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Download Redoable 1.2

There are many free Wordpress Themes available for photographers. One can choose to have a photoblog which consists of one photo per page. Here are some links to the best free WordPress Photoblog Themes:

Photoblog Themes for WordPress at Technology Bites
Monotone theme: changes colors to match each photo.
Top Ten Best Photoblog Themes and Templates

This is ideal if all you need is to feature one photo with just a short description; however, if you need to include a lot of text and vary the presentation (size, amount and layout), then almost any other WordPress theme can be used. There are hundreds to choose from and favorites will differ from individuals. You may end up trying scores of themes before arriving at the theme you will finally use..

I have tried several themes and the one I think is best to highlight photographs is Redoadable 1.2 by Dean Robinson.

There are several reasons this theme is highly rated and recommended and some of these are listed below:

• The primary asset of this theme are the gray colors that really highlight photographs. They are similar to those used in Adobe Lightroom.
• The header can be easily replaced with a photo of your own by uploading a photo and inputting URL in Redoable Options. This allows your blog to have a unique look.
• Orderly and strategic layout of “Page” links at the right of the header.
• Text not a harsh white so it does not compete with the photos for attention.
• Gives your site a real professional look.
• Has its own Forum.
• The sidebar is module/widget ready, with over 20 different modules available to use. By default, the sidebar will work without the need to add any modules, and will display the calendar, categories, tags, blogroll and listen and watch modules depending, of course, on whether you have the relevant plugins set up.
• Sidenotes shown on homepage.
• Extensive tweaking using dialog boxes via Design—-Redoable Options. Customization that is only possible through editing codes in ‘lesser’ themes are now possible by clicking your personal choice. these include one click options for some plugins.
• A recommended list of plugins that integrate seamlessly into Redoable 1.2. It doesn’t mean other plugins will not work, but these listed have been tested to work specifically with this theme.
• Great to display a Photo Gallery using a plugin such as NextGen Gallery.
  

See it at work on my site amateurphotoblogger.com

Download Redoable 1.2

INSTALLATION:

1. Download the Redoable package.
2. Unpack, and upload to the wp-content/themes/ directory on your server.
3. Login to your admin area and set Redoable as the current theme.
4. Install and activate any of the above listed plugins.
5. Enjoy.

It seems that the violent anti-gay lyrics of our dancehall artistes has created an avenue of exploitation and lies surrounding the treatment of gays in Jamaica. It has created a false impression that has distorted reality and opportunistic persons are now exploiting this mis-conception for their own advancement.

This was brought to light when a Jamaican girl was offered assylum by a court in California, as the court accepted the lie that she would be tortured for being a lesbian if she was returned to Jamaica! This is a joke! Lesbians have no problem in Jamaica. As a matter of fact, I would go as far as to say they are accepted. How else would you explain this obsession with threesomes (two girls and a guy) that these Jamaican men have. There are many, many bi-sexual women in Jamaica, most of them coerced into doing it by the men. In some male circles, some men feel like an under-achievers if they have not experienced it.

In my entire life of 45 years, I have never heard of a Lesbian being beaten or tortured in Jamaica, and I am an ardent listener to the news and street talk. Even at the popular dances where they chastise homosexuals, girls sometimes can be seen dancing with girls. No one even cares.

Over the past few years, several strip clubs have been offering a “Freaky Night” which features (onstage), men having sex with women and women having sex with women. This is when they get the most patrons and nobody complains. No one is torturing or beating anyone for being a lesbian.

Gay men on the other hand, have a problem; but it is not as bad as the gay organizations portray it. Firstly, someone has to correct me, I may have forgotten, but I don’t know of any man being killed solely for being gay. Jamaicans seem to have an appetite for violence, but of the over 900 murders gone since the start of the year, I can’t remember one reported as being attributed to killing someone for being gay, and there are many gay men here. I’ve heard of them beaten, but never killed. Gay men stand a greater chance of being beaten if they go into a strange area portraying a feminine disposition. Jamaicans wil “tolerate’ gay men they know…not strangers.

The fact is most killings of gays are from jealous lovers and not persecutors. There is in effect a lot more tolerance for gays than foreigners realize. There is another thing about Jamaicans, they like to take the law into their own hands (the homosexual act between men is a crime in the country)…..hence one of the highest murder rates in the world. If you are caught stealing a goat in certain places, you may be killed, if you rob someone and get caught by a mob, you may be killed. If you owe disrespect someone (which is not a crime), you may be killed. The reality is, the society needs “taming”, it is too aggressive and this aggression is not restricted to gays.

There is a primary reason Jamaicans hate gay men. Yes, there are biblical and other reasons they will quote, but this is the main problem they find with the act. They are called “Batty Men” here. “Batty” is the Jamaican word for anus. Jamaicans find it reprehensible to be messing (no pun intended) with what they consider the most unclean part of man’s anatomy. That is what is meant by NASTY in this exerpt from Buju Banton’s song:

Rude boy naw promote no NASTY man…….

The dancehall artistes are the main ones who have really created this misconception. They sing about violence towards gays so often, foreigners people start thinking Jamaicans are gay killing animals. The gay rights activists, realizing an opportunity to capitalise on this misunderstanding are pushing their agenda based on this falsehood hoping to pressure the governemnt to repeal the “Buggery Law” which makes the sexual act between two men a crime..

The real reason for singing about gays is that it is one of the easiest ways to get a good crowd response, as being such a homophobic society, almost every man in the audience is eager to show that they are not gay and the ultimate way to show it is to support the violent lyrics of the artiste which is usually:

Batty Man fi dead

which means in plain English: Gay Men Must Die. When they support that, it re-enforces the individual’s confidence in themselves and their heterosexuality. They don’t want to kill you if you’re gay, but on the other hand if you step on the wrong person’s foot, you may be in even more serious trouble than if you were gay.

Rare case of gays being beaten in Kingston and escorted to safety by the Police. Ironically, the perpetrators were mostly women!

It is true that homosexuals are not embraced in Jamaica, but bad media and this incessant verbal campaign by the dancehall artistes are casting Jamaica in a negative light. Lesbians especially, are rarely discriminated against let alone tortured. There is a silent acceptance of this group. Gay men are not beaten as often as purported, neither are they killed by heterosexuals solely for being gay.  Some desperate individuals (like that girl claiming she would be tortured if returned to Jamaica) are riding the ignorance of foreigners to meet their own agenda but it is at the reputation of the entire country.

What Jamaica is guilty of is a severe case of homophobia that goes to the core of the nation’s existence. Even the Prime Minister, speaking on the BBC tv in England has sworn he will not have a known homosexual in his cabinet. That statement made his popularity soar back home, even some of his die hard detractors now respect him just for that. It goes to show, it is a part of the culture and will not change overnight, at least not in my lifetime.