08042017 weekend

Friday, August 4, 2017

books film fashion gardening entertainment weddings

Weekend

KING OF THE CONCH Page 12

Simple perspective Artist celebrates the ordinary Art, pages 10&11

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 4, 2017

charity

To dunk or to be dunked

B

ahamians got a chance to contribute to a good cause, and in some cases, cool off in a tank of water as the Rotary Club of New Providence held its second annual ‘Dunking for Polio’ fundraising event.

RCNP partnered with locals, public figures and fellow Rotarians to raise money by bringing community awareness to the fight against polio.

Like last time, ‘Dunking for Polio’ proved to be a fun-filled, well-attended and informative event, as paraphernalia and tidbits on polio are on display to educate the public on the long-standing Rotarian fight to eradicate the viral disease once and for all.

In the Rotarian spirit of “Service above Self”, many Rotarians and locals came out to Arawak Cay to purchase food, libations and the much sought after “End Polio Now” T-shirts. Many were excited and came out just to participate in the featured event of purchasing rounds of softballs to hit the eager targets vulnerably perched at the top of the ‘Dunking for Polio

tank’. The dunking lineup included senators, community activists, local artists, election candidates, senior police officers, Rotarians and even the kids who all wanted a piece of the dunking action.

The local celebrity targets attracted to the pitching mound eager family members, tourists, locals, senior Rotarians, recording artists, and even local clergy members that stopped by to lend their support to the cause.

Many participants came particularly motivated to hit their favourite targets, and by the end of the day Rotarians raised the stakes when RCNP’s president took the dunking seat, attracting increased participation.

RCNP said they are now already looking forward to A Dunking for Polio 2018”.

Polio is a paralysing and potentially fatal disease that invades the nervous system of young children ordinarily under the age of five. It continues to threaten the lives of many children in some parts of the world such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

While polio remains incurable, it is completely vaccine-preventable. As a result, Rotary International has since 1985 undertaken to stop the spread of the disease, which has led to a public-private partnership initiative with various international organisations, governments and celebrity ambassadors around the world. To date, their combined efforts have yielded a 99.9 per cent reduction rate in the eradication of polio.

The Tribune | Weekend | 03

Friday, August 4, 2017

Inside Weekend

My perfect Bahamian weekend Ianthia Smith Lifestyle blogger and TV host

have a hard time at the bar. I never know what I want because I have no go-to drink. But when I finally decide I go for a glass of white wine most times.”

Q: What is the one thing that you can’t live without?

“My family! They are my rock, my support system, my life line, my everything! We’re so tight-knit and close. They double as my friends as well.”

Q: Weekend away, where would you go and why?

“The traveller in me got all tingly inside. I’ve had amazing journeys to places like Thailand, Spain, Brazil, China, Dubai, Puerto Rico, but nothing beats a weekend on any Family Island. I particularly love Abaco!”

Interview 4 - 5 Dr Ian Strachan talks to Cara Hunt about his life’s mission – to educate Bahamians through every avenue possible

Entertainment 7, 12 -13 ‘The Next Face’ launches its third season; a new event to determine the true ‘King of the Conch’, plus the Sandy Toe’lypmpics 2017

Art 8 - 12 Jodi Minnis examines image vs reality when it comes to the Bahamas; Richard Coulson takes a look at Thierry Lamare’s body of work, plus ‘Art After Dark’ celebrates another successful outing

Weddings 14 - 15 A basketball rivalry leads to love

Fashion Report 16 The hits and misses of TV premiere red carpets

Books 17 Long Island poet Jerome Cartwright explores the “Colours of The Sea” in new book

Podcasts 18 Listen to first-hand accounts from life behind bars

Gardening 19 Jack Hardy plans ahead

Television and internet 20 Animated short about gay love goes viral, plus a new ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Dynasty’ for the 21st century

Literary Lives 22 - 24 William Faulkner, the Lost Generation’s greatest writer

Forgotten Facts 25 Paul Aranha on Long Island’s admiral

Animals 27 Weddings gone to the dogs, plus Pet of the Week

Cover | Thierry Lamare

Q: Beach or sofa?

“I’m such a couch potato, OMG! I absolutely love the beach but the sofa is where it’s at!”

Q: Saturday breakfast or Sunday lunch?

“Definitely Sunday lunch! I absolutely love Sundays; they’re so relaxing and calming, and our Sunday get-togethers are usually when I meet up with my family to chat, chill and eat.”

Q: Rum, wine, cocktail or Kalik?

“For as much as I go out and socialise, I always

Things 2 Do this weekend Friday

• The Current Meet and Greet Time: 6pm - 8pm Venue: Baha Mar’s The Current gallery Learn about upcoming art opportunities, including exhibitions, workshops and educational programmes. RSVP to TheCurrent@ BahaMar.com.

• Entrepreneurs Mix and Mingle Time: 7.30pm - 10pm Venue: The Pier Under the theme “Networks”, this event is for aspiring and accomplished entrepreneurs. Hosts are international risk manager Ghandi Thompson and chartered banker Daren Seymour. Tickets are $20. For more information e-mail edenenterprises73@gmail.com or call 357-9003.

• Popcaan live in concert Time: 10pm Venue: Mario’s Bowling and Entertainment Palace The hit-making Jamaican DJ, singer and songwriter known as

the “Unruly Boss” takes the stage.

Joining him will be Publik Figure.

Saturday

• Mobile Blood Drive Time: 10am - 4pm Venue: Harbour Bay Shopping Plaza Join the Rotary Club of South East Nassau and the Friends of the Blood Bank in putting service above self with its mobile blood drive. The grand prize is a Samsung S8 and all successful donors will have a chance to win in one of the hourly giveaways.

Sunday

• Purpose Over Popularity - Panel Discussion Time: 4pm - 6pm Venue: New Birth Church, Robinson Road Take part in the discussion about the “The Millennial’s Struggle”.

• MAVS Summer Festival 2017 Time: 7pm Venue: Pompey Square MAVS is a non-profit organisation that exists to provide a platform for

young Bahamians to gain insightful information about their focus areas and meaningful connections, all while gaining large-scale exposure as they showcase their talents. Admission is free.

• Jazz at Jacaranda Time: 7pm - 9pm Venue: Jacaranda House Sit around a pool under the stars, against a backdrop of historic house, and enjoy listening to the best jazz on the island. There is a $15 cover charge, a cash wine bar and light snacks. For reservations e-mail jacarandanassau@gmail.com.

Monday

• Peppa Pig and Friends Time: 3pm Venue: William Thompson Auditorium, Jean Street Enjoy a show with Peppa Pig, Ariel the mermaid, Paw Patrol, Bubble Guppies, Charlie the Bahamian Yellow Bird and Peter the Entertainer. General admission is $5 for kids and $10 for adults; VIP is $10 for kids and $20 for adults.

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 4, 2017

interview Dr Ian Strachan has worn many hats: poet, playwright, novelist and filmmaker. But no matter what role he plays, he tells Cara Hunt that he considers all his jobs to be part of his mission in life to be an educator.

Dr Ian Strachan A

lthough he just fresh off the successful encore staging of his play “Honourable Member” and in the final stages of editing the third season of the Bahamas’ first soap opera, “Gippie’s Kingdom”, Dr Ian Strachan is not even thinking of slowing down. In fact, he is planning to publish more books and may even produce another movie.

And all these projects serve a cause that is close to his heart – to educate the Bahamian people on all manner of subjects.

For Dr Strachan, being an educator runs in his blood.

“I am third generation educator. My grandfather, mother, father, uncle and several aunts were all educators. To teach well you must love people and be excited about their improvement.

I enjoy interacting with people in the classroom, especially young people.

The field of education is one where you can truly help people better their lives and you can be promoted based on merit. It is also a place where a level of autonomy is possible, particular in the university setting. And I value that,” he told Tribune Weekend.

Dr Strachan holds an associate degree in English and Literature from

the College of the Bahamas (now the University of the Bahamas) and a Teacher’s Certificate from the University of the West Indies (1988), a BA in English from Morehouse College (1990) and an MA (1993) and PhD (1995) in English from the University of Pennsylvania.

He is a former Research Fellow at the Carter G Woodson Institute at the University of Virginia (1998-1999) and a former Assistant Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (1999-2001). He has served as chair of the School of English Studies at COB (2004-2007).

Dr Strachan has been able to marry his love of education with his love of writing and telling stories.

“I always loved to write and always wanted to tell stories. My mother loved books and I caught her love of books.

Books changed my life; made my life in some ways. They broadened my consciousness. My mom was also a playwright. I really just did what I saw her doing. So in my art I marry storytelling and teaching. I teach about the things I’m passionate about and I also happen to create art about the things I’m passionate about; they go hand in hand. I’m passionate about politics,

The Tribune | Weekend | 05

Friday, August 4, 2017

about culture, about social justice, so my plays and films are about these things and I infuse my teaching with discussions of these things as well,” he said.

Dr Strachan’s writing ranges from educational books such as his “Paradise and Plantation: Tourism and Culture” in the Anglophone Caribbean, which was published in 2002 and discusses the politics of tourism in the region, to poetry that was included in the “New Caribbean Poetry” anthology published in 2007.

His first novel, “God’s Angry Babies”, was published in 1997. It is a coming of age novel which traces the lives of Tree Bodies and his three brothers as they grow up in the streets of Pompey Village, an area of extreme poverty hidden from the tourists who populate the luxury hotels.

Additionally, he was the author of a popular newspaper column, “East Street Blues” for several years and the host of the daily public affairs talk show “The Nation Today” in 2009 and the “Exchange TV” show. Additionally, he is the founder and member of the civil society advocacy group the Foundation.

Dr Strachan has also contributed heavily to advancing the arts in the Bahamas by writing a number of hit plays and documentaries, including “No Seeds in Babylon” (1991), which appears in the anthology Contemporary Drama for the Caribbean” (2001), and “Diary of Souls” (1999).

In 1996, he founded the Track Road Theatre Foundation and served as its director until 2006. He wrote and directed his first film, “Show Me Your Motion: The Ringplay Games of the Bahamas” in 2006.

In 2007, this documentary was featured in the UNESCO Caribbean Travelling Film Showcase. He is also the director/producer of the documentary “I’s Man: Manhood in the Bahamas.”

“I enjoy the creative process of theatre. When you write a play you enjoy creating the characters and living in their world, which is all in your head. Then you introduce actors, who give your characters flesh and blood, voices and actions. Actors, good actors, always bring things to the character you didn’t think of. I enjoy seeing that happen. Theatre involves acting, movement/dance, painting – with real paint or with light – carpentry, music.

It’s a very intense experience. Nothing beats knowing your audience gets your

A scene from Dr Ian Strachan’s “Honourable Member”, a political comedy.

“Nothing beats knowing your audience gets your joke or is moved by the trials of your characters. You reach out to the world with your art and when they get (a response) you feel as if you’ve really shared your soul with others; you feel more alive and less alone.” joke or is moved by the trials of your characters. You reach out to the world with your art and when they get (a response) you feel as if you’ve really shared your soul with others; you feel more alive and less alone. You feel understood.”

This proved especially true with his hit play “Honourable Member”, a political comedy which had a successful second run last weekend. The play features the prime minister of a fictional Caribbean nation who shares his somewhat shady 10 rules for politicians.

“I put a few of my personal heroes in this play. Muhammad Ali and Patrice Lumumba are real people who I admire a whole lot. Their courage and strength and sacrifice inspire me.

But the character Winston Ferguson is one of my favourite characters of all time, especially as played by Dion Johnson, who adds so many wonderful

subtle touches to his performance. I generally have been unkind to politicians in my work, but I wanted to make this guy someone you could like and dislike at the same time,” he said.

Dr Strachan also made history by creating, writing and directing the country’s first soap opera, “Gippie’s Kingdom”.

The series explores Bahamian life while featuring a cast of over 30 Bahamian actors and a variety of plots and subplots. “Gippie’s Kingdom” follows the story of three generations of the Gibson family and explores themes such as sweethearting and illegitimate children, juvenile delinquency, crime and justice, and the Haitian/Bahamian conflict The story begins with Everett Harrison “Gippie” Gibson, an enterprising businessman who finds himself in the middle of the storm that engulfs his

children: his eldest son Junior is in a coma, having been shot by a jealous rival; his eldest daughter Monique has returned home because her marriage is in serious trouble; his youngest daughter Everena is dating a known drug dealer, and his “outside son” Evan, normally a model student, has begun to act out at school in violent ways.

The show has already aired for two seasons, and after a brief hiatus, Dr Strachan said he is excited that they are now in the editing stage of season three “We hope to launch in October,” he said.

Dr Strachan said he has a few other projects in the works as well.

“There are two novels I’ve been meaning to finish for years now. I feel like it’s now or never. I also want to turn one of my older plays into a movie. Can’t say which one though; it’s a secret,” he said.

06 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 4, 2017

section

The Tribune | Weekend | 07

Friday, August 4, 2017

entertainment PHOTOS/SHAWN HANNA

Brenda

Allaya

Aniqua

Danielle

Jasonique

Lauren

Tashara

Vernique

Yannique

Finding the perfect bride-to-be

By CARA HUNT cbrennen@tribunemedia.net PREMIERING its third season on YouTube last night, ‘The Next Face’ reality modelling show chose it’s best ‘Bride-to-Be’ for the first round of competition.

‘The Next Face’ was created by Tribune photographer Shawn Hanna and was inspired by similar shows on US television such as ‘America’s Next Top Model’ and ‘The Face’. The winner will be branded as ‘The Next Face of Shawn T Photography’ and become the brand ambassador for the Perfec-Tone cosmetics brand, participate in Bahamas Fashion Week and in Exuma Fashion Week, receive a gift bag from Rev’or Cosmetics and modelling contracts from the TOCU and PTG agencies. They will also be featured in a spread in Brutha magazine.

The competition began with a group of 14 young ladies, which was reduced to 10 before the first official photo challenge. The 10 girls are Lauren, Allaya, Vernique, Brenda, Jasonique, Tashara, Aniqua, Yannique, Dana and Danielle.

Each week, the young ladies must complete a photo shoot under a certain theme and face elimination until ‘The Next Face 2017’ is revealed.

For the first challenge, ‘Bride-to-Be’, the girls wore fabulous wedding gowns provided by Five Seasons Bridal. Dana was named the winner of the ‘Top Photo’ in this contest.

“This challenge was all about seeing how the girls could manage in a natural

The Next Face season three launches

Dana won ‘Top Photo’ setting while wearing big wedding gowns,” Shawn explained. “The judges for the challenge were looking for them to display grace and beauty while at the same time having a sense of ease while wearing the gowns.”

The challenge took place at the Bahamas National Trust, which is one of the event’s sponsors, and was shot by photographer Christina Ysaguirre.

Hairstyling was provided by Tara Miller of the Metamorphosis Beauty Salon, with videography by Unseen Media.

There are 10 episodes and new ones will be uploaded to YouTube on ‘The Next Face’ channel every Thursday at 8pm.

08 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 4, 2017

art

Getting creative in the dark ARTISTS, aspiring artists, and those who just love art came together last weekend to mix and mingle at the latest instalment of the popular “Art After Dark” event series.

Held at the Bistro Underground, it featured a fusion of DJs, live performances, trendy vendors and visual artists.

The event took on a concert feel with performances by Triz, the headliner of DJ set, and guest DJs JVSE and Jason Marlin, and singer Sketch Carey. Photographer and illustrator Theo McClain also had a showing.

Art After Dark was created by Tristan “Triz” Douglas and Theo McClain with the intent of being a safe haven for creatives to

help move culture in the Bahamas forward. It was also designed as a space where talented artists can network, exhibit and party with “forward-thinking minds”.

Since the launch, there have been four successful instalments of Art After Dark, with each whipping up more anticipation than the last.

“The magic behind Art After Dark are the talented Millennials that show up for the fun.

Many that come pick up a paint brush for our live painting element or lighten the room with their energy. They add to the vibrations just as much as any of the featured creatives,” said Triz.

Artists and art lovers, musicians and DJs, they all came together to celebrate Art After Dark.

The Tribune | Weekend | 9

Friday, August 4, 2017

art

Finding ‘HOME’ Jodi Minnis examines stereotypical image of the Bahamas

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Reporter acadet@tribunemedia.net

E

xploring what the “real” Bahamas means to her, artist Jodi Minnis has put together a new exhibition of 30 pieces which she presented at the D’Aguilar Arts Foundation on Thursday.

The coconut tree mixed media pieces which are part of the “HOME” exhibit are the result of Jodi’s experiences in discussing the concept of the Bahamas versus the reality with foreigners.

Jodi graduated from the then College of the Bahamas with an associates degree in fine arts in 2015. Since then, she has participated in various exhibitions in New Providence. The artist has also been fortunate enough to participate in an exhibition in Aruba and one in Tampa, Florida. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s of fine arts with a concentration in painting. “ ‘HOME’ came from reflecting on how I spoke about the Bahamas to persons I met at the University of Tampa. The Bahamas I spoke of was not one that I lived in. The Bahamas the students identified was also not one that I lived in. The first thing that arose after stating that I’m a Bahamian was Paradise Island and Atlantis. I then explained that I do not frequent Paradise Island or the Atlantis resort; I live on the island adjoined to it. After that was said, some were bewildered or still had thoughts that I lived in this wealthy paradise where we vacation all the time. For a great percentage of Bahamians, this is not the case. Instead of taking the time to inform every person I came into contact with about that dynamic, I became lazy and

Artist Jodi Minnis

allowed them to keep their thinking of our islands,” she said.

The central image of the collection – the coconut tree – also reflects the dichotomy between the “real” and perceived Bahamas.

“Before I started any real work I consulted Garelle Hudson, an environmental educator, on invasive plants in the Bahamas. She informed me that coconut tree and royal palm trees are invasive. However, because of their prominence here I thought they were indigenous,” Jodi told Tribune Weekend.

During her studies at COB, Jodi said she limited herself to certain mediums.

However, she now recognises herself as a multi-disciplinarian and interdisciplinarian – fusing painting, drawing, performance and sculpture in the works she create.

“In ‘HOME’ I used printed found images, duct tape, electrical tape, acrylic paint, canvas, joint compound, feathers and more. Some of the works on paper have strokes of acrylic paint and the coconut trees are either sewn on the paper on glued on to a found object or circle. The inspiration for sewing the coconut trees on slightly came from the work of Bahamian LA-based artist April Bey, and the inspiration to collage came from viewing works by another Bahamian artist, Sue Katz,” Jodi explained.

With this new exhibit, Jodi hopes to lead viewers to question their relationship regarding the things around them, and the brands they support. The goal was to also have viewers understand how “pushing certain utopian based ideals” about the Bahamas plays hand in hand with erasing them and their struggles.

Going forward, Jodi said she is focused on doing more curatorial based work. She is also looking forward to more writing and academic research.

10 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 4, 2017

art

By RICHARD COULSON

L

‘‘

ove, Loss and Life”, the April 2017 retrospective exhibition of 115 works

by Franco-Bahamian artist Thierry Lamare at the National Gallery of Art marks not only a milestone for him but also for the development of artistic culture in this island nation.

Born in France in 1957, with early exposure to European art at a Paris school, Lamare first saw the Bahamas in 1985, later married and settled here, and has used the local scene as the sole inspiration for his creation of more than a thousand paintings and drawings sold to Bahamian and international collectors. His genre can only be called realism, but always with the special twist that lifts artistic insight above mere commercial illustration.

The exhibition, including works from 1991 to just last year, comprises a wide variety of human scenes, as well as cool depictions of houses, churches and native sloops, even still-lives of conchshells and pumpkins. Virtually all the images are from a single place: Long Island, one of the lightly-populated Bahamas chain that has been barely affected by the inroads of sun-seeking tourism.

Lamare makes no effort to create a tropical paradise of beaches and palm trees under ever-blue skies. Rather, we see a hard-scrabble economy struggling to maintain a level higher than bare survival. His houses are simple weather-beaten buildings, his churches understated structures hardly marked as places of worship. All are bordered by monochrome streets or fields with not a trace of flowery bougainvillea or hibiscus, under a pallid sun that casts weak shadows. The only colour among the landscapes is found in the red/white candy-striped Hope Town lighthouse.

It is the rendering of human lives that inevitably gives the exhibition its vitality and attracts silently staring viewers. Lamare does not sentimentalise the Long Island natives or exaggerate their peculiarities. He creates none of the picturesque clichés so often found in third-world illustrations, with simplistic contrasts of rich and poor. Every individual is shown in routine working clothes, either looking directly out at the viewer or going about the every-day business of fishing or farming. Socio-

Thierry Lamare in perspective political overtones are absent.

Many of the portraits are of the indomitable ladies who become the back-bone of island life. Lamare has often visited Long Island and become their long-time friend, particularly of the deceased matriarchs Ophelia and Joyce. As he has written, “I need to react emotionally to my subjects.” The most vivid portraits are two scenes of Joyce. A lean elderly grande dame of the community, she is shown in a white shift worn over a brilliant red shirt, with blue bandanna wrapped around her head.

Her brown, weathered face reveals that

she is the survivor of a tough life. With a subtle skill like Leonardo da Vinci’s creating the enigmatic smile of Mona Lisa, Lamare has drawn Joyce’s facial lines, clenched lips, and suspicious eyes that tell us Joyce is no soft geriatric pushover, still hard as flint and quite ready to warn us, Bahamian style, ”don’t waste my time with no foolishness.”

These and other portraits give the impression of having been painted in oil, thanks to the rich colours, the precise detailing, and dramatic chiaroscuro contrasts of light and dark. In fact, Lamare never used this

medium, achieving results by his own technique of building up layers of watercolour paint on paper, with successful diversions into haunting studies in colourless charcoal, casein and ink.

Having had his first cultural experiences in France, he naturally was aware of the famous European painters from the Renaissance to the modern era, and it was with the encouragement of two French teachers that he decided to fulfill his aptitude for drawing by adopting the visual arts as a full-time career. In later travels to the United States, he became aware of the masterful

The Tribune | Weekend | 11

Friday, August 4, 2017

From left to right, ‘Rock Anchor’; ‘Forgetful Ophelia’; ‘Joyce, She Loved to Pose’; and ‘Christina’s World’ by Andrew Wyeth, whose work Lamare counts among his inspirations

dramas of Winslow Homer, who drew some of his best creations from Bahamian scenes.

In listing his favourite influences, he has put the American realist Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) in first place.

Their lives and careers bear sharp resemblance. Like Lamare, Wyeth settled in a remote location to inspire his best work: the seacoast village of South Cushing, Maine, his summer home, where with a low-key palette he painted dour locals, scuffed barn doors, and leaden skies, not so different from Lamare’s Long Island. Here he met and befriended the crippled Christina Olson, who became the focal point of one of America’s most famous paintings – “Christina’s World” – where a bony woman lies alone on an empty field staring up at a distant farm house.

Lamare has seen this iconic work, as it has hung in New York’s Museum of Modern Art since acquisition in 1948, its stark enigma intriguing millions of viewers despite being disdained by avant garde critics as mere “mandatory dormroom art poster.” Perhaps Lamare has thought about Wyeth knowing Christina as intensely as he came to know Ophelia and Joyce.

Lamare occupies a singular position in the world of contemporary Bahamian art — a world that was nearly invisible only 40 years ago. It began to come alive with two radically different artists, the untutored primitive Amos Ferguson with his vivid cartoon-like figures, and the sophisticated, foreign-educated Brent Malone, successfully shifting from subject to subject and genre to genre.

A couple of deep-pocket collectors began to buy anything available, and 14 years ago the government and

private donors founded the National Art Gallery, whose energetic leadership now offers a venue for Bahamian art, music, poetry and cross-cultural exchanges. During this effervescent period, the rising young talents naturally embraced experimentation of all types, from surrealism to minimalism to constructivism to pop art to “found objects” art.

Lamare is one of the few who has remained strictly within the realist tradition. His periodic shows at the Gallery and elsewhere retain their appeal, just as Wyeth’s popularity was only briefly submerged by the wave of post-war abstract impressionism represented by Pollock, de Kooning and Jasper Johns.

But realism was not the right word for “Christina’s World”. How “realistic” was it for a solitary female figure to be found lying immobile, with not a single human figure to be seen anywhere in the open countryside, with every hairstrand and blade of grass shown but no answer to the puzzle of her presence?

Perhaps no more realistic than Salvador Dali’s avowed surrealism, with each item depicted in meticulous accuracy, and yet the total painting a mad vision from a nightmare? A new term was adopted —“magic realism”— suggesting the mystery and ambiguity surrounding Christina.

Thierry Lamare is in vigorous good health at age 60, still actively painting and teaching, well funded from his previous sales. He has plenty of time and opportunity to create a new Ophelia or Joyce, endowed with an indefinable aura of magic that would put her on the same iconic plane as Wyeth’s unforgettable Christina.

12 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 4, 2017

entertainment

Who will be crowned ‘King of the Conch’?

New competition is calling all vendors

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

F

estival organisers are aiming to galvanise local vendors and members of the public to take part in what they hope will be one of the country’s most exciting food showdowns to date – the King of the Conch Fest.

The man behind this new endeavour is Stephen Dean, who hopes to create an enticing annual food competition. The family-oriented event is scheduled for October 8 at Montagu Beach.

As King of the Conch Fest takes place on National Heroes weekend, organisers plan to expand the notion of what constitutes a national hero by honouring one of the founders of the Fish Fry at Arawak Cay with a floating trophy.

A call is being made to all vendors who have a knack for making the best conch dishes to participate in the spirit of creativity and friendly competition.

The aim of the event is to challenge all conch vendors in the Bahamas to exhibit their creativity, speed and presentation skills to determine who the real “King of the Conch” is, said Mr Dean, himself a vendor of 25 years.

Mr Dean said he has a passion for Bahamian culture and has been working to create this festival for the past three years. Once it takes place, he hopes the Bahamas will once and for all be established as the conch capital of the world.

Stephen Dean wants to determine the true “King of the Conch”

“We want to promote sustainable use of this resource, but also promote how rich our culture is and show that you can be successful by focusing on the things that make our culture so special.”

“We want to promote sustainable use of this resource, but also promote how rich our culture is and show that you can be successful by focusing on the things that make our culture so special,” he told Tribune Weekend.

“I know a lot of conch men out there that also do this for the love of the culture, but they all think that they are the best, so it’s time to determine who the best really is.”

Mr Dean said his desire is to inspire and train a new generation of Bahamian conch vendors to carry on this great tradition that has been ingrained in the country’s food culture “I want our youth to see positive career options for them to enter into, even if they don’t want to be a doctor or a lawyer. I want them to know that they can be successful and and create their own careers instead of pursuing crime or becoming discouraged just looking for jobs,” he said.

The King of the Conch Fest, Mr Dean said, is different from other events with a similar premise because it is more than a festival, it is a competition.

Vendors will compete on taste, speed, creativity and presentation on traditional, scorched and tropical conch salads.

“We are creating conch athletes to compete in a sort of conch Olympics,” he noted While the competition between conch salad vendors will be the main event,

there will also be a conch cracking and skinning contest.

Vendors will compete to see who has the best conch fritters and other best conch dishes while participants will also be able to compete for titles like best conch style dancer and best conch shell blower.

There will be a live DJ and host for the day as well as performances and activities for kids and the entire family.

“We are especially excited to have the Bahamas National Trust as well as BREEF on hand to share their ‘Conchservation’ efforts so that all in attendance will learn how we can responsibly enjoy this delicacy now and for years to come,” said Mr Dean.

“We are targeting those who love competition, conch enthusiasts, conch salad lovers, conch conservationists, foodies, Bahamians, families, tourists, and those seeking an authentic Bahamian experience. So if you fall into one of those categories, King of the Conch Fest is for you.”

•Those looking to participate in

the event can contact Mr Dean at 535-1112 or 376-5919, or e-mail theconchcelebrity@gmail.com

The Tribune | Weekend | 13

Friday, August 4, 2017

entertainment

Fun in the sand

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

B

oaters and beach-goers enjoyed a different type of competition last weekend as they came together on Rose Island to celebrate the annual Sandy Toe’lypmpics.

Participants enjoyed drinking games, boat building face-offs, and even a ‘Pantyhose Swing” contest – all hosted by the excursion company Sandy Toes.

The Sandy Toe’lympics is held every year and is a signature event held for private boaters as well as guests.

Sandy Toes provides recreational travel undertaken to remote or nontraditional destinations for the purpose of new experiences.

Iola Knowles of Sandy Toes told Tribune Weekend that they wanted to offer patrons a special event where they can have fun, show team spirit and creativity, and have some healthy competition through Olympic type events, “with a Sandy Toes spin on it, of course”.

“For example, drinking style games

featuring our signature Sandy Toe drink, boat building competitions using nothing that one would ordinarily use to build a boat – example, duct tape, cardboard, pool noodles et cetera – best team uniform bonus points, dance competitions, beach and water relays, and more,” said Ms Knowles.

“The game names are fun and creative. For example, game number three, called the ‘Pantyhose Swing’,

entailed competitors knocking over water bottles with a tennis ball hanging in a stocking from their head, without using your hands, in a relay format, with the fastest team completing the relay first. Each team is awarded points based on where they place in the event and the total number of points is tallied at the end.”

First place winners was the team “Sociality”. Coming in second were

the “Drink Spillers”, and the “Wild Potcakes rounded out the top three.

Ms Knowles said they are excited for the event’s successful staging as it is always a huge undertaking every year.

“There is lots of planning which goes into the event. Our team of staff work hard to execute the day in an amazing way. This year was another huge success.

It was our seventh annual Toel’ympics.

Everyone enjoyed themselves. Safety is a priority for us as well and it is important while having fun to be safe as well. The highlight is really just giving back to our patrons, having a successful and safe event, and having everyone enjoy themselves,” she said.

Sandy Toes offers signature and private events throughout the year, with a focus on the summer months, during boating season.

•For more information visit

www.SandyToesBahamas.com

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 4, 2017

fashion The Weekend Fashion Report TV series premieres

With Karin Herig and Cara Hunt

SPLIT

HIT

SPLIT

FAIL

Krysten Ritter Marvel’s The Defenders, Netflix

Sonequa Martin-Green Star Trek - Discovery, Netflix

Jessica Biel The Sinner, USA Network

Katey Sagal Superior Donuts, CBS

Karin says: “Yeah...nope. This is just tacky. It’s like a cheap Vegas showgirl outfit. The bright red suits her, but did it have to be sequins. Also, the very big cut-out kinda emphasises how pale and skinny she is. I don’t like it.”

Cara says: “This is a fun dress. I like the drama and interest that the side cut-outs provide. And that red with the matching lips is very dramatic. One of the few things that I don’t really care for are the ankle straps on her shoes... they are cutting off her legs.”

Karin says: “I love this! It’s so bright and summery (sort of the opposite of sci-fi). And don’t think I will ever tire of nude shoes with multi-coloured dressed.

Her updo tops of a nicely put-together ensemble.”

Cara says: “Very cute, very summery and she looks really nice. I love the floral on the cream background. And while I am not usually a fan of nude pumps, they look great with the dress.”

Karin says: “This is all so uninspiring. It looks comfy, I suppose, but otherwise it’s just like any other dress you can get from a place like J C Penney, complete with the cheap, free belt. This simply does not look like a star.”

Cara says: “This is a cute dress when it comes to the colour and style. I just find the belt a little weird and I think the hemline is a bit short. That being said, love her soft curls and make-up.”

Karin says: “Another store-bought looking frock. It just seems like a very lazy choice. And she didn’t even make an effort to jazz things up with either some cool shoes (boring black slingbacks are firmly in place), some bling or a fancy hairdo. Drab all around.”

Cara says: “There are a few things I find wrong with this dress. One, the neckline looks off to me. Almost like it is sagging.

And second, while I like the pop of colour, I just find the dress hangs a bit weird. So as much as I love Katey, it’s a no.”

The Tribune | Weekend | 17

Friday, August 4, 2017

books

Diving into the colours of the Bahamas

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Reporter acadet@tribunemedia.net

W

ith his latest book of poetry, “Colours of The Sea”, Long Island native Jerome Cartwright hopes to have done his small part in telling the story of the Bahamas.

No matter where his poems take him, the beautiful landscape of the Bahamas is always in the background of everything Jerome Cartwright writes.

And it is no different in “Colours of The Sea”, which features diverse themes, chief among them nature, history, culture, inspiration and love.

“I think everybody can relate to stories, poetry and the written word. It is a wonderful achievement to create some-

thing that never existed and writers create a world of their own, a magical world so to speak,” Mr Cartwright told Tribune Weekend.

“We must not be selfish with it though, but rather share it with family, friends and the general public. We must let the world into a new creation.”

Within the pages of “Colours of The Sea” readers will find poems like “Summer Rain” that describes the impermanence of things. It reads: “The sun comes up from behind the hills, burning a clear sky. A few hours later the sky becomes a busy, cluttered canvas of strokes – bigger, heavier, darker.”

The poem “Everything Babylon” suggests that persons have not paid enough attention to history and this

ECCO/HARPERCOLLINS VIA AP

book review

‘The Blinds’ moves at brisk pace THE BLINDS

This cover image released by Ecco/ HarperCollins shows “The Blinds,” a novel by Adam Sternbergh.

THE prison system — and how to treat incarcerated criminals — has always been problematic, no matter the plan. Adam Sternbergh’s imaginative “The Blinds” doesn’t solve the problem but offers an unusual alternative: round up the most violent murderers, house them in a remote, unescapable

in some way has led to an erosion of spiritual and moral values. The poem called “Tops” describes the triumph of man against overwhelming odds.

Meanwhile, “Zakary” explores the relationship between the author and his three-year-old grandson.

“I think each poem has its own message for the most part, but one message that is more prevalent than others in the book is that the Earth is eternal and man is temporal,” said Mr Cartwright.

“In the Bahamas, we need more people to write and publish. The better writings will add to a body of literature that is truly ours and we must do it because nobody can tell our story better than us. So much of our story is being lost and so much has to be written. The writers who are great at it become immortal, for example Shakespeare. That’s more than enough inspiration.”

“Colours of the Sea” is his second published book, but Mr Cartwright said he is as excited as if it were the first.

“It’s like having a second child born,” he noted.

Although a lot of work goes into the preparation of the manuscript for the printers, Mr Cartwright said the actual writing process is a lot of fun.

“Once you receive the proof copy you instinctively yell, ‘Wow, is this for real!’ There is no rehearsal for it, I

can tell you that much. I do so much revision with my work that by the end of it I reckon I have nothing to change. Revision is key to writing,” said Mr Cartwright.

Poet Jerome He is planning Cartwright to host a book launch very soon.

In the meantime, “Colours of The Sea” is available here in Nassau from Nassau Stationers, the Logos Book Store, Doongalik Studios and the National Art Gallery. In Long Island, it is available at A&M Electric and the Bay Side Service Station.

town and, as a kicker, wipe their memories clean.

“The Blinds” expertly melds the thriller with the Western, adding a soupcon of medical-science fiction while paying a bit of homage to Jim Thompson’s “The Getaway,” the novel, not the movie, and “Pop. 1280.”

Located in the most remote area of Texas, the small town of Caesura — “rhymes with tempura” — is home to 48 people who have entered an unusual witness protection program.

Here, for the past eight years, vicious criminals have every memory of their past completely erased. Then they are given new identifies, choosing a first and last name from a list of movie stars and ex-vice presidents. Adding to the mix are a few “innocents,” such as Fran Adams and her eight-year-old son Isaac, the only child in the town.

Innocents are there after witnessing horrific events they need to forget, being a crime victim or are in hiding after testifying.

Sheriff Calvin Cooper presides over

Caesura. Calvin’s not really a sheriff but a privately employed security guard with training as a corrections officer. Because no one remembers their identities, The Blinds is free of crime.

But the shooting of two residents —one a suicide, the other a murder — puts Calvin and the town on alert, especially since guns are banned. Soon government agents descend on The Blinds, shattering what little freedom the residents have.

Sternbergh cleverly keeps the reader off-kilter with his characters and myriad twists in the plot. While the medical technology to wipe memories is given its due, Sternbergh wisely doesn’t linger on this subject. Instead, curiosity about the characters becomes paramount. What did the kindly grocer do to land here? Or the gossipy librarian?

“The Blinds” moves briskly as Sternbergh (”Shovel Ready”) delivers a truly original story.

Oline H Cogdill Associated Press

18 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 4, 2017

podcasts Convicted

A glimpse behind bars

By STEPHEN HUNT shunt@tribunemedia.net

I

magine waking up each day inside a box no bigger than four and a half feet by ten feet. Every day.

This week’s podcast review listens to the stories of those who live that experience, day by day, waking up inside prison.

Ear Hustle

Ear Hustle is a show that gives the microphone to prisoners at San Quentin prison. The latest show talks about the SHU, the security housing unit – though the one featured in this show is not at San Quentin but at Pelican Bay State Prison in Northern California Solitary.

It talks to four prisoners who have spent prolonged periods in solitary confinement – and it’s a world away from the one we know. “It’s the hole, the dungeon, the box,” as co-host Antwan Williams says.

Solitary confinement is just that – cut off from human contact – and the prisoners talk about the effect that has on people. From starting fights with guards just to feel some human contact, to finding ways to extend just the slightest tip of your finger through the grill of the door to be able to touch the fingertip of another prisoner to have some kind of contact with a friend.

“Your mind can trick you into adjusting to the immediate conditions,” says Antwan Williams, a prisoner himself, and you can hear that in the conversations with other prisoners.

There’s a mix of bravado and fear, and you can hear how hard the experience is in the voices of those being interviewed.

Sometimes the conversation is broken, disjointed, such as that of one prisoner who spent 19 years in solitary.

This really is a brilliant podcast – it’s only half an hour or so in length but it packs a lot in there and really opens your eyes to a world we perhaps choose not to look at. It certainly makes you wonder about the life behind bars of those closer to home.

Website: https://www.earhustlesq.com/

Locked Up Abroad

National Geographic has a TV series called Locked Up Abroad, and this is the audio adaptation of it, hosted by Jim Clemente.

The focus is what you’d expect – looking at various cases of people who were locked up in a country not their own. There are half a dozen episodes so far – and they are incredibly slickly produced.

The episode I listened to focused on the case of a trucker who took up a contract to work in Iraq and ended up on the wrong end of a firefight, stuck in

enemy territory and trying to find a way to escape enemy hands.

Thomas Hamill was a truck driver in Mississippi. Aged 43, he said he felt he needed to give something back to his country and headed for Camp Anaconda in Iraq. A year to the day after the fall of Baghdad, his convoy was intercepted by insurgents and he ended up kidnapped, wondering if he would be executed.

The show is essentially presented almost as an audio play – there’s lots of background effects, with the sounds of gunshots and explosions and a nearconstant soundtrack playing throughout the show. It’s all a bit distracting from what is in itself a compelling story. It’s hard to tell if the narration of the story is being done by the person themselves or an actor – I suspect the latter – and that all removes you from the story itself. It feels like it’s a performance to entertain you and ends up feeling like a movie rather than a true story of someone experiencing the horror of being trapped in enemy territory, never knowing if they’ll see their family again.

It’s a great story – but the show’s desire to dramatise it further really stops you getting immersed in listening to Hamill.

Website: http://wondery.com/wondery/ shows/lockedupabroad/

Following in the hefty footprints of Serial, the podcast series that analysed a court case of a possible wrongful conviction, Convicted looks at the case of Richard Nicolas, who in 1996 was convicted of the murder of his two-yearold daughter.

It’s a much smaller production than Serial – the show host, Brooke Gittings, a social worker, freely admits in the opening episode that she’s broadcasting this from inside her walk-in closet.

In the opening episode, Gittings lays out some of the concerns of the legal community about the conviction of Nicolas, a French-speaking man of Haitian descent.

From his prison cell, he scrawled a note for listeners, saying “The worst thing an individual can do in society is to murder, rape or rob. However, the worst thing society can do to the individual is to wrongfully convict of murder, rape or robbery.”

The crime occurred on the night of July 26, 1996. Nicolas picked up his twoyear-old daughter from her mother’s house, and took her to the local cinema in Baltimore, to go see Pinocchio. It was the first time that the two would spend an evening together alone – as Nicolas and the mother were separated.

Later, Nicolas made a frantic 911 call after his daughter was shot. He had rushed to a petrol station to make the call while his daughter bled to death from a bullet wound. He told police it was a road rage incident, with a black car ramming his Chevrolet and the driver shooting his daughter. But the police thought differently, and the state made a case that Nicolas shot his daughter, left her lying in his car, and went and saw Pinnochio alone The show starts to look piece by piece at the case – although it has to be said, not in as precise a way as Serial, for example. The show hops around a little bit, and states things as fact without really presenting the evidence.

Concerns from the legal community are confidently declared, without actually laying them out in detail, while in the first two episodes of the show a lot is made of the speech impediment that Nicolas suffers without clearly spelling out how that counted against him in his trial.

Gittings seems eager to try to prove that Nicolas is not guilty – but to convince the listener, she perhaps could do with being more evenhanded and presenting the evidence more clearly.

Website: http://www.convictedpod.com/

The Tribune | Weekend | 19

Friday, August 4, 2017

gardening

August preparations This weekend, says Jack Hardy, is the perfect time to stock up on vegetable seeds and plan ahead for our Fall harvests

T

he official hurricane season starts in June, but the effective season for the Bahamas really starts in August. From now on in reports of Atlantic disturbances will be more interesting, as in the old Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times.

August is also the beginning of our vegetable gardening season. There will be nothing for us to put on our plates but if we want the earliest tomatoes possible the seeds must be sown in mid-August. This weekend may be the right time to visit our favourite nursery and buy some fresh veggie seeds, potting mix and seed trays.

In a month or so we will be able to plant seeds for fall and winter annuals so cast a warm eye on the nursery options and make a point of trying something new this season along with your established favourites.

If you know where you are going to plant your tomato vines and peppers you can get a prep start by digging holes where the veggies will go and filling them with kitchen waste such as lettuce leaves, coffee grounds, eggshells, boiled rice – anything organic that does not contain seeds, oil or sugar. It may not seem like much but when you transplant your veggies in late September or early October every little bit counts.

I have been asked about the use of doggy doo-doo as a fertilizer. All animal manures need to be aged and broken down before use rather than used when

Guava is the fruit of the month ‘hot’ and smelly. Once dog droppings have dried completely they can join the kitchen waste in the prepared holes, but only a little for each hole. Better animal manures are provided by sheep, goats, horses, rabbits and chickens, but only after aging and drying.

Many varieties of mango have completed their season but late season mangoes are still ripening on the trees.

King of these is Keitt and if tropical storms and hurricanes stay away from us we will have a whole new mango season starting in September.

The main fruit of August is guava.

Although occasional fruits can be eaten out of hand, the usual process with guavas is to cook them. Guava duff is

a favourite dessert, one guaranteed to sate the sweetest appetite. Guava sauce – not highly sweetened – can be used to finish white meats like chicken breast and pork on the grill or on the plate. Most of my guavas go towards making guava nectar. Guavas have no juice so the term ‘nectar’ applies to guavas that are stewed with sugar and plenty of water, then strained. In the right proportions this makes a delicious breakfast juice and a haunting addition to a rum punch.

It is during August that the first carambola fruits ripen. Unlike guavas that produce a massive harvest and then finish, the carambola season will last into the new year. It is the longest producing

fruit of all, a clear six months of reliable fruiting. I cannot imagine having a yard without at least one carambola tree.

Native to China and eastern Asia s carambola can be kept as a smallish tree by pruning during the winter months.

Carambola trees are heavy bearers and have two harvests in late summer and mid fall that succeed each other and seem like one long bearing season.

Your enjoyment of carambola fruits will be greatly enhanced by taking a little care when selecting a grafted sapling from your local nursery. If you buy a tree that is merely labelled ‘carambola’ it will almost certainly be Golden Star, a serviceable but unexciting cultivar; instead, buy a superior variety such as Arkin or Fuang Tung.

Carambola fruits are easily dislodged by strong winds so plant your trees in a sunny location that is protected from north winds. The south side of a house is perfect and you do not have to worry about destructive roots invading your foundation. Nursery bought carambola trees usually bear a light harvest after being in the ground for a year, then increase production dramatically.

Carambola fruits should be picked as they approach full ripeness because hitting the ground bruises them. The fruits develop sugars at maturity and an amber carambola has a deep and complex flavour while a canary yellow fruit has little flavour and can be acidic. One important caveat: do not give carambola in any form to a baby or toddler. The fruits contain oxalic acid in the form of spicules and can cause choking. The riper the fruit gets the chance of spicules decreases, but do not take any chances.

What to do with your carambola harvest? The fruits are usually eaten out of hand but are best presented by trimming the ends and peeling the edges of the flutes. Cut the fruit laterally into stars and serve for fruit munchies or as an edible garnish for just about any meal that is not served with gravy. Add stars to your salads and cereals. Lightly saute the stars in butter and serve with white meats or your breakfast eggs.

Carambola fruits have seeds at the core that resemble flat apple seeds.

Remove these when you cut stars and do not dream about planting them. The seeds will take up to seven years to produce a bearing tree and the fruit will be horribly inferior. Trust me on this. Some people have only experienced inferior carambola fruits and do not yet know how delicious and useful they can be.

• For questions and comment e-mail j.hardy@coralwave.com

20 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 4, 2017

television and internet

Crowd-funded animated short about gay love goes viral RINGLING COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN VIA AP

AN animated short film about an adolescent gay couple has gone viral, garnering over six million views on YouTube in just two days.

“In a Heartbeat “ follows a boy addressing his sexuality after falling in love with a male classmate in elementary school. The short was created by filmmakers Beth David and Esteban Bravo.

David and Bravo released the film online Monday where it quickly began trending on Twitter.

A Kickstarter campaign was launched in November 2016 to fund the project, reaching the initial goal of $3,000 in three hours.

A total of $14,000 was raised.

The short is a semi-finalist for best animated domestic film at the 2017 Student Academy Awards.

The filmmakers produced “In A Heartbeat” at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida.

LOS ANGELES Associated Press

A scene from the animated short “In a Heartbeat”.

Producer: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ delayed to maintain quality THE premiere of “Star Trek: Discovery” on CBS All Access was postponed nine months to maintain the quality of the brand.

Executive producer Alex Kurtzman told the Television Critics Association Tuesday that they “spent a lot of time” discussing how to create this new world for TV that felt authentic to the “Star Trek” universe.

Also during that time, executive producer Bryan Fuller decided to exit the series as showrunner to focus on other projects.

Kurtzman said “it became clearer and clearer” that the targeted January debut would “compromise the quality

of the show,” so it was pushed with the blessing of CBS Chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves.

“Star Trek: Discovery” stars Sonequa Martin-Green of “The Walking Dead,” as central character, First Officer Michael Burnham. She’s the foster daughter of the Vulcan Sarek, who is Spock’s father.

“We are telling a story that we believe in. Everyone is so passionate.

The craftsmanship here in our entire company, behind the camera and in front of the camera, is nothing short of stellar,” said Green.

Kurtzman also debuted the theme song for “Star Trek: Discovery” per-

formed by a 60-piece orchestra. It plays homage to the original theme and the entire song will play under a credit sequence in each episode.

The timeline for the series is 10 years prior to the original series, or TOS, as Trekkies say.

Executive producer Akiva Goldsman said, “We are going to cross paths with components that ‘Trek’ fans are familiar with, but it is its own standalone story with its own characters and its own unique vision of ‘Trek.’”

“Star Trek: Discovery” also stars Jason Isaacs, Michelle Yeoh and Shazad Latif.

The series will premiere on CBS on September 24. Immediately following, the first and second episodes will stream on CBS All Access in the US and on Netflix in all other countries.

New episodes going forward will be available on Sundays.

LOS ANGELES Associated Press

1980s soap ‘Dynasty’ returns on CW with circa-2017 mischief MONEY! Power! Glamour! Catfights! The CW’s reboot of “Dynasty” will have much in common with the classic 1980s original.

But the new “Dynasty” aims to “kick it up a notch,” says Elizabeth Gillies, who plays Fallon Carrington, daughter of wealthy industrialist Blake Carrington, on the show. Pamela Sue Martin played her in the original series.

Gillies told TV critics Wednesday that her character is “as feisty as ever” and that she loves Fallon’s strength.

She played a strong woman on FX’s “Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll.” But on that show, her character was rough around the edges, while Fallon is refined.

Gillies noted that “Fallon doesn’t want to be a rock star. She wants to be CEO.” That means trading in “crop tops and lace bras for Gucci and Christian Louboutins,” Gillies said.

“Dynasty” premieres October 11.

BEVERLY HILLS, California Associated Press

Grant Show as Blake Carrington and Nathalie Kelley as Cristal Flores.

The Tribune | Weekend | 21

Friday, August 4, 2017

film ANNAPURNA PICTURES VIA AP

review

Bigelow explores a horrific history in ‘Detroit’ DETROIT RUNNING TIME: 143 MINS

Left, Anthony Mackie stars as war veteran Greene; and below, John Boyega in a scene from “Detroit.”

T

here is no nice or pretty way to tell a story about the systemic oppression and mistreatment of black people in the United States.

It’s fitting then that Kathryn Bigelow’s “Detroit ,” an account of the murders of three unarmed black men that took place in the Algiers Motel in late July 1967, is neither — it is an all-out assault on your senses and soul.

It’s hard to overstate just how visceral and harrowing an experience it is. “Detroit” is a well-made and evocative film that is also numbingly brutal with little to no reprieve. And while it might be the only true way to tell this story, it’s also one that is not going to be for everyone. The stomachchurning horror begins immediately and does not let up for 2 hours and 23 minutes.

To set the stage for the Algiers Motel, Bigelow begins by speeding through the history of black people in United States with animated acrylics and pounding music — emancipation, the great migration, white flight and the racist zoning practices that led to the overcrowding of black residents in urban pockets. Tensions have already reached a tipping point, and then in the summer of 1967, Detroit police bust an after-hours club in what would become the inciting incident for the riots.

Three days after the riots begin, a local singing group called The

Dramatics are about to go on stage at a big, crowded theater hoping to get their big break, but are interrupted and sent home due to the events outside.

The men exit the theater in their sparkly suits into what looks like a war zone. As they run through the streets they assure every cop who isn’t already beating someone with a night stick that they’re just on their way home. Bigelow shows all of this with handheld, ground level docudrama realism.

There is no orienting yourself to the bigger picture, only what is right in front of you.

The charismatic

lead singer Larry (Algee Smith) and his buddy Fred (Jacob Latimore) decide to peel off and get an $11 room at the Algiers and wait out the night.

There they meet two white party girls, a veteran, Greene (a terrific Anthony Mackie), and a provocateur, Carl (Jason Mitchell), who plays around with a starter pistol that eventually catches the attention of the police in the area. The officers, who we’ve already learned are rotten, storm the motel on the hunt for the sniper they presume is there.

The local police, led by a maniacal, hotheaded racist, Krauss (played by the English actor Will Poulter), kills

Carl immediately and then continue to terrorize the guests relentlessly with inhuman torture tactics in what seems like an endless sequence of horror upon horror until two more end up dead and they call it a night.

Bigelow collaborated again with screenwriter Mark Boal on “Detroit,” which is perfectly evocative of this specific time and place, but lacking the perspective and illumination that one might hope a 50-year-old event would warrant. Perhaps they wanted to leave conclusions and interpreting to the audience, and as the film notes at the end, no one knows for certain what happened in the Algiers Motel and some of the scenes were pieced together and imagined by the filmmakers.

There is some nuance — in the National Guard officer who is horrified by the situation and the local security officer (John Boyega) who only wanted to ease tensions — but not nearly as much as Bigelow and Boal have previously achieved in “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Hurt Locker.”

Also very little insight is given to the victims’ lives outside of this event.

Maybe that’s not the point, though.

Maybe anger is all you’re supposed to feel when you step outside the theatre. Maybe not feeling satisfied with “Detroit” is the point.

This was America, you think. This is still America. And the movies can’t offer a resolution that history hasn’t.

LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer

22 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 4, 2017

literary lives WILLIAM FAULKNER

The Lost Generation’s greatest writer Sir Christopher Ondaatje explores the ups and downs of the American writer and Nobel Prize laureate from Oxford, Mississippi

L

ike many of America’s great writers of the 20th century William Faulkner had a weakness for alcohol. He liked to drink while he was writing. His publisher Bennett Cerf of Random House recalled: “The maddening thing about (Bill) Faulkner was that he’d go off on one of those benders ... and then reappear as if he hadn’t had a drink in six months.

But during those bouts he didn’t know what he was doing. He was helpless. His capacity wasn’t great; it didn’t take him too much to set him off.”

William Faulkner was born William Cuthbert Falkner in New Albany, Mississippi on August 17, 1870. He came from an old Southern family who owned the Gulf of Chicago Railroad Company. However, when

William Faulkner (1897 - 1962)

The Tribune | Weekend | 23

Friday, August 4, 2017

his grandfather sold the business in 1902, his disappointed father moved the family to Oxford, Mississippi where William Faulkner lived on and off for the rest of his life.

His mother and grandmother, and particularly Caroline “Callie” Barr – the black woman who raised him from infancy – enormously influenced his literary imagination. “Callie” Barr, more than anyone, introduced him to the politics of sexuality and race – a strong theme in Faulkner’s novels, along with the historical growth and subsequent decadence of the old South.

Although Faulkner was an excellent student, he was indifferent to schoolwork and never graduated from high school. Instead, he studied the history of Mississippi and listened to stories of the Civil War, slavery, and the exploits of William Clark Falkner – his great-grandfather, who was a successful businessman, writer and Civil War hero.

At the University of Mississippi, where he was allowed to enrol while his father was working there as a business manager, Faulkner developed his yearning to become a writer. When he was 17 years old he met Philip Stone, four years his senior, who came

Clockwise from above left; Callie Barr, who who raised Faulkner from infancy and enormously influenced his literary imagination, with his then four-year-old daughter Jill; the grave of Caroline “Callie” Barr; the publicity photo

for Faulkner’s “Sanctuary”, for which he sold the film rights.

It was made into the movie “The Story of Temple Drake” in 1933; and published in 1929, “The Sound and the Fury” is considered one of the best English language novels of the 20th century

“Although Faulkner was an excellent student, he was indifferent to schoolwork and never graduated from high school.”

from an old Southern family, and who nurtured Faulkner’s passion for writing. He introduced him to James Joyce, and tried unsuccessfully to get Faulkner’s poems and short stories published. Faulkner continued to be fascinated by the history of his family and the characterisation of Southerners in Mississippi, as well as the fierce juxtaposition of “black and white”.

In 1918, Faulkner changed his name from the original Falkner (perhaps because of a typing error, or perhaps because it looked more British). When one of his stories was published in The Mississippian, the student newspaper, he liked the way it looked – and never changed it again. Faulkner was an inattentive student at University, dropped out in November 1920, worked for a while in New York as an assistant in a bookstore, and then briefly as the Postmaster at the University of Mississippi.

Unable to join the American Army during the First World War because of his short stature (he was only 5ʹ5½ʹ), he enlisted in a reserve unit of the British Army in Canada. However, he never saw action.

In 1924, sponsored by Philip Stone,

Faulkner’s volume of poetry, “The Marble Faun” was published in a limited edition of 1,000 copies. Three years later his first novel, “Soldiers’ Pay” was published, after which Faulkner travelled to Paris for two months.

Returning to the United States, the American writer Sherwood Anderson gave Faulkner the advice that would change his career. He was told to write about his own region of Mississippi – a place he knew intimately. He did this – adopting a dark, brooding, and disturbingly complex style. His second novel, “Mosquitoes” was published the following year in 1928. When he was 31 years old he started writing “The Sound and the Fury”, in which he developed the fictional Yoknapatawpha County – very similar to Lafayette County in which his own Oxford, Mississippi is located.

In 1929, Faulkner married Estelle Oldham, who brought with her two children from her first marriage. Hoping to support his new family by writing he began work on “As I Lay Dying” while working night shifts at the University Continued on page 24

24 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 4, 2017

Continued from page 23 of Mississippi. It was published in 1930, following which several of his stories were sold to magazines. This produced enough income to buy a house in Oxford which he called Rowan Oak. However, two years later he was in financial difficulties again and, unable to sell the serialisation rights to his new novel, “Light in August”, he had to accept a screenwriting job for MGM in Hollywood. He needed the money desperately and would continue to work for the movies throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

In 1931, after much deliberation, Faulkner decided to publish “Sanctuary”, the controversial story of the rape and kidnapping of a young woman at the University of Mississippi.

It was a notable commercial success despite its gruesome scenario. It would be 20 years before he published the book’s sequel, “Requiem for a Nun”.

Faulkner’s next novel, “Light in August” (1932) returns to Yoknapatwapha County, and tells the story of County outcasts, racial tension, and a brutal murder. Time Magazine listed it, together with “The Sound and the Fury” as being one of the best English language novels of the 20th century.

Again in need of money, Faulkner returned to screenwriting, and sold the film rights of “Sanctuary” – re-titled “The Story of Temple Drake”, released in 1933.

While in Hollywood Faulkner published several novels, including “Absalom, Absalom” (1936), “The Hamlet” (1940), and “Go Down, Moses” (1942). Despite his chronic alcohol addiction, Faulkner’s literary output was prodigious. He was also known to have several extramarital affairs, including one with film producer Howard Hawk’s secretary Meta Carpenter, who wrote about it in her book “A Loving Gentleman”. Another was with a young writer Joan Williams who wrote about her love affair in “The Wintering” (1971).

In 1948, one of Faulkner’s most outspoken moral evaluations of the relationship between Negroes and whites, “Intruder in the Dust”, was published. It tells the story of a black man falsely accused of murder.

Faulkner was able to sell the film rights for $50,000.

In 1949, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Visiting Stockholm to receive the award, he met Else Jonsson with whom he had a long

Faulkner with Meta Carpenter, a film producer’s secretary with whom he had a well-documented extramarital affair

“Faulkner continued to be fascinated by the history of his family and the characterisation of Southerners in Mississippi, as well as the fierce juxtaposition of ‘black and white’.”

lasting affair until 1953. She had met Faulkner when she was a reporter for Dagens Nyheter in New York, and is probably the person most responsible for introducing Faulkner to Swedish readers. A few years later he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1955 for his minor novel “A Fable”.

While drink may have been Faulkner’s inspiration, it took a heavy toll on his health and years off his life. He was badly injured in a riding accident in 1959, and then again in 1962, causing thrombosis. On July 6, 1962, he died of a thrombosis-related heart attack when he was 64 years old. He was awarded a second Pulitzer Prize for fiction posthumously in 1963 for his novel “The Reivers”. He is buried in St Peter’s Cemetery in Oxford, Mississippi – in the county that inspired his stories – obsessed with the ideals, reputations and legacies of families that were falling apart like the decrepit plantation homes in which they lived.

NEXT WEEK: The rise and fall of Nathaniel Naismith

• Sir Christopher Ondaatje is an The entrance to Rowan Oak, William Faulkner’s home in Oxford, Mississippi, from 1930 until his death in 1962

adventurer and writer resident in the Bahamas. A Sri Lankan-born CanadianEnglishman, he is the author of several books, including “The Last Colonial”

The Tribune | Weekend | 25

Friday, August 4, 2017

history Forgotten facts Paul C Aranha

Long Island’s admiral

J

ames McQueen Forsyth (18421915) was a second-generation Bahamian, born at Great Harbour, a settlement on Long Island whose name has long since been forgotten. Today it is known as Clarence Town.

Great Harbour was founded by James’ maternal grandfather, Major Archibald Taylor, who was secondin-command to Colonel Andrew Deveaux in the 1783 recapture of New Providence from the Spanish occupiers.

He got his middle name from his paternal grandmother, Flora McQueen, sister of Neil McQueen, publisher of the colony’s then only newspaper, The Royal Gazette and Bahama Advertiser.

Flora had married Alexander Forsyth and family tradition says that she was a personal friend of Flora MacDonald’s, the lady who rescued Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1746 after the Battle of Culloden in Scotland. The two Floras would have met in North Carolina.

At the age of 11, James was sent to America to Mount Vernon Grammar School in Philadelphia and, after graduation from the Philadelphia Central High School, went to sea as a ship’s boy before the mast. He served in European, African and West Indian trade, reaching the grade of second mate. He was described as a man of heroic stature and strength. He was said to be 6’ 4” tall.

In 1861, James and his brother, who had not seen each other since they were boys at Great Harbour, found themselves in America, discussing the American Civil War and whether they should go back home to the Bahamas or remain in America. Whether they were influenced by their grandfather’s military career is not known, but they decided to enlist. His brother joined the Confederate Navy and James became a

second-class pilot in the United States Navy on July 25, 1861.

He participated in the captures of Forts Clark and Hatteras; was appointed acting master’s mate on September 25, 1861; was attached to the North and South Atlantic and West Gulf squadrons; participated in the engagements under Admiral Farragut on the Mississippi and at Grand Gulf in the engagement with the Confederate ram Arkansas.

He was promoted acting ensign for gallant service on September 5, 1862; was attached to the Water Witch,

Rear Admiral in the United States Navy James McQueen Forsyth is one of Long Island’s forgotten sons Pawnee and the monitor Nantucket in the South Atlantic squadron, and participated in the expeditions up the St John’s River and in various engagements in Charleston Harbour.

James was promoted to the post of acting master on August 1, 1864. He was the navigator and executive officer of the USS Nyack in the Pacific squadron, 1865-68; was commissioned master in the regular navy on March 12, 1868, and

made lieutenant on December 18, 1868.

James served as the executive officer of the USS Purveyor and detailed on special service, 1868-69; executive officer on the receiving ship Potomac, 1869-70; navigator and executive officer of the ironclad Ajax in 1871; stationed at the navy yard in Philadelphia 187172; was the executive officer of the USS Supply and detailed on special service at the Vienna exposition of 1873; was at the navy yard in Philadelphia, 1873-74; navigating officer of the steam sloop Powhatan, North Atlantic squadron, 1874-77; took part in torpedo instruction, 1877, and was on navigation duty at League Island, Pennsylvania, 1877-80.

James was promoted to lieutenantcommander on May 9, 1878; was executive officer of the USS Constellation on special service to the Irish relief, 1880; served as executive officer on the receiving ship Colorado, in 1881; as navigating and executive officer on the USS Lancaster, flagship of the Mediterranean squadron, 1881-84; as ordnance officer on League Island, 1885-86, and as assistant executive of the US naval home, 1886-89.

He was then promoted to commander, February 14, 1889, commanded the USS Tallapoosa, Brazil squadron, 1889-92, and was stationed at the naval home in Philadelphia, 1892-95.

James was commandant of the naval station at Key West, Florida, 1895-98, before he became ill with yellow fever at the naval hospital, 1898-99. Following his recovery, he was promoted to the rank of captain on March 3, 1899, and ordered to command the Baltimore of the Asiatic squadron on April 2, 1899.

He was appointed chief-of-staff to Rear Admiral Watson on June 15, 1899.

After 40 years of service, he was retired with the rank of rear admiral on September 25, 1901.

A prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, with the 33rd degree of Boston, the highest degree in Masonry, his first wife was Mary Perkins, whom he married in Philadelphia in 1871, and by whom he had a son, James Perkins Forsyth. His second wife was Caroline Helfenstein, of Shamokin, Pennsylvania.

James McQueen Forsyth died on August 3, 1915 and was buried in the National Cemetery at Arlington, after a military funeral.

His relatives in the Bahamas include two governors general – Sir Henry Taylor and Dame Ivy Dumont.

• E-mail comments and responses to islandairman@gmail.com

C K o r C o

FLoaT (across) PLanK (down)

26 | The Tribune | Weekend

section

TarGeT

AHW C K o r C o

Chambers

you have to

dictionary (1999 edition)

below the g grid is ‘rota symmetrica words, it loo you turn th down. solut

grid too! Us *Calls cost 75p plus your 21st telephone company’s network access charge.

Friday, August 4, 2017 letters and Century

THe aLP

HOW many words of four letters or more can you make from the letters shown here? making yesterday The Target CAN youIncrack the a A 26 word, each letter may be used Black squ Alphabeater?

Each grid usesonce only. Each 16, 19, B 21, 2 must contain the represents words in letternumber centre and there must be aatletter32, 35, 39 C 36M – or black square.

As in across: least one nine-letter word. No the main Alphapuzzle, every letter ofAwful, plurals or verb forms ending in “s”.

D Kin

body of the alphabet is used. But Spongy, C E 31Ha Chambers Today’s TarGeT you have to complete the Bathos, Jolly, Idly, Good 13; very good 19; excellent 25 21st grid too! Use the given down: F Mu (or more). solution letters tomorrow. and black squares Quiz, Emu Century G Nym 34 below the grid to start. TheAxle, dictionary yesTerday’s soLUTion Avoid, Wo grid is ‘rotationally H daff dead deaf dean Catalyst, I (1999anode dado symmetrical’ – in other doff doffed done fade faded fend Above, Fig I 15 edition) words,hand it looks the same if fond hade haded handed

Extra l

J head hoed honed node you turn theoffend page upside HOW many words of four letters offhand oFFHanded down. solution tomorrow. 0907 K or more can you make from the (Deduct6th letters shown here? In making a yesterday’s solution: eachLextra word, each letter may be used Black squares: 6, 7, 14, M Full 2 Call 0907 2585 16,181 19, 21, 22, 25,for 26, 29, 0907 once only. Each must contain the N today’s32, Target solution 35, 39, 40. *Calls cost centre letter and there must be at *Calls cost 80p per minute tel Morality, Play, plusnetwork least one nine-letter word. No plus youracross: telephone company’s Oyour26 access Kink, charge. Amino, New, Awful, plurals or verb forms ending in “s”. network P Spongy, Cyan, Fled,

13M

Bathos, Has, Squat, Q *SP: Spoke – Helpline 0333 202 3390 Lief,PLay

Today’s TarGeT Good 13; very good 19; excellent 25 (or more). solution tomorrow. yesTerday’s soLUTion anode dado daff dead deaf dean doff doffed done fade faded fend fond hade haded hand handed head hoed honed node offend offhand oFFHanded

Jolly, Idly, Adopters. down: Musk, Impel, Quiz, Emu, Awakened, Axle, Nymph, Truce, Avoid, Wombs, Plum, Catalyst, Ivy, Hymn, Above, Figs.

Extra letter clues

0907 181 2560 (Deduct three minutes for each extra clue letter heard)

Call 0907 181 2585 for today’s Target solution *Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge.

*SP: Spoke – Helpline 0333 202 3390

Full solution

R S T U V W X Y Z

1

0907 181 2558 ■

*Calls cost 80p per minute 21 plus your telephone company’s network access charge.

2

22 21 31 2

22

● Altern

PLay More Crossw

The Tribune | Weekend | XX

Friday, August 4, 2017

animal matters PET OF THE WEEK

Animal matters Kim Aranha

Weddings gone to the dogs

A

s Buddy stands at the altar waiting for the beautiful bride he looks up at his beloved “boy” who he has loved and protected since they were both little. From the very first day Buddy has been Scott’s best friend. He was so little that we lost him in the dark blue sheets of Scott’s bed on his first morning in the house.

Now, 10 years later, he played a very important role at Scott’s wedding.

The bride’s father walked her down the aisle and gave her away. And Buddy walked his human down the aisle and gave him to Bianca…or perhaps more accurately, reaffirmed his canine ownership of yet another human.

I have been to two weddings this year where the most loved family pet has been in the forefront.

Mickey the potcake, who travelled from the Bahamas to Lima with his “mom” Dany Saunders a few years back, returned to the Bahamas this year to take his place at her side when she said “I do” to her fiancé.

Some of you would have read the saga of Mickey having to leave Nassau with his mom and the complications of his trip to Lima. Hats off to all the wonderful people who made it possible for Mickey to stay with Dany. And he returned in style a few months ago with the bride.

Buddy is a 10-year-old black Labrador and, as I mentioned, has been at his master’s side all his life; loved and cherished by my son Scott since they were both young. When Scott and Bianca decided on a date for their wedding, the first thing that came up was that Buddy would have be part of the event.

There were various roles he could play, but it was decided the most accurate would be for him to walk Scott to the altar and wait with him for his bride.

Buddy was tremendously proud of his position and smiled his way through

the ceremony with his tail wagging. He stood with the best man during the ceremony. Mickey also stood by watching his mom whilst the matron of honour held him.

I have noticed recently that there are more and more couples who are including their dogs in their nuptials.

In fact, many pets now take part in important family events. It is amazing how many websites have special collars and leashes, bandanas, booties and other accessories for a pet to wear and be part of the festivities.

Buddy wore a bow tie with anchors on it that matched the bow ties worn by the dads and the groomsmen; Mickey wore a bandana saying “ring barer”.

They both did a wonderful job and almost stole the show, but the beautiful, glowing brides still outshone everybody else. Love and happiness for all involved!

Brindle babes

By The Bahamas Humane Society THIS litter of seven brindle pups arrived at the Bahamas Humane Society in April of this year.

While two have been adopted, the other five have grown into lanky teenagers while at the shelter.

They’d really love to have a home of their own with a yard to run free in and perhaps a house to come inside to. All five are well-socialised, having grown up with the BHS staff, and are friendly with other dogs, too. Have you been looking to adopt? This summer is a great

time to do so! The BHS is having a dog adoption special so any one of the brindle pups would be $5 if you adopt now. There are both males and females in the litter. Adoption hours are 11am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, and 10am to 4pm on Saturday, or you can call 323-5138 for more information. The brindle babes are waiting to greet you!

• Mark your calendars for Bingo Night: Tuesday, August 22, 7pm, at the Green Parrot.

Bring a friend and play along.

Winner takes half; the BHS keeps half. It’s an enjoyable way to donate and have fun while doing so. See you there!

28 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, August 4, 2017

section