San Pedro Art Show!




























San Pedro "Belizean Arts" Art Gallery and Angela Gegg
this weekend, Sat. December 19th 2009 -
Artist Confessions Book Signing & Art Show

ARTIST CONFESSIONS
already available at these locations
BOOK AGENTS:
San Ignacio: Angelus Press, Burns Ave
Belmopan: Angelus Press, Constitution Dr
Orange Walk: Angelus Press, Main St
San Pedro: Belizean Arts, Fidos
Belize City: Brodies
Northern & Downtown; Angelus Press, Queen St & San Cas Plaza;
& for an autographed copy come to the Smoky Mermaid, # 13 Cork St.

Artist Confessions, the perfect Christmas gift for that special someone!

Provoking Proshka - Channel 7 News Review Nov 13th 2009



Provoking Proshka
CHANNEL 7 NEWS -

http://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=15527

posted (November 13, 2009)


We’ve featured many artists on this newscast but Angela Gegg is in a zone of her own. She’s a writer, a poet, a painter, a thinker – and more than all that, she’s one outspoken lady. She isn’t afraid to speak her mind, write exactly what she thinks or let her art challenge notions of what’s acceptable in the public discourse. In a word, she’s bold, and…after years of consistent and quite prolific production, she’s proven that she’s committed.

She launched her new art show, “Impulse” to coincide with her birthday today. The staging ground for this major exhibit is the Institute of Mexico – which really is the only art space big enough to fit her paintings, poetry and installations.

Angela Gegg, Artist
“When people come into the exhibit it is going to kind of them a sense of not just pictures on a wall. You want to walk in and just be part of something. When you’re walking into the exhibit there is little things, I am not going to point them out, but I want people to play with their minds a little bit. So they are going to be walking through all the galleries, once the galleries are opened, watching videos, looking at crazy abstract art, looking at photography, looking cubist art, looking at all kinds of stuff and it is a bit provocative. So they say, so you people say in Belize. I personally don’t think so but they say it is provocative what I do so it is.”

But it is provocation says the artist – not just for the sake of it – the provocation is to engage the viewer.

Angela Gegg,
“Yes and I want them to think outside the box. It is not just coming in and looking at work. I want them to be part of the artwork themselves.”

And if you want to be a part of this show, you have to be prepared to be confronted with imagery that you won’t see any other artist daring to try.

Angela Gegg,
“A lot of people might not like me for it, some people love me for it. I take hits either way. Some people really appreciate what I do, some people are appalled by what I do. But personally I feel that it is the freedom to express myself, why should I not have it.

From the book, wash, mash, trophy wife, you know. And what a lot of people don’t understand is these things stem from what people may say to me or things in my life. I am trying to insult nobody, that is part of my book – it is a part of the whole installation. Like you said, you thought it was a rich girl stage. A lot of man look at me and think trophy wife and I see the opposite because I work damn hard.”

That work shows in the varied presentation, spread out over three rooms – exploring a broad range of painting styles.

Angela Gegg,
“This has been like a whole week of putting the show together. You don’t just hang stuff on walls. What we do is very very, it is a lot of work, you have to think where you want to put things. The placement of everything is specific. Nothing is done without order. Everything has a place, everything has a purpose. Nothing is done with a system and a format at all.”

The diligence demonstrated by an artist who’s been painting and writing for most of her life and she says she is far from done.

Angela Gegg,
“I love what I do, I love painting, I love writing, I love anything creative. I love building, I love anything; designing. I love art, art to me is just the best thing in the world.

There is so much to do. So much more to say. So much more to see. So much more to show.”

Angela Gegg also launched a book today and that stirs a controversial brew all its own. We’ll tell you about that on Monday.

Impulse


HER MOST PROVOCATIVE
SHOW TO DATE

IMPULSE is a multi-part art exhibit where the artist will feature paintings, drawings, photography, audio-visual installations as well as the release of her second book, ARTIST CONFESSIONS.

Artist Confessions is an Art and poetry book broken down into seven Chapters and is the prelude to her upcoming book titled, SEVEN, based on her Seven Philosophies to life. There will be Seven Performers doing a selected work from each chapter throughout the Show, the performers will be doing their interpretation of her work.

IMPULSE and ARTIST CONFESSIONS will be held on November 13th 2009 at the Institute of Mexico in Belize and is being hosted by the Mexican Ambassador to Belize.

Serena Williams FLIPS out at US OPEN... epic!

Serena Williams is one of the top female tennis players in the world. Her and sister Venus Williams are definitely a forced to be reckoned with on the court, but in a bizarre turn of events, tennis star Serena Williams completely lost it on Saturday at the US Open after being called on a rare foot fault. It was match point and a judge called her out on the foot fault.

That's when Williams, a three-time US Open winner, lost it, approached the judge and, according to the Associated Press, shrieked at the official, “If I could, I would take this … ball and shove it down your … throat." Day-um.

This was deemed unsportsmanlike and Williams was deducted a point, which, because it was already match-point, cost her the match. Her opponent, Kim Clijsters, was unranked and unseeded prior to the freak upset.

She now moves on to the next round.
See Clip Below!

The meaning of sign SCORPIO

Eighth sign of the zodiac

Your element: Water
Your ruling planet: Mars and Pluto
Tarot card corresponding to your sign: Death
Your lucky color: Black
Your stone: Amethyst


First, a word about your tarot card, the significance of which might be worrying you. Know that, in the symbolism of the tarot, Death indicates that which dies in order to be born anew in a better form. When it is reversed the Death card may indeed mean the end of something. But when it is right side up it evokes rebirth, renewal, a new beginning. This is characteristic of your sign. You sometimes have a tendency to link the very good with the very negative.

Like all the signs of Water you are a very deep, mysterious, unfathomable being, sometimes inaccessible and uncontrollable. Your unconscious is so strong and so rich that psychoanalysis seems to have been invented for you. Your imagination is very powerful and very fertile. When you were very young, for example, you had thoughts which exceeded those of other children your age.

With you there is no chance of either dullness or mediocrity. You have a taste for the absolute, and this is why existence sometimes seems difficult to you. You would like your life to be in perpetual movement, always fed by novelty and the exceptional. This isn't always easy to achieve, and you don't always give yourself the means to make it happen, even when great changes pass within your reach.

The influence of Mars can make you combative and masterful. But be careful, because Pluto stirs up your deepest doubts and worries in order to draw you towards failure. This opposition means that sometimes you end up destroying what you love.

In love, you have many requirements and many spiritual states that others sometimes have difficulty following. You occasionally run the risk of ruining relationships by giving too much importance to difficulties which could have been resolved with more understanding.

You are fully conscious of your great qualities: an enterprising spirit, imagination, sensuality, charm, magnetism. But you also know your faults: desire for control, self-injurious behavior, impassioned behavior, tendency to complicate things and situations.

The people who succeed in life are often those who know consciously or unconsciously to make the most of their talents, their advantages, and their strengths, while understanding how to maintain control over their weaknesses.


*This short, unassuming analysis can help you to better conduct your existence. To learn to know yourself better allows you to maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

Opening Night of the Belize Film Festival

Mr Peters (featured in The Three Belizean Kings) and Angela Gegg
Miss Carrie Fairwether, Florencio Mes (of The Three Belizean Kings) and Angela Gegg
Cybel Martin (NYC Film-Maker), William Neal and Angela Gegg
Bone TV interviewing Mr. Florencio Mes (of The Three Belizean Kings)
Interviewing Angela Gegg

The Belize International Film Festival opened on Friday July twenty fourth at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts. More than thirty five films will be showcased during this year’s festival and caters to all kind of movie lovers. Suzette Zayden of the Institute of Creative Arts is the festival organizer.

One of the main goals of the Belize International Film Festival, however, is to bring to centerstage films that are being made in the Caribbean and Central American regions along with Southern Mexico. These areas all have their own rich stories to tell, but whose themes and backgrounds all resonate strongly with our Belizean cultural traditions and way of life. In an effort to shine a stronger light on these often overshadowed regions, we have limited the submission of Short Films and Short Documentaries as open only to films from these regions.

Belize is a country blessed with rich cultural diversity amongst its peoples and amazing natural resources – on land, in the sea and even underground through it vast network of caves and now the recent discovery of oil in 2005. Belize, the only English Speaking country in Central American is also geographically the country looked most upon by CARICOM and SICA to be a critical link between the Caribbean and Central America regions. The Belize International Film Festival lives up to this expectation and continues in its aspirations to be an annual event that is looked forward to by both Belizeans and Visitors alike for its ability to bring together films, filmmakers and film enthusiasts from all over Belize, our neighboring regions and eventually the world to the Bliss Center in Belize City for 10 exciting days in July.



Yasser Musa's 20 Years of Art

Angela Gegg, Yasser Musa, Chantal Castillo

Ivan Duran & Angela Gegg

Chantal Castillo, Angela Gegg, Former Prime Minister to Belize, Said Musa

Angela Gegg, William Neal, Dian Haylock


Yasser Musa – 20 Years of Art – 1989/2009

Yasser Musa has been making art for 20 years. He is an art activist, promoter, poet, publisher and teacher. His entrance into the culture arena was at the end of junior college in 1989 with the self published first book of poems tilted “Poems.”

His visual art beginning came in August 1992 with Minus 8 a multi-media collaboration with Ivan Duran. Held at the then Bliss Institute Minus 8 directly questioned the traditional consensus of art pressing for a new understanding of the media and technological visual landscape.

His first solo exhibit came in 1995 titled Coming Out with a set of 50 paintings. He participated in his first international show Minus 5 at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans. Musa founded the Image Factory Art Foundation in June 1995, an institution which has been at the vanguard of promoting, exhibiting and publishing visual artists in Belize.

In 1996 he published the Belize City Poem which was made into a fifteen minute video. He has created several project works including, (a) The Clothes Line Project, (b) The Banana Boy Project, (c) The Facial Project (d) The Condensed Milk Project, and (e) Diary of a 100 Objects.

In 2000 Musa was part of a team of young Belizean artists organized by Joan Duran to present for the first time a collective approach to the internationalization of Belizean visual art. The exhibit Zero – new Belizean art opened in Merida, Yucatan in March 2000 and saw a massive 17,000 visitors. The exhibit went on tour to Cuba, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Portugal, and Spain.

Starting in 2004 Musa was a leading participant in the landings contemporary art project involving artists from Central America, the Caribbean and South Eastern Mexico.

As part of the 20 Years of Art show Musa released loose electricity a set of recorded poems on CD.

Musa’s latest work The Mahogany Project was presented at the exhibit opening. The Mahogany Project is a participatory art action where the artist will engage some 100 persons to plant a Mahogany tree in a space of their choice, and he will attempt to monitor the progress of the growth of the trees over a 20 year time period.

The exhibition opened on Friday July 17, 2009 at 7:00pm. There are some 45 works of art, 5 videos, and 3 panels of printed material. The show will run until August 14.

Honduras gets it Again - 5.7 this time


5.7 magnitude, offshore Honduras. Sunday, June 07, 2009 at 11:13:16 PM at epicenter

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — A 5.7-magnitude earthquake has shaken Honduras but there are no reports of injuries or damage.

The United States Geological Survey says the quake struck at 11:13 pm yesterday and was centered 15 miles (24 kilometres) northwest of the Caribbean coastal town of La Ceiba.

Honduras is still recovering from a 7.3-magnitude earthquake May 28 near La Ceiba which was also felt in Belize, Guatemala and mexico and killed seven people, injured 40 others, and caused US$100 million in damage.

Another Earthquake!


Ok guys so I know I'm not crazy. Last night (technically early this morning) at minutes to 1am, i woke up to a slight rocking of my bed. I am a very very light sleeper and woke up thinking "shit, another earthquake". It was very minimal and then I went back to bed. When i woke up today I had a meeting with my sister and mom and mentioned to them both that we had another earthquake and they both told me that we did not, that I must have been dreaming.

Anyway, I decided to check the USGS Earthquake Website, which record every earthquake, and it turns out I was right.
This one was only a 5.0 and was not as close as the 7.1 which struck last week.

Below is the Prelimenary Earthquake Report



Preliminary Earthquake Report

Magnitude 5.0
Date-Time
  • Tuesday, June 02, 2009 at 12:43:42 AM local time at epicenter




  • Location 15.51N 86.41W
    Depth 10.0 kilometers
    Region HONDURAS
    Distances 45 km (30 miles) SE of La Ceiba, Honduras
    85 km (55 miles) NNW of Juticalpa, Honduras
    180 km (110 miles) NNE of TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras
    1305 km (810 miles) SSW of Miami, Florida
    Location Uncertainty Error estimate: horizontal +/- 6.3 km; depth fixed by location program
    Parameters Nst=123, Nph=123, Dmin=184.5 km, Rmss=1.25 sec, Erho=6.3 km, Erzz=0 km, Gp=101.2 degrees
    Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

    AIR FRANCE flight 447

    An airplane seat, a fuel slick and pieces of white debris scattered over three miles of open ocean marked the site in the mid-Atlantic Tuesday where Air France Flight 447 plunged to its doom, Brazil's defense minister said.

    Brazilian military pilots spotted the wreckage, sad reminders bobbing on waves, in the ocean 400 miles northeast of these islands off Brazil's coast. The plane carrying 228 people vanished Sunday about four hours into its flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

    "I can confirm that the five kilometers of debris are those of the Air France plane," Defense Minister Nelson Jobim told reporters at a hushed press conference in Rio. He said no bodies had been found and there was no sign of life.

    The effort to recover the debris and locate the all-important black box recorders, which emit signals for only 30 days, is expected to be exceedingly challenging.

    "We are in a race against the clock in extremely difficult weather conditions and in a zone where depths reach up to 7,000 meters (22,966 feet)," French Prime Minister Francois Fillon told lawmakers in parliament Tuesday .

    Brazilian military pilots first spotted the floating debris early Tuesday in two areas about 35 miles (60 kilometers) apart, said Air Force spokesman Jorge Amaral. The area is not far off the flight path of Flight 447.

    The cause of the crash will not be known until the black boxes are recovered — which could take days or weeks. But weather and aviation experts are focusing on the possibility of a collision with a brutal storm that sent winds of 100 mph straight into the airliner's path.

    Rescuers were still scanning a vast sweep of ocean. If no survivors are found, it would be the world's worst civil aviation disaster since the November 2001 crash of an American Airlines jetliner in the New York City borough of Queens that killed 265 people.

    Quake of 7.1 magnitude strikes off Honduras

    A powerful earthquake of 7.1 magnitude struck northeast of Roatan in Honduras early on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake that hit 39 miles northeast of Roatan, Islas de la Bahia, had a shallow depth of 6.2 miles. It struck at latitude 16.783 and longitude 86.166, USGS said.

    A tsunami watch was in effect for Honduras and Belize, Guatemala, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. “There is a possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts located usually no more than 100 kilometers from the earthquake epicenter,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said on its Web site.

    There are at least five confirmed deaths reported in Honduras and there is heavy damage to the Democracy Bridge in El Progresso. There are also, reports of major structural damage to buildings in San Pedro Sula.

    In Belize, at least three homes have been destroyed and a water tower collapsed in Indepence Village down South. Roads are cracked and sink holes are appearing all over Belize and it's outlaying islands.

    There are now reports coming in from Roatan of major structural damage to many structures and three unconfirmed reports of deaths.

    The quake was originally reported to have a 7.4 magnitude.

    UPDATE - MAY 29th, 2009

    Two more earthquakes have occurred in Honduras as of this morning. One inland south of the port town La Ceiba another west of Utila island in the Caribbean Sea. The quakes were a magnitude of 4.8 and 4.6 respectively.

    The major earthquake from the day before has now been upgraded to a 7.3 magnitude earthquake.

    TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

    First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

    They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.

    Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.

    We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

    As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

    Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

    We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.

    We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this..

    We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY? Because we were always outside playing...that's why!

    We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

    No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were O.K.

    We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

    We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

    We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

    We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

    We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

    We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.

    Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

    Imagine that!!

    The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

    These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

    The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

    We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
    If YOU are one of them?

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    R.I.P. Baby Gegg - the Cancer has taken her life!













    These pics were taken about an hour before my Baby went off to doggie heaven. My mother took pics of us, I'm so grateful for this. If you have been following my blog you might know that Baby has been suffering with mast cell tumors, which were malignant and at stage 3 of 4. After two operations and removing the tumors they only seemed to become more aggressive and spread. I had looked into an alternative medicine which some say cures cancer in Humans, a product called Xango, a juice made from the mangostein fruit, but maybe it doesn't really work or maybe it was just too late.Baby had stopped eating entirely and was basically living on the Xango which i was feeding her with a syringe orally. She refused to even have that as of Tuesday night, May 5th. Ironically because of her condition, she couldn't walk, eat or use the rest-room, my family suggested that I put her out of her misery and the vets came over that same day. I was far too emotional to make that decision and could not go through with it. They told me that i needed to take her into consideration because the quality of her life had completely diminished, they said they thought I was keeping her with me because it hurt too much to let her go. The vets told me that she would probably let me know what she wanted to do, that same evening she refused the xango, to my distress. On Wed morning she started vomiting her insides, masses of yellow bile and black bloody looking chunks, my poor little girl just faded away in front of my eyes.


    I find that many people don't understand my torture of the situation and love for animals. Baby Gegg was my oldest and lived a beautiful decade of doggie years. Nine years ago I adopted her from the ASPCA in Houston, Texas, where she lived with me and me alone. Baby was my only companion for years and I spent every second with her, walking, driving around, training. She became very human like to me and was the funniest lil girl ever. My memories of her are simply beautiful. When ever I was sad she knew and made it better. She always related to my feeling and always knew just what to do to make mommy feel better. She was also a very obedient and good girl, she never used the bathroom in the house, when she wanted to go out she used to do the cutest little growl and dance. It was the cutest thing ever. She also never needed a leash and was the smartest little girl. I was very blessed to have had her in my life. The sadness has been overwhelming but i know I need to pull myself back together for the sake of my 6 other beautiful dogs. I feel that when Baby was ill I neglected the rest of the pack and know that I need to just let her go and hold on to my precious memories. God bless you my Baby Girl. R.I.P.

    The Mexican government has closed schools, museums, and libraries in an effort to curb the outbreak of the “swine flu.”

    The World Health Organization says the virus has killed dozens of people there, but it’s not declaring a pandemic yet.

    Mexico shut down schools, museums, libraries and state-run theaters across its overcrowded capital Friday in hopes of containing a swine flu outbreak that authorities say killed at least 20 people — and perhaps dozens more. World health authorities worried openly that the strange new virus could become a global epidemic.

    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said tests show some of the Mexico victims died from the same new strain of swine flu that sickened eight people in Texas and California. Of the 14 samples tested from Mexico, seven were matches, said the CDC's acting director Dr. Richard Besser.

    Mexico put the confirmed toll at 20 dead, but 40 other fatalities were being probed, and at least 943 nationwide were sick from the suspected flu, the health department said.

    Scientists said the virus combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not seen before.

    “We are very, very concerned,” World Health Organization spokesman Thomas Abraham said.

    “We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human,” he said. “It’s all hands on deck at the moment.”

    President Felipe Calderon cancelled a trip and met with his Cabinet to coordinate Mexico’s response. The government planned to administer its remaining 500,000 vaccines from the flu season to health workers, the highest risk group, although it is not known how effective they are on swine flu. It said it also has enough oseltamivir, the generic name of Tamiflu, to treat 1 million people, but the medicine will be strictly controlled and handed out only by doctors.

    The CDC says Tamiflu and Relenza do seem effective against the new strain. Roche, the maker of Tamiflu, said the company is prepared to immediately deploy a stockpile of the drug if requested. Both drugs must be taken early, within a few days of the onset of symptoms, to be most effective.

    Authorities urged people to avoid hospitals unless they had a medical emergency, since hospitals are centers of infection.

    They also said Mexicans should refrain from customary greetings such as shaking hands or kissing cheeks, and authorities at Mexico City’s international airport were questioning passengers to try to prevent anybody with possible influenza from boarding airplanes and spreading the disease.

    But the CDC said Americans need not avoid traveling to Mexico, as long as they take the usual precautions, such as frequent handwashing.

    “We certainly have 60 deaths that we can’t be sure are from the same virus, but it is probable,” said Health Secretary Jose Cordova. He called it a “new, different strain ... that originally came from pigs.”

    Epidemiologists are particularly concerned because the only people killed so far were normally less-vulnerable young people and adults. It’s possible that more vulnerable populations — infants and the aged — had been vaccinated against other strains, and that those vaccines may be providing some protection.

    All eight U.S. patients recovered from symptoms that were like those of the regular flu, mostly involving fever, cough and sore throat, though some of them also experienced vomiting and diarrhea.

    Scientists have long been concerned that a new flu virus could launch a pandemic, a worldwide spread of a killer disease. A new virus could evolve when different flu viruses infect a pig, a person or a bird, mingling their genetic material. The resulting hybrid could spread quickly because people would have no natural defenses against it.

    I NEED to finish this painting!!!



    Something that of late I have not been able to do, circumstance out of my control caused me to leave my studio - hence why I have not been able to freely paint as I used to. Painting is much like therapy, for someone with my levels of anxiety and creative mind, when the desire to paint comes up its a thirst that must be quenched, otherwise it might drive my artist mind to the brink of insanity.

    For now I will gather my paints and brushes and set up a "in the mean-time" studio space that I will clear away at the end of my session and TRY to finish this one that i have been working on. She (the painting that is) is untitled to date, but if you are a follower of my work and collections, she is clearly from my BODY DISMORPHIC collection. So for now, I paint.

    Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Belize

    Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Belize
    posted (April 14, 2009 - from the Channel 7 Belize News Archives)

    Andrew Zimmern is known for eating the most bizarre things...all kinds of insects, all kinds and forms of animal reproductive organs, basically anything that moves, he’ll eat. If you’ve seen his show on the Travel Channel, you’ll know what we’re talking about but if you haven’t, you’ll want to watch it next season because Zimmern is shooting a show in Belize. Keith Swift got a preview.

    Keith Swift Reporting,
    He’s eaten Volga – a kind of dried fish in St. Petersburg Russia, nibbled on cow tongue in Russia, and eaten a fried pattie made out of the flesh from a brown bear - and he did all that in just one episode of his show - Bizarre Foods.

    But when we met the Travel Channel star behind the scenes last week in the lush jungle of Arenal in western Belize he wasn’t eating anything exotic. In fact he wasn’t eating at all, he was creating …………….art.

    Andrew Zimmern, Travel Channel
    “I took a tour of the art park. I love art, so I was really interested in coming here. It is a great story that installations are left to allow nature to sort of surround the pieces here and morph and change the pieces and allows people to experience art in a different sort of gallery if you will and then I joined the students who have been working on this project for a year. So we spent the last hour or so finishing it and installing my monitor that I personalized and the little kid who is watching it sort of stunned.”

    Zimmer took us inside the filming the first episode of his new show – “Bizarre World” at the Poustinia Land Art Park in Arenal.

    Andrew Zimmern,
    “This is our first show in the Bizarre World series. So it is a really a momentous occasion for us and we’re just thrilled to be ale to kick it off in Belize.

    Bizarre World allows me to cover stories that aren’t about food. The show will be about half food and allows me to do things like this, art installation stories which is certainly unusual. It is a provocative idea. It is something we believe belongs in this show about Belize but I am not eating anything.”

    But he still plans to sample bizarre foods in Belize.

    Andrew Zimmern,
    “I will be eating some stuff in Bizarre. We are eating some jungle rat, I am doing some Creole hot pot drop cookery, some traditional kind of stuff, and along the way I am finding anything from stinky fruits to termite nests that I like to snack on because I am kind of addicted to the taste from spending a lot of time in the outback of Australia.”

    Keith Swift,
    Has there been anything you’ve refused to eat?

    Andrew Zimmern,
    “The only thing that I’ve said no to was tap water in India.”

    Keith Swift,
    Why is that?

    Andrew Zimmern,
    “Because that is a three day trip to the hospital.”

    Zimmern filmed the episode along with an 8 member crew. He says there is a reason why he chose Belize.

    Andrew Zimmern,
    “There are is more than just ancient Mayan cultures and beaches here. Now we are exploring both of those because we think there are stories interesting for folks who will never make it here but we also want to talk about the Creole population, we also want to talk about the indigenous food, we also want to take our cameras into the art park here. We want to connect people in the rest of the world, it shows in 70 countries, with the citizens of this country and show them really what makes Belize tick.”

    Brent Toombs, Oxa Productions
    “We will go to ATM for a day there, then we spend some time in Xunantunich. After Xunantunich we go over to San Pedro to spend a day there doing some stuff on the water and then some bizarre food type stuff at Rojo Lounge up in North Ambergris Caye and then we go down to Toledo in San Pedro Colombia Village doing kind of a Mayan feast with a family there and then we wrap up in Gales Point. We’re going to do a traditional Sambai with the people in Gales Point.”

    Andrew Zimmern,
    “I’ve been here for about a day now and it is a place I’ve always wanted to come for the last ten or fifteen years, very badly, and sadly I do too much travelling for work so I’m glad that I am finally here.”

    No air date has been set for the show. Zimmern left the country over the Easter.

    My dog has Cancer :(

    BABY GEGG UPDATE -
    It has been 3 months since Baby Gegg's second surgery, the pics in the below cut is now almost completely healed, after three months of nursing her and packing the cut opening with sulpher so as to dry it out. But sad to say that the tumors have come back in full force and are now popping out all over her body. I has sent the tumor abroad for testing and the results came back with full blown cancer and they say her life expectancy is not high. I just came in from being with her, rubbing her tummy and playing with her, she is such a happy girl. It's hard to imaging that my ten year old baby girl who still seem so full of life has cancer and tumors that are covering her body. I don't know what to do, what to give her, how to cure her. The vet says there is nothing more i can do bc she can not go under again bc of her age, so i wont be able to remove the new tumors, and they also say that the tumors will continue to grow and come back. I'm devastated :(
    ---------------------

    My baby girl, my oldest doggie, Baby gegg, was diagnosed with cancer this January, they found a tumor in her and had to go in to operate. The first operation was back in October, 2008 it went well, they sliced open her leg and cut the tumor out, when they restitched they put those disposable inside stitches as well gave her a very clean sew up on the outside of the cut. The second surgery was in January of this year.
    A few months ago we noticed that the lump grew right back and the vet suggested we get her in for surgery immediately, which we did. Here is what the new, bigger cut looked like. They sliced my poor baby girl open again, this time making a HUGE incision, where they removed a very large amount of her insides and sewed her back together. When i went to see her at the vet I started balling my eyes out as she was shaking and her tongue was sticking wayyyy out, it was horrific. I also noticed that the cut was no where neat as the first time. I took a few pics of this terrible cut, and hoped that it would have a successful heal, taking all the necessary precautions and healing procedures. My poor baby even had to wear that martini looking thing around her head so that she wouldn't lick it.
    After a while the cut looked like this, really disgusting I know. To me this thing looks disgusting and not right. It looks horrific, doesn't it??? And it only keeps getting worse. I called my vet freaking out (because we all know i can be a bit dramatic at times, especially when it comes ot my kids) and she assured me that this shit is normal... NORMAL?!?!
    DOES THIS LOOK NORMAL??????????????????????? I certainly do not think that this is a normal curing process, is this really ok for a cut to heal like this. I put my hand an inch over the would and can feel the heat coming out of it, I think it is infected and am very worried because my Baby Gegg (the dogs name) is already 10 years old, and this is her second surgery in 6 months...


    March 2009 - Women In Art

    Belize is celebrating Women's Month 2009 with several activities in all the districts. The Institute of Mexico and the National Institute of Culture and History presented the Exhibition “Women in Art”, a magnificent collection of Belizean Women artistic creations, about 30 women participated in this exhibit. This was considered one of the most important projects of the Institute of Mexico for the past three years. “Women in Art” was be inaugurated at the Institute of Mexico on March 11th at 7:00pm and will be opened to the public until April 2nd, 2009.

    At the Art Show
    A section of Art from LOLA, the artist

    Women in the Exhibit

    Proshka Photography

    Gilvano Swasey, the curator of the show & fellow Artists

    EXERT FROM THE AMANDALA NEWSPAPER
    The Mexican Institute in Belize City plays host to an impressive exhibit of the works of Belizean women artists whose creations are being showcased in the Women in Art Exhibit, organized by the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) as a part of Women’s Month 2009.

    “Women and art, whether we look at these two words individually or collectively, have always been undervalued, underappreciated, and quite often misunderstood. When we think of female artists in Belize, the names Rachel Heusner and Carolyn Carr, to many are perhaps the only names that come to mind,” said Icilda Humes, Director of the Women’s Department, in the keynote address. “...there has not been enough done to feature the work and talent of women who perhaps have not been able to reach the stature of prominence as others.” Humes said that it has been a while since such a showcase of women’s art has been organized, and she applauded NICH for resurrecting exhibition as a part of Women’s Month 2009.

    The event is the first highlight of a month of activities being spearheaded through the collaborative partnership of the Women’s Department, the National Women’s commission, the Women’s Issues Network and NICH. Mexican Ambassador, Luis Manuel Lopez Moreno, gave the welcome remarks, which was followed by a video montage of Belizean artists and their works.

    Poet Angela Gegg recited two pieces: Baby Mama, Baby Drama; and You Are the Bain of My Existence.
    Tanya Carter treated the audience to a live performance of her hit song, Show Me. I followed with my latest composition, a poem titled, Ballad of a Belizean Woman. After the performances, NICH president, Diane Haylock, gave the vote of thanks, and expressed her appreciation to all the people who contributed to making the event a success, especially the many women artists, and curator, Gilvano Swasey.

    Haylock also welcomed home Belizean writer, Zoila Ellis, based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and her husband, Mike Brown, Minister of National Mobilization in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. After the formalities, the ribbon was cut for the opening of a three-part, audio-visual exhibit featuring the works of an array of women artists, including digital photography works of Mrs. Myrtle Palacio, Carolyn Carr, Winsom Winsom, Nashanda Higinio, Mary Sabal, Ingrid Cayetano, and much more. Some highlights are Sabal’s ethnic and folkloric dolls, Cayetano’s fine needlework, and Higinio’s rich oil paintings.

    Belizeans are invited to see the exhibit, which runs through to April 2.

    NICH has organized two activities for Women’s Month. Apart from tonight’s exhibit, NICH is also presenting the grand Women in Art Showcase at the Bliss on Friday, March 27, featuring performing artist, Billie Jean Young, the first Black graduate of Judson College in Marion, Alabama, USA, performing Three Women Talking.
    Belizean artists featured on the line-up are the Belize Dance Company, Samantha Smith, Tanya Carter, Angela Gegg and Adele Ramos.

    http://www.amandala.com.bz/index.php?id=8288

    WATCH MY PERFORMANCE AT THE SHOW BELOW:







    WOMEN IN ART EXHIBIT BELOW:






    Amazing Stingray Migration in the Gulf of Mexico

    Looking like giant leaves floating in the sea, thousands of Golden Rays are seen here gathering off the coast of Mexico .The spectacular scene was captured as the magnificent creatures made one of their biannual mass migrations to more agreeable waters.

    Gliding silently beneath the waves, they turned vast areas of blue water to gold off the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula . Sandra Critelli, an amateur photographer, stumbled across the phenomenon while looking for whale sharks. She said: 'It was an unreal image, very difficult to describe. The surface of the water was covered by warm and different shades of gold and looked like a bed of autumn leaves gently moved by the wind.

    'We were surrounded by them without seeing the edge of the school and we could see many under the water surface too. I feel very fortunate I was there in the right place at the right time to experience nature at its best'
    Measuring up to 7ft (2.1 meters) from wing-tip to wing-tip, Golden rays are also more prosaically known as cow nose rays.
    They have long, pointed pectoral fins that separate into two lobes in front of their high-domed heads and give them a cow-like appearance. Despite having poisonous stingers, they are known to be shy and non-threatening when in large schools.
    The population in the Gulf of Mexico migrates, in schools of as many as 10,000, clockwise from western Florida to the Yucatan
    'It's hard to say exactly how many there were, but in the range of a few thousand'

    PROSHKA ART...






    Here, you can learn about Proshka the Artist, Angela Gegg. You can view her paintings and her writings and her artistic vision. You can view news links and press articles written about her works, exhibits and accomplishments in the Art Industry, on a local, regional, and international level.