De VSOA (aka de Barack Obama Show)
Yuh know ah cyah help but maco ...... so while macoin dis morning ...... I came across a few blogs ...... highlightin dey lil summit observations so far ...... and ...... I eh tryin tuh be follow fashion or nuttin ..... but ah jus couldn't help but put in meh two cents too ......
DE NON-CEREMONIAL ARRIVAL (OF OBAMA)
- So dey tie we up ..... yeah ..... dey tell we dat Obama landin 4:00 pm .... when in trute an' in fact ..... dey did know all along dat he was really comin in before dat ..... fuh security reasons ...... dey couldn't reveal de real time ...... Air Force 1 landed at exactly 3:20 pm .....
- Where was the red carpet fuh Obama tuh walk on ....
- Where was de guard salute (da'is what yuh does call dat?) .....
- Where was the Prime Minister tuh greet Obama ..... I jus figure dat because dis whole ting was startin tuh play off like de Barack Obama show ..... dat we PM woulda at least be dey in de front row ..... first tuh welcome de man ....
- Where was all de fireworks and fanfare expected ..... when Obama was comin off de plane ...... I didn't even realise was THE man runnin down de steps ...... by heself ..... wit nobody around him .....
- and talkin bout not realisin ting ...... I doh tink people realise dat other leaders came in too ..... yeah ..... there were other leaders who came in de same time as Obama ..... and altho THEY got a red carpet ..... it didn't matter ......
- Obama very calmly and inconspicuously ran down de steps ..... off de plane ..... shake ah few hands ..... jump eeeeen de FAKE BEAST ...... i.e. de same one dat Trinis swear was fake ...... and calmly drove out de airport .....
- Apparently he didn't pull down de shades on the car windows either ...... so de supposed hundreds of people who lined de highway wit dey cameras ...... coulda actually get ah lil glimpse of him ......
- And ..... tuh reiterate how nobody seemed tuh care about de other leaders in de airport ..... dey (de TV) kept reverting tuh re-runs of Obama's arrival ..... and tuh scenes of his car speedin down de highway etc etc ...... twas like ..... tuh hell wit de ress ah dam yes ..... Obama reach ..... Obama da man!!!
DE OPENING CEREMONY
- Which we had tuh watch on TV ..... started off wit de entrance of all de Heads ...... so everybody walkin eeeeen ..... one by one ...... each escorted by ah man (army/police??) holding their country's flag ...... and as each name is announced ..... yuh will hear ah lil applause ..... den ..... all of ah sudden ...... yuh jus start tuh hear real noise and real clapping ...... yep ...... Barack Obama was on his way out ..... mind you ...... he name eh call yet eh ...... an' we not seein him on de TV screen yet eh ...... but it soon became evident ...... dat people jus see de man come out ..... an' start tuh get orn ......
- So ..... all ah dem come out now ..... den last and least ...... PM PM (thanks fuh dat new name aka_lol) walks out ...... tuh ah standing ovation ...... STEUPS .... is it customary tuh give de host country's leader a standing ovation ...... cuz if not ...... then WHY he get one!?
- So de whole entrance whaylaymaylay done ..... and de first speaker is Cristina .... de President of Argentina ..... well fuh half she speech ...... I couldn't understand jack shit ..... cuz is Spanish she was spewin ...... and is only bout halfway tru ...... dat dey find she interpreter ..... at which time ...... I had done zone out ......
- Next up ...... was Daniel Ortega ...... President of Nicaragua ...... LAWD ...... why? ...... dis man talk fuh like 3 hours ...... in Spanish!!! ..... is bess dey had call it de Daniel Ortega Summit ...... his only consolation was his interpreter ...... who was very entertaining ...... de woman was real animated and real kix ...... but as ah done comment on aka_lol ...... I doh why dey didn't turn on de 'wrap it up' music fuh him (a la de grammys) ....... de man was jus goin orn and orn and orn ...... de man went back tuh Before Christ ..... I coulda have time cook ah 3-course meal ..... an' he still talkin ..... an' yuh know I cyah cook ...... so yuh get de point .....
- Next came Dean Barrow ...... Prime Minister of Belize ..... at least he was talkin English ..... but dat still didn't make meh feel tuh listen ..... so I doh really know what he say .....
- Den *DRUMROLL* ...... Barack Obama ...... President of the United States of America ..... was next on de podium ...... now I real bias when it come tuh dis man eh ..... cuz de man jus nice ...... I does cyah see or hear beyond dat ...... but ah try meh bess tuh still listen tuh what he had tuh say ..... an' ah glad ah did ..... cuz I doh know if is meh biasness ..... but tuh me ...... de man does jus always make sense ..... de man say ...... he not on rehashin no past shit ...... he on de future ..... and movin forward ...... ah guess he trow dat fuh de 3-Cs (Castro/Cuba and Chavez) ..... de man talk bout de importance of all ah we workin together ...... and not against each other ...... he talk bout how ..... just as America has changed ...... dat we need tuh CHANGE too ..... de man jus genuinely lookin tuh link wit all he homies ..... an make tings nice ..... and tuh show it ...... he lookin tuh give we (de region) US$30 million tuh fight crime ..... den like ah kinda icin on de cake ..... de man big we up yes ...... yeah ...... he say as somebody who grow up on an island (Hawaii) ...... he felt right at home in Trini ..... of course da'is only because he didn't pass by dat stinkin sealots waterfront ..... anyway ...... he was short and sweet ...... up next was de nex man of de hour .....
- ..... our very own PM ...... PM ...... who I just can't stand tuh hear ....... what was dat whole bit about offerin Evo Morales some corn soup ...... and suggestin dat if he eh want dat ..... dat he could go Curepe or Debe fuh 'Doubles' ...... was PM PM mockin de man hunger strike in ah bid tuh be 'funny' ...... such outta timin-ness ...... especially since he had done ahready try tuh make dat joke earlier dis week ...... so why de repeat performance in his Summit Speech of all places ...... and WTF did he mean ...... when he was talkin about all de FIRSTS of dis Summit ..... like de first time it bein held in de Caribbean (TnT) ..... and de first RC Bishop tuh become President (Paraguay) ...... and de first female President (Chile) ...... what did he mean ...... when he reach de last 'first' ...... de one about Barack Obama being de first of 'his kind' ....... tuh be elected President of de USA ...... Grrrrr???? ..... dat shit really came out his mout ...... HIS KIND???? ...... WTF is 'his kind' ...... he make Obama sound like if he's ah alien or sumtin ..... dat real piss me off ...... after dat ...... my ears clog ...... steups ..... and dat pink tie?? ...... PM PM jus doh do it fuh me nah ..... tank de lord fuh de lil cultural presentation dat dey had right after ....... cuz dat kinda dilute meh pissness!
DE CEREMONY (AFTER DE CEREMONY)
- 750 performers ..... 45 minutes of pure niceness ......
- LAWD ...... Brian Mc Farlane is da bomb ........ dat was one borse presentation eh ...... loved how he did it ...... it basically outlined de history of Trini ...... simply spectacular ...... yuh know how much times I get goose bumps ......
- But ..... you mean tuh tell me ...... dat dey hire Ella Andell tuh sing ONE LINE!
- But oh gorm ..... de dramatics ...... an' de all-white costumes ......
- An' oh gorm ...... de costuming ...... depicting all de different times in history ..... whey we get Brian Mc Farlane from bwoy .....
- But more importantly ..... whey Tony Prescott come out from ..... de ship?? ...... cuz you know how long me eh see he ..... or hear bout he ...... yeah ...... de man come and sing dat real long time song ...... ALL ABOARD, SHIP AHOY!
- Arrow ...... HOT HOT HOT ....... Grrrrrr??? ...... well I didn't even recognise he ...... de man get fat and bald!
- Oh gorm ...... de pan ..... Ken Professor Philmore ..... LAWD ..... lovely ..... and David Rudder .....
- Where is David Rudder dread locks ...... de man come new fuh de Summit yes ...... no hair!
- Machel ..... oh Machel ...... dey bring him from quite LA eh ...... yes ..... not LA-ventille ..... Los Angeles ..... and in true Machel style ..... he bring de house down ...... wit ah nice Summitish rendition of 'We not givin up' ..... I was real boogyin ......
- Ah have tuh say ...... as ah Trini ...... ah feel it ..... de entire spectacle that is ..... yuh coulda definitely see where plenty of de money went ..... one ting dat needed ah lil tweakin tho ..... was de balance (or imbalance) of de indo/afro vibes ...... cuz it was very noticeable dat african rhythms overpowered de indo rhythms ..... an' I eh tryin tuh start nuttin eh ..... ah jus sayin! ...... good show!
So ..... one more day tuh go ...... den ..... we wait ...... patiently ...... tuh see de return ...... on dis whole investment!
PS: Tomorrow is some Cultural 'Summit' Show in de Savannah ...... (unaccredited) plebs like me could go in de Savannah tomorrow?? ..... I tort dere in de RED ZONE or sumtin?!
Okay Scene I go take mih lumps as I was one ah dem who wasn't sure dat dat car was really de beast. I not surprised that the Trini press get fed incorrect info about Obama's arrival nah or that he went in the Hyatt by the back door. The US Secret Service does take no chances wid the president nah. And who was dat idiot saying dat Obama need tuh apologize fuh going in de back entrance? Steups.
I watch de cultural presentation online via streaming video from CTNTWORLD and let mih see without any fear of being contradicted - THAT WAS DE BEST CULTURAL SHOW I EVER EVER EVER EVER SEE!! Notice I eh just say 'T&T culture' eh. Well organized, well choreographed, seamless movement from one presentation tuh the next. Wow!
At the end of the day the way this summit going it go be heard tuh not ask de question how come T&T cyar function so when it eh have no foreigners arong?
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..... like did they really expect him tuh walk tru de front door ...... de man like ah rock star ...... he cyah enter tru de front ...... and I totally agree with you ...... I was very impressed wit de show too ..... and fuh exactly de same reason yuh mention ...... i.e. de seamless movement from one set tuh de next ..... what was also real good too ...... is de timing ..... did you notice dat nobody overstay dey time ..... like no one act was too long ...... everybody was jus rite!!!
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Yeah I notice nobody eh try tuh hog de stage, dey song or dance done and de arse was orf. Ah hear ah folk-song I eh hear in donkey years eh,..."every time ah parse yuh look at mih, every time ah parse yuh look at mih, ah go tell mih mudder doh sen mih dong dey". Fuh me dey could ah let dem sing dat fuh 10 more minutes oui. Anyway after watching dat show ah working on ah proposal dat go have mas men running all de government offices and TTEC and WASA and de police and de Fire Brigade, everyting.
On dat Twitter ting wid Ashton Kutcher? What it was is dat he and CNN had ah lil competition going tuh see who could sign up 1,000,000 followers first. Apparently yuh could sign up and become ah follower or some shit like dat of somebody or someting. So dat mean it had almost 2 million people who apparently eh have no life of dey own. No offense tuh anybody here who sign up, I eh mean allyuh.
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hmmmmm ...... tweetin or twitterin or whatever ..... jus eh my scene ......
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scene you needed to be on twitter with us last night... you raised many of the same points
on the arrival... he ran down the steps in the same fashion in Mexico... by himself...
PM PM was seen turning around in Macoya (unconfirmed) as he was heading to the airport for the 1600 scheduled time... and BO jumped the line so they werent ready for him...
on the opening... did you notice Grimes next to Ken Julien taking photos like a 'neva see come see'... apparently we getting accustomed to standing for PM PM.. happening all too often... I was waiting for Dave Chapelle to come out with a 'Wrap It Up Box' for Ortega even tho I was enjoying him speak... we had a drinking game for everytime PM PM said 'My Dear Friends'... but I had a serious problem with the anthem... where was Divine Echoes to play the music... dey run a old tired version on a CD.. I have said version...
entertainment...
everytime I hear Tony Prescott name I does shout All Aboard and stat to do a Sailor dance... HOT HOT HOT had me channeling Joey Stevens from One Caribbean Weather... watching CBS will never be the same...
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oh gosh ...... how I could forget tuh mention de National Anthem ....... LAWD ....... ah love meh anthem eh ...... but LAWDY ..... dat rendition ...... I real didn't appreciate it ...... and LMAO at de Joey Stevens mention ...... is true ...... I forget he does be singing dat song wit he dead stuff parrot on he shoulder ...... LOL .......
and do you know ....... I still doh understand what dat twitter ting is about ...... so I eh tink yuh go be seein me on dat any time soon ...... only last nite ah was watchin E! TV or some one ah dem channels ...... an' ah see dat Ashton Kutcher beat CNN or somebody in number of 'twitter followers' ...... what dat mean?.....
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--I missed it ALL--it being Friday evening and the Sabbath coming. I wonder if it will appear on some torrent site because now that you say that it was a show not to be missed I have got to see it.
--And why did they not get Mungal Patasar to play? Or was he there and nobody mentioned it?
I agree with you and the Indo thing. I have been thinking about that more often.
--"All Aboard" is one of my all-time songs. It just takes me back, back, back, back to who knows where. Memories come flooding back when I hear that song--I just love it.
--Beast is beast yes gyul. Lol! I'll take my lumps as well.
--Is McFarlane the new Minshall? Because to be honest we need to get back to more creative mas (this from someone who has never played mas and has never been to Carnival).
Indeed where did he come out from?
And what does Minshall do these days? (Where does he live by the way?)
Another question is: I have never in my life heard of any other Minshalls in Trinidad. Did he drop from the sky? Did he come here by himself one day a long, long time ago?
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I am most pleased that you observed the sabbath. everyone must remember to to take time to praise the most high especially when the beast come to our doorstep.
you can catch all the summit happenings here now that your internet is back
http://www.fifthsummitoftheamericas.org/videogallery.aspx
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Aye bunseep ..... thanks fuh de link man ...... wha goin' orn wit you ...... still a 46 year old virgin?
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it was my pleasure being able to help one of your flock.
still a virgin? yes and rightfully so... chica has not forwarded me any information after she complimented me and had me blushing. my congregation thought that I had some illness as I was red for a week.
I was busy fasting for Easter and praying that the Almighty would allow that special someone to come into my life. no I have not forsaken the King but man cannot live by bread alone.
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oh gosh bunseep ..... you does crack me up yes!
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Aye Bunseep, I did not say that I was going to forward anything to you. I'm too far away. If I was in T&T and 20 years younger, I might have written to the paper and asked for your email. God knows, good men are rare.
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Thanks!
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Doh worry ..... dey bound tuh show it again ...... but in de meantime check out some of it here on YouTube ......
..... and yuh know ...... I really doh tink Mungal was in de Opening Ceremony ...... but he was there tho ..... fuh de Thursday show ..... and some one of the other pre-shows ......
Just last nite I was talking about Mc Farlane ...... in de same Minshall context ...... cuz you realise it really eh have nobody tuh follow Mc Farlane ..... Mc Farlane picked up after Minshall packed up ..... but who it have tuh pick up when Mc Farlane ready tuh pack up?
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Some mysterious white guy will drop from the sky and take over. Because I dunno where McFarlane come out.
Thanks for the Youtube. I am looking for the East Indian part. They might put it up later.
That blew my mind though.
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doh blink when you watching for the injuns... cause when it came to cutting cane the persons portraying werent... is only the dance section that was injun...
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'Scene......you is ah real scene wee......it's a summit (cultural show was pure incidental) and Daniel Ortega needed to say what he said for de benefit of people who still feel dat America goody goody....dey have created ALL de havoc in de world and unfortunately (ah love de man) BO is now like Paul...he payin fuh all, although DO did not blame him but far too many people in dis hemisphere are far too ignorant about our true history so his 50 minutes was necessary and worth it. As fuh de National Anthem that version was de WUSS ting I ever hear....They should have called me...de Opera should have been replaced with a good soca version which would have represented us more appropriately as a people....dat Balisier in she hair...too PNM dais fuh a Rally...an she makeup was a mess...wrong shade of foundation.....as fuh our media ah still reelin in shame fuh all de misinformation.........I made sure my TV was on long before de touted 3.30 p.m. arrival of BO because it made sense that he would be here earlier...as for de "Beast" only BO's car is referred to as such an ah so shame dat dey eh even get dat right yet....it mus be still on de plane waitin fuh him to use in de US.. because he would not need it immediately when he gets home....Andrews AFB then Marine One...then the South Lawn...then Michelle....LOL!!!!
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Wha ..... is only 50 minutes dah man was on for ....... and yes ...... I totally agree ..... you would have done a much better job at de Anthem ...... an' ah glad you say it ..... cuz I didn't want nobody say dat Scene say de woman was de WUSS! ..... but she was de WUSS ..... oh gorm and de balisier in she hair ...... LAWD!!! ...... I cyah believe I forget tuh mention all these important tidbits!
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What a great review and pics.A friend of mine got me a link so I could listen to Obama's speech and I was impressed with that. Would have loved to see the entertainment part of the opening ceremony though. I sure don't miss having to hear all that spanish talk as I don't understand it and doubt they would have used the few naughty words I know.
And I agree with bandi, you need to be on Twitter, that will give more people access to your blog. I just joined over a week ago to keep track of some of the news sites I read in order to make room in my mailbox.
I guess I go see if I can find bandi on there right now. Maybe I should get rid of my pic first?lol
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"What a great review and pics"
Chica ..... yuh was drinkin ..... wha pics yuh talkin bout?!
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Ooops, I was reffering to the pics in the previous entry.I do not drink early in the morning.
No not everybody is on Twitter, but everybody and their mama is. I went on there not knowing anybody, just to get my news updates and now I do have a handful of people following me. Remind you I´m not a blogger and do not have much to say.lol
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Love the review...on point!
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Oh gosh!! I was patiently waiting for your post on the Summit! I watched coverage of it on youtube!Your review was the best though!
Loved the performance pieces; very well thought out and put together...minus "hot, hot, hot"
Yeah, get on Twitter
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Twitter is for Tweeters ...... I doh tink I know how tuh tweet ...... I only know how tuh ramble
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I was just looking at some summit pics and came across this one,showing the first lady of nicaragua. OMG, Look at that hand and arm. Looks like homegirl emptied out her jewelry box.lol
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/1412/slide_1412_20224_large.jpg
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It's hard to get excited when a bunch of politicians get into a room and decide anything but the confusion surrounding was eventful. The cuffing down of a TnT guard by an Argentinian bodyguard added some of the spice the Summit needed.
What I liked about Obama's speech was the way he, in typical US style, did away with the nonsense of greeting every official in the introduction of his speech. He wasn't there to greet people he was there to make some points. Maybe the formalities was good for the 50s in Britain but for independent countries we should use more commonsense and try not to put people to sleep with junk. I did my review of PM PM's speech and it wasn't bad but certainly not as crisp and authoritative as Obama's. Maybe we Trinis are so accustomed to PM PM we fail to recognize his charisma and greatness. Even Jamaica, Barbados and Grenada don't recognize it. Maybe they need some corn soup
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Oh gosh boy ..... ah really hear bout dat fight ..... was one of Cristina's bodygaurds ..... hmmmm ...... yuh know now dat de ting done .... ah setta jokey stories goin an come out ..... all kyna ting dat dey successfully cover up fuh de past 3 days .....
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