Rihanna cuts deep

I see Rihana has been reading rule number one in the 'superstar' manual; change your look frequently.





Well, home girl has gone and chopped off her hair some more, creating a severe mohawk messy style. Mr. T must be so proud....

Images: theybf.com

Top 10 Fave Entertainers - Gone Too Soon Edition

Inevitably, the death of Michael Jackson got me thinking of all those other entertainers who have left us 'before their time', so to speak, some through illness, some tragically. This is a tribute to 10 of my faves, including Michael, who are gone but live on through their music.


10. Selena Quintanilla-Perez (1971-1995)


9. Aaliyah Dana Houghton (1979-2001)


8. Tupac Amaru Shakur (1971-1996)


7. Dalton Sinclair 'Jackie Opel' Bishop (1938-1970)


6. Otis Redding (1941-1967)


5. Sam Cooke (1931-1964)


4. Marvin Gaye (1939-1984)


3. Luther Vandross (1951-2005)


2. Michael Jackson (1958-2009)


1. Robert Nesta Marley (1945-1981)

Farewell, MJ

I'm still a bit teary-eyed from the tributes, so I don't plan on writing much beyond fareweell, King of Pop. Thanks for the memories and the joys of your music.

You are legend and you will live on.

Rest in peace.

Home From the Cold - A Caribbean Cruise Pt. 7

Hi, peoples. This is where Kal-F's current adventure ends. I'll try and convince to give us some on the remainder of his cruise. Here we go....

Satisfied at last with the quantity of salad accumulated through multiple orders, our attention then turns to the main courses. As a vegetarian, the only one at the table, listening to the options being read from the menus, I quickly realize that there are still sizable challenges ahead.

There are four choices: beef, pork, chicken, (all with fancy names too esoteric to mention here) and for me, a glimmer of hope: cous-cous. No one at the table has any idea of what cous-cous is, so I enlist the help of Pedro, the Barbadian waiter, who happens to be wandering by.

Pedro confidently advises that cous-cous is similar to cou-cou. For the sake of the non-Barbadians reading this: cou-cou is a soft pudding-like substance (vaguely similar to porridge without the lumps), the result of corn-meal being boiled and stirred in water and okras, usually accompanied by any type of fish you like, swimming in a plentiful amount of sauce with onions or tomatoes, etc, regarded as a delicacy by some, including myself. At that assurance from Pedro my enthusiasm surges and I gleefully say, "Yes, Alex, I'll have the cous-cous," not sure whether or not the final 's' is emphasized in the pronunciation.

Soon Alex's cart is back again, and the amount of servings on the massive plates is this time marginally more promising than in the case of the original salads. Everyone else has ordered a meat dish but I am alone with my cous-cous. As we dig in, within minutes, I start to get a feeling akin to the 'loneliness of the long- distance runner.' I take a look around the table; everyone seems to be making good headway with their chosen meal. My cous-cous, however, is as different from cou-cou as night is from day, as different as Monica Lewinsky and Mother Theresa when they are on their knees.

This cous-cous has the consistency of gravel that has been downsized in a blender. Cou-cou is smooth and eases gracefully down your throat. The version of the cous-cous in front of me is, without any accompanying sauce, as dry as a wind across the Sahara and so gritty that it can be used as an effective antidote for bones lodged in the esophagus.

"How do you like the cous-cous , Uncle Kal?" asks Shelley, whose cheerful voice tells me that she has had better luck in her choice than I have in mine.

"Oh, just great, Shelley, just great," I lie, "I think I'll ask Alex to get me the recipe."

And so, my first night in the Universe Dining Room is not a night to remember. The final offering, the desserts, are generally not any more memorable than what has preceded them. Except for the Dutch Apple Cake. Aha! finally something to stimulate the sensories. This time I have lucked out and my order has topped all the others. The Dutch, known all over for putting their fingers in dikes and keeping them there for a long time, seem also to have had a hand in cake-making.

The news that my Dutch Apple Cake is indeed a slice of delight spreads like wildfire all around the table. Immediately, my sister Pam, whom I love most of the time, asks me if she can sample a taste. My love for her is now being severely tested because if there is one thing that I secretly have a big problem with, it is sharing food, especially food that I like. I notice that earlier no one asked to sample the cous-cous, and rightly so.

But while I toy with the idea of telling my sister that my love for her does not extend to sharing my food with her, a loud announcement suddenly pierces the general boisterousness of the room and the Captain announces his presence, welcoming us onto the Carnival and then introducing the movers and shakers on the ship, the people he says whose job is to make sure that we all have a great time.

This little formality lasts for a few minutes at the end of which the ship's entertainment supervisor takes the mike and is soon leading all the crew that has been serving in the dining room in a song which I have never heard before but from the general reaction of the crowd seems to be well-known. The song is also pre-choreographed because the crew are all moving in synchronized body movements.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see that Mamma Smith is up and boy she is right in there jiving with the crew, moving her body in perfect harmony. Where she has learned the moves I'll never know but I am convinced that had she been on the Titanic when the band struck up "Abide with me", she would have cheered up everybody.

This temporary distraction has summed up almost everything that has happened to me during the evening. While my eyes are transfixed on Mamma Smith and the jiving crew, my loving sister has reached over and unbeknownst to me, taken my Dutch Apple Cake. Probably like Eve in the garden, she does not at first intend to eat it all but it is better than anything on the menu this evening. As my apple cake slowly disappears into her mouth, she looks at me with her disarming smile, " Oh, Kal, this is so good."

The next time I see Alex, I say, "Oh, Alex, is it possible to get another piece of Dutch Apple Cake?"

"Sorry, Kal, that was the last one."

My sister still doesn't know how perilously close to dying she came that first night on the Carnival Destiny.

The End

Home From the Cold - A Caribbean Cruise Pt. 6

By Kal-F

The disaster of the soups does not necessarily prevent us from keeping hope alive that the rest of the meal will be an unqualified success, and when we see Alex in the distance pushing a cart with monstrously large plates, our hearts and appetites are indeed lifted to the next level.

The thrill is short-lived. As Alex starts dishing out the salads we can’t help but admire the plates; they are big, heavy even and have wonderful decorative designs but where, we wonder, are the salads? The Ceasar salad that is promised is no more than two pieces of lettuce and three bread-crumbs (perfectly square admittedly), daubed I guess because this is an upscale restaurant, with a fulsome amount of mayonnaise.

For a moment we think that the order has been misunderstood and they are convinced that we have ordered a plate of mayonnaise with two pieces of lettuce and a few bread-crumbs at the side. Likewise, what they present as a Garden Salad we see as two slices of sweet peppers, half a carrot and a pretty slice of tomato. After the second mouthful, all that is left on the plate are the nice decorations.

Some people deal with the disappointment better than others. The people at the table beside us, made up of acquaintances from Orange Hill, St. James, the village where I grew up, have decided that they will leave and advise us to do the same. They are heading for the Sun and Sea Restaurant, where, they tell us, a midnight buffet is about to be unveiled. We decide to stay and sojourn on, discovering a perk that comes with dining in the Universe Lounge: one can order as many plates as one likes. We now therefore beckon to Alex and each of us put in three more orders for salads. We volunteer to help him cart the plates: he bravely declares that it is not a problem and he can handle it.

Does Rihanna still sing? + Joe Jackson needs to sit down

Remember the days when Rihanna used to make hit music? I understand she's currently working on a new album, but it seems to me that she spends a lot of time these days sauntering around to events or hanging with friends.




Maybe she's getting a jump start on her modelling career, 'cause girlfriend looks pretty cool. I see you in your Michael Jackson-styled outfit, gloves and all, Ri-Ri....


It seems that every time I turn on my tv I see Michael Jackson's father Joe holding some press conference about his son's death/estate/kids/funeral. For a man who's supposed to be grieving he sure seems excited to be in front of the camera. And as for pimping his record label at the BET Awards...tacky beyond belief.

Joe Jackson, sit down and shut up. Don't tarnish your son's memory and legend by turning his death into a circus.

Home From the Cold - A Caribbean Cruise Pt. 5

By Kal-F

Unlike the Sun and the Sea Restaurant where the service is buffet style (which means that you wait in line for 40 minutes until the hundreds of people in front of you assiduously make their selections), our service in the Universe Dining Room is catered by two waiters. One of them, Alex, is from the former Yugoslavia and the other, Pedro, from Barbados.

Alex brings us the menus and gives us advice about this evening's special. The special doesn't sound very much like a special and we resort to reading the menus. Trevor and I seem to be getting perilously close to the age of geriatrics, an undeniable sign of which is that we now find it difficult to read the menus without our glasses. We also seem to be gradually losing our memories and have forgotten the glasses in our respective cabins. We now find ourselves in the hapless position of having our respective spouses read the menus to us, a situation that portends a questionable future.

Soups and salads are there for starters but since it is now after 9:00 p.m.,( half an hour after we arrived) we have all exercised a collective indiscipline by devouring the bread rolls and butter that have been offered and re-offered to us. I am almost full by the time the soups arrive.

My choice, a lovely pale-green vegetable chowder is unfortunately more appetizing in the looks than in the taste. After the second spoonful, I wonder out loud if the chef has accidentally spilled an entire container of salt into the mix or if if he is forced by limitation of time and space to scoop up ocean water to do his cooking.

Pedro, probably witnessing the more than ordinary contortion on my face, comes over to inquire how things are progressing and to my suggestion that he should advise the chef to go a lot more lightly on the salt, confides that with the present chef it is a hopeless cause, the suggestion having been made on divers occasions before, to no avail. I am thus reduced to pushing the soup aside and taking my chance with the rest of the offerings which Alex is now carting to our table.

Memories of MJ + Top 20 Fave Michael Jackson singles

Born to amuse, to inspire, to delight,
Here one day, gone one night.
Like a sunset dying with the rising of the moon,
Gone too soon.

I have been trying all day to start this post. I must have erased the first few lines of this paragraph several times. I'm still not sure I can write in any coherent, fluid way about how I'm feeling right now.

I don't usually get overly emotional when Hollywood stars or musicians or any 'star' dies, and that held true when I heard of Michael Jackson's passing. I was at an appointment, and as I watched the coverage of his death on television I was just saying 'wow, this is so sad, the world has lost a true musical icon'.

When reality really hit home was this morning, when I started to listen to the all-day tribute to the megastar on LOVE 104.1 FM. All Michael, all day. As his hits reverberated on the airwaves back to back, almost every one held some significance, marked some event in my life. And I ain't shame to tell yuh, I cried.

A lot has been said about Michael Jackson over the years, both negative and positive. I don't expect that will end with his passing. Truth be told, I'm bracing myself for the conspiracies and the custody battle over his kids and his finances.

All I know, is that the most talented musical artiste, bar none, to walk the face of the earth to date is no more. Almost every song he released was a hit, the releases of his music videos were international events, the man invented dnaces that defied gravity and wrote lyrics that could stir the coldest soul.

As a tribute to this music icon, I've attempted to do the near impossible: to list twenty of my fave Michael Jackson tunes and the album they were from. When a person has been performing for about 42 of their 50 years that's a lot of songs to choose from, especially when I pretty much loved them all. Anyhoo, here goes....


20. Off the Wall - Off the Wall
19. Remember the Time - Dangerous
18. You Are Not Alone - HIStory
17. I Just Can't Stop Loving You - Bad
16. Heal the World - Dangerous
15. Happy - Music and Me


14. Black or White - Dangerous
13. She's Out of My Life - Off the Wall
12. Will You Be there - Dangerous
11. One Day in Your Life- Forever, Michael.
10. Rock With You - Off the Wall


9. Speechless - Invincible
8. Gone Too Soon - Dangerous
7. Billie Jean - Thriller
6. Human Nature - Thriller


5. Man in the Mirror - Bad
4. Cry - Invincible
3. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'- Thriller
2. Lady In My Life - Thriller
1. Don't Stop Till You Get Enough - Off the Wall

RIP MJ, your legacy will live on forever.

Images: theybf.com

The King of Pop - Gone Too Soon

1958-2009