Sports: Caribbean Cubs

Less than four years after gaining independence from the United Kingdom, the Central American nation of Belize notched a smaller, yet somehow lasting, triumph in 1985. That winter, the Chicago Cubs sent their star outfielder Gary Matthews, Sr., to visit the country, which is often claimed to be the most Cubs-friendly land outside the Windy City. Matthews's visit was the culmination of a love affair that had begun in 1981, the year when Cubs games began being broadcast in the country.

And now, that the team is in the World Series, Cubs fever has come to the Caribbean in a big way. 

Why the Cubs—and why Belize? Like a lot of stories from this part of the world, it began with pirates. In this case, however, the outlaws were local TV impresarios, not swashbuckling Johnny Depp look-alikes. In the early ‘80s, there were no television stations in Belize, the only country in Central America whose official language is English. (Anyone with a set would use it to watch VHS tapes.) In 1981, however, Belize City business couple Arthur and Marie Hoare began transmitting the famous Chicago television channel WGN-TV via satellite, bringing programming to Belize. Channel 9, the Hoares' bootlegged Belize affiliate of WGN, brought Cubs and Bulls games into living rooms and bars throughout the country, sparking an interest in Chicago sports that has continued—with varying levels of enthusiasm—to this day.

"As [WGN's] signal was relayed into Belize City by the Hoares, 'world and country' were glued to their television sets to see the mighty Cubs win or lose (mostly lose)," remembered politician Michael Finnegan in a 2013 article in the Belizean paper Amandala.

 The country's tiny size may have kept American television executives at bay. In a 1989 Washington Post dispatch from Wrigley - South, reporter William Branigin explained that "U.S. broadcasters consider the Belize market so small that trying to stop the operations would not be worth the trouble."

 Most of the fans watching the Cubs in Belize today are Gen-Xers who grew up watching the team, says Jerry Martinez, a 36-year-old banker from Santa Elena, a city in the western part of the country. If the Cubs can lock up the World Series, Martinez thinks the romance may be rekindled. There are still diehard fans in the country, he says, but "people here usually ride with winners," especially younger Belizeans. 

However the season turns out, Martinez is determined to make his son a Cubs fan. "I grew up a Cubs fan and will die a Cubs fan," he says. "We're the lovable losers that introduced Belize to baseball."

Literature: Walcott's home becomes a museum

from the NY Times

To commemorate the talents of the Nobel-Prize winner Derek Walcott, the poet’s childhood home in Castries, Saint Lucia, has become a museum.

The two-level home houses Mr. Walcott’s many watercolor paintings as well as exhibit photographs of his childhood and decades-long career. Called Walcott’s Place, the pale yellow house with white trim is at the intersection of Chaussee Road and Grasse Street. Located a few blocks from the home of the Nobel-Prize winning economist Sir Arthur Lewis, the museum also honors Mr. Walcott’s twin brother who died in 2000, Roderick, who was a playwright and theater director.

The home has served as a reference point for many poems by Mr. Walcott, including his epic work, “Omeros.” A studio space for art and writing workshops will be completed in a few years.

Suggested donations are $5 for adults and $2 for children under 12.

Sports: the EPL about to kickoff

The 2016-17 Premier League season is nearly upon us. Lots has happened already this summer, so our ESPN FC bloggers take a look at how their teams will fare in the coming campaign.

REIGNING CHAMPIONS & TITLE CHALLENGERS

LEICESTER: Leicester City are the defending Premier League champions. And that sentence still takes some getting used to. Now, they're the team to beat and Claudio Ranieri's men must balance a title defence with Champions League football. >>Read -- Ben Jacobs

ARSENAL: An injury crisis, frustration in the transfer market and Arsenal haven't even played a match yet. Do you ever get the feeling you know exactly what's coming? >> Read -- Tom Adams

MAN CITY: Pep Guardiola's Manchester City mission involves improving the club's performances in Europe as well as winning back the Premier League title. Widely regarded as the best manager on the planet, the Catalan will enter the campaign under plenty of pressure. >> Read -- Simon Curtis

MAN UNITED: It's sure to be lively in Manchester this season, with Jose Mourinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic going up against their nemesis, Pep Guardiola. Can Mourinho restore United to their former glories? >> Read -- Scott Patterson

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CHASERS

CHELSEA: Another season, another high-flying manager in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat trying to satisfy Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's unquenchable thirst for silverware. >> Read -- Mark Worrall

LIVERPOOL: With no European football at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp has fewer distractions this season. Improvement must be measured by the Reds' league points total after two seasons of inadvertent focus on cup competitions. >> Read -- Steven Kelly

TOTTENHAM:It's the final campaign at White Hart Lane and with Champions League football on the agenda, boss Mauricio Pochettino will have to balance matters in Europe with his side's exploits in the Premier League. >> Read -- Ben Pearce

RACE FOR EUROPE

STOKE: Mark Hughes has established the Potters as a strong Premier League side -- now the hunt is on for European football. Read >> --James Whittaker

SOUTHAMPTON: With Ronald Koeman, Victor Wanyama and Sadio Mane gone, it has been another difficult summer for Saints. Read >> -- Alex Crook

WEST HAM: The Hammers have signed Andre Ayew but could still be too reliant on Andy Carroll. Read >> -- Peter Thorne

MIDTABLE FINISHERS

EVERTON: Ronald Koeman's era at Everton will get underway at home to Tottenham. Koeman left Southampton to move to Goodison Park earlier this summer, with fans expecting a much better campaign than 2015-16. Read >> -- Luke O'Farrell

SWANSEA: Garry Monk lost his job at Swansea as the club flirted with relegation last season so what lies in store this time around? Francesco Guidolin steered the club to safety and will now look to avoid another scrape for survival. Read >> -- Max Hicks

WATFORD: Walter Mazzarri is the new man in charge at Vicarage Road and will be expected to consolidate his side's top flight status. Read >> -- Michael Moruzzi

WEST BROM: With Tony Pulis still at the helm, West Brom look set for another season of dull, percentage football that will in all likelihood keep them in the Premier League. >> Read -- Matthew Evans

RELEGATION CANDIDATES

BOURNEMOUTH: Bournemouth's first appearance in the Premier League ended well, with the club finishing a respectable 16th in the table in 2015-16. The key now is to build on that. Read >> -- Will Kent

BURNLEY: Burnley are back. Sean Dyche masterminded a quick return to the Premier League after relegation in 2014-15, but the Championship winners do not look equipped for Premier League survival without major investment. Read >> -- Jamie Smith

CRYSTAL PALACE: Crystal Palace were challenging the top four in December last year but fell away in 2016 to eventually finish a disappointing 15th. A top-half finish and another cup run would do the trick. Maybe even win it this time. Read >> -- Jim Daly

HULL CITY: Hull City bounced back to the Premier League following victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship playoff final. But can they stay there? Read >> -- Philip Buckingham

MIDDLESBROUGH: Aitor Karanka has masterminded Boro's return to the big time after seven seasons in the Football League, but now he must keep them there. All eyes will be on a rejuvenated team who make their return to the Premier League looking much more primed for action than their promoted counterparts. Read >> -- Catherine Wilson

SUNDERLAND: Sunderland staged another escape act last season, as they once again survived in the Premier League. The challenge now is for new boss David Moyes to develop the club so that late-season scrapes are a thing of the past. Read >> -- Colin Randall

WheRe WordS WanDer #7: bamboozle

1703, originally a slang or cant word, perhaps Scottish from bombaze "perplex," related to bombast, or French embabouiner "to make a fool (literally 'baboon') of."

 it first appeared in English at the beginning of the 18th century, just in time to make the list Jonathan Swift (author of “Gulliver’s Travels” and “A Modest Proposal”) was compiling of words that were, in his opinion, corroding, if not destroying, the English language (as outlined in his “The Continual Corruption of our English Tongue,” 1710). Swift also, by the way, objected to the words “mob” and “banter,” as well as the contractions “I’d” and “can’t.” Since most of the terms that drew Swift’s ire were, at that time, slang used by the lower classes in England, it’s fair to assume “bamboozle” originated in the same precincts.

One of the more plausible theories about the origin of “bamboozle” ties it to the Scots word “bombaze,” meaning “to confuse or mystify.” Efforts have also been made to connect it to the French word “embabouiner” meaning “to make a fool of” (literally, “to make a baboon of”)

Where WoRds WanDer #5: Pull the wool over one's eyes

The actual source is unknown, and although this expression was first recorded in America (1839), it's thought to be of older, English origin. Wool here is the hair of wigs. In the 19th century, the status of men was often indicated by the size of their wigs - hence our word bigwig to indicate importance. 

Judges often wore these poor-fitting wigs, which frequently slipped over the eyes, and it may have been that a clever lawyer who tricked a judge bragged about his deception by saying that he pulled the wool over his eyes. Such bigwigs were worth robbing. 

Street thugs would pull the wig down over the victims eyes in order to confuse him - the wool had been pulled over his eyes. 

Literature: Unseen Godfather of the "Latin Lit" boom, dies

Gregory Rabassa, a translator of worldwide influence and esteem who helped introduce Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Julio Cortazar and other Latin American authors to millions of English-language readers, has died.

A longtime professor at Queens College, Rabassa died Monday at a hospice in Branford, Conn. He was 94 and died after a brief illness, according to his daughter, Kate Rabassa Wallen.

Rabassa was an essential gateway to the 1960s Latin American "boom," when such authors as Garcia Marquez, Cortazar and Mario Vargas Llosa became widely known internationally. He worked on the novel that helped start the boom, Cortazar's "Hopscotch," for which Rabassa won a National Book Award for translation. He also worked on the novel which defined the boom, Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude," a monument of 20th century literature.

Garcia Marquez often praised Rabassa, saying he regarded the translation of "Solitude" as a work of art in its own right.

"He's the godfather of us all," Edith Grossman, the acclaimed translator of "Don Quixote" and several Garcia Marquez books, told the Associated Press on Tuesday. "He's the one who introduced Latin-American literature in a serious way to the English-speaking world."

Rabassa's other translations included Garcia Marquez's "The Autumn of the Patriarch," Vargas Llosa's "Conversation in the Cathedral" and Jorge Amado's "Captains of the Sand." In 2001, Rabassa received a lifetime achievement award from the PEN American Center for contributions to Latino literature. He was presented a National Medal of Arts in 2006 for translations which "continue to enhance our cultural understanding and enrich our lives."

Survivors include his second wife, Clementine; daughters Kate Rabassa Wallen and Clara Rabassa; and granddaughters Jennifer and Sarah Wallen.

Culture: Small Axe vs big Empire, a look at reggae's role in deconstructing colonialism

 

Prof Bill Schwarz

The last time this writer heard Bob Marley described as the "saviour of a generation" it was from an Anglo-Jamaican who had grown up in Brixton and who actually placed the Gong just behind "Crown Prince" Dennis Brown in that regard.

So it was especially poignant to hear, on Thursday evening last, a similar description, coming from a white British academic. Prof. Bill Scwarz, who studied English and History at York University, before going on to the Centre for Contemporary Studies at Birmingham. 

Speaking at a Lecture organized by the Institute of Caribbean Studies at the UWI Mona, Schwarz was even more pointed, stating that Marley had "saved a generation of Black Britons from suicide" owing to pressures heaped upon them by the white racist power structure in the two-decade aftermath (up to Marley's time) of the mass migrations of the 1950s and early 60s.

Schwarz eloquently added that in reggae and Rastafari, the black community found a "new mode of memory" one that was indeed critical given the given the trend towards a massive "forced forgetting" imposed by the demands of a then fading imperialism.
He cautioend however, in the ensuing question and answer session, that the memory and the nostalgia toward empire had hardly faded in Britain and that old modes of thought still resonated, even among the youth. 

As a corollary, he urged the audience not to construe multiculturalism - a social phenomenon first advanced and argued for by the late Jamaican academic, Stuart Hall - to mean racial or cultural harmony or some kind of "Obama post-racial" kind of society in Britain. He pointed out that violence against Black youth remained at alarmingly high levels, and - in answering another question - posited the view that in the post-Marley msuical era, there did not seem to be another obvious saviour (nor the obvious desire for one) emerging.   

His expansive discourse also touched on the role of religion and various belief systems in the Deconstruction of Colonialism ( or in the preservation of it, depending on one's view)

Prof. Schwarz has also taught Sociology and Politics at Warwick, Cultural Studies at the University of East London, and Media and Communications at Goldsmiths, and arrived at Queen Mary in 2004. I am an editor of History Workshop Journal.