Jessie J - a Pleasant Surprise

I heard an interview with this young star the other day on Channel 4 news and I was pleasantly surprised at how clear she was on what she had been, was doing and was going to do as an artist. I believe she said something along the lines of she sees herself as part entertainer, part therapist or something. Basically she was saying that there was more to her music than just being a star. It was refreshing. In addition to that her music is good. She also made the point that she doesn’t want to be pigeon-holed. That reminded me of another artist I respect – Eva Cassidy. I believe one of the reasons why she didn’t have a major record deal when she was alive was because she wanted to maintain her eclectic tastes and this didn’t fit neatly into the marketing rules of most record labels.

I’m not a huge fan of the video for ‘Do it Like a Dude’ but I do love the lyrics for Price Tag. Let’s hope she does well and that we’ll have more artists like her.

Hilarious prank call

You might have heard this before but this is priceless! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7OgWcwgB50

Staying afloat and doing well

There is no good reason why people who are willing to work shouldn’t be able to support themselves and their families and live comfortably. But for some reason the way things are set up make this impossible for many and extremely difficult form the majority.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/record-levels-of-poverty-among-families-with-wages-2151711.html

The fitness instructor in this story made me think. There he is doing a full time job – probably with plenty of overtime but at the rate he is paid there is no way he’s ever, get me, EVER going to make enough to do more that struggle. Now they have two small kids. Childcare costs a fortune so his wife can’t work because her salary would cancel out the childcare. I suspect this couple are not well qualified and to become so would take aptitude, time and money which I suspect they have little of. So the best that can happen to them is for the wife to be able to work once the kids are older, which could be years, and for nothing to go amiss in the intervening years, such as job loss or illness.

Firstly, the minimum wage needs to be something people can really live on. Secondly a proper market rate needs to be established for a whole range of jobs – why is a fitness instructor being paid so little – it takes some knowledge and skill so surely he should be paid more than six quid an hour? Thirdly there needs to be a much more intelligent attitude towards childcare. In Jamaica where I used to live, many businesses had nurseries on site or ran one affiliated to them and perhaps a group of other companies. Parents paid a lower rate and the businesses benefited from employees who were secure in the knowledge their kids were properly being taken care of. I suspect our love for bureaucracy at the expense for the welfare of our kids prevents this from happening here. Paying for childcare should not cancel out a salary.

Lastly we need to encourage aspiration and laud intelligence and achievement instead of making fun of people who do well. Also people need to become entrepreneurial– create our own jobs. We cannot function well as a nation with low achievement and poor educational results that trap people into a life of low paid jobs. It’s a fact that the more qualified you are and the batter able to solve problems and form good relationships, the better job you can get. Until we get this, there will continue to be many working poor like the family mentioned above. Trust me on this, the difference between this family and ones I am familiar with are £800 per month earning power and £3,500 per month. Heck, on half of £3,500 a household could afford for the mother not to work. How do you get to earn that kind of cash and much more? With qualifications and problem solving abilities that businesses cannot do without. Those of us in positions where we can earn a lot are somewhat able to because of the dearth of qualified people. Take a profession I am familiar with – bid managers for instance, there are so few people that can do it well, the salaries offered are in the region of £40k and up plus bonuses and companies scramble to hire the few people available - for the most part. If there was a larger pool of qualified people the salaries might be lower (but I doubt it because of the nature of the work). Instead there are millions earning less than half of this. With prices and taxes in the UK the way they are and with further cuts things look bleak for the unskilled and low qualified. If you are in this position I advise you to do some heavy research – find out what professions you can get into (without a degree) that are in short supply and can earn you a wage upon which you and your family can be comfortable. These professions DO exist. And encourage your kids to do extremely well at school – you need them doing so well they can get scholarships people. It’s the only way out of this.

We are all human.

I am watching an episode of Dispatches in which Pakistani people are speaking about the loss of loved ones in various bombing incidents.

It is heartbreaking.

One man made a point that stuck with me – he said something to the effect that to many people throughout the world, when they hear of bombings and deaths in Pakistan, these deaths are just a number. He said that in the morning he dropped his wife off at work and in the evening he collected her body. How can you explain that he asked? How indeed.

Let’s try not to see these and other deaths simply as statistics. One death is the loss of a loved one for many people and creates a pain that will probably never fully go away. Let us be compassionate and remember these people. For those of us who have faith, let’s pray for those who mourn, regularly, that they may be comforted. Just imagine for a moment if your loved one had been killed. How would you feel? Like they were a statistic?

I think not.

'Allo 'Allo

I am watching a re-run of ‘Allo ‘Allo and I am reminded of how incredibly funny it is. One of my favourite moments is in the days of the original La Clair. Madame Edith was once again going to thrill the patrons with her singing, but the British airmen were hiding inside the piano. So La Clari decided to mime playing the instrument for Madame Edith while the airmen said ‘plink plonk, plinky plonk.’ Priceless!

Why the plastic surgery?

Why do some women insist on getting plastic surgery when it neither makes them look better nor younger? And not to mention the risk – I mean why put yourself under a general anaesthetic for a look? I can get aging and not being happy with how you look but I can’t get going through risky surgery , spending a fortune and then coming out and looking worse.

As for me – I hate hospitals and the thought of going under does not thrill me – elective plastic surgery? Hell no.

Madness in Trini Land

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said that her “nation would have to get something in return for helping Caribbean neighbours affected by Hurricane Tomas.”

I, like others (see this story in the Gleaner http://go-jamaica.com/news/read_article.php?id=23887) are gobsmacked.

Have you EVER heard the leader of a country state that they would need something back for helping their neighbours out in the aftermath of a natural disaster? As they say in Jamaica, anyting go so? It would seem it does.

Look, when natural disasters strike, people suffer. They need help, and if you have any compassion you will give it – without asking for something in return. It begs the question, what the hell kind of person is she? And also, not just that but she surely must have had an inkling of how her statement would be greeted yet she said it anyway. SO either she is not politically savvy or she is truly a heartless *****.

Anyway you look at it, this is very sad. The only good thing is that she seems to be very much alone in her opinion. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Respect for the President

Check this article out - from Canada. http://www.seniorlivingmag.com/articles/america-hes-your-president-for-goodness-sake

The Death of Good Taste

The latest instalment of the X-Factor has sealed the death of good taste in the UK. It seems as though if you are an excellent singer, can keep in tune and in time then you are not considered of the greatest value by the judges. However, if they take a shine to you for whatever reason (never the reason of musical talent) then you are considered fantastic. Even after hearing a lacklustre, out of tune, out of time performance, these ridiculous people who know better laud their acts to the skies. They can’t possibly be fooling even themselves.

They need to remove the competition element between the judges because it is now in the realms of the ridiculous. Make it a straightforward, talent show for goodness sake before we become even more of a global laughing stock than we are when it comes to high quality anything.

And I think they should keep up the guest singer judges because to be honest (and I don’t want to be harsh) but neither Danni nor Cheryl Cole can sing well so it’s a bit rich hearing some of their comments. They need some successful, SINGERS not people famous for being famous more than anything on the panel in addition to the industry experts. And if someone is a successful singer they don’t have months to devote so judging a programme like this so you either need a successful person who has kind of retired from the biz (Anita Baker for example) or rotate guest judges.

Does our culture let women down?

There’s been a lot of talk in the media recently about the pay gap between men and women. In some respects the discourse is confusing – often people say that the type of work women choose is the problem i.e. they go into low paid areas of work. In that case then like for like isn’t being compared – I thought the equal pay issues were about a man and woman who do the same job and the man gets paid more not that women on a whole earn less than men. Is my reading right here?

Anyway, if the issue is that women tend to take lower paying jobs and don’t push themselves forward then perhaps our culture has a lot to do with women being paid less. Let me explain.

I’ve lived about half my life here and half in Jamaica – two very different cultures. Now there are probably disparities in pay in Jamaica – but it seemed to me that proportionately more women there were in senior positions earning a sizeable chunk of change – myself included. Jamaican women are not shy and their husbands and boyfriends on the whole, expect their wives and girlfriends to work and to prosper – either for themselves or in business. They also expect and want them to be well rounded intelligent women who can hold their own. Admittedly, Jamaicans have housekeepers (called helpers) so both men and women have less to do around the house but in general things seem to work well in terms of equality.

Most other English women I encounter on the other hand are super traditional and very timid. And their husbands and boyfriends have a very condescending attitude towards women which the women often seem to back up. When I ask English women what their interests are they will generally say they don’t have any and the next most popular reply is ‘my kids and husband/boyfriend/ clothes or shopping – the stereotypical options. English women are ultra timid about speaking up, going bright red if they have to even say something in a meeting and they (in my experience) don’t like to push themselves forward for responsibility.

English women often act like they are vapid (or maybe they are), in need of assistance to do the simplest things and don’t exhibit much interest in weighty issues but cling to the trivial and demeaning (Jordan’s love life instead of the effects of the cut in child tax benefits).

I’m not saying it’s our fault but I am saying we aren’t helping much. Don’t the ladies that gave their life so that we could vote and those Dagenham ladies who went on strike for the equal pay act deserve better from us? Don’t we deserve better? Don’t our daughters?

Why are the English so Fascinated with Hitler?

On English TV there is a preponderance of shows focusing on Hitler. More Four just advertised a programme; apparently someone has uncovered footage - wait for it, wait for it - of one of Hitler's aides! Yes folks - you'll get the chance to see one of Hitler's servants.

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't Hitler a bigoted murdering bastard? Why keep focusing on him?

And in that spirit I end.

Check out this blog

Hey, check out my sistren's new blog here http://informimagineinnovate.blogspot.com/2010/10/playing-with-little-wave.html

Journalists need to speak for us

I am tired of journalists trying to stir up trouble when they have the chance to interview those in power. In the wake of Ed Milliband’s win all I seem to hear journalists ask him is, ‘how does this affect your relationship with your brother,’ ‘does this mean Labour will lurch to the left,’ ‘Didn’t you only get in because of the unions?’ ‘You don’t really have a mandate, or you didn’t really win because there was only a 1.3% difference.’

For goodness sake – as a voter does the answer to any of those questions add anything to your life? Doesn’t add anything to mine.

Why don’t they ask him how he plans to make Labour winnable in the next election? How about, how is he going to counter to ConDems’ slash and burn techniques? How can he convince us that life will be better under a Labour government than under a Tory government?

We need to demand better not just from our politicians but from our media too.

The Curse of the Mookoot

In popular Jamaican parlance, a mookoot is an idiot. Basically what we in the UK call a muppet.Now many people who seem to get onto property related reality TV shows in the UK suffer from acute cases of mookootism. The symptoms usually are:

1) Copious amounts of money

2) An acute lack of any sense, common or otherwise

What always amazes me is the restraint of hosts like Kevin McLeod and Sarah Beeny. While I am sitting in front of my TV yelling various names at the people on the screen – their response is usually considerably tempered.

The one exception is that show ‘Under the Hammer.’ The people on this show are usually incredibly sensible, except of course those who buy places without having seen them and then end up with something with structural issues.

I remember one episode of Property Ladder where the couple insisted on revamping a house as a two bedroom. Beeny told them that if they added a third bedroom (and they had plenty of room to do so) they’d add £100k to their asking price. I remember the woman saying this ‘I know, but we aren’t going to do that.’ Now keep in mind the premise of the show is that people fix up houses in order to make a profit and that is what this couple purported to do. What the-?!!!

Ahhhh, why do mookoots have access to so much money?

Men need to snatch their balls back

Too many modern British men are wusses. Now I am not advocating old style gender roles – I don’t believe women should be wusses either – trouble is as a result of man-made gender rules many women generally aren’t. Let me explain.

Over the centuries, women have been treated as though they were not as important as men, yet they have been made to do the bulk of the work in many cultures. Now because they have had to do this work and manage things like families (people management), meagre budgets (fiscal skills) and be brave in the face of all kinds of attacks (condescending mechanics)many women have had to become strong and decisive. (I’m not talking about the idiots who behave as if to have a brain is unfeminine). So where has this left the men? With few leadership skills, squat by way of fiscal skills and unable to make decisions. So we end up with wusses.

This needs to change. We need to see ourselves as equals with different roles in some areas depending on our capabilities, preferences and in very few occasions our gender. We need to bring our kids up to think differently or we’ll be producing a bunch of wishy washy men with no cohones who will not be wanted by most women

Anyone who voted Tory should be beaten in the town square

To all of you who voted for the Tories and the Lib Dems because you felt we 'needed a change' - well I hope you're bloody happy! We are screwed!!!!!

These jokers will cut until we all bleed and then they'll cut some more. At the end of these five years the UK will be fifth world country unless we all make it clear we won't stand for it. I am not looking forward to the next few months. Those who suffer - and there will be many - will be forced into behaviour they would previously have eschewed.

I pray the government sees sense before the anarchy begins.

Sympathy for the men

Have a thought for this poor guy. A really funny film.

The Integrity of the X-Factor

People are complaining that using auto tune software on the X-Factor compromises the integrity of the show.

Hello . . . . . . ?

WHAT integrity?

Silly Season Again

So the X-Factor is on again this Saturday. Well, what do you think - will we get any actual singing, or any good singing this year?

One thing the programme does is highlight how many delusional people there are in the UK and how many mentally ill people there are. Especially the particularly disturbed people who come back year after year, clearly after not bothering to take any voice lessons. But then why would they? I was watching Cheryl Cole perform live at some concert a few months ago and it was embarrassing. She has a voice but she really needs to fine tune it and most of all strengthen it. She sounded like someone on the karaoke. Yet she's a successful 'singer.' If after all those years as a singer she doesn't feel she needs to vastly improve her singing then why would the people auditioning.

As a good example, take Rhianna. When she started out she had a terrible nasal voice bordering on the whining. Now, she can sing. Listen to that cheating song of hers vs. Russian Roulette. BIG difference. Now it's clear she has done some considerable voice work.

But for our Z list celebrity culture, talent is a minor consideration, if it is one at all. So sadly, I doubt we'll get much good singing tomorrow night.

Poor shouldn't mean thick

A story on the BBC website this past week states some stats saying that poorer kids are more likely to be killed or injured on the roads than richer kids. The argument is that richer kids have back gardens and parks to play in and are driven around in cars, whereas poorer kids have to play in the street.

I disagree. The problem is poorer parents don’t teach their kids sense – in this case, road sense. I have had this experience of a poorer area. There are several playing fields within a few yards, plus a central green, yet a certain bunch of kids decide to play in the street. In fact one set, saw me go into my car ready to go somewhere and at the moment I turned the key in the ignition, that is when they decide to run out into the street RIGHT BEHNIND MY CAR. And get this, their parents were standing right there watching them and they didn’t move a muscle to remove their kids. I had to wait until the cretin, moved out of the way which took a while. Now is money the issue here?

Hell no! Some people don’t want to admit it, because it is politically incorrect – but many poor people are at least remaining in their poverty because of their mindset and the attendant habits. And this goes to how they raise their kids.

All this talk of equality – the focus is on the wrong things. Producing more and more vehicles for poorer people to do all sorts will not work if un-progressive attitudes prevail. – and no, you don’t have to be privileged to be progressive. I read on the money saving website the other day that a grant of 10,000 laptops have largely remained unclaimed. They were earmarked for poorer people. And don’t talk about if it was publicised enough – if you are disadvantaged you should be looking out for what you can get. Lord knows those who aren’t do.

At a certain point – progress has to be down to the person who will benefit from the progress. Some people, sadly cannot be helped – not until they want the help.

Ensure all have access to relevant services and opportunities – after that it is survival of the fittest.

Making roads safer not the solution - making people teach their kids sense is!