Nights lately.

Just over a month ago, two major cable/wireless companies (FLOW and LIME) completed a merger. Of course, the merger came with a fancy rebranding and marketing campaign and a promise of better service. Complaints about customer service have long been rampant, mostly related to outages and inadequate customer service. Indeed, just recently my husband lost a major opportunity online because our Internet chose to trip out just at that moment.

Today, we experienced the madness again. We drove to the location I usually frequent to pay our monthly bill, but it was closed. So we went to the headquarters several minutes away. The line was foreboding, especially with my baby in my arms. I was told I could use the senior citizens line, but it too was too long, so I headed for the automated kiosks. I was told none were working. (This happened before at another location.) I finally ended up paying the bill at a Paymaster several miles away (this is after having to try two ATMs for cash- one had no cash left after the weekend). All this to say, what should have been a 10 minute errand stretched to two hours.

Luckily, the industry is not monopolized here, so we will be switching providers shortly. Especially after our bill has increased by $2,000 per month over two years (roughly $20), with unreliable service. I should also mention that being put on hold lasts more than 10 minutes each time. This marks the completion of my Monday rant.

Yesterday was 4/20, a day people use to mark a celebration of marijuana. Snapchat (a social media app) also released a filter that Bob Marley-fies one’s picture. (Basically it changes your skin tone to match his and adds dreads and a hat). And then the Internet reacted. 

People said it is equivalent to blackface, it is cultural appropriation and just in bad taste. I can’t help but wonder why the Marley Estate agreed to endorse this app. I would love to hear their explanation. I would love to hear how much profit they will reap for this.

From the CNN story:

Snapchat hasn’t addressed the controversy and said in a statement to CNNMoney that the lens was built “in partnership with the Bob Marley Estate.”

“Millions of Snapchatters have enjoyed Bob Marley’s music, and we respect his life and achievements,” Snapchat says. “[The lens] gives people a new way to share their appreciation for Bob Marley and his music.”

Today is Peter Tosh Day in JA. Here is a great feature in The Guardian.

I’m making some assumptions here, regarding this Jamaica Observer story. As usual, it leaves more questions than answers. Provides no context, background or history.

Here is the story in full (in fact it seems like a fragment of a story):

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Commissioner of Police Dr Carl Williams has refuted the claim, which he believes is widely held, that Jamaicans are killed at random.

Speaking to editors and reporters at the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday, Dr Williams said people who are killed are usually carefully chosen.

“Contrary to a belief that I think is widely held, Jamaicans are not necessarily going to be killed randomly,” Dr Williams said. “I am not saying there are not some of those, but the people who are killed, the victims, I think, are chosen.”

He explained that a man walking down the street will not necessarily be pounced upon and killed for no reason. He admitted though that there might be some such occurrences, but insisted that he didn’t want the country to get the impression that people are just pounced upon and killed.

“There are lots of innocent people who are killed, but they are not random,” he pointed out.

He explained that these innocent people are usually associated with individuals who may be involved in wrongdoing.

The commissioner, who is joined by other members of the police high command, used a recent bloodbath in Hanover as an example.

Last October, six members of one household were shot dead and four others hospitalised after rampaging gunmen peppered them with bullets before torching their five-bedroom board house in Campbellton.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Ealan Powell pointed out that only one of the individuals in that massacre was the target.

I assume the Police Commissioner was holding a press conference. Why? What was the occasion? Is it a regular occurrence? Why did he make these statements? Were they in response to something in particular? Because you know that authorities are usually not forthcoming unless probed with specific questions, especially when it comes to difficult topics like crime and murder.

How does this statement of fact compare to other nations? Even other years in Jamaica? What is the overall crime rate? Murder rate? Why are victims of crime chosen then? How does one avoid being chosen?

If journalism is meant to educate and inform, it is stories such as these that give it a bad name. Lack of context, history, background, excess of inflammatory facts without reason. As a journalist, you must always keep in mind the question “Why should the reader care? Why would this matter to them?” Incomplete stories such as these simply serve to inflame and confuse readers.

One might assume that this is a first draft of a story that got out mistakenly, or is even going to be updated. Unfortunately, I don’t think this is the case.

This helicopter pilot takes aerial pictures of this beautiful country. Check it out here.

An old Appleton sign.