Dancehall Queen is the Most Complete Jamaican Movie to Learn Jamaican Patois and Slang With No Guns

Dancehall Queen is one of those movies that anybody drawn to Jamaica or living in Jamaica has seen at least once in their life. I’ve seen Dancehall Queen several times, and every time I notice something new. This weekend was no exception as I decided to watch Dancehall Queen again.

After watching Dancehall Queen this time, I believe it is the most complete movie to learn Jamaican Patois, Slang and day to day Jamaican Culture for most Jamaicans. Dancehall Queen is the story of a downtown Kingston street vendor named Marcia (played by Audrey Reid) who tries her luck at becoming the queen of a dancehall contest hosted by Beenie Man, the self-proclaimed King of The Dancehall. Marcia, is a single mother of two girls who does what she needs to do in order to make sure her daughters get the best education and life, but this becomes costly when her older daughter, Tania, a young teen is forced to sleep with Larry (played by Carl Davis). Larry is the economic support or sugar daddy of sorts who pays for Marcia’s children to go to uptown schools while Marcia is working the street stand with her brother, Junior (played by Mark Danvers). Once Tania tells Marcia that she does not want anything to do with Larry and she resents her mother’s dependency on Larry, Marcia begins to find alternative methods of making money. While Marcia is fine tuning her skills on the dance floor, her brother, Junior, spends his time hiding from Priest (played by Paul Campbell), the man who stabbed and killed his friend, and the police chief (played by Carl Bradshaw). Once Marcia learns that Larry and Priest are both no good, she devises a plan to make sure that neither of them ever hurt her family again while still competing to be the Dancehall Queen.

The great thing about Dancehall Queen is that film is comprised of Jamaican actors speaking in the language of Jamaica, Patois. There are very few instances of Standard English being spoken in the film. This is great for the student Jamaican Patois because key phrases are spoken in the appropriate contexts. One could really not ask for more because you are able to hear patois in all the main scenarios of life such as interacting with your parents, friends, the police, boyfriend/girlfriend and just strangers on the street. Additionally, Dancehall Queen is different from other Jamaican films in that there is no excessive gun violence. The movie contains comedy elements while still some of the truths and hardships of Jamaican life, especially for people of Downtown Kingston.

Besides the ability to learn an immense amount of Jamaican Patois, there are many aspects of Jamaican culture and life displayed in the movie. This movie focuses on the life of the day to day people as opposed to the police or “badman” contained in so many other Jamaican films. For example, in one scene Tania brings home an “uptown” boy from her school to her “downtown” home for her mother and sister to meet. At first her mother, Marcia, reacts strangely to his presence, but eventually she is accepting. This division between uptown and downtown is very prominent in Jamaican culture. Generally, uptown is home to the more financially privileged people while downtown is home to the less educated and less financially privileged. This is just one example of many culturally subtleties at work. You see the interaction of the Jamaican Country folk with the City dwellers of Kingston, the relationship between single mothers and men acting as father figures to their children and of course, you experience the dancehall culture.

The idea of a dancehall queen is something very common in Jamaica and now around the world. There are dancehall competitions all around the world. These competitions were inspired by the dancehall competitions of Jamaica. In fact, foreigners have gone to Jamaica and won dancehall competitions. Just like reggae, dancehalls and dancehall competitions are elements of Jamaican culture that have been exported to the world. The movie provides a good foundation into what the dancehall competitions are like, but should not be the last resource into learning this aspect of Jamaican culture.

In conclusion, Dancehall Queen is a positive film that highlights many aspects of Jamaican culture, but also teaches us to reach for the stars and just maybe are dreams will come true.

Ras Zuke is the author of The Rastaman Vibration – The Definitive Sourc

Queens Village Foreclosed Homes – Benefits and How to Find One

Queens Village is a residential neighborhood towards the eastern part of New York City borough of Queens. A real estate boom due to neighboring New York is a key benefit. Queens Village foreclosed homes are available cheaper than the market price due to no profit motive of government and bank foreclosures. It is not difficult to find your dream foreclosure home in Queens Village if you try all best possible sources to find one.

Benefits

History – Queens Village is a less crowded neighborhood to New York City at an affordable price tag; this area was founded in 1640s, the symbol of this history is above the Long Island Railroad Station there.

Education – Education system is typical that of New York but with diversity. Some known schools of the area are Bellaire School, Edward M. Funk School and Grace Lutheran School.

Affluent Area – Queens Village is an affluent area with median income of $66, 290 as of 2008. Average home sale price is nearly $467,764.

Airports – This area is home to two major airports of New York namely John F. Kennedy and La Guardia.

Sports – This area is home to New York Mets baseball team and the USTA Billie Jean Kind National Tennis Center where annual U.S open is held.

Attractions – Queens County Farm Museum is located on a 47 acre site and is a major attraction in the area. Some historic sites nearby the museum are Abyssinian Baptist Church, Apollo Theater and Bartow-Pell Mansion etc.

How to Find a Foreclosed Home in Queens Village

Subscribe to online foreclosure listings – Find a genuine foreclosure listings website which is updated regularly. Check the website on daily basis for new foreclosure properties added in this area.

Newspaper Classifieds – Check the newspaper classified for any new foreclosure property for sale in the area.

Online Classifieds – There are several classified websites with categories for each state, city, town etc. browse through the list of properties advertised for sale in the area.

Advertisement Boards – Look for display boards advertising foreclosures for sale when you personally visit the area.

Thus abundant benefits make choosing Queens Village foreclosed homes as your dream home destination easier and it is uncomplicated to find one if your choose one of the best online foreclosure listings.

Queen’s University Academics

You’re paying big bucks to be here at Queen’s. You worked your ass off to get here and likely you’ll have to work fairly hard to stay here.

Add to that a desire to have a dazzling social, sex, and extracurriclar life and you’ve got a lot to look after.

You have to make your time here count. It’s not hard to have a great work / play balance. In fact, it’s what makes Queen’s so great. People here know how to work hard and play even harder.

Granted, working hard really is only half the battle. You have to know what you are getting yourself into. Getting a 90% average in PoliSci just ain’t going to happen – but it’s one of the most rewarding programs of study at Queen’s. In the mood for studying and headed to the second floor of Stauffer Library? Think again.

Go into your education at Queen’s armed with the advice of upper years. Your education here isn’t all about courses and grades and midterms. It’s about learning how to live on your own and how to create interesting new relationships.

study spots

Like it or not, you’ll be spending a fair bit of your time at Queen’s studying, and sometimes your ghetto house with eight million distractions just doesn’t cut it. We’ve compiled a list of some of the greatest spots on and off to campus to study.

The Common Ground

Otherwise known as CoGro, Common Ground is more than just your average study stop. Here you can enjoy a number of coffee-based beverages, along with smoothies, iced teas, and Italian sodas. They also have sandwiches (recommended: the Ham, Apple, Cheddar) and cake- really, really good cake. Located on the second floor of the JDUC, Common Ground has ample space filled with comfy sofas and armchairs, along with regular tables. It can certainly get noisy and rowdy here, but you are likely to bump into classmates who you can woo classnotes for say, the price of a Peachy Queen’s smoothie.

Fireside Reading Room

Located on the second floor of Stauffer Library is a big room filled with large oak tables and warm fireplaces. Honestly, why would you study anywhere else? The room looks out over the corner of Union and University and is a picture perfect spot for studying. It can be hard to find a table in here, especially if you want a whole one to yourself. So go early and stake a claim.

The Sleepless Goat

Located at 91 Princess Street, the Sleepless Goat, or just ‘the goat’ as regulars call it, is a workers cooperative coffee house serving up affordable fair trade coffees, desserts and vegan fare. They showcase local art on the walls and have lots of tables and chairs.

Starbucks at Johnson & Division

This Starbucks is one of the nicest coffee shops I have ever seen, as it is located inside a beautiful, old limestone building- something that was well incorporated into the store’s design. Here you will encounter the usual Starbucks fare, free wireless, and many, many students. This is a good place to study in the evenings, and is always a great place to enjoy an overly complicated drink while surfing the Internet.

Coffee and Company

Located directly across the street from the Johnson and Division Starbucks is Coffee and Company, a local chain. The selection is fairly wide here, and prices are moderate. The chai latte is well worth trying. Coffee and Co. has another location downtown at Princess and King that is far more elaborate has a good number of tables and chairs, plus the staff doesn’t mind if you stay for hours.

The Grad Club

A bar and music venues in the evenings, the Grad Club is an overlooked spot to get some daytime studying done. It’s a huge old mansion right on campus on the corner of Barrie and Union and has three floors filled with nooks and crannies for studying in. They have a limited lunch menu and cheap drinkings that flow all day long. So if that Pot Shard labelling is getting you down, just grab a tall one.

Indigo (Starbucks)

For some reason or another my favourite study spot is the Starbucks in the Indigo on Princess. Located on the top floor of Indigo there’s a small Starbucks with lots of seating and a great view of Princess street. Sure it’s nothing special, but the atmosphere is really great. They pack lots of little tables into a small space, so you are always bumping, literally, into a friend or a friend of a friend or a classmate. Plus, you are welcome to browse the selection of books at Indigo for inspiration or those well earned study breaks!

bird courses

Queen’s certainly offers some of the most stimulating and challenging courses out there; the majority of the courses I’ve taken at Queen’s were tough. However, there exists a certain batch of courses that are so hard to fail it’s nearly impossible. Read on …

Physics 020 (Physicists in the Nuclear Age): Aside from being, bar none, the easiest course I’ve ever taken at Queen’s, PITNA was a fabulous course. Boris, the prof, is well spoken, bright, and funny, and he makes the lectures fascinating. Now, I’m not sure how great this courses is going to look on your transcripts, but a 96% beside Pysics 020 can’t look that bad. C’mon, it’s ‘science’. Anyway, the course sort of delves into great physics minds of the 20th century and makes for some great dinner party conversations. If you’ve got the spare time take this course without hesitation. Everyone enjoys it.

Film 250 (Fundamentals of Production): In order to take this class you need to have Film 110, which most kids take in first year (it sounds easy, I mean you watch movies right?). Anyway, FIlm 110 is not a bird course. It’s not the hardest class there is, but it doesn’t fit into this category. Anyway, after 110 you have a wealth of film courses open to you. If you like being bored out of your skull and want an easy A, take Film 250. I guarantee you will learn next to nothing, make a short film, and walk away with a boosted GPA. Word of the wise, this is the most painfully slow moving class I have encountered. Take it in the summer session if you can, as the class hours are dramatically cut.

Health 131 (Basic Human Nutrition): This may have been the most useful course I took during my time at Queen’s – and it’s certainly up there with the least, err, challenging. After taking this course I walked away with a greater understanding of the human body, I knew how to eat well, and I got an A. The work load is light, very light. I took the course by correspondence in the summer and still managed a month long backpacking stint in Europe in the middle of the class. So, if you are at all interested in nutrition, calories, weight loss, or just general good health, take this course.

libraries

Queen’s has some amazing libraries, their collections are immense and their architecture stunning at times. Chances are you’ll be spending a fair amount of your time at Queen’s holed up in a study carrel here, paying your overdue book fees, or frantically tracking down that required reading.

Great Queen Rania Of Jordan

Queen Rania of Jordan is not only very beautiful but she is also blessed with an extreme inner beauty that radiates and touches millions of lives across the world.

Her gigantic, unparallel noble vision of providing quality education for over 75 million children of the world is groundbreaking, heart touching and her noble contributions to humanity has also touch Heaven.

The Queen is a golden example that we can all rise to our higher self, our very finest self and give to the world one of our greatest gift to humanity and be fondly remembered for all times.

Let me share with you a special wonderful write -up in glowing tribute to Queen Rania.

GREAT QUEEN RANIA OF JORDAN

… Dedicated to Queen Rania of Jordan

From birth she was chosen

A great Queen she became

From the Middle East she was called

To champion one of the noblest cause of the human race

Children of the world her great joy

Education for all her passion

1GOAL: Education for all initiative

Her vehicle for change and transformation

Provide quality education for over 75 million children of the world

Her humble dream

Favours of God and man

She shall greatly enjoy

With support from world leaders, Fifa, politicians, musicians, footballers,

All of us

And the love of God Almighty

She shall greatly attain

History will be kind to her

Generations to come shall hear of her greatness

And even the Human race shall be blessed

That a great Queen

As Queen Rania was born

-FRANCIS TITUS KING

FRANCIS TITUS KING

FOUNDER / PRESIDENT / CEO

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