Jazz Katz and Manifesto's Art

Thanks to my old friend, saxophonist Kevin Bonfield, for restoring the tradition of the sidewalk performer on Knutsford Boulevard. Kevin's been around the block a few times, and seen the best and (more often) worst of life, but he keeps a bright outlook and an endearing humility which caused me, like others threading the Friday afternoon jam in New Kingston, to stop and give him a listening ear. Fellow saxman Conrad Pinnock was also out there lending moral support.

later, just ahead of the now obligatory late afternoon downpour, we found ourselves at Bookophilia, where preparations were well underway for the "Artical Exposure" event being mounted by activist group Manifesto Jamaica (see them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ManifestoJA?ref=ts&v=app_4949752878)Despite our best intentions we missed the musical vibes, but we caught sight of some pretty interesting artwork, which we share with you here.

Good thingz are happening around the city - you have to open your eyez.

Museum Crawl II: Much more music

A funny thing happened on the way to the screening.

Having gotten a lift form my friend, musicologist Herbie Miller, our conversation inevitably turned to music matters and to the stuff he's presently doing at the nascent Museum of Jamaican Music(JAMM). It wasn't long before the proverbial "bing!" went off in my head and I took the opportunity to postpone my film screening date (see www.mikethemovies.blogspot.com) and take stock of what the JAMM had to offer.
What a great move. From the casually posed horns of the late Don Drummond and Johnny "Dizzy" Moore (see www.drummondbook.blogspot.com), to uncountable stacks of LPs, 45s and 78s from virtually every musical era and diverse corners of the globe.

there's also a (sadly) damaged Victrola record player (truly beautiful)and an upright bass used during the performance of the Skatalites at the fabled Blue Monk (which Miler owned) the venue which also hosted legends such as Max Roach, Dexter Gordon and many others.

Then to cap off, there's the in-office exhibit of instruments, posters and other documents and memorabilia outlining the story of Jamaican music from the Tainos to the present.

A true national treasure if ever there as one.

Polish, Take II

Finally, after some glitches, we have the next set of photos form Warsaw

Dzień dobry (that's good day in Polish)

City to City: Kingston(via Mandeville) "Tech" Warsaw

The recent Digicel Blackberry Symposium provided the opportunity to meet the members of the successful NCU IT team that did so well at the recent Microsoft competition in Warsaw Poland.
But of course, Turbo D was not so much interested in the bits and bytes but in the sights of the Polish capital and thanks to team member Dwayne Samuels, we have a few cultural highlights to share with you as our "Irie Polacks" helped pay tribute to the late Polish President(who died in that awful airline crash) mingled with the locals and otherwise enjoyed the best of Central Europe.

[Mega]Bits & Bites

The weekend was a busy one, what with the culmination of Digicel's 4G campaign and other hi-profile events around town. Still Turbo D found time to take in a little native cooking, thanks to Virginia Burke of Walkerswood fame.

Over at the Wyndham, it was Digicel dominance, as the ballroom opened up for the 2K10 edition of the Consumer electronics show. There was 4G everywhere and also the usual gaming and garden-variety technology peripherals and accessories.

innovation and genuine "wow!" were in short supply, and also the room was unusually hot, which made viewing somewhat uncomfortable, but this, as organizers pointed, was a rebuilding year. So let's see what 2011 brings. our pics tell the weekend's story better

CES 2010 about to "power up"

All systems are go for this year's edition of the Digicel Consumer Electronics Show at the Wyndham (formerly the Hilton) in Kingston this weekend. The show opens to the public 10:00 am Saturday and Sunday and will feature the latest in gadgets and service products, including Digicel's new Wi-Max 4G Broadband internet.

Living the BlackBerry Life

Share|

Digicel, RIM BlackBerry helps users CUT THROUGH THE CLUTTER

Keep It Simple Stupid.
That four-word phrase has become a mantra in the digital era, as persons struggle with managing information from multiple sources and maximizing their productivity while achieving a suitable balance of work and life.
The growing Digicel BlackBerry family in Jamaica got some very useful help in that regard, as Digicel Business, in association with RIM, makers of BlackBerry, presented a one-day symposium at the Wyndham hotel in Kingston. Dubbed “Connect With the Experts: Thinking Outside the Inbox” more than lived up to its dual title, offering cutting edge information to BlackBerry users at all levels and interests.
The sizeable gathering heard from a diverse field of presenters covering topics from BlackBerry integration with desktop phones, security for BlackBerry, creating apps and managing sales and service teams with BlackBerry.
The presenters, while uniformly knowledgeable in their respective topic areas, distinguished themselves with varying styles and modes of engaging the audience. Jim Drobnick, of the named Otterbox, makers of a variety of covers for Blackberry devices, did a dance, while the equally effervescent John Durst of sales team management software maker Sales NOW used a combination of personal anecdotes and a “poker game” (in which audience members received playing cards for correctly answering questions as he went along) to keep persons keen on the content. Given the power of the technology, live demos were also the order of the day.
And despite the time constraints inherent in bringing such a stellar “lineup” to bear on a one-day event, the presenters were all extremely approachable and anxious to share their time and knowledge with participants outside of their set times, as did Guillermo Döring, Application Development Consultant for RIM, who not only took time to speak with participants but actively captured information with a view to spurring the creation of a BlackBerry App developer group locally.
One presentation which attracted more than the usual level of audience attention was that from Dane Spencer, of Smart Mobile Solutions, who spoke in vivid detail about the BroadAxe personal security feature offered by his company in partnership with security firm Hawkeye. The feature allows the BlackBerry to function like a panic button alert device. Alerts are tracked using a combination of GPS and triangulation (drawing from various cell transmission tower signals) and response – as Spencer handily demonstrated at the seminar – is within minutes, depending of course on the location.
By any measure, persons attending the Connect With the Experts seminar would have left with a high level of satisfaction regarding the investment of their time, and feel ready to take their utilization of the industry-leading BlackBerry technology to even greater levels.
The seminar will move on to Montego Bay and Mandeville in the coming days.

To Eden and Back

Of course, this blog remains committed to unearthing, covering and reinterpreting the happenings in and around Kingston, but let's face it, the energy field in the capital can be a bit overwhelming at times.

The perfect antidote is the parish of Portland (incorporating some of St Thomas) - if not the Biblical Eden, then certainly a reasonable facsimilie. From bodysurfing the foamy crests at Long Bay (maybe the best beach in the island) to enjoying a coconut in the vicinity of Reach Falls (we opted for a less crowded tributary), there's something in the almost dazzling richness of the physical environment that enables one to forget the pressing cares of 21st Century life and just....be (no metaphysics here, its just the simple act of being alive)

But, all good things end, and so our brief reverie over (I've posted a few pics) we return to the frenetic pace and cosmopolitan variety that we also need.
Yin and Yang.
enjoy all that our city has to offer, but take a break every now and then

Museum Crawl: Cuddyz Keeps the Reggae Boyz Dream alive

12 years old.
That's how old you'd be now if you were born during the historic World Cup Tournament appearance by Jamaica's Reggae Boyz football team.

Even though we're yet to duplicate the feat, we're still better than quite a few footballing nations, Coca-Cola rankings notwithstanding.

As part of its display of sports memorabilia, Cuddyz (named after - and started by - cricketing great Courtney Walsh, for our international and uninitiated readers) has a autographed copy of one of the the Reggae Boyz jerseys (obviously not this one). We'll have more details on this and other memorabilia displays in our next edition of TD.

Grandmasters Part II: Clash of the Chess Clubs

As we continue our look into the development of local chess, organizer Adrian Palmer gave us this bit on Friday's upcoming finale of his Gifted Chess series for the summer.
"Chess has become the game of choice of the younger generation," Palmer says. here's hoping he's right and that more will come to appreciate it.

Musuem Crawl

Look out for our Museum and heritage Crawl
Starting in August
Featuring:

• The Military Museum
• The Coin & Money Museum
• Museum of Jamaican Music
• Bob Marley Museum
• RJR/radio Museum
• Institute of Jamaica
• Cuddyz Sports memorabilia