Epic Fail: My rendezvous with Marley

I went ballistic when Ate Fred told me about a Bob Marley photo exhibit that kicked off about a week ago here in Dubai.  Gulf photo plus -  the hub of a dynamic community of photographers in the Middle East brought acclaimed American photo journalist David Burnett in Dubai for a display of his Bob Marley photos and a series of workshops. Burnett began working as a freelance photographer for Life and Time magazines allowing him to travel extensively and capture timeless moments for almost 4 centuries now.  He was named one of the "100 Most Important People in Photography" by the American Photo magazine.  

The show displays photos he incorporated in his first book, Soul Rebel: An Intimate Portrait of Bob Marley in Jamaica and Beyond. It features the Marley's music and his contemporaries, photographed first in Jamaica in 1976, then during his European tour spring of 1977.  He said a lot of interesting things during his shoot with Bob in Kingston.  In an interview with The New York Times (2009) I chanced upon a lot of engaging details and for some reason I was fixated on this question.

Q. Did you get a contact high when you were with Bob Marley?

A. Well, I will say this: When you’re at the home of Bob Marley and he lights up a spliff, because that’s what he does, and he passes it around — your job is to be a very good guest. And I was a very good guest. I’m not sure my pictures got any better, but there’s always that hope.

Last Thursday I called GPP to inquire about the exhibit timings and I specifically asked if they were open on Fridays and the person I spoke with said yes.  So I invited my friends to come spend a few hours with me and Bob. Yesterday we drove all the way to Al Quoz Industrial Area I in high spirits, only to find out they were closed.  Sobrang bad trip lang.  Good thing the office was built with glass doors so we were able to get a sneak peek (literally) of Burnett's works.  

 Bob Marley

  Rach trying to break the door, I mean catch a glimpse. =D

 Viva Santo Tomas! =D

  Ang effort nito pagpipicture ni Chat, ahahaha.

Forcing a smile. Hay.

 I love this.

 ...and this, lahat naman ata eh. =D

  Closed on Fridays and Saturdays. TSK.

 Scribbling my thoughts.

 Failed.

  Glass etching

   Makapagpa-picture na nga lang. Hahahaha.

WIM that day:

Hendrix shirt from my friend Puroy

H&M tights

Doc Marten's boots

Zara satchel

Trying to change my mood

Feeling unaffected (chos, apektado ako no!), we thought of various ways to improve our day.  We went to church, window shopping (kuno, pero d pa rin napigilan mamili), made a video for a friend (if you're reading this, you owe us big time, LOL!), grocery shopping and for a change we stayed outdoors to enjoy the final days of the cold weather.  Here are some photos we took, camwhoring galore ang peg. 

 Tambay

 Happy

 Angas daw to, hahaha.

  Anong inaantay nyo mga Inday? =D

 Ganito kame magusap kapag nagpapacute. Bwahahaha.

 Buti na lang walang audio ang picture kung di wa-poise sana tong kuha na to. =D

  Rona. I so love the neon pink Vans shoes. =D 

  Rach and I in red footwear =D

 Failed jump shot

  My favorite. =D

  =)

  Chat and Rona, tambay sa sidewalk

 Love the James Dean and Paul McCartney shirts

I'm still hoping to get a glance of this rare exhibition.  I'd try to make time for it. However, this seems impossible to do considering they're open on weekdays and office hours.  Bahala na si Batman. So for enthusiasts who might want to drop by, check out the details below.

Exhibition: ‘Soul Rebel’ until April 5, 2012 at Gulf Photo Plus, Al Serkal Avenue, Al Quoz (04 380 8545)
Artist: David Burnett

Price range of works: Dhs 5000 to Dhs18,370

"Bob Marley was born in the countryside up in Nine Mile but at an early age lived in Kingston. And Kingston was then — and still is — a pretty tough town and very polarized politically. Out of that turmoil and street violence came an amazing array of very poetic and sensitive music. He was a gifted poet who really understood the most basic things about human interaction. And this is what you feel in his songs."         - David Burnett 

  

One LOVE.

While Kaya is enjoying her much awaited semestral break in Mindoro, I was finding ways to occupy my mind with happy thoughts. Over the weekend I again started battling a strong case of homesickness. I was checking out Kaya's photos that JM sent me and I was a total wreck. I went to church in the afternoon and I found myself crying some more. I honestly didn't expect myself to be so homesick. I've this strong distinct feeling of not enjoying myself, wanting to go home and just be with my Kaya. I mean I love this place, I just hate not having the people I love most around. Once again I'd like to applaud my ever loving girlfriends for knowing exactly how to handle my sappy attacks. We went shopping. Thank you universe for giving birth to retail therapy. I'll tell you more about my latest purchases in my upcoming entries. Aside from our personal stuff, we shopped for Christmas gifts we'd like to send back home. As I was hunting for Kaya's gifts, I thought about this book my brother JM asked me to check out for Kaya. It was a brilliant gift idea since she's really into books plus she undeniably adores Bob Marley.

The book is called One Love, written by the oldest child of Bob Marley, Cedella Marley. It is an adaptation of Bob's song of the same name, which happens to be Kaya's favorite. The story is a about a girl who persuaded her community to engage in activities to transform their neighborhood for the better. The book comes with colorful illustrations by Vanessa Brantley-Newton. “One Love is not only one of my favorite of my father’s songs, but it’s one that children love to sing as well,” Cedella said in one interview. “I loved the idea of giving them a new way to experience the song, and also spread the message of ‘One Love’ to a new generation.” Chronicle, One Love's publisher has already started working with Cedella on another Bob Marley hit, “Three Little Birds” - one of my favorites. “I’m really looking forward to seeing children reading and singing the line, ‘Every little thing’s gonna be alright.’”

I called Magrudy's and I was delighted to know the book is available so I reserved one for Kaya. So for all you drafting the Christmas lineup, I strongly recommend this on your list.  You can click on the Amazon website to shop online.

The book cover

Road to happiness

Cedella Marley, copyright © Peter Dean Rickards

Aside from writing books, Cedella is also a fashion designer and I'm a huge fan.  I just love her creations.  She is in fact teaming up with Puma to design the Jamaican track and field team’s kit for the London 2012 Olympic Games.  Check out her collection and shop here now. 


Here's the book trailer:

Cedella Marley talks about "One Love"

Photos taken from: marleycoffee.com

“When my father sang ‘One Love,’ he felt it all the way - heart and soul, mind and body. He thought a world united by love was possible, and it is. All we’ve got to do, he said, is ‘Give a little, take a little.’"- Cedella Marley

Let's get high on ORGANIC.

About a week and a half ago my brother JM, sounded really excited when we had our usual phone conversation. He said "Ate! May bago akong nabili, maiinggit ka!" I said, "Ano yun?" He goes, "Ang Billabong may Bob Marley collection for this summer." I replied, "Weh, d nga?" He said, "Oo nga!" in his ano-ba-yan-ate-wala-kang-alam-saang-planeta-ka-ba-galing tone. So stimulated by his latest purchase, he wanted us to turn the webcam on so he can show it off, animal talaga. I must admit, I was so envious that I immediately checked on-line if there are designs for ladies too. Unfortunately, WALEY! =(

Billabong partners with Marley & Co. for this eco-friendly spring line for 2011, hence the birth of Bob Marley x Billabong. The collection was tagged as "An apparel line committed to organic earth-friendly products". It was launched in Manila last February at the Rockwell Tent in an Irie festivity that brought together reggae acts like Cosmic Love, Spy, Coffee Break Island, and Tropical Depression who performed their own versions of Bob Marley songs. Here are some photos taken during that fiery night. (Photos taken from billabong.com/asia)

Here's the complete heap as shown in the Billabong website. To shop, you may go to this link http://www.billabong.com/asia/product-cat/345/bob-marley-x-billabong-collection.

So I went to the mall to check out these Bob Marley x Billabong items. In Billabong Dubai Mall  I saw one boardshort, some shirts and the wallet. Now I'm thinking it's really not a good idea to post this because you-know-who would surely have this bought for him. I'm still disappointed kasi waley pambabae. 

These are photos from JM, he was too excited to model for me but he doesn't want to show his face. Ahahaha, marunong din naman palang mahiya. He bought this at a skate and surf shop called Aloha Boardsports. They have branches in Rockwell, Alabang Town Center, Trinoma, Sm Megamall and SM Mall of Asia. I sure will visit this store when I go home a few months from now.

Photos by: JM, me and others taken from www.billabong.com/asia