webbed feet, web log
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blog Cambodia; blog the planet.

Jul 31, 2006

"Film at Eleven."

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Jul 30, 2006

Cinema: Last Seen at Angkor

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Jul 29, 2006

Bookwatch: Apsara Jet

Bookwatch: Apsara Jet How did this one slip past my radar? Apsara Jet was published in 2001. Usually Cambodia related novels are bootlegged in photocopy version here, I'm surprised it hasn't popped up at stately Monument Books - or the Psaa Thmei. I'll probably be able to get a copy next time I'm in Bangkok. Apparently the author garnered technical and regional details from his time flying the 1970s Phnom Penh airlift, when the capitol was increasingly cut off from the countryside. For more on the airlift, perhaps the most detailed summary is a personal memoir by Charles Heckman, The Phnom Penh Airlift: Confessions of a Pig Pilot in the Early 1970's. It alternates from the dry and technical (logistics) to hilarious (booting livestock off overloaded planes) to tragic (the approaching fall of Phnom Penh). Sorry to say that 'Pig Pilot' is out of print. It's a strong personal document of a very specific time. Best to check your local library or used bookstore. More: Apsara Jet by Nicolas Merriweather http://tinyurl.com/owgdo The Phnom Penh Airlift: Confessions of a Pig Pilot in the Early 1970's by Charles W. Heckman http://tinyurl.com/rj8ym Tags:

- jinja Link

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Jul 28, 2006

Masterpieces of the National Museum of Cambodia

"Masterpieces of the National Museum of Cambodia" book_launch_small Book launch for the volume developed by Friends of Khmer Culture, in cooperation with, Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, National Museum of Cambodia, Embassy of the United States of America, National Museum of Cambodia. (I should have worn a tie.) This book apparently has been seven years in the making, and took a lot of effort to translate into four (count 'em, four) languages. (English-Khmer-French-Japanese.) Way to go! Tags:

- jinja Link

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Jul 27, 2006

Gratuitous Street Sign Sharing

Gratuitous Street Sign Sharing Cambodian Street Signs - Dentist #1 Ouch! Cambodian Street Signs - Dentist #2 Now this is more effective marketing. Tags:

- jinja Link

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Jul 26, 2006

Mixed Media Exhibition

Mixed Media Exhibition Fw: new show in SR The Art House Upstairs at the Warehouse Old Market- Siem Reap - Cambodia Contemporary Art Mixed Media Exhibition By Graduates of the Royal University of Fine Arts August 4 - November 2, 2006 www.thearthousesiemreap.com [from What's On]

- jinja Link

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Jul 25, 2006

Masterpieces of the National Museum

Masterpieces of the National Museum, a new book published with support of Friends of Khmer Culture, will be launched at the National Museum (naturally) this July 27 at 5:30. [from What's On]

- jinja Link

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Jul 23, 2006

Ouk Unveiled

Unveiling Ouk - Khmer Chess Khmer Institute has a breakdown of the rules to this often perplexing game. http://www.khmerinstitute.org/culture/ok.html Now you can play it online, thanks some innovative Javascript code work by developers "asreng", "samauch", and "yasakani". Way to go! http://ouk.sourceforge.net/kchess.php [info courtesy Mungkol,cheers to DAS for the tipoff.] Meanwhile, the always-provocative 'Sacrava' provides another depiction of Khmer chess:http://sacrava.blogspot.com/2006/06/khmer-chess.html Tags:

- jinja Link

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Jul 22, 2006

Best Asian Food Blog?

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Jul 21, 2006

BookWatch:

BookWatch: Hmm, coming soon from Amitav Ghosh: Dancing in Cambodia, at Large in Burma. (Fiction and nonfiction) Also, in Phnom Penh, K.S. Maniam's Faced Out is now available at Monument Books. Tags:

- jinja Link

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Jul 20, 2006

Buffalo Protecting Child

Buffalo Protecting Child Antonio Graceffo: In Cambodia, Kickboxing is on TV every friday, saturday, and sunday. "The round house is boring. When people come to the movies, they want to see some style." Some great stories from a martial arts-trained foreigner employed as a baddie on the local hit movie. Stunts done on the cheap with little to no protection. http://brooklynmonk.multiply.com/journal/item/3 I missed this one in the theatres, I'll have to see if it's available on DVD. Want more? Antonio's published a book of his travels, trying to learn the diverse martial arts of different Asian countries. Tags: ,

- jinja Link

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Jul 19, 2006

Napping in the 'Hot Zone'

Napping in the 'Hot Zone' Kevin Sites' research team is getting a bit sloppy. Perhaps the "Hot Zone" is encouraging them to take the customary noontime snooze in Cambodia? Saloth Sar ('Pol Pot') never <<proclaimed that it was "Year Zero" >> that's a term coined by Western journalists and writers. It wasn't used by the Khmer Rouge themselves. If his team would like to supply a citation and date to support this I'd be obliged. Glad to see some media attention on Cambodia issues but hey, let's not sensationalize it. 'Hot Zone' home page: http://hotzone.yahoo.com/ Tags:

- jinja Link

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Jul 18, 2006

In Search of Khmer Hip Hop Part 6

In Search of Khmer Hip Hop Part 6 A mixed bag today: 01. Nokia sponsors hip hop fun at Casa (click to enlarge) Casa Hip Hop With convenient afternoon hours, if your parents disapprove, you can just say you went to the mall. http://khmer.cc/community/t.c?b=4&t=2188 02. Khmer Esian - Lux & Naa

khmer_esian_02

khmer_esian_01

Who will I rely on?

1. How do you do 2. Who will I rely on? 3. I go too 4. Meet love in happy birthday 5. Dance happy 6. All rise 7. Why 8. Let me be sorry 9. Bad Love 10. Goodbye

This appears to be about a year old, and mostly in the vein of Puff Daddy 'Hip Hop Karaoke' - Khmer lyrics over existing commercial tracks. Corrections, revisions, updates welcome.

03. Here's the rough transcription (Jinja phonetics) of the Khmer titles from Kim Lekhena and Pich Sohphea that WFMU blogged up... I believe the 'Final Countdown' track actually has a different title, it's a love song.

1. Chang sdap bot pleng noe neaq - (I) want to listen to pop music - DJ Lux + Kim Leakena

2. Chakralek DJ - Poke the DJ - DJ Lux + Kim Leakena

3. Proh anjaret - Boy (of poor character) - Kim Leakena

4. Chuep neak mien vibak snae - Meet person with love problem (in context of radio call-in show) - Kim Leakena

5. (Final Countdown Cover) Unknown - Pich Sophea

04. Tony (formerly SEASIA) has hit the studio for recording in Phnom Penh! Stay tuned. (previously: http://del.icio.us/slugdog/HipHop) Tags: , hip hop

- jinja Link

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Jul 17, 2006

Angkor - Landscape, Cities and Temples

Angkor - Landscape, Cities and Temples The University of Sydney is hosting a conference, 'Angkor - Landscape, Cities and Temples'. Sounds intriguing, I wish I could be there. University of Sydney is also the home of the Greater Angkor Project which I have to give the award for best logo utilizing Angkor Wat. This iconic temple has appeared everyhere from the national flag to beer bottles, but the moto is quite appropriate in this day and age. Me? I'm mulling over a paper for Naples, 2007. Yep. When you're doing academic stuff you think way in advance. Postscript: Click above for papers and abstracts. David Chandler's take on Angkor in The Australian: http://theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19833527-12332,00.html Tags:

- jinja Link

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Jul 16, 2006

Good Clean Fun

Good Clean Fun Our friends from Reyum Art school and some visiting guests brushed their teeth on Sisowath Quay Friday at 6:00 PM. brush02 I'd been alerted that there were some foreign guests in town via text message a day before so I had a little advance warning, so I came by to take a few pictures. I soon was handed a toothbrush and paste and joined in. Nearly every foreigner brought a camera, so there were almost as many photographers as there were people brushing teeth, it seemed! brush01 I was a little self conscious at first, but then, if you're a Barang, you always stand out in a crowd. And I knew many of the people there, which made it more fun. As ' performance art' goes it beats lots of other events I've seen. We were joined by motos, young people having an evening walk, and plenty of enthusiastic street kids. Full story should be in newspaper Cambodge Soir, I'll update this post once I've hit the newsstand. Tags:

- jinja Link

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Jul 15, 2006

Congratulations

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Jul 14, 2006

"New Life in Kompong Preah"

"New Life in Kompong Preah" One of my most memorable summers was spent in Madison, Wisconsin. It's a comfortable college town bordering some beautiful lakes. They had great fermented cider (called a 'woodchuck') some cool local bands, and there was a great local paper called The Onion, that's since gone global. Over the next few weeks, classes are studying Khmer in Madison at the Southeast Asian Summer Studies Institute (SEASSI). Generally 4 hours of class study and 4 hours of homework. On the weekends? You catch up. It's kinda like language boot camp. And if you're in the 'Heritage Khmer' class, you get to learn using cultural tidbits like this 80's era government - published comic book about life during the People's Republic of Kampuchea era. (Title above.) At the beginning of my stint, I went to an army surplus store and bought an armload of t-shirts. With a black marker scribbled a khmer consonant or vowel on the front. I wore one a day, and by the time the course was over, I had my alphabet down cold. I'm still in touch with most of my SEASSI pals, once you've been through something like that it's hard to forget. [Many thanks to Tomoko Okada for sharing a copy of this comic!] Tags: ,

- jinja Link

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Jul 13, 2006

Reyum Institute

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Jul 6, 2006

Article, Architecture, Art

I'm just back from the Vann Molyvann Exhibition at the French Cultural Centre.
A great opening, full to capacity and including a good amount of curious young people. Vann Molyvann (Vann Molyvann, center)

Everyone seemed to be having a good time: students, sculptors, scholars, bloggers and more.

Wish I could have stayed longer. (In report writing mode. Sigh.)

Conference tomorrow!

Tag:

- jinja Link

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Jul 3, 2006

Big Teukei

Big Teukei Teukei 02 Found near where I work. Turquoise! Tags:

- jinja Link

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Jul 2, 2006

Vann Molyvann Exposition, Conference 6 - 7 July

Vann Molyvann Exposition, Conference 6 - 7 July I don't care if you speak French or not: If you're breathing and can afford it, you should take this chance to see one of Cambodia's living treasures. Trust your Jinja. Vann Molvann Vann Molvann jeudi 6 juillet - 18h30 / hall du CCF AU CENTRE CULTUREL FRANCAIS thursday, 6 July at CCF Exposition / Exhibition L'oeuvre de Vann Molyvann vendredi 7 juillet - 18h30 / Cinéma du CCF AU CENTRE CULTUREL FRANCAIS friday, 7 July at CCF Conference L'oeuvre de Vann Molyvann Centre Culturel Français du Cambodge 218 rue Kéo Chea (184) - Phnom Penh - tel : 00 (855) 23 213 124 / 125 e-mail : info@ccf-cambodge.org [From 'What's On']

- jinja Link

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