Sunday, May 30, 2010

A New Day

Today lunch is simple: Pepper Pork, Rice and leftover Macaroni, my roommate will flip.

So I am posting some pics of work I have done over the years. Enjoy!


Re-Invent


Happy Lime


Clean up

These are on Sale:
Up to 8x10 Poster $12.00 USD

Email Me- lisamariebonaparte@hotmail.com to place your orders.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010


The Rain falls when it wants to...

And we just have to deal with it. The rain is welcomed these days for many reasons:

(1) WASA would stop complaining (for real, because that swimming pool issue was unfair)
(2) The rain cleared the sky of all the floating dust that made my sinus act up
(3)I don't have to sweep my white, glossy tiles twice a day, plus dust the entire place, and the bed
(4) The place is really cool, less flies, and I have not broken out into a sweat since 8:00 am

While the rain fell, I took up reading again, I started reading past National Geographic magazines, since I acquired quite a bit, and my roommate is fussing about my quantity of books. On a hunch, I gave away some to a family of six children who lived on a hill, along with some fashion magazines like Vogue and Instyle as well as Mad magazines. However, I do regret giving away my NatGeo, and those were the magazines they loved the most. So, I promised myself that if I head to NYC again with some money, I would gift them a NatGeo subscription. Why NYC, because I hate being suckered by merchants in this beautiful twin island of ours.

Today, lunch is all vegetarian, first time in a long time.

My favorite issues were the skin issue, the solar issue, the baby mammoth issue, and the issues about Myanmar, and other countries I have never thought of visiting. So, one day I will be able to get and gift NatGeo subscriptions.


A page taken from the Skin issue of Nation Geographic, which is certainly not copyrighted by me.

P.S. Did you know that there was an issue on Leatherback Turtles nesting sites in Trinidad and Tobago? Now you know and you heard it here first!

Saturday, May 22, 2010



Sticky Skin and Smelly Arms

So, as I am typing this up, I am totally and unequivocally sticky. I am so sticky that mosquitoes are not even trying to bite me. In this hot country of TnT, there is no way you should bathe less than once a day. Should I be saying, no less than twice a day? No, I mean no less than once a day.

Recently, I have noticed that some Trini's refuse to touch WATER in the morning. They claim it is too cold, or the bathroom ain't scrub, or there is a snake on the shower head. When they walk the streets of POS, they stink to high heaven, and their breath can cause the most rigid of Pitch Pine to bow down to the earth.

I bathe at least twice a day, sometimes three times if the sun threatens to give me a heat-stroke. In NYC, in the Autumn, I tried to bathe at least twice a day, but the 'biting' cold, forced me to abandon that thought. Don't laugh, what is normal Autumn for New Yorkers, is biting cold for hot-blooded Trinis.

Twice I did not bathe for one whole day, I rolled out of bed, smelled under my arms, satisfied, threw on my clothes, had my breakfast, and went to classes. I came home, took off my clothes, threw on my night gown, did my home work and went to sleep. Next morning, I got up, smelled under my arms, and immediately felt like a bum. This happened in the winter. Twice. It was so cold, a warm glass of water, froze in less than one hour. I knew, that I had to bathe. I was a practicing anti-winter-bath-Caribbean-New Yorker.

Then, it happened, the Itching Creep Monster. It comes up to you, it starts from your neck, then your chest, your hair on your head begins to tingle, behind your knee-caps there is a sweet itch, then your back begins to tremble, like you know on NatGeo, the Zebra in the hot Safari is nibbling on dry grass, and the camera zooms in on its hide and its shaking off the biting insects? Well, only that you are not a Zebra, but you begin to imagine insects crawling on your back. then the sweaty-stale smell of old day's deodorant begins to emerge... the grimy-green fumes threatening to burst out of your coat and expose you to the other people in the crowed bus, then that member begins to itch, the sweet potato between your thighs. You start doing the cha-cha in the bus, but you are like three blocks away from home. The Itching Creep Monster, piles on the pressure, your eyes start tearing up. You see yourself, wanting to tear off your clothes and make a naked bolt for your front door. Finally! You're home! You dash to the bathroom, and turn on the tap, *sigh* the warm water runs through your hair and skin, the Itching Creep Monster, admits defeat, until another anti-winter-bath-Caribbean-New Yorker mood hits you again, "Not this time BUSTER." You lather on soap on your skin. AAAaaaahhhhhhhh! That feels good.

Yet here I am, in in my sticky glory writing to you like an Anti-bath-Slug. Gotta go!

CafféLatté Magazine!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Something happened yesterday...

And I gave it thought, and I wonder do people really listen. Someone I knew, accused me of being a 'technical' racist. This is funny, because I actually run a blog celebrating interracial couples, CafféLatté Magazine©. I had to think deep within myself if this is so. Some-weeks ago we were driving from the airport, and I brought up the point as to why (in other words) she and her family look-down on certain people that they regularly deal with, she took offense to this and showed her disgust at me for such a question.

Now I must explain to you that Trinidad and Tobago is a haven of multi-cultures, multi-holidays, and really beautiful people of all races. Unfortunately, there are certain sectors of society that consider themselves better than the rest of the populace, this the person who considers herself a part of this sector of society. Personality wise, she is quite nice and is a good friend of my sister, but she at regular intervals makes insensitive comments, that seems to be downright inappropriate, most times it is about how a particular race of men, like her because of what she is, and personally, if you were to see her, you would disagree.

And so on the night of the airport drive, I frankly challenged her assertions by the question. In addition, I had a few awful personal experiences with this person and some of her family, so I was not about to have an uninformed conversation. As a matter of fact, I openly wondered that if you don't like someone because they look a certain way, but yet you still want to deal with them, what is the point in saying that you are their friend, if inside you don't feel for them, you are not genuine about it. Why bother, live your life and stay off the cocaine. Not everyone is perfect, but if you want to be a better person, you have to be the bigger person. As a human, there is only so much harsh and insensitive comments that you can take, there has to be a time when this must all come to an end.

So I challenged her, that what gives her the right to feel that she and her family could expect to look down on other people, strangling their identity, while she grows her own gray roses in the front lawn? She responded by getting upset, speeding, getting impatient and at the end of it all...asking for a hug (this was very Judas-like). My question was never answered, but yesterday I was accused of making racist statements. Huh? I received some scowling from her mother, and I knew then that I hit a very sensitive spot, and that she was upset. Anyone would be. I was very blunt and to the point, I was tactless and so I will apologize. And then I thought of the conversation, we were having in the car, and how she reiterated some very sarcastic comments, which I let go. However, she cried and spread lies, I simply thought nothing of the conversation after that night, considering she asked for a hug, and I gave her the hug, only to find out later that I am suddenly a 'closet racist'. So much so I was almost verbally 'spotlighted' by one of her in-laws, he asking me the question, "You have a problem with skin colour?!". Then I knew that this grew big, from an apple seed to a big ol' apple tree. And there were so many lying, rotting apples on that tree.

So, I wanted to post a story of an interracial couple that I had met, and I ended writing this diatribe, because it hurt, and now the person in question is not welcomed in my home any longer. She basically sat and crapped on my reputation, so to speak. She is a friend of my sister, whom I love so dearly, and I am apathetic to this 'friendship', but my younger sister is a grown woman and I should not get between she and her many friends. I am just my sister's quarterback.

Here's to a rough week, and a tall glass of icy cold milk.

Monday, May 17, 2010

A New Week

And, I need a new car. And I will take donations to buy a new one, thanks!

For all of you vintage folks I have posted more pics. And it would be really great which of the posted pics you would want to see in colour.


Old Fish market in San Fernando.


Park Street in Port of Spain. From the looks of this picture, I believe we are looking at the Abercrombie Street intersection.


Scarborough in Tobago. I really like this pic, because it makes Tobago look like old Bahamas.


Street Market in Port of Spain. This could be Charlotte Street.


Frederick Street intersecting Marine Square. Notice the 'short' Salvatori Building on your right, and your Corner Store on your left, which is now occupied by Scotia Bank.


BONUS!
Salvatori Building. Word on the street is that it was designed by a Swedish Company. You can find this pic here.

Friday, May 14, 2010


Bus Tickets and Skittles

Nothing beats skittles and water, Skittles are sweet and water is ...well, I guess just water.

Now don't get me wrong.

Water (clean and unadulterated), is beneficial to all life on earth, a very healthy gift from god. And its versatility is endless to almost infinity, you can boil it, freeze it, drink it, bathe in it, fill it in balloons and, water your plants. Now do that with a soda, and no you can't bathe in it. Whenever the word WATER is mentioned, the other word LIFE comes to mind. So DON'T WASTE IT!

Skittles. I don't care to know their history, because I am a part of their history. This candy will go on into the future as the best tasting candy known to man. Juicy, flavourful, firmly-soft, and comfortingly sweet and joyful, Skittles are indeed, hard to resist. So if I call you 'Skittles' you know, we are in bodow!

My fascination with Skittles started, when I could not afford it. It was $3.50 (TTD), when the other candy, including Large Tamarind Balls, were .50 cents (TTD), and $1 (USD) was about $5 (TTD). Now, today's 'tambran balls' pricing will be tackled in the future. My allowance was about, $2 (TTD), and I got it occasionally. In a nutshell, Skittles was out of my league. These days, I buy it and store it in my refrigerator, and when my fancy gets to me, I reach out and pop one of those 'rainbows' into my mouth.

Skittles and water are easy to carry around, I go to cinema, and I am watching TV, my skittles and water are there. I don't have it at work, because the chemistry does not match up. Its like Nelson Mandela and Adolf Hitler talking in a room, never will happen. (Actually I can see this happening, Mandela and Hitler trying to have a conversation on Family Guy).


Bus tickets are amazing little items. If you hold them too hard, they will crinkle as if you chewed them up. For this entire week, I traveled by PTSC buses...in style. No smelly people sat by me, no big bottoms dislocating my hip, and no sweaty/sticky moments, with sweat from the other person dropping onto my arms. Instead, air-condition, space, smiling bus drivers, and for the first time, school children who actually stayed in their seats, (except for one route in the west). Overall, I give PTSC two thumbs up. Also, no garbage, and no roaches. May I suggest that you go the way of the MTA in New York City, and issue Metrocards, this will be quite useful, because of those poor trees that are used to make bus ticket paper.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010


Lena Horne
June 30th, 1917 - May 9, 2010

I first saw Lena Horne on Sesame Street. I thought she was so beautiful, I said, " Mummy, that lady is pretty." Later, I overheard my mom, and an aunt discussing how amazed they were to find out that she is black. Black? like me? How could she be black? I wanted to look at the same episode to see this beautiful 'Black' lady. Thanks to TTT (the first TV station in Trinidad and Tobago) reruns, I was able to see Lena again, this time I searched for any traces of black, and found none, I thought, maybe they made a mistake.

Later, with the advent of 'internet' and 'information'. I found Lena again, she became an activist, she still sang, and her smile was as radiant as my crispy white school shirts in the sun. Mrs. Horne's smile made my day. If I felt down and out, and bing and bang, I would remember her smile, or "googled" it, and somehow everything felt positive.

If you were to tell me, that she hated racism, and she called herself black, I would sputter on a glass of water. She could simply "pass" and call it a day, but like Moses, a Hebrew growing up in the house of a Pharaoh, Lena called herself black. I know some folks who are black, and for the life of me, they don't even come remotely close to Lena in looks, yet they call themselves white. Fascinating!

Did you know that at one point she grew frustrated with Hollywood? In Brian Lanker's Book, I dream a world: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America, she said, : "I was always battling the system to try to get to be with my people. Finally, I wouldn't work for places that kept us out...it was a damn fight everywhere I was...all over the world." Turns out, Lena became seeming aloof, so that people would not get to close to her to hurt her feelings.

Well, I don't want to continue to saddle this post with the perils and frustrations of what Lena really had to go through, so I'll sum it up: She was never a Tragic Mulatto, nor did she let Hollywood keep her down, she learned to love herself, she smiled her dazzling smile, became an activist against racism, stayed classy and firm, kept her chin up, sang her songs with her magnificent voice, and lived to a very ripe age. And you know what? As she grew older, she just got better, like fine wine.

A very touching link:

Saturday, May 8, 2010



SURPRISE!!!!!

I added some colour to the first pic, if I feel fancy or by request I may add more later.
Priceless Photos

Are you ready for it? I have some pictures of old St. James main road and one colour photo of Frederic Street. In addition, a picture of the old Scarlet Ibis Hotel, I understand that where this building used to be, the Emerald Plaza building is now standing. So you saw them here first, enjoy!


Frederick Street. If only I could get a picture of East Dry River.


Old St James main Road


Lower Frederick Street, perhaps 1960's



Hotel Scarlet Ibis. Architecturally speaking, this design is geometrically stunning.


This looks like Belmont.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Port of Spain and environs pictures.

I bet I don't even have to name these, you should be able to instantly recognize them.


Independence Square or Marine Square.


Independence Square.


This is next to Beacon Insurance on Independence Square.


Balandra, Toco.


Queens Park Savannah. Is it even possible that this Saaman tree is still standing?

Thursday, May 6, 2010

More old Trinidad and Tobago pics to gawk over.

Of course I do not have the copyrights to these images, if you know someone who knows about these pics, send us a line.








Lady Young Road?


Henry Street.

Sunday, May 2, 2010


More Old Photos of Trinidad and Tobago

First and foremost, in an effort to curb the unabomber mosquitoes under my table I am burning a mosquito repellent coil, but guess what? I just burned my toes, ow!

So, I found my cache of found photos on old Trinidad & Tobago. Again, I do not own the copyright on these, but if you know someone who has these, I would love to interview them.

Enjoy!


Queens Park Hotel then, BP Amoco now.


This might be in St. Clair.


While this looks like Barataria, it might be either Picton or Woodford Street in Newtown.


Central Bank in Port of Spain. (with free parking too!)


This is one of the wider streets in Port of Spain. My guess is either Park or Richmond Street.