I have not seen this film yet, but all of us who are creative, intelligent women who are devoted to our families and communities should find that it speaks to our dreams and our struggle:

http://forward-to-friend.com/forward/show?u=95eaa573eeb6678d48bd343fd&id...

Web link compilation inspired by Soul Living's "Gotta Get There: Trinidad!"

MORE PAN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4jF0R4Bpvk

http://www.steelpan.com/docs/history.html

http://www.fodors.com/world/caribbean/trinidad-and-tobago/feature_30006....

SIPARIA FETE honoring the Virgin of Siparia/La Divina Pastora/Siparee Mai, a dark madonna honored by the Hindus and Catholics:

http://www.catholicnews-tt.net/imgs/08/apr/siparia_ladivinastatue.jpg

http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/2007-04-05/features1.html

LEROI CLARKE elder statesman of Black art in Trinidad

http://www.nalis.gov.tt/national_icons/LeRoiClarke.htm

PARANG CHRISTMAS MUSIC
http://www.triniview.com/articles/parang.html

http://www.panontheweb.com/parang.htm

GEOFFREY HOLDER (dancer, choreographer, painter, costume designer)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w45Hpocfw_I

http://www.filmforum.org/films/carmen.html

http://www.amazon.com/Geoffrey-Holder-Life-Theater-Dance/dp/0810913925

Not forgetting V.S. NAIPAUL, here are some other famous Trini writers

EARL LOVELACE
(Wine of Astonishment)
http://books.heinemann.com/products/98880.aspx

(Dragon Can't Dance)

Many of us have major concerns about dating and intimate relationships, which is understandable since we know how these are cornerstones of building up strong families and generations. So, I was happy to learn about a game put together by a group of Native American midwives. The game is called Discovery Dating. Check it out at: http://www.discoverydating.com/ .

A friend sent me this article about child prostitution
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080702/ap_on_re_us/child_prostitution .

As Sting and the Police sang way back in the day, these girls clearly feel like the inhabit lonely islands and their lives send out a clear s.o.s. to the world. All youth deserve protection and guidance. Indeed, young women bear within them a temple of life. So here is my green stone to put on the altar, a resource list I put together for a friend who is the mother of four girls and that I think can be of help to others. Those of you with womanchildren or who work with rites of passage groups please feel free to put to good use.

A couple of these titles on sexuality and womanhood are geared toward adult women, but can be made accessible to youth. Perhaps organize a book club or if using with your own child/ren set aside a few times a week when you have a read aloud of the books. It would give an opportunity to provide sidebars and commentary and give the girls a chance to ask questions.

Who Am I without Him? Short Stories about Girls and the Boys in Their Lives (Sharon Flake)

Today, the biggest thing on my agenda was to get the laundry done so as to get ready for the week ahead. These days this task requires a few more steps being that self and son have taken temp refuge at the apartment of a friend (another post, another time, perhaps) Preceeding the manual labor of sorting the clothes, hauling the big bundle up the hill to the wash facility, wiping down the inside of the washer with vinegar and/or bleach (yeah, I've been told I've got a touch of OCD-- but on the real, everybody's gotta admit that public washers are kinda gross...) comes the ever important step of hunting down a roll of quarters to feed into the hungry machines-- not always as simple as it sounds. I began my search for the coveted quarters at the health food store 'round the corner since I needed to go there anyway for some tea tree soap and elderberry tea to quiet the coughs that son and self, ironically, picked up from his doc's office. Anyhow, tea and soap in hand and lingering as I tend to do, Lakshmi/Oxum/universal spirit of Beauty led my eyes to a LOVELY book that I can't wait to add to my library.

When I think about how I communicate, the things I tend to write, especially, I find that I rarely write about my feelings. Reason being, my feelings are so raw and tangled in some areas that it would take me too long and be too painful to stretch them out into the form of coherent thought. I was often told as a child and young adult that I was too sensitive and wore my feelings on my sleeve. Others would tell me that I was too restrained (prissy, even) and not emotional enough. I was inspired by the honesty of Lady Buttafly's post on living with fear. Stepping too far out on a limb does not come easy for me either. Her post echos much of what I wrote in journals that I kept before my son was born and what I still carry within, what I know that so many sisters have to face down. Sa Mut Herr's observation was on point, I believe-- part of the way we can make a mental breakthrough is through body work. It's a catch 22 though, 'cause we've got to find the time and motivation to do so. I also love the James Brown quote that Soul Living posted in this week's feature on fathers. JB broke it down like this: "I used to think like Moses.