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by tribune242
Preaching through paint
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By JEFFARAH GIBSON | Tribune Features Writer | jgibson@tribunemedia.net
SOME preach from a pulpit; Tanya EvansThe artwork feature on Godly Tings that is Mason however preaches with paint. only an online platform currently features Tanya’s The Bahamian artist whose message is interpretation of scriptures she reads. She said crethe same but ministry and methods are ating drawings and art pieces gives the scripture slightly different has a goal to share the and even great impact. gospel of Jesus Christ through art. “My inspiration comes from reading the bible
Tanya has created a variety of art pieces in variconsistently and using my imagination to depict ous forms, styles, and subject matters. Now has what I believe the scriptures are saying. turned her love for art into a ministry where she And creating images in a modern way is of gives colors and picture to the scriptures. She calls utmost importance. this latest venture Godly Tings. “I always want to create images of people in my
Godly Tings is a Christian art ministry catering artwork that people can idenify and relate too,” to persons wanting to enjoy the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. Her aim is to watch the bible come to life with colorful modern artwork and comics. “God inspired me to do Godly Tings, being a Christian, I wanted to win over souls for the she said. Being an artist for most of her life and a Christian for just as long, Tanya said she wanted to merge faith and art. The great commission she believes – one of Jesus’ final commandments to this disciple before he left this Earth is not only for those who work in the church but for all those who kingdom. I am very passionate about his ministry are Christians. because there is not anyone else out there that is “When he said ‘Go into all the world and preach doing what I am doing in terms of drawing and the gospel, he wasn’t only talking to his disciples putting art to scripture but I am really passionate or people who work in the church, he was talking about this. I feel like I can reach a lot of persons about all of us, regular folks like you and me,” the who can relate to situations,” she said. artist told Tribune Religion.
Tanya said she has always been passionate sharing about the love of Jesus Christ with others.
At her previous high traffic job Tanya said she shared about God with anyone who came into the establishment and was interested in listening.
“There were many who came in and out those doors who I shared to about Christ. And it was so amazing how once I started talking, they got so interested.
“I have to tell people about Jesus and that he is coming back. People must know so they can prepare their hearts and their households. The writing it all over the wall. Do you see how many things are happening right now? It’s clear that Christ coming is soon and he will rescue his people, she said.
Even today as a high school teacher when the time allows, she shares with her students about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“The gospel is the power that saves people. I want everyone to know about the loving Saviour who came so that we may be save and have eternal life. Until the day I leave this Earth I will use my talents to communicate this wonderful message,” she said.
Balance and diversity
There is a very slight cooling in the evening and morning air, this minute change signals that it is time to get planting! Having discussed a few seed options in the last couple of weeks, how are you planning to use them?
Seeding into trays is the simplest method, as it allows each cell pack in the tray to develop a decent root on each seedling or group of seedlings planted, allowing for a strong plant for when the time comes to transplant. Some plants are better planted straight into the garden rows, mostly the root vegetables (beets, carrots, etc). Often the seedlings will need thinning to avoid crowding.
Look at it like this, during a pandemic, nobody wants another person to be standing close into their personal space, many vegetables are the same, they want a little elbow room as it were. Try to avoid clumping, and space the seeds evenly apart if you would like to avoid thinning them out.
Garden planning is something that some gardeners are meticulous about, others, as in my case, plant wherever there is space, without much regard to planning. One thing that does benefit to plan is companion planting. Some plants produce toxins in the roots that discourage others to grow nearby. Here is a tip on companion plantings for tomato from seed company Burpee: Plant with asparagus, carrot, celery, cucumber, onion, parsley. Basil repels flies and mosquitoes, improves growth and flavor. Bee balm, chives and mint improve health and flavor. Borage deters tomato worm, improves growth and flavor. Dill, until mature, improves growth and health. Once mature it stunts tomato growth. Marigold deters nematodes, tomato worm and general garden pests. To avoid: Corn and tomato are attacked by the same worm. Mature dill retards tomato growth. Kohlrabi stunts tomato growth. Potatoes and tomatoes are attacked by the same blight. Some plants when planted together will benefit each other, some will detract from each other. It is not fun to plant out a gorgeous garden only to have some things under perform because of what it is planted next to! Some planning can go a long way to a more productive garden.
Diversity. The more diverse a garden is, the more balanced it will be. Not only is companion planting a benefit, so is increasing the number of species in the garden. I too often see newer gardeners overreacting to a bit of whitefly, scale or mealybug on their pepper plant or soursop tree. Please remember, balance is key. There will always be garden pests and without them there will be no beneficial insects! The more species of plants that are on a given property, then the higher likelihood that there will be some sort of ecological balance. This does not mean that it is recommended to go out and get every type of exotic plant to add to your property. Native plants are essential and a few exotics to add splashes of color
and texture can add great aesthetic benefit. Many of our native plants are not so “showy”, and tend to be scorned, which is in my opinion, is a shame. Native plants (Maiden Bush, Necklace Pod, Granny Bush, Stoppers, etcetera) help to create balance. The more species that are present then the more chance of balance and the less need for preventative or remedial spraying. It is that simple. Milkweed is another example of a beneficial plant to have around the garden. By planting these and many others, pests are attracted to them, they will in turn attract beneficial insects and in turn again decrease the need to treat for pests.
Now is a good time to add some fertilizers to fruit trees that have finished their fruiting cycle, avoid high nitrogen on mango. If you are getting ready to fill that lovely raised planter or garden space, consider companion planting, also consider adding flowering perennials to attract beneficial insects and pollinators. Adding compost to existing garden beds will improve soil health. If earthworms are present, let them be, they are giving you gold in the form of their waste. Encourage some pests to encourage some beneficials, and do not freak out at the first sign of whitefly or mealybug. Aim to create balance, and the workload will decrease. Please follow label directions when using any pesticide. If you decide to not do so, you are not helping yourself, your crops, or the wider environment. The labels are specific, and they are created after loads of research and tests on residual effects et al…. consider alternating treatments rather than interpreting directions on your own. Balance is key. A healthy garden is a contributor to a healthy ecosystem, and a healthy ecosystem is a contributor to human health. Be kind to your garden, and the rewards are yours to be reaped. Happy gardening!
John Huston,
1906-1987 Part 1
Sir Christopher Ondaatje explores the life of the flamboyant American film director, screenwriter, actor, and visual artist who wrote the screenplays for some of the greatest Hollywood film classics between 1941 and 1985.
“Each picture with its particular environment and unique personal relationships is a world unto itself – separate and distinct. Picture makers lead dozens of lives – a life for each picture. And, by the same token, they perish a little when each picture is finished and that world comes to an end. In this respect it is a melancholy occupation.”
John Huston
John Huston was born in Nevada, Missouri, on August 5, 1906. He was the only child of Canadian-born Walter Huston and Rhea (née Gore) Huston. His father was an actor in vaudeville and later in films. His mother worked as a sports editor for a local newspaper until John Huston was born.
Huston’s parents divorced in 1913 when he was six – so he spent a great deal of his childhood in boarding schools. He travelled separately with each of his parents during summer vacations – with his father on his vaudeville tours, and with his mother to various sports events. He was fascinated with his father’s performances on the stage and loved seeing him taking on different characters. It was inevitable that he would be magnetised by acting. Travelling with his mother, however, was a fickle unstable life. She had difficulty maintaining any relationship for very long. But he was devoted to her – and she was the central and most influential part of his life. He was a sickly child and was treated for an enlarged heart and kidney ailments. After a long bed-ridden period in Arizona, he followed his mother to Los Angeles where he attended Abraham Lincoln High School. He dropped out after two years to become a professional boxer. By the time he was 15, he was a top-ranking lightweight boxer in California. This career ended when he suffered a broken nose.
Living in Los Angeles Huston had many interests: ballet, English and French literature, opera,
horseback riding and painting. He studied painting at the Art Students League of Los Angeles. Inevitably he was also drawn to the ever-present movie industry and motion pictures – but only as a voyeur. In those early days of Hollywood and silent pictures, Charlie Chaplin was a newly arrived genius. He fascinated Huston, who was like a beggar looking into a candy shop. He didn’t need much encouraging to join his father in New
York who was acting in off-Broadway productions. He got a few small roles and, while watching his father rehearse, became mesmerised with the science of acting.
“What I learned there, during those weeks of rehearsal, would serve me for the rest of my life.”
John Huston
Huston worked for a while on the stage, but when he was nineteen he travelled alone to Mexico and somehow obtained a position as an honorary member of the Mexican cavalry. But he returned to Los Angeles in 1926 and married Dorothy Harvey – a high school girlfriend. Their marriage lasted seven years.
While he was in Mexico, Huston wrote a play called Frankie and Johnny based on the old American ballad. He was amazed how easily he sold it to a publisher and decided that he would embark on a writing career. American Mercury (whose editor at the time was HL Mencken) bought two of his stories: “Fool” and “Figures of Fighting Men”. Over the next few years Esquire, Theatre Arts, and The New York Times bought his stories and articles. The New York Graphic also bought some of his work, but his mind was set on the film industry and in 1931, when he was 25, he moved back to Los Angeles where his father was having some success. Silent films were giving way to sound and “talkies” were becoming the new vogue. His writing talents helped him and Samuel Goldwyn Productions gave him a meagre contract – but no work. Disappointed, he left and, with some help from his father, got a job in the script department of Universal Studios where he father was working. He began by writing dialogue for films which included Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), A House Divided and Law and Order which starred his father. It was his first experience in the production of the film industry where he was befriended by the Austrian director William Wyler. They were to become good friends and eventual collaborators.
“Most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the right place they’re capable of anything.”
John Huston
In a series of misadventures and bad luck, the young Huston developed a reputation as a talented, hard-drinking playboy. He divorced his first wife Dorothy Harvey in 1933, and when a car he was driving crashed and killed actress Tosca Roulien he was charged with manslaughter which left him traumatised and depressed. A coroner’s jury eventually absolved Huston of any blame but he was advised to leave Hollywood. He drifted to London and Paris living aimlessly, certain that any hopes he had had of a movie career were over. JOHN Huston collection
on pursuing his film writing career. He married Lesley Black, an English actress, got a job with Warner Brothers Studio as a scriptwriter, and for the next four years co-wrote scripts for films that became successful: The Amazing Dr Clitterhouse (1936), Jezebel (1938), Juarez (1939), Dr Ehrlich’s Magic Bullet (1940), and Sergeant York (1941). He was good at what he did and was nominated for Academy Awards for his screenplays for both Dr Ehrlich’s Magic Bullet and Sergeant York, the latter being directed by Howard Hawks and a stunning success for Gary Cooper who played the young mountaineer.
Despite his wild ways, Huston was recognised and respected as a screenwriter and he convinced Warner Bros to give him a chance to direct a film – provided that his next script for them was a success. This script, High Sierra (1941), directed by Raoul Walsh, turned out to be the hit that Huston needed and Warner Bros kept their side of the bargain and gave Huston his choice of subject for his first directing assignment. Huston chose Dashiell Hammett’s detective story The Maltese Falcon – a film that had failed at the box office on two earlier versions produced by Warners. But Jack L Warner kept his word and allowed Huston to make the film.
“They indulged me rather. They liked my work as a writer and they wanted to keep me on. If I wanted to direct, why, they’d give me a shot at it and if it didn’t come off all that well, they wouldn’t be too disappointed as it was to be a very small picture. simple uncluttered style, much as you would imagine the novel’s narrative. Unusually for a director Huston used his sketching talent to map out each film scene before it was actually shot, including camera positions, lighting, compositions and close ups. He was a perfectionist.
“The directing of a picture involves coming out of your individual loneliness and taking a controlling part in putting together a small world.”
John Huston
He also selected a superb cast giving Humphrey Bogart, a drinking companion, the leading role. Bogart, the complete acting professional, liked Huston and his methodical approach. They would make a lot of good films together. He also picked other good supporting actors: Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, as well as his own father Walter Huston. He was given a small budget and, as they had limited expectations, only a minimal publicity allowance by Warners. The entire film was shot in eight weeks for only $300,000.
The Maltese Falcon was, surprisingly, instantly hailed as a film classic, and received an enthusiastic response by both the public and the critics. The New York Herald Tribune critic called it a “triumph”. It surprised Warner Bros. Huston received an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay and, after this film was allowed to direct all his screenplays. In 1942, he directed two more hits: In This Our Life (1942), starring Bette Davis, and Across the Pacific – again with Humphrey Bogart.
During World War II, Huston served in the United States Army with the rank of Captain. Controversial, as usual, he directed and produced three films: Report from the Aleutians (1943) about soldiers preparing for combat; The Battle of San Pietro (1945), which was censored, about the failure of America’s intelligence agencies, which resulted in many deaths; and Let There Be Light (1946), about psychologically damaged war veterans – a film censored and banned for 35 years. It was not shown until 1981. Huston was promoted to the rank of Major and received the Legion of Merit award for “courageous work under battle conditions”. The single Huston screenplay (an Anthony Veiller’s rewrite) which he did not direct was The Stranger (1946). He was unavailable. Orson Welles, who played the leading role of a high-ranking Nazi fugitive who settles in New England under an assumed name, directed the film instead.
Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial. The author acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; The Hustons (1989) by Lawrence Grobel; John Huston: Courage and Art (2011) by Jeffrey Meyers; and An Open Book (1980) by John Huston.
Days of overcoming adversity
Forgotten facts | Paul C Aranha
The trials we have faced
“I had no shoes and I complained ... then I met a man, who had no feet.” (Khalil Gibran, The Prophet)
Over the years, there have many life-threatening situations to complain about, yet we are still here, as living proof of the will to survive.
In 1648, the lives of the Eleutherian Adventurers were put at risk, when their ship hit a coral reef, and sank, leaving those new Bahamians clinging to life, by the skin of their teeth, until relief arrived from Britain’s 13 North American colonies. Hardly the best way to start a new Colony.
Since then, our ancestors battled many setbacks, including yellow fever and cholera, each of which took a lot of lives, a long time before the Coronavirus came on the scene.
I have tried, and failed, to find details of HOW we coped with cholera and yellow fever, but all I came up with is reference to the cholera graves, in the Eastern Cemetery; but a friend sent me a photo of protocols, published in England in 1666, about the Great Plague, often called the Black Death. Unfortunately, the cutting is small and the words hard to read but, what I was able to decipher is offered here:
RULES and ORDERS
To be observed by all Justices of Peace, Mayors, Bailiffs, and other Officers, for prevention of the spreading of the Infection of the P L A G U E.
Published by His Majesty’s Special Command
“That Fires in moveable Pans, or otherwise, be made in all necessary public Meetings in Churches, etc. and convenient Fumes to correct the Air be burnt thereon.
That care be taken that no unwholesome Meats, stinking Fish, Flesh, Musty Corn, or any other unwholesome Food be exposed to sale in any Shops or Markets.
That no Swine, Dogs, Cats, or tame Pigeons be permitted to pass up and down in Streets, or from house to house, in places infected.
That the laws against Inn-Mates be forthwith put into strict execution, and that no more Ale Houses be Licensed than are absolutely necessary in each City or place, especially during the continuance of this present contagion.
That each City and Town forthwith provide some convenient place remote from the same, where a pest-house, huts or sheds may be erected, to be in readiness in case any Infection should break out; which if it shall happen to do, That able and faithful Searchers and Examiners be forthwith provided and Sworn to Search all suspected bodies, for the usual signs of the plague, viz. Swellings or Risings under the Ears or Arm-pits, or upon the Groin, Blains, Carbuncles, or little spots, either on the Breast or back, commonly called Tokens.
That if any House be Infected, the sick person or persons be forthwith Removed to the said pesthouse, sheds or huts, for the preservation of the rest of the Family And that such house (though none be dead therein) be shut up for fourty days, and have a Red Cross, and Lord have mercy upon us, in Capital letters, affixed on the door, and Wardens appointed, as well, to find them necessaries as to keep them from conversing with the sound [healthy].
That at the opening of each Infected house (after the expiration of the said Fourty Days) a White Cross be affixed on the said door, there to remain Twenty days more; during which time, or at least before any stranger be suffered to lodge therein. That the said house be well Fumed. Washed and Whited all over, with Lime; and that no Clothes or Householdstuff be removed out of the said house into any other house, for at least Three Months after, unless the person or persons so infected have occasion to change their habitation.
That none dying of the plague be buried in Churches, or Church-yards, unless they be large and have a place designed for that use (where other bodies are not usually buried, Boarded and Paled in, Ten Foot High) but in some other convenient place, and that a good quantity of Lime be put into the Grave with such bodies, and that such Graves be not
after opened within the space of a year or more, lest they infect others.”
Yet, here we are, developing ever-changing Protocols and giving me, my fellow Bahamians and Residents, reasons to complain - not stopping to think what life would be like, if we had no feet.
This weekend in history
Friday, September 25
• In 1957, nine Black students who’d been forced to withdraw from Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, because of unruly white crowds were escorted to class by members of the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division. • In 1789, the first United States Congress adopted 12 amendments to the Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. (Ten of the amendments became the Bill of Rights.) • In 2018, Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison for drugging and molesting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home.
Birthdays: Broadcast journalist Barbara Walters is 91. Actor-producer Michael Douglas is 76. Model Cheryl Tiegs is 73. Actor Mark Hamill is 69. Actor Heather Locklear is 59. Actor Will Smith is 52. Actor Catherine Zeta-Jones is 51.Actor/rapper Donald Glover (AKA Childish Gambino) is 37.
Saturday, September 26
• In 1960, the first-ever debate between presidential nominees took place as Democrat John F Kennedy and Republican Richard Nixon faced off before a national TV audience from Chicago. • In 1777, British troops occupied Philadelphia during the American Revolution. • In 2015, visiting Philadelphia on the final leg of his six-day US trip, Pope Francis extolled America’s founding ideals of liberty and equality while warning that religious freedom was under threat around the globe.
Birthdays: Singer Olivia Newton-John is 72. Actor Linda Hamilton is 64. Actor Melissa Sue Anderson is 58. Actor Jim Caviezel is 52. Singer-actor Christina Milian is 39. Tennis player Serena Williams is 39.Today is Sunday, September 27 • In 1964, the government publicly released the report of the Warren Commission, which concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating President John F Kennedy. • In 1825, the first locomotive to haul a passenger train was operated by George Stephenson in England. • In 1939, Warsaw, Poland, surrendered after weeks of resistance to invading forces from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.
Birthdays: Rock singer Meat Loaf is 73. Singer Shaun Cassidy is 62. Actor Gwyneth Paltrow is 48. Rapper Lil’ Wayne is 38. Singer Avril Lavigne is 36.
Not easy being a Shark
By KIM ARANHA Animal Matters
You certainly don’t want to be a shark now days.
Apart from being vilified at every turn, you are increasingly at risk whilst unscrupulous people thumb their nose at the conservation laws put in place for their protection.
Social media and chat groups have been alive with several different occurrences here in The Bahamas.
The first one that caught my attention is a video clip of a man standing ankle deep in water holding two very small, very dead, sharks by the tail claiming that on Marshall Road, Seaside Estates, the collapse of the sea wall is causing sharks to “float in the road”… one shark, upon carful examination of the photo, appears to have a hook in its mouth. The narrator of the clip is seeking assistance because of sharks “floating in to the road”. Hmmmm, these really are “pups” and too small to do much harm, the water behind the man is a considerable area but certainly could not accommodate a shark of any stature. There is no explanation as to who killed them and why, if they were swimming in that extended puddle I would have thought being so small they could have been netted and returned to the sea, They are small enough for him to comfortably hold them both, one in each hand, by the tail and stand there during the filming…I wonder who and why they were killed in the first place? Was there any effort to find out?
Second, very alarming was an article on enews about an American family visiting the Abacos on their boat who caught, killed and ate a shark (Tasted just like chicken, smiley face). Photos accompanied the article of a young woman, jubilantly holding a protected Bull shark by the tail. This outrageous behaviour took place at Nunjack Cay, which is a protected cove, a sanctuary for marine life such as sharks, turtles, stingrays, and lots of other precious inhabitants of our sea. Of course the shark was small, can’t imagine she would have had been stupid enough to try that stunt with a big one, and of course they killed it. She further laments missing catching a larger shark the day before that was allegedly eight feet long and then as the story evolves the shark gets bigger.
She was so disappointed that the larger shark threw off the hook she had so gleefully thought “had set” and got away. I suppose she was planning on cooking a ten-foot shark for dinner for her family that evening?
I personally find it off-putting to hear the delight in her account of “this one was all mine” almost a lustful boast. “It was my first bull shark catch, and it was awesome,” she is quoted saying. What was most awesome? The killing of an endangered species? The struggle to remove it from its natural
habitat? The euphoria of removing an endangered, protected, species, from a protected area? Or the simple joy of blatantly ignoring the law that you never bothered to educate yourself about in
They heard the outrage and quickly removed their disgusting report but not before many of us saw it and were shocked and disappointed.
When tourists come in to our country by boat, they pay a nominal fee to cruise our waters, and clearly many with a flagrant disregard of our rules and conservation efforts.
Obviously there must be stricter laws, we constantly are hearing of this kind of behaviour. There was the couple in the Berry Islands ignoring quarantine, there was the disgraceful affair on Hog Cay with boaters who killed and ate a protected whistling duck The Bahamas have limited resources to make money from, we have virtually no manufacturing and we have little to export or sell: But we have our marine life, our beaches and those amazing animals that patrol our shores. How can we take their existence so casually? It is imperative that foreign vessels are well versed in our laws and customs, They need to be charged higher fees for cruising permits, there needs to be control, and vigilance and stricter penalties.
People come and visit The Bahamas and basically in many instances do precisely what the want to. The almighty dollar is king. Extraordinarily these same visitors are frequently those who are bringing in the least money to our country yet we walk on eggshells and try not to confront them. If we allow them to plunder our natural resources, there will be nothing more for them to come and see, it won’t bother them any, they will just move the first place? I would love to hear her replies.
on to other shores, find another country where abuse is ignored and we, will sit, isolated through our own inaction, a little country who could have, but didn’t, and suddenly it will be too late.
PET OF THE WEEK Looking for an old friend?
BY THE BAHAMAS HUMANE SOCIETY
Sheba is an older potcake looking for that perfect spot to rest her head. This lanky lady gets along well with her paddock mates at the Bahamas Humane Society but really might prefer a one-onone situation. She’s outgoing Patricia Vazquez been thinking of adopting a senior dog? (No puppy training involved!) Sheba might be your match. Come in to meet her or call the BHS at 323-5138 for more information. Sheba looks forward to meeting you.
