 10:00pm! They also managed to outsmart me by relocating the stage from the top of Knutsford Boulevard to further down the road just in front of the restaurant area where Burger King and Pizza Hut are located, so my usual vantage point was no more.

Model and Photographer Edward Masias

I was not in the mood to put myself and my gears in danger while I concentrate on shooting by going into the crowd to shoot, even though there was a strong police presence I the area. I wanted to get on the inside to get some good photos. However, security was tight and there was no way of getting in, but just when all seemed lost, I gained entrance by means of some links. I got the prime position that I wanted, yes the media stage right at the end of the runway! However, that would not make it all a walk in the park as the lighting was  definitely not conducive to photographers! It was so bad that at one point the bar with the lights was blocking the stage and even after that was fixed there was a light pointed directly at the media stage! That too was later rectified, but the lighting still offered a challenge. So I had to contend with the poor lighting and just do my best in the face of the obstacles.

A pretty scary piece by local designer Dexter Pottinger

Despite the hiccups and the late start, I did get to see the creativity of some of our local designers as well as overseas designers who were invited to display their work. The MC Jerry D, kept the show going as he introduced the various collections that kept the crowd's focus fixed to the runway. Dexter Pottinger certainly outdid himself with his freakishly... downright scary, yet creative, piece which he used to introduce his collection. Certified Divas Tami Chyn and Tifa provided the musical entertainment with a very brief performance to punctuate the the struts of the models.

Tami Chyn and Tifa

Dewight Peters poses with his models and one of the designers

Overall, I did enjoy the experience as this was the first time I was shooting at a fashion show from the media stage. I am not too pleased with the photos I got though, but I viewed it as a learning experience and I am sure I will do better next time. To view all the photos click here. Note: All images are under the copyright of Joel Finnigen and should not be used or modified without my permission.

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Remembering The King of Pop!

Wow! It always amazes my how quickly time goes by! Today June 25, 2010 marks exactly one tear since the man hailed as The King of Pop, Michael Jackson died! It seems as if it was just yesterday I heard the shocking news and still in disbelief I hesitantly posted my post "Michael Jackson Dead!!!" Yes, it was one year ago the world received the shocking news that an icon in the world of music, the man whose music has thrilled so many generations both young and old dies under questionable circumstances.

June 25, 2009, will always be remembered as the day music suffered one of its greatest loss, that of the innovative and creative Micheal Jackson. The shock of his deal was compounded by the fact that Michael was in  preparing to host a massive tour, "This is It", which was hailed to be his major comeback from his hiatus from the music scene. No doubt his fans suffered from a pungent mixture of shock, disappointment, anger and the very evident outpouring of grief.

Michael Jackson did have his low points, which as with any mega superstar, was dished out by the media in an abundance. Michael was rocked with scandals after scandals, law suites, the scourge of the media, outrage from some of his fans, financial difficulties and was often the subject of many jokes. Nevertheless, Michael Jackson will be remembered as one of, if not, the greatest performer and singer that has walked the face of the earth and will always be the King of Pop!

In honour of this awesome artiste, here is a tribute, which ironically was done by the man himself



Here are a few of his hits from back in the days for your viewing and listening pleasure







What are your Michael Jackson favorites?
[CLICK HERE FOR A COLLECTION OF HIS NUMBER ONE HITS]

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Jamaica Pegasus Tweetup

The Jamaica Pegasus Tweetup Banner

Twitter has become a very powerful and influential social media tool in today's technological world which fosters not only the exchange of ideas, views and ideals, but also a very strong promotional and advertising tool. There is no doubt that one of Kingston's leading hotels, The Jamaica Pegasus (twitter: http://twitter.com/JamaicaPegasus), has grasped the power of Twitter to increase their market share and to become more connected to their Jamaican customers. The Jamaica Pegasus has made a bold step and has made a land mark move in hosting the first ever commercially hosted Tweetup!

Tweeters mingling at the tweetup

Originally the tweetup was scheduled for May 27. 2010, however due to the recent social unrest and state of emergency that engulfed the city of Kingston and St. Andrew the first ever tweetup had to be postponed. However, not to be deterred, and not to disappoint the many eager fans, the Jamaica Pegasus team rescheduled to June 18, 2010. Despite the inevitable postponement of the tweetup, Jamaica Pegasus twitter followers were unwavering in their support for this first ever social media event of its kind in Jamaica and turned out in their numbers on the 17 floor of the Jamaica Pegasus. The event stared at 6:00 pm, but I arrived fashionably late at 7:00pm, at which time there was a decent crowd of tweeters and the meeting and greeting was already in full swing. But was this all that the Jamaica Pegasus had planned for this first ever tweetup?

Tanto Blacks performing

The Jamaica Pegasus had much more than just a bunch of tweeters meeting up to introduce themselves and to engage in endless conversations. They did an excellent job at hosting this first ever local tweetup as they provided an open bar and a buffet of delicious finger foods to keep their guests energized and in good spirits! But they did not end there! They spared no expense to keep their guests happy as they ensure the music was good by employing the services of The Captain Collin Hinds, surprised everyone with a guest performer, mister "twitter" himself Tanto Blacks and a fabulous gate prize of a trip to London via British Airways!

One of the Pegasus Chefs preparing shrimp pasta

The Jamaica Pegasus tweetup was a success and everyone, based on their tweets, had a great time. I got to linkup with familiar tweeters that I follow like Jamaipanese, Iriediva, Iamsbee and Gordonswaby and to meet several other tweeters that I was not famiiar with. Hopefully their will be more Jamaica Pegasus tweetups in the future and that other companies will catch on and begin to host their own tweetups.

For more coverage of the Jamaica Pegasus Tweetup visit the following friends: Jamaipanese, Irie Diva, Corve DaCosta and Gordon Swaby.

Here is a slideshow of some of the photos I took at the tweetup

View photos at photobucket

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Voicemail Member O'Neil Has Died

Photo: Jamaica Observer

In the midst of a higher death toll of forty four (44) civilians, released by the Public Defender this morning, Jamaica has learned about yest another death. O'Neil Edwards of the locally popular group Voicemail, after a long battle for his life, succumbed to his wounds this afternoon.

Photo: Jamaica Gleaner

It was reported that Edwards was ambushed and shot repeatedly, at least five (5) times, as he attempted to open his gate after returning home about 1:00am on May 10, 2010. He was discovered by neighbours and was rushed to the hospital where he has since been battling for his life. Since the incident, several local entertainers and fans help a public prayer vigil in Half Way tree to show their support for O'Neil and in hopes of some kind of recovery.

Photo: Yardflex.com

The attack on O'Neil, a popular entertainer, certainly shook many members of the music fraternity as well as fans  and violently demponstrated the far reaching grasps of criminality in our society. The grief will go even further, now that he has passed. Our entertainment industry has lost one of its prominent talents. The group Voicemail will never be the same, his family and friends as well as countless fans will no doubt see and feel the loss. Condolences to his family and friends.

Here are a few videos of the popular songs from the group:









Sources: http://www.yardflex.com/archives/006345.html#more, http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/-Voice-Mail-member-O-Neil-Edwards-shot-, http://gallery.jamaica-gleaner.com/gallery/voicemail-member-shot/, http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100526/lead/lead11.html

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Wet Wet Carnival!

Sunday was the finale of the Jamaica Carnival season, the anticipated Road March, a parade of a kaleidoscope of colours, infiltrating music, and the scantily clad women dancing as they make their way down to the streets of Kingston city. I got up at approximately 10:00am and after a few rounds of consultations with other photographers, I decided to meet the Road March at Trafalgar Road in New Kingston, which did not happen until about 1:00pm. However, before I could hear the music and see the the big trucks and colourful costumes I beheld an ominous sign!

I looked up at the sky towards the Blue Mountains and the sky was mean, a striking contrast to what I woke up to earlier in the day! The hot, bright sunny skies was replaced with shades of gray and huge heavy clouds which began to burst over the mountain range. By the time I saw the marching band and the first of the big trucks, I had already experienced a short drizzle, but yet I was still hoping for the best. So I readied my camera and my trigger finger and as the procession came down the road I started to shoot. I got in a few photographs, trying to compose my shots instead of just shooting wildly. But only a few photographs I got before it happened.

I had just crossed of from Trafalgar Road unto Waterloo Road when the first few drops started to fall, but I was still hoping for the best and continued to shoot selectively and then it happened! The skies burst open and unleashed a torrential downpour! I had only a few seconds to throw my camera in my backpack as well as my flash and cellphone, as the rain came down with a vengeance! There was nowhere on Waterloo road to find cover from the onslaught of water, not a shelter in sight. All I could do is walk along the street helplessly as me and my fellow photographers tried to navigate through the crown to the safety of the car, not for our own good, but for the survival of our expensive gears! However, while we walked along the already flooded streets, the revelers did not seem to mind at all! The harder the rain poured the more the danced, the more they wined and grind to the music of the big trucks. For all those who missed being soaked while the party at the Water Party, the Road March certainly made up for it and more!

Despite betting soaked down to my draws (underwear) and only getting a handful of useful photographs, I am happy that my waterproof camera bag stood up to the elements and my gears are still functional. So without further ado, here are some of the photos I got of the Jamaican Carnival 2010 Road March.

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I Say No to Water Party!

I just had to say something about this, I was going to leave it alone, but i have to say something. I am not bad mouthing or fighting anyones party or means of making that paper, but I just can't support this party. My last post and one some time before were about the harsh conditions that Jamaicans are now facing due to the prolonged drought affecting the island. If you read the posts you will realize that a lot of people in the corporate are have had to do without piped water for the majority of the day, every day of the week and even sometimes do without water for more than a day! But what does all this have to do with me not supporting a party?

Well a it's approaching the climax of the Carnival season here in Jamaica, the final weekend of this Soca filled period of the year. This means three things, Jouvert, the Road March and of course right between those two is the annual Water Party, which is tonight. Now the Water Party is just what the name suggest, a party with music, wining, grinding,  gyrating and of course a whole lot of water! I have been to a Water Party before, last year actually, and it was some good wet fun, and when I say wet I mean wet! There were at least two (2) huge water tankers continuously spraying water from one end of the venue to the other, soaking patrons from head to toe! It was indeed a great party; there is just something about wining to some sweet mixes of Soca and Dancehall when you are wet, your clothes are sticking to your body, skins sliding across each other fully lubricated by endless sprays of water!

But this year, even though I love the Water Party I  can't support it at all, not with this drought, not with these constant water lock-offs that I have to face. In a time like this I can't support the waste of gallons of water being wantonly wasted in the name of fun and partying. Personally I think it should have been cancelled this year based on this crisis that we are facing. I am surprised the authorities actually gave the go ahead for the promoters to have this party... then again I am not surprised, a money run dis ting. This year Water Party is definitely going to miss me... unless they allow me to carry a tank and some buckets in with me or relocate the venue to my apartment so I can catch some water!

(Original Poster I saw)

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No, Bounty, No...

Bounty, Bounty, Bounty, when will you learn? The iconic Dancehall Artist, Mr Cross, Angry and Miserable Bounty Killer (Rodney Price) certainly lived up to is titles at the Shaggy and Friends charity show which took place on the lawns of Kings House over the weekend.

Bounty Killer is well known for his hit Dancehall songs and as the leader of the Alliance Dancehall conglomerate, but the self proclaimed Poor People Governor is also well known for his incessant onstage tracing (cursing). So much so is his constant bickering and arguing that, that it seems on every performance he has to spend a good portion of his segment cursing someone or some entity.

Not even the upscale Shaggy and Friends Charity show was not spared the onslaught of the famous Bounty lap-skirt-tail cursing! The Jamaica Star, recalls the actions as the unfolded,

Minutes after 2 a.m., Mavado who was not booked for the show, was called onstage by Shaggy.

The Alliance member after reminding everyone that he's So Special, pledged to make a donation but said he could not do it "without him daddy... (Bounty Killer)".

Bounty Killer then entered the stage to a cheers from the crowd.

Those cheers would easily die away and make for a moment of relative silence and a few dropped jaws as the deejay came out blaring, "...... (Fassyhole) an' ...... (Battyman) nuh waa dem aroun mi ..." part of the chorus to his 1997 hit, Eagle And Di Hawk.

"Sorry but me haffi talk," he then said before continuing, "nuff a dem a ... (I figure he said Battyman) dats why dem nuh have nuh pickney ..."

Come on Bounty, after being in the Dancehall business for as long as over twenty years, you still don't know when and where to say certain things? This is a well known, well rated, benefit concert with patrons spanning form the influential business people, politicians, overseas interests, diplomats and the rich "uptown" ("upper" class) people in the society and this is how Bounty Killer conducts himself! According to The Jamaica Star, it is believed that Bounty's action resulted in the premature end of the show and a very embarrassed and upset Shaggy, who left the stage without thanking the patrons for their support. I understand that Bounty as well as basically all Dancehall Artistes are very outspoken against homosexuality, and in Jamaica there is a time, place and audience that will welcome such sentiments. However, Mr. Bounty Killer, this event was not definitely not one of those occasions!

Bounty Killer, has since released an apology for his latest tantrum at the event. But no amount of apologies can undo the effects of his thoughtless, selfish and stupid behaviour at the event. Bounty as well as several other Dancehall artistes need to wake up and learn how to conduct themselves appropriately based on the given environment.

Source: http://www.jamaica-star.com/thestar/20100104/ent/ent1.html

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Ninja Assassin

Last night I braved the cold of the New York winter, the snow and ice, the bone chilling winds to make my way to the Cinema to watch Ninja Assassin. The trek in the inhospitable weather was certainly worth it as the action in the movie certainly warmed up my chilled blood! If you are into almost non-stop action, fast pace martial arts, weapon wielding and blood splattering with dismembered limbs, then this is the movie for you!

The movie spits action from the very beginning, there was almost no slowing down in this movie. Even the flashbacks that develop the story light was somewhat intriguing as it set the pace and the storyline for the movie. The movie stars, Korean entertainer/actor Rain (Jeong Ji-hoon) who plays Raizo, who is a Ninja Assassin who was trained from childhood by a secret Ninja clan and is being pursued by his clan for turning his back on them. The movie co-stars Naomie Harris, an English actress of Jamaican descent, who plays Mika an Europol investigator who becomes marked for death due to her investigations into the secret assassin organization. But I will say no more, you need to watch the movie.

Overall the movie was decent, the action was almost none-stop fast paced fighting and slicing. I recommend this one for the action and weapon based martial arts fans out there! I give it a Stunner Rating of 4 out of 5 as I basically got what I went there to see! Now I need to go give Avatar a watch to see how good it is and what the hype is all about.

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Driva A Stopped!!!

Driver, don't stop at all, drop this Arizona round a Alba Mall
Driver, don't even hitch, collect dat likkle food deh yah and come back quick
Driver, just rememba di damn speed limit
Cau if yuh, run in di Feds my friend dat is it

-Driver A by Buju Banton

Well it seems when Buju penned those words to the song Driver A, he wasn't expecting to be in the hands of the Feds! Well none of his fans, as a matter of fact none of us expected to hear news that one of Jamaica's most well known artiste would be locked up by the American police for dealing in drugs! I bet the entire Jamaica was shocked when they saw the news that Reggae/Dancehall artiste Buju Banton (Mark Anthony Myrie) has been arrested in Miami for cocaine! Buju as well as two other men have been held in a sting operation by undercover DEA agents and it is alleged that they were in the process of purchasing five kilograms of cocaine.

I was shocked to hear the news that he was arrested for drugs, but even more shocked to hear that it was cocaine! I mean if he was being arrested for drugs, the first thought is that it would have been for weed (marijuana), but cocaine! It is alleged by the US law enforcement officers that Buju was instrumental in the drug deal and has been recorded brokering the deal and even recorded tasting the drug for validity. This is one tough pickle Buju is in, even though it is reported that he vigorously denies being a part of the drug deal. However, his denial is not enough to get him off the hook and it certainly not an easy road to beat this charge.

There has been no official word from Buju's management team on the issue and the local law enforcement personnel has not indicated that they have specifics on Buju's charges. However, we do know according to the Associated Press that Buju faces a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and faces up to 20 years in prison. It will be interesting to see how this turns out for Buju, who was just recently nominated for a Grammy for his latest album Rasta Got Soul. All of Buju's fans and of course Jamaicans on a whole are eager to hear the details and the fate of this popular artiste. Is he really innocent? Was he setup? is it a great conspiracy due to his anti-gay songs and recent nomination? I guess we all have to wait to see how this unfortunate ordeal plays out.

Source: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20091215/lead/lead1.html, http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20091214/lead/lead1.html, http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20091213/lead/lead1.html, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g22fxkrM8bnyJ6iWw7HcA-IycAZQD9CJR8E82

Poll Results

Do you think Buju Banton is guilty of the drug charges?

No	9 (26%)
Yes	19 (55%)
Not sure	5 (14%)
What drug charges?	1 (2%)

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It Was Ony A Matter Of Time...

Yes, it was only a matter of time before the great DJ from Pirate Bay, Elephant Man, caught on and copied Jay Z and Alecia Keys song Empire State Of Mind and adapted it to make his new song! Elephant man has reconstructed Empire State Of Mind and has released a song called Kingston.! When will Elephant Man ever be original? When? Ele strikes again!

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They Have Returned and FREE!!!

Well it seems it will be a merry Christmas for cable subscribers here in Jamaica, for Flow customers at least! All indications are that Flow and HBO Latin America have ended their standoff and have struck a deal. Flow has conceded and has signed a deal with HBO Latin America to purchase their feed. This has resulted in the return of several HBO and CineMax channels to the Flows movie lineup (see chart below). Of course these new HBO and CineMax channels now come complete with Latin American ads and even some programmes are partially in Spanish. Seems I need to learn Spanish now... Um, where is that Rosetta Stone DVD? But I guess, Flow can't beat the big dogs so they just have to roll with them and work with the programme to return these channels that its Jamaican customers have become accustomed to.

However, this is not the end for the bag off goodies that Santa Flow has for its good little customers! As a special treat to its customers Flow has decided to offer its residential customers all eleven HBO and CineMax channels FREE for the Christmas season up until January 31, 2010! Yes fellow Flow customers you will be able to watch all these channels free for 2 months, enough to keep you entertained throughout the holiday season. They have further stated that they will soon provide further information on the packages that will be offered and pricing for these premium channels. Let's hope they will really be flexible as they claim they will be when they announce these plans. But in the meantime, entertain yourselves with the channels as Flow seeks to reacquaint you with this estranged channels.

www.flowjamaica.com

Source: http://www.flowjamaica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=249&Itemid=293

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Swayze and Rhone Have Passed On

In just the space of two days the entertainment industry has lost two great icons on both the international scene and on the local scene.

theinsider.com photo

On Monday September 14, 2009 the world found out about the death of actor Patrick Swayze who succumbed to his battle against pancreatic cancer at the age of 57. Swayze was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer in January of 2008 and has been fighting this terrible disease while maintaining his acting career. Patrick Swazye is best known for his roles in the block buster movies and all time favorites Dirty Dancing and Ghost. The media's fascination with Swayze did not end with those two movies as he was named by People's Magazine as the sexiest man alive in 1991. His last lead role was the series The Beast, which premiered in January 2009 was later canceled due to the deterioration of his health. Hollywood has lost yet another great actor, the man who made Dirty Dancing appealing to so many females.

jamaicaobserver.com Photo

The local scene however, was not spared from the loss of an icon in its entertainment industry as on Tuesday September 15, 2009 the well known playwright, actor and director Trevor Rhone died in the hospital after suffering a heart attack at the age of 69. Trevor Rhone is best known for his plays with the most popular being Smile Orange, Old Story Time and Two can Play. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the first Jamaican movie The Harder They Come, which stared Jimmy Cliff and further served as a resident playwright at the Barn Theatre. This great talent did not go unnoticed as he was also a recipient of the Commander of the Order of Distinction. Another great produce of Jamaica and one of our most well known member of the dramatic arts fraternity.

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Kanye Strikes Again!

Oh yes you guessed it, Kanye West Does it again! How much further can one man push his head up his ass? Mr, "Conceited", Mr. "I Need Attention" had to make sure he was in the limelight again at the 2009 MTV VMA's. this time he wasn't on the stage to accept an award, but he surely found his unwanted ass on the stage to make an jack-ass of himself.

It was in the middle of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech, after she was announced the winner of the Best Female Video, Kanye proceeded to interrupt her by taking the mic from her and announcing that he thinks Beyonce has the best video. No Kanye, the whole world does not revolve around you, not everyone thinks like you and not because you don't agree with something doesn't mean we all want to know what you think! I lost my ratings for Kanye West ever since he started to exhibit his conceited, boastful self-righteous behaviour regularly and now this latest act just shot him down quite a few more notches. Right now he's in negative on my scale!

Don't take my word for it, here is the video. (Update 14/09/09: Had to change the video as Viacom had Youtube remove the original citing copyright issues)



Kanye West you need to pull your head out your ass... that is if it's not too far up and can't come out!

PS: you can also vote on the poll at the bottom of the page.

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Brown Sugar!!!

Brown Sugar (Jamaica Observer photo)

Brown Sugar felt really sweet on Friday night as the sang away with the 2009 Digicel Rising Star Competition! first place and a cheque for JM$1000000! It seems Jamaican's love sweets and sweet they got as Brown Sugar thrilled her way through the competition to snatch victory in the 2009 Digicel Rising Star Competition! Her strong voice, sexy atire, voluptuous strong body, and crown appeal got Jamaica voters texting her number like crazy!

it came down to Brown Sugar and Princes Tia in the finals of the competition and last night, based of the performance of Brown Sugar over the last shows and the reaction of the audinence to her performances we all knew the last show was just to announce Brown Sugar as the winner. I could tell that she had the potential to reach very far in the competition when I saw her perform is the preliminary rounds. Throught the competition she matured and her performances and singing grew even stronger, strong enough to become the 2009 Digicel Rising Star.

Congratulations to Brown Sugar on her victory and to Princess Tia for great performances even at her young age!

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No More HBO and Cinemax!

When I came back to Jamaica from my New York vacation and turned on my television, I scrolled to my favorite movie stations, HBO and Cinemax, only to be greeted by the "rice grain" signals on my screen. What! I still can see the other channels quite well, so I know my cable is connected, maybe these two stations are just down at the moment. Two days later and still no HBO or Cinemax, this was serious! So I clicked over to the Logic One information channel and was greeted by this notice below.

Both HBO and Cinemax have been removed from the channel lineup as ordered by the Broadcasting Commission at the request of HBO Latin America! What? Why? How could the Broadcasting Commission order the removal of these well watched channels just like that, how could they?

This question was then answered in a notice from two of Kingston's biggest cable company, Logic One and Telstar. It seems HBO Latin America has ordered that our local cable companies cease and desist from broadcasting all HBO and Cinemax North America feed effective immediately. According to the notice HBO Latin America has claimed that it is in the advanced stages of preparing a channel for the Caribbean region, called HBO Caribbean. They have also assured the cable operators that the new channel will not be broadcast in Spanish of with Spanish sub-titles. The alternative proposed by by HBO Latin America for the Cinemax channel was in the form of movies produced by Warner Brothers. In other words, they are in the process of providing our cable operators with a watered down feed to broadcast to their subscribers.

No time-line was provided in the statement for the commence of these two new channels slated to replace the HBO and Cinemax that we were used to. So until then We will have to do well with the other movie channels in the lineup, that is if you don't have Flow. There has been no statement regarding Flow's channel lineup, so I assume Flow is unaffected by this action. (Update 09/09/09: I have been advised that Flow has removed the mention channels from their lineup too.)All this has raised a few questions: Why has HBO Latin America suddenly ordered a cease and desist? Are our cable providers not paying for the feed? Why does HBO Latin America want to give us a different (watered down) set of channels? Is it that they are giving us a substandard version to fit our budget? What will these new channels be like?

Whatever the reason is, one thing is for sure, it seems there will no longer be and HBO and Cinemax as we know it for these two cable operators and their subscribers.

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Chris Brown Shocked with Amnesia!

nydailynews.com

I was watching on CNN HLN today and say a clip of the Larry King Live, Chris Brown interview and was totally shocked at what Chris Brown was saying! This was the first public interview Chris was giving after his altercation with his then girlfriend Rhianna which send her to the hospital with multiple bruises. This was his chance to tell his side of the story and to salvage his reputation, but his interview responses threw some serious punches. Why?

Larry King: "When you hear all the things the Police and the reports said you did, how do you react to that?"

Chris Brown: "... I just look at it like wow... I'm in shock..."

What the hell! What do you mean by you are in shock? You personally beat a girl to a pulp and then turn around in an interview saying that you are in shock as if you were one of the millions who watched this shocking story on TV! What were you in shock for? That it actually got out on the news? That you got charged and sentenced for beating a woman? What are you in shock? Ratid, I'm in shock that Chris Brown is in shock! But that isn't all, what really took the cake was what happened next!

Larry King: "Do you remember doing it?"

Chris brown: "No."

What the #*#^@&%! What happened Chris Brown, are you suffering from amnesia? You beat beat a woman so bad that she had to go to the hospital and the police had to get involved, you see the incident reported endlessly in the various media and now you all of a sudden forget! Hold on, I wonder if Chris Brown is a drug addict or a serious alcoholic, because he must have been under the influence of some mind altering substance to forget that infamous incident! Oh wait, better yet, maybe it is that Rhianna put on some serious lick (blows) in his head, giving him a concussion, leading to memory loss!

It seems Chris Brown wasn't ready for this interview at all, he should have stayed in hiding a little longer, because his answers to Larry King's questions were very lacking. His publicist and manager need to be fired for letting Chris brown go on big CNN, on a famous show as Larry King Live and chat such rubbish! Not even a little dry run session to prep Chris before so he didn't go on to national TV and further damage his reputation! Despite what might have gone down on the night in question between himself and Rhianna, this bout of amnesia just don't cut it! He just needs to fess up, confess about what happened, offer a sincere apology to Rhianna, go to counseling and try his very best never to let something like that happen again. Join support group or action group against violence against women and re-gain some form of good standing with his fans and the public. But claiming to be shocked and forgetting what he did, nuh mek it (unacceptable). Chris Brown needs to go beat out something better on the drawing board!

Oh before I forget, damn amnesia! Here is the video...

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