Oba and Marion headed to Bim?

Hi all. Finding information on this Oba/Marion wedding is harder than finding out what P.M. Arthur has for breakfast! The net has hints here and there, and one Marion Jones fansite actually said they were hitched in North Carolina on Saturday and are flying to Barbados for a holiday! Well, if that's true we'll find out soon enough!
Until I can find out if the wedding did occur and dig up some pics to share with you, here are a couple of photos of Marion from various fansites, namely ILove MarionJones2.com

Marion and her three year old son Monty in Belize for Christmas 2006


Marion, her former partner Tim Montgomery and baby Monty


Congratulations to Jennifer Hudson and Forest Whitaker, who won Oscars for Best Supporting Actress (Dreamgirls)and Best Actor (The Last King of Scotland) Wasn't it just the other day Halle Berry and Denzil Washington won Oscars and it was such a huge, historical moment because black actors were largely overlooked in films? And don't forget Will Smith, Djimon Hounsou and Eddie Murphy were also nominated. Sweet.


For some folks the Oscars are more about who wore what than who won what. The stand out dress for me was that of Keisha Whitaker, Forest Whitaker's wife. It was quite a creation.



You know if a Bajan has the opportunity to be all up in the Oscar festivities they won't pass it up, and our girl Rihanna attended Queen Latifah and Vibe Magazine's pre-Oscar bash in Hollywood.



Photos: Young, Black and Fabulous

From bronze to gold + pre-Oscar parties

By now everyone must have heard that Barbadian sprinter and Olympic bronze medallist, Obadele Thompson, will be getting married to five-time Olympic gold medallist and formerly the world's fastest woman, Marion Jones, on Saturday, February 24 in North Carolina. Best wishes to the couple, who are also expecting a child. In honour of their impending nuptials, here is a pictorial of the couple as they blazed their separate paths to glory.






The Oscars will also be held this weekend, and some of the nominees have been feted all week. Jennifer Hudson, who's vying for the award of Best Supporting Actress for Dream Girls, was the guest of honour at a luncheon hosted by MAC in Los Angeles.


and was also honoured at a Hennessy Giant Magazine event (here with Dream Girls castmate Jamie Fox)


Forest Whittaker, who's contending in a tight race for Best Actor for his role in The Last King of Scotland, was honoured at the Los Angeles Confidential Magazine Oscar Party (his wife Keisha is also pictured)


Good luck to Forest, Jennifer and of course to Eddie Murphy, who has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Dream Girls.

Pix: Young, Black & Fabulous

Steal ain't there

Poor George Griffith. He learned recently that the truth doesn't necessarily set you free. More like on fire. The staff at the QEH were on the verge of striking over his comments that there was pilfering at that institution. He may be right about that, but all he succeeded in doing was teeing off a whole lot people. Next time George, deal with the perpetrators and not just tar everyone with the same brush.
His Chairman Horace Cobham was quick to apologise, but Griffith isn't backing down. No doubt interesting times will be ahead.
You can check out the QEH's website here.
A step in the right direction indeed.

Isn't it amusing how poverty is the playground of politicians when elections are approaching? For months now I've been seeing candidates posing with "boys on the block", knocking on doors and making themselves known to persons in certain districts. I know it makes sense to politicians to target the people in need so as to do whatever it is they do to get votes (no name, no lock up) but have you ever wondered why we never see them canvassing in Fort George Heights, Sandy Lane, Turtleback Ridge and other posh areas? Don't these people vote? Or are all expats living in these neighbourhoods? Maybe the politicians canvass them at cocktail parties and on the golf course, who knows.

I guess what bugs me is that if politicians really cared about helping the less fortunate, they wouldn't only be knocking on their doors at election time. And they should be doing more to break the cycle of poverty as well, not resorting to offering some temporary handout every five years. To be fair, some people enjoy these handouts so who am I to talk.

Anyhow, here are some pictures of our beautiful country to remind us what's really important. Not party affiliation, not politicians but this rock of ours.



Cattlewash Beach

Monday mix

Sir. Vivian Richards - Nation Newspaper

Hi peoples, hope you all had a good weekend. The Oval is up and running again and from all accounts it's looking nice. Some friends said they had to wait extremely long to get in but the wait was worth it. The fireworks were fantastic, that's as much as I saw live.
The Master Blaster Sir Vivian Richards and his team put up a good fight and looked pretty good doing it. 'Sir' Carl Hooper still has it for sure! It would appear that a good time was had by all. Let's hope the current West Indies team can inaugurate the Mecca in the right way.

While we were partying it up at the Oval, Rihanna was celebrating with Jay-Z and basketballer Lebron James at their Two Kings Dinner and Party. Queen Latifah, May J. Blige, P-Diddy, Beyonce and others were in attendance.

Rihanna with Jay-Z (right) and Ne-Yo - Young, Black and Fabulous

Obama for President!

It's official...the US Presidential race just got sweeter with the news that Illinois Democratic Senator Barack Obama will be running. I like Hillary but Obama's my boy. Can you feel the winds of change blowing? It's about time! Best of luck Obama.

Sen. Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and daughters (l-r) Sasha(5)and Malia(7).

Rihanna glows at Grammy's

Well, another Grammy Awards have come and gone and this year's awards registered big wins for the Dixie Chicks and Mary J. Blige. Our homegirl Rihanna attended several of the events and presented an award as well. Who knows, one day she may be performing and winning at the Grammy's.
First up, Rihanna attended producer Clive Davis' pre-Grammy bash where she kept company with several celebrities.

Rihanna and Bow-wow. I think eating was out of the question in that dress.


Rihanna, P-Diddy and Ciara


Rihanna and Ciara


Rihanna and Dream Girl Jennifer Hudson


At the Grammy's on Sunday evening, Rihanna walked the red carpet with singer Ne-yo


Rihanna rocked a green gown that was daring yet elegant


She also presented an award along with comedian David Spade

Photos compliments Young, Black and Fabulous and JustJared.com.

Mid-week mix

Hiya folks. I apologise for not posting regularly but I'm currently juggling work, studies and several projects and as they say, something's gotta give. Anyway, I'll try to post at least twice weekly. There's certainly not a lack of things happening.

First up, I don't know if it's a coincidence but the Nation Newspaper had its first strike in 34 years yesterday, just a few months after founder and long-time Editor-in-Chief, Harold Hoyte, retired. Poor Vivian-anne Gittens. Now everyone's going to be saying "if Harold was still there...".

Click here for story

Gittens presenting former Editor-in-Chief Harold Hoyte with a retirement gift at a function last December(Nation Newspaper)

A rose by any other name isn't always as sweet. Just ask Lt. Colonel Jeffrey Bostic. He's been caught in the middle of a press storm recently over his beautification project in the Kensington area. Despite Government's claims to the contrary, it does look pretty bad for a political candidate to be given Government funds to beautify a district in a constituency he's vying for. He's been given a serious leg up over the other candidate, Patrick Todd. Doesn't look good at all. As transparent as a country road at midnight on a moonless night.

Finally, I don't know anything at all about American football, but I was pleased to see that the win by the Indianapolis Colts resulted in Tony Dungy being the first African American head coach to win the Super Bowl. I live for the day when we no longer have all these "firsts" for black achievements.

Indianapolis Colts' owner Jim Irsay points to coach Tony Dungy who holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy at a Super Bowl rally in Indianapolis Monday. At center is Colts president Bill Polian. (AP)

Who's in control and more

Although I've taken issue in the past with Dick Stoute and his opinion on who controls the Barbadian economy, I must give him props for at least initiating a dialogue on the topic. I'm not sure how conclusive the debate turned out to be, but at least it was a start.
Gray Area

The Weekend Nation contained an interesting interview with several homeless persons and their views on the World Cup. I found it amusing that while most of us a wary of these street characters they are just of wary of us. Interesting logic from some of these forgotten citizens.
What about our rights?

How many people are going to have to die before we take occupational safety seriously? Drive around the island and you'll pass construction sites with guys 20 and 30 feet in the air without harnesses or protective head coverings. One year I was horrified to see several men mounting the portraits of the National Heroes on the Treasury Building without any safety gear; they were acting as if they were on solid ground! We have to do better than this folks.

Have a good weekend all!