10 Must-Follow Trini Tumblrs and a Tumblr King

11 Apr 10 Must-Follow Trini Tumblrs and a Tumblr King

Posted at 04:30h in Lifestyle by
Tumblr. Oh, how that word brings me joy. The short and sweet explanation, for those of you who don’t know what Tumblr is, is that it’s a microblogging platform that allows users to post text, images, videos, links, quotes and audio to their tumblelog, or a short-form blog.
I discovered it over a year ago, and have subsequently migrated my content from WordPress, because Tumblr is filled to the brim with the most interesting people, images, art, and points of view I’ve seen to date. You know we Trinis like salt. We in everything. So, it was only a matter of time before Trinis infiltrated this platform too. My last count, as unofficial as it may be, has the Trini tumblr community standing somewhere under 300 and rising.
As a full-fledged Tumblr addict, I’ve lost more production hours on Tumblr in one year than I’ve lost on Facebook in four years. In fact, I’ll go as far to say Facebook is where you’ll find people you went to school with; Tumblr Is where you’ll find people you wish you went to school with. To the new user, this massive flood may seem confusing to navigate, if one were in search of good ones to follow. So I put this up to a vote on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, and have compiled a list of ten Tumblr blogs worth following (the Boss Lady has instructed me not to do any shameless plugins for myself; dammit!). So without further ado, the ten, top, Trini tumblelogs definitely worth following, in no exact order, are:
1. SanCh’i _ish from the SanMan (http://sanman-ish.tumblr.com/)
Hmmm… where do I begin on this one? For starters, this is the brainchild of the author of the famous ban-d-wagonist (http://bandwagonist.wordpress.com/). He uses this space mainly to post all sorts of stuff he finds on the Internet, and his blog a great place to find posts from other Trinis on Tumblr.
His direct take on topics like pop culture and politics is what is most appealing to people. In fact, he has the art of using few words to express many things. A trait, I might add, that makes him a great person to follow on Twitter (http://twitter.com//SanMan_ish), and the online radio show – NObehaviuorSHOW (http://www.facebook.com/NObehaviourSHOW), which he hosts with fellow Twitter peeps.
2. Worthless Existence (http://worthlessexistence.tumblr.com/)
Take four guys (apparently with nothing to do) and a hard drive full of photos… and what do you think would happen? Picture this – an almost-daily comic strip with some of the most outlandish, obnoxious and downright hysterical quotes you may have ever seen. You’ll have no choice but to shake your head, steups, and say, “Only a Trini would think of something like that…”
But if you’re not into the profound sayings Kester D’Arnaud, Rene Seegobin, Faraaz Abdool, and Devin Harry Paul come up with, the images they use are actually quite cool, and if you read enough of their strips, you may begin to understand the world through their eyes, oddly enough…
3. Keithos (http://keithfrancis.net/)
For this one, I need to step on a soapbox (or a Crix tin). In my honest opinion, the level of journalism we practise in this country is beyond poor. We tend to hang on to one-liners and sensationalism and then we make misinformed comments, and we go on and on for weeks. And I won’t bother with those we trust to share their opinions in a public forum, whether it is the columnist in the newspaper or the radio commentator. Bias, disjoint content, out-of-touch views. That’s why, other than one columnist, one radio commentator and Calvin and Hobbes, there isn’t much to hold my interest in local media.
That said, I have no idea why this dude’s posts aren’t in a newspaper or something. His views are quick and to the point, relevant and look at the bigger picture. So if you’re up for a good read, minus the fluff and bias, drop by.
(And if you were wondering, yes you can create a Tumblr blog using your own domain name).
4. It’s Undefined – Now Question Context (http://questioncontext.tumblr.com/)
According to some, this tumblelog is an eye-gasm. And I’d have no choice but to agree with them. A more ample description for Question Context, however, would be that it’s something like a virtual museum – a white background, like white walls, with different sorts of imagery on display.
What started out as an assignment for Arnaldo James has veritably taken on a mind of its own. Here he posts images, videos, music and quotes from all over the world, all with a deeply artistic dimension. But what is most interesting about this tumblelog is what he manages to find. The posts, albeit sometimes not safe for work, are always thought provoking, and inspire onlookers. Even if you’re not the artsy type, you’re compelled to just stop and stare.
5. Trini Mummy (http://trinimummy.com/)
As the name implies, she’s just a Trini mother. But there’s nowhere else you’d find a picture of Charles Chocolate, or an anecdote about what a Caimite is, or a reminder of how much of a challenge it is to raise Trinbagonian children. Considering the latter, how does she find the time to post anything on Tumblr? I have no idea. But also taking into consideration that she’s a triathlete, hats off to her, because I don’t think I could do what she does.
6. TOO.MUCH.EYES (http://www.toomucheyes.com/)
The handiwork of Rodell Warner, TOO.MUCH.EYES, is, as he describes it, his “own Trinidad and Tobago”. And Trinidad and Tobago it is! Every post on this very minimalist Tumblr is from our own shores, and comprises images, quotes, videos and music from our past and present. So if you want to take a look into the past, gaze at that once lost photo of Dr Eric Williams having tea, or add a quote from Earl Lovelace to your arsenal, this is the Tumblr for you.
7. Detnator (http://detnator.tumblr.com/)
Now, before men cry foul and bawl we done mention Detonator last week (http://www.outlish.com/baidawi-detnating-beats-and-sounds/), there are few (and I really mean none) Tumblrs dedicated to our local art forms, like this one. From recording sessions and music videos to OneTalks (http://www.youtube.com/user/detnated#grid/user/0D68E90C3CC9C64B), (their web series on issues concerning the local music industry), it’s one of my favourite follows.
8. Jeunanne (http://blog.jeunanne.com)
What started out for Jeunanne Alkins of Everything Slight Pepper (http://www.everythingslightpepper.com/) as a “lazy way to update [her] portfolio” (http://blog.jeunanne.com/post/1580934838/putting-my-cards-on-the-table-why-i-decided-to-blog) in November of last year has become a mashup of images, texts, and videos of outstanding design.
But what makes her “soapbox”, as she calls it, interesting, is how she keeps it local; the vast majority of her content is from or about people, places and topics right here in our own slice of paradise. Oh, and did I mention she’s the mastermind behind a certain magazine’s outlishous branding and identity?
9. Soul Sistrin (http://soulsistrin.tumblr.com/)
Contemplation – the true foundation of a blog. And Soul Sistrin does it so well; hers is one of the few tumblelogs that can transfer thought to words so easily. Her contemplative nature is almost poetic. Whether she’s talking about her challenges at work or what it means to her to be a woman, you derive a sense of sincerity in her. I recommend her for the outsiders, because as you go along with her on her voyage of reflection, you may become inspired and even consider joining Tumblr.
10. Trini Like Salt (http://trinilikesalt.tumblr.com/)
As his tagline says, we’re really in everything. And as much as I don’t want to play favourites, I intentionally left this one for last.
Here is the tumblelog of Gary Ottley, a Trini living in Boston, who writes about parenting, education, love, sports and life in the unofficial capital of New England (USA). From his offbeat humour to his periodic rants to his numerous outbursts of nostalgia about Trinidad and Tobago, I honestly cannot find anything I would deem unlikeable. And I’m not alone. Before I started writing this article, I posted a question on my tumblelog, asking all the Trinis out there to name their favourites.
There was a wide array to choose from, but everyone, and I mean everyone who participated included Mr Ottley in their answer. So, I’ll put my head on a block and say, we’ve found our Trini Tumblr king. Someone remind me to mail the paper crown I made yesterday for this auspicious occasion.
So, there you have it. The crème of the crop, the ones worth following (if you could only choose ten), as voted by their peers, if you’re going to take the plunge in the world of Tumblr. And here are a few fun tricks – for those of you who prefer not to join, for whatever reason. Adding “/rss” after the URL of any tumblelog gives you an RSS feed to follow. Add “/ask” to ask the author a question or leave a comment (once they’ve activated this feature) and “/archive” to see a mosaic of everything posted, arranged by the month.
For all you regular Tumblrists. I’d love to know – who would you pick as your favourite? And is there anyone I may have overlooked, or not know about? We Trinis are a talented bunch, so ultimately having only ten in the class of must-follow seems unlikely.
…P.S.: I think the Boss Lady would forgive me for this shameless plug-in – Outlish have a tumblelog too (http://outlish.tumblr.com/). Neglected for a bit, but we’re going to be beefing it up soon, so check it out. And you can find me at The Random Musings of a Reluctant Criminologist (http://joachim365.tumblr.com/).

Tumblr. Oh, how that word brings me joy. The short and sweet explanation, for those of you who don’t know what Tumblr is, is that it’s a microblogging platform that allows users to post text, images, videos, links, quotes and audio to their tumblelog, or a short-form blog.

I discovered it over a year ago, and have subsequently migrated my content from WordPress, because Tumblr is filled to the brim with the most interesting people, images, art, and points of view I’ve seen to date. You know we Trinis like salt. We in everything. So, it was only a matter of time before Trinis infiltrated this platform too. My last count, as unofficial as it may be, has the Trini tumblr community standing somewhere under 300 and rising.

As a full-fledged Tumblr addict, I’ve lost more production hours on Tumblr in one year than I’ve lost on Facebook in four years. In fact, I’ll go as far to say Facebook is where you’ll find people you went to school with; Tumblr Is where you’ll find people you wish you went to school with. To the new user, this massive flood may seem confusing to navigate, if one were in search of good ones to follow. So I put this up to a vote on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, and have compiled a list of ten Tumblr blogs worth following (the Boss Lady has instructed me not to do any shameless plugins for myself; dammit!). So without further ado, the ten, top, Trini tumblelogs definitely worth following, in no exact order, are:

 

1. SanCh’i _ish from the SanMan: sanman-ish.tumblr.com

Hmmm… where do I begin on this one? For starters, this is the brainchild of the author of the famous ban-d-wagonist (http://bandwagonist.wordpress.com/). He uses this space mainly to post all sorts of stuff he finds on the Internet, and his blog a great place to find posts from other Trinis on Tumblr.

His direct take on topics like pop culture and politics is what is most appealing to people. In fact, he has the art of using few words to express many things. A trait, I might add, that makes him a great person to follow on Twitter, and the online radio show – NObehaviourSHOW, which he hosts with fellow Twitter peeps.

2. Worthless Existence: worthlessexistence.tumblr.com

Take four guys (apparently with nothing to do) and a hard drive full of photos… and what do you think would happen? Picture this – an almost-daily comic strip with some of the most outlandish, obnoxious and downright hysterical quotes you may have ever seen. You’ll have no choice but to shake your head, steups, and say, “Only a Trini would think of something like that…”

But if you’re not into the profound sayings Kester D’Arnaud, Rene Seegobin, Faraaz Abdool, and Devin Harry Paul come up with, the images they use are actually quite cool, and if you read enough of their strips, you may begin to understand the world through their eyes, oddly enough…

3. Keithos: keithfrancis.net

For this one, I need to step on a soapbox (or a Crix tin). In my honest opinion, the level of journalism we practise in this country is beyond poor. We tend to hang on to one-liners and sensationalism and then we make misinformed comments, and we go on and on for weeks. And I won’t bother with those we trust to share their opinions in a public forum, whether it is the columnist in the newspaper or the radio commentator. Bias, disjoint content, out-of-touch views. That’s why, other than one columnist, one radio commentator and Calvin and Hobbes, there isn’t much to hold my interest in local media.

That said, I have no idea why this dude’s posts aren’t in a newspaper or something. His views are quick and to the point, relevant and look at the bigger picture. So if you’re up for a good read, minus the fluff and bias, drop by.

(And if you were wondering, yes you can create a Tumblr blog using your own domain name).

4. It’s Undefined – Now Question Context: questioncontext.tumblr.com

According to some, this tumblelog is an eye-gasm. And I’d have no choice but to agree with them. A more ample description for Question Context, however, would be that it’s something like a virtual museum – a white background, like white walls, with different sorts of imagery on display.

What started out as an assignment for Arnaldo James has veritably taken on a mind of its own. Here he posts images, videos, music and quotes from all over the world, all with a deeply artistic dimension. But what is most interesting about this tumblelog is what he manages to find. The posts, albeit sometimes not safe for work, are always thought provoking, and inspire onlookers. Even if you’re not the artsy type, you’re compelled to just stop and stare.

5. Trini Mummy: trinimummy.com

As the name implies, she’s just a Trini mother. But there’s nowhere else you’d find a picture of Charles Chocolate, or an anecdote about what a Caimite is, or a reminder of how much of a challenge it is to raise Trinbagonian children. Considering the latter, how does she find the time to post anything on Tumblr? I have no idea. But also taking into consideration that she’s a triathlete, hats off to her, because I don’t think I could do what she does.

6. TOO.MUCH.EYES: toomucheyes.com

The handiwork of Rodell Warner, TOO.MUCH.EYES, is, as he describes it, his “own Trinidad and Tobago”. And Trinidad and Tobago it is! Every post on this very minimalist Tumblr is from our own shores, and comprises images, quotes, videos and music from our past and present. So if you want to take a look into the past, gaze at that once lost photo of Dr Eric Williams having tea, or add a quote from Earl Lovelace to your arsenal, this is the Tumblr for you.

7. Detnator: detnator.tumblr.com

Now, before men cry foul and bawl we done mention Detonator last week, there are few (and I really mean none) Tumblrs dedicated to our local art forms, like this one. From recording sessions and music videos to OneTalks (their web series on issues concerning the local music industry), it’s one of my favourite follows.

8. Jeunanne: blog.jeunanne.com

What started out for Jeunanne Alkins of Everything Slight Pepper (http://www.everythingslightpepper.com/) as a “lazy way to update [her] portfolio” (http://blog.jeunanne.com/post/1580934838/putting-my-cards-on-the-table-why-i-decided-to-blog) in November of last year has become a mashup of images, texts, and videos of outstanding design.

But what makes her “soapbox”, as she calls it, interesting, is how she keeps it local; the vast majority of her content is from or about people, places and topics right here in our own slice of paradise. Oh, and did I mention she’s the mastermind behind a certain magazine’s outlishous branding and identity?

9. Soul Sistrin: soulsistrin.tumblr.com

Contemplation – the true foundation of a blog. And Soul Sistrin does it so well; hers is one of the few tumblelogs that can transfer thought to words so easily. Her contemplative nature is almost poetic. Whether she’s talking about her challenges at work or what it means to her to be a woman, you derive a sense of sincerity in her. I recommend her for the outsiders, because as you go along with her on her voyage of reflection, you may become inspired and even consider joining Tumblr.

10. Trini Like Salt: trinilikesalt.tumblr.com

As his tagline says, we’re really in everything. And as much as I don’t want to play favourites, I intentionally left this one for last.

Here is the tumblelog of Gary Ottley, a Trini living in Boston, who writes about parenting, education, love, sports and life in the unofficial capital of New England (USA). From his offbeat humour to his periodic rants to his numerous outbursts of nostalgia about Trinidad and Tobago, I honestly cannot find anything I would deem unlikeable. And I’m not alone. Before I started writing this article, I posted a question on my tumblelog, asking all the Trinis out there to name their favourites.

There was a wide array to choose from, but everyone, and I mean everyone who participated included Mr Ottley in their answer. So, I’ll put my head on a block and say, we’ve found our Trini Tumblr king. Someone remind me to mail the paper crown I made yesterday for this auspicious occasion.

So, there you have it. The crème of the crop, the ones worth following (if you could only choose ten), as voted by their peers, if you’re going to take the plunge in the world of Tumblr. And here are a few fun tricks – for those of you who prefer not to join, for whatever reason. Adding “/rss” after the URL of any tumblelog gives you an RSS feed to follow. Add “/ask” to ask the author a question or leave a comment (once they’ve activated this feature) and “/archive” to see a mosaic of everything posted, arranged by the month.

For all you regular Tumblrists. I’d love to know – who would you pick as your favourite? And is there anyone I may have overlooked, or not know about? We Trinis are a talented bunch, so ultimately having only ten in the class of must-follow seems unlikely.

P.S.: I think the Boss Lady would forgive me for this shameless plug-in – Outlish has a tumblelog too: outlish.tumblr.com. Neglected for a bit, but we’re going to be beefing it up soon, so check it out. And you can find me at The Random Musings of a Reluctant Criminologist.

 

About Joshua Ramirez Wharwood
Joshua Ramirez Wharwood is a Communications major at the University of the West Indies. Whenever he's not feeding his addiction to Skittles and Coca Cola, he immerses himself in all things digital. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/joachim365.

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5 Comments
  • Worthless Existence
    Posted at 14:32h, 11 April Reply

    uh… thanks

    for all the pressure you putting on us to be funny

  • BlahBlohBlog
    Posted at 05:18h, 12 April Reply

    My WordPress blog autoposts to Tumblr so I’m not really active on the Tumblr site itself but have dutifully followed all the recommendations. Where all the Grenadians??

    What about Outlish publishing a Twitter directory? The #WITA is large and in charge!

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