Bush League: Film Music

I heard this guys music a couple years ago in the Bush. Jacqueline, one of the main characters in the film, was listening to it in her shop. During the editing process I've gone back through the footage just to hear the music. I've been hoping I could find out who the guy is and get some of his music for the film. Got an email this morning from Malawi Jake pointing me a website that's selling Malawian mp3s (www.malawianmp3.com) and there he is: Lawrence Mbenjere! Got his name, now I can try to find him. He's got this video on YouTube. I love these videos, but I LOVE the music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj8NlVQgaY&feature=playerembedded

Bush League: Before Mobile Tech

This is just an aside from the film, but I wanted to put this together and put it out there. I'm really curious to see what happens when a place has a communication revolution that's never had an industrial revolution. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pP5aDCWGzU&feature=player_embedded

Drinking the Tigris: Obama on the Cover of the Rolling Stone

He's got to come to Iraq sooner or later? In the year I've been here, nobody has been as anticipated. In fact, nobody has been anticipated at all because we never know they're coming till they're here. My boss met Angelina Jolie when she came in. I was very jealous. He fitted her body armor for her, perhaps the most coveted roll any man could play in her arrival. When he got back to the office all he said for an hour was, "beautiful lips man, beautiful lips." I swear he got word she was coming in; normally he would never meet a flight. That was a surprise, but we know Obama has to come soon, so it's become a conversation here in the office. I can't wait. I feel like a good guy is finally going to ride into town. I've seen a few powerful people come and go around here, and I long for the day their ride comes to an end. None of them made me sicker than the fat Texas energy tycoon. He came lumbering off a small jet with a gaggle of staff behind him, and a giant gut in front of him. His tent sized suit was at least five grand. His Daddy is one of the biggest energy businessmen in Texas and a major Republican contributor. Not exactly a self made man. Few of them are.

I'm out of here next week for a break. Hope Obama doesn't come while I'm gone.

Drinking the Tigris: Ed on the Bomb Shelter

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/2660130261/ I took this picture of my coworker Ed on the bomb shelter. He's a former Marine. He was an MSG. Those are the Marines that guard all the embassies worldwide. He met his wife at the embassy in China. He tells harrowing tales of his time in Mongolia shortly after their wedding. Six months in a concrete box apartment with nothing to do. Twelve-hour train rides to China to get a pizza. He also tells great stories about scuba diving, and in particular, one story about an underwater encounter with a giant clam at night. Most of all, he talks about his kids. He really misses his two sons.

Drinking the Tigris: Edward

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/2654350129/ This is Edward, a Ugandan guard working here in Baghdad. When I arrived last year I was surprised to see such a diverse mix of people. Why is a Ugandan checking my ID at the chow hall? I thought it would be all Americans with a sprinkling of Brits and other 'Coalition of the Willing' personnel. Because the war has been so privatized, a lot of the less critical security work is handled by the lowest bidder. Edward's company is American, based in Tennessee, but they hire out of Uganda because their soldiers are well trained and work for cheap. We've outsourced the war that far. It's incredibly strange. Everyday at lunch you can hear different people, Airmen, contractors, anybody that's been around a while yell, "Jambo jambo!" as they great the guards in Swahili on their way to and from the chow hall.

Edward was very anxious about being photographed. He asked me over and over again, "What's this for?" The shot is behind the chow hall after his shift ended. He turned his head in the middle of the exposure, checking to see if his boss had caught him. I tried to explain that I wanted to take his picture, just because, but I walked away feeling like I'd asked for way too much. He could have lost his job or been seriously reprimanded had the wrong person noticed. People have been fired for less.

Drinking the Tigirs: Big D, a KBR driver

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/2652858758/ Truckers, honkies, bubbas, Georgians, Texans, Croatians, Serbs; KBR is a big mix. It's true that at the top, these companies are corrupt money stealing machines, but the character of the company's employees is completely different. Most of the Americans who work for KBR are working class people from Texas and the South. Big D was a long haul trucker before he came to Iraq. When he started with KBR, he drove an 18 wheeler running convoys from Baghdad to Kuwait. A year and a half ago he scored a job with us. Now he drives people around in the armored suburban sitting behind him. I'm not sure why he's got an armored vehicle, he never has to go outside the wire any more.

His politics and his rebel flag sunglasses aside, Big D is a lovable guy. He sometimes reminds me of the Lion from the Wizard of Oz actually. Except the Lion didn't have a bald eagle tattooed on his forearm and a gold flake painted Peter Built truck with 9/11 murals on three sides. Badass!

Drinking the Tigris: Full Access???

I've been interested in taking pictures outside our compound for a while but assumed because of the security environment it would be impossible. A couple weeks ago I talked with an Air Force officer, and fifteen minutes later I had a letter that gave me authorization to take pictures of anything and everything excluding two sensitive areas. I couldn't believe it. The sergeant that issued the letter talked about how they want transparency and people back in the States to know what's happening here. Given the new obsession with security back in the U.S. and all the stories about people being busted for taking pictures of buildings and train stations, I think it might be more open here? What the hell is going on with us? These are a couple shots from a test roll. Hope to crank out some daytime stuff soon, pictures I could never take in the States. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/2543835291/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/2845752591/

Drinking the Tigris: Bush League

Last week, I got to go over to the (scary) place where the Iraqis train and fire a full auto AK47. It was fun and broke the monotony. Nobody should ever be allowed to own one of these things, its ridiculous that there's an argument about it in the U.S. Otherwise my day to day life is so monotonous that I can't remember anything about it. My personnel life is also pretty lame, but at least I have my film to keep me going. Every now and then I hit a patch in the footage that reminds me why I love it so much and why its become the focus of my existence.

Bizarre extremes?

Bush League: Zolokere Choir

I put this video up ten months ago and its been averaging around a thousand hits per month. It passed 10 thousand today. A nice landmark! It's a no-brainer considering how good the music is, but even so, the response is way beyond my expectations. I'm glad to say that more will come out of this. No details for a while, but I've been talking with Malawi Jake about doing some field recordings that focus on this music. He's looking for a fitting project for his post-Peace Corps return to Malawi and it looks like it's going to happen this autumn.

I was shooting a soccer practice for Bush League when I heard the choir start. I recorded five or six more songs, so I'll have to post a couple more for you soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdA-32LmEaw

Bush League: The Warm Heart, Mr. Muntale

Receiving a hand written letter from a friend in Malawi is a huge treat. From Mr. Muntale, a shop keeper and local chief in the Hewe valley: "Dear Cy Kuckenbaker

First and foremost, I would like to know your life. How are you treated there?

With me here and the family, I am doing fine.

Sir, I have thought it wise to write you a letter because since you left Malawi, no communications with Mkwinda (that's him). You have been here in Malawi, chatted with us, to me that was a very good thing.

I know traveling is money. For you to come to your friend Jake. It means you really love one another.

The next thing is that you have been with us here (in his shop), so I should apologize if in any way myself or other people have done anything bad to you.

Nothing more to prolong. May God allow us to communicate once more in letters or physically.

Your Loving Brother"

What an amazing way to write.

Drinking the Tigris: Old Glory

I was perusing flickr the other day and came across my buddy JR's latest photos. http://www.flickr.com/photos/paintedland/2446656346/

This one caught me off guard. From his notes:

"This is the massive face of the BP Hydrogen Refinery in Long Beach. It faces the 405 freeway; several thousand people see it every day on their way to and from work. It's a pretty provocative image made more so with each passing day. While I was shooting the plant, well within my rights, a security guard zipped up in his company truck and demanded I stop taking photos. He asked me to return to my car where I would meet him. By blowing through a red light, he beat me back to my car, which he had blocked in with his truck (it was the only car in a vacant lot on a Sunday afternoon). He wouldn't allow me to leave until I had given him my name, phone number, street address, place of business, and "reason" for being there. He claimed that "since 9/11, you can't shoot anything you want," and that I would need to check with the local police in order to find out what I was allowed to shoot. Unfortunately, this kind of misinformation about photographers' rights in the post 9/11 America is becoming more and more common. I eventually gave up trying to explain my rights as he seemed more intent on filling out his paperwork and keeping his job. It was a sad experience - his written english was very poor, and I ended up having to write the report for him. It's a hollow feeling to be forced to help someone take away your liberties; America in microcosm."

Bush League: Ethnographic Recordings

Today I listened to a cool piece about an ethnographer who recorded all kinds of American folk songs on the New Yorker website (http://www.newyorker.com/online/2008/04/28/080428onaudiobilger/?xrail). Got me thinking about the music for Bush League. One of the things I'm trying to do, is use a hundred percent Malawian music for the score. I tried to collect as much as I could while I was there, and will probably, hopefully, go back for more.

Bush League: Honesty the Dog

Getting some work done on Bush League this week. Here's a shot of Honesty the Malawian village dog going toe to toe with a baby goat. Cracks me up cause Edward, one of the soccer players, is laughing so hard. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xwEiu-UFgw

Drinking the TIgris: Sand Storm

A sandstorm came up early this morning and ruined the day. I could smell dust in the air when I woke. Bad. Got so much dust in my room I had to change the sheets on my bed. Still going, just hope it clears for tomorrow. This is tough land. The people who've lived here over the millennia are tough. Summer is an oven and winter is cold. It was hitting the low thirties every night for a couple weeks in January and it even snowed once. They said it was the first time in 80 years it snowed in Baghdad. I guess the locals don't have a word for snow, so they were calling it frozen rain or something to that effect.

When it rains, the mud is different from anything I've ever seen. Everybody talks about it like its magic. Its as thick as potters clay, when you walk through it, it builds up and collects anything you step on, making you taller as you go. Even if it hasn't rained for months, the ground doesn't absorb the water.

There are days when this is, without a doubt, the ugliest place I've ever been. I don't mean Iraq, I mean the little perimeter I'm stuck in. I have no idea what the rest of the country is like. But now and then, the sky gives us something nice. Not that the ugliness is so bad. Its so ugly, its interesting. I've been trying to capture it with a photo, but I'm not good enough. Beauty is an easier subject.

The water here fascinates me. On the flight back in, I saw a huge lake west of Baghdad. Not sure what its called or if its manmade or not. The desert is peaceful from the air. Its vast and empty, so I can only imagine what its like to pass through it on foot, then encounter one of these bodies of water. The contrast is powerful.

And of coarse there are the rivers. I saw the Euphrates on the same flight in. I love seeing it, for some reason it means a lot to me. If it wasn't for the Euphrates, the British would have never been interested in this region. They wanted it, because it gave them their best and fastest access to India, which was their cash cow back when. They sent their messages to and from India via the river. Kind of a Victorian pony express. As WWI ruptured, the regions oil came into play. The Brits started drawing odd national borders with rulers and making up nation states to their advantage, or so they thought. Almost a hundred years later and we're in up to our necks in the consequences of bad foreign policy, from then and now.

Its already getting hot. Yesterday was way over a hundred. My thermometer said over 105, but I can't believe it. My body has never been so acclimated to heat before. 105 is nothing.

New Holga Shots

Holgas are the Russian tractor of the photography world. Its a 15 dollar plastic camera with a plastic lens that takes medium format film. They leak light, have no adjustments for aperture, focus or shutter speed and the viewfinder is completely inaccurate. But they can take some great pictures. After shooting nothing but digitals for years now, its fun to shoot real film and wait for the results. The shot in the Charles De Gaulle airport is hands down the most popular picture I've ever taken. It's getting me more love and affection on flickr than I've ever gotten. Almost didn't take it cause I was afraid of airport security. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/2385954338/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/2385118573/

Drinking the Tigris: Jon Taplin's Blog

I started reading Jon Taplin's blog about a month ago and have been impressed by his analysis of a half dozen important subjects. I left a comment on his blog the other day, was excited to see this response: http://jtaplin.wordpress.com/2008/02/22/note-from-baghdad/

Bush League: Words on Reggae Fitzgerald

Man I love Fitz. I've been sending him a few bucks now and then to work on his third record. He names all of his records Kadandulu. He told me it's the name of a special bird that cries if its nest is destroyed. The last money I sent, he took half and bought a mountain bike. Makes me smile so much cause he was definitely sneaking, but I don't mind at all. Glad to help the guy, and glad he's not buying beer with the money. I met him in Mzuzu, Malawi in 2004. He was walking around selling his cassettes out of a box. He had dreads back then and a knit Rasta cap. I bought a couple of tapes, but to be honest, never listened to them because I didn't have a cassette player. When I was back in Malawi last year, he caught me on the street and started hitting me up for a trip to America cause he thought he could do better there with his music. After that, I was dodging him for a little while cause I was scared of his full court press for a round trip ticket, then I don't know what happened, a few weeks later it hit me that I could help the guy out somehow. He wanted to promote his music and I had all my camera stuff, so we started planning for a video.

We needed to pick a song, so we walked down to a bar that had a tape player and put his tape in. His music started, and it rocked my brain. I didn't know his songs were that good till then. Edson, a local who's always around and can be seen wearing a yellow shirt in the video, started dancing. I was kind of impressed, but didn't know if it was really good, or maybe I was just wanting it to be good and liking the moment.

In the video, the room he wakes up in, is actually his sisters room. The little boy is dancing on his front porch. The big group of kids surrounding him, that's at a little school up the street. The bicycles are bicycle taxis. I paid them three or four bucks to peddle us around and I'm sitting backwards shooting off the back of one. The crowd in the street, those are the neighbors who were around and wanted to jump in. The night stuff indoors, that's all shot across the street from his house at a lodge/hotel. Some drunk guys made that difficult. The gold boom box I rented for ten bucks. The whole thing cost about 25 dollars to make, which is important cause film/video work is far too often about money. This is folk art to me. Both the music and the video. It's about the common person. Deep inside, this is really the filmmaker I want to be. People always say things like, "Oh, you could be the next Spielberg", That's who everybody thinks of when you say filmmaker, and I like Spielberg, but I want to be like Mark Twain or Woody Guthrie. I think about Hemingway's adventures all the time, and Steinbeck's endings. I also think about Emily Dickenson, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen a lot, but mainly I just think about being free. Free from the obsession that it's no good if it doesn't make money. That's is lame if 12 to 15 year old boys don't go to see it twice. That's is lame if agents don't call you when you're done.

It's been a long day; I'm tired and rambling.

I'm now a full blown fan of Fitz's music. He has another song called 'Penya' that I listen to all the time when I drive over here in Baghdad. I don't know what it means, but I yell along with it.

Today I received this new email from Fitz:

"cy how are you, about me am just so fine.I want to tell u that the ulbum is finished.now i need to put in CDs for promotion ,and journey to radio stations Blantyre and lilongwe .Pliz help me anything little . Yewo tisanganenge. Fitz."

Congratulations to you Fitz. I know its not easy to make a record in Malawi.

Drinking the TIgris: Light Stencils

These are in camera effects, no photoshop. Been trying to figure out how to do exposures with a stencil and light. So instead of using a can of paint, you can use an LED or a flash to graffiti an object or place. Its challenging. I think to really do it well I need a second camera. Getting there. Marine John Jones

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/2176655085/