I'm back!!

2 years in the making

Jesus!! after 2 years of trying and countless headaches (ESPECIALLY in the last 4 months) I've finally been confirmed to travel to Brazil later this month for some capoeira workshops. It'll all have to be done on a dental floss budget (nothing new there) so needless to say there's no room for error and/or wanton spending.

Interlude

I so need to see this the next time I go to JP

More news!!

In other significant events, Brisbane is decimated by flooding after a 36 hour downpour, LAYyYYy-zar cannons are being brought in on the fight against somali piracy (sidenote: I may be oversimplifying this but what happens when the pirates pop down to the local mogadishu DIY for a 4' square mirror?)

And the icing on today's cake;

A man Shot accidentally in Naples by a stray bullet SNEEZES IT OUT WHILE WAITING TO BE SEEN IN THE ACCIDENT & EMERGENCY ROOM.

You just couldn't make this stuff up.

!!News!!

The chong-gou ren are coming!!don't ask me how I found the embed code!!





*UPDATE*

Ok that link appears to have crashed (no pun intended), so here's some other flight footage.

2011 - New year, new mistakes to be made

Curses!! It's back into the fray!! The construction break is over even quicker than it began, and much like Peer in Grieg's most famous piece, I feel as though I'm forced to evade the trolls who'd give anything to kill me.

oh and btw, Happy new year ;)

It is officially Christmas!!

Today is shutdown day for most of us in the construction biz, it doesn't really help either that I attended another surveying practice's party last night. Needless to say, "There'll be a whole lot of nothin' goin" on today

That grant pitch might not be so difficult after all...........

Lol, the Sunday Times ran a story back in 2007 that discussed research findings that suggested that walking to the shops did more damage to the planet than if you drove a car (you can find it here).

notable points include, but are not limited to:-

• Traditional nappies are as bad as disposables, a study by the Environment Agency found. While throwaway nappies make up 0.1 per cent of landfill waste, the cloth variety are a waste of energy, clean water and detergent

• Paper bags cause more global warming than plastic. They need much more space to store so require extra energy to transport them from manufacturers to shops

• Diesel trains in rural Britain are more polluting than 4x4 vehicles. Douglas Alexander, when Transport Secretary, said: “If ten or fewer people travel in a Sprinter [train], it would be less environmentally damaging to give them each a Land Rover Freelander and tell them to drive”

• Burning wood for fuel is better for the environment than recycling it, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs discovered

• Organic dairy cows are worse for the climate. They produce less milk so their methane emissions per litre are higher

• Someone who installs a “green” lightbulb undoes a year’s worth of energy-saving by buying two bags of imported veg, as so much carbon is wasted flying the food to Britain

• Trees, regarded as shields against global warming because they absorb carbon, were found by German scientists to be major producers of methane, a much more harmful greenhouse gas

All of these discoveries can be found in - Goodall. C (don't know the year) Defra; how to Live a Low-Carbon Life, Absorbent Hygiene Products Manufacturers Association; The Times; BBC

Also, If I may be so bold as to add my own research discoveries. I have found that Environmentalists damage the planet less when they are dead.

Dear Santa...........

let the xmas browbeating begin!!

Do or Die!!! Pt.2

I made mention last year of a possible trip to brazil that fell to pieces after the house of T acquired a Land Rover.

Looks like it's back on for January 2011

It's that time again!!

It's our day of independence tomorrow. I haven't been able to update posts as much as I would have liked over the past few months. (Trust me, I've got tens of draft posts sitting in my blog posts).

I will however make a special effort tomorrow to share some aspect of Bajan peculiarities with all and sundry just as soon as I figure out what to discuss, on the interim, here's a special little nugget for those of you born post-1980 that haven't a clue what the previous flags looked like.

Colonial Flag of barbados 1885 - 1958

Colonial Flag of Barbados 1958 - 1966

Monday Blues

Where the fuck did my weekend go?

Bygone Barbados

In Flanders' field so long ago

Yesterday was remembrance day, so take time to spare a thought for those Barbadian (and other) soldiers that died so you could read this now.

God of our fathers, known of old—
Lord of our far-flung battle line—
Beneath whose awful hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies—
The Captains and the Kings depart—
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

Far-called our navies melt away—
On dune and headland sinks the fire—
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe—
Such boastings as the Gentiles use,
Or lesser breeds without the Law—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

For heathen heart that puts her trust
In reeking tube and iron shard—
All valiant dust that builds on dust,
And guarding calls not Thee to guard.
For frantic boast and foolish word,
Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord!
Amen.

Good marketing

Here's a new ad campaign by Japanese telecommunications provider Softbank.
You dont necessarily have to understand Japanese to get the ideas, but part one and two are subtitled anyway. I tend to find them hilarious, so I thought I'd share.

STRENGTH : Surviving Through Rough Experiences Never Giving up Through Hardships

Taken directly from a friend's facebook feed. Never has that been more appropriate, it's been a rough week. Mistakes were made, meltdowns were narrowly avoided, deadlines came down to a photofinish, clients were screaming bloody murder. Who would have thought being a brick counter could be so stressful?

A moment of silence

For the burial of our Late Prime minister David Thompson. A dedicated family man through and through.

Once upon a time....

I was told a story of a now popular Barbadians priest who ventured to Trinidad in his youth and managed to convince the Trinidadians to join his cultural extravaganza. To cut a long story short, just check out the sparrow song above and you'll get the full rundown.

Needless to say, he was chased out of Trinidad he's returned to Barbados to continue preaching to the masses here.

Travel the world they said....

POW!! Right in the kisser!!!

Contrary to popular local belief, God is in fact NOT a Bajan, it then follows that bajans were caught unawares when tropical storm Tomas (Toe-maaass) slammed into us over the weekend.

There was no shortage of destruction, but, the good thing was, that it only really extended to endless missing roofs and fallen trees and lots of flooding. No loss of life.

Check the photos out of a few incidents.