The earth is not dying, she is being murdered

I saw that on a T-shirt in Vancouver, July 2008 while on tour.

It said, the earth is not dying, she is being murdered and those who are doing it have names and addresses. It was powerful, sad and brilliant. It brought home the point.

Corporations through their wild greed are killing the planet, making it their own, taking from her and not giving back. Every natural resource is there to destroy. What are we leaving for the next generation.

Many miles away, Coal River Mountain is being blasted by Massey Energy, for what? for profit? No matter how they spin it, people's lives will change and the environment will suffer in long run.

Here in Trinidad we are fighting against the building of not one, but three aluminium smelters. Sanctioned by our government. This will wreck our country.

Iceland is fighting their own battle over the destruction of their land, again for smelter use.

The list of environmental violations goes on and on. And what really gets me is that these corporate personnel that make decisions with the aid of governments actually feel that the population is stupid enough to believe what they say.

They only win if we give up the fight for truth, justice and a healthy balanced environment.

I hope Coal River Mountain can survive the blasting that is taking place, I hope it stops very soon, I hope the people win the case. I hope our smelters don't get built. And I hope everywhere, ordinary citizens fight for their environmental right to live a clean, healthy life, one not destroyed and created by corporate and government shady dealings behind closed doors.

The earth belongs to us all, not a handful of greedy companies and dishonest government officials.

This earth is OURS!

Idle vs. Busy

It's weird how when we have too much time on our hands we get less done. Why is that? When we have just enough time we manage pretty ok and are able to get through most of what we plan to do.

When we try to fit too much into a day and get frustrated not accomplishing much then we waste the day in anger.

The trick is knowing how to plan and balance any day and any given time.

Balance is a real trick that requires discipline and practice. Funny sometimes when you try to focus on balance in a yoga class, it is then you fall over. Well, at least that happens to me.

Better to be busy that be idle, but still, it's always good to stop once in a while and see what's truly important. There'll always be chores and projects to do. But if we get them out of the way, then we can enjoy the rest of the time we have.

Time is a gift, one that never returns if wasted, it is better to be busy with positive actions than to be idle with wicked ones.

Nothing is better than Anti-pop

So a night at the Anti-pop entails:

(1) 5 old friends spinning the most unreal, underground, Indie, Brit-pop, alternative, you-name-it-they-got-it music

(2) A band or two (in this case the almighty JOINT POP)

(3) A crowded pub filled with friends who've known each other for decades, all dancing, singing and at times screaming at all the great music that's going down.

(4)Alcohol and Rock 'n roll

(5)Open-mindedness

The papers won't write about it, the radio stations in Trinidad will not even speak of it and believe you me, it's better this way. It's better to have something so real and innocent stay pure, rather than to have it be 'marketed' to everyone else who only listens to 'pop' or dance music.

If it wasn't for a night like Anti-pop put on by the Imaginary Boys and if it wasn't for bands like JOINT POP that fly the indie rock 'n roll flag high here on our lil isle, then Trinidad would really be lost to the flaky radio stations and the soca mafia intent on bludgeoning our ears with formulaic, mediocre crap. And believe you me, it is crap what's being sold as music these days.

Thank God for Anti-pop and a night to remember singing at the top of my lungs with old friends, singing along to good songs.

Thank God for good music.

Thank God for rain

The best things in life really are free, doesn't matter who we are or what we own, or what titles we have. The best things in life are those intangible moments that make living memorable.

Nothing can beat waking up to the sound of rain, (which began falling at 4AM) and having breakfast in the dark as a family, joking about how cold the day is. Cold on a tropical island is 22 degrees! Having lived through -42 winters, 22 degrees is a welcomed change.

Having breakfast while relaxing and talking about the trials of life and having a good laugh about some aspects of it is something not many people do.

If we don't appreciate the small intangible details of life and spend time with those who truly matter, how can we give of ourself to anyone else?

As much as I hope it's sunny this weekend, a good rainy day is a treasure, minus all the flooding of course. If I was a motorist in the middle of that flood, well then, I'd hate the rain.

Artsy Fartsy

I think sometimes we people in the arts take ourselves way too seriously...sometimes we think way too highly of ourselves. Yes we're creating something, yes we can do great things with God's guidance and help. And always with his help. Some of us leave out God altogether, some of us think we're smarter than God, heck some of us even say we created God and not the other way around. Whatever, but anyway.

And yes, the world is a better place because of art. But that doesn't mean everyone is gonna like what we do, what we profess to be art. That doesn't mean that we should expect everyone to applaud our efforts. Sometimes a fair amount of crap passes as art, because it is different, because it challenges industry standards and in some way disturbs the mind. But there should always be a standard, there must always be form and substance. If not, then it's just a lifeless disaster, a blob of mess, not art, be it in whatever format.

And it certainly doesn't mean that we are better than anyone else because we are artistically inclined. It just means we see things differently....and different isn't necessarily good or bad, it's just different.

If the people who call themselves artists wish to be accepted and respected for who they are and what they produce, then they must humble themselves and think like the average citizen. Because we all NEED each other, each one of us.

If not, then an artist is nothing more than a snob and what good is that to anyone?

Art is made for all to enjoy. Not just a few. And understanding art doesn't make you smarter than anyone else.