Joel P West and the journey we’re on
It is almost time to live on the road. To sleep at unknown homes and shoulder the story of another world, war, and a chance to rebuild.
The roadies, Ugandan advocates, mentors, interns, and staff have prepared for months. Many hours of healthy sleep have been lost, exchanged for exhaustive education, packing, training, calling, booking, night ocean swimming, and back-porch personal-history deep-talk excavation. The Face-to-Face tour launches in 42 hours.
Last night, Joel P West and the Tree Ring, alongside Red Hunter and Rob Crow, performed for us at a send-off concert. They blessed us with their art, and commissioned us with ’safe travels’ and sincere encouragement. Kenny Laubbacher set up the night as the gift it was, and Jedidiah clothing (no relation, other than divine providence and my super-fan affection for them) hosted the whole thing at their warehouse. It was just what was needed. A formalized moment of reflection.
Joel said a few things that linger with me today. He is about to head up with his band to record their new album in the mountains. The album focuses on Joel’s internal evolution, the personal journey of self discovery and the wash of experience that rattles a young mind. He said it is about the questions that take time to simmer in solitude. Then he addressed the roadies, saying that while some of us get caught in that cloudy journey of self-and-cosmic understanding, there are questions that need to be answered today. Questions like, ‘why should a child in Congo or Uganda live in fear of being abducted?’ ‘Why should villages be massacred and no one know about it.’ And the fact that these roadies and interns have put their personal/spiritual stupor on the shelf while they answer the distant call of Justice, it is cause to celebrate and honor them as rare expressions of brave novelty. And what’s more, when looking away from the mirror for a season, halting the self mining and looking out to the groaning world, you may very well see yourself for the first time. Forgetting yourself to find yourself.
Considering all this, Thoreau came to mind. Whether you’re headed to the mountains to embark on a season of reflection and examination (which I believe to be hugely important), or shedding yourself to live in the service of others, to delight in the organism of purposed community and the purity of single-minded pursuit, you are making choices based on who you want to become. Thoreau said: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
If you ask me, it is the commitment to living deliberately that marks a worthy life. The mistakes made on that road seem to lead to humble, wiser, and stronger people. I see those people all around me. Not waiting to wake up as old men riddled with mistakes and half-breathed breaths… but awake now. Living truly and truly living.
It was a powerful night, and Joel and The Tree Ring’s music was maybe the best I’ve ever heard it. A huge thanks to them, and Red Hunter, Rob Crow, the people at Jedidiah, and the ever-incredible Kenny Laubbacher. – Jedidiah
Here is some more Joel P West and the Tree Ring to revel in:
Video: The Power of Music
This 2 minute video reminds me of the power of story telling. The places it can take you in only moments. I’m also including a video I saw a while back, I think I’ve even blogged it before, but it has the same effect. Watch both if you haven’t seen them. – Jedidiah
The Power of Music from Life File Videos on Vimeo.
Wait For Me (3 Minute Documentary) from Red Light Films on Vimeo.
You just got balloooooned son…
Here at the Invisible Children office, we have our own definition of the word ‘ballooned’:
Ballooned [ buh'looned ]. verb. 1. To have a balloon (preferably a party or animal shaped balloon) unknowingly attached to you, and for it to remain so attached for as long as possible, with the ballooned individual’s level of embarrassment and shame directly proportional to the length of time the balloon is attached.
There were a few birthday balloons just hanging around the office for a good while, and rather than throw them away, Kevin and Jesse decided to use them to quietly mock and humiliate their coworkers… so came the birth of the igotballooned blog.
Please visit it and enjoy. Attached below are a few of our faves.
By the way, thanks to Kevin, IGotBallooned now has an official balloon endorsement, no biggy. -Braden
Creative extremists are we
“The question is not if we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
I am somewhat of a wide-eyed individual. I am startled by many things and easily made to gasp. It isn’t so much that I’m easily impressed as I am easily fascinated. But I feel the need to say something about the people I work with. They may be the eighth wonder. The long hours. The big ideas. The sacrifice of these roadies and interns… though, as one roadie told me, ‘it is no sacrifice to exchange what is acceptable, expected, and planned for what is best: the living pursuit of a better world’.
My parents spent a while asking me when my ’season’ at Invisible Children would end. They don’t ask me that any more. The foundation in my voice when I say I am living my strengths, waking up with resolve, and working with people that I respect, even more, want to be… it is impossible to argue with that. My parents have realized that they couldn’t wish a better place for a child than that which makes them fully alive.
It is human nature to want to work hard, contribute to something important, and live deliberately. And to the degree that we forget this, or exchange it for comfort and safety, is the degree to which we live with a swelling bitter discontent that will one day manifest itself in broken relationships and lonely spirits. I, in my twenties, have been so lucky to learn this. Not so much my revelation as it is a muse that visited me in the form of IC. I commit to never forgetting it, and doing my part to keep those around me awake to it as well. That promise involves pursuing my talents and delighting in the talents of others, discovering the synergy between them that will produce that dangerously bankrupt word: change. But positive change. Change that looks like education, policy, peace, friendship, global community, art, and story telling.
“Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.” - MLK Jr.
I am proud to be maladjusted to the workings of this world. As evidenced by this post, I’m feeling sentimental and reflective today, so… cheers to the pursuit of something different. I lift my glass up to the 90 people on the 3rd and 4th floors of this office in San Diego (and all our maladjusted comrads in Uganda, and beyond). – Jedidiah
IC is full of Beliebers
It’s hard to believe thats it has only been three weeks since the fall roadies and interns arrived here in San Diego. The way this community is set up, an outsider would think we’d all been friends for years. We’ve been working long hours and giving it our all in preparation of the Face-to-Face tour, I think this video shows just how well we have learned how to work as one. And yes, it has almost 9,000 views. – Braden
Pakistan’s floods
An observation: middle eastern people are seen with a complicated and subtle ‘otherness’, even animosity, in the subconscious of the West. The result: an almost unparalleled catastrophe that doesn’t seem to be on the emotional radar of the American people. I don’t see a rush of support, heart felt prayer, and relief for these drowning people. Maybe I’m way off. Here’s the latest news about Pakistan’s flooding. - Jedidiah
The Guardian: Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis have fled the historic southern city of Thatta in Sindh province after the swollen Indus river broke a levee and flooded new areas.
Around 175,000 people, about 70% of the city’s population, were believed to have fled their homes overnight, said Manzoor Sheikh, a senior government official. Authorities were trying to repair the broken levee 78 miles south-east of the major port city of Karachi and arranging transport for people trying to leave. (more…)
Introducing Chadwick
Uhm… this is Chadwick. He’s one of our graphic designers. And we love him. Here is a short video detailing almost all you need to know. – Jedidiah
Things the video left out: Chadwick majored in life, graphic design, and photography at Point Loma Nazarene University. He was able to participate in a traveling art study that took him to western Europe for six months then finished off in Japan. Chadwick likes flavored sun-flower seeds, screen printing tee-shirts, taking pictures, long walks on the beach, playing bones (dominos), spicy food, supporting community, and good conversation. No ladies, hes not single…
Peace and Conflict Update
As LRA activity continues to displace thousands in southern Sudan, the Central African Republic and the DRC, government leaders are renewing their calls for a regional strategy to rid their countries of threat from the LRA. The Central African Republic welcomed the support of the United States and France in their effort to arrest Joseph Kony and end a threat that has affected four countries and hundreds of thousands of people since it began more than two decades ago.
While looting and abductions continue to occur unabated in northern DRC, southern Sudanese officials are reporting that attacks have been occurring on weekly basis, forcing more than 25,000 people from their homes. Sudanese civilians told the BBC that LRA rebels wait to attack until the harvesting of crops is complete, causing a severe drop in the amount of available food. A region that is usually a large provider of food to Sudan will now require World Food Program support to sustain its population.
A few hundred kilometers south of where the LRA is active in DRC, another vicious rebel group, the FDLR, gang-raped 179 women over a two day period last month. The FDLR and other militias in the area are notorious for using rape as a weapon and terrorizing the population through sexual and gender based violence.
Scala & Kolacny Brothers cover ‘Creep’
It’s the movie Mark Zuckerburg doesn’t want you to see. Well, I doubt he cares what you do (he’s on top of a billion-dollar company), but he’s already made it clear he doesn’t care for “The Social Network” – a film about the not-so-humble beginnings of his company, Facebook.
Allegations that he stole the idea (and Justin Timberlake playing Napster-founder Shawn Fanning) already makes it an interesting story to check out. But if you’ve seen the trailer, the real hook is the unique cover of Radiohead’s “Creep”. Turns out it’s sung by a girl’s choir from Belgium – Scala & Kolacny Brothers.
I’ve been listening to their other songs (a mix of originals and covers) and they’re all just as good as “Creep”. Listen to the song and watch the trailer, and you’ll see why I’m eating right off the dirty spoon of whatever Hollywood studio is feeding this to me.
-Josh
Are you born in September? or know someone that is? listen up….
Our friends at charity: water just launched their 4th annual September campaign and this year the goal is huge: Bring clean water to the entire population of the Bayaka people of the Central African Republic.
The Bayaka people are among the few remaining hunter-gatherers left today. They are skilled hunters and know the way of the forest around them, but in recent years the logging industry has destroyed their way of life along with the forest canopy.
The Bayaka have an incredible story, but almost no access to clean water.
The goal of Charity Water is to give clean water to all 20,ooo Bayaka in the region, as well as 70,000 of their closest neighbors. It will take them 1.7 million dollars to reach that goal, and they NEED your support.
There are four things you can do to help:
1. Watch the September campaign video here: http://www.charitywater.org/september
It just might be the best one they’ve made. Please share it with others.
2. Born in September? Know someone that is? Donate your birthday and start your own fundraising campaign. It’s so easy. Thousands of people have done this over the past few years, raising millions of dollars for clean water.
3. Facebook. This morning they launched a new Facebook page to share exclusive videos each day from C.A.R. Please join them on www.facebook.com/charitywater and donate your status today by sharing the video.
4. Are you on Twitter? Here are a few sample tweets you could spread today:
- Today, @charitywater launched the 2010 #September campaign. Watch this video and support: http://bit.ly/17oovL
- Please support the @charitywater #September campaign. Watch the trailer now: http://bit.ly/17oovL
- Who are the Bayaka people? And why do they need clean water? Watch this video: http://bit.ly/17oovL
- Your birthday can change the world. Watch this video to see how: http://bit.ly/17oovL
Thank you for helping our great friends at charity: water.
Update: Arrests made in the World Cup bombings
From BBC News:
Investigators in Uganda have arrested four men who they say masterminded twin bomb attacks that killed more than 70 people last month. The men, all of them Ugandan, admitted their involvement in the Kampala attacks during a news conference. They all spoke of their role in the attacks that struck a restaurant and a rugby club – the venues hosting fans watching the World Cup football final.After the attacks, a Somali Islamist group said it was behind them.
Al-Shabab said the bombings were in revenge for Uganda’s role in sending troops to Somalia as part of the African Union’s mission to support the besieged government there. Investigators in Uganda and Kenya have already detained a number of people they believe were connected to the attacks. But the BBC’s East Africa correspondent Peter Greste says it is the first time the Ugandan military say they have found the masterminds.The four suspects appeared in a press conference organised by military intelligence in Uganda’s capital, Kampala.The BBC’s Joshua Mmali in Kampala, who attended the event, says the suspects were brought in one by one. Each gave detailed descriptions of how they were involved in the plot, he said. The suspects told the media that they had organised the attacks out of religious conviction. One of the men seemed remorseful and occasionally cried during his testimony, our reporter says.
“I know I’m a monster to you all because of the evil acts that I did… as I told you I wasn’t thinking straight,” he said.
Kenyan accused of harboring suspected terror suspects
NAIROBI, Kenya — A Kenyan man who once told authorities he was part of an al-Qaida plot to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi is now facing charges in connection with last month’s terror attacks in Uganda but is free on bail, authorities said Wednesday.
Salmin Mohammed Khamis, 34, also was acquitted in 2005 in the bombing of a beachfront hotel, two years after he divulged the embassy plot. Khamis was never charged in connection with the embassy case and his statement to authorities was viewed by The Associated Press.
Under Kenyan law, a confession can only be acted on if it is made in front of a magistrate or judge. Confessions made during police interrogations are not admissible as evidence in court.
Khamis was one of seven people acquitted in the 2002 bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel near Mombasa, Kenya in which 15 people died. He also was acquitted of charges in connection with a failed attempt to shoot down an Israeli passenger plane leaving Mombasa that same day.
Kenya’s anti-terrorism police chief, Nicholas Kamwende, confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday that the same man is now facing charges in connection with the Uganda bombings that killed 76 people. Khamis, though, is out on bail after a Mombasa court released him Monday.
He is accused of harboring three suspects in connection with the Uganda attacks, when a Somali al-Qaida-linked group, al-Shabab, attacked fans watching the World Cup final match on television at two locations. One of the Ugandan suspects came to Kenya to stay with Khamis after the July 11 bombings while the other two stayed in hotels in Mombasa, Kamwende said.
The spokesman for Uganda’s judiciary said the three men voluntarily confessed before two magistrates Tuesday evening that they were involved in the bombings. Eliasa Kisawuzi did not give details of the men’s confessions.
Kamwende said anti-terrorism police have been watching Khamis since his acquittal in 2005 and know that he has been to Somalia several times since. The last time Khamis tried to go to Somalia was in June, but police stopped him at the border town of Liboi, Kamwende said.
Back in 2003, Khamis told Kenyan investigators that al-Qaida planned to simultaneously drive a truck bomb and fly a small plane laden with explosives into the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. The men, however, did not set a date for their attack and it was not clear at the time whether Khamis’ arrest in July 2003 foiled the plan.
But the report provided a possible reason for the actions American and Kenyan authorities took in June and July 2003. For four days in June 2003, the U.S. Embassy was closed down and Kenyan officials banned flights from June 20-July 8, 2003 to and from Somalia.
Kamwende said Khamis is “most probably,” still in touch with the other men involved in the 2003 plot to attack the U.S. Embassy.
Kenyan authorities have been alert to terror threats since the 1998 car bombing of the old U.S. Embassy in downtown Nairobi, which killed 213 people including 12 Americans.
___
Associated Press Writer Godfrey Olukya in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this report.
He is the one I would like to talk to
“The purpose of a fishtrap
Is to catch fish,
And when the fish are caught
The trap is forgotten.
The purpose of words
is to convey ideas.
When the ideas are grasped
The words are forgotten.
Where can I find a man
Who has forgotten words?
He is the one I would like to talk to.”
- Chuang Tzu
Read this: MLK Jr’s Nobel Peace Prize speech
We at IC have been trying to articulate, to synthesize what it is that makes this generation, this movement, this cultural rebellion for justice. We’ve been trying to find the common thread and put it to words. In my research and treasure hunt for language, my friend Lindsay pointed me to this speech. Holy holy. It is powerful. Please, take the time to read this today. There is a reason why Martin Luther King, Jr. is studied by speechwriters around the world. His words are deservedly eternal. - Jedidiah
The Quest for Peace and Justice, Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1964
It is impossible to begin this lecture without again expressing my deep appreciation to the Nobel Committee of the Norwegian Parliament for bestowing upon me and the civil rights movement in the United States such a great honor. Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meaning can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart. Such is the moment I am presently experiencing. I experience this high and joyous moment not for myself alone but for those devotees of nonviolence who have moved so courageously against the ramparts of racial injustice and who in the process have acquired a new estimate of their own human worth. Many of them are young and cultured. Others are middle aged and middle class. The majority are poor and untutored. But they are all united in the quiet conviction that it is better to suffer in dignity than to accept segregation in humiliation. These are the real heroes of the freedom struggle: they are the noble people for whom I accept the Nobel Peace Prize.
This evening I would like to use this lofty and historic platform to discuss what appears to me to be the most pressing problem confronting mankind today. Modern man has brought this whole world to an awe-inspiring threshold of the future. He has reached new and astonishing peaks of scientific success. He has produced machines that think and instruments that peer into the unfathomable ranges of interstellar space. He has built gigantic bridges to span the seas and gargantuan buildings to kiss the skies. His airplanes and spaceships have dwarfed distance, placed time in chains, and carved highways through the stratosphere. This is a dazzling picture of modern man’s scientific and technological progress.
Yet, in spite of these spectacular strides in science and technology, and still unlimited ones to come, something basic is missing. There is a sort of poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually. We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.
First Listen: Ray LaMontagne’s new album
Looks like Ray is holding on to his roots (thank God). After a few more mainstream releases, with gems on them for sure, Ray has released a substantially raw americana album that I think I can get behind. We’ll see. Stream away… Here is NPR’s review and the whole album streaming at NPR Music. – Jedidiah
Ray LaMontagne may be dismissed as the kind of musician relegated to warm, fuzzy television dramas, but there’s much more to the husky-voiced singer-songwriter. On his fourth studio album, God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise, he’s joined by his terrific band The Pariah Dogs: Jay Bellarose on drums, Jennifer Condos on bass, Patrick Warren on keys, Eric Heywood on guitar and Greg Leisz on steel guitar. The album was recorded in LaMontagne’s woodsy home in western Massachusetts, which helps lend that rural sound which runs through all of his records.
Whereas 2008’s Gossip in the Grain was a more expansive release, God Willin’ exists in a more compact musical space. As the album’s title suggests, it’s a country-tinged record complete with slide guitar and the occasional banjo. The songs conjure images of a simple life of hammock naps and skillet-cooked breakfasts within a universe devoid of cell phones, laptops and televisions. The only interruption to his scene of melancholy serenity occurs in the first track, “Repo Man,” which kicks off the album with an aggressive guitar riff and accusatory lyrics. The rest of the album operates at a much slower pace, though, wandering from regret to occasional contentment.
With God Willin’, LaMontagne continues to churn out soulful tunes that relentlessly tug at the heart strings. He isn’t covering new territory, but his music is no less satisfying for its familiarity. For example, in “New York City’s Killing Me,” he laments the sterility of urban living, singing, “I was just kicking along the sidewalk / No one looks you in the eyes / No one asks you how you’re doing / Don’t seem to care if you live or if you die.”
LaMontagne reins in his characteristic raspiness on God Willin’. It’s still very much present, but he rarely belts the notes as on previous records. Instead, he favors clarity and a smoother delivery, as evidenced by the contemplative “Old Before Your Time.”
God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise will stream here in its entirety until its release on Aug. 17. Please leave your thoughts on the album in the comments section below.
Discuss: a mosque at Ground Zero
I’m sure you’ve all seen the insanely fired-up debate surrounding a proposed Mosque on or near Ground Zero in New York City. Many progressives believe it is a step towards healing. Moderates think it’s touchy and probably inappropriate. Conservatives believe it is a shameful slap in the face to the thousands of victims of the famed attack. I heard a pretty compelling rabbi speak on the news yesterday about the inappropriateness of building a Convent at Auschwitz. Made me think.
Because McLaren’s ideas are a popular source of debate within our walls here at IC, I thought I’d post his response to all of this, found in The Washington Post. His post is ‘Bible heavy’ because so much of the debate turns on the religious response. – Jedidiah
Why I support the mosque in Manhattan, by Brian McLaren.
Today’s guest blogger is Brian McLaren, who began his career as a college English teacher, and then served for twenty-four years as a church planter and pastor in the Washington, DC, area. Now he is a popular blogger and speaker, author (the most recent of his eleven books is A New Kind of Christianity), and activist, especially focusing on the spiritual life and its intersection with the planet, poverty, peace, and pluralism.
I don’t really like proof-texting – pulling a verse out of context to try to prove a point. I’m not even a big fan of the fact that the Bible is divided up into chapters and verses. It wasn’t always that way – our modern schema of chapters and verses is a relatively late addition to the Bible, having evolved since the 13th Century. Chapter-and-versification allows people to kidnap a quote out of its context in a longer narrative and apply it in potentially irresponsible and harmful ways, as if the Bible were a legal constitution and its verses were articles, sections, subsections, and amendments in a legal code.
But I’m about to engage in chapter-and-versing, consciously and intentionally – and with regard to context, because in this case, the ancient text applies powerfully to our own situation in America today. Consider Exodus 23:9:
“Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.”
The command was originally for the Jewish people. After a famine, they became refugees in Egypt and eventually were enslaved for generations by Pharoah’s regime. But according to the Bible, God isn’t on the side of the oppressors; God sides with the oppressed, and so God liberated them from slavery. God then led them through the wilderness and ultimately provided them a place to live. The oppressed became the blessed.
But being blessed by God gave them no excuse to oppress others, so they were commanded to never forget – never forget what it’s like to be oppressed, so you never become complicit in the oppression of others. The command is repeated often, and even strengthened, as in Leviticus 19:33-34:
When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
You find a similar strengthening of the command in Deuteronomy (10:19):
[The LORD] defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.
Lately I’ve been thinking about Exodus 23:9 and its companion verses in relation to the current controversy about a group of Muslim citizens – full American citizens in a democracy, not even aliens! – seeking to build a mosque in Manhattan. Among others, Sarah Palin has called for peace-loving Muslims to “refudiate” the mosque, calling it a provocation and saying that it stabs the hearts of people in the heartland. But I wonder if people in the heartland have forgotten that they are only a few generations away from ancestors who were also immigrants, who came to the United States in many cases to experience freedom of religion.
Shouldn’t it stab the hearts of caring Americans like you and me to imagine forbidding Muslims to experience the same freedom of religion in their new homeland that our own ancestors sought here in the past? Shouldn’t we remember how it feels to be seen as aliens, and shouldn’t we love our Muslim neighbors as ourselves, wanting the same religious freedom for them that we cherish?
That’s why I think it’s valid to bring Exodus 23:9 and its companion verses into the equation at times like these. We Christians – and Jews too – should enthusiastically support Muslims in their desire to build a center devoted to peaceful religion near the site of an atrocity committed in the name of violent religion. We are not called to mistreatment, prejudice, oppression, or even to mere tolerance – we are called to something far higher: to empathy, to generosity, to hospitality, and to love, fueled by empathy and memory. To violate those values should truly stab the heart of all Christians everywhere.
Knowing that Sarah Palin respects the Scriptures, I think if she gives it a second and prayerful thought, she couldn’t help but change her mind.
The content of this blog reflects the views of its author and does not necessarily reflect the views of either Eboo Patel or the Interfaith Youth Core.
Mia Farrow on LRA recovery
Editor’s note: Actress Mia Farrow has traveled extensively as an ambassador forUNICEF, including trips to Haiti, the Darfur region of Sudan and Angola.
(CNN) — Ambrose was 8 when he was abducted by the Lords Resistance Army, the ruthless militia responsible for the massacre, rape, torture and mutilation of thousands of civilians in northern Uganda.
While he lived with the militia in the jungle, young Ambrose was forced to fight and to kill. Two years ago, at 12, he escaped.
Now an orphan, his home is a boarding school for hundreds of child victims of the LRA in Gulu, northern Uganda. I sat with the seventh-graders on a bench in a spare classroom. “Back then,” Ambrose whispered, “I felt only like killing.”
But despite all he has endured, Ambrose is not looking backward. He is focused on the future. “If only I could attend secondary school,” he confided, “I long to be a doctor.”
The LRA has been driven into neighboring Congo and south Sudan, but nearly two million traumatized people in northern Uganda are left struggling to recover from decades of terror, torture and displacement.
The chance of Ambrose realizing his dream is slim. There is no secondary school nearby, and private school would cost an impossible $500 a year. Ambrose has nothing but his dreams.
In the nearly two decades that I have been traveling through Africa, I have seen violence, hunger and all the ravages of poverty and irresponsible, corrupt leaderships. I have held babies who were dying of AIDS and starvation; I have spoken with child soldiers and with child victims of rape. I have sat with innocent women, men and children who had been mutilated or riddled by bullets or rocket-propelled grenades.
I met a man who told me he had eaten his belt because he was so hungry — this while that man’s president prospered. I have seen the worst that human beings can do to each other. (more…)
The gold within the hills
“The world is changing. In human history, we’ve always said ‘whoa, look at the gold in the earth!’ Now we are saying ‘Look at the gold in someone’s life.’ This will change everything.” - Ben Keesey (from Tuesday’s staff meeting at IC)
Restrepo: behind the scenes
I saw this film with a bunch of IC people at Mountainfilm Film Festival in Telluride this past May. It is one of the most honest, powerful films I’ve ever seen. I encourage you all to see it. The film doesn’t make soldiers out to be criminals, or the Afghani people to be perfect sinless victims. It simply gives you a front row seat to the front lines of battle. My friend Lindsay pointed out, ‘how objective can it be if it doesn’t show the war from the perspective of the local people?’ It’s a great point, but we both came to realize that this film isn’t a full exposé on the intricacies of the war. It is simply and powerfully an honest presentation of life for the American deployed. I’m including a behind the scenes interview with the filmmakers in this post, because it gives context to the powerful messages of the film. Watch the trailer and read below. - Jedidiah
From National Geographic:
From May 2007 to July 2008, Battle Company of the 173rd Airborne Brigade was stationed in the remote Korengal Valley of eastern Afghanistan—considered one of the most dangerous postings of the war. The soldiers of Second Platoon built and manned a remote and strategic outpost that they named Restrepo in honor of their medic, Pfc. Juan Restrepo, who was killed in action. This is their story, in their words, of a group of men who came be considered the “tip of the spear” for America’s efforts in that area.
In the last five years the Korengal Valley—a rugged valley six miles long near the border with Pakistan—has become an epicenter of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. It was considered to be a crucial relay point for Taliban fighters moving from Pakistan toward Kabul, and several top al Qaeda leaders were thought to have used it as a base of operations. In 2005, Taliban fighters cornered a four-man Navy SEAL team in the Korengal and killed three of them, then shot down a helicopter that was sent to save them. All 16 American commandos onboard died.
By the end of 2007, almost one-fifth of all the combat in Afghanistan was taking place in the Korengal. The fighting was on foot and it was deadly, and the zone of American control moved hilltop by hilltop, ridge by ridge, a hundred yards at a time. There was literally no safe place in the Korengal; men have been shot while asleep in their barracks. To date, close to 50 American soldiers have lost their lives there.
Recording Combat, Boredom, Terror
Starting in June 2007, Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger dug in with the men of Second Platoon, making a total of ten trips to the Korengal on assignment for Vanity Fair magazine and ABC News. Each trip started with a helicopter flight into the main firebase in the valley and then a two-hour foot patrol out to Restrepo. There was no running water at Restrepo, no Internet, no phone communication, and for a while, there was no electricity or heat—it was essentially just sandbags and ammo. Some days the outpost was attacked three or four times from distances as close as 50 yards.
Hetherington and Junger—sometimes working together, sometimes alone—did everything the soldiers did except pull guard duty and shoot back during firefights. They slept alongside the soldiers, ate with them, survived the boredom and the heat and the cold and the flies with them, went on patrol with them, and eventually came to be considered virtually part of the platoon. By the end of the deployment, they had shot a total of 150 hours of combat, boredom, humor, terror, and daily life at the outpost.
Conditions for filmmaking couldn’t have been harsher. The surrounding mountains rose to a height of 10,000 feet—which was traversed on foot. Long operations meant carrying enough camera batteries to last a week or more, on top of the 50 or so pounds of gear required on even ordinary patrols. Cameras got smashed into rocks, clogged with dirt, and hit with shell cartridges during firefights.
Men were killed and wounded during filming, so there was a constant issue of when it was OK to turn on the cameras and when it was not. Only the filmmakers’ close relationships with the men of the platoon allowed them to keep shooting in situations where other journalists might have been told to stop.
Three months after the end of the deployment, Hetherington and Junger traveled to Vicenza, Italy, where the unit is based. They used two VariCams, a full light and sound package, and two cameramen to conduct in-depth interviews with their main characters.
These interviews—initially considered a kind of glue for the verité and a way to avoid outside narration—wound up being some of the most powerful and affecting material of the entire project. The soldiers were able to allow themselves a level of emotion and introspection that is simply not possible in combat.
Interview With Sebastian Junger & Tim Hetherington
How did you come across this particular assignment? What brought you there? Why did it appeal to you?
Sebastian Junger: We were on assignment for Vanity Fair and ABC News. After an embed with Battle Company in 2005, I’d had the idea of following one platoon for an entire deployment and both writing a book and making a documentary about their experience.
We hear the initial reactions of the soldiers upon learning that they’ve been assigned to the Korengal Valley. What was your first impression of Korengal?
SJ: When I stepped off the helicopter in June ’07 I was stunned by the ruggedness of the terrain—and the beauty. Then again, I didn’t have to spend a year there, and I assumed the fighting would be minimal, which of course it wasn’t.
What kind of advice or protection did the soldiers offer you while you were shooting? Did you receive any training or safety guidelines prior to shipping out?
SJ: They knew Tim and I had been in plenty of wars before this, so they didn’t really offer any advice. Once or twice during combat I was advised where good cover was (it depends on what direction they’re shooting from).
Did you take turns with the camera?
Tim Hetherington: We each had a camera and filmed more or less of our own volition. If I was busy taking stills, Sebastian would make sure to cover the camerawork. There were scenes where we were both shooting, and we would divide things up in a crude manner—I’d take the wides, he’d take the tights, or I’d shoot the Afghans while he shot the Americans.
What limits were placed on your access?
TH: No limits at all on access—none. There was a stated agreement that we would not shoot wounded American soldiers—or would get their OK later—and I think there was an understanding that we would be very sensitive about filming the dead. The Army asks to review a rough cut later for security and privacy concerns, but they had no issues.
Did you stay the entire duration of their deployment?
TH: No, we did five trips each, sometimes together, sometimes not. Each trip lasted around a month.
How much footage was shot? Did you ship footage back as you went along?
SJ: We shot 150 hours of footage, and we’d bring our footage back on each trip and copy it and log it. We also shot around 40 hours of interviews at the soldiers’ base in Italy about three months after the deployment.
Who are these soldiers? Did you get any distinct impressions of them, where they came from, why they were there?
TH: No one had followed a platoon for an entire duration of [its] deployment, so we became incredibly close to many of the soldiers. They came from a variety of backgrounds and had joined the Army for a myriad of competing reasons. Some said they needed to get out of their parents’ home and saw the Army as offering them independence; others [said] that they were seeking a rite of passage and new experiences. Many didn’t think they had many options open to them and saw the Army as the best opportunity on offer. They came from all over the U.S.—many from Texas and California, others from faraway places like Guam.
What kind of dynamic did you have with your subjects?
SJ: Each trip the dynamic got more and more relaxed and comfortable. It became clear to the soldiers that we were not doing a political story and that we were comfortable in that environment—and that we were willing to take the same risks they were and endure the same discomforts. Tim broke his leg in combat; I ripped my Achilles tendon. Then I got blown up, but none of those things kept us from going back out there.
After being under fire for a sustained period, how would you describe the effect it has on you? Did you notice any change in the soldiers over the course of your time with them?
SJ: Both of us have been war reporters for some time now, so this was not our first experience being shot at. Being in a combat zone can be both exhilarating and terrifying, combined with long stretches of boredom. Things appear very simple in a war zone as the clutter of daily living recedes with the larger equation of being killed or staying alive. Mix this with being drip-fed adrenalin, and inevitably it’s going to make “coming back” incredibly difficult. I think this is something that the soldiers experienced, and to a lesser extent we also.
In one scene, we see a soldier making small talk during serious acts of war. It’s quite affecting. Why did you choose to include it? Were there other moments like this that struck you?
TH: There’s a great emphasis in war reporting on capturing the actual “bang-bang” fighting of war—and many reporters feel that any work would be incomplete without a sense of this “action.” We were no different, but because there was an incredible amount of fighting going on in the Korengal Valley, recording the actual firefights got quite boring. What was infinitely more interesting and revealing was how the soldiers carried on in these situations. People who haven’t experienced war inevitably base their understanding of it [on] the mediated versions of news or Hollywood. These representations are often limited and can’t quite reveal the humor, boredom, and confusion inherent in combat. It’s something we felt was important to represent.
The film shows how multifaceted the role of the captain is with respect to his team and the village—being able not only to advance the military goal but also having to communicate the humanitarian aspects too. Were there any dynamics that you hadn’t anticipated that you were especially glad to have captured?
SJ: I was unprepared for just how smart and dedicated the officers were, and many of the enlisted men as well. I was also amazed by how open and welcoming they were with us, the press. It was not what I had anticipated.
Were there any interactions with the village people or elders that you wish you could have included in the film?
TH: There were many, many scenes of all types that we were heartbroken not to include in the film. There were very funny moments in the shuras—the meetings with the elders—and also very intense moments when someone was very angry. There were several scenes of locals saying how much they hated the Taliban and gave up information on them, and other scenes where they clearly hated the Americans and wanted them to leave. All of it shows the complexity of this kind of war, but we couldn’t put everything into the movie.
The film is very balanced and doesn’t lead the viewer but rather shows it how it is. Did you have any guiding principles about how and what you shot as well as how you edited and shaped the film ultimately?
SJ: We were not interested in the political dimensions of the war, only the experience of the soldiers, so we limited ourselves to the things soldiers had access to. We did not ask any generals why they were in the Korengal, for example, because soldiers don’t have that opportunity, either. Our guiding principle was that we would only have people in the movie who were fighting in the Korengal. It was that principle that excluded Tim and me from the movie as well … and prevented us from using an outside narrator.
TH: It was a conscious choice. We are journalists, and as such, we are not supposed to “lead” people to a certain opinion. That is called advocacy, and it certainly has its special place in the media world, but as journalists, it’s not something we wanted to engage in.
Where would we be without it?
Even if you’re not interested in learning to make your favorite coffee drink, learning the names of them will make you sound impressive. I just finished an iced dirty chai, so I’m just in the mood. And addicted…I don’t even care.
-Rebekah K.
Tracing the volunteers
This video from GOOD presents a break-down of where the volunteers are putting their time. Along that same line of thought, this article takes a look at how more people are stepping out behind shallow materialism and wanting to be part of something bigger than themselves. We at Invisible Children are continually blown away by the growing willingness to sacrifice and the selflessness in the hearts of our volunteers. Keep on. -Rebekah K.
Levi’s “Pioneer Sessions” are a good thing
After being inspired and fascinated by the Levi commercials, I stumbled upon another project headed up by Levi: The Pioneer Sessions. If you haven’t already given these a listen, I recommend doing it now. You can sign up for free downloads, too. The Swell Season, Passion Pit, She and Him all have songs. Get stoked. Go here to listen. -Rebekah K.
Currently reading: Anna Karenina
Tolstoy’s character development and ability to catch a glimpse into the tendencies of humanity are unmatched. My journal has progressively become covered with quotes from this book. A long read, but completely worth the time. You may find a disarming glimpse of yourself within the pages. Below are a few quotes that have lingered with me long after I turned the page in which they live…
-Rebekah K.
“He walked down, for a long while avoiding looking at her as at the sun, but seeing her, as one does the sun, without looking…”
“God gave the day, God gave the strength. And the day and the strength were consecrated to labor, and that labor was its own reward. For whom the labor? What would be its fruits? These were idle considerations, beside the point…”
“…And Sergey Ivanovitch put before him the alternative: either you are so underdeveloped that you can’t see all that you can do, or you won’t sacrifice your ease, your vanity, or whatever it is, to do it…”
Did you people see this??
A dude buys a box of negatives at a garage sale for $45 dollars (negotiated down from $70)… turns out to be worth $200 million. Forget the fact that he looks like a miami lawyer with cocaine in his bathroom… I wonder if he has a heart for Africa. hehe. - JJ
Rick Norsigian kept two boxes he bought at a garage sale under his pool table for four years before realizing they may be too valuable to store at home.
The Fresno, California, commercial painter learned this week that what was in those boxes he paid $45 dollars for a decade ago could be worth more than $200 million.
“When I heard that $200 million, I got a little weak,” Norsigian said at a Beverly Hills art gallery Tuesday.
Art, forensic, handwriting and weather experts teamed up to conclude the 65 glass plates in the boxes were photographic negatives created more than 80 years ago by Ansel Adams, the iconic American photographer whose images of the West inspired the country.
Arnold Peter, the lawyer who led the effort to authenticate that the negatives were made by the man known as the father of American photography, said their approach was “to put these negatives on trial.”
Experts, including a former FBI agent and a U.S. attorney, “came to the conclusion that, based on the evidence which was overwhelming, that no reasonable person would have any doubt that these, in fact, were the long-lost images of Ansel Adams,” Arnold said.
The photographs were from the early career of the famed nature photographer, a period that is not well documented since a 1937 darkroom fire destroyed 5,000 of his plates, Arnold said.
“It truly is a missing link of Ansel Adams and history and his career,” said Beverly Hills appraiser and art dealer David W. Streets.
The photographs were taken between 1919 and the early 1930s at locations familiar to Adams, mostly around Yosemite, California, Streets said.
“This is going to show the world the evolution of his eye, of his talent, of his skill, his gift, but also his legacy,” Streets said.
“And it’s a portion that we thought had been destroyed in the studio fire.”
Norsigian, who scours garage sales for antiques, was looking for a barber chair when he spotted to two deteriorated boxes in the spring of 2000.
“When I pulled on of those glass negatives out, I seen Yosemite,” he said. “As a young man, I worked at Yosemite quite a bit. So, right away I recognized it as Yosemite.”
He bickered with the seller, finally negotiating down from $70 to $45 for the boxes. The owner said he bought them in the 1940s at a warehouse salvage in Los Angeles. He bickered the price down from $70 to $45.
It would be two years before he realized they photos may be from Adams, he said. After four years, he had done enough research to realize the plates could be valuable. He moved them from under his pool table and placed them in a bank vault.
How these 6.5 x 8.5 inch glass plate negatives of famous Yosemite landscapes and San Francisco landmarks — some of them with fire damage — made their way from Adams collection 70 years ago to a Southern California garage sale in 2000 can only be guessed.
Photography expert Patrick Alt, who helped confirm the authenticity of the negatives, suspects Adams carried them to use in a photography class he was teaching in Pasadena, California, in the early 1940s.
“It is my belief that he brought these negatives with him for teaching purposes and to show students how to not let their negatives be engulfed in a fire,” Alt said. “I think this clearly explains the range of work in these negatives, from very early pictorialist boat pictures, to images not as successful, to images of the highest level of his work during this time period.”
Alt said it is impossible to know why Adams would store them in Pasadena and never reclaim them.
The plates were individually wrapped in newspaper inside deteriorating manila envelopes. Notations on each envelope appeared to have been made by Virginia Adams, the photographer’s wife, according to handwriting experts Michael Nattenberg and Marcel Matley. They compared them to samples provided by the Adams’ grandson.
While most of the negatives appear never to have been printed, several are nearly identical to well-known Adams prints, the experts said.
Meteorologist George Wright studied clouds and snow cover in a Norsigian negative to conclude that it was taken at about the same time as a known Adams photo of a Yosemite tree.
In addition to Yosemite — the California wilderness that Adams helped conserve — the negatives depict California’s Carmel Mission, views of a rocky point in Carmel, San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, a sailing yacht at sea and an image of sand dunes.
“The fact that these locations were well-known to Adams, and visited by him, further supports the proposition that all of the images in the collection were most probably created by Adams,” said art expert Robert Moeller.
Moeller said that after six months of study, he concluded “with a high degree of probability, that the images under consideration were produced by Ansel Adams.
Silver tarnishing on the negatives also helped date the plates to around the 1920s, Alt said.
“I have sent people to prison for the rest of their lives for far less evidence than I have seen in this case,” said evidence and burden of proof expert Manny Medrano, who was hired by Norsigian to help authenticate them. “In my view, those photographs were done by Ansel Adams.”
Arnold, the lawyer, said they presented their evidence to descendants of Adams, but they’ve not heard back.
Norsigian, who is 64, still works for the Fresno school system, but he may retire this year.
It could be a while before he sees the profits from the sale of prints from the negatives, but Streets estimates over the next 25 years it could mean over $200 million for Norsigian.
For now, the photos will go on a tour of universities and museums, starting in October at Fresno State University, Norsigian said,
“I just hope everybody enjoys them,” he said.
He’s not spoken with the man who sold him the two boxes a decade ago.
“If he’s still around, I’m afraid he may come looking for me,” he said.
Update: now he’s being challenged by Ansel’s grandson.