Reading is fun
A Beaconite’s book club helped celebrate “Reading is Fun Week” once again this year, but in a new way. Last year, the club visited schools to read to kids in class. This year, the club president organised an evening reading at the Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park on Saturday. There, members read to small groups of various ages and helped them craft handmade bookmarks. Afterward, everyone came together for a group reading, and the children had a chance to answer questions and win prizes. It was delightful to see so many families come out to enjoy the event, and the Beaconite was glad to volunteer. She even got to read aloud one of her childhood favourites, Go, dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman. The Beaconite couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the week and hopes the families were able to make some happy memories.
‘W.A.P.A.’
A Beaconite recently received a public relations email offering an advance listen to “W.A.P.A.,” a new song by St. Thomas hip-hop duo R. City. The song — appearing on the new album “This Is Not A Drill… This Is Really Happening!” — uses slight autotune and a complex rhyme scheme to poke fun at the Water and Power Authority in the United States Virgin Islands. The new track — which includes lines like “Please don’t get your lights cut like W.A.P.A.” and “Every Yankee in America playin’ this track like, ‘What is this?’” — strikes a balance of a neo-drill style and Caribbean-style beat that got the Beaconite dancing in his kitchen. As with much hip-hop, it’s difficult to actually publish full lyrics as many lines are not suited for print. However, the Beaconite recommends listening to hear the USVI put on display for the international stage, and encourages rewinding again and again for a deeper understanding the humour within. He just hopes the WAPA has enough sense of humour to recognise the song as their anthem instead of taking offence. He also wonders if artists from this territory might take a page from R. City’s book and start releasing songs with titles like “BVIEC” and “WSD.”
End the violence
Monstrosity. Defined as something that is outrageously offensive or wrong. Infinitely subjective, personal and relative. Consensus seems unachievable — eons away. A Beaconite has grappled with the devastation in Gaza and its ripple effects around the world. Then she learned that a man had killed a 6-year-old boy in the United States in an alleged anti-Palestinian hate crime. The world is riven over the conflict, and that holds true even in the Virgin Islands’ peaceful corner of it. A reporter’s friend showed her comments on the war posted in the Facebook group, The Real BVI Community Board. In the forum, VI residents expressed a wide range of differing views and opinions. It’s clear that the conflict is emotionally affecting many people around the world. The Beaconite isn’t in a position to determine the best course of action, but all she can say is that she wants the violence to end. She has Jewish, Christian, atheist, agnostic, Kabbalist, Sufi, Buddhist, and Hindu friends. She herself comes from a Muslim family. She prays for everyone’s safety and calls for an end to violence, especially monstrous crimes committed in the name of religion.