Vote For Geoffrey Philp’s Blog @ Jamaica Blog Awards

For the second year in a row, my blog has been nominated in the Best Overseas Blog category of the Jamaica Blog Awards. Give thanks!


Since I began using Google Analytics on Monday, October 26, 2006, this site has had over 500,000 visitors from 217 locations:

The white areas represent locations where I've recorded only one visitor. Not to worry, Pinky. Tomorrow the world!


Readers have come from as far away as Tajikstan and as near as Hialeah, yet the top ten locations have remained stable:

1. United States: 141,604
2. Jamaica: 23,034
3. United Kingdom: 17,856
4. Canada: 15,880
5. Trinidad and Tobago: 11,142
6. India: 10,552
7. Philippines: 8,206
8. France: 8,042
9. China: 7,512
10. Germany: 5,132

Many of the readers are students seeking information about writers such as Mervyn Morris, Dennis Scott, Derek Walcott, Kamau Brathwaite, Vic Reid, and Olive Senior. 


Others are looking for posts about Bob Marley, Marcus Garvey, and Rastafari. And still others search for information about writing, contests, and conferences.


For 2011, the top twenty posts followed the usual pattern with a two big surprises: "Have a Marcus Christmas and New Year" with 1366 hits and "Jamaica is One Love": with 513 hits.
 
Here, then, is the roundup of my top twenty posts for 2011:



1. "Meanings of Bob Marley's Songs": 4744 hits
2. "'Epitaph' by Dennis Scott: An Appreciation": 3401 hits
3. "'Colonial Girls' School' by Olive Senior: An Appreciation": 2696 hits
4. "Little Boy Crying" by Mervyn Morris: An Appreciation": 1726 hits
5. "Have a Marcus Christmas and New Year": 1366 hits
6. "'I Shot the Sheriff': A Fable of Freedom" : 1278 hits
7. "Happy Birthday, Marcus Garvey": 1179 hits
8. "Top Ten Things Every Writer Should Know": 1170 hits
9. "What Can Bob Marley Teach Bloggers?": 938 hits
10. "About Geoffrey Philp's Blog": 921 hits
11. "In My Own Words: Andrea Elizabeth Shaw": 749 hits
12. "A Rubric for Poetry?" :730 hits
13. "Bob Marley: Making of a Legend": 722 hits
14. "Happy Birthday, VS Reid": 547 hits
15. "Jamaica is One Love": 513 hits
16. "Obama Rejects Plea for Marcus Garvey": 511 hits
17. "Polyglot Writers": 425 hits
18. "'Marrysong' by Dennis Scott": 409 hits
19. "'Mass Man' by Derek Walcott: An Appreciation": 381
20. "Broward Coronation Film Festival": 380 hits 


If you have enjoyed reading any of these posts, please follow this link to vote for my blog in the category: Best Overseas Jamaica Blog:

http://www.jablogawards.com/vote

The voting ends on January 2, 2012, so as we say in Miami: "Vote early and Vote Often."

We've Got An App For That!

I've just created an Android App for this blog. You can download it here:

 http://www.freeblogapps.com/d/a5ca25/geoffrey-philps-blog

Alternative Downloads

USB Computer Download (Advanced)

Step 1: Prepare your Android phone to download your app by opening Settings > Applications and check the checkbox for Unknown Sources.

Step 2: Download the Geoffrey Philp's Blog application APK file.

Step 3: Connect your computer to your phone and transfer the file over USB.

Barcode Download

Step 1: Prepare your Android phone to download your app by opening Settings > Applications and check the checkbox for Unknown Sources.

Step 2: Using your Android phone, get your barcode reader app and scan the QR Code on the left. Don't have a bar code reader app? Download this one.

Step 3: Open the url and download the APK app file. Then click the downloaded app file to install. If you've done step 1 correctly it should install successfully.

Having Trouble?

How do I prepare my phone to download?

Please view this Youtube video for a demonstration of how to prepare your phone to download an app. It's quite straightforward and can take less than a minute.

My phone doesn't have the Unknown Sources option?

Some phone providers such as AT&T do not allow you to install third party applications which would include apps like the one you have just made. To see if there are any alternatives methods, try a google search for ways to install third party apps on your specific phone model.

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Versions Galore! : Geoffrey Philp's Blog Spot

I'm experimenting with the new features of Blogger, which allow for different views of content. If you use Chrome browser, you can install Chrome extension to see the versions of the blog:

http://geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com/view/flipcard

http://geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com/view/mosaic

http://geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com/view/sidebar

http://geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com/view/snapshot

http://geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com/view/timeslide

I’m leaning toward Snapshot. But any way you take, Lorna Goodison looks gorgeous!

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Jamaica Blog Awards: Top Five: Best Overseas Blog

I’ve made it to the Top 5 in the Jamaica Blog Awards: Best Overseas Blog. I would be lying if I didn’t say I was happy. Winning is good.

I hate to admit it, but I know I haven’t achieved the equanimity that my aunt, who I mentioned in My Jamaica: Part Two, once advised when she quoted Rudyard Kipling’s “If…”: "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster/And treat those two impostors just the same… Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, /And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!” I'm getting there, Aunt Evritt

I also know I couldn’t have made it this far without the support of readers like you who have voted, Twittered, and shared on Facebook. So, thank you, my friends, for your help.

But the contest isn’t over. Once again, I am calling for your assistance to make it to the finals on January 11, 2001, and the BIG REVEAL on January 16, 2011 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.

VOTE HERE:

http://jamaicablogawards.com/geoffrey-philip/

Remember, you can vote every 24 hours.

Jamaica Blog Awards: All Voting ends Friday January 14, 2011 (mid-day)

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Jamaica Blog Awards: We got badges!

I know what some of you are thinking: "Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!"
So,vote for me & "Shoot the Sheriff...not the deputy."
Or if you prefer Bob Dylan:
"Mama, take this badge off of meI can't use it anymore.It's gettin' dark, too dark for me to seeI feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door."
Either way, here's the link to vote for me:
http://jamaicablogawards.com/geoffrey-philip/
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Christmas and Nostalgia

All men come to the hills

Finally…

Men from the deeps of the plains of the sea—

Where a wind-in-the sail is hope,

That long desire, and long weariness fulfills—

Come again to the hills.

“All men come to the hills” by Roger Mais

I had no intention of writing this morning. But then, old habits die hard, and when I could no longer stay in bed, I went downstairs as usual to check my e-mail. Was I surprised!

Sitting at the top of the list was an e-mail from Harold Mitchell, who had been searching the Net for the names of old friends, when he stumbled upon my blog. I hadn’t seen nor had I heard from him in years! In fact, had to dig through my copy of the Jamaica College ('75) yearbook, of which I was the literary editor, to recall his face.

A flood of memories of Jamaica at Christmas (including the poem by Roger Mais—it’s as if those old poets always knew we would be a wayfaring people) came back: football, the Mona Heights fair, and friends.

Yes, I know, memory is selective. But sometimes that is a good thing. In this case, I have used my memories of Jamaica to rebuild my life in Florida. I have taken the best that living in Jamaica has taught me to recreate a life here.

So, although I can no longer go to the fair nor do I play football, I still have a few friends with whom I can share some great memories. Here’s the post that Harold found:

My Jamaica: Part Two

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