Days & Nights
“Shane, are you okay? I have not seen you have your vitamin C yet this morning.”
“What’s that, Momma T?”
“You know, Coffee. Your vitamin C!”
We laughed around the breakfast table. This morning was my last breakfast with the Tshishonga Family for a couple of days. A friend of mine is picking me up this afternoon. We’ll have dinner at his commune tonight. Tomorrow, we’re heading up north to interview a couple that fled Zimbabwe with a herd of elephants.
Research is going remarkably well. Everyone here knows someone who fled Zimbabwe. Not only have I found all the information that I need to write my thesis this spring, but I have also been blown off my feet. The stories I have heard are astounding. The broken hearts still ache. The coffee, tea, beer and conversations I have gotten to share with so many beautiful people will never be forgotten. You can’t capture such with photos, but in this post I’ll share a couple of the pictures I’ve snapped on recent adventures. (Click a pic to enlarge it.)
As I mentioned, one of the guys I got to interview is a nature videographer. He got Graeme and I into a game park. The hut we got to stay in was awesome. The place was beautiful. The game drives were cool. Our own moonlight, headlight-less car-top explorations of the game reserve were exhilarating. In the sunrise, the ranger took us on a walk. He has trained the lions. They come right up to you and brush against your legs like house-cats. When they get too playful and chew on the hems of your clothes, he shouts, “Hey, kitty, too much!” He is smiling, but his hand is ready by the holster that holds his .44.
After the lions, and the research and adventures up north, I went to a beach house south of Durban with Emxee, Senny and Uncle Dan. It was refreshing. Porching is my favorite sport. We all became champion porchers those days. Those are the only 4 days of this trip that I have not met or talked to someone from Zimbabwe. When everything was hitting the fan, people fleeing the country were only allowed to leave with 500 Rand (less than $80). So, they drove as far as their gas tanks would get them. When their engines sputtered and ran dry, they pulled to the side of the road and settled, beginning new lives.
After those days, I met up with a group of students from Delaware that happen to be here at the same time. We went on a safari at Madikwe Game Reserve. Americans are a ridiculous lot. That place is beautiful.
We’ve been raised with the false concept that the sun rises and then sets.
But it never does:
The earth just falls around it.
In case you’re wondering, this is what an elephant looks like on a time-exposure in the night.
Days and nights came and went. “The white man has his watch, but the African has time.”
In case you’re wondering, this is what an elephant looks like in the sunrise.
So, there you have a couple of my recent photos and hints of the adventures and deeply moving interactions. More to come. I am enjoying the heck out of it.
Gettin’ in, Gettin Out!
Howdy.
It has been too long since updating.
Anyhow, this time tomorrow, i’ll be getting on a plane in Ghana. In the morning, i’ll wake up in South Africa.
This post will be short. I have not packed yet, and i leave for Dulles International Airport in about 35 minutes. I just today unpacked my bag from being gone last week. Now, time to turn around and get out again.
Last week, my new CD came out. Tons of special people came over and helped celebrate this occasion. Today, the shipping department at Supermagic Studios was hard at work (see image below).
The lady at the post office told me to stay warm. I said, “I most definitely will!” I smiled and did not explain that i was about to jump on a plane for the “Country of Africa.”
Speaking of not explaining–that is what i must now do. I have to dash so i can throw some clean cloths in a duffle bag and cram my pillow in my guitar case. I’ll try to get to the internet somewhere to elaborate and update. Enjoy the snowy month of January.
Rarity
“Look! There goes a bald eagle!”
Rarity is often used as a basis for judgment. The more rare something is, the more we tend to value it. Take, for example, gold. Historically, gold has been highly sought after. Yes, it has proven important in a few scientific experiments in more recent years, but it is doubtful that the conquistadores were slaughtering masses in order to fill their ships with gold, and laughing to themselves, “This stuff is great, it will surely help us to make great advances in understanding atomic structures!”
Wars used to be fought over salt. It was rare and difficult to collect. Our modern word, salary, is derived from a Latin word that the Romans used to describe the pay Roman soldiers received in order to procure salt. It was rare and expensive. Today, it is fifty cents a pound. We dump it by the truckload on our icy roads in the winter. No one cares. Rarity is a basis for judging value.
Deciding value based on rarity is a system predisposed to unhappiness. If something is esteemed for its scarcity, happiness will be much less accessible. Isn’t it simple? Doesn’t that make sense?
I love squirrels. There is one or two in practically every tree. I would enjoy seeing a buzzard soaring about in a thermal draft just as much as I would like seeing a bald eagle. I have recently been examining my motivation for assigning value. It is amazing what you find when you open up your own mind and start poking around.
Subconsciously, you make judgments based on scarcity. It is natural to want something you can’t have. That is an uncomfortable aspect that comes as part of the human condition. You may not even know that you think this way.
It is like a kid who is cranky all day and doesn’t know why until bedtime, when undressing he realized that he has had his underwear on backwards all day. When you realize it late in your life, you will look back and see the reason for all the discomfort. The sooner we can realize these things about ourselves, the better.
What if worth were based on something other than scarcity? We would be a lot happier.
Speaking of scarcity, I know I rarely update this blog. So, this post will be cramming together things that do not fit together, since so much has happened recently. In October, I was honored to sing at Mitchell Hall. Below is a video a friend shot of “The Frightened Rabbit Song.”
change ≠ change
“after changes upon changes we are more or less the same.”
i have been dwelling on how true those words are.
it has been quite a while since i have updated this blog. i apologize. this here update will be brief. in fact, it will
be more of a down-date, i should think. it’s hard to look forward right now, so i’d rather look backwards.
i found a music page i posted when i was 15 years old. i updated it when i turned 16, and then forgot the password. so, it lingers on as a digital time-capsule.
www.purevolume.com/shanepalkovitz
the songs that i posted on that page ring true today as well, although i would like to think that i could phrase those feelings more eloquently by now.
you should go to that link and listen to “hopes of life lately,” which i actually retitled “lately electric,” but that was in the postpassword times, so i couldn’t update it. i recorded that song upstairs, just singing to that tiny little dot that was a low-quality microphone in the old eMac.
the second song, “why so downcast?” is a live recording from a video camera. i performed it the day i wrote it, and it was not finished (cause is anything ever finished?), and Justin Weber played the djembe with me, having never heard it before.
and, in the vein of things remaining the same, i still sing all the time and i can’t stop writing. here is a video that Kwali and i made recently out in Peacedale Preserve. the aim of the video was to be relaxing and natural, but you should have seen me, walking out there with camera equipment, microphones, headphones and whatnot, trying to balance it all and walk and sing and all that business.
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“The Land of Eb”
While in Hawaii, doing research with the Marshallese people and those connected to the community, i had the privilege of meeting Andrew Williamson. He is the director of a feature film called “The Land of Eb.” This movie deserves some attention.
The Land of Eb is a narrative feature filmed in documentary style. The team is currently finishing up post-production and submitting to film festivals.
The plot of the movie draws heavily from real-life events of the Marshallese community on the Big Island of Hawaii. These people live a marginalized life in a land that many consider to be paradise. Many of the characters portrayed in the film are actually played by the individuals that inspired the story, and much of the shooting was on location. Thus, the film has a certain sense of authenticity.
Williamson describes The Land of Eb by saying, “It involves a Marshallese guy who finds out that he has cancer again and he decides not to tell his family this time, cause he doesn’t want them to be upset at all and he doesn’t want to go through chemo therapy and all the things that he had been through before. So, he decides to work hard and make sure to pay off his property and provide for his family before he dies.”
The film is full of life, portrayed in vibrant colors and overlaid with a rich original soundtrack. The score for the film was written and performed by Daniel Nietzthere; also featured is a song played on ukulele and sung by Marshallese girls from the community. The film is a dramatic representation of every-day reality for a population of approximately 3,000 Marshallese people that live in Hawaii. The writers, including John Hill and Andrew Williamson, did an excellent job of presenting deep issues as a backdrop and a lively narrative as the main plot. By choosing this approach, an audience will be engaged in the storyline and without feeling preached to, they will be entertained by the story, while at the same time learning about the plight of the Marshallese commnity.
Williamson says, “I hope [The Land of Eb] finds its audience and that it can bring some sort of attention to another peoplegroup that are here in the United States and that are struggling.” This hope is not far-fetched. The project is very high quality in all regards. The team has been meticulously tweaking every detail for a long time now. All these efforts are paying off as the feature comes together. The traditional folktales (one of which inspired the title of the film), music and culture all weave together and blossom to give a good representation of the Marshallese life in modern Hawaii.
At every stage, the Marshallese people were invited to join in the production of this film. Williamson and his crew have been working together with the people for two years and counting. Many of the community members, such as Jonathan Jackson, who plays the main character in The Land of Eb, have taken an interest in film-making. Andrew Williamson and other members of the Kona Film Group have been giving them instructions on movie-making. They intend to continue working together on other projects in the future.
As for The Land of Eb, Williamson concludes, “It’s a good story that people can be engaged in, a story about a human being that we can all relate to.”
Watch the trailer above.
[or go to the website for further information: www.thelandofeb.com]
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“home,” part one.
i am home.
This post is part one because i have much, much more to say about the trip. i flew, then time flew, then i flew home. i only had time to take one day the whole way off from my research, but i really loved the work i was doing.
On the second to last day of the trip, i had only taken one photo. i came home with over 300. You see, after i got home from research that day, Andrew, Josh, Michael and i set out for a grand adventure. We threw some blankets in a few backpacks and stopped at the grocery store to get enough food for a small army to feast on.
We drove as far north as the island would permit us. When we got to the cliff, we parked and hiked down into Polu’lu. This is what the morning view revealed.
It was the night after full moon. The photos can do no justice to the magic that spilled over the world that night.
It is difficult to choose between roses. The flames and the silver rays of moonlight kindly asked us not to sleep at all that night. We quite nearly complied. There were a few nights in a row where i slept only one or two hours because the world was just too beautiful. Coffee and the moonlight charged me up (instead of sleep) so that i could still do my research in the day. (This camping trip was only one night, but the apartment was only a few minute walk from the beach in Kona. Some nights, i would sleep out there. It’s just so beautiful.)
Sunrise came just a little while after the sweet rains that awakened us from our hour-long firelight naps.
The rough volcanic rocks have been smoothed under the relentless crashing of the waves.
i balance rocks. No, rocks let me balance them. A rock balance-sculpture is somewhat of a monument to patience. Anyhow, the monument at the right in this photo looks somewhat like a face.
It was such a peaceful place. But, the conniving surf washed up some child’s lost toy….
There’s the gang. Michael (in red), Josh (tending the fire) and Andrew (doing something).
We hiked up through the rain forest and over the ridge to find some breakfast.
Passion fruit and guava grow bountifully for the many birds (and the occasional human person) to feast on. Take note of that little camera strapped to Mike’s head. We took it with us on a couple of our after-work adventures; once i record a silly Irish Reggae song and send it to him for use as a sound track, our little movie will be ready for the public.
We found that place where the water meets the water.
We returned home (laden with passion fruits) by lunch time so that i could make it for a research appointment.
So there you have my photo diary. There are about a thousand other stories i would like to tell on here when my tired body and busy schedule will permit. Check back in the near future…
Researching in Hawaii.
It’s been a while since an update. i’ll try to post a few times in the next 2 weeks, seeing as i am away from ‘home.’
i’m on the Summer Scholar grant from the University of Delaware. To get this stipend, you agree to 10 weeks of intense research. In my case, 2 of those weeks are field work.
So, here i am in Kona, Hawaii. There is a large Marshallese population here. I am researching human displacement (wherein governments force populations to leave their homes). The areas of focus for my work are Zimbabwe, Wilmington (DE) and The Marshall Islands. According to the census, there are 3000 Marshallese people residing here, but the actual number is much higher.
i had a few prospective ins and contacts when i stepped off the plane on Sunday. Some of my childhood friends live out here, and they are being very helpful with a place to stay and the like. They collected me and my smashed luggage from the thatch-roofed airport two days ago. Did you know that the Boston airport closes at night? It does. If you have a layover over night, they kick you out and say “good luck, kiddo,” but phrased much more gruffly. i walked and walked and found a baggage claim where the door would open. i slipped in and pushed one of those very arm-full hard couch-chairs into a corner and slept for a few hours. The lights were not comfortable, and “full service” apparently means that they try to sell you everything and then run over your luggage with a fork-life and say “screw you, please fly with us again.” But, how could i complain, i sat around for a day and ended up a quarter of the way around the world..
Anyhow, yesterday was the 4th of July. There’s no point in chasing people around, looking for interviews on a holiday. Since i had read a good deal on the plane, i had bought myself a free day to settle in and get my barrings. Josh, Andrew and Michael and i went down to the Kona Independence Day Parade. Town was packed. Both sides and all the lawns around Main Street were lined with fat, happy patriotic people. i took my guitar, which i have completely covered with sharpee artwork over the past two days. We were sitting near the beginning of the parade, when a whole bunch of environmentalists who were wearing tye-dyed unitards and a winged golf-cart float began to parade by. Green Power Girl came up and asked if i had any environmental songs. I sung her a little ditty (composed on the spot of course) about Green Power. They let me join them and play my cool lookin guitar on top of the float, between the lavish wings.
They were all very kind people. Photo-cynthia shared some home-made cookies with all of us after we had finished the long, festive parade down the sunsoaked Main Street. It was a surrealistic time. We excitedly talked. I got an environmental superhero name (which i am not yet cleared to share with commoners…). As it turns out, one of the Green Power Heroes works at a health clinic that treats primarily Marshallese people. She knows a lot about human displacement and knows people who have lived and worked in the Marshall Islands. We exchanged info and we’ll tentatively be meeting up later this week. That’s that.
A couple hours later, i met back up with my buddies. We watched the fireworks over the Pacific Ocean. It was beautiful, but i didn’t feel very patriotic. All the American explosions i have been reading about recently were dirty bombs detonated discretely on people far enough away from the public eye and with dark enough skin that nice old Uncle Sam hoped that no one would hear or care. Liberty for all….
Anyhow, on the way back to the apartment, i saw a lady sitting on a chair throwing those little things we always called “bang-snaps” when we were growing up (or when we were in the earlier phases of ‘growing up’). You know, they’re those little snappers, wrapped in white paper. When you throaw them, they explode upon impact. Anyhow, the parking lot where she was sitting was littered with them. Two kids were excitedly running about and snapping them by the hundreds.
I asked her if i could trow one–a ‘bang-snap,’ not one of her kids. She smiled and handed me a bang-snap. Bang. That was a good, little sound which echoes back through my past. She and i began talking. She was nonchalantly throwing snappers throughout our whole conversation. As it turns out, she just moved into the same apartment complex where Andrew lives. Se is here to work with Marshallese children!
Tomorrow morning, she has an appointment with someone who knows the chief elder of all the Marshallese on the island. She promises to take me to this meeting. And that’s that.
In a few minutes, i have a meeting with a man who is currently making a documentary about the displaced Marshallese people in Hawaii.
Afer that, i’m going to hitch hike to the airport and report my crushed bag and all the items that fell out due to the crushing.
This trip is shaping up to be quite productive. Fingers crossed for making more contacts in and around the Marshallese community…
[this is where i sit as i wait for my meeting and write this entry...]