If you like American Idol, you'll LOVE Baghdad's Got Talent. David Archuletta, Carey Underwood, Chris Daughtry....who? Yeah. We got James Dewey up in this piece.
It all went down Saturday night ya'll. There were about 10 acts, and some really good talent. People who apparently have songs in iTunes and others who...don't. But I know one who SHOULD be on iTunes - James Butler Dewey, yo.
James wrote an original song which he performed called Beautiful Baghdad. It was clever, perfect for the Baghdad audience, and it had a nice beat and you could dance to it. Maybe not those last two, but it waaaassss catchy!
He performed it to a standing room only crowd who ROARED with approval when he finished. It makes me beam with pride just thinking of it now. And the judge who was the toughest on all the other acts said simply, "You're the winner." And he was. First prize, baby.
So, I'm going to post a version of it here...but...if you don't know some of the inside jokes you won't appreciate it nearly as much. Therefore, I am going to clue you in on some of the jokes before you watch.
1. Mr. Lee is one of the most famous people on our little campus. That is because he runs the DFAC, and thus controls our food. He bears a slight resemblance to Spike Lee, he is enigmatic and funny, and a true power player and long-term Baghdad employee. He provides us with some perks, like lobster tails one night a week, and employees who just cut any fruit you bring them. Like, I bring an orange and they peel and cut it. Thanks guys!
2. There was a news article recently that covered "Camp Cupcake" and showed how we live a pretty sweet life with awesome indoor pool, 2 gyms (nicknamed Curves and Golds), and other perks. Another recent article was talking about how things had gotten rough for us recently by making jabs like "They haven't been getting the food convoys through so they are allowed no more than 6 chicken wings at a time." Yes, it's rough.
3. The gates that let you in to our compound are called CAC's. There's a blue one, a white one, a red one, a Disneyland one...yeah, I don't get that either. Very regularly, like every couple of days we get an email to the whole embassy announcing to us the very urgent message, "The Red CAC (or blue or white or whatever) is closed." We are not clear why this impacts us in any way. But it is apparently urgent, and regular.
4. Our guards here are Peruvians and Kenyans. They speak very little English, but are astoundingly polite and friendly. Until they get on the soccer field at which time the Kenyans try to kill everyone in sight and a Peru/Kenya match had to be called once.
5. People come to Baghdad to get "a garden spot" after the tour - very few this time seemed to get what they hoped. One garden spot our friend Stewart got was "Saudi Arabia." Sweet. (Hi Stewart!)
6. The Security Contractors here work for Triple Canopy. They all look IDENTICAL. They wear cargo pants and flannel shirts and have beards. They get busted all the time by the Iraqis who for some reason (uh, duh) can recognize them. They can't leave the compound right now because the Iraqis won't give us Visas--so if they left, they couldn't come back. It's a big bone of contention. They walk around with guns and drive big black cars and bmw's and tote guns.
And that should do it. Prepare to enjoy the masterful lyrical stylings of James Dewey:
It all went down Saturday night ya'll. There were about 10 acts, and some really good talent. People who apparently have songs in iTunes and others who...don't. But I know one who SHOULD be on iTunes - James Butler Dewey, yo.
James wrote an original song which he performed called Beautiful Baghdad. It was clever, perfect for the Baghdad audience, and it had a nice beat and you could dance to it. Maybe not those last two, but it waaaassss catchy!
He performed it to a standing room only crowd who ROARED with approval when he finished. It makes me beam with pride just thinking of it now. And the judge who was the toughest on all the other acts said simply, "You're the winner." And he was. First prize, baby.
So, I'm going to post a version of it here...but...if you don't know some of the inside jokes you won't appreciate it nearly as much. Therefore, I am going to clue you in on some of the jokes before you watch.
1. Mr. Lee is one of the most famous people on our little campus. That is because he runs the DFAC, and thus controls our food. He bears a slight resemblance to Spike Lee, he is enigmatic and funny, and a true power player and long-term Baghdad employee. He provides us with some perks, like lobster tails one night a week, and employees who just cut any fruit you bring them. Like, I bring an orange and they peel and cut it. Thanks guys!
2. There was a news article recently that covered "Camp Cupcake" and showed how we live a pretty sweet life with awesome indoor pool, 2 gyms (nicknamed Curves and Golds), and other perks. Another recent article was talking about how things had gotten rough for us recently by making jabs like "They haven't been getting the food convoys through so they are allowed no more than 6 chicken wings at a time." Yes, it's rough.
3. The gates that let you in to our compound are called CAC's. There's a blue one, a white one, a red one, a Disneyland one...yeah, I don't get that either. Very regularly, like every couple of days we get an email to the whole embassy announcing to us the very urgent message, "The Red CAC (or blue or white or whatever) is closed." We are not clear why this impacts us in any way. But it is apparently urgent, and regular.
4. Our guards here are Peruvians and Kenyans. They speak very little English, but are astoundingly polite and friendly. Until they get on the soccer field at which time the Kenyans try to kill everyone in sight and a Peru/Kenya match had to be called once.
5. People come to Baghdad to get "a garden spot" after the tour - very few this time seemed to get what they hoped. One garden spot our friend Stewart got was "Saudi Arabia." Sweet. (Hi Stewart!)
6. The Security Contractors here work for Triple Canopy. They all look IDENTICAL. They wear cargo pants and flannel shirts and have beards. They get busted all the time by the Iraqis who for some reason (uh, duh) can recognize them. They can't leave the compound right now because the Iraqis won't give us Visas--so if they left, they couldn't come back. It's a big bone of contention. They walk around with guns and drive big black cars and bmw's and tote guns.
And that should do it. Prepare to enjoy the masterful lyrical stylings of James Dewey:
This is awesome!!!! I am totally spamming everyone I know with this post! Hugs to you and your talented WINNING husband Shauri! <3
ReplyDeleteBravo James & Shauri!! Thank you SO MUCH for posting this and for explaining so many of the jokes. I just read the explanation to Adam and we watched it together. I love the filming--it is so fun to see the expressions, especially on Mr. Lee's face, as people caught the lyrics written just for them. Thank you so much for including all of us in the great night.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely brilliant!!! Thanks Shauri for the great setup. James, although I don't know you, I can tell that you and I would get along famously. I have to admit, it actually makes me proud to see so many happy Americans making the best of what I imagine is certainly far from rainbows and lollipops. I'm sure I will be singing the catchy refrain in my head all day today.
ReplyDelete:)
U! S! A!!! U! S! A!!!
-Jason
(p.s. thanks to Vicki for the heads up)
Bravo Dewey. Bien hecho.
ReplyDeleteYou all are too, too kind. :) It was a fun night, and Jason - YES - I think the two of you would get definitely get along. James could add great talent to the Rooties. :) We miss all of you- thanks for the kind words!
ReplyDeleteFinally, I loved it. Almost as good as your love song to Shauri about your courtship. I loved watching the audience too. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteaw shames! this is fantastic and i miss you! how do i get to beautiful baghdad before you leave?!?
ReplyDeleteLOVE! Love, love, love. I'm so very glad we finally got someone with real talent in the family to entertain us.
ReplyDeleteSo fun! Thanks for sharing. It sounds like you are having unforgettable experiences together.
ReplyDelete