Poetry: "O YEA! O YEA!....

Justice Fox  presiding
God save the Queen!"
Far though she may be
from the heart of the matter
the strains of
Blue beat swirl
around Buckingham
For the defense
Patterson
Spaulding
Then young radicals of
The bar
Looking to make
grander names for themselves
Amid the rabid audience
And set the stage
For coming political
Stardom
With testimony from Corporal Pennycooke, Conchita,
doctors, players
And others who can no longer
tell tales
Insanity a convenient exit
For a crew struggling to
take the wheel
Of a vehicle careening 
toward it's own
Redemption
The driver having long since
Relinquished control
His gaze fixed on a point
Indiscernible to
Everyone else
The knife a
blood-stained
Signpost pointing out
A cul-de-sac
A sharp change in direction
A double edged
Destiny
For the Man

The music
The nation

Film: Mafundikwa "funds Memory"

Jamaican filmmaker Karen Mafundikwa (who till recently doubled as Senior Consulting Officer, Film at Jmaaica Promotions -JAMPRO) presents her documentary, "The Price of Memory: Queen Elizabeth II, Rastafari and Reparations. the enduring legacy of slavery in Jamaica". the film will be screened at a special presentation of David Morrison's long-running film nights (normally weekends) tonight starting at 7:30. The director will host a Q & A after the screening.

In the film, British monarch Queen Elizabeth II is petitioned by a small group of Rastafari for slavery reparations, while visiting Jamaica for her Golden Jubilee Celebrations. We follow the petition and a reparations lawsuit, while exploring the enduring legacies of slavery in Jamaica. The Price of Memory traces the movement for slavery reparations in Jamaica and the Rastafarian quest to return to Africa.

Canto Immigrante: Paraiso Travel (Colombia)

With your indulgence, I'll present my review of Colombia's entry in this year's Latin Film Fest, as an open verse poem. Here goes:

Young nubile Queen
of hearts
lures her pure-of heart
lover with her
Love Triangle
her twin spheres
to move across a continent
scrambling
careening
across rain forest and desert
crossing rivers like wildebeest
with vicious crocs hyeneas and lions in wait
to finally hit the promised Land
only to find the manna was stale
and their robes worn
and in the depths of despair
to separated in the thick of  the urban jungle
new family
new friends
new lovers
dodging officials at every step
and him seeing her face in every billboard
but the trail finally goes
South
where fumbling through trailer trash
he finds his long lost lover
but also that the love has been long lost
Most of all
he finds himself
Flawed
fatalistic
but fit for living
and ready for the future
for its not merely an immigrant's song
Its a love song

Can Borat/Ali G do justice to Freddie?

Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen will be putting his wacky antics aside to play Freddie Mercury in a biopic about the Queen frontman, reports Deadline.com. Oscar nominee Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) is writing the flick, which will be produced by GK Films (The Departed).

Head of GK Films, Graham King, stated, "Queen is one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and a music brand all unto itself,” he said in a statement. “Freddie Mercury was an awe-inspiring performer, so with Sacha in the starring role coupled with Peter’s screenplay and the support of Queen, we have the perfect combination to tell the real story behind their success.”

The most intriguing question - aside from "who will direct this?" - is whether or not Cohen will sing. The film does have the rights to Queen's songs - at least a large portion of them - so I'm curious to see if they just dub Cohen or if they let the man loose. (Remember, he cleared his pipes in impressive fashion in Sweeney Todd.)