Caribbean Man

Putting the fresh (and the smell) into food

2011-10-22T23:51:00.000-04:00

I just completed a marathon of travelling which took in Caymans, Miami, Vienna, and New York.

I had to stay over in every one of those destinations and ate a proper meal in every one.

Then something came to mind.

How fresh is the food. I mean, its a pretty simple question. The answer though isnt quite as easy.

You see in Dominica, I go over to the market for my vegetables and ground provisions or I call Royal George for my beef or pork, Morne Anglais farms for my local chicken, and get my fish and shellfish from San Sauveur. I wont mention the wild game that we get ever now and then.

Usually I can eat meat or vegetables which has had low chemical exposure, within three to four days of being pulled from the ground or sea or being killed. And you can taste the difference.

Caymans was good for the fish. But everything else is shipped in and distributed. Miami...might be decent on seafood but its still not fresh unless you explicitly search I guess. Vienna...I couldnt taste the beef in the beef, and in New York, well lets just say I accept that I am going to eat some stuff that has served some punishment time.

The other odd thing is this. When you step into a supermarket in the US in particular, two things shout out. The sheer size of the vegetables and fruit, and the lack of any, and I mean any smells.

I mean when you walk into a food market in Dominica, you smell everything. Onions, thyme, mangoes, even carrots, and tomatoes. Its like an assault on your nose.

You walk into Western Beef or Pathmark or Publix and you could swear someone has clipped your nasal capacity. Even pineapples stare you in the face with a kind of 'yes I am a pineapple but you cant friggin smell me' look. A pineapple in Dominica quickly becomes a car fragrance if left in the car for any longer than 5-10 minutes.

The flavor of course is key. And fresh fruit, vegetables and meat taste great.

We may not have great restaurants or a vibrant foodie scene, but in reality Dominica is food heaven. You just have to learn to make it for yourself or lean on someone who can.

Freedom to care (or not)

2011-10-03T02:38:00.000-04:00

Small Caribbean islands have a high bs to reality quotient because the level of dependency is very strong. In a larger country you dont have to pretend you care or like someone unless they are your boss, your sole client, or in a position of immediate influence on your life.

Its a refreshing freedom that would eliminate many a 'dear friend' here in the Caribbean.

There are however a large amount of decent people who simply want your presence. These people are the elders in our society. They sit alone in many of our houses, needing someone to interact with, argue with, and share with. They just need your time.

If you live in the Caribbean (or anywhere), find an older person in your community and call in on them once every often. It'll help. Honestly...

If you spend your life interacting with people whose main need is to have their egos fed so that they can help you put food on your table, then....you will have many an imaginary friend.

CSME - Head up

2011-09-03T20:17:00.000-04:00

The Caribbean single market is supposed to engender the values of a single space. Much like the EU has tried to do, the idea is that people from within the region could seamlessly move without discrimination from point a to b.

Except like every other Caribbean institution, when the ethos has to turn into action it can easily get distorted.

Trying to get workers who are not degree educated doctors, lawyers or any white collar professional to get a skills certificate for free movement is like pulling teeth. The reason is that the CSME Skills certificate discriminates actively against skilled blue collar workers who dont have a degree behind their name.

Considering that their is a strong grain of skilled Caribbean workers who are not Terrence Skinner BSC MSc, you are left struggling to understand who the CSME is for.

So a highly trained machinist or signage installeris deemed to be unskilled whilst any crock doctor with a degree can move from a to b, ruin a life and abscond as quickly as they came.

Way to go free movement.

I understand the dilemma of the Caribbean. WHilst they want free movement, they only want the very best people being able to freely travel through the region. Everything in the Caribbean has to have a tier to it.

Ironically, a whole generation of Caribean immigrants to the US and UK argued that they were discriminated on because they were from poor countries and had little in the way of professional qualifications.

Sounds familiar ?

A suggestion. Create a bridge application process which allows professional references from at least three clients in both the applicants country (say you are from St Lucia) and three references in the countries they are going to (lets say St Kitts, Grenada and Antigua).

Create a registration process where you can audit these referencing companies through Labour and Immigration in each of those countries (so you dont get referring shells), and voila, you have the beginnings of a solution.

But please dont once again recreate the plantation.

I doh like mister / mamselle

2011-08-31T01:21:00.000-04:00

This is very simple.

Small country. Someone visits, goes to a small restaurant, eats a great meal. One day they are out with a local and they are looking for somewhere to eat, so brainwave comes. "Lets go to this great place I ate the other night". Away they start to go. Then local asks, but wait a minute, thats the place on x street ? Yes...the visitor says.

Oh. thats the place Sidney own. I doh like mister.

Seems simple right ? Well extrapolate that and imagine if you have enough people with a reason, any reason to not like one person on the other in small island and you can imagine the kind of stalemate the country can be in.

Dominica is in that funk. Everyone seems to have a cast of people they dont like or dont want to socialise around, do business with, or talk to.

So you have a complex nest of relationships with intermediary people who serve as gophers between different people and their cliques.

In the end you cannot get any real common agenda of development or societal push. Because everyone is concentrating on not patronising, helping, engaging or developing anyone they DOH like.

Its a strange thing. And it has nothing to do with good vs bad or morality etc.

Of course, a hurricane or crisis is always good catharsis. When we were hit by the CAT 5 Hurricane David, there was no bandwidth to 'doh like mister'. You had to get help. You had to engage. You had to talk.

Yes its a small island, and as such the mentality can be excused under that label, but it feels at times like we are in a little goldfish bowl with schools of competing fish. And for what ? Coloured stones ?

decriminalise marijuana

2011-08-30T23:53:00.001-04:00

This isnt rocket science. Year after year, young men, young local men, in what is one of the most underpopulated countries in the world, do jail time for smoking a spliff.

As I type this, doctors, lawyers, teachers, and a large amount of CEO's and entrepeneurs, are lighting up all over the world in the privacy of their homes, offices, boats and even their own little islands.

The obsession with ganja is almost consuming. In a country where there are so many more serious issues like abuse of women, child molestation, incest and petty crime, it doesnt seem to fit. The supply of large scale drugs is something which creates its own industry of zombies and that is worth cracking down on, but in an island where anything you throw on the ground can take root, it doesnt take a major supplier to create a spliff.

It might be worth putting away people who supply drugs for a long time, but unfortunately these people seem to enjoy the best legal support and spend the least time in jail. The lil spliffhead caught in possession is more likely to take jailtime.

One more criminal created.

So what could be done ? Decriminalise it. Give people the right to smoke a limited amount of ganja and if there is possession of any more than sactioned,then the state can get the right to bond them to serve as free working resource for a limited time, like 3 months. Nothing like hard work in the sun at no cost to the state (or a contracted entity) to encourage you to smoke your spliff in private quarters and for your own enjoyment.

As for the gateway argument, it is flimsy at best.

The only gateway from marijuana to cocaine is prison.

Tropical challenge

2011-07-31T15:46:00.000-04:00

Living in a small island with circa 60k people you sometimes have to remember you are pretty much a pimple on the backside of the world.

However it is very easy to think that this reality is more pervasive than it really is.

At first I used to despair of young people leaving the island almost inevitably to never return. And it still is something of a concern.

But my concern is now more pragmatic.

Because of the nature of this island, like so many others, there is close to zero chance of a young man or woman, who isnt politically or class connected to make anything of their lives. Not that those circumstances even help them. It just gives them some breathing room.

Travelling and encountering a different reality gives young Dominicans a chance. And just a chance.

We are dealing with a situation where there is a poorly equipped public library, no cinema, a politically polarised media (and thats being generous to call them that), and almost no intellectual base for anyone to rely on. On top of that we do not have any sporting facilities of note. In 2011 we have young people trying to qualify for the Olympic Games on grass fields with chalk lines, and there is no indoor court for basketball or volleyball (or any other sport for that matter). When it rains, the sports stops.

Dont ask about entertainment.

You add in a party political system which is vindictive in punishing those who do not conform, and a hypocritical and yet strangely dogmatic interpretation of religion which is as literal as you could get in Medieval times, and well...we're screwed.

Well...unless you like that reality.

A couple of us are forming a small charity to try to build facilities to stimulate both mind and body locally.

We shall see if that will head off the storm of barbarism that threatens.

The flip side ? Its a beautiful Caribbean island and you can live naturally :-)

Junk everywhere

2011-07-11T00:13:00.000-04:00

One of the biggest ironies of Dominica is that whilst the economy contracts, more and more people are importing food and inferior products and dumping it on our markets.

Many of the brands we are now getting to see are not brands you will see in first world markets. Not that brands are the be all and end all, but the standards of production and quality are often linked to the brand.

But again in Dominica , price is king, and by flooding the market with low cost product, the average local distributor is guaranteeing a market. The Dominican consumer is addicted to cheap, to the point where they will ignore waves of bad treatment to return to a retail outlet, on one promise only.

Its going to be cheap.

Defying common sense

2011-07-10T10:34:00.000-04:00

A few years ago an external agency created the 'Defy the EVeryday' brand identity for Dominica. Part of the reason it failed so badly to capture the essence of what Dominica is, is because the agency didnt really know Dominica at all.

There is no hidden code in that commentary. Its just so. The two last agencies who did substantial work for Dominica were from New York and Miami, and the new PR agency is from Minnesota.

Dont get me wrong, most tourism accounts need agencies in foreign markets to target the demographies they need. At least 8 of our IN Network counterparts have major tourism accounts we can learn from and collaborate with.

However most tourism accounts also need a regional / local agency to help define what our countries are, back to those same agencies. Instead the local model in tourism is to consider the local agencies as grunt shops and to deal with international agencies directly. The personalities of international agencies is that they enforce their identities and camapaigns on Caribbean clients much easier than they can on their 'in market' clients or on agencies. Hence you get some very odd campaign paths.

It is for the same reason why the most successful regional companies actually have a global agency, a media booker, and a regional / local agency. And it isnt about having more money either. Its about applying context to identity.

This reminds me of the first attempt of the mascot for the Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean in 2007. It was a mongoose, which is considered a pest in the region. The agency had to quickly withdraw it. They were of course an Australian agency.

When they met a group of us in Jamaica for the creative agency briefing they talked forcefully about how they were in charge (and they were unfortunately). That WC summed up how much they, and their clients, ultimately the ICC / WICB, were in charge. Truth be told, the World Cup in 2007 was eminently forgettable. And it was so partly because it applied the Defy the Everyday model.

2011-06-25T20:34:00.000-04:00

Bear with me on this topic....

There is plenty debate in Dominica about the role of the Chinese in unfair business practices (I swear I laughed a little when I wrote that...like there is some ethical business model as standard).

The Dominican merchant most affected by the Chinese, like every other merchant of their type in the Caribbean operates on the import and sell with margin model. It is the essential playbook of capitalism that we all practice if we sell commodities we do not produce or manufacture.

Many of us import goods from China, amongst other manufacturing countries where they produce cheap and in bulk.

At the same time there has been a constant ‘im cheap, im good’ message trumpeted in Dominica. Before the Chinese community came along with their import advantages, some of the existing top of the heap merchants operated on the same principles.

Dominicans became addicted to cheap. Quality and service are almost dirty words, and as such it was the perfect market for the Chinese merchant to sell into. As such I can understand the Chinese being puzzled about what is going on. They can see that this is a cheap price is king market. And they can see how the existing powerhouses in general (and there are notable exceptions), have treated the consumer base.

What is there to be loyal to and what is the business community complaining about ?

The average Dominican cant even return a defective purchase in a couple hours, much less days. Now, if the market was built on quality, then the Chinese would find a niche, but not dominate. But as people did before them, so now the Chinese are doing. They are putting serious pressure on any operation which depended solely on price.

As for the consumer, my personal policy is simple. If you treat me like you despise me, I wont buy your product. So if consumers in Dominica buy from people who don’t patronize any of their own services in turn, who don’t have any respect for them, and yet get fat on their patronage, then its unfortunately your problem, not the merchant, whoever they are. So stop harping on about the Chinese and start to understand that everything has its eventual price.

The consumer has had their hand in creating this.

Ironically, the people who got the consumer addicted to cheap imports, can now only turn to quality and service to differentiate. So maybe we might have a renaissance. You cant turn back the clock. The Chinese will always be the cheapest. Maybe tomorrow they might get into frozen goods or your business sector whoever they are. What I do know is that the people who have been doing this for years with the constant diet of make me rich and get out of my face, cant turn around now and pretend to be indignant, when the Chinese merchants are making ground . Its just a cycle of a type of capitalism in the region. Come purchase from me but don’t expect me to be nice to you.

What goes around, comes around.

Shhhh

2011-06-19T23:31:00.000-04:00

Whether you are in grenada or antigua or in dominica it is pretty normal that the people who prosper are those who understand the principle of party in power.

The contraction of economies means that more and more companies are dependent on government, either directly or indirectly, to make their corn.

In economies when the largest companies invariably have close interests with the government, if you rub them the wrong way, well, crapaud smoke your pipe.

In these times being silent is the most important thing to do according to some people. You dont get brownie points for articulating a clear position on corruption, a loaded judiciary, toadyism, large companies flouting taxation rules, or just pure nepotism. In fact you could go under in a heartbeat.

When you combine that with a fickle audience who will goad you to take a stand and proceed to stone you when you are down, it doesnt inspire much heroism.

Everyones waiting for the next guy to do something. Needing to pay your bills does that.

A question of consistency

2011-06-05T09:10:00.000-04:00

Small countries in the Caribbean inherited both their religion and their laws from the colonial powers.

The issue about homosexuality is that it appears at one level to threaten the fabric of the belief systems of Caribbean people. Many many people really do believe it is an abomination cursed by God.

With me its a bit more simple.

We have laws against buggery on our books. Either you enforce it or get rid of it. If you speak to any knowledgeable medical professional on this island you will find out that there is a fast growing incidence of anal sex amongst heterosexuals of all ages. There are other related complexities such as the amount of so called heterosexual males who are messing around with men, 'down low', which people dont like to talk about openly, but lets leave that.

Our laws do not discriminate and mention orientation. Sodomy / buggery is a crime on our books. For everyone.

Either accept it is part of the belief system the country wants to communicate to the world, or consider that controlling sexuality through a combination of religious thought systems and laws is dangerous and repeal the law.

2011-06-05T08:06:00.000-04:00

The priest and the pastor own iconic roles in Caribbean society. Our populations feature the classic scenario where the masses take regular solace in church. And I wont make the mistake of pretending religion and church are so different as to not be related. They are very much intertwined. The church is part of a social and economic phenomenon in which religion is practiced.

Unlike Central America, the whole idea of liberation theology does not exist in the Caribbean. In fact, the pastor and priest are facilitators in the main for the status quo. This is unfortunate because in the main it is the most ordinary and the less fortunate who rely most on their words and inspiration and ‘pay’ their way. Ironic even.

So when a society features growing distress and yet the priests and pastors generalize and roll their words under their tongues, what is to be concluded ? Unfortunately, same as Africa, Caribbean people have not yet learnt that continuous praying doesn’t cause an economy to get better or for bad things to go away. In fact the converse applies (I recommend whywont godhealamputees.com as a test of your faith).

Of course after a 20 year timeline when a series of organic events causes a regime to collapse, advocates of religion and faith are quick to use the ‘ God don’t sleep’ reasoning. You cant beat the zealots with that logic. As one friend put to me…God may not sleep, but he doesn’t vote or agitate either.

It is one of the more cynical cons of life that most poor people across the region have to wait to the afterlife for justice, whilst their tormentors live large in real life. That is a nice reason to encourage people to wait till death to see justice exacted against the rich, powerful and corrupt. You will win in the end, but only after the credits completely roll, the screen goes dark and there is no audience. Yes…got that.

Myself, I rarely go to church. Its partly because church is boring. Also, I figure if all I want is for things to get better for me and my family and anyone else I like, I could stay home. At some point all this cross praying must be creating one big stalemate. And I haven’t even factored in other faiths.

However as a networking forum in a small society dominated by religion and faith, it cannot be beat. Just like the Masonic lodge (another irony), they do flock together. It is part of a rites of status quo passage which is very powerful in our societies. Yet at no time, not in Antigua, not in Jamaica, not in Guyana has the religious hierarchy done anything but stay in line with the leading horse.

Napoleon Bonaparte once said that religion is what prevents the poor from murdering the rich. I am inclined to agree.

Small Gestures

2011-06-02T11:09:00.000-04:00

If you assess your own life, small gestures have huge significance.

Years ago, when I worked for a company called Breakaway Solutions, I lived in the Old Colonial Inn in Concord Massachusetts. I was there for a long time...over three months. I considered it long because living in a hotel stops being sexy when there is nothing new. But a great place it was and I am sure still is. Concord is the small town where the American Revolution began.

I worked nearby in Maynard and on weekends I would drive commute to New York. Once a month I would travel back to London where I lived in those days.

On the day my engagement ended in Boston, I decided to cut out early a Friday morning to go shop in NY before my flight, which was at 7pm in the evening.

Well, to cut a long story short, I was doing around 100 mph at around midday coming into Connecticut on my way to NY when a police car started flashing in the distance. My first reaction was to take the first exit I saw (I remember this so well), and I ducked into a gas station.A few minutes later, cop car pulled up behind me and I had to do the usual display license etc.

Speeding at that time was a jailable offence at the speed I was doing, but she let me off because I told her that I was overdoing it trying to get to NY quick before my flight. SHe marked me down as doing 85 in a 65 zone and I gladly paid the fine when I got back to London. I also sent her flowers.

Now in an alternate reality who knows how many things would have changed had I been arrested for speeding recklessly. But that small gesture helped me.

Thats why the small things you do for people can never hurt your chances of gathering good vibes. In a small country its even more so. In Caribbean countries people build legends and myths on things you do or say, both good or bad. So make the gesture and reap the good will.

The energy to do better

2011-04-04T18:52:00.000-04:00

As you get older and you introspect you understand that very little is coincidence.

Dominica is a small country dominated by a small cabal of families who have little or no interest in the development of the island. In fact, any development which is likely to widen the economic base of this island will be resisted. And any government which does the same will similarly be compromised.

We have one great opportunity to revolutionise Dominica. That is Geothermal energy. It is not beyond this Government to totally screw it up, but I will go on record to say that Geothermal in Dominica is the only chance for the next millenia of fundamentally changing everything about this country. There is no other chance for the country.

Why so ?

Dominica is practically sitting on a geothermal generator. What this means is that we have incalculable CLEAN energy, which does not have repercussions like radiation or leakage.

To understand what could and should happen lets understand what it will mean if we tap geothermal properly.

We will no longer have to buy LPG gas, or import fuel. We will become a net exporter of energy, with the primary buyers being the French and Greater Caribbean. With almost non existent electricity costs, the society will gravitate to a manufacturing base as companies will see the total benefit of relocating to Dominica, ala oil produ

We could become one of the first societies of electric cars and a technological leader. Sounds far fetched ? It isnt really.

The biggest issues are whether the government is going to look past their own personal agendas to benefit personally on every significant deal (ala say an oil producing country like Nigeria in which nothing has changed for the consumption of energy). A bit of skimming is expected, but a national agenda has to be core.

The other big issue is whether the cabal, and their foot soldiers, are going to fight to kill the widening of the base because it will change them from big cheeses in a medieval economy, to small fry in a modern one.

You go figure. The stakes are extremely high.

Who are they

2011-04-01T10:04:00.001-04:00

They do not care about sports, because they or their children do not play it.

They do not care about agriculture, because they import as a staple of their business life, and buy local only means to locally buy what they import, unless they can get slave labour prices from farmers.

they do not care about the economy, because they are above the economy.

they do not care about crime unless it affects them and their ability to make money.

they do not care about education. their children will be educated abroad and the less educated the masses are, the better for their own interests.

If their interests are met, the country can burn and they will simply turn up the air conditioning and drive faster.

Dashing away merit

2011-03-27T02:48:00.001-04:00

When you work across the region, it becomes obvious how the level of ignorance and mistrust could have worked for a colonizing force.

Being Dominican and well travelled makes it even more of a unique treat. I cant tell you how many times I have sat and watched well educated people trying to figure out whether my nationality is some kind of trick.

Caribbean people seem conditioned to look at a persons background, family, and nationality as pointers as to whether they should accept that person as a professional. It is also why non Caribbean people, even the worst shysters with little knowledge, can make such inroads in our societies.

On top of that, the typical Caribbean family run businesses are very suspicious of bright professionals (the theory I suspect is that they believe they are one bright young professional away from being screwed). Loyalty and subservience are considered more highly and as such there is a premium on those qualities at the expense of smarts, or ambition. It is natural I guess.

Therefore if you look at most institutions in the region, the prospects for a young person rising up the hierarchy are relatively bleak, except in the banking field, which ironically has to overcompensate to try to retain and build young professionals.

WHat this means is that our societies have even more grounds for being duncified. Its difficult for any person to want to stay in the Caribbean if they are ambitious and they decide they do not want to become an entrepeneur.

Everything is then about connections. A simple glance at Dominica and the level of incestuous relationships in business including huge conflicts of interest explains alot.

Unfortunately, the end result always comes back to haunt you. The more incompetent loyalists continue to drive more and more parts of the business and political hierarchy, the more the country will suffer.

And the more travelling I will do to avoid having to interact and depend on anyone intertwined in that mess.

Thick and Fat

2011-03-09T19:38:00.000-05:00

If anyone stood up on any street corner in Roseau during Carnival one thing would be very obvious. Besides the fact that we have a population of beautiful women, we also have one of the most obese populations on the rise.

Dominican man is the reason in the main. For the average woman visiting Dominica, weight conciousness is not one of our complexes. I would go further to say that a fat or overweight woman has a better chance of getting a man in Dominica than a slim woman. That in itself is refreshing in a world full of body image nutcases but...the flip side is real pragmatic.

How does a population where the main active base is increasingly female, deal with the fact that they are higher than avg vulnerable to diabetes, high blood pressure and every other ailment you get with obsesity ?

Dominican man continues to tell women...I like your thickness, love your curves, and Dominican woman keeps on eating and drinking away. And its young women in the main, folds of fat everywhere, stomach hanging, short pants showing all the flesh in the world.

Thats just cosmetic of course. I personally like all body shapes, thick and curvy especially...but the real issue is what health crisis will we be facing as Dominican men continue to fuel the myth that there is no difference between thick and fat.

one eyed men

2011-02-22T19:43:00.000-05:00

I was asked today why Dominica didnt have an international airport and why there was such hostility amongst the so called business class to the idea of an international airport.

The reason is quite simple. A few people control the largesse of the Dominican economy.

The key word is control. Anything which threatens the control of a small cabal of people who put themselves, their friends and family, and generally anyone who kisses their ass, above anyone else, will be frowned upon.

But we cant afford an international airport ?

Can St Kitts ? Could Antigua ? St Lucia ? Even Barbados ?

It is tiring to see a country like Dominica have slaves on a plantation fighting to preserve the lifestyle of a few people who spend more time spending their money in Miami and New York than in the same country which facilitates their very economic position.

The principle behind access to Dominica is that it alows the world to discover Dominica, and allows Dominicans to discover the world.

However in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king, so it is natural.

But it is sickening to observe.

Poignant

2011-02-12T04:20:00.000-05:00

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena;

whose face is marred by the dust and s...weat and blood;

who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again;

who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause;

who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly;

so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt Paris 1910

People are just people

2010-12-20T14:38:00.001-05:00

There are no good or bad people. There are just people who do good and bad things.

There is a calypsonian called Hunter who has written the essential piece on understanding Dominican and I daresay Caribbean people. The song is called 'Typical Dominican'. Basically it talks to the fact that if a local likes you, you could pretty much kill a third party in front of them and it wouldnt be you and they'd testify to that. On the other hand, if they dont, you are essentially fucked. Doesnt matter how good a person you are, you can give up ghost and just assume the guise of a villain, cause thats what you will be.

Oddly, these same people then turn around and want justice from police and a court system with jurors who are the same way inclined.

Its funny.

Anyway, this habit of taking an instant liking or dislike of people is very common. Pity the young woman or man who dares be different, quiet, individualistic, stylish...name your trait of potential voodoo worshipping non conformist and it is no wonder the migration rates to more liberal lands are growing.

Then again if you want to see why, go to something like the Presidents Charity dinner or any other function when you can see who calls the shots.

Then it will all become clearer.

Sometimes

2010-03-28T22:22:00.000-04:00

There was an article by Nancy Nassief-Caudeiron pointing out the madness with the vendors on the Bayfront.

The problem with the situation is that the person who is the custodian of the City of Roseau, is more interested in scoring brownie points than facing up to reality.

You have business places with vendors literally in front of their buildings and surrounding their entrances. The vendors have a right to sell their wares, but the City has also a duty to protect the business places and to also setup a proper arcade for use for selling products. The current situation serves noone. It makes the Bayfront uglier and dirtier, and the vendors are no better off for it.

That last part is the real issue. Any discussion which focusses on what the real solution would be is of course a problem. The inability to provide that solution is why Ms Massief-Caudeiron will get dragged into a mini us vs them discussion which has nothing to do with the real problem she highlighted.

So it go...

2010-03-27T12:40:00.000-04:00

Let me lay my cards on the table.

I am speaking both personally and also as someone who runs an ad agency. I also have a stake in a realty company so I am not making these comments lightly.

It is time, IMO, for Dominica to rebrand away from the Nature Isle identity.

Over the last umpteen years, the tag has been that Dominica is a step back in time, where nature is preserved for all and sundry to enjoy.

Part of that is true. In successful marketing, when the brand has integrity, ie, where the statements which it conveys have truth behind them, and the experience matches the promise, then you have a true winner.

The issue with the Nature Isle tag is that Dominicans, through no other fault than the pure economic reality of the island, do not live to this Nature philosophy in the main.

SOme people do, but here is the truth. We have a heavy dependence on fossil fuels in our way of life. Our stance on whaling is positioned by the lobbying of the entities in the IWC, and not by a pure nature policy. The amount of junk, especially abandoned metal on the island is a tragedy. On top of that you have no recycling policies to govern our waste, and the use of non recycleable plastic bags and containers for the takeaway food business is almost endemic.

The list is as long as your arm, and you quickly get the sense of the country operating contrary to what it is branded as. The actual nature aspect is inherent in the makeup of the country, ie volcanic, green, raw in terrain, and not by any concerted strategy. As mentioned there are exceptions and Dominicans are hardy people who do love their country, but the economic reality is that we are compromised by the need for currency.

My recommendtation is that we rebrand Dominica as the island of adventure. This fits the rationale for gaining real brand equity because it is 100% true. You may eat in a styrophene container and pass a few spots with random rubbish, but the experience of moving around Dominica and going to all the sights etc is one big adventure.

Every spot has a tricky journey or a story. Every person has some story or angle on things that are happening locally. Our hiking, river and sea bathing, spas, even places where you go to eat food, all give off the feel of an ongoing adventure, where the rules are not the same as everywhere else.

This will fit Dominica perfectly, in a region full of the same tired sun sea and sand formula and with a current brand which doesnt really reflect who we are.

I hope people put their personalities aside and think about it.

Keep on praying

2010-01-14T08:11:00.000-05:00

Read carefully on why is Haiti poor.

Why is Haiti so poor

I dont profess to know everything about Haiti to the point where i can do summaries without reading or quoting sources, even though I have friends there who have their own accounts of why it is what it is.

It is difficult to assume an enlightened position in the Caribbean when a large majority of the people you interact with think someone is in the sky watching events and selectively choosing to interact and interfere with the course of history.

Subliminally think what it does to the average persons mindset. The average black person, spiritual as they are, subliminally believes that other people are favoured, given that many people have gone through generations of domination by countries who have shown little or no moral compass (or even any adherance to the same faith they pretend to have) and yet who continue to prosper.

Its a logical process and akin to a little child who sees the man in their household who molests them, who could be popular in society, and indeed starts to hate themselves rather than recognise the real evil.

This collective low self esteem manifests itself at times like these when underneath all the debate about helping Haiti, there is a knawing thought process going on amongst Caribbean people. Dem people bligh.

I have a friend from latin America who claims that Caribbean people and Latin americans have the same mentality.

In the face of adversity they throw their hands up in the air and literally say the same thing "quitter yo pour bon dieu" - ie leave it to god.

Of course God does nothing (as neither does Zeus), and the verdict is as suspected. More suffering, more low self esteem, and ironically more fuggin praying.

Until a generation of skeptics start to get their chance to repel the God squad kumbaya thinking which has stunted the development of all African and Caribbean countries and indeed many people of African descent, they will continue to suffer and hope that the afterlife gives salvation and glory.

And then they mock the guy who kills himself for the anticipation of endless virgins in the sky.

Different degrees of the same psychosis.

Get IN

2010-01-09T13:00:00.000-05:00

One of my most active relationships is that where I represent FSI in the membership of IN, the largest network of independent advertising agencies in the world. I was elected to the Board this time last year and it has been a challenge, primarily because of the demands on time (and you dont get paid).

Some of our agencies are very well known. Duncan Channon for example, just won the global esurance account and also have the global Hard Rock Cafe account. Eric Mower Associates also have the Kodak account as well as ran the I love New York Campaign. Our Japanese counterparts have the Nikon Camera account.

Dominica seems like a dream to them given our size. Though FSI represents the Caribbean we are of course the smallest agency even when you take in regional campaigns and projects.

We are currently trying to win at least three accounts jointly with other IN agencies and that is an interesting exercise.

The current one is tourism accounts. There is an irony in it, but we are currently working with Total Media, our UK counterparts to try to win some Caribbean tourism accounts. Total Media pitches the account, and then we get to do much of the ground work which mitigates against their biggest weakness. They dont know much about the region.

WHile having a big agency buy media etc is useful, an agency like FSI can buy through global buyers who are often stronger than any creative agency that say Dominica Tourism are exposed to.

I often think that seeing the same people who are deciding on the account daily passing you in a vehicle in a small island is not a good way to get a multi million dollar account. Its just difficult to pass that money locally especially when there are perceptions about who you are and how large you might get (its real folks). I understand that challenge.

So more and more we are pitching through other entities.

Sometimes you just have to recognise what works.

It will be interesting

2010-01-09T12:30:00.000-05:00

To see Dominicas representation at the Shanghai World Expo. They received a substantial amount of money from the Chinese to build their presence which is being managed through Dexia.

We were involved in the design bid presence and indeed gave advice as to how it could be developed. Of course we did not get through but it is only a mere coincidence that the final design was very similar to what we presented. It was also a big coincidence that the young man who ended up floating the new design happened to have sat in all the meetings with us and received all our submissions and ideas.

My initial reaction and thought process is not printable, but in retrospect its a futile cause. Best watch the results.

For info on the Shanghai World Expo visit en.expo2010.cn.

Lawlessness inc

2010-01-07T22:47:00.000-05:00

Small LED screen in Roseau.

Right outside Issa Trading and opposite Subways.

Entrepeneur applies to Planning for permission to put this slap bang in the middle of a sidewalk in the middle of town.

Planning Division (usually called Town and Country in many Caribbean islands) REFUSES permission based on ordinance.

Man proceeds to erect structure and screen as if nothing happened. Soon the Ministry of Tourism are advertising on it.

A simple diary of lawlessness.

Funny things about where I live

2009-08-30T07:38:00.000-04:00

No traffic lights on island. sweet
No cinema. Not sweet.(well maybe not actually)
rivers to dip in after you go to the sea. sweet
no indoor sports courts, bball, football, tennis...anything. Not sweet
fresh fruit, and vegetables. sweet
the most punitive import duties you can find. not sweet

The result is that there is a wonderful opportunity to build a sports arena, a cinema and to spend alot of time driving around island.

Would not like Dominica to end up like Barbados, but, there is a halfway house we can reach.

Island Intellect

2009-08-29T20:38:00.000-04:00

The egos of men drive most development. It also leads to their demise. When I moved here I took a risk. Its not a risk quantifiable in dollars. Its far greater than that. Whilst there are real benefits to living in a small tropical paradise it insulates you from so many things in the real world.

Your parameters for growth are limited. Its almost mathematical. The range of people you can meet on an island is extremely limited.

When you then have to interact constantly with someone for example who has never worked anywhere but on an island you face real challenges. It doesnt mean people cannot be briliant or groundbreaking, and it certainly doesnt mean they arent great. But it does mean they can be extremely narrow in their thinking.

Its why I guess the more tangible forces for change anywhere are those who are insecure about their knowledge and are eager to learn. And it also works that those most likely to be agents of stupidity are those who are closeted in their own little enclaves, thinking they have reached the apex and are only interested in functional knowledge that enables them to make money and curry favour or try to manipulate people.

These are the people who are convinced that their risks and their effort are the greatest of all. Put them on an island and you have Napoleon meet Hitler. Give them a few disciples and you have Jim Jones too.

Do you know someone like that second model ? Run from them very fast. You could waste time building them into even bigger beasts than they really are.

A Caribbean oddity

2009-03-17T09:31:00.000-04:00

I dont think its a Dominican one, but I am sure we do it more than other islands.

Its both a very serious thing (which it is) and a total joke (which it is as well).

I refer to how the government calls a signing ceremony complete with speeches and hushed tones to launch everything from a public convenience to fixing a road to building a sea wall to giving a scholarship.

Imagine if after a surgery procedure a doc comes out and calls a press conference to announce that they had successfully stitched your forehead. Well...the irony of this is that these are things that governments are SUPPOSED to do, yet somehow they turn it into a back slapping self congratulation complete with odes to the PM and accolades for all.

Its so funny its sad.

What to do....

2009-03-14T21:05:00.000-04:00

Dominica doesnt need much.

1. sustain itself food wise. All the talk of exporting food ignores the fact that we import way too much food. If Dominica concentrates on simply feeding itself we can achieve serious success.

2. take control of our geothermal resource. this means more than government expropriating the the resource but actually engaging in exploiting the resource in two definite ways. first in reducing the cost of electricity in such a way as to revolutionise the cost of living for the local population. second in creating a real opportunity to sell energy to the rest of the region and to create a competitive advantage for business to be located in dominica.

3. get rid of income tax and become an indirect tax jurisdiction. this is always controversial because like all small caribbean states we have been taught that ttaxation is our way of life. unfortunately our infrastructure is still one of the poorest in the caribbean and consumption is dropping like a stone. its a double whammy we dont need. by leaving vat and corporate tax and eliminating base income tax, we can sell the perception of a tax free jurisdiction which frees up everyone mentally. The population needs to dream.

4. engage in community planning. for too long new communities in dominica have developed organically without any support or guidance from government. the nightmare in picard is evidence of what happens when you leave a population and new arrivals to simply make their way.

thats a decent start.

Marijuana

2009-03-13T17:15:00.000-04:00

There is something fundamentally wrong with the criminalisation of a whole heap of young people for smoking small quantities of herb when we have a serious social problem caused by alcohol in the Caribbean.

That is not to say we want wholesale smoking everywhere but marijuana is the least of our concerns.

Incest, child abuse, domestic abuse, corruption, political victimisation.

Yet there are kids in jail for being so idle as to have the time to smoke a plant. A social problem it is yes...but not a criminal one.

The Tip

2009-03-13T17:13:00.000-04:00

WIll be returning. Its going to be more interesting this time round actually. And it will still be free.

Cant say much more except that I am tired of people asking me about it :-)

Tough times

2009-03-13T16:43:00.001-04:00

These are tough times for anyone in advertising. In a region where the idea of the value of an advertising agency, is just below that of a photographer (or picture take outer).

We are pitching to more accounts than ever though because tough times brings about a need to differentiate, or die. Therefore we are talking to people who would traditionally skip over us.

Its interesting. In a market where distributors and wholesalers have cannibalised marketing and advertising and have created the standards of cheap n dirty that allow any con man with a few dollars to appear to be doing so much, we need change.

Long live introspection and fear. It creates a need to think.

Perspective

2009-02-25T10:34:00.001-05:00

In a meeting of our ad agency network in Miami, everyone was trumpeting new wins in 2009. The consensus is that small independent agencies will do generally well this year because for the first time companies will look beyond cushy relationships and actually start questioning how much they spend on marketing.

Of course the numbers are relative to markets. My indian counterpart, Atul from Ignitee was talking about a huge account with the Indian Board of Tourism. Kinda humbled any thought of relative success some of the other agencies had.

But anyway, listening to some of the agency stories gives perspective on success or failure. Its always funny to return to Dominica after those meetings. Love it more than ever though.

Dont touch the Pastors Rod

2009-01-24T23:52:00.000-05:00

The name of a Dominican calypso which satirises a pastors role in screwing the wife of a colleague who he helped counsel, along with the same wife he was peppering, about rescuing their marriage.

Its a funny story because of course being human, there is something very scandalous about a man of the cloth being that devious.

The truth is pastors and priests screw around. Very much like their congregation and most often with them. Its normal and its good for calypso. And ultimately if it helps people have some Jim Jones eureka moments before they drink the koolaid, then great.

The pastor screws, you get saved.

CSME

2009-01-24T23:06:00.000-05:00

A region distrustful of itself.

Trinidadians empowered by resources and feeling proudly first world in their wealth even as they murder and kidnap themselves into third world paranoia. And even when they are poor. Nothing like a man who can declare his country to be on a better path even as he himself struggles to eat.

Bajans who drink caffe lattes and play golf even as they have to serve the traditional masters to earn their daily bread. But all the indices point to an ordered society....except for those damn Guyanese. Nothing like an S&P report which declares you to be a stable nation.

Dominicans who declare independence and strength as they travel to superpowers like Anguilla to be able to have a decent job.

Jamaicans who declare that they belong to a Caribbean that they dont know or never travel to.

My experience of CSME is leaving Dominica having taken a security check and then coming off the plane to have the same check done in Antigua. Distrust.

My experience of CSME is of travelling with my Dominican passport and being asked what I am doing in Barbados, and travelling with my UK passport and being asked where I am staying in Barbados.

My experience of CSME is being asked by a Jamaican if Dominica has cellphones.

The issue of Caribbean ness is of a deeply fractured people. lacking in confidence, suspicious of each other, and desperate to mimic the same people who they wanted to grow up from.

There is a ground of comfort. Those who went to UWI, to Lodge , to the same boarding school, the middle class who see the same goals for themselves in their....we are better than this way, the merchants who share the same skin tone even as they sit in this unhealthy state of belonging only to those they do not really like.

It is why LIAT cannot produce anything of substance. The people dont really like Caribbean people even as they are Caribbean people. It is why the immigration and freedom of movement only worked during World Cup 2007. Because foreigners needed it. Once it became only about Caribbean peiple, it became irrelevant because of course we do not like each other that much.

I am dissapointed because this region has gone from slavery to freedom without actually experiencing freedom.

Abandon this mistaken game and call it failed so we can salvage it.

The Tip Revisited - 2

2009-01-06T13:29:00.000-05:00

Continuing...

--------------------------
Not in My House

Its not often that we deal with controversial topics in Dominica outside of politics. There is often an embarrassment with talking openly about things that shouldn’t be happening in a laid back Caribbean island.

But like our front page on Domestic Violence, many people know someone or has heard of someone who has been abused sexually in their home.

The strange thing is that it is relatively commonplace in the so called first world to the point that it has become almost over sensitive. We in the Caribbean do not second guess our reactions to both our and other peoples children. In the US or UK there is often a nervousness of being too affectionate with children.

In Dominica it is often said that incest is a rural phenomenon. Again, like all ‘under the carpet’ problems, this is a myth. It happens in a wide range of households and starts with either an insecure or ignorant man and a woman who turns a blind eye to the point where even their children are afraid to confide in them.

Part of the problem of talking openly about it is the cast of so called respectable characters who could be implicated. However the silent cries of children in homes across the land cannot be ignored. Women usually are the guardians of the household and where they relegate their responsibility to keeping peace with the breadwinning male, or decide that they are picking the side of the family name rather than the side of a childs dignity, then we face the prospect of serious damage being done.

Another common scenario is where parents entrust the parenting of their children to a relative who turn out to be the invisible monster who is both helping the absentee parent and damaging their childs life at the same time. What a dilemma for a child to communicate !

But more critical is how do we find a solution for this. The most painful answer is communication. Painful because the prospect of being whistleblower on someone in small communities is both dangerous and also not exactly common. However, whenever we close the doors on small children, we are helping perpetuate serious crimes.

Ironically in a culture which seemingly has so many avenues for communication, people rarely talk openly with each other, and certainly children communicate less than ever to their parents or other family friends.

It is by keeping channels of communication open that we can rescue lives from being damaged before they can even bloom. And critical to our understanding of why we must intervene, it is the overwhelming statistic that the abused can easily become the abuser, in an adulthood which is racked with rage.

It is not enough to be a guardian of our home in that sense. We must become guardians of our society because slowly but surely, the problem that we reject as being someone 'elses’ will rebound to become ours. We are seeing it happening already across other social values.

The Tip - Revisited

2009-01-05T07:58:00.000-05:00

Some time ago I used to write the articles for the Tip, a free publication in Dominica.

I am going to repost a series of my favourites for online consumption. Here is the first.

----------------------------------------------------------

Hard Truths

The environmentalists across the region are fighting a losing battle. It is not difficult to understand why they are losing but the level of honesty that must be practiced is extremely difficult for most to negotiate.

Let us start with a Caribbean fact that sums up the problem. Jamaica has the highest per capita churches of any country in the world. Jamaica also features the third most murders per capita in the world. What that statistic says is pretty much what one of our favorite quotes highlights. “Your religion is what you do when the sermon is over”. There are other huge contradictions between what Caribbean society projects and what it is, but let us make the linkage with Dominica and the environment.

Many environmentalists work with the assumption that Dominicans love the environment and want to preserve it. Like the fact that many moralists perceive the Caribbean to be a Christian society, the reality on the ground could bring a different conclusion. The massive migration outwards, the reaction of ordinary people to ‘development’ employment, and the hunting of whales is a clue to a harder truth.

Many( if not most) Dominicans do not care much for protecting the environment beyond random verbal support. Some will doubt our line on this but we would encourage self examination. How many people believe that without foreigners intervening that Dominicans would stop hunting turtles ? Indeed, the scarcity of turtle meat simply made it more of a delicacy. Political correctness has a whole generation of people claiming they love turtles, but the reality is, without laws to protect turtles, the turtle would probably be extinct. The simple reason being that the average Dominican does not see the big deal. And it tastes good, horror of horrors.

The losing battle on behalf of the whale watching industry vs Japans dollars forgets the reality on the ground. Dominicans in the main make no connection with their ordinary lives and protection of animals. On top of that, add in commercial incentives from one side, and it’s a battle lost. No matter that fishermen are still using the same methods they have always used and that the facilities themselves have not changed the culture of fishing.

Consider the average Caribbean, much less Dominican, treatment of pets, such as dogs and you get a clue as to difficulties faced. We have a functional view of animals, which can only be massaged by law or by funding. Again this viewpoint may seem harsh until you really think about it.

Given all of this what should be the approach for the environmentalists ? A just cause is one thing, but that cause needs to market itself not only as the moral cause (it doesn’t work for Caribbean people) but as a cause which will impact our lives beyond things like cleaner air and fresh water. Dominicans have shown a willingness to run to every polluted developed country on earth .Why should we be afraid of a polluted Dominica if the price is the very development we seem to crave?

It is time for the environmentalist movement and its backers to understand that the battle for hearts and minds begins with the pocket and the stomach. And this is a battle which they are losing, no matter how noble the intent and the cause.

Whisper, whisper

2008-11-30T07:43:00.000-05:00

One of the most destructive things in small countries is the power of the whisper.

The funny thing is that it can surround you completely whilst you least recognise it. WHat is the 'whisper'. The whisper is the inability or unwillingness of people to deal with dealing with anything openly, and cloaking it in the mask of disliking confrontation.

I am usually least to know about many things because the whisper usually eludes me. After all if you are unlikely to keep the whisper at a whisper level then you dont exactly fit into the cycle. Much less if the whisper is about you :-)

The thing about it is that it permeates every pore of our society. The employees who have friends who have another friend who doesnt like your boss. The affair that is happening or may not be, even whilst they sit in the midst of their own follies, the corruption that might be happening but is best left alone, the man who is well known as a child abuser etc etc.

I have made a resolve to open all whispers as quickly as I receive them. That way I can satisfy my desire to find out what motivates people to spend their time, in work, out of work literally creeping through life, even as some of them are afflicted with even greater malaise than the people they whisper about.

Be strong. say it out. Do not lose your dignity. And do not ever have the mistaken guidance that it is strength to be double faced. That may work in Machiavellian scenarios, but I dont think the prince would consider that Dominica or any small Caribbean island be the apex of power games.

Lime n Spoon

2008-11-10T22:38:00.000-05:00

The rebrand of Cable & Wireless in the Caribbean brings up some interesting questions.

LIME as a replacement for bMobile might seem a natural fit, but as a transition away from the core C&W brand it comes off as anything but a playful get together, which is what a 'lyme' is supposed to be in Caribbean talk.

This is in the context of a Digicel which has taken on the mantle of aggressive in the region, and now AMerica Movil, branding itself as Claro as it does through its deployment in Latin America, taking an aggressive first stance in Jamaica.

How does a corporate company become a sour fruit and not suffer consequences from using the colour black. As a hip lifestyle brand it can work. As a corporate brand I suggest that this is a doomed project and can only devalue its likely acquisition by a bigger player in time.

The other question is whither Liat ? A few weeks ago we tried booking media for a client and were told by Loat that their new inflight magazine was being rebranded and re-designed. The name of their new in flight mag ? LIME.

The colours, the look and the positioning are excellent for Liat.

So now we have two limes. one black and one green.

Seriously

2008-10-27T18:28:00.001-04:00

I love my little island. I really do.

The country has a resilience that is extremely warming.

It should be obvious that something is extremely wrong and needs to be fixed. Dominica isnt a failed state. Luckily our natural resources and some very persistent people havent allowed that to happen.

We are a stagnant state. In reality a small island nation in this very hostile economic world isnt exactly in a great position.

However we arent the only small island nation in the world. What we are witnessing is a systemic failure of the pillars of a healthy society.

Its a difficult thing to grasp but the country is gripped in a classic low inferiority complex loop. There is no independence in that.

Mamo, the Douglases, the current set of blingers...all have been guilty of keeping this country as repressed and underdeveloped mentally. The majority of the people of this country see no future in the country for their children and literally ship them out as quickly as possible with a do not return sticker on their case.

Watching the faces of people who came home and almost felt validated for the decisions they made years ago, is somewhat sad.

If there was a history of a Dominican upper class or even middle class abroad it would be simple for anyone to accept the flight from small third world nation to first world economies.

Yet most of our migrants are moving to working class. In other words, just being able to get a job.

Its not something I enjoy writing about. And I am sure noone will enjoy reading it.

Reunion Mess

2008-10-15T12:35:00.000-04:00

My thoughts

30 years of Independence and its a mess.

I have and continue to blame GREED.

The country looks like a bombsite about to hold a BBQ to raise funds to fix the bombsite.

A small group of people have manouvred themselves onto committees in order to reward themselves either directly or indirectly.

Thats not to say there are no genuine people working within them. But when you look at the mess these people have created running over themselves to get things done quickly and get paid, its no wonder.

One particular quasi government person and his private sector partner should be ashamed of themselves. Make your buck but dont create an eyesore every where you pass in order to corner the coin.

Sign of the Times

2008-09-08T08:55:00.000-04:00

Someone pointed out recently that the US nationalisation of two major mortgage providers was fascism.

The statement she made which is very accurate is that they are 'socialising the risk and privatising the profit'.

Its an interesting situation in that the risk of course to the US economy was huge, but in many ways they are bailing out capitalism gone mad.

The situation in Dominica with Chavez money is equally strange. The volume of money supposedly given to this country does not reflect in what you see in the country.

Ah well.

Catching Up

2008-08-24T23:55:00.001-04:00

On the fast...I made it to three days and then got back on board slowly. Food tastes very strange after you come off a fast. Will try again.

On work. There are changes, much self imposed, and understanding the limits of what can be done. Its amazing how you can miss what is happening around you when you are so deep into your thoughts and plans. And how enlightened I am.

On life. Opportunities come when you slow down and listen and observe.

On the Olympics. Didnt get to see enough. Bolt is a phenomenon but my favourite athlete is Dayron Robles the cuban 110m hurdler. The classiest athlete in T&F.

On football. My team Arsenal are not looking good, early into the season as it is. Not a good time to need them to uplift me. Those guys look like that have a long hard season ahead.

On Mccain vs Obama. I am more worried about George Bush and what he is likely to do in his last days as Americas worst president in living memory. The US financial meltdown is potentially very scary now and whats scarier is that most people in the Caribbean dont even know what 'could' happen in a matter of months. Having a mortgage and loans is not a good thing right now.

On Reunion 2008, and Nice Up. A byword for failure and incompetence. Almost a metaphor on the management of the country for the last 30 years.

On me. Wiser.

Easy does it

2008-08-08T14:32:00.000-04:00

I am fasting. Water fasting to be exact.

I am almost through my second day and it has been pretty good. My biggest problem will be tonight and the Friday night orgy of meat eating which I usually put myself through.

Anyway, I am no tree hugger or yoga disciple. I like the idea of the discipline and I am already alot more aware of things around me as I am not working on the next meal syndrome. As human beings we are obssessed with food. When we going to eat, what we going to eat, where we going to eat.

Health wise there is plenty of material out there on water fasting. I intended to do a 4 day fast but I am not sure if I am mentally ready for it. I cant jump back into lifestyle of the meat eating Caribbean man either. Have to take it slow or risk damaging myself from thinking I am on a racecourse for the starving.

Here in the Caribbean meat is everything. Typical Caribbean man considers a vegetarian in the same way car drivers consider bikers, mavericks who we laugh at at particular times. For the motorcycle rider its when its raining. For the meat eater, its any feast where you need a big piece of meat in the middle of the table :-).

I wonder if I will make it through picking up chicken and ribs later.

I will let you all know.

Its just business

2008-07-12T12:11:00.000-04:00

There is a level of competition in the Caribbean where we start to understand how people can be manipulated.

FSI have worked for both Cable & Wireless and Digicel as an agency. In fact we worked for Orange too at a point. We have done some interesting stuff.

The level of competition got ridiculous because at some levels people have managed to be convinced that someone competing for a small market is effectively trying to kill them and ruin their lives.

I am ashamed to say it makes the perfect business case for expatriate bosses of local companies. Local people just cannot divorce their personal likes and dislikes from the business need. Hard as it is...the expats simply want to meet their targets and piss off. The locals want to play their own version of Age of Empires and have stories to tell about who they 'funded' or not.

The Caribbean cannot sustain more than two cellphone companies. With America Movil and Carlos Slim (the second richest man in the world) now actively in this region, someone is going to get acquired. And with those aquisitions people you thought were your mortal enemies, may have to become your best friends.

Wise up people...

Anonymous

2008-07-03T17:58:00.001-04:00

I was told that writing a blog shows that I have time to burn. I dont. But its a useful diversion where I have millions of thoughts and sometimes its good to put it down to define the thought.

The interesting thing is what draws people to comment on what is written.

These observations are not any way to discover who I am. They are in a way an easy way to discover what I do think about. Unlike a diarytwhich can hold the sacred thoughts and experiences and give them strength as you get older and can connect the dots, a blog, and this blog, is like talking about what you see when you look out your window.

This is for Anonymous readers, and conspiracy theorists. The essay written about you is the one written by you.

peace

Its about Sex baby

2008-06-29T09:24:00.000-04:00

Here are some thoughts

1. Caribbean men have some of the highest rates of prostate cancer because the traditional view of the prostate check, ie the finger up the ass check, is that it is well ummm homosexual. I always tell guys that the only time they need to be worried is if the doc has both hands on their shoulder and they getting probed. Then my friend its time to reevaluate your fears. So many rather suffer death than having their ass fingered, to put it brutally. Its particularly prevalent in macho man territory, Jamdown.

2. The amount of money which passes hands for sex in the Caribbean is much higher than people think. We dont have classic prostitution except in the bigger islands. The communities are too small and most of the time where there is prostitution its done by immigrants. However the case of bartering for sex is definitely there. In countries with disparity in income it doesnt take much either.

3. Homosexuality. Fact is in most islands you live in small communities where the gays (I dont like what this word was converted into) are well known. We grow up with them, play with them, party with them, lime with them. They are in effect, us. Then at some point once sexuality becomes a dominant theme of morality as defined by religion, they become this evil thing. Except.....many of the 'gays' in my country are literally captains of industry and some of the best know contributors to the social and cultural fabric of the country. So many people walk around softly softly not wanting to offend most of them because of their power and value to the country, and making hypocritical noises to frighten those young people who have real dilemmas. Cue: confusion. Lesson - If you have enough money you can bugger all and sundry and even get a front seat in church. If you aint - Fire Bun you.

4. Talk about sex in the Caribbean is almost taboo. Well not enjoyment. There is talk about abortion (its evil), Aids (get tested and wear a condom), morality (its best having it with your spouse and then no condom needed - ie the Church position), abstinence (if you aint married abstain - or masturbate regularly which is my advice). But is there talking about good ole sex enjoyment. Oh no. Meanwhile, the reality is that people want some...all the time. Even those going to church too.

Have some great sex today. Even with yourself.

Catching up

2008-06-28T13:46:00.001-04:00

Three posts in One day.

Some random thoughts.

On Comrade Ralph and his Caribbean utterings. Caribbean unity is an elusive thing. The committment level of Caribbean people to Caricom et al is pretty low.

Much of that is driven by business, which has maintained a protectionist stance based on the fact that many mediocre businesses are thriving because of lack of competition. Island by Island there are numerous monopolies who thrived because of coincidence rather than excellence. Were the Caribbean fat cats in each island expansionist in their regional view, Caricom would be a success long time ago. But still everyone is happy in their little fiefdoms.

The other driver is ignorance. The situation in Barbados with Guyanese immigrants is one case in point. Rather than trying to understand and debate publically, the ability of more Barbadians to scale from working class to middle class in a country which CAN support this, the Bajan press has concentrated on demonising Guyanese immigrants, who ironically are coming in because they are willing to do low wage work, which is a natural condition of capital investment driven economies. Foreigners love paying low wages as part of their overall investment package. Therefore the Guyanese become essential.

Why shouldnt there be free movement of Labour and people. WHy shouldnt Dominicans or Antiguans consider going to farm or mine in Guyana and selling precious metals on the global market.

Can you imagine a set of small islands enforcing work permits on countries closer than most cities in the US and Europe.

What gives

And as for the musings on a regional judiciary. The only reason Caribbean people still trust the Privy Council more than its own judiciciary, which of course is a mockery of the whole independence of most of those islands, is this. Caribbean parochialism at every level has convinced all that the same buddy buddy system of governance and business will hold true at the highest level of justice.

The people are not wrong either. However it is time to take the leap or continue to be held in chains by fears.

Reality Check

2008-06-28T13:31:00.001-04:00

Standing in Victoria Station straight off a Gatwick Express train I started wondering what was wrong. All around me there were signs of mad panic. People were flying around, melee, confusion.

Luckily it wasnt a bomb scare or an attack by a mad person with a gun.

It was just rush hour. I lived in England for 13 years, most of which I didnt use the underground tubes (trains) for more than 20 minutes. I even used to drive to Birmingham to and from, rather than take the train. I fall into the bracket of wasteful Caribbean man who prefers chilling in his own space. I accept that.

But this rush hour thing really shocked me. We dont rush around like this unless a serious hurricane is coming. These peeps do this every morning just to get to work on time.

Which beggars the thought. If humans are not naturally efficient and time driven then do we all have to implement a mental rush hour to perform ? I dont think so. But obviously some of these people are just highly paid guinea pigs. And they keep on stressing themselves for no reason, just to get to work on time.

As someone who strives hard to be successful, even when i lived in England my contracts over the last 5 years stipulated that I started work at 9. I would budge on salary quicker than I would of my time comfort. Call me lazy but it never affected my standard of living.

Maybe I really needed this reality check to understand why chasing success is often a myth.

Take it easy

2008-06-28T13:09:00.000-04:00

Just returned from Barbados. I both admire and am afraid of Barbados.

Barbados represents the ultimate in first world mimickry. Its a beautiful little country with some of the hardest working people you can find. Its economy and living standards are first world, and its stability as a nation is great.

I admire all of those. Barbados has shown a capacity to absorb foreign direct investment to the point where it is attractive for foreign dollars to be in Barbados because foreigners want to holiday there, they want to live there, they want to even die there.

I get the sense that Bajans tolerate this success carefully. Its like the butler who takes shit all day because he knows he gets paid higher than even some white collar workers elsewhere and that he lives large. But deep down, he doesnt want to be a butler anymore.

A black bajan middle class may emerge, one that has landowning power. But right now they are as happy as any mid income family guy in Surbiton in the UK or Westchester in the US who really wishes he didnt have to wear a shirt and tie to work and wants to be free from being part of a robot working environment with team talks and quarterly targets.

I havent seen the balance yet. Maybe Martinique reflects it better. An island laissez-faire buffered with some colonial visitors and French patronage to give them enough income to continue being laissez faire in a great setting. Les Antillais rarely wear suits as a matter of fact.

Its funny when you think of it.

Mimic Men

2008-06-02T13:49:00.000-04:00

The Caribbean in many ways is in a state of flux. This hasnt got to do much with its size. Have a look at Singapore for example. The argument about slavery is a good one, in that slavery fractured the societies of the Caribbean, but we are like many peoples able to choose a new path for ourselves.

or can we.

There is a routine failure of thought in the Caribbean. Indeed we continue to mimic other peoples routinely, with the idea that we can simply transplant the effect of their systems on their own lifestyles, to ours.

The contempt ordinary Caribbean people have for thinkers is something we dont notice. Caribbean people (even transplanted) appreciate work which has a definite wage or reward system. You dont meet Caribbean philosophers unless you want to apply that to the musings of an old fisherman on a Friday night after he has had enough spice rum to allow him to speak openly.

Its economists are barely contrarian, usually fitting in with convention. Its politicians, the most brazen of prostitutes, available for the highest bidder, and convincing the populace that giving scholarships, constructing roads and building a school constitutes a grand plan.

And its population....migratory, transient and ready to seize another identity.

There is another way of course, but mimicking is easy.

Said it before

2008-04-20T10:57:00.001-04:00

If you took a poll for and against an oil refinery locally in Dominica it would be an overwhelming yes vote - for. The same masses wanted the Billion dollar lottery here as well, even when it was shown to be an IBC scam which amazingly was being allowed to offer the scam to people living in the jurisdiction of the IBC. (Thats one topic that people dont get...why would your govt allow a scam to hit your local populace). Personally I dont have a problem with scams run by governments. The local coffers get filled and when the scams collapse usually so do the governments involved. Voila...a double win. And as for the innocent person in idaho who loses his money ? Well...greed aint good.

The alternative voices are usually a middle class with a vested interest (ie the environmentalists, the hoteliers, etc) or opposition political voices. Therefore you have classic polarisation. And the issue at large really suffers.

I love the quote by Mo udall (the guy who lost to Jimmy Carter in the US elections). He said in his concession speech, " The people have spoken, the bastards".

This assumption that Dominicans know whats best for them is a false one. Its also false that we have to do the right thing. A generation of people like this cannot learn by being denied what they consider golden opportunities. it just increases the chance of one major fuckup one day.

The other point we have to remember, unlike the dissenting voices who are looking to contribute large amounts of air to the argument, and to the economy, Chavez is putting hard cash into the local population and promising to pay for his refinery. In Dominica more than most places, money talks.

So if you want to preserve your country people, get that billion dollar investment and that Marriott and that new offshore university. come with dollars or watch the ride.

Things that foreigners cannot handle

2008-04-18T09:36:00.000-04:00

1. "I cant find it anywhere". I understand this reason very well. You just want to go to a movie and chill. You just want to go to a restaurant and get served quickly even if they dont know you. You want a leg of Lamb NOW. You want to go to a club and you dont want to feel like you stepping into a meat factory.Its, selfish and not really important, but it is at the same time. Especially when it really isnt an island problem since you can go to other islands and do all of the above.

2. Everyone is watching. Met veye is an occupation in this small island. Like your privacy ? Go far into Zion and come down for you shopping and go back up. The alternative is that everyone is going to know you business, whether its true or false. Confidentiality means nothing here. Your bank manager to your next door neighbour has info that has to be shared. And goddammit...them goin share it. Just accept that or be a hermit.

3. The rumour mill. Not content to minding their own business they also have to create stories to match their interest. Its an island, ok . We dont have National Enquirer or the Sun. We have radio neg. The best ones are rumours that people can end up telling you not knowing its you they are talking about. Priceless, but some people can really get hurt by the non ending quest to damage their name or reputation for the sake of easing some dead TV time.

4. Government. Look. there is nothing more irritating than govt on small islands. In most large countries you dont even know who you local rep is. You are detached and the machinery of government just rumbles on. In Dominica you get to see the person who has influence over many aspects of your life close up. And it aint pretty. The bureacracy, thin skins, and plain lack of smarts of Government can drive anyone mad and get them to leave this place. Many of them prob wouldnt even be able to get a middle tier job in on merit elsewhere. But here they are king....and you better remember that or make plans to scoot.

5. Dishonesty. The country is small. That means every slight gets magnified and really CAN piss you off. If you get into business in Dominica you have to realise that there is no code of conduct or business ethics etc. Its the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest. This is not a statement saying that Dominicans are more dishonest than anyone else. We are a good people. But tings tight as they say and people have no qualms about copying, stealing or plain taking your ideas, your dreams or anything they can use and running with it. I am not being harsh. I am being real.
However if you are just living your life this doesnt apply. Well, except if you expose a fresh British or US accent in the market. Then crapaud smoke your pipe :-)

6. Gotta have some. Caribbean man must be honest. Its so damn hot and we get so horny that we have to tackle every woman. Or do we. On the flip side I really think we need to do 'Get some' holidays. Want to get some ? Come to the Caribbean island of Dominica and get laid. There is someone for everyone. Lady has a full grown beard or a nervous tic ? No problem...we have someone for that too. All joke aside though, as a man you dont realise how bad it is until you have a lady friend visit from abroad and move around with you. Guys talking to you and watching her like a piece of bacon on a menu. Some like it (bearded ladies need love too), many dont. But its real. 24x7 tackle mode is employed. It has to stop of course but women in Dominica have to play their part in stopping it.

Better get back to the real world.

Ten reasons to live in Dominica

2008-03-21T15:23:00.000-04:00

Some people dont understand why I love Dominica so I will give ten reasons why despite all the things I dont like, I still remain. Of course as they dissapear I will update :-)

1. The pace, or lack thereof. If you dont understand, stand up in grand central Station in NY or Victoria Station in London and watch people run around like headless chickens to be packed into trains like sardines. Voluntary madness. And they consider that normal. Well normal is strolling and not feeling obliged to walk fast.

2. The food. Simple and without fanfare. Who care about dining al fresco when you do that everyday. Who cares about descriptions such as a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, or a collage of greens and all the bs you get on these menus in the so called first world. And now even in some caribbean countries, poor mimic people that they are. People really do giggle about it when they are being honest.

3. The water. A simple thing. River water, pipe water, just water...abundant, though less so than ever i remember but still more than most places. And it does taste different. And in this case different is better.

4. The air. Unpolluted, and fresh. Soon to possibly to have a slight tinge of oil refinery added. But still...worth being here for.

5. Familiarity. its a personal reason. I like the fact that I call and get my fish just like that fresh from the sea. I like that I know the people I encounter. yes the downside is claustrophobia of sorts and everyone being in your business, bt after all...it is a small island with not much going on.

6. The weather. I hate winter. Honesly I wasnt built for that biting cold that I willingly subjected myself to for 12 years. I am sorry, but winter fashion and frequent nookie sn enough to justify that season.

7.The innuendo of life. This need explaining. In dominica you could met your local pastor in a quiet spot literally talking off the pants of a young lady and then unashamedly experience the same person in a fire and brimstone speech next day. Dominica has an almost daily occurence of comedy, some unfortunately rooted in hypocrisy but much of it is just pure innocence translated into reality. Our signs for example are classic examples of that.

8. Carnival. Can explain it. Just do it.

9. Proximity. Just down the road in the US or UK often translates to a 30 min to and hours drive. Just down the road here is a drive that could be walked in ten minutes. I love it. I am done work and at home in ten minutes.

10. Irreverence. The lack of unnecessary airs and graces. take it from me. People in big countries have to put up with so much fake bs in their average day that its almost understanable when they go on these mass shootouts. Frustration builds up over time. Everyone has to be tolerant of each other no mater how they feel etc. In the meantime you literally see people imploding. here in Dominica a man offends another man and the anatomy of his mother comes into full view via words. They then meet next day and life goes on. there is something unhealthily healthy about that.

Add to my list if you have any.

A few thoughts

2008-03-21T14:51:00.000-04:00

We now have social tourism from venezuela. Poor venezuelans get to come to Dominica to have a holiday via direct flights into the Nature Isle. Might be a way to placate those restless Chavistas about their socialist revolution and get some people to justify the new venezuela to dominica flights. Somehow i am yet to understand the benfit to the actual Dominican but I am sure it will come in a ruling party communique.

And yes....I know...there is no poverty in our new economic powerhouse. After all we just gave 90,000 dollars to Liberia on request from the IMF. Yes the IMF. Remember them ? That evil group of hegemonists as described by that new organisation called Alba which condemns the IMF (hawk...spit). We truly embrace the 'urgency of now' in Dominica.

This leads me to Tony Astaphan, lawyer and political advisor to the ruling party (this sounds better than government and it is actually what it is). Tony gets alot of stick because his family is rich and he is seen as a champagne socialist. Of course Tony is more than ideology. He is also a successful lawyer who works for the Antigua, Kittitian, St lucian, vincentian Labour parties (many of them have since gone from ruling to merely waiting). Tony has obviously worked out that ideology without money makes you something like a walking Cuba (liable to end up dreaming of being exploited just for the freedom of it all). I would say I admire Tony's ability to appear to be a political player. I am more reminded of those slick Mafia lawyers who all the other lawyers hate because they make more money and who still get the best 'other' work. Some could do worse than study his career approach.

Barack Obama and religion. I must say Obamas church / religion thing disturbs me. Black people for generations have been stupefied by religion. I dont believe Barack Obama is, but I do believe that he has studied the reach of religion which is even more dangerous. At times his speeches seem like sermons grabbing at the hearts and minds of the listeners. Makes me think that this guy has managed to make a whole heap of unbelievers at least pay tithe, which is why his fundraising is so successful. Between the three remaining options though I see little home for countries like ours, except that our politicians will get more chances for photo opps.

In Dominica the use of the church to legitimise people who are dirtier than the hell that most people are supposed to avoid, is well...almost religious in execution. The gathering union between church and state in Dominica is a bad bad sign. Unlike the US which has secularity drummed into the lives of its citizens, Dominica has a range of crackpots who would love to have the ability to use Government as a pulpit. Because of the belief system of people here, there is nothing more dangerous than a politician playing the God card. Their level of accountability can be nil and they will still succeed.

Lastly....Its great to be in Dominica. Its green, its sunny, its beautiful and the social tourists havnt started squatting here yet. Viva la Revolucion.

Follow the money

2008-03-16T09:51:00.000-04:00

There is no doubt that the Caribbean is a serious challenge for an entrepeneur. Given that our laissez faire culture and the size of our markets do not usually encourage venture confidence you have to ask, why bother ?

The other issue is that there is no such thing as angel investing or VC funding in the Caribbean. Sure, some people list themselves as being VC funds but none of those Trinidadian based or Barbados based orgs are really entrepeneurial focussed. Had a chance to deal with one recently and the company had an aversion to a face to face meeting and gave no criteria as to what would encourage them to invest.

In another life I was a due diligence specialist for ICG Internet Capital Group. I was actually the CTO of one of their seed companies, Breakaway Solutions, in the UK, and spent time doing due diligence on people like Inreon in Switzerland, CargoBiz in Germany, FOL in Leicester (Farming online).

Now you wont hear of any of those companies today. They have all gone under. Of course ICG is still there, whilst all the people who used to work for these companies and the entrepeneurs who set them up, are gone.

The story is that banks and vc companies take calculated risks, but their rebound factor is high. Entrepeneurs dont have that luxury most of the time.

While I was at BWAY, the stock went up to as high as 178 bucks. We had 1000 plus employees at one point. The wasteage was incredible. I remember staying in the Old Colonial Inn in Concord , Mass, with FOL, a venture which was something of a reverse online auction system being built to operate as an online B2B venture. It tanked of course.

Many of the US colleagues went on to form Greenbeacon GreenBeacon Solutions and they are increasingly successful. The strange thing is that Breakaway had some of the brightest people I knew.

The gist of this blog entry is that life is a risk and the inability of Caribbean institutions to think beyond their nose might be one of the reasons why young people are literally being bred to run away.

The worst part of this is that it isnt worth the while for most VC's to do DD on the Caribbean. New large scale ventures in the Caribbean are few and far between. Digicel perhaps ? After that everything else is a first world outpost with a Caribbean representative.

Our impression of ourselves is not good. Its Liat Airlines. How do you expect people like CFSC and DFL Caribbean to take any risks in any enterprise.

One at a time

2008-03-03T06:14:00.000-05:00

So far 2008 has been interesting. Starting a charity / trust foundation has gone well so far. The people contacted have all agreed and we are almost there. Its going to be interesting to see what we can achieve.

Business has been very interesting. Our free publication, The Tip, is moving overseas. It never caught on among the corporate public but it was very popular locally in Dominica with by far the widest circulation. Funny but true :-) Anyway it was a labour of love and at the end of the day love and business are pretty bad mixes. It was an interesting experiment here though and shows how the business community thinks. Note to self: Next time launch it through a 'front', preferably a white American.

Still havent joined the DAIC. Havent seen one single reason why we should. They are the local chamber of commerce.

Started two new ventures. I swear that a masochistic streak runs through me and my colleagues. Its an unusual thing but I personally do not fear failure. In fact you could almost say I live in the eye of the breeze of failure. Its a great rush. I guess its because I have failed and recovered. Maybe in a few years time I'll get tired of this.

Watching this Venezuela thing very closely.

Cronyism

2008-02-09T09:21:00.000-05:00

There is something happening in Dominica. A kind of rampant cronyism. First of all the country has descended into the George Bushian 'with us or against us'.

Dominica joined Alba, the Bolivarian alternative to the FTAA or whatever you call these long winded meaningless games hegemonists like Chavez play. Read more about the real venezuela in this Venezuela Blog

Firstly I feel the governments problem. They have the imagination of a beetle in heat, and really have the most unusual problem. In real terms they should stand before the population and let them know that the illusion that there should be no poverty and that Dominica should be thriving, is just that, an illusion.

That would give them real room to help the country become a little bit more self sufficient and to try to work to create some jobs for the ever growing mass of young people without employment.

Instead what we have is that every major crisis or issue is faced with either the mayor, the whaling commissioner, one of the ministers, or the national radio station, or one of the govt overseas friends making statement in support of whatever steps the govt has taken.

One old person likened this government to the Patrick John government. A popular leader, a band of cronies and yes men, and a country lurching from one crisis to another without any plans other than the brainwaves of the Anointed One.

I hope not. I dont want this government to fail because in reality the lack of any intellectual and economic progress in the country right now reflects on all Dominicans here and abroad. There is a collective failure of the country. And very few people want to admit that 30 years of Independence are indeed 30 years of very little achievement. There is work to be done and I am willing to help.

A sense of power

2008-02-01T09:20:00.000-05:00

Its Carnival time and I want to communicate something totally unrelated to the drinking and merriment goin on right now in Dominica.

How does a country with a government who are lost in action, a private sector dominated by a couple wealthy families on a continuous 'me only' agenda, and a population so bludgeoned into servility that they dont understand what is happening, change ?

There is an intellectual crisis in Dominica which could result in a backlash of sorts even for those who are nothing to do with the greed that is going on at present. There is a race and class factor of course but more obvious is that every significant organisation is now compromised either by government cronies or cronies of the private sector bullies.

And imagine having to deal with these bloodsuckers every day. Answers everyone as to what to do. I want to examine the pacifist and the 'possible bankruptcy' options. If you ask questions out of confusion I will answer and bring you up to speed.

Marketing - Really

2008-01-15T08:41:00.000-05:00

We are going through a crisis of creativity in Dominica. I blame it on the culture of cheap. You have large companies running full campaigns which look like they have been built by a 5 year old on potty break. The result ? Well...the consumer still buys, and ultimately the result is no work for proper agencies. The hostility to proper marketing and products is based on a perception of what should make money. Lets face it, in any given office if a random question were to be asked as to who thinks they can do marketing, everyone would put their hands up.

Our competition ranges from the lone range freelancer who concentrates on coming below the pricing, to our version of the local chinese, a company which does any and everything and whose owner is now trying to get political influence to backup the weakness of his services.

It used to be something that would make me vexed but I guess it is too much to expect for someone to pay decent prices for something they dont respect. The average bigger company here is acutely aware of who they 'give' money to. Therefore the trick is to make sure you never need them else they will usher you to your demise, whilst smiling and shaking your hand. Its a Caribbean ting. We are not the only people. Piracy of everything is at an alltime high and with the Chinese explosion thats just the start.

Ironically creativity, whether in our environment or in our people, is pretty much all we have. And the beat goes on.

Feed me

2007-11-26T16:16:00.000-05:00

I eat alot like most Dominicans. I dont eat crap, well black pudding and smoked snout (I have to tackle the pig thing sometime as a separate topic). I try hard to not eat imported chicken. The local butcher always complains that it doesnt matter because our local chickens are being fed on the same imported feed, but they still taste better. Ironic but true that free range chicken is rare here. Once you start to sell to make a buck you fall into the same cycle.

I dont buy any imported beef, very little pork, of course local fish only. I dont eat fastfood, unless fish from All Nations counts. I do get local rabbit (sorry Bugs).

The thing is Dominica has alot going for it but we import so much shit it isnt funny. And the other thing is that the price gouging is getting on my nerves. If I never set foot into a supermarket again I'd be a happy man.

My personal project is to setup around 4 acres of land for livestock and farming for a backup barter system and to get myself into a positive routine that isnt based around money like everything else I do. My only problem is that like everything else I do it will have to be micro managed. I know I will enjoy it. So I am goin to do it. And soon.

Happy Hour

2007-11-25T17:57:00.000-05:00

Elections are coming in 2010 and we are approaching happy Hour. Its that time when politicians realise they need to start doing things, no matter how rushed and superficial to identify themselves as being productive and to have something to speak about on the platform.

The rep in the area I am from is now on a drive to create new drains / roads running through the area he is running in. Politicians in Dominica dont think much of the electorate and it may be that they are right. After all if your vote can be bought for a handout of plywood and fixing a road and a scholarship why should you inhabit a place of honor in the heads of those who are giving.

Not to mention the contractor is the father of a public official (conflict of interest is a foreign language here) and the last job he did, which was doing the sidewalks of Roseau was even more of a mess and explained away No problem . And I challenge anyone who has been to Roseau to say otherwise. But thats just how it is.

I grew up with these guys, and even went to school with many of them. In political parlance, its their time. Hence anything is possible. Meanwhile the population says and does nothing because everyone is tied into this game of 'dont vex the man at the head table'. What a world.

Virtual is Real

2007-11-19T08:51:00.000-05:00

I have a friend. His nick is Southie. I dont know his real name and have never met him. Yet we exchange views all the time on everything from politics to economics, WI Cricket, to all kinds of wutlissness.

Last week my friend Southie found out his son and his sons gf were kidnapped and murdered in Jamaica. In fact he first communicated it on the forum were we all exchange views. Most of us, me included thought it was a joke until he pointed out the headline in the Jamaican newspapers. Another tragic story.

As the story unfolded it became clear that we interface with people all the time virtually and are so easily connected to them. Virtual is real. Sorry for your loss Southie.

Fragile World

2007-11-18T08:04:00.000-05:00

More and more people are starting to see the value of coming to an island like Dominica. The main reason is the lack of government interference in their life. Like it or not, in Dominica you could literally create your own domain, your own Kingdom. Especially if you have an independent income. Govt monitoring of the individual in places like the US and UK is at an utmost high. Big Brother lives. The violence levels in much of the developed world make you cringe and it gets worse as people get disconnected from the people around them. Dont know you, dont care about you.

We have water but our rivers are drying up faster than we are willing to admit (some rivers are literally gone and thats just in my lifetime), especially when you consider our rate of industrial develoipment is close to nil. In other words you can understand why a Trinidad and Barbados have depleted natural resources. Dominica ? Shouldnt happen. And if it does, then there is no reason to live here unless we become like everywhere else, and then there really will be no reason to live here.

I think I just made a case for protecting our environment.

I dont think unemployment, potholes and rampant cronyism should be a byproduct though.

CSME

2007-11-16T08:02:00.000-05:00

What a joke this CSME thing is.

I watch with slight amusement as the traditional influences flow in one direction. What am I doing to change it ? Well I am trying. In our quest to regularise Outdoor Advertising across the region we have been tackling a range of people to get Outdoor ordinance setup from island to island.

In one country the meetings were going fine until I revealed I was from another island. Then it became a difficulty, and the sighs got deeper and the questions got more probing.

The deep complexes Caribbean people still have cannot be buried under Caribbean unity.

Chinese Check us

2007-10-03T00:48:00.000-04:00

whilst I have the thought its best I run this as well. The Chinese announce they are injecting 500 million dollars into Chinese investors hands to explicitly invest into the Caribbean. Our local state radio station, government run and as intelligent a propaganda medium as a drunk man with a bullhorn proceeds to have this as a headline piece. The point of course is to show how smart we are for being with those 'rich and generous' Chinese.

The reality is very different. The Chinese are investing in China, and not in the Caribbean. Basically what happens is that the Chinese come in and invest and then proceed to suck the lifeblood out of local people whilst not actually investing much into the local economy.

Our economy is an advanced barter economy. Because of the size of our countries, money circulates in a commercial cycle. The Chinese immigrants are extremely hard working but they, scarecely employ a local soul, import low price poor quality goods from china and upsell locally, and spend as little as possible. They eat their own food, and do little immersion into the economies. Fine if you are an existing economy where you can just have a chinatown as part of your existing infrastructure. Not fine if your whole country could BECOME Chinatown.

I admire the work ethic and the strong community spirit. However we need to be wary of what happens next.

So it is

2007-10-03T00:14:00.000-04:00

"So it is" is a way Caribbean people describe something which happens which shouldnt happen, but just does. In many ways it reflects a sense of powerlessness.

I travel around the region often and "So it is" happens alot. The main reason it does is because people generally have little confidence in themselves or in the way of the 'right'. Quite simply that they have seen the way of the wrong dominate and even prosper. In small Dominica, many of the current land owners literally stole their land from other people.The ironic thing is that people will clearly make the link to crookery and consider that a normality.

What we then have is a personality contest which judges not the morality of acts committed but of who did. 'So it is'.

DIY

2007-09-20T11:27:00.000-04:00

The Caribbean is a challenge for many types of business but for a creative shop on a small island, well you aint seen nothing yet. One of things that people try to understand is what differentiates x from y. Its after all understandable. However I am always amused by the fact that I will buy a Used Jap car from an import / export merchant and knowingly give them 30-40% margin at least for just being able to pick up the phone and the same person will find it incredibly difficult to pay a couple thousand US for creative branding to differentiate their offering in the market. They simply find it too much to pay because well, they can sell their used cars without doing it. Tough argument to beat.

The reason ad agencies worldwide are often hated is because they are big money relationships at the highest level, where commission on those relationships mean more than the ideas and work that grows business. The fact that you have a little known agency called Zimmerman, in Florida, with 2 billion dollars in billings alone (and they really are low profile), gives you an idea of whats possible.

However here, the level of respect for ideas (musicians and artists will tell you the same thing) is at an alltime low. We really do work for our coin here because in the end, everyone can say 'f it' and do it themselves. And guess what, ask the question "so who thinks they can do the marketing job' in any company and all hands go up.

Design at any cost

2007-09-18T22:10:00.000-04:00

In the ad agency business you have to be very aware of competition. But sometimes it gets ridiculous.

The thing is that you have to make a concious decision not to be competing with people whose modus operandi is to use the suspicion of Caribbean people towards the value of creative work, to their favour.

Its an interesting phenomenon. Unfortunately what it means is that many businesses end up making no money because they price themselves out of the business. Its already come to pass in video production, and graphic design seems to be heading that way. The worst part is that standards of course are extremely low. Its a challenge you really dont want to take on. Of course ad agency work is really scarcely dependent on graphic design. Its a very small part of what we do. But its the low hanging fruit in the business. Everyone feels they can draw a pretty picture, and make a living doing it. More power to them.

of Dogs and Black men

2007-08-28T09:10:00.001-04:00

I have been looking at the Michael Vick saga in the US. I have two giant breed Caucasian Ovcharka dogs which I love of course. Vick was foolish and dog fighting is cruel. Even in lil Dominica we have dog fighting and even local police officers know about it as well. However the Caribbean mentality to animal cruelty is skewed as far in one direction as the US supposedly is in the other.

However, the destruction of Vicks career and the media attention it has gained is an eye opener. Over the last few weeks we have seen Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan stopped and charged on DUI, and of course Lohan was also in possession of cocaine. needless to say, DUI is serious given the amount of alcohol related accidents there are in the US. The cocaine possession is again big. No doubt a black man with cocaine AND DUI is looking at little options but jail. For those two stars the media attention is more about airtime than jailtime.

What the Michael Vick case has done is to show the rest of the world where black people lie in the pecking order of things in the US. Whether you are an animal rights fan or not, you must admit it is strange for other high profile people to walk away from these cases whilst Vick 'burns'. And Vick, as an extremely rich young black man, has means way beyond most avarege people. Well, and the liability of being dotish.

The rodeo business in the US is big business but it is nothing other than sanctioned cruelty. However the participants are mainly white and so is the hooting and hollering audience. No problemo then.

It took a set of cruelly treated dogs to remind the rest of the world what a hypocritical society AMerica is, but then again thats how it goes.

Bid Closed

2007-07-31T22:37:00.000-04:00

Dominica like many ACP countries is a beneficiary of EU funding. Its also the beneficiary of EU sponsored corruption. I say corruption because any system which is run by the criteria of lowest price is open to corruption in small Caribbean countries where everyone has a friend on the inside. The state of EU projects is a reflection of the selection process.

The creative agency I am part of is no longer bidding for any EU jobs. The problem with these bids is that the competent is often used as a stalking horse for incompetent people to be leaked your info, and then to simply underprice your offering. This is not some vacuous accusation. It happens. And the basic fact is we dont pitch in the open market based on price so its pointless. The last bid process had them stipulating a press sheet size larger than any press available in the Caribbean. Luckily we corrected them since the only tendering parties were all Caribbean presses :-)

One real ironic situation was that our national investment body, the now defunct NDC fought hard to make ACP countries ineligible for the rebranding of the Dominican identity (meaning FSI and no Caribbean agency could partake). Defy the Everyday from US agency GreenTeam (who actually were second in the bidding process, but won through because of pricing issues), was the result. Can you imagine that. The actual creative signature is here Dominica HomePage.

As the London Olympics proved, winning the bid isnt the hard part. Producing is. Whilst we wont pass comment on Dominica's rebrand, the Olympics logo for 2012 (as close to the swastika as you can get) is horrible, especially considering it cost 800k GBP to produce.

A sad state

2007-07-01T13:42:00.000-04:00

Whether you believe in native rights or not, the state of the native people in Dominica is sad. Like the Aboriginals in Australia the state of our kalinago people is nothing to be proud about. They are the poorest of the poor, and in the social order of things that is as low as it gets.

Passing through the Carib reserve (there is no PC way to say it, they have their own reserve 'territory') you get to see an environment which just screams 'leave'. There is nothing for the average young person to do, the assimilation in mainstream Dominica is still difficult because of an inbuilt bias towards them, especially ironic given the chain of racism black people have had to shake off.

The level of abuse of young Kalinago women is something else as well, a byproduct of poverty meeting limited ambition. The amount of Carib children sent off into adoption or to work and live with some benefactor in the city who can do what they want with them is of course another situation.

They have so much to offer Dominica, yet Dominica cannot see fit to help elevate the Kalinago. The Government reflects the general populace with a disregard for them except when their votes are needed. In the meantime we do not see how this reflects on ourselves.

The Carib Chief can be over the top but he is technically correct when he refers to the neglect of the Kalinago people, even while we try to wrap their identity into the brand that is Dominica. Its not fair. We are working on a client communications project which actually ties in Kalinago products so hopefully we will give them some well needed support.

Of course many believe having their own plot of land to subsist on as a community is enough to be grateful for. Maybe those who think deep and far back can see the irony.

Perspective

2007-06-30T08:01:00.000-04:00

Been watching the hype on the Iphone online. As a creative agency we have a fair share of Macs and I have an IMac G5 at home. I also have my fair share of toys like a Sony PSP, etc.

I like tech toys and cars like every brainwashed boy child. When I lived in the UK I used to part exchange my car every other year (its just a car, people). However to do the same in the Caribbean seems strange.

Maybe I am not describing it properly but the idea is that this is a different world, yet it isnt. As our social networks break down who wants to be stuck at home with a shitty Internet connection which never gives the bandwidth you pay for (and overpriced) and a budget phone. Well thats what the majority of people in our region are left with.

It used to be fun to observe that we didnt need those gadgets and the new model cars and other superficial things, because well...we had the Caribbean, we knew what real life and fun was about. Now ? With a society which is starting to do all the same things that drive the first worlders indoors I am not so sure. Well...when you think of it.

Anyway, Apple made a mistake imo. At&t ? Thats like giving a souped up athlete some clogs to run in.

Shot sah

2007-06-19T22:31:00.000-04:00

West Indian cricket is a sore topic for me. I have gone through every ritual possible to try to ensure the mediocre could breathe easier. In the end though we know why WI are losing. We are just not good enough. I say we because the failure of WI cricket is a failure of Caribbean society.

Years ago a friend of mine in 1998 told a group of us a story about West Indian players she accompanied to dinner in South Africa not being able to use cutlery properly. Its not an unusual situation.

Most West Indian cricket 'fans' dont actually go to the first class games nor do they patronise the cricketers in their early years. So the average West Indian cricketer rightly sees no connection between the majority of fans and themselves. They are playing for an unassisted buck all the way from u15 cricket to the senior level playing to the applause of a hardy few and the neighborhood goats and sheep.

Then many of the Caribbean fans who are cussing their lack of committment, spend most of their day stupsing their way through work, with scant loyalty for country, employer or anything else for that matter.

Life is so logical eh.

All that Glitters...

2007-06-16T09:46:00.001-04:00

Here comes OffShore Payout. Dominica is a great place for offshore ummm investors. A government which isnt exactly savvy, a population which views anything with dollar signs attached as the metaphorical economic savior, and of course our great ability to move on from disaster to disaster without fingering anyone for the crime.

Offshore scams work because of greed. Greed on the part of the people who host and run them. And greed from investors who want quick cash. As such its kind of difficult feeling sorry for any party in this whole mess.

It is obvious that naivety combined with greed is a lethal combination. However the interesting thing about offshorepayout is that even as a locally registered IBC it is actually offering the same 'deal' to Dominicans. This changes the picture a little bit (Just a lil...follow me here). Its one thing if your govt is turning a blind eye to fleecing other people of the world. Its another if they dont mind jooking you, the people who elected them and who at least they should be working 'for', out of your cash too.

The fact that the Grenadian PM is being sued by offshore investors Hall of Shame shouldnt escape anyone. A government which enables theft, is criminal too.

The media raised the story based on a leak from someone posting on News Dominica forum. Otherwise, this thing would have been launched without a whisper. There is much more to this story of course, but you get the picture.

A question of faith

2007-06-03T10:38:00.000-04:00

Religion scares me. In fact maybe its more accurate to say that the religious scare me. There is no superior morality to be engaged from believing in God. A mostly fundamentally religious Caribbean has no problem screwing, drinking and killing its way to the top of all the worlds 'bad' statistics. And neither is it restricted to us. Most fundamentally religious countries show a huge contradiction between what is supposedly believed and practised. The example as I have mentioned elsewhere of JAmaica having the most per capita churches and the third highest per capita murder rate in the world fits into this.

Incidentally, mostly secular states, like the Scandinavians, have much less violent, more egalitarian societies. Of course they will all burn in hell so all that is pretty pointless on their part.

The result though for the Caribbean and a small place like Dominica is a resigned fatalism 'quitter pour Bondieu' (leave it for God), to deal with problems that require thought and decisive action. Its an intellectual laziness. And it leaves our society open to crooks and charlatans (ok... politicians) whose only redeeming feature is their protestations about how much they believe in God. people throw their hands up and assume the creator will sort it out in the next round.

I am not an atheist. I am still learning about my own belief system. But it is an odd situation which is actually crippling the mindsets of people who least need it.

Just a lil bit more

2007-05-08T15:54:00.000-04:00

I am no 'development' groupie. But so many of the back to earthers miss the point. A decent road network isnt much. A decent housing infrastructure islandwide isnt much either. We have the odd combination of shitty infrastructure and government officials driving round in first world limos and cars, for achieving nowt.

I look at Dominica not through the eyes of someone tired of 'big' countries. I look at it as a country trying to retain its citizens. And the state of the country doesnt inspire patriotism. It promotes flight.

Dont Cry for me

2007-05-05T11:34:00.000-04:00

Just returned from the IN Network convention in Argentina. Its both energising and at the same time a reality check. There is so much work to be done for agencies like ours. We are slaves to our markets and the commercial activity in the Caribbean needs to grow so that we too can grow.

Everything is about relationships and I believe we are on the right track, even from our little unimportant cubbyhole in Dominica.

Big things will happen very soon.

The horse has bolted

2007-03-29T17:15:00.000-04:00

Its not with glee that I look at the examination of the Caribbean by the world during this World Cup. Our cricket is not the issue. Most West Indies fans are brutally realistic about our chances, except when we are drinking. Hopefully this WC will help to refocus ourselves on things that are bigger than cricket and yet which link back into our cricket.

Unfortunately it may be too late. The many people who expected this to be a windfall with Caribbean vendors gouging an unsuspecting tourist population (with the ICC's backing and goodwill of course), are now looking at running home to count their losses.

Meanwhile countries with real problems at even spending on sports in school have constructed stadiums and spent money which can all be traced to poor planning and greed. The opposition parties regionally must be licking their chops.

Things you notice

2007-03-25T18:51:00.000-04:00

I have been reading the old fan the flame articles from tim hector (who died some years ago) and though I dont believe in his political ideology in the main what Hector has said is very very poignant.

The Caribbean hasnt actually developed if you look very deep. There are no culprits. Only victims. The politicians are limited in intellect and morality, the old money is limited since they did not become rich through excellence but because of everyone elses mediocrity and now, the average person in the street would rather give a pint of their own blood than to see one of their own transcend it all. So in the end, plenty happens, but nothing is happening.

I now get a better understanding of why VS Naipaul was so caustic about the Caribbean being someone who saw it first hand himself.

Ignorance cannot be bliss. Its just less tiring.

Eco Friendly Oil refinery

2007-03-03T19:49:00.000-05:00

Great news ! Dominica is about to have the worlds first eco friendly oil refinery. The details are not clear but then again they dont need to be. You see we had elections two years ago and we are a democracy so we will just have to trust Skerro and crew on this one. The most eco friendly fact is that it will bring 300 jobs. Take that you environmentalists!

The venezuelans are of course managing the facility and paying for it, and by a happy coincidence they are also doing the Environmental Impact Assessment. Early reports indicate that they foresee no problems whatsoever. Arent we lucky to have such nice friends.

I wonder when we will officially hand over Bird Island and persuade the rest of the OECS to abandon this silly struggle against venezuela for our waters (ts really theirs). Maybe after our green oil refinery is done ?

Cynicism lives.

Chavez and Oil

2007-02-21T08:04:00.000-05:00

Was in Dominica, pushing the Axis of Poor Peoples.

Chavez is interesting. First for a would be fan of global collaboration, not being able to even speak English is always something I find funny (almost worth a cartoon). At least show your superiority over the American infidels by being multilingual.

Secondly, the 'people' movement in his country and in Cuba is very seductive for politicians looking for a ready made formula for long reigns. Except it has a catch.

The formula is to engage support of poor people by giving them as much 'free' as you can. Free health care, free housing, free education. However that can only exist as long as they are poor. Result. Your poor population stays loyal to you through elections and indeed they stay poor throughout. If by any coincidence they do get affluent, its usually because they migrated away, and then they become grateful financiers to the formula (if they didnt have to leave through the back door that is). And of course the education is canned.

The catch is that you have to have a macro economy ala oil to fund the whole 'poor is good' campaign. After all, to convince people that it is beneficial to be poor with no aspirations to be rich (cause then you become a fat cat working against the state), you need plenty dollars to spend to get that freeness going.

What Chavez is doing is mixing up messages. George Bush has made disliking America almost fashionable. The social inequality of the world is there to see and it is driven by a selfish agenda which Chavez is correct on. However the socialist agenda is no better (even when it is backed up by voting). Domination by a few in a party hierarchy which assumes that most people only need the basics to be happy, is not sustainable either. The pursuit of affluence is natural and is what has driven human development from day one. The grail that is adopted is still one of control. Whether we prefer our economies and our lives to be controlled by Chavez agenda rather than the G8 one is probably the most important question we have to ask ourselves.

Fitness

2007-02-01T08:45:00.000-05:00

Been tryin to get myself back into shape. I am pretty decent but now I am doing basketball every morning for 2 hrs from 5:30.

Not having played in a while my body feels like its been put through a rack but i am surprised at my ability level though not by my lack of fitness. I am blowing like a horse pulling a plough every 30 minutes. Of course I have gotten better over the last couple weeks but my fitness is still pretty bad.

If I consider myself to be better off physically than the average person who never exercises, then our population is in real trouble.

Who can you look up to ?

2007-01-07T08:30:00.000-05:00

In his blog Brands of the Year Greg Hoyos tries to feature the brands of the year in the Caribbean. With all fairness to Mr Hoyos he is left to pick at a slim group and has come up with a list that is very shaky. The reason is quite understandable. It really isnt about advertising, its about substance. There are no centers of excellence in Caribbean business. Caribbean writers have raised the point that this is why we were so fanatical about our cricket. It was actually the sole center of excellence with its home and roots in the Caribbean (though you could argue that Kerry Packer and country cricket forged it and we had little to do with creating that steel).

This in my opinion creates a huge opportunity in 2007. My commentary is that there isnt any company in the Caribbean which has created a paradigm for business excellence and therefore is able to create a brand which people can look up to. Some people may feel shortchanged by this but it also feeds back into our political leadership and social development as nation states. We are struggling for icons and because of this even awards and reviews are lowering their standards to scrape the floor for 'winners'.

The more things change...

2006-12-30T16:19:00.000-05:00

The Private sector umbrella organisation in Dominica invited us to join. The DAIC has admirable goals like any chamber of commerce. However, when we join we will do so with a level of objection as to the way the DAIC is doing things. At present the DAIC has taken over the management of a now absentee company, called Visions and Concepts which managed a portfolio of benches and bus shelters for advertising.

The DAIC, yes, the umbrella organisation for private sector companies, is deriving revenue from selling ad space. FreeStyle Inc, FSI Creative, one of the companies in which I am a director, is the primary ad agency on island and Visions and Concepts used to be our competition for OOH.

One of the members of the DAIC board, who owns a printing business is also managing the V&C account from within the DAIC. Of course he must get something from it. Lots of printing for benches to be done if it works ok. The DAIC takes a commission and the business sector just motors along.

There is something seriously rotten about that kind of thing.

In most countries the private sector organisations raise funds from memberships and from events (dinners, speeches, hosted tradeshows) etc. In Dominica, the DAIC is also functioning as a revenue earner through competitive venture. Why would FSI join and then be faced with competition from its own umbrella body ?

They need to cut V&C loose to be bought or to die by an entrepeneur. In the meantime we will continue to see these organisations as a talking shop for buddies.

No Respect (Part Deux)

2006-12-27T15:44:00.000-05:00

Multinational companies dont pay the Caribbean consumer any respect. How do I know ? Look at the advertising. What usually happens is that local distributors are given the marketing budget and in the main misuse it. Coca Cola are lucky that Pepsi has missed a trick through most of the Caribbean. Why ? Coca cola are only the market leader through external marketing imagery and the continued presence of product on the ground, WITHOUT a credible competitor. Even if Pepsi were to export product to our small islands and 'can' the advertising they'd clean up.

When you consider that Caribbean people punch way over their weight its actually insulting. There is no way Digicel could have become a giant anywhere else in the world that quickly. What it has shown is that if you target the Caribbean consumer specifically that you can gain dominant market position regionally. Of course the telecoms market is different. The ARPU (avg revenue per user) position is not really an overrriding concern for Digicel. Just a dominant numbers position is being sought early on. Potential buyers will have the mental work of how to turn those numbers into a revenue positive position across the board. But Digicel has shown the way in terms of actually deploying a model targetted at the Caribbean consumer, no matter what the real morality is underlying that effort. After all it is business.

But seeing that advertising mirrors marketing or at least tries to play it up, it shows you that imported chicken isnt the only substandard product which finds our shores. I would love to see some multinational, be it LG or Pepsi or Starbucks or someone credible actually show Digicel type interest in dominating a product or service in this region. They'd be surprised by both the related kickback into their ethnic market perceptions (and revenue) in first world markets and also the kind of revenue they can make from intelligent delivery of quality to Caribbean people. It can work.

Busy

2006-12-19T14:17:00.000-05:00

Been real busy over the last few weeks. Was in NY and kinda getting a real eyeful of what is one constant blast of commercialism. I wonder if advertising works anymore in these markets. Maybe having a good customer experience is worth its weight in gold.

Just completing the joining of a global ad agency network. No ...we were not bought over. Anyway its always interesting having to deal with perceptions of what someone is supposed to be doing in Dominica. Professionally I have never had probs once people actually understand my knowledge base. But the why we are here I guess is natural. An economic engine this lil place isnt.

I dont know how to handle christmas anymore. Its a nice time to hang with the family and its great to see children happy, but so many people go broke for this feast of excess.

Later

Dissapointing

2006-11-26T09:11:00.000-05:00

I look at how Dominica is governed and I have to shake my head. Dont get me wrong. The job isnt sexy. The country has irrational demands for itself considering where we fit into the world scheme of things.

But Caribbean people do not seem to be progressing in the ways we make our decisions.

The government in Dominica esp needs help. No matter what your political persuasion its difficult to see a good end to the current story. An easy way to define things is to observe what would happen if the government were to collapse and the individual players had to 'survive' of their own means. Unfortunately many of them would have to leave the country. You dont have to dig deep to be worried when your government is struggling for credible professionals.

But that in itself is not even the big deal. The PM is a driven person. That can go over any academics and professional experience. The big deal is the dumbing down of institutions and processes. Sometimes you can be so obssessed with holding sway you dont recognise that the whole structure may be crumbling around you.

But again, maybe we like it so.

No respect

2006-11-24T15:31:00.000-05:00

Advertising in the Caribbean is filled with seriousness, cliches and information.

In fact in reviewing the market not one advertiser in the Caribbean uses humour.
The idea is sell product and sell it directly and it is purely client driven. The issue is that the more literate markets, like Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados refuse to lead the way. And the smaller markets are even more focussed on the
campaigns which attack the wallet from start to finish.

Buy me, Discount, Promotion, Free. Sale. Those are the paradigms of this region and especially in places like Dominica.

Whats worse is the institutional adverts dispensed from larger affiliate marketers and agencies worldwide take a lead that it works. Well in the absence of a new way it seems to work, but noone can tell you because market research is like a dark art in the region.

Caribbean people in the region are like any first world market basing their purchases and brand perceptions on emotion, instinct and yes, things like price sensitivity and reliability.

And if they are calculating in their decision making, why arent we more creative and demanding with our clients that advertising even in small, poorer markets needs to talk to dreams and desires rather than a constant direct demand to buy product or a service.

After all take that same Caribbean person and put them in Europe or the US and they suddenly become a 'consumer'.

Dem preachers botherin me

2006-11-20T20:04:00.000-05:00

Since lil boy days I have been thinking about religion and the consequences of my ways. Sometimes I really push the envelope of wutlissness to see if I get the clap of thunder and searing flesh but intelligent minds suggest that I will suffer in more subtle ways. So if my son turns up goin to jail in 15 years time I guess it can be linked to the time I used to corrupt someones daughter. My actions to date suggests that I have hell to pay or that everyone down to my dog is in danger of getting licks for me. Though there is something really comforting about penance and forgiveness. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I can actually do the crime and not serve the time.

But those preachers really bother me. See I wonder whether really believe or if they actually spend time messin with the heads of their congregations because they recognise the power they have. Their must be something real good about watching otherwise uppity folk give you tithe and collection and at the same time use you as a conduit to another life you not even sure about.

And surely a pastor or priest sinning is like everyone else but he then has to turn up to work next day and get paid for not doing what he did the day before. Caribbean people are devoted to the afterlife. The usual thing that we say is that black people are spiritual, but in general, people living in the Caribbean are fatalistic. 'Thats how it is', ' I taking my blows', 'man what to do nuh but live well and pray'. And the more fatalistic we are, the more we defer the actions we are supposed to take in our communities, to the afterlife.

But the real reason they bother me is that unlike even the cornbread fed preachers in the US, very very few religious leaders in the Caribbean have stood for anything. Political amoebas, glory hunters in general, and silent on every single topic except in toeing the party line from their Grand Leader somewhere else. They almost like some regional company with the head office in the US or bahamas or something.

And lawd we have tings going on. Incest, Old fellas paying their way for young women, Political Corruption, man beatin up woman. But every sermon concentrating on where we goin to rather than dealing with the bare reality of life in the Caribbean. You'd think someone that goin to heaven no matter what would be able to speak their mind on any issue eh.

The flesh is weak

2006-11-19T17:53:00.000-05:00

Are Caribbean men more wutliss than the average man ? I dont know why men have to walk a moral high ground anyway. We are dogs for real. Whether we run the genetics argument or simply follow the history of men in the world we are lucky to have our knuckles off the ground. Take war. Most people, especially women, seem to abhor war but very few civilisations and cultures which are expansive have been built without war. I mean no man goes to another man and says I want your land, your woman and your food and negotiates his way into that position. So therefore we have conflict. And actually we also have progress, as messed up as that position is to the morality of coexistence and to humanity.

Coming back to things, the society in the Caribbean needs a strong family base, and needs responsibility, but its way too much to assume that other societies are working off stronger bases. Matriarchal societies like Italy exist with constant crime, almost chaotic govt, and a culture of infidelity and yet progress occurs.

Maybe we concentrate too much on our weakness and not on our strengths. And I am talking about Caribbean man here.

The tourist

2006-11-15T21:07:00.000-05:00

I feel sorry for the poor tourist when they get here. today I watched as a man and his wife, lobster red from the sun, walked their way through a minefield of vagrants, would be tour guides and merchandise sellers to walk about 100 yards.

Of course no doubt they must have pitied me too, in a reverse form of I feel sorry for that local guy who has to go through this shit everyday.

I worked and lived in the US once. Lived in the Old Colonial Inn in Concord, Massachusetts for about 6 months. Very nice old world type living and just 10 minutes drive from where I worked in Maynard.

it was nice. I was treated like some kind of exotic bird that was nesting for a finite period. The suite which I had courtesy of good ole Breakaway in those days, was not cheap and that kind of couched the behavior to me. But a tourist I always was and I never really got to see the real face of the people except for one evening when I stayed at the bar and talked with all the staff after the 'guests' were gone. Then the smiles turned practical and you heard the real stories about how stupid it was to pay 18 bucks for a clam chowder or why people couldnt shower without getting the whole bathroom wet.

And you realise, so thats what its like.

Business as usual

2006-11-11T13:46:00.000-05:00

I will develop this thought sequence again and again.

Initially i toyed with the Cable & Wireless vs Digicel example but lets make it more general. Is there any chance that the Caribbean will develop while personal interests and patronage is more important than doing things right ? Not on occasion. But 'everytime'.

Forget the fact that all corporates are there to make money and dont really care about the average person. Thats a given worldwide. In fact dig deep and the life of making a buck is selfish fullstop. Sell the cancerous soft drink to the little old lady or increase your night deposit....bzzzt, old lady loses out again.

But the personal thing hovers over Caribbean development. Yes we smile at each other alot, but the routine backstabbing in business life in the islands gives a clue as to why the Governments polarise the people so easily during elections.

Plenty Caribbean people have beef to settle.

Special

2006-11-10T14:25:00.001-05:00

Mirandas. A little bar and restaurant in the hills of Roger on the way to the airport. Miranda is a friend. She can also humble the most dirty mouthed trucker with her own range of cuss words that could make you hide under a table. Miranda has her garden behind the house and runs the business on a 'how I feel today' basis.

Many times people will be broke and Miranda will feed and water them and send them on their way to pay or not another day. She also cooks for some of our parties, usually on short notice and with much cussing if you are late. But she is a good woman. Her black pudding on Fridays is hot and peppery and full of taste. Her chicken just tastes different. And her bull foot soup or goat water (she has goats behind her property) are real nice.

She calls me doudou when she is happy with me. She calls me a f...... m......when she isnt. well and about twenty other things. But it all adds to the ambience. if you know what I mean.

Maco

2006-11-07T20:19:00.000-05:00

Thats a term thats both a reference to a homosexual man or someone minding your biz. I havent got any thoughts on our non existent non active religious gay community so lemme get to the peeps who peeping.

Small country, not much going on, rumours abound where knowledge is absent. When I first moved to the Caribbean one person had a good story that i'd divorced, sold all my belongings and just about afforded to buy my vehicle and return to the Caribbean. I actually met him just as he was asking a mutual friend who was the lady that drove my car :-). Of course, seeing that I was a confirmed divorcee he took the fact that it was my wife a bit hard.

Anyway, the probem with a country of so much rumours is that some of them are very true. And that makes the whole Macoing scene very tricky. You cant exactly throw them all out of the window, so you have to listen to them, no matter how ridiculous.

So the merry go round of rumours keep on going.

The God Squad

2006-11-05T18:13:00.001-05:00

Dominicans are religious. Not in the stop enjoying life kind of way of course. 'God' knows promiscuity is at an alltime high in our psuedo Catholic, Evengelist culture. Everyone and their pastor is doing it. The rest of the Caribbean is no different. As the reggae tune goes, "sitting in the church on sunday, planning who you gonna screw on monday".

the politicians play to it all the time. from elections to troubled times they go straight for the God button and it works. I am in a strange place with all of this. Believing in God is pretty uncomplicated. Its like a club. Noone asks questions once they know you are part of it. But I dont really. The french philospher Blaise Pascal was right when he spoke about believing in God as a nobrainer. If you are wrong you'd at least have lived a good life. But if you dont and you are wrong, hellfire aint a nice thought.

I'll risk it. I believe in something but I havent placed it yet. in the meantime I gain comfort from the fact that those that believe are sinning so much more than me that one day the rules must get bent to allow even the heretics in.

Stop the Bobol

2006-11-02T01:09:00.000-05:00

I was wrong. Its even sadder than i thought.

Vex

2006-11-01T07:50:00.000-05:00

Client changes budget 20 times, has creative and is delaying approval, and is shifting dates for an event which two heads of state are supposed to attend and endorse.

The biggest problem for creative work is trying to get people to understand that this is not just a canned exercise where you pull a couple pics together and get it all singing and dancing.

Dyam.

Reality

2006-10-31T13:32:00.000-05:00

Everytime peeps from overseas come here for a festival or carnival, they start to talk about their plans to come back home to live and work in the great nature isle etc. All the bbq smoke, the sweet looking women in tight jeans and the constant partying goes to their brain.

When I studied in London there was a group of mostly older law students who we limed around, mainly at London U (anyone ever go to a ISH jam in Baker St ? ) . Most of them returned to the Caribbean.

Lisa AGard is now VP of legal at TSTT, Mia Mottley is Deputy PM of barbados, Allison Demas is head of the Copyright oRg of Trinidad of Tobago, Lisa Adrien is fine fine fine...:-), Petrus 'Papo' compton used to be AG in St Lucia but now is a minister with a new portfolio, Gregory Georges is now CFO of West Indies Oil for Antigua and Dominica, Arden Warner is in Tortola somewhere practising law.

Of those Gregory georges is Dominican and he lives in Antigua. I didnt know any Dominicans of my generation who went to University outside of the Caribbean and returned. Denise Robinson lives in Bim and Eustace 'Boogy' Fontaine is more English than plenty Englishmen.

Thing is, other Caribbean islands have a wider depth of jobs available for trained professionals and unless you have some maverick entrepeneur in you or are very very determined, Dominica can be scary. The country has potential but many people want to build their lives and families on reality. And when you are done studying you are usually broke and needing to make money.

A padna of mine has been looking to come back for the last ten years. The better the food he eats when he is here, the more concrete his plans get. Carnival is his next stop. Should be fun.