Skinny Love

Come on skinny love just last the year
Pour a little salt we were never here
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer

I tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Right in the moment this order's tall

I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
In the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different "kind"
I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines

Come on skinny love what happened here
Suckle on the hope in lite brassiere
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Sullen load is full; so slow on the split

I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
Now all your love is wasted?
Then who the hell was I?
Now I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines

Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?

- Bon Iver

30 years old

30 years old, originally uploaded by Mild Seven Lights.

turned thirty
i look back on the incredible things I done
living in Banda Aceh, Pakistan and Afghanistan
being a VJ on big stages
photo exhibitions
feature film and documentaries I worked on
the friends i made
the film makers, rock climbers, musos
the mountains i climbed
and the places I seen

Now I look forward to the future
The baby that will be born
little Mia
getting better at the photography
this year is a turning point possibly for my career
a dream to be a great photographer
and hopefully be full time for the UN

who knows what the future brings
but I look forward to living life

Samarghan

Samarghan, originally uploaded by Mild Seven Lights.

Spring time in Tashqurghan is quite amazing
Last year's rain was terrible
but this year life is returning to Afghanistan
May it be a great year

Boom

Boom, originally uploaded by Mild Seven Lights.

We had to be a kilometre from this bomb detonation
A large Russian bomb from an aircraft was found in
a small village in Kunduz

We exploded it in the deserts of Kunduz
which magnificently turned green during the spring

Pashtun Bazaar

Pashtun Bazaar, originally uploaded by Mild Seven Lights.

If you are looking for tvs or any electrical goods
generators and satellite dishes are everywhere
Pashtun Bazaar is the place to be
with hundreds of goods smuggled in from Pakistan or Uzbekistan

Land Mine Awareness Day Exhibition

Land Mine Awareness Day Exhibition, originally uploaded by Mild Seven Lights.

Just a small snap shot of my exhibition
on Landmine Awareness Day
having the scope of work that MACCA deals with
from landmine clearance, education and recovery

New Skateboard

New Skateboard, originally uploaded by Mild Seven Lights.

Skateistan, A NGO looking at building a skate park in July
gave me a Skateboard and a pair of skate shoes as a present
for the shooting work I will be doing.
Got to find a new place to live which is cool
cause Skateistan guest house
was looking for someone

The road to it is terrible but I think
I might set myself a mission
to build the road and hope
that the community might get out and help me.

Here's to skateboarding in Kabul...

Land Mine Awareness Day

landmineawarenessday_internet_111, originally uploaded by Mild Seven Lights.

April 4th was Landmine Awareness Day lead by MACCA
It was a good warm day with information on mines
stories from people whose lives have improved by mine clearance
and entertainment by the Afghan Mini Circus for Children
I had a exhibition for the photos I did for MACCA
for their scope of works

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacobsimkin/sets/72157616454604948/

UNAMA Pic of the Day 1st April

Deminer Interview, originally uploaded by Mild Seven Lights.

An Afghan de-miner working for Afghan Technical Consultants (ATC).

“We de-miners are ready to sacrifice our lives in order to prevent our compatriots from being killed or maimed by mines,” said the de-miner.

“The achievements of the mine action programme means that Afghanistan is now 70 per cent on the way towards meeting the goals set by the Afghanistan Compact of 2006. We cannot afford to neglect mine action if we truly desire a peaceful and prosperous country for ourselves and our children,” said Dr. Haider Reza the Programme Director of the Mine Action Coordination Centre of Afghanistan.

This week the United Nations in Afghanistan is highlighting de-mining and mine awareness in the lead up to the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action which is marked every year on 4 April.

Photo: Jacob Simkin MACCA.