Rihanna has got to stop

I'm having a hard time reconciling the sweet, demure Rihanna who comes home from time to time with the wannabe 'vixen' who parades around in ridiculous costumes while performing around the world. Is this her evil twin? Sigh.





Rihanna performing last weekend at a concert in London

Photos: www.ybf.blogspot.com

One in a million

I'm a little late with this but January 16th would have been the 28th birthday of one of my fave R&B artistes, Aaliyah Dana Haughton. As you might recall, Aaliyah perished in a plane crash in the Bahamas on August 25, 2001 at the age of 22. Her long string of hits belied her tender age and just before her death she was on the verge of breaking out on the big screen in the Matrix sequels, having already starred in the popular movies Romeo Must Die and Queen of the Damned.
As a tribute, here are some photos of the talented Aaliyah. Sleep well, Baby Girl.

Red carpet rules

Hi all. On Monday night I watched the 2007 Barbados Music Awards and while the production had a few hiccups it was generally well organised. Ronnie Morris and his team can only get better as time goes on. We hope. Anyhoo, while watching the gold carpet arrivals I decided to come up with some red/gold/green/whatever carpet rules....
(1) The red carpet should be restricted to persons who are easily recognisable or famous for some reason. I know this isn't Hollywood but if show organisers are going to go all elitist and put down a red/gold carpet, then only the 'stars' and their dates should be on it.
(2) Outfits should never, ever match the carpet. Got that, Contone???
(3) If you don't want people to look at you, then stay off the darn carpet.
(4) The red carpet arrival begins when the limo pulls up. Ladies, please learn how to exit a vehicle properly. Even Victoria wants to keep some secrets.
(5)Persons conducting red carpet interviews need to prepare properly or they will be embarrassed. Especially if they ask the Prime Minister what he's 'wearing'.
(6)Again interviewers, if persons on the carpet don't know who they're 'wearing', please move on.
(7) If you don't know who the heck you're 'wearing', don't make up a name or say 'I got it in Paris', trying to pretend it's haute couture. You know you bought it off the rack like everyone else!
(8) A red carpet event connotes glamour and elegance; persons on the carpet should not be attired in Crop Over or Halloween outfits.
(9)If you don't want persons to see who you're with at the event, then don't take him/her on the red carpet!
(10)The red carpet is not the place to show the world what a 'pimp' you are. Take one date at a time, not four. And see rule number 7.

Anyhoo, they say a picture is worth a thousand words so here're two fashion don'ts right here.

US politics heating up

The upcoming primary elections in the US will probably the most exciting in history! I can't wait to see who the Democrats choose to lead them into the 2008 Presidential elections, a woman or an African American man. Of course, they may decide to go with someone else...who knows.
Tell me what you think...is America ready to be run by Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton or Senator Barack Obama?

Photo of Obama: www.illinoischannel.org
Photo of Clinton: www.muzix.org

How times have changed!

Hope everyone had a great Errol Barrow weekend. I haven't gone down to Independence Square to check out the new statue of the National Hero yet, but it sure looked great on television.
So, what a long way we've come on the entertainment front! I remember it was just the other day persons of different ethnicities were overlooked for Oscar nominations and how pleasantly surprised most of us were when Denzil Washington and Halle Berry were awarded. Racial diversity seems to be in at such awards lately and the Oscar nominations are no different.
This morning the Oscar nominations were announced and Will Smith

and Forest Whitaker


were nominated for Best Actor for The Pursuit of Happyness and The Last King of Scotland respectively.
Eddie Murphy was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Dream Girls


and Jennifer Hudson for Best Supporting Actress for the same film.


Special mention also goes to Djimon Hounsou, nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Blood Diamond, and Rinko Kikuchi, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Babel. The Oscars will be aired on Feb. 25.
Good luck to them all!

Pics: www.ybf.blogspot.com

Weekend wrap-up

What are we going to do with some of these young people around here? Lord, help us all.
Click here for story



Oprah is tops again in the list of the richest women in entertainment. Go Oprah!




This weekend we will be celebrating the contribution made by National Hero, the Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow to the development of this country. Go check out unveiling of his statue in Independence Square on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Have a great weekend and a happy holiday!

The Dream continues

Well, the Golden Globes took place last night and what a night it was for the movie Dreamgirls! Jennifer Hudson took home the award of Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.


Eddie Murphy beat out the likes of Brad Pitt, Jack Nicholson and Ben Affleck to win Best Supporting Actor.


Dreamgirls won Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy.


Stellar actor and director Forest Whitaker won Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) for his chilling portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. The icing on the cake for me was that it all took place on Martin Luther King Day!


Pix: www.ybf.blogspot.com

Sir Allen Stanford is smart

Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Garfield Sobers and Sir Allen Stanford sign autographs at the Stanford 20/20 Match in Antigua in July 2006

I wonder how long it will take before Caribbean Governments realise that yet again they've been left holding the bag, so to speak. I thought by now they would have realised that owning an airline is a good way to go broke. Butch Stewart saw the light a few years ago, and so has Sir Allen Stanford.

Click here for story

Picture courtesy of Cricinfo

The matter with Macy

I'm sure most of you by now would have heard about singer Macy Gray's 'blue notes' at the Barbados Jazz Fesival last night. The story even ended up on entertainment blogs around the world. I don't plan on rehashing what other people have said so far; the Market Vendor made enough good points this morning. I wasn't even going to comment on the matter at all, until I saw this comment in today's Nation Newspaper by the incensed producer of the Barbados Jazz FestivaL, Gilbert Rowe:
"This country stands for propriety, decency and adherence to the law. This community prides itself on being a Christian society and we do not take it lightly."
My heart burned a little when I read that statement, because I'm not so sure this is the case anymore in our country. I'm not going to list our societal ills, I'm not going to rant and rave. I'm just begging all of us to stop the hypocrisy and let's really examine ourselves. Have a good weekend, all!

Rihanna to present at Grammys'

Rihanna will join a large group of celebrities slated to present awards at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, to be held on February 11th. Other presenters include singer Pink, Oscar nominated actor Terrence Howard and one of my fave actors, Samuel L. Jackson. Hopefully Rihanna will be in winner's circle at the Grammys' one day soon.

BMA Pix Pt. 2

Here are some more of the BMA photos, courtesy of www.bajandancehall.com. Speaking of that website, I would suggest that all parents and guardians of teenagers check out that site and www.kadooment.com to see what young people get up to these days. It's a bit scary, but you need to see it. So that the next time your kids say they're going to 'a little party at Club X or Y', you're in a better position to judge if you want them to go. Now on with the pix....

This guy was Bajan to de bone


Sometime singer 'Peewee' Estwick was nicely coordinated with his date


It must hurt that 60+ Betty West pulled this style off better last year...


Magnet Man dressed down a bit this year


This outfit looked great...for bed


Soca sensation Shontelle looked lovely


Not a bad dress, but not quite sure about it on her. And is that Dale Miller from the Water Authority?


One of my favourite outfits of the night. Pure class


I see Alice was late getting to Wonderland...


The freaks do come out at night...


Pure confidence in every step


Shiny and shimmery seemed to be the order of the night


Shades of Sheena Queen of the Jungle. The abs were fantastic though

Barbados Music Awards

As many of you know, the second Barbados Music Awards were held last Friday at the Wildey Gymnasium. Rihanna took home many of the top prizes, as expected. But the night belonged to many persons, who strutted their stuff on the gold carpet for the local and regional 'paparazzi'. (I cringed when I saw that word being used to describe our local photographers.) Anyway, here are some of the pix from the gold carpet, as promised. To see a more extensive gallery, you can log on to www.bajandancehall.com.

Soca powerhouses Allison and Edwin made an interesting couple


'Entertainer' Contone didn't clean up too badly, though it's never a good idea to match the carpet...


98.1 Fm deejay Hurricane had one of the more risque dresses of the night


Soca artiste Keann looked cute


Singer Kim Derrick was loud and proud


Soca diva Kimberley Inniss was surprisingly (but refreshingly) tame in her choice of attire...at least from the front


Peta Alleyne was bold and beautiful


I don't know who Tejay is but this was not the wisest choice for the gold carpet


Maybe she's part of the entertainment....


I'm not quite sure what look she was going for...


This lady took her matching seriously


Jazz singer, the always elegant Rosemary Phillips


More tomorrow!

Pics courtesy of www.bajandancehall.com