Friday, June 15, 2012

A Taste of Fashion in West Indian Culture


JAMROCK Magazine Brings Ms. Trinidad and Tobago International Woman to Caribbean Fashion Week 2012

 

JAMROCK Magazine a premier glossy lifestyle publication with  a distinctly Caribbean-American flair; based in New York is proud to this year bring Ms. Trinidad and Tobago International Woman, Renee Bhagwandeen to the 12th staging of Caribbean Fashion Week in Kingston, Jamaica.

Renee is the reigning Ms. Trinidad and Tobago International woman, a native of the twin island republic she migrated to the United States at the age of six (6). As an adult she returned to the island to represent her country in the international Miss Universe pageant.

She won Miss Photogenic and placed top 8, in the Miss Trinidad and Tobago Universe Pageant. After accomplishing these feats she was handpicked by pageant experts to represent her beloved country in another International pageant.

Shortly after the Miss Trinidad and Tobago Universe competition, she was flown to Canada and placed runner up and again Miss Photogenic, which qualified her to be Trinidad and Tobago's Official delegate for the third largest pageant in the world, The Miss International Beauty Pageant. Get the rest of the story from...


Friday, June 8, 2012

The Soul of The Caribbean


Preview The Caribbean Online

Get an online experience and an appreciation of the history, current affairs and culture of the Caribbean.
The "Soul of the Caribbean" is published by a self taught web designer and marketer Brian Mitchell who goes by the name NativeTT.  Brian, a past potential client turned friend through connections in social media has single-handedly carved out a substantial net space for the region. 

I was inspired by his creativity.  From his small office in St James NativeTT is responsible for the development of a number of exclusively Caribbean websites.  He is also the publisher of a number of  local magazines targeting what he called “West Enders”.  That is communities in the Woodbrook, St James and Port of Spain area.

His magazines are magnets for local advertising are distributed, at no cost, to strategic locations in communities west of Port of Spain.

Online for a number of years, he has always focused on the larger Caribbean communities.  Recently he launched a site that is a virtual resource for natives as well as anyone interested in the Caribbean.  It’s a compilation of news reports from various islands in the Caribbean. 


The Caribbean Blogger appreciates the effort, energy and financial investment these sites require to be created and maintained.  As a token of support to this effort, the Caribbean Blogger will focus on promoting his sites in the month of June.  The intention is to provide you with access to the entire Caribbean community from a series of portals and themes.  

These sites truly represents the “Soul of the Caribbean.  First take a look at the Caribbean News Reviews with articles from islands in the Caribbean. The Soul of The Caribbean.


Then visit his other sites below.



Caribbean Gospel TV

Know The Caribbean 

Monday, June 4, 2012

The Making of Jamaica by Air - A Documentary Video

Jamaica By Air - An Entrepreneur's Story

When I first heard the name of this book, I assumed it was the usual tourist fodder.  It certainly can be used to attract tourist but the story behind the book is what to me is more important.  I just the entrepreneurial spirit of the author/photographer.  With a small investment he was able to fund his idea and actual make his dream come true.  

The Caribbean Blogger would not represent peoples of the Caribbean if it did not, without obligation, promote this book.  This professional done video tells the story behind the making of the book. You get to see some of the captivating shots that makes up Jamaica by Air.  Enjoy it. 





Hi-tech Licensing Division long overdue


Letter of The Day
Sunday Express
June 3rd 2012
by Rucardo Lijertwood

"Corruption at the Licensing Division will continue unless the archaic system is computerised and modernised,"— so said Transport Commissioner Reuben Cato recently. His comments came after it was confirmed that four Licensing officers attached to the Port of Spain office were detained for questioning by police officers probing corruption in the importation and registration of vehicles.

On Wednesday, February 18, 2009, at the sitting of the House of Representatives, then transport minister Colm Imbert announced that, "Barring unforeseen circumstances, we hope that by the end of this year, 2009, we would be able to implement the new system for renewals, new permits, transfers of vehicles and so on, and then, over the next two years after that, we should be able to fully implement a completely-electronic computerised system for driver's permits and vehicle registration at the Licensing Office".

That was over three years ago, and still nothing, in spite of the availability of hi-tech systems that could be easily implemented. Such systems, known as electronic vehicle registration (EVR) or electronic vehicle identification (EVI), leverage passive RFID (radio frequency identification device) transponders embedded in decals affixed to windshields or other parts of a vehicle.

Fixed RFID interrogators installed at main traffic intersections or alongside roads (and at our soon-to-be-used highway surveillance bays), as well as hand-held readers for use during traffic stops, can read the tags' unique ID numbers and then compare them with information in a back-end database to determine, for instance, who owns the vehicle, whether it is insured and if registration is up-to-date, and taxes and fees are paid up. In addition, tag reads collected over a period of time can help the Transport Ministry better understand traffic patterns and flow.

In more simplistic terms, before a vehicle leaves the port (new and foreign-used), the distributor, foreign-used dealer or owner, must acquire and pay for a decal (birth certificate) from the Licensing Authority. There, the main database is updated with the relevant information—make, model, specs, colour, insurance, and could also include a field for last inspection date to tie into inspection garages when required, etc, and a number assigned to that vehicle—maybe alphanumeric or by county as in Barbados.

The real-time information is relayed to fixed interrogators installed at the relevant ports where the information on the decal will be read and verified before vehicles are allowed to leave the ports. When vehicles are sold or transferred, the transfer form is taken to any office of the licensing authorities for the decal to be electronically updated with the new information. Fixed and hand-held interrogators (like barcode machines) are used during traffic stops or roadblocks.

I am sure a lot of analysis has already gone into the various suppliers and systems that are available, so we need not go through another long pre-qualification and tendering process; just send out the request for proposals to select suppliers as the benefits are obvious.

Questions?

Is T&T Carnival Still The Greatest Show On Earth?

In Defense of We Carnival Recently, a situation has arisen where differing perspectives prompt contemplation.   I am referring to two inst...