in 1912, Tampa’s Labor Day Parade included 4,300 cigar workers. Here's a photo of the Cigar Makers Union "float" on 7th Ave.

"War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.
I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.
I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.
There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.
It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.
I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.
I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.
During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."
Smedley D. Butler
Pious Atheist

Take this heart
And make it break

GLIMPSES OF EVERYDAY LIFE IN PORT OF SPAIN TRINIDAD IN THE 1940s

In 1918, a vis­i­tor to Port-of-Spain de­scribed the place thus: "The shop­ping dis­trict fair­ly teems with pedes­tri­ans and ve­hi­cles through­out the busi­ness hours, and Fred­er­ick Street, which is per­haps the busiest in the city, is a gay and in­ter­est­ing sight, kalei­do­scop­ic in colour, crowd­ed with life, and a very bee­hive of ac­tiv­i­ty.

"Here are stores, af­ter stores of every kind, many modeled on the plan of our own de­part­ment stores, and here one may find any­thing and every­thing the mar­kets of the world af­ford. Clerks crowd the shop en­trances. Goods heap the side­walks as at a Paris bazaar. A few blocks far­ther the crowd has thinned, and the shops are small­er and less pre­ten­tious."

One of the largest em­po­ri­ums was the Miller's Pub­lic Sup­ply Stores which be­gan life around 1835, when Irish­man John Miller broke with his em­ploy­ers at Wilsons (a large co­coa and sug­ar agent) and went in­to busi­ness on his own. Al­though he died in 1843, his store sur­vived and was ad­min­is­tered from Gat­e­ Church Street in Lon­don, by a rel­a­tive, James Miller Esq.

This photo taken in 1940s . Taken from Scott He Collection.

Not too many bands can claim they were pretty much single-handedly responsible for an entire genre and musical movement. The Cure can.

The post-punk found on their 1979 debut album, Three Imaginary Boys, quickly evolved into a gloomier and moodier form of music on their second LP, the following year's Seventeen Seconds. The next few years gave birth to the goth subgenre, as dark music, darker moods and a super-dark outlook went on to inspire a generation of sad-sack kids – and plenty of crappy music – over the next three decades.

But the Cure weren't done yet. As the '80s moved on, so did the band, which has been fronted by Robert Smith since the start. By the time the decade ended, their music had steered them into new territories, including psychedelic, jangly alt-rock and cheery pop.

Their dozen-plus LPs over the years have swung through all these almost effortlessly, as you'll see in the below list of Cure Albums Ranked Worst to Best. There were some stumbles along the way, but without an album like 1984's bleak The Top, they may have never gotten to The Head on the Door, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me and Disintegration.

Their influence continues, four decades after songs like "Killing an Arab," "Boys Don't Cry" and "Jumping Someone Else's Train" introduced them to the world. Their 2019 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame may not be the culmination of their long career, but it puts a stamp of validity on a catalog of music that helped shape an era.

13. 'Wild Mood Swings' (1996)
The Cure's 10th album sounds like kind of a mess because it was made under stormy conditions. Various members were in and out of the group at the time, and, after scoring the highest-charting album of its career with 1992's 'Wish,' Robert Smith took a four-year break – the longest hiatus between Cure albums at the time – that ended with an overlong, and underdeveloped, set of songs. The glory days were over.

12. 'The Top' (1984)
If it wasn't for the slinky "The Caterpillar," the Cure's fifth album would be their worst. It's certainly the most forgettable of all the early records. It's sludgy, murky, confusing and all over the place musically. Plus, Robert Smith seems scattered and unfocused for most of its 40 long minutes. They managed to return with one of their all-time best albums, 'The Head on the Door,' a year later.

11. '4:13 Dream' (2008)
Some of the songs on the band's 13th album dated back to the mid-'80s, and Robert Smith had so much material that he considered making it a double record at one point. Instead, he replaced the gloomier songs with more polished and upbeat ones. Not a good move. Like other Cure albums from the period, '4:13 Dream' tries too hard to replicate the band's best era, but the songs – besides a couple singles – just aren't there.

10. 'The Cure' (2004)
The group's self-titled album from 2004 was co-produced by Ross Robinson, who's worked with Korn, Limp Bizkit and Slipknot. So, it's a heavier album than fans probably expected (or even wanted) from the Cure. It's overlong, and it's kind of hard to get through, but 'The Cure' offers a somewhat new perspective on a band that had recently passed the quarter-century mark of their career.
Fiction

9. 'Bloodflowers' (2000)
The Cure's 11th LP was called a return to form following 1996's messy and disappointing 'Wild Mood Swings.' It's certainly mood-building – one track clocks in at more than 11 minutes, and the average song length is a taxing six minutes – but 'Bloodflowers' often comes off like it's trying a little too hard to sound like a Cure album. Not necessarily a bad thing, but there's not much originality here either.
Fiction

8. 'Wish' (1992)
After 'Disintegration' made them worldwide stars three years earlier, the Cure returned with a similar-sounding LP that downplayed the earlier album's gloomier elements. The result was the band's highest-charting album, reaching No. 2 in the U.S. "Friday I'm in Love" was the big single, but there's more to 'Wish' than that. Probably the most consistently joyful album the group has ever made.
Fiction

7. 'Faith' (1981)
Like the albums before ('Seventeen Seconds') and after ('Pornography') it, 'Faith' forms a trilogy of records that helped seal the Cure's reputation as gloomy, black-clad artsy post-punks. The songs are mood-building set pieces, so radio airplay was pretty much non-existent. But as doomy, artsy goth, the Cure's third album is a cornerstone work by a band that excelled at it.
Fiction

6. 'Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me' (1987)
Following the 1985 rebound 'The Head on the Door,' Robert Smith led the band through a double-LP extravaganza that included some of his most joyous songs. The excellent "Just Like Heaven" is here and helped drive the album into the Top 40 (a first in the U.S. for the Cure). There's some filler here – Side Four is a big come-down – but 'Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me' set up the group for its masterpiece two years later.
Fiction

5. 'Three Imaginary Boys' (1979)
The band's debut album is sketchy at times (Robert Smith practically disowned the LP after the record company released it without his approval), but the post-punk moodiness that elevated later records starts here. There's a conceptual tightness here, too, which carried over to some of their best albums. Even better: the reworked U.S. version – called 'Boys Don't Cry' and released a year later – which includes some great early singles.
Fiction

4. 'Seventeen Seconds' (1980)
A year after their debut, the Cure returned darker, more focused and moving closer to the sound that would help define their reputation. 'Seventeen Seconds' comes together as Robert Smith leads the expanded lineup through a group of songs that set the stage for the goth movement right around the corner. The first in a trilogy of landmark records that formed a genre.
Fiction

3. 'The Head on the Door' (1985)
Robert Smith wrote every single song for the first time, and his singular vision helped get the Cure back on track after 1984's dismal 'The Top.' They try on a few different styles here, with the pop songs – especially the bouncy "In Between Days" – finding new radio-ready textures to cling to. Modern-rock radio was starting up around this time, and 'The Head on the Door' turned out to be a perfect fit.
Fiction

2. 'Pornography' (1982)
The Cure at their gloomiest and doomiest. And no wonder: Everyone was fighting and taking drugs, while Robert Smith was fighting back some major bouts of depression. It all amounts to the pinnacle of the band's darkest period. 'Pornography' was the final album in the Cure's trilogy of landmark goth records. Next up was their first real stumble, then a period of renewed creativity and a golden era of hits and music.
Fiction

1. 'Disintegration' (1989)
Everything the Cure had learned over the past decade was summed up on their milestone eighth album. 'Disintegration' has it all: goth dirges, endless psychedelic jams, super-catchy pop songs. And it made them massive stars, setting up a commercial groundswell for the next few years. Some of their best songs are here – "Pictures of You," "Lovesong," "Fascination Street" – but more importantly, 'Disintegration' sounds like an album made by a band at the peak of its creative powers.

nagetemo mou imi datta chigiretetta kuso kurae omoide nanka


It’s useless to cry over it
I tore my memories apart, they can eat shit for all I care

New blood joins this earth
And quickly he's subdued
Through constant pain disgrace
The young boy learns their rules
With time the child draws in
This whipping boy done wrong
Deprived of all his thoughts
The young man struggles on and on he's known
A vow unto his own
That never from this day
His will they'll take away

They dedicate their lives
To running all of his
He tries to please them all
This bitter man he is
Throughout his life the same
He's battled constantly
This fight he cannot win
A tired man they see no longer cares
The old man then prepares
To die regretfully
That old man here is me


I'VE ALWAYS LIVED MY LIFE ALONE, DESTINY FORGOTTEN.

Frank Lentini, owner of 3 legs, 4 feet, 16 toes, and 2 functioning sets of genitals. (1884-1966)

Lying here wide awake on my own now
Silence is the loudest cry
I'm safe but I've lost everything I've known
I can smile because the pain has gone
But cry because it's where I'm from
God I turn to You to make me strong again

I have cried so many times
And all those tears have washed my eyes
I see clearly into the light
'Cause I believe
I know one day I'll be home again
To start a new life, with peace everywhere
Right from the start until the end
I believe

Did you know that Trinidad and Tobago was the first country in the world to have a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery? On 1st August 1838, full freedom was granted to slaves, and every year on this day we celebrate the emancipation of our ancestors from the British empire. While the Act in Parliament came into effect on 1st August 1834, a period of apprenticeship was put in place for a minimum of four years to bridge the gap between slavery and complete freedom. August 1st, 1985 marks the first year that emancipation day became a national holiday in T&T.

Today emancipation day is celebrated in numerous Caribbean islands and here in Trinidad we have parades, vigils, fetes and of course a national holiday.

The Emancipation village is set up in the Queen’s Park Savannah where you will see pictures and live shows showing the history of slavery and what our ancestors endured before becoming free people.

There will be song, dance, visual images and speeches which are always educational and entertaining.

.

So basically all I see nowadays is both government and politics trying to destroy ourselves by making everyone against each other. Since that's an easy way to get even bigger and obtain more power over our heads. All I think we should do is GET TOGETHER and destroy government.

“You don’t ridicule people and give them obnoxious nicknames, at least after you graduate from the third grade,”
“You don’t falsely accuse other political leaders of treason. You don’t accuse other political leaders’ parents of assassinating President Kennedy. You don’t use disgusting, profane language to disparage other countries. And you don’t call neo-Nazis and Klansmen ‘very fine people.’”

Did You Know : The History of Bloody Bay, Tobago

In 1666 A legend has grown that Tobago was the scene of a remarkable sea battle which took place in 1666, when the British admiral Sir John Harman encountered the combined fleets of France and Holland which had rendezvoused off a bay then called Anse Erasme or Rash House Bay, now known as Bloody Bay on the north-west or leeward side of the island. It is said that the British defeated them with such great slaughter that the sea ran red in the golden sunset, the cannon booming into the night. Today, giant immortelle trees bloom a brilliant scarlet on the mountains above Bloody Bay. The bloody battle might have been one that took place in Barbados, but has been so assimilated into Tobago history that it is now 'remembered' as having taken place in Bloody Bay and been absorbed into the recall of other battles fought there.

It might be noted, however, that the early Dutch maps give it the name 'Rasphuys Bay'. Rasphuis, according to English historian Simon Schama, was a 17th century workhouse in Amsterdam where brazilwood was powdered to produce dye. The timber was rasped by convicts, and hence the name 'rasp house'. Indeed, until 50 years ago Parlatuvier, the village in the next bay, still had a sawmill. And one of the most important dyewoods from the district, called redwood, used to also be known as 'bloodwood', for it stained the rivers in which it was floated. Was Bloody Bay a similar user of ' bloodwood'.

1771 Slave uprising of a few dozen slaves at Bloody Bay.

30.09.1963 At 12:40 hours on 30 September 1963, Hurricane Flora, with winds of 90 to 100 miles per hour and gusts even stronger at an estimated 120 miles per hour, swept in from the Atlantic onto the island of Tobago's eastern shores. Many hurricanes had struck the islands to the north - an annual occurance - Tobago was not expecting it so the population was only given two hours warning prior to the advent of the storm, very little notice and though some hurried preparations were undertaken, it could not be sufficient to avoid the destruction that was to be so immense. In many instances entire villages were destroyed and sixty percent of the island's houses were demolished. Twenty-four lives were lost and 31 people were seriously injured. The economic infrastructure of Tobago suffered a similar fate; crop and property damage was estimated at around $30,000,000. To make matters worse, Tobago's economic base, composed primarily of plantation-grown cash crops, never recovered. This put many families out of work.

Folklore
We will make you Fishers of Men - A catch of biblical proportions. Early April 2001 the Bloody Bay seine fishermen hauled in a record catch, probably Tobago's largest in living history. They ran out of vans to take the fish to Scarborough market. The villagers of Bloody Bay had their fill, one lady was carrying so much that she fell over. A number of local buses detoured to the beach where the drivers and passengers all helped themselves to the catch. Hugh quantities were salted for later use. Still many were buried to prevent pollution. Thanks was given to God for his blessings.

Depression is a very serious mental illness that often goes unnoticed for years. People with concealed depression are battling demons within themselves all on their own. They are not sharing their struggles and do not want to burden those around them.

You see, for most people wounds are not something we are open about. We tend to bottle things up and attempt to remedy them on our own. If you are reading this then you must know someone who you feel you need to better understand or you relate to this yourself. The following 15 habits are some of the most common I have noticed in people dealing with concealed depression.

1. The are often quite talented and very expressive.
A lot of famous people have suffered from mental illnesses, and this suffering gives them deeper emotions. If you really think about it, this is in some form a source to their greatness. While we cannot always see it, their struggles are often reflected in their works. These people are able to bring something beautiful out of the darkness that consumes them.

2. They tend to search for purpose.
We all need a purpose in this life. We want to be sure that we are in some form doing meaningful things. People suffering from hidden depression are not exempt from this. They too want to know the reason for their existence. They are much more susceptible to feeling things like inadequacy and anxiety which leaves them searching for something they can never seem to achieve in their own minds.

3. Sometimes they make muted cries for help.
Sometimes we all need help. When we are not expecting someone to feel weak or to be down in the dumps, we don’t see their cries for help. However, if you notice their cries and can help them in any way, you are creating a very close and trust filled bond with them.

4. They interpret substances differently.
Someone who is dealing with depression usually knows what it is they can take to ease their pain in a sense. They know that caffeine and sugar will raise their mood and that some medicines can help them. They actually have to put a lot of effort into feeling better, unlike most people. It is not as simple as taking a Tylenol when you have a headache.

5. They often have a very involved perception of life and death.
People suffering from depression often face their own mortality in moments of despair and seek answers to life’s deepest questions. They tend to shift from one terrible mindset into another. Sure, not all depressed people deal with suicidal thoughts, but some do.

6. They have strange eating habits.
People with depression may not be able to eat much or at all when they are at their worst. That being said some of them may eat more when at their worst. It varies from person to person.

7. They have abnormal sleeping habits.
People with depression will often sleep for what seems like or may literally be days. Sleep at times can be impossible while other times could be the only thing left that the person can do. When a person is depressed they are dealing with a state of helplessness that will rock their world.

8. They have abandonment issues usually.
If you have dealt with abandonment then you know how terrible it can be. When someone walks out of your life it can be a devastating, but this impacts those with depression much more than other people. It causes them to be more and more secretive about their feelings and creates a fear within them of being abandoned by their loved ones.

9. They are professionals at coming up with ‘cover-up’ stories.
They are able to come up with believable elaborate excuses for the things they are going through. Like if they skip an appointment or don’t return your calls for days. They can easily change the subject when things like this come up and turn the attention away from their pain.

10. They might have habitual remedies.
There are several different lifestyle changes a person can make as an attempt to ease their minds. For instance, these people may do things like exercise, listen to music, go walking, and so forth.

11. They are always making efforts to seem happy.
People suffering from depression learn to fake moods. They will often come off as happy and normal on the outside. When they let their inner struggles appear on the outside they feel as if they are bringing others down.

12. They seek love and acceptance.
People with hidden depression are not hiding their depression because they want to be dishonest, they are just working to protect their hearts. These people want to be loved and accepted just like everyone else.

13. They have trouble shutting off their brains.
These people process everything going on in their lives at a fast speed. They over analyze the good and the bad making everything impact them much deeper. Their brains are like sponges absorbing everything that comes their way.

14. They hurt when other people hurt.
When other people are suffering it brings them down to their worst points. This sort of thing often triggers their emotional pain and can be crippling.

15. They always think of the worst-case scenarios.
While this is very stressful it can be beneficial from time to time. A high intelligence seems to be linked with depression, and they are able to respond to anything that comes their way. This makes them good problem solvers for the most part.

If you or someone you care about is suffering from concealed depression either get help or offer a helping hand. Fighting this alone is not easy or productive. The world can be a wonderful place if you get the help you need nothing can stand in your way. You are not a burden to others and the people who love and care about you want to help you, let them.

why do my prays go unanswered?
what sin did i commit to endure such sorrow?

no one see's my pain
no one hears me crying

dreams don't come true
prays don't get answered
once a victim, always a victim
born a loser, die a loser

 Sunday, we’re in love: The Cure’s no-frills, max-bangers show brings Glastonbury 2019 to a climax

Just like heaven.

“I realise that I’m going for the award for the person that says the least ever at Glastonbury,” says The Cure frontman Robert Smith among the few syllables he utters to a packed-out Pyramid Stage crowd at Glastonbury 2019. “I didn’t mean that. There is no such award. But I’d still win it.”

Fuck it. Give him the award. Give Glasto more of this. We don’t need showboating or chest-beating or empty banter about “the vibes”, what it means to be here or hollering for everyone to throw their hands up, scream or show their love. With The Cure, the audience needs no encouragement. Through Smith’s shameless dad dancing and the tears swelling up towards the show’s end, you know how much this means. Who knew stadium-filling demi-gods could be so humble?

Opening with the shattering crystal sounds of ‘Plainsong’ and ‘Pictures Of You’, The Cure begin slowly drop in some some lighter stuff with ‘High’, ‘A Night Like This’ and understated slow-burning bangers like ‘Fascination Street’. It’s one hell of a ride, rising with the pop-noir ecstasy of ‘In Between Days’, ‘Just Like Heaven’ and ‘Shake Dog Shake’, but littered with more esoteric fan favourites like ‘Last Dance’, ‘Burn’ and ‘From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea’. And even during the relative obscurities we’re all lost in the lushness of their romance. They leave the stage so Smith can “get into pop mode”, and mate – do they ever.

“It’s weird because I’ve been here over the weekend and it’s fucking brilliant,” says Smith, fully aware of the magnitude of living up to all that’s preceded them in the previous days. “HANG ON, HANG ON, HANG ON, HANG ON,” he shouts, “it isn’t difficult to be here because the next half hour is all ‘Glastonbury’. They give Worthy Farm the legendary ending it deserved. File this under the greatest and most relentless encores you could hope for. ‘Lullaby’, ‘Caterpillar’, ‘The Walk’ and the sheer abandon of ‘Why Can’t I Can’t I Be You’. There’s spoiling us and then there’s taking the absolute piss.

“I wish we could have done three years of this festival,” says Smith towards the end. Knowing their knack for mammoth shows, they could have played the whole time. Still, there’s only two measly hours to work with. “This is called ‘Sunday I’m In Love’.” Friday or not, every night needs a song like this. Even with with the dream closer of ‘Boys Don’t Cry’, there were no frills, no banter, just joy. Showmen have their place, so does pure class and grace. No words can amount to what The Cure gave Glastonbury tonight.

The Cure’s setlist was:
Plainsong
Pictures of You
High
A Night Like This
Lovesong
Last Dance
Burn
Fascination Street
Never Enough
Push
In Between Days
Just Like Heaven
From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
Play for Today
A Forest
Shake Dog Shake
Disintegration
Encore:
Lullaby
The Caterpillar
The Walk
Friday I’m in Love
Close to Me
Why Can’t I Be You?
Boys Don’t Cry

The Cure at Glastonbury 2019 review – still the world's most reluctant pop stars

Pyramid stage
Robert Smith’s band of goth-pop veterans focus on their imperial phase: a catalogue that can’t help but be anthemic

There’s a sense in which the Cure’s performance is the opposite of every other headline performance on the Pyramid stage this weekend. There’s no special guests, not much in the way of explosive special effects and there’s no attendant sense of can they do this – or how will this work?

It’s been 41 years since they started plying fretful suburban melancholy and rainy Sunday afternoon ennui: the first time they headlined Glastonbury was some years before a considerable portion of this year’s attendees were born. These days, they release albums so infrequently that huge – and incredibly lengthy – live shows are pretty much the band’s raison d’etre. This kind of thing is tried and tested; it’s just what they do.

By the Cure’s current standards, two hours constitutes a breakneck canter through the highlights of their back catalogue. It centres on their imperial phase, bookended by 1985’s The Head on the Door and 1994’s Wish, a period during which the Cure came within kissing distance of being the biggest band in the world, while somehow managing to retain a certain outsider status: Pictures of You, A Night Like This, Love Song, Never Enough, In Between Days.

Listening to them play, you’re struck by the fact that they pulled off the trick of traversing a huge musical distance – from the taut post-punk of A Forest to the diseased-sounding psychedelia of Shake Dog Shake to the selection of more-or-less pure pop tracks that forms the set’s final 30 minutes – while always sounding exactly like the Cure. For all the dark power of the tracks they play from Disintegration, the latter proves their highlight of the show, partly because it’s unexpected. You get the sense that Robert Smith has quite a complex relationship with the most commercial end of his oeuvre – he exits the stage for two minutes “to get my pop head on” before it begins and explains that they’re only doing it because “it’s Glastonbury” – but there’s something particularly joyous about hearing one pop smash after another: Friday I’m in Love following on the heels of Close to Me and The Caterpillar.

And something about the light tone of the material seems to infect Robert Smith himself. Not, you suspect, one of life’s natural everybody-put-your-hands-together frontmen, he nevertheless abandons his guitar and moves to the side of the stage, beneath the video screens, dancing at least a little while he sings Why Can’t I Be You? Then the man who launched a thousand teenage goth haircuts catches himself, explaining again that this isn’t normally how the Cure perform. “I hope I don’t regret doing this,” he mutters, before the band launch into the concluding Boys Don’t Cry. Judging by the audience reaction, that doesn’t seem likely.

People who like to be alone have these 6 special personality traits

In terms of our personalities and how we approach others, we are often placed in one of two categories:

Introvert or Extrovert.

Is it possible to be a little bit of both? Have you ever wondered what qualities specifically make up each and what they indicate?

In this article, we reveal what it means to be one of those fascinating people who like to be alone and challenge the perceptions that they’re lonely, depressed, and full of anxiety.

Do you have a friend who would rather stay in over shared cups of tea and pass up the Music Festival of the year? Do you enjoy your own time so much that you’ll travel alone, go to dinner and have a glass of wine for one, as well as catch the occasional film with nobody by your side? If so, I am right there with you, because I do all of the above, but the problem is…

People who love to spend time alone have to explain themselves as if it goes against a societal expectation of what’s normal and what’s not.

Here are some great qualities of people who like to spend time alone:

1. They’re Extremely Loyal
They don’t very often have a wide social circle, and if they do, you won’t find them out every night of the week with large groups, lining up for the hottest club opening. They instead seek out meaningful and trustworthy friends who they feel comfortable to welcome into their space and share details of their life with. If you have a friend who likes to spend time alone, you can guarantee that this person will be there for you through thick and thin.

2. Surprise! They’re Open to New Ideas
Just because they cherish their quiet time doesn’t mean they won’t do something new and exciting. They just make sure to have their quiet time before taking the plunge into a highly social activity.

For more inspirational articles on mindfulness and self-improvement, like Hack Spirit on Facebook:

3. They Have a Level Head
They spend so much quiet time on their own, taking the time to navigate and contemplate situations, problems, and to really tap into who they are and what they want. They have a strong sense of self and confidence that radiates from within. When they’re feeling stressed or the weight of the world is closing in? They spend time alone to recharge instead of filling their day with distractions.

They’re great workers, and they’re certain career choices that suit introverts.

4. They Are Comfortable With Their Own Thoughts
I’m sure we’ve all come across that person who can’t stand to be alone with their own thoughts. People who like to spend time alone, particularly in the quiet, display a clear conscience and do not struggle with their inner thoughts. Of course, we can all have down days, but they tend to be able to navigate themselves out of any slump.

5. They Understand The Value of Time. Yours and Theirs
You’ll notice a word that keeps coming up in each point. The word is ‘time’. People who spend time alone understand and appreciate it’s value. They put a high priority on making that time available for them to function at their highest level and best self; so, when you are giving your time, they understand what you’ve given up for them. They have a deep sense of making sure not to waste your time or to spend time with people who are wasting theirs.

6. They Exercise Strong Boundaries
All of that time alone gives these people the space to think about what motivates them, what works and what doesn’t, and how to properly communicate this. You’ll find that they have strong and healthy boundaries and they exercise their right to communicate these in a really healthy and clear manner.

Have your perceptions changed? Can you see any of these qualities in yourself or a friend?

We all have a different approach to life; celebrating our differences is what’s it’s all about.

And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
And sooner or later it's over
I just don't wanna miss you tonight

He was the author of our doom and he should have been charged with failing to protect this nation from the domestic threat that the AIDS epidemic was. In his ignorance and bigotry he thought the the disease was god's punishment for queers and junkies.
A shit stain on our nations backside just like the one in office now.

Did You Know: Roselle (Sorrel)

Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is a species of Hibiscus native to West Africa

The plant is considered to have antihypertensive properties. In some places, the plant is primarily cultivated for the production of bast fibre from the stem of the plant. The fibre may be used as a substitute for jute in making burlap. Hibiscus, specifically roselle, has been used in folk medicine as a diuretic, and mild laxative.

Uses

The red calyces of the plant are increasingly exported to the United States and Europe, where they are used as food colourings. Germany is the main importer. It can also be found in markets (as flowers or syrup) in some places such as France, where there are Senegalese immigrant communities.

The green leaves are used like a spicy version of spinach. They give flavour to the Senegalese fish and rice dish thieboudienne. Proper records are not kept, but the Senegalese government estimates national production and consumption at 700 t (770 short tons) per year. Also in Burma their green leaves are the main ingredient in making chin baung kyaw curry.

In East Africa, the calyx infusion, called "Sudan tea", is taken to relieve coughs. Roselle juice, with salt, pepper, asafoetida and molasses, is taken as a remedy for biliousness.

The heated leaves are applied to cracks in the feet and on boils and ulcers to speed maturation. A lotion made from leaves is used on sores and wounds. The seeds are said to be diuretic and tonic in action and the brownish-yellow seed oil is claimed to heal sores on camels. In India, a decoction of the seeds is given to relieve dysuria, strangury and mild cases of dyspepsia. Brazilians attribute stomachic, emollient and resolutive properties to the bitter roots.

Vegetable:
In Andhra cuisine, Hibiscus sabdariffa, called gongura, is extensively used. The leaves are steamed along with lentils and cooked with dal. The other unique dish prepared is gongura pachadi, it is prepared by mixing fried leaves with spices and made into a gongura pacchadi, the most famous dish of Andhra cuisine and is often described as king of all Andhra foods.
In Burmese cuisine, called chin baung ywet (lit. sour leaf), the roselle is widely used and considered an affordable vegetable for the population. It is perhaps the most widely eaten and popular vegetable in Burma. The leaves are fried with garlic, dried or fresh prawns and green chili or cooked with fish. A light soup made from roselle leaves and dried prawn stock is also a popular dish.

Among the Bodo tribals of Bodoland, Assam (India) the leaves of both hibiscus sabdariffa and hibiscus cannabinus are cooked along with chicken, fish, crab or pork, one of their traditional cuisines.

In the Philippines,the leaves and flowers are used to add sourness to chicken dish "Tinola" (Polynesian Chicken Stew).

Beverage:
In the Caribbean, sorrel drink is made from sepals of the roselle. In Malaysia, roselle calyces are harvested fresh to produce pro-health drink due to high contents of vitamin C and anthocyanins. In Mexico, 'agua de Flor de Jamaica' (water flavored with roselle) frequently called "agua de Jamaica" is most often homemade. It is prepared by boiling dried sepals and calyces of the Sorrel/Flower of Jamaica plant in water for 8 to 10 minutes (or until the water turns red), then adding sugar. It is often served chilled. This is also done in Saint Kitts and Nevis, Guyana, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago where it is called 'sorrel' (for Jamaica, it was introduced by Akan slaves in the late 1600s).

The drink is one of several inexpensive beverages (aguas frescas) commonly consumed in Mexico and Central America, and they are typically made from fresh fruits, juices or extracts. A similar thing is done in Jamaica but additional flavor is added by brewing the tea with ginger and adding rum. It is a popular drink of the country at Christmas time. It is also very popular in Trinidad & Tobago but cinnamon, cloves and bay leaves are preferred to ginger.

In Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, Burkina Faso and Benin calyces are used to prepare cold, sweet drinks popular in social events, often mixed with mint leaves, dissolved menthol candy, and/or various fruit flavors. The Middle Eastern and Sudanese drink "Karkade"(كركديه) is a cold drink made by soaking the dried Karkade calyces in cold water over night in a refrigerator with sugar and some lemon or lime juice added.It is then consumed with or without ice cubes after the flowers have been strained. In Lebanon, sometimes toasted pine nuts are tossed into the drink. Roselle is also used in Nigeria to make a refreshing drink known as Zobo.

With the advent in the U.S. of interest in south-of-the-border cuisine, the calyces are sold in bags usually labeled "Flor de Jamaica" and have long been available in health food stores in the U.S. for making a tea that is high in vitamin C. This drink is particularly good for people who have a tendency, temporary or otherwise, toward water retention: it is a mild diuretic.

In addition to being a popular homemade drink, Jarritos, a popular brand of Mexican soft drinks, makes a Flor de Jamaica flavored carbonated beverage. Imported Jarritos can be readily found in the U.S.
In the UK, the dried calyces and ready-made sorrel syrup are widely and cheaply available in Caribbean and Asian grocers. The fresh calyces are imported mainly during December and January in order to make Christmas and New Year infusions, which are often made into cocktails with additional rum. They are very perishable, rapidly developing fungal rot, and need to be used soon after purchase – unlike the dried product, which has a long shelf-life.

In Africa, especially the Sahel, roselle is commonly used to make a sugary herbal tea that is commonly sold on the street. The dried flowers can be found in every market. Roselle tea is also quite common in Italy where it spread during the first decades of the 20th century as a typical product of the Italian colonies. The Carib Brewery Trinidad Limited, a Trinidad and Tobago brewery, produces a Shandy Sorrel in which the tea is combined with beer.

In Thailand, roselle is generally drunk as a cool drink, but also as a tea, believed to also reduce cholesterol. It can also be made into a wine.
Hibiscus flowers are commonly found in commercial herbal teas, especially teas advertised as berry-flavoured, as they give a bright red colouring to the drink.

Rosella flowers are sold as Wild Hibiscus flowers in syrup in Australia as a gourmet product. Recipes include filling them with goats cheese, serving them on baguette slices baked with brie, & placing one plus a little syrup, in a champagne flute before adding the champagne when the bubbles cause the flower to open.

Jam and preserves:
In Nigeria, rosella jam has been made since colonial times and is still sold regularly at community fetes and charity stalls. It is similar in flavour to plum jam, although more acidic.

It differs from other jams in that the pectin is obtained from boiling the interior buds of the rosella flowers. It is thus possible to make rosella jam with nothing but rosella buds and sugar.

In Burma, the buds of the roselle are made into 'preserved fruits' or jams. Depending on the method and the preference, the seeds are either removed or included. The jams, made from roselle buds and sugar, are red and tangy.

"Sorrel jelly" is manufactured in Trinidad.
Rosella jam is also made in Queensland, Australia as a home-made or speciality product sold at fetes and other community events.

Did You Know: Indian Arrival Day in Trinidad and Tobago
"On the 16th February 1845, the Fatal Razack, which means Victory for Allah, set sail from the docks off the city of Calcutta destined for the Caribbean. The ship docked off Port-of-Spain on the 30th May, 1845. It left India with 231 immigrants on board, but 6 died on the voyage and 2 were born. In total 227 immigrants reached Trinidad.
The journey from India to Trinidad was a very perilous and heart rendering one. During this journey, the immigrants were subjected to harsh treatments. They also had to overcome dangerous weather conditions such as hurricanes and cyclones and were subjected to a number of climate changes ranging from the hot weather from the Bay of Bengal to the cold smoggy climate off coasts of South Africa. After that, they headed in a north-westerly direction to the tropics and finally to the Islands.
On board the vessel, the immigrants lived in an incessant state of semi-darkness below decks. It was not possible for them to light lamps because there was a fear that it may cause fire on board, they were forbidden from bringing their own food so by force, they had to eat whatever was prepared for them. They were restricted from moving upwards into the open areas of the vessel because immigrants chose to jump overboard in a desperate effort to swim back to their beloved homeland India.
On board the vessel, little or no regard was shown to the religious and cultural practices of the immigrants. For example, the cook on board the ship had no qualms about preparing beef broth for the nursing Hindu women. Food often deteriorated and became infested with insects or rotted because of poor preservation practices. The treatment of the dead was just as worse in that when an immigrant died at sea, his or her body was just bagged, secured with a heavy stone and flung overboard during the night. The women folks on board became the target of European crewmen who came from the unemployed, illiterate classes of society.
On board the vessel, the hardships and mistreatment that the immigrants had to undergo did not deter them from their purpose. In fact, they emerged stronger and were able to cope with the new problems that they would have to face in the Caribbean. The treacherous journey served as a time for bonding for these immigrants. Their experiences brought them together in a Jahaaji Bhai / Bahin (brother or sister of the boat) bond or Jahaaji Nata (boat relation) that surpassed the divisions of caste, religion and language which was a dividing force in India. Whilst on the estates, these immigrants will seek out their Jahaaji bhai / bahin whom they now considered family and assisted each other in times of difficulties.
After this long journey, the indenture ship finally docked at the Coolie Depot on Nelson Island off the Port of Spain docks. Whilst on the island, the new immigrants were fed and allowed to rest for approximately two weeks before being allocated to the various plantations / estates.This parting was a very sad one because for many of them this would be the last time they would see their Jahaaj (boat).
From the Coolie Depot, the indentured labourers were taken to Port of Spain by their new owners, and from there they travelled to the various estates via train, coastal steamers or horse drawn carriages, each one grasping in their hand the small bundle of clothes and other keepsakes that he / she brought with him / her from their mother-land (Dharti-Maataa) as they slowly disappeared into the various estates. Their hard work and painful life as indentured labourers had just begun."
Source:
(http://www.trinidadexpress.com/…/Leaving-India-260685321.ht…)
CUSTOMS AND FESTIVALS
 The East Indians brought to Trinidad a wide range of festivals and religious observances. For East Indians - both Hindus and Muslims - these celebrations were important. They allowed the immigrants to hold on to the values and principles which had sustained them for centuries. They also served to make the harsh daily life more bearable. Events such as Divali, Eid-ul-Fitr, Phagwa and Hoosay have, over the years, become part of the cultural fabric of Trinidad and Tobago.
East Indians who came to the Caribbean initially came from various regions in India, each with its own language and customs. However, by the late 19th century there was less diversity in language as the majority of immigrants originated from Uttar Pradesh. The inhabitants of this region spoke Bhojpuri, a Hindi dialect, which became the shared and unifying language for East Indians in Trinidad.
The indentured labourers brought not only their religion, food and clothing, but also the names of the places from which they came. They gave to the places they settled in Trinidad, the place names with which they were familiar. Hence the reason for village names such as Fyzabad, Barrackpore, Chandernagore, and many others.
One ancient practice which has recently become a western phenomenon is the Mehndi (or Henna) which is the ancient art of body tattooing. Mehndi powder is made out of dried leaves from a shrub. Traditionally, mehndi is used to decorate the hands and feet of a new bride.
Family and community were very important to the immigrants. They brought the panchayat system which was a way of dealing with with inter-communal conflicts and family problems. They also continued their naming convention of family members. Below is a sample list of Hindu and Muslim names and their meanings.
Aruna - Dawn
 Chandra - Moon
 Indira - Lakshmi
 Indrani - Wife of Indra
 Lalita - Variety, Beauty
 Madhuri - Sweet Girl
 Mohini - Most beautiful, Bewitching
 Prema - Love
 Shanti - Peace Avinash - Endless, Boundless
 Hemaraj - King of Gold
 Manoj - Born of Mind
 Mohan - Charming, Fascinating
 Prakash - Light
 Rajesh - God of Kings
 Saurav - Divine, Celestial
 Sundar - Beautiful
 Vijay - Victory Alia, Aalia - Exalted
 Aneesa - Friendly
 Fareeda - Unique
 Fatima - Name of the Prophet Muhammad's Daughter
 Kaamla - Perfect
 Nadia - The Beginning, First
 Nadira - Rare, Precious
 Rasheeda - Wise, Mature
 Saleema - Safe, Healthy
 Yasmeen - Jasmine
 Zahraa - White Ali - Excellent
 Hamza - Lion
 Hassan - Beautiful
 Jamal - Beauty
 Kareem - Generous, Noble
 Khalid - Eternal
The indentured labourers who came to Trinidad brought with them their own East Indian cuisine, complete with traditional seasonings and ways of cooking. Most important of their spices were the curries. In Trinidad and Tobago most Hindi words in common use today relate to the kitchen and food. Over time foods such as roti, doubles, saheena, katchowrie, barah, anchar and pholourie have become household names and are consumed by a wide cross-section of the society. Today, East Indian dishes are part of the national cuisine of Trinidad and Tobago.

 EAST INDIAN COOKING UTENSILS
 In addition to the their cuisine, the East Indians also have special cooking utensils.
 Tawa
 Belna
 Chauki
 Dabila
 Puchara
 Chulah
 Pukni
 Chimta
 Karahi
 Sup
 Saphee
 Dhall-ghotni
 Okhri
 Musar
 Sil
 Lorha
 Jharu
 Lorha
 Cocoyea broom

Did You Know: Robert Guppy -  the man who named the world famous fish he discovered in T&T

 Robert Lechmere Guppy had no formal scientific training but his meticulous approach to research, coupled with his love of invertebrate palaeontology[1] and geology, allowed him to publish many papers of professional quality. His best known contribution to science was the popularisation of the Guppy fish that bears his name.
Before Guppy, W.C.H. Peters originally discovered this species and catalogued it in Berlin, where it was overlooked. It was Guppy, however, who sent specimens to London, making the fish known to the English-speaking world.

Robert John Lechmere Guppy was born on 15th August, 1836 in London, England. A prodigy from the beginning, he practically taught himself to read at the age of three. As a young man, Guppy wanted to explore the world as a scientist but his uncle wanted him to manage his family’s estate in England.
At the age of 18, he entered Oxford University but on receiving letters from his uncle begging him to return home, he ran off to Tasmania. He was shipwrecked on the coast of New Zealand in 1856, where he remained among the indigenous Māori people who had rescued him. During that time, he explored the island, mapping the area and collecting specimens. After two years, he joined his parents and brother who had migrated to Trinidad.

Although his family lived in San Fernando, Guppy’s job in the government service compelled him to stay in Port-of-Spain. Eventually, his zeal for education led him to being appointed to help organise the education system as the island’s first Superintendent of Schools.

His earliest published scientific papers can be dated back to 1863, when he conducted geological surveys of Trinidad. Guppy collected samples, made notes and wrote papers in Trinidad and presented his findings in England, North America and in the proceedings of The Trinidad Scientific Association.
His 1963 paper of Trinidad fossil foraminifera[2] was one of the earliest such publications in the Western Hemisphere. This, and his subsequent papers on Trinidad’s fossil foraminifera were the standard references for the later 20th century micropalaentological[3] studies which established the value of this group of fossils for dating and correlating petroleum deposits in Trinidad.

During his surveys, he noticed a fish, which was called the “millions fish” at the time, but would later be named the “guppy’”. Intrigued by the small creature, he sent samples in 1866 to the curator of the British Museum, the legendary ichthyologist[4], Dr Albert Carl Ludwig Gotthilf Guenther. In that same year, Guppy and his brother, Francis founded the Trinidad Almanack - a reference book that was eventually taken over by the government as the official yearbook.
Guppy was also the founder of the Victoria Institute (now renamed the National Museum) in Port-of-Spain at the time of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887, and he served as the Institute’s president for years.

Guppy continued publishing up until his last years. He produced over 30 papers in his lifetime and his scientific work was so in demand that A reprint of the more inaccessible palaeontological writings of Robert John Lechmere Guppy was published in the Bulletins of American Palaeontology after his death on 5th August, 1916.

“I grew up in Trinidad and Tobago during a time when everyone treated each other like Family. When you always had to speak properly when you were with your parents or adults but could "leh go" with your friends. If someone got you angry, you would tell them "how yuh mudda make yuh" with a variety of cuss words. If your mom found out, she made you wash your mouth with soap. Blue soap, sunlight or carbolic.

If you can't take "fatigue", don't start. Everyone had a nickname. The Chinese boy was "chin"; the African boy was "blacks"; the Indian boy was "lal", the fat kid was "fat boy", the skinny boy was "bones". We went outside to play; we got dirty.

We used to bathe in the rain, sometimes by the standpipe. I am yet to find anything as satisfying as a cup of creole chocolate or hot porridge on a rainy day.

We went to the river or springs on a hot day. Our fast food was corned beef and rice; sometimes, even hot rice and butter. We ate breadfruit, dasheen, yam, eddoes, cassava, boil corn, roast corn. From the bakery we ate belly full, currants roll, coconut drops, milk cake, pan bread, bun, butter bread and hops bread.

We loved bread and condensed milk or hot bread and butter; sometimes red butter. We sucked paradise plum, brittle, kazer ball, dinner mint. We ate bene balls, tollum, chataigne, sugar cake, tamarind ball, tamarind stew, red mango, mango chow, plum chow.

We got dirty and we didn't eat fast food....we ate cooked food. We got ice cream from the ice cream man or if mum was in a good mood and had the money, we had homemade ice cream on Sunday. The best was when barberdeen was in season. When mum made cake, we licked the bowl clean. Cassava pone or bread pudding was a treat. Redifusion had two channels.

To this day I remember "Portia faces life." We listened to auntie Kay on a Sunday. In later years, if you had a tv, you saw auntie Hazel on twelve and under, you watched Mastana Bahar and an Indian movie on a Sunday afternoon and watched Scouting for Talent on Tuesdays. Panorama was time to be quiet.

We loved snow cone on a hot day, preferably with guava syrup and condensed milk. We climbed trees, picked mangoes, Chennette, pommerac, plum, pommecythere; whatever was in season. We suck and ate cane with our bare teeth.

We played Simon Says, Red Rover, Mother May I, 1,2,3 Red Light, Hide & Seek, Jacks, Marbles, Tag, Hopscotch, Cars, Checkers, cricket, moral, rounders, pan cup, football; we raced against each other in the street and even played jockey in the canal with a piece of stick.

A tennis ball and a good piece of wood was enough to start a cricket game, and if somebody window break, game done. The only time we stayed indoors was when we were sick or as a punishment. If you were sick,b it was not uncommon to get a "bush bath" with some "buccano leaf" and whatever bush mum thought would make you better. Castor oil or sena pods during vacation was the worse.

The boys flew kites that we had made ourselves; sometimes we made a mad bull and hope it wasn't so big that it took you flying. We made zwill with flour and grounded glass; put razor blades in your kite tail and when you battle, who lost, saw their kites "hi-yo". The first one to reach the kite is the new owner.

We drove carts we had made from wood with old bearings for wheels. An old bike wheel with the spokes removed was a toy. Who never tried to get "laglee" from the breadfruit tree to try to catch a semp?

There was no bottled water, we drank from the pipe. We walked to the corner store and rode our bikes (if we had one) for hours without a cellphone. We weren't AFRAID OF ANYTHING.

If someone had a fight, that's what it was...a fist fight. Kids didn't have guns when I grew up. The street lights were your curfew. School was mandatory. Police used to take you to your school when they find you on the road during school hours.

We watched our mouths around our elders because we knew if you DISRESPECTED any grown up you were gonna get it with whatever was close and get a second one when your parents found out...!!!

Re-post if you're proud that you came from a close knit community and will never forget where you came from!

life in TnT as I knew it..

Did You Know: The History of Hops Bread 
Brothers, Horatio and John Alfred Rapsey, left England to seek their fortunes. By 1845, the two were in Port of Spain, operating a tailor’s shop from a building on Edward St. where John Alfred died in 1853 from yellow fever.
Horatio left tailoring and opened a bakery at 62 Queen St, Port of Spain, later moving to 9 Frederick St. He married an English lady who bore him three sons. John Alfred (born in the same year his namesake uncle died-1853) inherited the bakery after his father, Horatio Snr. died in 1892.
 John Alfred is credited with adopting an old technique he observed among the French Creole kitchens of Trinidad. This involved leavening a dough roll with an extract of the male hop flower which gave it an unusual crust and size. Originally, the loaves were baked wrapped in green banana leaves and then baked. Often, the finished bread would be delivered with dried banana leaf still stuck to it.
Thus hops bread began to be commercially baked around 1893 and with each loaf being sold at a penny apiece (day-old loaves being sold in front the bakery for halfpenny). Because of the price, hops bread was originally known as ‘penny loaves’ and was affordable to most.
 Rapsey is also credited with either inventing or popularizing the ‘biscuit-cake’. A biscuit soaked in milk and then sprinkled with sugar thus producing another Trini classic known as "milk cake".
 In 1893, he also added a soft-drink factory to the business. Unsurprisingly, Rapsey became rich and in 1901 bought the entire Aranguez estate for $18,000 where he continued sugar cultivation, but also raised excellent cattle and produced excellent cheese and milk which were sold from the bakery and was also delivered to consumers packed in ice in a horsedrawn van and later, one of the earliest motor-trucks in the island.
John Alfred purchased the old home of the Zurcher family, Blarney, near to Maraval which was a magnificent house he renamed Ellerslie. John Alfred died in 1912 but his widow and children continued to run Aranguez estate, with emphasis on housing development rather than agriculture. The bakery was also closed in 1928.
Today, the Rapseys still maintain an interest in Aranguez estate, although most of the lands have now been sold or leased. On Mrs. M.A. Rapsey’s death in 1943 the grand house was demolished and the lands developed into what is now known as “Ellerslie Park” which was originally called ‘Champs Elysées’ – the Elysian Fields, and not “Ellerslie”.

Did You Know: How Balandra got its name?
"Balandra got its name in 1797 just after the British general Sir Ralph Abercromby seized Trinidad from Spain. Following the conquest Abercromby sent his captain of the Royal Engineers, Frederick Mallet, to sail around the island and find out as much as he could about it. There was the need to inform the British Secretary of State for the Colonies what sort of island he had captured, because the British had had little knowledge of Trinidad. The only reason they had attacked it was because the French republicans had been striking at the British in the Windward Islands and fleeing to sanctuary in Trinidad.
This infuriated the British because Spain was neutral in that war. It led to flagrant British transgressions, forcing Spain to declare hostilities. When they did, General Sir Ralph Abercromby, Chief of the British Expeditionary Forces, pounced on Trinidad and took it.
It was therefore important to the British to know what Trinidad was like and what resources it contained, if only for the fact that when the war ended Britain would have to decide whether it would keep Trinidad or return it to Spain.
Abercromby had asked Captain Mallet to draw a map of Trinidad putting in such things as what the various settlements were called and what crops were grown there, and knowing that Trinidad was recently settled by Caribbean French planters under a Spanish Cédula, he wished to know what was the population, how much granted land was there, and granted to whom.
Mallet set out going round by the north coast and he landed at every settlement he spotted. He was so meticulous that his map shows, by anchor symbols, every landing he makes, and he gives the description of every crop, takes a census of the people, and shows every block denoting land granted to the settlers, and with the names of the settlers inscribed on the map.
Maybe it was curiosity which made him slip into a deeply-indented, lush and scenic cove, nearly half-way down on the east coast, and he met a Spanish garrison there, a garrison that may not even have known that the war had ended. He asked the Spanish soldiers what was the place called and they did not know.
They said they were there simply to protect the coast. But Mallet saw some huge boats in the bay and the soldiers told him the boats came there to bring provisions from the capital, Puerto España, since there were no roads to the east coast. They were large boats and Mallet asked what type of boats were they. The answer was Balandra.
To name the place Mallet wrote on that spot on his map: “Balandra.”

A reddit user by the name of u/seymourbuttsandtits is posting UNVERIFIED spoilers in this subreddit. They claim to have seen the final cut of the movie. Here are what I compile from their comments so y'all don't have to read through the comments.

THESE BULLET POINTS ARE PULLED FROM THEIR COMMENTS. NEWER UPDATES ARE AT THE END. These comments were first shared on April 16 (night time, EST)

The order of the comments are random and not based on the order it happened in the movies.I DO NOT KNOW IF THIS LEAK IS TRUE, I personally don't like some parts lol.

Tony dies for real at the end. His is the only death aside from Thanos and Thanos' army. Apparently he wore the Gauntlet and flipped the bird to Thanos lol. Tony gets a really good goodbye scene. Cap tries to basically take his place but the gauntlet won’t respond to him. Tony himself glows orange almost like he was the embodiment of the Soul Stone, but there’s no exposition on this or anything.

Nat died, but then was brought back the big battle when Cap destroyed the Soul Stone. This is also when everyone who was snapped away comes back.

Cap lives, but goes back to stay in the past after saying "I'll be there when you need me." to Fury.

Bucky gives him a big goodbye, then jokes "can I get the suit" and Cap says "I'm not done with it yet"

Bucky stays in the present because he gets a job offer

Thor lives. Still God of Thunder. Endgame sets up a potential Thor 4 with Thor, Valkyrie, and Rocket discussing the building of New Asgard.

Cap heard Bucky's voice which made him think about reviving the dusted ones.

Movie starts with "this is not a test"

Katherine Langford plays Tony's daughter but only in a dream.

Tony says to Pepper in their reunion: "Think we can still make our 8:30?"

Hela was mentioned by name, did not appear.

Stan Lee cameo is in a car show from the 1970s, told by Scott Lang, in Luis' style.

The first time Hulk shows up, Thanos has just been killed on Titan II so he finally comes out but they’re on Earth and Tony is like “really dude?”

It's heavily implied that Pepper is pregnant.

Captain Marvel is absent for most of it. Shows up in the beginning to answer the distress call, they kill Thanos, she leaves to help other planets rebuild. Doesn’t show back up til the final battle where she wrecks shit.

Hulk does not lose an arm. There’s a comment about how he should but he’s got regenerative properties in his tissue.

Past Cap vs Present Cap. Past Cap thinks Present Cap is Loki.

In the battle of New York there is a really funny scene where you’ve seen the two Caps fighting but they make it to Loki and he basically says “I’m not doing this...” and present Cap uses the opportunity to knock out past Cap and Loki says “Thank you”

Loki is also featured in a dream like sequence Thor has.

Thor gets a pep talk from his mother.

Carol and Valkyrie team up to take down one of Thanos ships and have a semi “that could have been flirting” moment.

According to u/Brontcrab24 who talked to OP, OP said credit scene is a tribute to everyone who made the MCU what it is today.

I'll update this comment as the OP updates lmao

UPDATES:

Apparently Cap goes back in time to dance with Peggy (lol)

Most memorable line in OP's opinion is "He was Iron Man"

The film supposedly ends with Carol flying off to hide the remaining stones throughout the galaxy.

Cap's shield broke because he destroyed the Soul Stone. Someone asked OP how does Cap know to destroy the Soul Stone to bring the dusted ones back and OP replied with "He heard Bucky through it"

No explanation for Carol's new suit and haircut. Just a timeskip.

Final battle takes place on Vomir. Vormir is weird, it’s not bound by time. Basically Thanos dictates that’s where the battle be.When Thanos figures out what they are doing, it’s weird it’s like he figures it out and prevents his own death from earlier in the film by coming back in time. Thanos [in the final battle] is the Thanos that did the snap and realizes what’s up, but it’s also a Thanos that would have been killed in like two days

Nick Fury and Carol reunite. No mention of Goose.

OP said this in a now-deleted comment: "Ok I really didn’t want to answer this because I thought it was amazing and didn’t want it being spoiled. There aren’t postcredit scenes like normal, there is a montage of the last 10 years of Marvel studios and everyone who made it possible to be what it is today. It’s pretty special."

credit to u/SaturdaySmile “I sent the user a PM a few questions and he just responded to two. I asked which of the female leads had the biggest role, Black Widow or Nebula, he said Nebula. The other question he responded was about if the Russos get Captain Marvel right and he said her role was kind of small but she stands out in her scenes and she does fight Thanos and fucks him up but she's not the one who kills him in the first act, Thor is the one who delivers the final blow.” OP said this is a lie. OP did not send this PM.

My personal thought: I'm not a fan of the "Cap goes back in time" ending at all while Bucky stays in the present (thinking about it makes me angry and I can't even start to explain). The rest of the plot is plausible. The OP seemed to be genuine and polite in their answers, handled critics rather well, and provided some very specific details and quotes when asked. I guess we'll all see in a week!



YAY, MORE UPDATES FROM THE OP IN THE COMMENTS OF THIS VERY THREAD (welcome OP to this thread on April 17, afternoon, EST, thanks for sharing yada yada I don't believe stuff you said but I'll entertain):

Hulk himself is maturing and realizes his physique with Banner's brain would be unstoppable. So instead of fighting over the wheel, they become Co pilots.

When you guys actually see how they handle the Cap thing I think you'll change your mind. He's not ruining everyone's life, he's closing a time loop. Look there are a few things I really don't want to spoil because no one is even guessing them and there needs to be some crazy woah moments so I won't go into detail but Peggy straight up tells him to come home. It's one of the most touching, mind-blowing moments in the entire MCU. Kind of interesting you never saw her husband, right? Man you guys are coming close to ruining the most emotional part of the movie. Are you sure this is how you want to learn this?

Nebula is in the climactic final war.