Monday 30 March 2015

Mob mentality

There is a local viral video making the rounds that has me quite disturbed, disturbed enough to make public comment.

The video appears to have been shot on Ariapita Avenue in the wee hours of Sunday morning (March 29th). It starts with an irate female violently venting her frustrations on the bonnet and headlights of a black Toyota HiLux pick-up truck, in full view of onlookers on either side of the roadway. I must warn you, up front, that the video does contain some coarse language.


If you are having difficulty seeing the uploaded video above, you can view it here on YouTube.

Based on some of the running commentary provided by said onlookers, it appears that the young lady had just prior caught her boyfriend in flagrante delicto with the outside woman, made a public ruckus and is now preventing him and the outside woman from fleeing the scene in his vehicle.

As you can see, the jilted lover goes to town on the vehicle, ripping off the windshiled wiper and then the front number plate and using them to scrape, scratch and smash the van before it can be driven away. Further on in, you see that the attack on the vehicle escalates as the woman uses bottles to smash against and throw at the van.

A deserved outcome for a "horn", right? Guy got caught and received his immediate comeuppance, right?

My concern is with how that situation escalated during the course of the video. I saw one brave soul  actively tried to stop the destruction (0:57) and calm the scene down. Unfortunately the peacemaker was physically discouraged by another onlookers (who appeared to be a friend of the assailant) from intervening. Throughout the saga, the majority of the crowd goaded the woman into continuing her attack,"chaining her up" as we say and verbally fuelling her rage. And of course, a plethora of smartphones were seen being held aloft recording the incident.

What I cannot fathom is how some of the crowd members deliberately inserted themselves into the story. After the woman had reduced the number plate to a further-unusable state as a club, a nearby female videographer offered her empty beer bottle for use as a weapon (3:11). Gleefully accepted, that bottle was then chucked at the windscreen. More bottles, willingly volunteered by other crowd members, soon followed, some just striking the vehicle and others smashing on impact. The hapless driver's escape bid continued to be hindered as the woman refused to remove herself from the vehicle's path.

While infidelity is an everyday phenomenon, scenes such as these are thankfully not as commonplace. And certainly it is frightening that in addition to urging the woman on to "mash it up", the crowd that had no stake in the dispute save for the raw entertainment value suddenly offered her missiles to hurl at the van. This is the development that disturbs me, a manifestation of mob mentality.The woman did not seek out bottles to  further her onslaught; the crowd spontaneously provided them to her. I shudder to think what would have happened if she had somehow managed to completely smash through the windshield, exposing the driver and the alleged outside woman. Would the supply of bottles have ceased then?

That for me is the true tragedy of this situation. The public and open display of violence, as eye-catching and  entertaining as it was, embarrassed all three main players in the scenario - the woman, the man and the purported outside fling. However, the crowd's unbidden eagerness to ensure that the scene perpetuated and intensified through their active participation brought shame directly to themselves as well.


Sunday 29 March 2015

Baggage

Do you watch the Game Show Network? I do. Have done so since its early days in the late 90s. My favourites are the The Match Game (from the 70s) and any edition of Family Feud (the ones with Steve Harvey are absolutely hilarious!).

The show I want to discuss however is Baggage, Hosted by none other than Jerry Springer - Mr Bacchanal himself! Baggage is a 30-minute show that puts a unique spin on the dating game. The basic premise of the show is for a contestant to make the choice at attempting a relationship with someone that they know up front has some secret personal issues aka baggage.
Female competitors on Baggage.
The show starts off with the main contestant, speaking about himself/herself and generally glad for the opportunity, via the show, to enter into a potential relationship with someone (of the opposite sex, of course, although I know there was a single gay episode; interracial possibilities, once very taboo for the dating game show genre, feature quite more often). The three competitors of the opposite sex are introduced, with each of them acknowledging that they come with "baggage", as in literally three cases of increasing size with their personal issues, of similar magnitudes, written on the inside. The contestant also has baggage, about which three possibilities are teasingly displayed at the start of the show.
Host Jerry Springer (left) surveys the competitors with this male contestant.
The smallest baggage usually comprises things that might be considered mildly annoying habits or unusual quirks that are benign, like nose-picking, bathing multiple times per day, collecting toys or an inconvenient preference/distaste for a particular substance (only eats light coloured cake). Usually it is fun stuff that only the most superficial would use as a reason not to go out on a date with someone.
An example of small baggage.
Believe it or not, this competitor's culinary love of pure butter is in fact considered her smallest baggage.
The medium-sized baggage are things that usually cause problems even amongst good friends. Among these are things like admittedly sleeping with married people, one-time only embarrassing jobs/events, using your looks to gain unfair advantages or something from your childhood that you aren't exactly proud of. One of them I found most interesting was a woman who compulsively smells her own breast sweat. Yes, she dabs at her pectoral perspiration from her ample cleavage for periodic quality-control whiffs.
Medium-sized baggage - one girl here still plays with her Barbie dolls and the other compulsively picks at her healing scabs.
The competitor in blue practices witchcraft and the one in grey beds down nightly with her seven dogs.
The largest baggage are the kinds of things that you would be hesitant to have your parents or religious leader know about. They are things that have been known to irretrievably break relationships when they come to light. Among some of these I've seen are things like once being an adult film star, being a multiple-time runaway bride, having orgy-type sexual experiences, having a prior homosexual experience, sharing a bed with a relative, having slept with the parent/sibling of your boyfriend/girlfriend, non-traditional personal beliefs and even past criminal records.
Large baggage - this competitor not only broke off three different engagements but kept the rings from each!
The first round allows these competitors to introduce themselves to the contestant, with each of them trying to appeal to the contestant by answering questions provided by the host. After this, the competitors reveal and discuss their smallest baggage with the contestant. All the while the contestant mentally assesses the competitors.
Might be a frightful sight for you to awaken to but her baggage is that she sleeps with a ski mask on.
Then begins the second round, where the competitors' medium-sized baggage is revealed to the contestant, without identifying the respective owners. This is where the contestant chooses the "deal-breaker" - the baggage out of the three that he/she cannot accept in a potential date. The competitors then identify with their baggage and the deal-breaker baggage is eliminated. the deal-breaker leaves just after revealing what would have been his/her largest baggage.
These male competitors are lined up with their respective medium-sized baggage.
The third round is down to the two remaining competitors, each discussing and defending their medium-sized baggage. The contestant gets to know them better through some personal questions put to them by the host. the competitors then reveal their largest baggage and make one final, compelling statement each to the contestant. The one with the baggage that offends the contestant more is eliminated.
A female contestant chose to accept this male competitor's predilection to full blown clown sex!
Now here is the twist. The contestant has just decided upon the competitor whose baggage he/she feels is manageable. The competitor is now told which of the three baggages mentioned at the start of the show belongs to the contestant. the contestant now has to discuss and defend his/her baggage. If the competitor can accept the contestant's baggage, the couple wins an all-expenses-covered evening out, courtesy of the Baggage crew. If the competitor cannot reconcile that baggage, the two of them part ways.
This contestant reveals his baggage to his chosen female competitor - he is jobless, car-less and lives on his brother's couch!

Baggage is a huge ratings success for GSN. The current season, a travelling series titled Baggage On The Road, averages well over half a million viewers per episode, making it GSN's highest-rated weekday series. It seems that shows hosted by Jerry Springer are destined to be controversial but well-watched, regardless of the format.
GSN's highest rated daytime show to date!

What I'd like to ask is what do you think of this kind of show? Could an equivalent of this show exist in T&T? Have we matured enough as a society to be able to so openly and readily discuss our baggage? Are we ready to accept and even love people with the kind of baggage you hear about on the show? How would we treat certain people after becoming aware of the baggage they have? Can you fancy yourself being a contestant or competitor on Baggage?

From the several episodes I've seen, this meme rings true.
I'd love to hear what you think of the show and those questions I just asked.

Thursday 19 March 2015

Soundtracks

Most of you who know me personally know that part of my existence has been the result of a very musical youth. Many have said that I can call a tune for almost any occasion, with lyrics to suit the mood and tone of what is going on. My speciality? R&B.
I love and appreciate music. And I have truly come across some gems over the years because of the movies I've watched. Movie soundtracks are often a treasure trove of music for fans like myself. The music often underscores what is happening on-screen, enriching your viewing experience. In addition to this there are some original songs that are written specifically for use in a movie that you wont find anywhere, sometimes not even on that movie's official soundtrack album. I mention treasure because to find some of these songs has been a akin to a quest for me. I'd like to share four of them with you. None of the four have official music videos, so I've linked each one to the best YouTube renditions I could find.
One of the most complete soundtrack albums ever!
The first one I would like to share with you is Boys and Girls by Tony! Toni! Toné!. It is on the soundtrack album for the movie Soul Food (1997). The jam was one of Tony! Toni! Toné!'s last recordings as a group before Raphael Saddiq left. Boys and Girls is a lively jam, boastfully informing a woman that she needs to leave her current man and come to a much better one. The rest of the soundtrack is quite good, featuring the likes Earth, Wind & Fire; Boyz II Men; Blackstreet; Outkast, Usher & Monica; Puff Daddy and Babyface (who also co-wrote several of the songs on the soundtrack). This album is the first soundtrack album I actually saved up my money and purchased. I consider this album one of the most complete albums ever made, as in there are songs for almost everyone.
Great soundtrack from an underrated Saturday Night Live-based comedy.
The second song I wish to mention is a short one (at just over two minutes): All This Time [Vocal Version] by Lalah Hathaway featuring Marcus Miller, found on the soundtrack for the comedy The Ladies Man (2000). Lalah is the daughter of the late, great soul duet maestro Donny Hathaway. Miller is an extremely talented musician, whose skills are highly sought in the R&B world. There is also a shorter instrumental version of this song on the album. This song is about someone searching far and wide for the person of your dreams when the object of their search is right there in front of them "all this time". The album also features several R&B heavyweights like The Isley Brothers, Al Green, Teddy Pendergrass, Parliament and Stevie Wonder (my favourite artist ever). I bought this album literally just to get this song.
Pharrells' infleunce is all over this soundtrack, to great effect.
The third song is an example of the gems you can miss out on if you don't watch the credits after a movie. During the credits for animated feature Despicable Me (2010), while you watch the shenanigans of The Minions, there is an up-tempo love song called My Life sung by Robin Thicke. Because of the song's theme, it seems slightly out of place in a cartoon aimed at children that had no romantic interests but it is a great song (one that I listen to daily). With the exception of two songs, the soundtrack comprises original compositions written or co-written by Pharrell, who also performs several of them himself (his Fun, Fun, Fun is another infectious hit from this album). I urge you to watch out the credits at the end of this movie; you won't be disappointed at all, musically or comically!
Because of the time period in this film, it features several blast-from-the-past hits!
The fourth song on my list is Broadway Boogie Down by the Beacon Street All Stars. If you're a fan of the disco/funk classics of Earth, Wind & Fire, like me, this song is reminiscent of late 70s EW&F sound (nimble guitar work and horn sections) minus the Maurice White falsettos. The song features during the credits for the comedy Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) and is listed during the credits. However, the song does not appear on the movie's official soundtrack album. To have heard it, you had to have watched the movie to the very end. This is a great example of a song produced specifically for the movie that you won't find available commercially (and I've tried, really hard!). A shame too, because the song is quite upbeat and infectious, everybody say right on!

I hope that I've entertained you all for a little bit. If you wish, feel free to comment below about songs you know only because you heard them during a movie or TV show.

Monday 16 March 2015

Goodbye, Roger!

ScottyPedia is back, loyal readers. I've been absent from the blogosphere for a bit, for reasons I will shortly explain.

One of my closest colleagues and friend at work, Roger Gibson, passed away on March 7th after nearly two weeks in the hospital. Roger, diagnosed as a diabetic for over 25 years, got a cut on his right Achilles tendon that degenerated into septicaemia. During his hospital stay, my friend had an amputation, suffered renal failure and had some cardiac events as well, finally succumbing to septic shock. His funeral was on March 13th; he was only 48.

Roger was one of my best friends in the world and I will miss him dearly. We shared many adventures together, professionally and personally, over the past 14 years. He is now in a better place, free of the pains and craziness of this world.

Roger Gibson. Friend to the end.

I've decided to share with you the speech I made at his funeral. I hope you all appreciate it.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Where Roger is concerned, I knew him well both as a co-worker and a friend. And, to pique your curiosity, this box that you see here has a part to play in telling you about my good friend but I’ll get to that later.

I first met Roger on August 5th, 2001 when I started working with the company. Roger’s first question to me was not about my work experience or expertise; it was about my residence. He asked me, “Young boy, Ah hear yuh from south. Where yuh really from?”

As fellow southerners, we hit it off almost immediately. At the time Roger was already a fixture in the workplace where he remained right up to the end – arriving at work sometimes well before 5am and swilling huge amounts of coffee. That image of him is one that I’m sure remains with all who knew him will. And let us not forget how at Christmas time he would harass us all for pastelles.

Very difficult to get a picture of Roger smiling.
Over the last 14 years, Roger shared many experiences and adventures at work, all the while maintaining a level of professionalism and commitment that few would be able to emulate. Despite some of the setbacks we faced on the job, he remained loyal throughout, adhering to his principles and core beliefs to the very end.

So that there will be no doubt about the quality of work Roger produced, I’d like to share with you this message I received from a colleague in England when he heard of Roger’s passing and the  funeral arrangements:
“Please pass on my condolences to all concerned. Roger was a star and his work undoubtedly made the world a better place. And I mean the world, not just Trinidad. The results of the work done in Trinidad made ripples throughout the Caribbean, North America and Europe.”

Those 40-odd words speak volumes about the calibre of my friend.

Always on his smartphone ...

On the personal side, the closeness Roger and I shared was almost inevitable; it would not be overstating the case to say that we were like brothers. We shared names, his first name being my middle name; we ate at each other’s homes, drove each other’s vehicles and we sought each other out at times when advice, expertise, support, an attentive ear or a shoulder to lean on was needed. Faithful friend for life and, I think I can say today, after-life was what Roger was to me.

Everyone at work will tell you of the kind of helpful and dedicated person Roger was there. And, if they’re in the mood to be brutally honest, they’ll tell you too of the sharp tongue lashings they would have had to endure from him as well. Not one for niceties in donkey city – a phrase he coined and used quite often – he was not one to sugar-coat his words. I know there are several here today who were told, no punches pulled, that their computer problems existed in the interface between the chair and the keyboard.

So was he a near perfect man? His sharp tongue aside, did he have no shortcomings? Well, one that I can identify was that he was too private. Over the years I learned that he just really hated people being all up in he business. Sure there were times when he was right to take stance but there were others when softening that position would have actually been a benefit to him. That never diminished our love for him and I want to let all of you know that, although he never was able to publicly thank you, he was aware and very appreciative of your support and prayers during his final ordeal.

But I promised to tell you the story of this box. Both our full names have only 11 letters. And one would think that nobody could misspell a simple five-letter surname. But Roger pounded me mercilessly when he saw that someone had handwritten my name as “S-o-c-t-t.” But what goes around comes around. During his hospital stay, I had a prescription filled for him. While walking back to the hospital, I read the label on this box. It read R. G-i-b-b-s-o-n. In the unpleasant atmosphere of that hospital Friday evening, we shared a light-hearted chuckle at his bedside, finally equal as pals whose easy-to-spell names had been butchered.

I still possess the proof. How can someone really misspell Gibson?
Roger left us with many happy moments, experiences and life lessons. Here in my view are two of the more significant ones: Firstly, his last experience should remind us all that tomorrow is never promised to anyone and that we should seize all opportunities presented to us; we never really know when the Lord will decide to call us home. Secondly, it is never too late to try to correct any mistakes that we have made in life. In this I had the pleasure of seeing Roger repair and rekindle a relationship that he himself acknowledged should never have been abandoned. In that regard, I would like on my friend’s behalf to publicly acknowledge and thank Mrs Debra Richards for the care and devotion she showed him in the weeks leading up to his untimely passing.

Finally, I should like to leave you with the following words from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of The Ancient Mariner, which I think in a way aptly sum up my dearly departed friend’s life here on Earth:

And now, all in my own country,
I stood on the firm land!
The Hermit stepp'd forth from the boat,
And scarcely he could stand.

"O shrieve me, shrieve me, holy man!"
The Hermit cross'd his brow.
"Say quick," quoth he, "I bid thee say—
What manner of man art thou?"

Forthwith this frame of mine was wrench'd
With a woful agony,
Which forced me to begin my tale;
And then it left me free.

Since then, at an uncertain hour,
That agony returns:
And till my ghastly tale is told,
This heart within me burns.

I pass, like night, from land to land;
I have strange power of speech;
That moment that his face I see,
I know the man that must hear me:
To him my tale I teach.

We shall never forget you, Roger. May your soul rest in eternal peace.

Wednesday 4 March 2015

Nostalgia Within

As an example of how reading a particular comic book has made an impact in my life. I hereby give you ...

The Nostalgia Within

As a student (and, my classmates tell me, part-time teacher) of language, there are times when I marvel at how truly expressive the English language can be. Of course, once one is exposed to the true depth of the English vocabulary and nuance, the world will be one’s oyster. One thinks its richness is unparalleled.

However, there are times when foreign languages can surprise you, delivering a word or phrase with no direct English equivalent or for which the best English equivalent is but an inadequate approximation.

One such word is the Brazilian Portuguese noun saudade (sa-oo-dah-day or sa-oo-dah-jhay depending on whom you’ve learnt the language from). I came across the word some years ago while reading, of all things, a Wolverine comic book. It was a riveting story which made me wish to study the origins and usage of the word. And my experience has been richer for it having found out its deeper meaning, unparalleled in my native tongue. Some may try to equate saudade to “I miss you.” A poor equivalence because it means so much more than that.


Saudade was once defined as "the love that remains" after someone is gone. .It is used to describe a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent person or thing that you genuinely love. With this state, there is also a kind of repressed knowledge that the person or thing you long for is either lost forever or suspicion that he/she/it may never return. A stronger form of saudade may be felt towards people (such as a lost lover or an absent family member who has gone missing).and things whose current whereabouts are unknown. Saudade is the recollection of feelings, experiences, places or events that once brought excitement, pleasure or well-being, which now triggers those senses and makes you live again.

One of my personal saudades has to do with an unlikely subject: grandparents. Both of my grandfathers were deceased well before my arrival in 1976 so I never had a chance to know them. I was barely two in 1978 when my mother’s mother passed away and I was not yet four when my father’s mother joined the rest.

As a result, I never got to experience the grandparental love that was common amongst many of my peers during my younger days. I actually was quite envious as well as in awe of other children who openly proclaimed before the weekend or a holiday period that they were going down by grandma/grandpa in so-and-so and spend some time.

Which is probably why I used to relish the trips to Princes Town, Indian Walk and environs my mother took my sisters and me on to visit our relatives there.. Those trips exposed me to the elder relations on her side of the family who, although not really my grandparents, offered me a true glimpse into the experiences I knew I was missing out on. And I am thankful for that, even though it meant that I eventually knew more of and about my mother’s side of the family – the Beaches, Rogets and Osbornes and more.

Of the three Scott siblings, my first sister is so far the only one who is a parent. She has a beautiful young daughter named Maya. And, of course, Maya is adored by her Trini grandmother. In their interactions I see a bond that I unfortunately did not have.  Saudade makes me yearn to be a part of that. It’s not so much that I crave the actual doting that grandparents are renowned for, it’s that I miss the knowledge of having someone to dote on me.

Maybe I shall just have to wait until I see my child’s child to get that relationship going. And I’ll see the end of my saudade although I shall be the one doing the doting.


Just to update you, my sister has doubled her advantage on me with the arrival of Marcus two months ago. Guess I have to work hard now to make up the deficit.