Your Moment & Interview

School days are the best days. It is there we cultivate long-lasting friendships or bitter enemies. However, we may choose to forget the past and move on to something better. Today, I have the honour of posting the interview of one of my former classmates, Mary-Ann Brailey. A Trini callaloo individual with a vivacious smile, an elegant bone structure, and a deep love for culture, who is also a graphic designer, video director and a budding Anti-Child abuse activist, CafféLatté magazine© took the opportunity to drag the mother of one to discuss what goes on in her mind and keeps her determination to continue making creative strides.


 Working with her husband, Orlando Dinchong, they meld their creative vibes to create and push for a different type of advertising and video editing techniques. Ensuring that the finished product sets a minimum standard on which they can build their platform to better creative networking.

Mary-Ann Brailey

Q: Briefly, what is the nature of your business and what do you do?

A: I am in the creative business. I do graphic design for all print media. I also partner with my husband in video production as well as CG (computer generated) 3D animation.

Q: What is your current state of mind right now?

A: My current state of mind…hmmm…I am currently very upset about the recent reports of child abuse – it’s something that has been bothering me tremendously and just recently I said to myself, "there must be some way I could help", not completely sure how, but I cannot sit back and not contribute something…even if it’s small…for now.

Q: Who/What influenced you to go into graphic design, and videography?

A: Well, I have always been a lover of art in all its forms and in 2000 I acquired a position as an assistant curator for the gallery 1.2.3.4. There, I worked under Ronald Joseph, who became a very dear friend to me…he was actually the one who got me involved in graphic design, having many years of experience in advertising, he taught me all he knew, and to this day I am still learning. In 2001, my husband decided we should start our own business in video production, but especially focusing on 3D animation. As years went by we taught ourselves and practiced, practiced, practiced and we were able to identify our strengths and become better. It was hard in the early years, as I think people weren’t ready for animation on that level, I was even told that by several senior members in two ‘big’ media houses. So with much rejection, we decided to lay low. We did get a few jobs by word of mouth, and after awhile our clients grew. Now, we have decided to come out and advertise…we will see how it goes.

Q: I see that you mention Pat Bishop a lot, how did you two meet?

A: I met Pat in 2001 at the gallery where we were hosting one of her exhibitions. We didn’t really become friends till 2004, when I started working at the Carnival Institute of Trinidad and Tobago. There she saw our work in animation and video production, and soon after became our biggest client. Pat was gifted in seeing other people’s gifts and she made sure you became great at your gifts. She was an inspiration, a motivator and she loved animation. She was many things, a normal meeting with her and you guaranteed to learn something. 

Q: What are some of the projects that you have done, on TV, magazines, or in the newspapers?

A: My husband and I have completed several animated TV ads. Our biggest challenge was the CEPEPER campaign. We have done video production for Wonderful World, the Carnival Institute just to name a few. I have been doing TUCO’s yearly carnival congratulations full page advert for the past 3 years. I recently started work with the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Guide, I did the cover for their 10th Anniversary edition.

Q: What was the best thing that has ever happened to you in your life?

A: The best thing that has ever happened to me…I have several…but I will say my family, the knowledge I have acquired from working with Pat and mostly knowing our creator.

Q: What are your other hidden talents?

A: My other talents are photography, I have about 8 years experience in event and stage management, I am also a mother, wife and career woman.

Q: If you had one wish that could come true, what would it be? And if possible, who would it be with?

A: A huge, huge house with a gigantic garden with a secret garden and trees, flowers and mazes for my family and I.

Q: Throughout history, some folks have experienced the ups and downs of life, and as a result they said a quote(s). What is your favorite quote, who said it, and how does it apply to you?

A: I have a few favourite quotes, but these days I have been saying this one in my head over and over: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” – Martin Luther King. Jr.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I am currently working on a few things, getting our company out there. My husband and I are working on a film and I am helping my friend start up a small organization where its soul purpose, is to bring more awareness to people and children on ‘child abuse’.

Q: If you have a comment for CafféLatté magazine, what would it be?

A: CafféLatté Magazine© is always a great, great read, the stories are always interesting and the way it is written makes you want to read more. I look forward to the magazine growing into something even greater in years to come…it has my full support.

Thank you so much Ms. Brailey, we hope to see more of you in the future!

2012©LisaMarieBonaparte

# Jeroen Wismans interview

A reflection of Other People's Love

I try not to be a romantic person, because I can be very sappy to the point that I annoy myself. The enjoyment of crushes is just enough to satisfy that nothing is wrong with me, and I could move on from there. The process of meeting someone, getting to know that person, putting up with all kinds of stuff, and then realizing you want to get married is too long for me, I am rather impatient and will not want to get too emotional, because of the annoying sappy factor involved.

Then there is Ryan and Bethany.

You ever wonder what makes people fall in love. I always wonder about it. And if I see two people courting, I doubt weather they are really in love. Bethany is now a widow, she has been married to Ryan for six weeks before a rare form of cancer came and took him away. I do not know them personally, but yet I feel compelled to say something, because, well some folks get married for money, to show off on others, to receive gifts, to, I don't know, get their groove going. Somehow, there was something special about this couple, the pics, the videos, the family life, while I figured they were not perfect, there is some sort of a solid relationship on both sides among the family. Forget the American Dream, and the well, lack of diversity, but look at the reality, and rawness of the Love and support shown, and surrounding this couple as the Bride and Groom make a public commitment before each other, not knowing when his body becomes ravaged by such a dreadful disease.

What is it like to die? I can't help you there, but I do know that those who are dead now, will live again. John 5:28 states that, "the hour is coming, in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice." Sometimes, the pain and finality of death makes us go into shock, and seeing such a young couple coping with cancer shows how much people need to look past what this world has to offer.

I am heading to Tobago to get some r and r. I'd rather do that than go St.Anns.

2012©LisaMarieBonaparte

Your Moment and Interview

Do you remember the illustrative portrait of the Wismans? I was finally able to get an interview with Mr. Wismans during his busy schedule. So take a moment and read what he has to say, I am sure you would love it. And don't forget to leave a comment or question about the interview. 

Q: Where are you from and what school/college/University did you go to?
A: Rotterdam, The Netherlands & I studied sculpture, architecture and product design at the Art Academy

Q:  Who/What brought you to our Twin-Island Republic?

A: I fell in love with an extra-ordinary Trini woman on this beautiful island and so I came.

Q:  What is your current state of mind right now?

A: I am designing a series of interior products. I am projecting expressionistic, self-made camouflage like patterns, in rigorous, and massive geometric shapes. This I do to make an almost perfect balance. Shifting with shapes to make complex, though, serene designs is my goal. It's quite a challenge because of the different outcomes, only 5% survives.

Q:  What type of Art/Design are you into?

A: Finding ones own identity in a faster globalizing world is like running blindfolded in ever changing labyrinth. Though, in this post-modern times, one needs to find ones position in the world.

In my work I try to find a universal style. I take patterns, trends and discoveries I find on my research from all over the world, from all ages and eclectically reflect them on my work. I think you could say I am an expressionist as well as a minimalist.

Q:  What awards have you won in the Nederland/Netherlands?

A: My biggest achievement, is that I won an architecture prize out of 94 contestants. The challenge was to come up with a new concept for a stone brick and using it within a nature resort in the Netherlands. I used this brick and made it into a gigantic meandering nestlike building which functions as a hotel, restaurant and a museum for WNF. This absurd huge nestlike building in time becomes green of algae and dissolves within the environment.

Q: Five years from now what can we expect from you in terms of Art/Design? 

A: I am working on a show for the end of the summer where I will present my ideas of architecture, interior design and sculptures. I will blow up my sculptures into buildings. I think I need another 3 lifetimes for all I want to do: Writing graphic novels, traveling the earth, and making photo documentaries, plus opening a cute little restaurant, maybe even starting a carnival band.

Q: If you were to tell someone about the Netherlands, someone who has never been there, what would you tell them about life there, and the people? 

A: Life here, in Trinidad, is very different. In the Netherlands, everything is so structured and captured in protocols and rules one desires for bacchanal. Here in Trinidad, the opposite is true. It is warm and nature here is extra-ordinary. There are a lot of nice galleries, museums and theaters. Everyone is free to decorate their houses here in Trinidad which results in beautiful patterns. People are less jealous in The Netherlands of each other, and ones race doesn't matter.

The Wismans

Q:  What about places of interest to visit in the Netherlands and what food to try?

A: I don't like the obvious tourist spots. If you want to really experience something special in Holland, go Friesland, where there are a lot of lakes, nature & birds, 1000 years of boat history, and typical Dutch cows. Or in the far south, visit the ancient Maastricht where the newest Parisian fashion meets medieval, and eat a raw herring waffle and an old cheese sandwich.

Q: What would you tell your Dutch friends about Trinidad and Tobago?

A: Best place to party and enjoy nature and a lot of very nice people. I would advise them to balance their time in Trinidad & Tobago, I find Trinidad's nature more beautiful than Tobago's.

Q: Is this your first Carnival? How was it for you? What about the dialect, etc.

A: I really saw a lot of interesting costumes, bikini mass bores me after a while. I really enjoyed all the expression of the people. Since I have been living here for a year, I can understand the dialect by now.

Q:  What is your favorite dish in Trinidad and Tobago? And where is your favorite 

spot?

A: Stewed pork with macaroni pie, mhmmm. The whole of the North coast of Trinidad is my favorite spot. It's energizing.

Q:  If you have a comment for CafféLatté magazine, what would it be?

A: Keep on doing the good work Lisa, love your blog!

Thank you Mr. Wismans for Your Moment and Interview with CafféLatté magazine and I look forward to more of your work in the near future.

#See here for Shelly-Anne Gregory's interview in February

Life is Important

Today I was reading up on some info.

Lately, I have been having some pain in my breast, mostly on my right breast, I am a bit scared but eventually I will have to take a breast exam, I have already taken a physical self-exam, and I don't feel any lump or anything, but I do feel some pain. I assume its from the bone in the bra, or the share weight of the breast. If anything I will keep you posted.

Today, I found a website of an organization. The photographer takes photos of women who bare all their scars from the surgery to rid themselves of breast cancer. As a result you can see the fight they put up with just to survive, I can't imagine the painful healing that they must have had to endure. Just a little note: Your breasts are a very sensitive organ, with it, you are stimulated sexually, and they also function as a means of delivering one of the most nutritious liquid ever created: Breast milk. I can't even get started on how effective breast milk really is to growing children. In fact, I have observed that the healthiest children are the ones who drink only breast milk, as opposed to 'baby food'.... Ahhh another time for that, but you are going to have to wait a long time. The pics on the website are hauntingly beautiful, and several times I clutched my breast, thinking, 'What if'?  I think you should have a look, but only do it as a mature person, open your mind and just let the images speak to you.

The SCAR Project

2012©LisaMarieBonaparte

Simple Quotes

Some of us simply talk too much. Locally, we call it "Run yuh mouth!" I will give it a science name Runyomouitis. It is a term used to describe a condition that affects the majority of us. It can happen in happy or angry moments. However, I think it would be best used for sad moments, because talking out your problems can help you.


The following is some quotes I found on the internet. They are pretty simple to understand and they don't take up much space. Some of them are pretty hilarious. I am starting off with one of my most favourite persons, Eleanor Roosevelt. She may not be a beauty queen, but in my book she can win the crown on brains, bravery, and loyalty. I am referring to the the person Eleanor Roosevelt, and not the politics.


In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.
Eleanor Roosevelt


I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou


We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot.
Eleanor Roosevelt


We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don’t know.
W.H. Auden


Hollywood is the only place you can wake up in the morning and hear the birds coughing in the trees.
Joe Frisco


She doesn’t not understand the concept of Roman numerals. She thought we just fought World War Eleven.
Joan Rivers


Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at it destination full of hope.
Maya Angelou


Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized.
Albert Einstein


It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
Confucius

It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.
Maya Angelou


Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
Confucius



Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.
Muhammad Ali



And no, we don't know where it will lead. We just know there's something much bigger than any of us here.
Steve Jobs



Taken from Wikipedia: 
When a well-known Washington senator was discovered to have been having an affair with a young woman less than half his age, Alice Roosevelt Longworth (italics ours) quipped, "You can't make a soufflé rise twice."



There are so many quotes in the world, and there is only so much CafféLatté magazine can put. I hope these have perked you up in some way.


2012©LisaMarieBonaparte

CafféLatté magazine main focus this year

Well, this year I am hoping to focus on the one topic that really made me start this blog in the first place. Yes, interracial marriages/relationships. I am still going to be giving interviews and I still going to review movies and share experiences, but the focus always was interracial marriages/relationships. As CafféLatté magazine is heading into its third year, I think its time.

What is lovely is that I found some videos on YouTube of interracial marriages, and if these couples do not mind, I would love to showcase them here, if they do, please leave me a message and I will remove the videos. They are shown here for appreciation and not criticism.

As a little bonus, I will add my very first illustration based on a photo that made me head in the IR relationships direction. I think the photo was taken by a guy named Walker, and it was done when I was studying for my degree. We had to make the magazine as real as possible, so this was my result, I even did another version, where I was able to get three experiences, such was the support maintained ever since.

Here is the last version:

Lovely. And here are the lovely videos I got on YouTube, I do not hold the rights, they are held by their respective owners. Thanks!

The only problem is I am not getting much mix of other races. I will keep searching and see what other variations I can get. Ok I got one:

If you have some more videos and would like to post, let me know.
2012©LisaMarieBonaparte

A Monas Island Wedding Part 2

Well as promised, the pics of the Monos Island Wedding on October 15th, 2011. You may remember the shout out to Mr. and Mrs. Happel. Here are some other photos of the celebration.

I shot with a small camera which was easy to place in my purse. And given the salt and sand-blast, I thought it would have been a better choice. Don't forget to leave your comments and enjoy!

The Wismans

Moi

The Bride

The Groom

The Bride's brother walked her

The beautiful Bride

The proud Groom

Technology at work

2012©LisaMarieBonaparte

Local Musician dies over The Weekend

I couldn't sleep so I decided to read the news. It just so happen that I found out that Jah Jah has passed away. I got the News from the Trinidad & Tobago Newsday. Do you remember I did a function at the Queens hall last year? Well, Ja Jah Oga Onilu, the father passed away. He has a CD out and they were selling at the function, I did not have the money and the music was natural and beautiful. I will look for it to show you here.


Here is the picture of the late Ja Jah Oga Onilu, and his two sons, Baba Onilu and Modupe Onilu of Jewels of Nature.

Ja Jah Oga Onilu in the bright red head covering with his two sons

2012©LisaMarieBonaparte