From the monthly archives:

August 2007

Map of the internet’s black holes

31 August 2007

The image above shows where in the world the internet is blocked out, prepared by Reporters Without Borders.
The countries are: Maldives, Tunisia, Belarus, Libya, Syria, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, Myanmar/Burma, Cuba, Turkmenistan, North Korea.
Courtesy of Strange Maps.

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Getting up, getting out, getting over: Art is the way

26 August 2007

Over on his blog, Reginald Shepherd has posted a meditation on how he made it in the cultural world as a gay black man from an impoverished background. It’s also turns out to be a meditation on why art and culture are — or, excuse me, this is The Bahamas — should be a [...]

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On Self-Publication (a Meditation)

26 August 2007

Note: I took the blog entry I wrote last week and turned it into a proper essay for The Guardian. Here it is, for archival purposes. It’s been edited here and there for publication.
I’m pleased to announce that I’m working preparing Essays on Life for publication in a series of books. The first one, featuring [...]

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On Raisins and the Sun

21 August 2007

I’m sitting in Starbucks, listening to a jazz rendition of “Sponger Money”. I must admit it sounds good. And it feels good to hear an international take on a Bahamian song. But I’m also wondering a couple of things.
The first one is what the thing is called. Is it called “Sponger [...]

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On Publication: Essays on Life

19 August 2007

I’m pleased to announce that I’m working preparing Essays on Life for publication in a series of books. The first one, featuring the first fifty essays published, is almost ready to go to print. In a week or so, I hope, if all goes well, it’ll be available online through Lulu.com, Amazon.com, and other online [...]

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Here’s a shout-out

19 August 2007

to all my peeps (and others) in Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica, Cayman, Belize, and everyone else affected by Hurricane Dean.
Batten up, hunker down, and wait it out.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

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Here’s something to think about

16 August 2007

(Frivolity is always welcome)
I am a springtime baby.
Springtime babies have the chance of their birthdays falling on Easter Sunday.
Springtime babies often find their birthdays falling in Lent.
I don’t remember my birthday ever — in my lifetime to date — coinciding with Easter.
Good Friday, yes. Holy Saturday/Maundy Thursday/Easter Monday even, yes.
Not Easter.
So I checked.
Turns out [...]

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Something to think about

15 August 2007

The Barbadian national budget communication.
The Barbadian Budget reply
I found both on the Nation (the Bajan newspaper) site. While we bask in our smug conviction of our superiority in every way, it would be instructive to have a look at how Barbados is designing its economy to meet the demands of the 21st century.
Then compare [...]

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Does this country really need another bureaucrat?

9 August 2007

You know you’re in trouble when your job interferes with your calling.
The thing is, I’m a writer. Writers write. Writers write about stuff that inspires them. Writers write in part to inform those who read, and in part becase they just can’t do anything else.
The other thing is, I’m a civil servant. [...]

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Kadooment? Junkanoo?

7 August 2007

This post by Dennis Jones about the Bajan Kadooment festival this year is interesting, specially in what it says about the similarities and differences between the two.
Here’s an excerpt:
We spent some time over the weekend arguing about the cultural content of Kadooment compared to Junkanoo (see link), which is a similar street event that takes [...]

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