A million teardrops
Washing away pains
Too hard to bear
With a smile

A thousand laughs
Echoing the joys
Of life and love
Passing of time

A hundred hugs
Comfort and support
From loving arms
And caring hearts

Dozens of kisses
Bonding one to another
An intimate lock
Of two souls

A handful of loves
Brief flashes of emotion
Each one unique
And still dear

Just one heart
Surviving the world
Alone in its love
Within these walls

- Done for Poetry Thursday

Besides Live on Stage on Saturday, I also attended a performance of the Immaculate Conception High School’s Performing Arts department at the Ward Theatre. The first half of the show was set in an activity period led by an enthusiastic teacher with P.E. clad students sitting around being entertained by their fellow students.

The two and a half hour show received a standing ovation from the audience which, although comprised largely of family and friends of the students, was awarded a show well-worth their money. The night’s programme of solo, duet and chorale voice pieces, lively dances, entertaining poems and beautiful instrumental items stirred up thunderous applause at every opportunity.

After a particularly strong solo voice piece, the teacher declared “Yu tink yu can buy vice like dat a shop? Yu tink yu can buy it a street? Ah only Immaculate yu can come buy it!” I have to admit I was very impressed with the level of performances presented. Immaculate has invested a lot in developing the performing arts at their institution. One example is their music department which houses practice rooms, classrooms for theory lessons and a large performance space.

Notwithstanding, Immaculate still has work to do to create an all-round top-class performing arts curriculum. Right now their orchestra is at the top of the hierarchy, led by their artist-in-residence, Stephen Woodham. The others areas (such as dance and theatre) do not seem to be at the same level. And of course, my personal cause, the steelband is in desperate need of some direct attention.

As I close the door
And turn out the lights
My breath begins to slow

As my eyes adjust
To the warm safe glow
The red washing over me

The ticking heartbeat
And a slow drip rhythm
Mark the passage of time

Faint chemical perfume
On the icy cold air
Breathing life into my soul

Enlarging the mind
Eyes and mouth smile
As appears a glossy pride

I have had a cultural weekend, attending shows on both Saturday and Sunday evenings. The first of these was the brainchild of MG, who is soon to depart our land to attend the Berklee College of Music as he follows his passion. Live on Stage, as the show was titled, brought together a fabulous array of young Jamaican artistes, many of whom MG has worked with in the past.

From the vocal stylings of Natalie Spence (also backup singer to Cezar) and Ellan Edwards, who is steadily improving since I last saw her at Village, to the Otis Redding-like rumbles of Stephen Madden, we were in for a treat. MG, himself, performed to the screams of the ladies, especially for his original tune, “You Used to Love Me”. He also performed with his roots, the Choir Boyz, whose vibrant harmonies melted our hearts with timeless classics. Two bands were showcased, Rocky V and Airplai, both groups doing a mix of original songs and covers. The latter produced chills when their tiny lead singer belted out “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman”. The night closed with Camar, of Butterfly fame, who thrilled the audience with his hits “I Can See My Destiny” and “Love You For Life”.

The show was one of the better produced live music shows I have seen recently. The production quality was top-notch with few hitches visible to the audience. The sound and lighting were superbly done, and the set from Bertie Rose added bold visual elements. If this is what MG puts out now, Jamaica is in for serious things when he returns from Berklee.

There’s a whole slew of people who will tell you to confront your fears. Some of them seem to think that it won’t be as bad in real life as it is in your head, and you will realize this if you take that first step.

What IF it is every bit as bad as you were dreading?

The movie Final Destination put forward the premise that death could have a design. In the film, death sought out a group of people that cheated death. As amusing as many found the idea, a similar scenario presented itself in the news recently.

A gentleman who dodged being killed in the plane crash that killed the Yankee pitcher Lidle, was killed in a plane crash a month later.  Makes you think - sometimes your time is just up.

I love this! A site called Snap.com has a feature that allows you to display a small preview of a website when you hover the mouse over the link. Why would you want that? Well, even tho the images are small, it can prove helpful to get a quick glance at the site being linked to before you go there. Snap also has the option of providing their own search box in the preview so you can use their “new” search technologies. You can check that out on their site.
I have it set up here, so if you put your mouse over any of the links to other sites, you should see a little preview popup. Be warned, sometimes the requested site is not yet in their database so you have a to wait a little while they fetch the preview. You can get this feature for any site - just sign up for Snap Preview Anywhere, and get a piece of code to put on your site.

I found this site to create your own South Park character mildly entertaining tho I am not a fan of the show itself. Below is my South Park version of myself.

For those of you that were not involved and have been waiting to hear how the birthday went, it had its ups and downs:

Friday

- Got Haagen-Daaz ice cream bought for me (UP)
- BF slept over (UP)

Saturday

- BF stayed for breakfast and lunch (UP)
- Scrambled to get ready for first paid makeup job (DOWN)
- Cheesecake I ordered wasn’t ready, they had to deliver to house (MIXED)
- Makeup job at fashion show was hectic, models were late but was a good experience (MIXED)
- Seem to have lost a pair of shoes (DOWN)
- Got flowers from BF, carnations instead of the usual corny roses (UP)
- Got to Mingles later than planned (DOWN)
- Waited around for people, had 3 people at 11:30 (DOWN)
- Had about 6 people at 12, so went ahead with cake (UP)
- Everybody showed up just after 12 with big smiles, hugs and apologies (UP)
- Danced the rest of the night away, closed the place (UP)

Sunday (actual birthday)

- No beach cause BF sick (DOWN)
- Chilled all day waiting to hear if BF recovered (MIXED)
- BF cooked dinner for me, seafood pasta, mmmm (UP)
- Went to watch “The Departed”, pretty decent flick (UP)

All in all, the big 3-0 has sprung upon me - the celebrations were a little low-key but it was definitely nice to have somebody who would put all they had into ensuring I enjoyed myself. Thanks to those people that made it on Saturday, and to those that called to wish me well. Perhaps I will still have a big to-do when I am working and making some money.

Happy birthday to me!!
Happy birthday to me!!
Happy thirtieth birthday (and 300th post) to me!!
Happy birthday to me!!

That’s right, today I hit the big 3-0. All downhill from here, right? I guess technically I really am an adult now. Time to start behaving like one - NOT!! Here’s hoping the next 30 years are as much fun and have as much for me to learn as the first 30.

The side note is this is my 300th post on my blog. Yay for me! Nothing like some consistency and dogged persistence. Hope you all will stay tuned for the next 300.

This is B saying “Live, love and learn”.