The Flat Head 3001 World Tour

[dkatz]

^ Thanks for the update dude! BAerts needs to put up some good photos of the repairs. And I need to finish catching up on my last updates!

[dkatz]

and theeeeen...

doin' business with a wheeling dealing rogue agent barley-buyer

Barley drying in his compound. Dude has done quite well for himself. He does some farming for himself but has also started buying up other farmers' barley and maintaining enough stock to be able to draw attention from the big buyers in the area. He controls enough volume to be able to pretty much set his own price. It was cool to see some tangible effects of the family's entrepreneurship - a newly-built home and the wife had just finished her degree in education.

also I love bougainvillea.

I learned how to test the moisture content of barley with my teeth.

Barley and Flat Heads

Wheeling and dealing

"How do we get as much barley as we can from this guy, then put him out of business so he stops driving up prices?"

It was pretty cool - this was honestly the first time I've seen Ugandans doing serious business. The culture of productivity in Uganda is generally pretty... lackluster, but these guys were out to make shit happen

The family does some coffee production too. A coffee huller out back

Matoke (banana) trees

Nice new home and rainwater collection container

On the road again, through Kapchorwa.

Harvest time.

Barley

more in a few

[dkatz]

more barley!

reaping

threshing

All to produce six bags of barley, to be sold for 550 - 600 shillings per bag. That's a whole harvest for about $1.55.

I found myself being stalked by a solid gaggle of village kids. I don't like taking pictures of kids (poverty-porn concept), but was pretty amused by the situation so wanted to try to get a photo of the situation. I tried to hold the camera all casual-like next to my side and take a picture past me, of the kids. The result:

Apparently I wasn't as sneaky I thought. Hah!

The crop in question

Small-holder agriculture for miles.

Cabbage and donkeys

More, uh, barley.

Think we can drive across this?

[dkatz]

By the end of the day we were calling it the Suzuki Mountain Goat

A frequent scene: a couple of adolescent boys walking around with skirts and sticks. Why skirts? Well, would you want to wear pants after having had your foreskin removed sans anesthesia? Why sticks? What better to smack your own ankle with to stop yourself from getting an erection, which would be incredibly painful post-circumcision?

The household of one of the barley-buying agents

Local construction

[imghttp://lh5.ggpht.com/_QhQXm98LlM0/TQ_B-_KmZcI/AAAAAAAADr4/FDl0qXkv8H0/s800/IMG_3688.jpg][/img]

A pre-circumcision parade. The 16-18 year old kids who are going to be snipped sing, dance and walk for 24 hours before their ceremony. My guess is that the idea is to get them so exhausted that they couldn't even be skittish if they wanted to come time for the ceremony.

The to-be circumcisees are marked by being painted with a special type of white river mud

The above was all Tuesday afternoon. Seeing my interest, my host invited me to attend the ceremony for fourteen boys in his village the next morning at 5am. This ceremony is pretty much the most important cultural ceremony this tribe does, and they are very encouraging of outsiders' attendance, and I'm trying to build a (professional) relationship with this guy, so I accepted.

The next morning, I walked out from my hotel at 6am and, unable to find a boda-boda that early, footed the hour trip to Kapchesombe village.

On the walk...

I found my host at his neighbor's compound, looking a bit worse for the wear. Apparently while the boys are out parading all day and night, the village men are boozing and partying it up at home. Hah!

The setting. My host's neighbor's compound. Fourteen patches of dirt - one for each boy.

And the tools...

[pepper davies]

Oh my god. This is making me a little squeamish. Geeze louise. Hoping next update doesn't feature pictures of the procedure.

Edit: I'm loling at the shape of those knife handles.

[riff]

My scrotum just ascended.

[dkatz]

My host told me that the boys would be marching up from the village soon, so I should walk down and parade up with them. Apparently they were on their way back from a special (cold) river in which the boys are made to soak for a while to numb them and lower their pulse a bit.

On the walk, I saw rural electrification in process

And here they come...

barley interlude...

Back at the compound, I was ushered front and center - they wanted to make sure the muzungu was primely placed for photography.

The surgeons and their setup

Probably a couple hundred people watching. In the words of my host: "they're all here to see who is weak". Yeesh.

And it begins. No anesthesia.

The next couple are pretty graphic, so I'll just post links to them.

Each boy would walk in, one at a time, holding a stick with a monkey's tail in both hands at about nipple-height, and with their eyes plastered to the sky. The boy is led to his place, and the surgeons do their business remarkably quickly. The boy then steps forward one foot at a time, puts his hands high above his head and says (in his local language) "I am a man of this tribe and I will defend this land". And none of them even flinched. Pretty impressive.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_QhQXm98LlM0/TQ_FEdpglRI/AAAAAAAADts/n7vO9ae9vko/s800/IMG_3727.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_QhQXm98LlM0/TQ_FE_j1i_I/AAAAAAAADtw/3oZ0eQvy-s4/s800/IMG_3728.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_QhQXm98LlM0/TQ_FFYB-_WI/AAAAAAAADt0/QncDJcnjPHA/s800/IMG_3729.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_QhQXm98LlM0/TQ_FGIqfwwI/AAAAAAAADt4/5JWQW6pUCKc/s800/IMG_3730.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_QhQXm98LlM0/TQ_FHz0ux0I/AAAAAAAADuA/bCBMwSgRlnY/s800/IMG_3732.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_QhQXm98LlM0/TQ_FJCUTV5I/AAAAAAAADuI/LJpYLPS4sFs/s800/IMG_3735.jpg

The surgeons would quickly wash their hands between each operation, and use a different knife for each. Interestingly, the surgeons had some special, fine dirt that had apparently been sterilized by burning which they would throw on each boy's penis in order to give them grip. Charming.

A few minutes after being cut, each boy was brought a chair and a blanket. It was pretty impressive to watch them just sink into the chair (and then put the blanket over their heads to inspect their wounds) - they were clearly massively exhausted. I can only imagine after 24 hours of singing, dancing and parading then the massive adrenaline boost of the deed itself.

[dkatz]

Oh my god. This is making me a little squeamish. Geeze louise. Hoping next update doesn't feature pictures of the procedure.

Edit: I'm loling at the shape of those knife handles.

My scrotum just ascended.

Sorry guys...

But what the hell are you doing on Superfuture on Christmas? Jeez.

[dkatz]

Just found a couple videos:

The parading boys on the way up from the village:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_Xktg1_Ixmcq_5-iuTij5Fxw9cgFI2gE9LhNe5POGUg?feat=directlink

And the deed itself (uncensored...):

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gcPuxy9bd2-5i5x_NVZ9m1xw9cgFI2gE9LhNe5POGUg?feat=directlink

The audience

The village men congratulate some seriously shaken-up boys

I like this picture - mostly the boy in the foreground

The monkey-tails in the air are a group of boys who will be doing the deed the next day.

Congratulatory collections

Pretty fascinating, all told. I got a lot of claps on the back just for watching. Hah! Afterwards, had tea with my host and began the journey back to Kampala

A couple other photos I just found (sorry out of order):

3001's (and APC Madras shirt) in barley

(conjuring eltopo?)

I won't get in to the journey back to Kampala, but suffice to say it was fucking miserable, and once I finally made it I wound up being up until 4:30am working and packing.

[dkatz]

Let's see if the 3001's needed a wash, shall we?

Remember this photo from one of my first days wearing the 3001's in Uganda?

I call it... "Composition in Indigo and Sandwich-crumbs"

Now let's compare:

Needless to say, a wash was a priority upon reaching my flat in Kampala.

Thursday morning, as the 3001's dried I did some light-speed work and errand-running.

Snapped some photos just before hopping in the car to the airport

zipper placket falling off

Top-left corner of back-right pocket hanging on by a thread

And the yoke coming undone.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the boys at SELA came up with to get these ready for BAerts!

And, finally, time to start the journey homewards for the first time since January of 2010.

[dkatz]

And, Friday morning, the 3001's return from whence they came, to be readied for their next adventure.

Thanks for the fun, and I look forward to BAerts taking them along to feature in their next set of stories!

Thanks sufu =)

[poly800rock]

i saw these instore last week, phenomenal job fellas, these jeans look better almost anything else on this site, this was a real tour.

[kiya]

Am i crazy or have these jeans really been traveling for 3.5 years now?

[pepper davies]

Your leg has been absolutely epic Dkatz. That evolution is amazing, and your updates are untouchable. Thanks!

[ranonranonarat]

most amazing tour ever. they should never stop or end. i would like to see them in 10 years time still doing tours like this.

fuck and dkatz i didn't have the balls to watch the circumcision video or pictures. the picture of the blood on the floor was almost enough to make me pass out in my chair on christmas.

[dkatz]

shit, really Kiya? 3.5 years? Damn! Amazing they're still (mostly) in one piece.

And I don't blame you Ranon... it was pretty sobering in real life. Hah!

[kiya]

shit, really Kiya? 3.5 years? Damn! Amazing they're still (mostly) in one piece.

And I don't blame you Ranon... it was pretty sobering in real life. Hah!

I don't know, doesn't seem right but if my math is correct we're at exactly 3.5 years.

[tvshooter]

i saw these instore last week, phenomenal job fellas, these jeans look better almost anything else on this site, this was a real tour.

QFT! super kick ass job Dkatz! welcome home.

[yakrian]

This tour is fantastic, not only for the jeans it has produced, but also to see a common bond and the trust amongst people from all over the world, many who have never met. That, in itself, proves that the internet can provide more meaningful communication than 12-year olds questioning eachother's sexuality over Call of Duty games. Thanks for sharing, Dkatz!

[scientifick]

dkatz... you fucking killed it. too many amazing pictures, great job.

[ThinFinn]

just can 2nd the guys up top...f ucking great sir!

your leg was the bomb i must say so as the latest updates...

pretty scarry as well as respecting that the boys haven't made one single ton during the procedure...some crazy shit going on over there!

glad that the TFH's went through all this...

thx a lot daniel!

and now i know why you wanted to post those evo-shots in your last update

[beatle]

shit, that's some serious dirt

[BAerts]

The jeans have arrived! Self Edge did an awesome job of repairing these. It's crazy, really, that they've held up so well for this long. Didn't the 3001 have the cotton thread rather than the poly? Just curious.

I think dkatz's leg gave them a permanent brown dirty tint. Doesn't show up in the pics quite as much. But they look pretty incredible.

Anyhow, I've got just a moment to post up some pics of the repairs. I'll also be shooting this leg with a phone camera as mine is broken. :-(

More coming soon. I've got a busy month of studio dates, rehearsals, and I think one live show.

Gifts from dkatz

[jigsaw]

rockkk em!!!

[ordo]

Dkatz you have done the tour proud. That was much better than JimmyC's leg.

[BAerts]

Update 1: Happy New Year Edition

WARNING, pic heavy.

Hey, all, I've headed down to Birmingham for a few days to visit a good friend who is an art director down here. Birmingham is littered with tons of really great industrial building and modernist architecture left over from the early 1900s and the 60s, so I figured I'd run out in the early morning and take some shots.

Jeans are pretty tight, but somewhat manageable, at least for a few hours. :-)

[BAerts]

Got me some coffee at a cool place called Urban Standard.

Sloss Furnace

Pepper Place: Boutiques, restaurants, and a biscuit company in an old Dr. Pepper bottling plant.

Sweet ass Range Rover we stumbled onto

Headed back to Nashville, today, will get more shots of cool shit as it comes. Until next time.

[ThinFinn]

Finally this Tour keeps on rolling,awesome...a great start into 2011 an the TFH still going strong!

The fit Is near to perfect imho and i really do love your photography-skills!

Really looking forward to the next updates mate...Rock on! +!

[BAerts]

Sorry, Land Rover (thanks Paul T :-)). I don't know why I said Range Rover, knowing damned well that it was a Land Rover. I even took a picture of the back.

I suppose I'm just a little out of it, today. Too much high gravity beers and champagne.

[treasurehoard]

Those jeans look great.