I Say No to Water Party!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

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)

Continue Reading | komentar

What A Weekend!

Monday, June 1, 2009

I had a fun-filled weekend this past weekend, from New Kingston to Ochie and back to New Kingston, partying photos and fashion all crammed into one weekend. Let me Recap.

Photo: watever.com (May Daze week 2)

On Friday night after working the evening shift, I dash out of the office at a few minutes fast twelve, revved the engine and made my way up to Akbar, which was the venue for May Daze. This was the final of the series that runs throughout the month of May. Considering that i have never been to May Daze before, the great reviews i heard and that this was the last of the series, I made sure I found myself there. After driving around the block twice in search of parking... I hate when I go to venues that don't have proper parking... I finally decided to go to the payed parking which I ignored each time I passed. The parking was $200, but after some serious negotiations I managed to get it for $150. But the park for searching wasn't the only delay, as I had to join a never ending line which seemed as if it had no intentions of moving. I'm sure I stood there in the line for about twenty minutes and was quite upset to find out at the top of the line that I had to be competing with others who were not in the line! Good sense finally prevailed when the security, if I could call him that, restored a bit of order. I went in the party, met up with my friends, and after getting a drink from the bar I quickly forgot about the earlier delays and enjoyed the music mix and the vibes. May Daze was a decent party, I enjoyed myself and didn't regret the $600 entry fee I payed.

Spanish Town Iron Bridge

After spending the greater part of the day on Saturday to recover and working another evening shift it was time for the Flickr North Coast group trip! I woke up early on Sunday morning to ensure I was read to catch the bus which was scheduled to depart Kingston at 7:30 am destined to the White River Valley in St. Mary. Needless to say, the bus didn't depart until 8:00 am was still on time, Jamaican time that is, lol! The trip to White River Valley was not a none stop trip, as it comprised of several photo stops at various places of interest along the way. These "five minute" stops, which turned out to be half hour at least, allowed to to snap photos at the Spanish Town Iron Bridge, the Flat Bridge, Bog Walk damn and the White River bridge. But that can be expected as once you start taking photos, one looses track of time as you get immersed into your passion. Our group of photographers also stopped traffic in Spanish Town as people started to gather in curiosity when we were down by the bridge shooting. We stopped at a place in Walkers Wood, called Liming for lunch, somewhere I always drove past on my way to the north coast and never stopped. The trip was great, I got to meet a lot of people from the Flickr group, visited places I have never been, got some good photos and just enjoyed the company of my fellow photo enthusiasts. I will be posting some of the photos on my photoblog and on my Flickr account.

Fashion Block 2009

Still tired from my North Coast trip, I was still in the mood to do something I have never done before, and this time it was Fashion Block, a part of Style Week 2009. Fashion Block is a runway show held right in the middle of Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston and featured the fashion of may designers locally and abroad. This fashion show is the production of the Saint International Model Agency and as such the designs were presented to the huge crown by the Saint International models. I didn't manage to get any good shots, as I still haven't received my zoom lens and the external flash I recently purchased. I however got to enjoy some guess performances from a few of our new local Dancehall artistes. Despite the obvious disappointment of not getting some good shots, it was a good experience as I have never been to one of these shows before.

That was my weekend in a nutshell, how was your weekend?

Continue Reading | komentar

Yesterday is History, But It Was Great!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Yesterday is history but it certainly was great flashback to the music that was real music! Great music, great vibes and music that you can actually dance with someone to. The music kept flowing from the speakers with awesome mixes of music from the not too distant past, 90's early 2000. The genres kept the vibes going and ensured that no patron got bored: Dancehall, R&B, Hip Hop and Lovers Rock from the days of my earlier youth. Everywhere you turned you could see people dancing to the music that filled the air at the Mas Camp in New Kingston. Forwards were abundant and the chorus of patrons singing along to their favorite songs from the past, while their waists rocked and wined to the beat.

Since it was Heineken Yesterday, Heineken Beer was free all night long, much to the delight of the partying patrons. I didn't have any beer as I am not that much of a beer fan, so it was mixed drink for me. It wasn't as jam packed as it usually is, but it was still a huge crowd. But the turnout is understandable as there are so many competing events at this time of the year. I had a great time at Heineken Yesterday, as was expected. One thing, Yesterday and Good Times are the real parties, parties where you are guaranteed to have fun! The day one of these events flop, it the last day I go to any party, lol! Yesterday was certainly a good day... or should I say night.

Continue Reading | komentar

Good Times Indeed!

Monday, November 24, 2008

It was indeed a good time at Good Times on Saturday night! The music was right, the turnout was just right, and the vibe was great! I arrived at approximately midnight with my JM$800 (US$10) admission in hand and joined the line which was a bit long, however it moved along rather quickly. I had intended to buy the ticket before, but due to how I was feeling on Friday and even earlier in the day on Saturday, I wasn't sure I would make it to Good Times. But by Saturday night I was feeling about 85% better so after getting phone call at about 11:30 from one of my coworkers expressing how the vibe was right, I decided to head out.

The music bouncing from the turn tables made it hard for you to resist shaking your legs as the DJ's played one good tune after the other. The music spanned over three decades of hits from all genres of music and the crowd just kept eating it up with one forward (expression of acceptance) after the other. I totally enjoyed myself as I danced until both my under shirt and shirt were wet. I didn't have much to drink nor did I have any hard liquor, just a Heineken and a Guinness due to the fact that I took a dose of Panadol Multi-symptom about six hours earlier.

The music played and the dancing continued until some minutes after four in the morning... well for me at least as that was the time we left. Even then a few patrons were still rocking to the music that continued to play. The only bad thing is that I had work at eight in the morning! So I had only a few hours to catch a nap for work. Let me tell you, that was the longest nine hours I spent at work, by the end of the day I was a walking zombie. Suh yuh know who nah do nuttin like dis again! But I did have fun, it was definitely Good Times!

Continue Reading | komentar

Prendy's On the Beach

Sunday, March 2, 2008

This was the most boring weekend ever, one of the few weekends that I get off and I didn't do squat. No mass camp, no Yesterday. So let me reflect on last week Sunday, when I actually did something.

After hearig about Prendy's On the Beach on a Sunday night and seeing all those video's on YouTube and DancehallReggae, I decided to go check it out myself. I had work that Sunday evening, so after work, yes midnight, my coworker and I ventured out to Hellshire to explore this part of our Jamaican culture.

When we arrived at Hellshire there was already cars parked on the outside and along the foot road up to the restaurant and patrons were fining in as the Dancehall music filled the cool night air. So we walked through the restaurants and on to the beach we went as we scoped out the place and the multitude of curvaceous women slowly rocking to the beat. I could hear the selector making several suggestions to a few girls who were dancing in the camera light, while the rest of the female and male patrons rocked as they looked on intensely.

I must admit, I was a bit nervous, as just a few weeks earlier police raided the event and I didn't want to see the headline the next morning, "Stunner Busted at Prendy's On the Beach". Furthermore, the air was saturated with the smell of "high grade", so there was no way I could convince the police I was not burning a joint of the weed.

The night continued and we circled the crowd to get a closer look at the girls that seemed to have the camera man circling like a vulture to a carcass. I managed to take only a few pictures, as I didn't want to annoy anyone. I also did manage to record a short clip too of some girls getting on bad. the quality wasn't that good, as the camera man wasn't working with me and kept facing me instead of allowing me to be beside him to use his light.

It wasn't as hardcore as I expected and the selector wash simply chatting too much and playing all kind of songs from Dancehall artistes trying to get "a buss". But I figure it gets better as the night progress and the music gets better and the alcohol consumption increases. Maybe one of these days I go there again and stay for the entire time and record some of the more raunchy moments. Things were just getting a bit too boring, so we rolled out sometime near three am. Here is the video that I recorded, hope you can see it.



How was your weekend?

Continue Reading | komentar