It's a Soca Revolution blowout tonight when the likes of Grenada's Mr. Killa, Trinidad's JW & Blaze, and Antigua's Ricardo Drue join the likes of Bahamians Julien Believe and DJ Muzikal out of Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera, on stage at SuperClubs Breezes.

"Tonight is going be very exciting," said Alpha Sounds Promotions promoter Trevor Davis. "Soca Revolution is just one event in a series of seven events I will be having leading up to the big event -- Soca Fest, which will be held on May 1 which will consist of 10 international artists with at least 12 to 15 local acts."

Mr. Killa who is on everybody's lips for his song "Rolly Polly" which for the past two years has been one of the more popular Soca hits. Mr. Killa, who in 1999 won Grenada's Talent Search show, became a household name in 2002 when he released his hit "Wood Can't Done". He's had a plethora of hits including "Rider", "Cat", "Coming Down the Road", "Gouyave Gone Mad", "Island Paradise" and "More Flames". He has also enjoyed successes at Grenada's Carnival.

In 2009, he delivered what is considered the best Soca Monarch performance in the history of the Grenada competition and has established himself as the pre-eminent Soca performer on the Spice Isle. In 2009 he won the Road March title along with the coveted Soca Monarch with the hit tune "Swing It Away".

Road March and Soca monarch kings of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival 2010 -- JW & Blaze's hit "Palance" is a favorite on the party scene. And then there's Antiguan-born Ricardo Drue, who sings "Vagabond", one of the popular releases for Carnival 2015, which has been heating up the airwaves since its release for Antigua and Barbuda Carnival in 2014.

Ricardo Drue, front liner for the "Roy Cape All Stars" is also Antigua's Soca monarch, having captured the coveted title last year. He also walked away the second runner-up in the Groovy Soca Monarch competition and was second in that island's road march race. And of course, leading the local acts on stage will be Julien Believe whose latest single is entitle "Turn Up The Junkanoo", and DJ Muzikal out of Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera, whose latest single is entitled "They Juice You Aye?"

Davis anticipates droves of Bahamians at tonight's Soca Revolution.

Tickets for Soca Revolution are $60 VIP and $30 general admission, and can be purchased at Quality Home Center, Airbrush Junkies, All Yours Remy, Galleria Cinemas and Blue Waters Lounge.

Soca Revolution
When: Tonight
Where: Superclubs Breezes
Artists:
Mr. Killa
JW & Blaze
Ricardo Drue
Julien Believe
DJ Muzikal
Tickets: $60 VIP, $30 general admission
Outlets: Quality Home Center, Airbrush Junkies
All Yours Remy, Galleria Cinemas and Blue Waters Lounge

Boyhood (Rated R - U.S. theaters)
Cast: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke
Genre: Drama
Dwight's Rating: 2 STARS

Overrated -- the past tense of overrate: to have a higher opinion of (someone or something) than is deserved; to assess too highly, overestimate, overvalue, rate/prize too highly, think too much of, exaggerate the worth of, attach too much importance to or praise too highly. I suggest that henceforth next to this definition in a dictionary be placed a picture of the theatrical poster from the film "Boyhood" -- one of the most overhyped motion pictures in recent memory. I know that goes against everything you've probably heard.

"Boyhood" has been one of the best reviewed movies of 2014, and has done impressively well with awards season so far, including winning "Best Film" and "Best Director" at the British Academy Film Awards", and "Best Motion Picture-Drama" and "Best Supporting Actress" for Patricia Arquette at the Golden Globes, and as we all know now, also at the Academy Awards. It's also topped scores of critics' best-of lists for 2014 films.

This is most curious, as I liken "Boyhood" to the "Seinfeld" of movies. And while I adored "Seinfeld", and regard it as one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, the comparison only relates to the fact that "Seinfeld" was promoted as a "show about nothing". "Boyhood" is exactly that -- about absolutely nothing! It follows the joys and pitfalls of growing up through the eyes of a child named Mason (Ellar Coltrane), his parents (Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke) and his sister (Lorelei Linklater). That's about it.

The part that has had seemingly all of Hollywood salivating and becoming hysterical is that it follows all of these characters over a 12-year period, and surprisingly and refreshingly, with the very same actors. Filming began way back in 2002, and so we literally see little Mason and his sister grow up right in front of our faces. We also see Hawke as Dad age very minimally and Arquette as Mom age a helluva lot.

There are no special effects or makeup, no older actors who look like dead-ringers for the kids -- just an amazing 12-year commitment from all involved. That writer/director Richard Linklater was able to maintain the helm of this ship over more than a decade is an admirable and impressive feat. And in many ways, the result is a pretty cool time capsule.
But beyond an interesting concept, "Boyhood" is pretty dull. It leads me to believe that Hollywood's obsession with special effects and with anything-but-reality has left most of them so overly impressed by simplicity that they can't recognize when something is lacking depth or substance.

For starters, the movie is exceptionally long. Painfully long! 166 minutes!! Just 10 minutes short of three hours. You will feel every one of those 12 years. And it's so unnecessary.

During this interminableness, we see the family eating dinner, bowling, at birthday parties, and other supposedly important milestones. And while this is happening, there are conversations -- typical family discussions. And I do mean typical! That might sound interesting: real life on the big screen; no aliens; no kidnappings; no gun violence. But in reality, we need more.

Perhaps we've been conditioned to expect more than just typical glimpses of life from our movies. Those family conversations in "Boyhood" are about some of the most banal and insipid issues. You keep waiting for something to happen.

For someone to reveal a shocking dark family secret; for a car to crash through the living room; for someone to even be stung by a bee! But with few exceptions, there's nothing! It's just regular day-to-day family. I'm sure there are more meaningful conversations going on in the living rooms of single people at home alone every day.

What we get with "Boyhood" is something television has been doing for decades, and often with much better results. TV has been chronicling the lives of "real families" for as long as anyone can remember. In the past, wholesome family dramas like "7th Heaven" or "Gilmore Girls" were commonplace. These days, though, such shows aren't as popular, as audiences are now more drawn to over-the-top melodramas like "Scandal" and bizarro-reality-show-esque soaps like "Empire".

"Parenthood" just wrapped up a critically-acclaimed but low-rated sixth season run on NBC. One could have watched that family age every week over a slightly more exciting six-year period. But not too many people seemed to notice or care.

Yet when it's done in the movies, everyone goes crazy! "Boyhood" was up for six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Director for Linklater, and Best Supporting Actor for Hawke and Best Supporting Actress for Arquette. Notably, Coltrane as Mason has not been receiving any award show love; surprisingly, as he ages, his performance becomes more stilted and graceless.

The nomination for Hawke's performance -- though decent -- was eyebrow raising. Arquette was much stronger. Linklater, on the other hand, deserves to be applauded for an interesting concept.

But again, overall, "Boyhood" is largely a film industry insiders would love. For many others, I suspect it's just a shoulder-shrug of a movie -- something all too similar, familiar and unremarkable compared to the lives of most of the rest of us watching it.

Annya Moss, a 5'7" freshman point guard, daughter of Felix and Juliet Moss, and Kyla Higgs, a 5'5" point guard, daughter of Justine and Fredrica Higgs, both play for Clear Lake Christian School in Houston, Texas. The Bahamian youngsters are making a huge impact in their basketball season. The girls have lead their team to winning two varsity girls tournaments.
The Clear Lake Christian Eagles won the Faith Christian Academy Tournament, in which Higgs was the Most Valuable Player (MVP), and Moss along with Higgs made the All-Tournament Team.

Moss was the MVP in the Logos Prep Tournament. She is averaging 20.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.7 steals and 2.3 assists per game, while Higgs is averaging 19.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.3 steals and 3.6 steals on the season. As a result of their success, both girls are being heavily recruited by several National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) D-I universities, including the University of Houston. They both are getting high level skill training by former National Basketball Association (NBA) player and coach John Lucas and are under the watchful eyes of the Frank Rutherford foundation.

The girls are also straight 'A' students in the classroom. They also know that they are standing on huge shoulders of Lashann Higgs, ranked as the second best high school player in the United States of America (USA), and who has signed to play at the University of Texas next year. They also look up to Waltiea Rolle, the first Bahamian to ever be drafted into the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). All are products of the Frank Rutherford Foundation in Houston, TX.

While the government has allocated $20 million in the 2014/2015 budget to subsidize the Water and Sewerage Corporation -- and has allocated an additional $15 million in "operational subsidies" -- Public Works Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said this actually represents a $4 million reduction over "previous highs". While he did not identify when exactly those "previous highs" occurred, Davis sought to focus attention on the trend.

"While government subsidies to the corporation remain high with $20 million allocated in the 2014-2015 budget, and an additional $15 million in operational subsidies approved, this represents a $4 million reduction over previous highs. This reduction is the beginning of the corporation transforming itself into a financially and operationally sustainable entity through improved service and efficiency," he told members of Parliament during debate on the mid-year budget statement.

He said that over the first half of fiscal year 2014/2015, the corporation set about a plan to expand partnerships with the private sector through the "outsourcing of various activities" and the "offering of opportunities" to its employees to improve effectiveness and efficiency.

Davis also cited a continued focus on water quality improvements through the aggressive replacement of
unlined iron pipes and post-treatment improvements, along with replacement of gas chlorination with a safer form of disinfectant.

"WSC has also introduced e-notification and recently implemented online payment to make it more convenient for customers to receive and pay their bills," he reported, adding that expansion projects are also planned or ongoing in New Providence (Pinewood Gardens, Coral Lakes) and the Family Islands (Mayaguana, Long Island, and Andros) in order to address longstanding water supply challenges.

IDB Loan
Davis said the main focus of the corporation has been and continues to be the implementation of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan programme. The corporation (WSC) signed a contract worth over $900,000 for the overhaul of the water industry's economic and environmental regulatory framework in May 2014. That contract was part of the $81 million loan agreement, signed in 2011, between the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the corporation.

Davis reported to Parliament that between July 2014 to December 2014, a diagnostic report of existing sewer infrastructure was prepared, which would enable the completion of a Master Plan for New Providence by early second quarter of 2015, and draft legislation and bye-laws for URCA were prepared to facilitate URCA becoming the economic regulator for the sector.

"The legislation will also provide for the establishment of an environmental regulator -- that is, a groundwater protection unit -- within the Ministry of Environment & Housing, and reestablish the corporation free of regulatory functions," Davis said.