"Colorful Regatta" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
Showing posts with label Things. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Things. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Tuesday, December 16, 2025
The Bahamas and Responsible Social Media Posting
"Social Media Abuse" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
The Bahamas and Responsible Social Media Posting — Introduction
Social media is where we speak in public, but often without the checks that used to come with publishing on paper or on live broadcast. In The Bahamas — as in many countries — that matters because what you publish online can have real legal and personal consequences for you and for the people you write about. This introduction sets out why responsible posting matters, what “libel” and “slander” mean in plain terms, whether social-media authors can be arrested in The Bahamas, how other jurisdictions (notably the UK) have treated social-media speech, and how Bahamians should tailor posts to balance safety and free expression.
Why responsibility matters on social media
A social post can spread faster and farther than a whispered rumor. It can damage reputations, stoke panic, incite harassment, or expose private information. Because social media posts are public (and easily archived and copied), an offhand claim or a nasty meme can follow a person indefinitely and be relied on by others as if it were fact. That permanence + public reach is why many countries treat defamatory publications seriously — and why you should be careful about what you say and how you say it online.
Monday, December 15, 2025
What Is Trust?
"Trust" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
What Is Trust?
It is the invisible thread that binds,
The quiet peace a worried spirit finds,
A bridge of glass across a canyon deep,
A promise that the soul intends to keep.
It is not built of stone or steel or wood,
But forged in moments generally understood
To be the small, unnoticed, fleeting things—
The safety that a simple silence brings.
It is the hand you hold within the dark,
The kindling waiting for the crucial spark,
The knowledge that you need not check the lock,
The solid ground beneath the trembling rock.
Fishy Fishy - PC Wallpaper
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Sunday, December 14, 2025
The Damaging Impact of Jamaican Culture on The Bahamas
"Jamaican Influence" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
Yardie Imperialism and the Bahamian Identity Crisis: The Double-Edged Sword of Jamaican Musical Hegemony
Abstract - The cultural relationship between Jamaica and The Bahamas is one of profound intimacy and stark imbalance. For decades, the sonic landscape of The Bahamas has been dominated not by the indigenous rhythms of Rake 'n' Scrape or Goombay, but by the thumping basslines of Jamaican Roots Reggae and Dancehall. While the former provided a shared language of black empowerment and Pan-Africanism, the latter has introduced a set of behavioral norms, linguistic shifts, and social values that arguably threaten the distinct cultural fabric of The Bahamas. This essay examines the mechanisms of this cultural transfer, arguing that the dominance of Jamaican popular culture acts as a form of "soft imperialism" that displaces local identity, fosters imported social pathologies, and relegates authentic Bahamian artistic expression to the margins of its own society.
Saturday, December 13, 2025
Foreign Cultural Influence
"Stop Twerkin' an' Start Workin'" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
Foreign Cultural Influence
Have we noticed that foreign reggae music has infiltrated and become a big part of our Bahamian culture for many years now?
There's a Christmas event happening now on the basketball park by me. They started off by playing a half-dozen Bahamian songs then they switched to hardcore dancehall reggae and that's all they've been playin' for the last two hours. How da hell we get like dis an' what could we do 'bout it?
Beware of other cultures taking over.
Related article: The Damaging Impact of Jamaican Culture on The Bahamas
Related article: Report on Bahamian Culture
The Nativity
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
"The Nativity" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
Friday, December 12, 2025
Cat Island Flour Cakes
Cat Island Flour Cakes - ©A. Derek Catalano
My son Christopher Catalano brought me back some of those World Famous Cat Island Flour Cakes from his visit to Cat Island. Never had them before. So delicious. The perfect blend of flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. 😊
Derek
Related article: An In-Depth Look at Bahamian Cuisine
Related poem: Grits in da Mornin'
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Tuesday, December 9, 2025
There is Always Opposition
"Opposition Tug-Of-War" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
There is Always Opposition
No motion starts without a force,
No river runs a straight-line course,
For every step that you intend,
The universe will make you bend.
It is the law, ancient and deep,
That promises no easy sleep;
From atoms spinning in the void
To empires built and then destroyed,
In every breath and every plan,
In every heart of every man,
The truth remains, distinct and clear:
The Opposition is always here.
I. The Physical Weight
Observe the stone upon the hill,
It sits in silence, cold and still.
To move it requires strain and sweat,
A physical and heavy debt.
For Gravity, that jealous king,
Lays claim to every living thing.
It pulls us down, it holds us tight,
It creates the heavy, weary night.
To stand upright is to defy
The very earth, the very sky.
The friction on the moving wheel,
The rust that eats the strongest steel,
The wind that beats against the face—
Resistance fills all time and space.
There is no vacuum perfect, pure,
Where unstopped motion can endure.
The air itself is like a wall,
Waiting for the weak to fall.
But mark this truth within the gale:
Without the wind, no ship can sail.
The very force that stops the way
Is what allows the bird of prey
To catch the draft and soar on high,
To pin its wings against the sky.
The plane requires the drag to lift,
The opposition is the gift.
Thursday, December 4, 2025
Hate is Counterproductive
"Hater" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
Hate is Counterproductive
Hate is often framed as power. People use it to stand firm, to guard themselves, or to strike back when they feel wronged. It feels active instead of passive, sharp instead of soft. Yet hate is one of the most counterproductive forces in human behavior. It weakens judgment, drains energy, narrows perception, and harms both personal relationships and large communities. When examined closely, hate does far more damage to the person who holds it than to the target it aims for.
To understand why hate works against us, it helps to see what it does to our thinking. Hate simplifies. It reduces complex realities into rigid categories. A person becomes the worst thing they ever said. A group becomes a single stereotype. A situation loses all nuance and turns into a personal threat. This kind of thinking feels satisfying in the moment because it removes uncertainty, but it also shuts down learning. Once hate takes hold, it is nearly impossible to listen fairly, question assumptions, or notice changing facts. Progress depends on the flexibility to adjust when new information arrives. Hate removes that flexibility and replaces it with stubbornness.
Hate also distorts priorities. It makes people focus more on hurting an opponent than improving their own lives. This is easy to see in personal arguments. Someone who is angry often tries to make the other person feel worse rather than trying to solve the problem. On a larger scale, groups caught in hateful conflicts pour time, money, and attention into fighting the other side instead of improving their own communities. Resources that could strengthen education, health care, safety, or innovation get lost in cycles of retaliation.
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
No More Mumbo Jumbo
"Mumbo Jumbo Dance" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
No More Mumbo Jumbo
In the land where whispers roam and tales unfold,
Where the winds of nonsense scatter, wild and bold,
There came a cry, a call to arms, a plea so loud,
To shake the chains, and lift the foggy shroud.
No more mumbo jumbo, the people said,
No more the twisted lies, the truth misled.
For ages now, we’ve danced in circles tight,
Chasing shadows, turning day to night.
The mystics spoke in riddles, wrapped in smoke,
Their words were clouds, their promises a joke.
They promised answers, but their tongues were veiled,
Leaving us to wander, lost and frail.
Friends of the Environment November E-News
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Tuesday, December 2, 2025
A History of Boat Building in The Bahamas and Its Modern Trajectory
"Bahamian Sloop" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
A History of Boat Building in The Bahamas and Its Modern Trajectory
The Bahamian archipelago, comprising over 700 islands and cays scattered across the western Atlantic, is inherently a maritime nation. From its earliest Lucayan inhabitants to the modern global shipping hub of today, the sea has dictated life, commerce, and communication. Central to this enduring relationship is the craft of boat building, a tradition that evolved from dugout canoes into sophisticated sailing vessels, serving as the economic engine and cultural backbone of the Out Islands for centuries. The history of Bahamian boat building is a chronicle of adaptation, resilience, and masterful use of indigenous materials, leading to a modern industry that balances tradition with global demand.
Sunday, November 30, 2025
The Danger and Bad Reputation of Pit Bulls: Where It Comes From, What Is True, and What Is Not
"Angry Pit Bull" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
The Danger and Bad Reputation of Pit Bulls: Where It Comes From, What Is True, and What Is Not
Pit bulls carry one of the most complicated reputations in the dog world. Some people see them as loyal family pets. Others see them as unpredictable animals capable of serious harm. Both views exist for a reason, and both are tied to decades of culture, media coverage, and selective breeding. Understanding the danger and the reputation requires looking at history, behavior, statistics, and the environment in which these dogs are raised.
Friday, November 28, 2025
Thursday, November 27, 2025
Piracy in the Caribbean Today
"Pirate Powerboat" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
Piracy in the Caribbean Today
Piracy in the Caribbean is often imagined through the lens of old legends, wooden ships, buried treasure, and outlaw captains who ruled the sea. While that era ended centuries ago, the Caribbean has never fully escaped the reach of maritime crime. Modern piracy looks different from its historical version, yet it remains a real and evolving threat shaped by geography, economics, politics, and global trade. The region sits at a crossroads of international shipping routes, tourism, and drug trafficking networks. This combination creates a mix of opportunity and vulnerability that allows modern pirates and maritime criminals to operate far more often than many people realize.
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