Poetry: Cherry Natural, Warrior Poet

Cherry Natural unleashed powerful poems laden with strong messages of female empowerment, revolution and love on Tuesday when she performed as featured poet at the Poetry Society of Jamaica’s March Fellowship. Entitled Woman Rising, the fellowship was hosted to pay homage to women and poetry in a twofold celebration of International Women’s Day and World Poetry Day.

The open mic segment served as the night’s starter and saw varied presentations, a few of which provoked discussion in the analysis segment. The evening’s featured works also saw the reading of Lorna Goodison’s Where I Come From and Prof. Mervyn Morris’ Writing as tributes, honouring women and the craft of writing respectively.

Cherry Natural started her reading with Pickney Poems, detailing the birth and development of her poems, and then addressed the creative space and contributions of poets in Is Long Time Poets A Write. From there on she ventured extensively into the terrain of women’s empowerment, beginning with Woman I Was Born, which speaks about women not having to fit within established norms to be considered woman.

“I don’t have to be weak and fragile,” she said, acknowledging singer Pam Hall, who was in attendance. The backing track for Woman I was Born, which Hall produced and is on Cherry Natural's Earth Woman album, is from a Pam Hall song.

In the same vein Natural read Woman of My Word and Man Show, the latter detailing what she said was the struggle she faced as a woman coming up in the industry, especially in doing performances.

In one of many poems that hit home she read Slanguage, taking jabs at pop culture and its attendant language, noting that people were “swaggin right back pan di slave ship.” The usually fiery poet shifted things around with Compatible, outlining the qualities she might like in a partner, and also addressed love with Warrior’s Love Poem, both of which elicited much applause.

Cherry Natural closed with Fight Back, a piece that had a strong impact on the predominantly female gathering. Natural shared some of her martial arts expertise in advising women to take a stand against abuse, saying, “first time victim, second time volunteer.” She used a pair of nunchucks to do an elaborate demonstration, much to the surprise and excitement of the audience. “We take the revolution serious,” Cherry Natural said.

Following up on her 2012 album Intellectual Bad Gal, the public can expect a new writing project of the same name from Cherry Natural. It is a book of poems, quotations and self-defence tips.

-FRom the Sunday Gleaner

The Girl From Naked Eye

So, its a Saturday night (we just picked that one randomly), you're home, you're bored with trolling and tweeting and haven't found anything new to "like".

You decide you're in the mood for a movie, but nothing too "heavy"; sure, you want some action, a couple of good, hyperkinetic fight scenes, some gunplay, a little T & A, you know...the usual.But not too much in the way of "story' no brain-twisting conundrums, no slowly unfurling relationship complications, no Byzantine revenge and political schemes. Just a "regular" guy, with a taste for the seamy side, but who's gotten himself in debt to the wrong kinda people and who has lost his taste for the fast lane.

And just to spice things up, you can throw in a not-so-innocent young girl, still in her teens, with long-shelved dreams of becoming a poet, and now content to offer herself to all manner of losers who just happen to have money to pay for her favours. Stir in a ruthlessly crooked cop and a somewhat principled nightclub/escort service owner, set somewhere in contemporary L.A. and watch sparks fly.

Martial arts champion Jason Yee takes much of the blame (or the credit (depending on your perspective) for the above, doing triple duties as writer, co-producer and star. he's enlisted some obscure but strangely likeable talent to help him deliver this potboiler, but none more winningly than Ron Yuan, as the bald-headed club owner, pimp and wanna-be gangster mentioned above. The interplay Yuan and Yee, particularly in a near humourous initial conflict that features one of the "girls" as a hapless (but vociferous) third wheel, almost lifts the movie.

But Girl From Naked Eye still bears too much of the modern B-movie funk to be more than just a throwaway. it doesn't wear out its welcome, but like a burger from a late-night greasy spoon, you won't miss it after its gone through your system.

It'll Take More than A hoax to Stop Jackie Chan

Caption: Jackie Chan (Picture) at the German premiere of Karate Kid at CineStar am Potsdamer Platz movie theatre. Berlin, Germany ....

Jackie Chan Reassures Fans After Death Hoax

Jackie Chan has reassured his fans that he is alive and well after a death hoax began circulating on the internet.

Jackie Chan's people have taken to Facebook and Twitter to confirm that the legendary martial arts actor has not suffered a fatal heart attack. The 56-year-old has been the subject of an internet hoax in recent days, and #RipJackieChan has become a trending topic on Twitter. After fans of the actor began posting messages of  condolence on their social networking pages, Chan's representatives stepped in to rubbish the speculation. A message of his Facebook page stated that the actor was "alive and well", adding, "He did not suffer a heart attack and  die, as was reported on many social networking sites and in online news reports". Chan's 'death' was reported on numerous social networking sites including Twitter, quoting a source from a Los Angeles hospital who said that the 56-year-old actor had died while promoting his latest flick 'Kung Fu Panda 2'. The report noted that his heavy schedule "was causing extreme stress and putting too much pressure on his heart".

As well as confirming that Jackie Chan is in fact not dead, his representative confirmed that the actoris set to begin work on his new historical-drama movie, '1911'.

21st Century Know-it-all: Scott Pilgrim knows everything but when to stop

This is the kind of film that this writer would have gladly waited in line, even killed for 20 years ago (there, I gave my age away - big deal, its in the profile anyway).

Scott Pilgrim vs the World is a wise-ass movie by a wise-ass director and co-writer(Edgar Wright) that I would have heralded as sheer brilliance and worshipfully praised, in much the same manner that the graphic novel base (by Brian O' Malley) is being venerated.

But instead, its just another mildly enjoyable graphic novel adaptation made annoying by a never-ending ending (not to mention that gay kissing scene). Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead prove up to the lead role demands, but its Ellen Wong as the spurned Knives Chau that steals the show - despite a winning turn by Jason Scwartzman as the final of the 7 evil ex-boyfriends that the lead character has to defeat in order to get the girl of his dreams.

Wright throws everything at the viewer, visually and sonically, but the proverbial kitchen sink (did I see a sink get smashed somewhere?) but its likely that you will have made up your mind one way or the other long before the final credits eventually roll.