Sep 29, 2006
Never Hurts to ASK
Sareth Burgess writes about University of Hawaii's Advanced Study of Khmer Program and her time in Camboland at 'language boot camp'.
ASKed to return to Cambodia, she beefed up her Khmer as a 'heritage learner' and is working on writing up some family history. If you are a US citizen and have 2 years' prior experience with Khmer, some scholarships are available.
You'll have to register to read the article though.
(When are online newspapers going to get their act together? Either put the full article up or don't. )
Tags: Cambodia,khmer
. . .
Sep 28, 2006
Bump and Grind
7:30 pm Thursday evening, Phnom Penh. In the office, working late on a comic.
Srin and Santepheap & I are each doing our respective bits.
On the mix CD comes ‘Children of the Revolution’. And these kids, both born in the 1980s, are both grooving out to it. It was written in 1972, when Cambodia's own revolution was heating up.
Marc Bolan’s classic tune has always had a place in my personal Cambodia soundtrack. The lyrics themselves can be interpreted many ways. It’s about teenage rebellion, and predicts dramatic change. Yet just how serious is it? It's a pop protest song and a knowing parody of them at the same time.
And I’m thinking, these aren’t literally "Children of the Revolution", but they’re post-revolutionary kids, who are a part of the baby boom following the ouster of the Khmer Rouge. They're not products of the revolution, but affected by it.
The median age in Cambodia is19 to 20. The youth of today are often at odds with the traditional older generation, on just about any issue you can think of. They bear watching; some day, they’ll grow up to run the country.
And many of them are taking change into their own hands, directly. By digging wells, by giving schoolbooks, by doing workshops. Not for the benefit of some NGO, or for a corporate training program,or a bullet point on their CV. Most can’t be bothered to formalize their efforts, they're frustrated with bureaucracy. They do it just because they can.
Maybe in another 10 years they’ll be politicking and driving black landcruisers. Maybe not. But for now, for the moment, I think the kids are alright.
Tags: Cambodia,rockandroll
. . .
Sep 25, 2006
. . .
Sep 24, 2006
. . .
Sep 23, 2006
. . .
Sep 22, 2006
. . .
Sep 21, 2006
. . .
Sep 20, 2006
. . .
Starbuckian
San Francisco, Christmas vacation, 2004:
I am walking the slanting streets of San Francisco. No matter where I turn, there is always a coffee shop within my sight. Starbucks coffee, to be precise. Just how much coffee does one city need?
There is room in the market for an upscale coffee shop. But when I see them everywhere, it's like the urban cityscape has been infested with these franchises.
Phnom Penh, September, 2005:
This logo caught my eye driving along Norodom boulevard:
The green circle and ornamentation looked very familiar. http://tinyurl.com/mpkf5
So I went in and had a coffee. It was passable.
Looks like someone's paid careful attention to the coffee shops in Bangkok - you can even get a green tea frappe if you want.
The difference between this and other coffee shops of its kind? Price, much cheaper than an actual Starbucks. I expect buses to disgorge hordes of tourists in the near future. Me? I came to Cambodia for new things, not familiarity. If I visit, it'll be sparingly. To each their own.
Along with BB World and Pizza Hot, it looks like Phnom Penh's precession of simulated franchises will continue until consumer and corporate demand is satisfied.
I'll leave the proper restaurant review for Phnomenon.
Palais Coffee, 50 Norodom, near Cine Lux.
Tags: Cambodia,coffee
. . .
Sep 18, 2006
. . .
Sep 17, 2006
Beer Girls Poster
Media and propaganda went hand-in-hand in much of the 70s and 80s.
We now have a genre of nonprofit art in Cambodia. It's not terribly subtle, as you can see.
Me, I'm just trying to document this wacky stuff before it before it disappears.
Mainstream advertising? Getting better, but often pretty surreal.
More on the issue of beer girls here and here. It looks like the activist sites on the beer trade have been updated, which could make for some interesting discussion. I still think that real change in working conditions will need involvement from consumers - people who actually enjoy drinking beer. (Crazy, I know.)
The more folks I talk to that work in HIV prevention here, the worse it sounds. Information is out there, education efforts are everywhere, condom use is increasing. But adults simply aren't changing their habits much.
Tags: Cambodia
. . .
Sep 16, 2006
. . .
Sep 15, 2006
. . .
Sep 13, 2006
Go Read Other Peoples' Blogs:
'Because I Was Drunk' last night, nothing new today, so here are some recommendations:
Khmer Students Abroad:
http://sienghai.blogspot.com
A Khmer monk blogging from Myanmar. Far out.
http://vanndeth.myblog.com
High tech videoblog by multilingual Khmer scholarship student in Germany.
Four years ago, this would have been hard to believe.
http://blog.icambo.com
http://vuth-it.blogspot.com
Khmer students in Vietnam.
(Wanna's been nominated for a blog award!)
http://seserak.blogspot.com
Seserak in Japan often has interesting things to say, and there are more Khmer students arriving every day, it seems!
http://hengdara.blogspot.com
http://chanbopha.blogspot.com
http://mongkol.wordpress.com
http://alpinetrooper.blogspot.com
http://rathadiary.blogspot.com
Mongkol,Vesna, Ratha in USA.
http://seila1709.spaces.live.com
http://vireak.net
Sophaseila, Vireak in Singapore
Not a student, but overseas:
http://khmeroverseas.blogspot.com
Other odds and ends:
Antonio Graceffo, martial arts dude: read his blog, it will whup your ass.
http://brooklynmonk.multiply.com/journal/item/6
A Thai-based English teacher on his time in Cambodia: professional students, unprofessional teachers.
http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php?blog=8&p=156&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php?blog=8&p=182&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
Phnomenon has been added to the list of sites banned in mainland China. (Is food that controversial?)
And finally, CambodiaCIC.org is down!
This is probably *the* local portal for Khmer language internet.
There seems to be some technical problems. I hope it can get back on its feet soon.
Tags: Cambodia,weblog
. . .
Sep 11, 2006
. . .
Sep 10, 2006
. . .
Sep 9, 2006
Bird Flu Poster
I'm seeing these wherever I travel.
Rough translation:
BIRD FLU - DANGEROUS!
Don't play with dead or sick birds
Sidebar: Bird Flu can be transmitted by dead or sick birds.
Please advise your children not to touch dead or sick birds.
For further information, call the Ministry of Health.
It looks a bit melodramatic, but hey, it gets the message across.
The skirt looks like a Phnong (ethnic minority) type, I've seen variations of the picture with the same text.
Tags: Cambodia,health
. . .
Sep 8, 2006
. . .
Sep 7, 2006
. . .
Sep 6, 2006
Eastern Europe digs Khmer Comics
At least, I think it's an Eastern European Language. Maybe it's from 'Cornucopia'.
(Clarifications, anyone? The whole office is stumped.)
Every now and then I get a heap of hits on the Khmer comics page - earlier this year it was Japan, last year, Spanish language sites. In a country where reading isn't a favored lesiure activity, illustrated stories are a good starting point. You can find comics at just about any newsstand in Phnom Penh. Most are reprints, decades old.
Readers' advisory: persuse with caution. High degree of unintentional kitsch.
http://del.icio.us/slugdog/khmercomics
Tags: Cambodia,comics
. . .
Sep 5, 2006
. . .
Sep 2, 2006
Em Satya: Back in Form
Em Satya, a classic comics artist of the 1980s, still has reprints being sold at news stands today, sans royalties. He continues to work in various areas of illustration.
Due to a stroke, his drawing arm has been paralyzed for the last several years. But with characteristic stoicism, he simply switched arms, and continued to draw. Writer Pal Vannarirak was one of the first to commision a left-handed novel cover.
It's been fascinating to see him slowly but surely reaching towards his previous level of skill, and now, he may even have surpassed it. Here he proudly shows off his latest color composition.
Postscript: (Sept 11 2006) check out some of his illustrations for the Buddhist Institute's Folktales Magazine! (Caution: *big* PDF file of entire volume. http://tinyurl.com/mo7xz)
Tags: Cambodia,comics
. . .
Sep 1, 2006
Vann Molyvann Conference, French Cultural Centre, Sept 04
You may not speak Khmer. You may not know much about architecture, or urban planning.
But this is a rare chance to see a living legend talk about the past, present and future of Phnom Penh. It's not just for Phnompenhois , the larger issues affect the whole country. There were so many questions and interest last time, we're lucky to have an encore, in colloquial Khmer this time.
Look, just go, OK? You'll be glad you did.
/ Monday the 4th of Septembre at CCF conférence Vann Molyvann, Conférence en khmer. > En Cambodgien / Speaking khmer
Suite au succès de la conférence du vendredi 7 juillet, et compte tenu du grand nombre de demandes, S.E Vann Molyvann présentera à nouveau son œuvre et l’esquisse du Grand Phnom Penh à l’horizon 2010 lors d'une nouvelle conférence, en Khmer, cette fois-ci. S.E Vann Molyvann répondra aux questions sur ses réalisations mais aussi sur l'évolution de Phnom Penh ces dernières années.
"Following the success of the conference of Friday July 7, and taking into account the great number of questions, H.E. Vann Molyvann will again present his ouvre and a draft of Phnom Penh in 2010 at a new conference, in Khmer, this time. H.E. Vann Molyvann will answer the questions about his achievements and also about the evolution of Phnom Penh these last years." (courtesy translation robot)
[via What's On] Tags: Cambodia,architecture,urbanism
. . .
|
. . .
|