Just hanging out in a field, doing their job, next to a major commercial plaza.

This article is a couple of weeks old, but it is a lovely piece on the cultural prevalence of Patois in Canada and North America. It is timely for me, as I start teaching a journalism class at the University of Technology. One of the assignments involves writing news stories. When discussing this assignment, somehow it came up as to whether or not they can write in Patois. I encouraged them to do so. After all, it is a language and should be Jamaica’s official language.

Check it out here.

We have been getting some much-needed rain over the past few weeks. But more often, these clouds gather, it thunders and not much happens. Thankfully, we haven’t had any water restrictions this summer, unlike last year.

As we chose our fruits and vegetables, goats kept infringing on the fruit stand. The old woman at the fruit stand next door threw rocks at them. They would scatter for a few minutes, then come back to eat the ackee pods that had been shed earlier in the day.

First day of classes- University of Technology. What a great group of young people. The future looks bright.

Big tings a gwan. These guys work a full day constructing this shed in the country. They require a bottle of rum as part of their payment.

A view of bamboo through the window.

Backpacks are a common method of carrying things here in Jamaica, like most places. However, less common is the fact that grown men carry bags like this. It is a strange contradiction, in a country in which maintaining the traditional markers of masculinity is paramount. I caught this bag as it was laying down while its owner, a burly construction worker, was hauling cement. I can’t see a construction worker in Canada or the US bringing this to work. How delightful it is.

A good profileprofile of Sean Paul in today’s Guardian. He calls out artists for co-opting without crediting dancehall in pop music.

There is a cycle to the news. Horrible headlines grab attention, people express outrage and regret and ask what can be done…And then everyone moves on. Like, what happened to the families of the babies who died at the UWI? What happened to the three-year-old girl stolen from her bed and murdered? What of the thousands of people still suffering from the effects of ChikV? What areas of the island are without water, power, proper infrastructure? I wish I had the time, as a journalist, to do “follow-up” stories. It is a shame that the local media appears to have such a short attention span, or a least lacks an editor in charge of following up on such serious issues.

In this light, dancehall artist Mr. Vegas should be praised for his leadership in holding a vigil today downtown on Luke Lane for the two-year-old boy who was murdered last week. Demario Whyte was shot in the head by a man who drove up in a car seeking Whyte’s father, who ran away, trying to divert attention from his son. It didn’t work so a tiny, innocent human lost his life.

In holding this vigil, Mr. Vegas is showing leadership, he is not forgetting. It won’t do anything to bring justice for the family, and it might ease the hearts of the family and community just a little, but it is something.

“I want everyone to come on time, take candles and flowers, let’s send a strong message to killers; it’s time to let them know that the violence and crime must end,” (Mr. Vegas) said.