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

Sep 29, 2006

Never Hurts to ASK

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: ,

- jinja Link

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Sep 28, 2006

Bump and Grind

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: ,

- jinja Link

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Sep 25, 2006

Heights

Heights Heights Big Just had to take a picture. Tags:

- jinja Link

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Sep 24, 2006

Karaoke Update

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Sep 23, 2006

American Bombing of Cambodia - revisited

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Sep 22, 2006

BETTY FORD AND THE GT FALCONS

Betty Ford and the GT Falcons Betty Ford and the GT Falcons Talking to a Stranger Saturday Sept 30, 2006 Foriegn Correspondents Club rooftop terrace Saturday Oct 7 2006 Admission free! Drinks? They're at barang prices. From 'What's On'. Tags: ,

- jinja Link

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Sep 21, 2006

Pchum Ben 2006

Feeding the Ghosts I'll be seeing nicely dressed families going to the pagodas for the next few days. Like just about every culture, Cambodians have a holiday to pay respects to the departed: Pchum Ben. Most offices are giving their staff Tuesday through Monday off; the actual time of observance is about two weeks. Gifts are given to wats (pagodas) and food is offered to the poor. And just in case the deceased have not reincarnated into a better life, rice is scattered for the praet - hungry ghosts, who are free to roam the earth during this time. (There are so many varieties of ghosts in Khmer culture, I chanced across an index of them from the 60s-70s era, written in Khmer, Chinese and Vietnamese - picture below.) Most people would like to believe their relatives are doing well in the afterlife, but it's best not to take chances. For the very religious, Pchum Ben is a busy time, requiring numerous visits to a number of pagodas and grave sites. Even those who rarely enter a wat take some time out for this holiday. Tags: ,,

- jinja Link

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Sep 20, 2006

Coup next door

Coup next door. We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog for a news update: Thai military coup. via CamNews: http://tinyurl.com/s5jr8 http://tinyurl.com/zawqy All over the news media shortly. Damn. Over the last year, I was getting the impression that ASEAN countries were getting into the habit of resolving political differences more and more via institutions rather than force of arms. Guess I was wrong. Tags: ,

- jinja Link

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Starbuckian

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: Palais 02 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. Starbucksesque 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: ,

- jinja Link

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Sep 18, 2006

Feather Weight

Feather Weight is a photo essay and a book on Cambodian boxing by John Vink, a Belgian photographer based in Phnom Penh. Fw: NEW SHOW FRIDAY 15th AT POPIL PHOTOGALLERY That and the prospect of free drink lured me to Le Popil, this last Friday (15 Sept). bottle opener? (Center: Stefan and Delphine: OK,where's the bottle opener? Far right: people check out the book.) The book is a compendium of some of John's finest photos about Khmer boxing, with text by prolific writer/translator Christophe Macquet. (Okay, so it's in French. Deal with it.) Feather Weight Book It was fun to talk with John, and very interesting to see his choices of what to focus on - both the actual fighting and the seemingly mundane moments of training. John Vink: www.johnvink.com Cheers to Stefan for making a touchstone for photographers of all kinds to share their work in Phnom Penh. If you haven't been there yet? Do yourself a favor and check it out. Popil PhotoGallery 126, Street 19 - Phnom Penh, Cambodia Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 7pm. www.lepopil.com Tags: ,

- jinja Link

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Sep 17, 2006

Beer Girls Poster

Beer Girls Poster Beer Girls Poster 02 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:

- jinja Link

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Sep 16, 2006

Favicon fun

Favicon fun Spurred on by Phil and Khmerang, I've puzzled out how to add a favicon. Cheers to Samphos for help optimizing the image. Tags:

- jinja Link

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Sep 15, 2006

UFOs Spotted in Phnom Penh

UFOs Spotted in Phnom Penh UFO? Oh wait, it's just kites. Kite Every afternoon near the Independence Monument, kites are the new craze. I think it's in part due to the availability of cheap kites, but also it's free and fun. Kite Seller The weather and wind are just right, the skies are starting to get crowded! Sept 16: Dee Dee's new pasttime: http://deedeedoll.blogspot.com/2006/09/kite-flying-leisure-activity.html http://deedeedoll.blogspot.com/2006/09/go-kite-flying-again.html Tags:

- jinja Link

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Sep 13, 2006

Go Read Other Peoples' Blogs:

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: ,

- jinja Link

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Sep 11, 2006

In Search of Khmer Hip Hop Part 7: Uncle Kleang, 'Hip Hop Girls', Casa gigs

In Search of Khmer Hip Hop Part 7: In this episode: Uncle Kleang, 'Hip Hop Girls', Casa gigs. I'd been looking for more by Bu Kleang (Uncle Kleang), and last weekend at Tuol Tompoung Market I finally found it. The real show stopper on the album (click for front and back covers) is 'Because I Was Drunk' which has been around in various forms for the last 6 months or so. 'Piprueh Kynom Sravang Sraa' is great because it sincerely, politely apologies for a host of mistakes, the excuse being simply 'I was drunk.' Justification enough. Catchy enough for Barangs to sing along. The rest of the album is pretty good, I'm not familiar with the label. No clue if Bu Kleang is local or Stateside, or how long he's been performing. (My CD has been forcibly 'borrowed' by friends.) For additional info, you could try: 'Hip Hop Girls' , a radio show Sunday at 3pm on FM 103. Hosts are Ou Banung (16) and Mon Savthey (17). (Picture courtesy BBC, cheers to Chamta for tipoff). Looks like its funding comes from the HIV/AIDS education angle. (What can't NGOs justify under its rubric? Ah well, if it gets me some hip hop programming I'm not complaining.) Between that and Casa's weekly event, it seems Sunday is Hip Hop day in Phnom Penh. http://del.icio.us/slugdog/HipHop Tags: ,

- jinja Link

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Sep 10, 2006

Extreme Khmer

We've had 'Extreme' sports, 'Extreme' wrestling, even 'Extreme' potato chips. Now get ready for - Khmer language teacher Frank Smith, take the microphone: Greetings-- And now for something totally different: what's possibly the first video podcast ever in Khmer!! "Extreme Khmer" (khmae kray leeng) will present a new episode every month (from September to May), and feature our crack team of wacky reporters traipsing the highways and byways of Southeast Asia bringing the crazy world of Khmer language and culture into your living room. Or something like that. Note that the podcast is totally in Khmer, and is intended for Khmer students who have at least completed Beginning level. If you don't speak Khmer, aw, c'mon, watch it anyway...you can still appreciate some of the sheer silliness of it. The first episode was taped right here in rainy Bangkok, and it's about Surin Khmers (and Surin Khmer dialect/language) in Thailand. Next month's episode will feature guest host nek kruu Sokhary and focus on Wat Phnom and the history of Phnom Penh. Unfortunately, I haven't quite figured out the whole RSS thing yet so it's not a "proper podcast" (that is, you can't subscribe to it on iTunes just yet), but you can access it in two ways: 1. Watch the widescreen, high-res version here...warning, the file is really big (around 300 Mb), so only attempt this from a fast connection, or you may hurt yourself: http://www.studykhmer.com Just use the controls to play the video after it finishes loading. And yes, I know, the control bar at the bottom of the video gets cut off in Mozilla Firefox (though it displays fine in Explorer), I'm working on solving that problem. But it is usable right now. 2. or, if you have a video iPod and want to download the iPod-sized version, go here: http://www.studykhmer.com/podcast ...and right-click on the "Podcast" icon to download the file. That file is much smaller than the high-res version (about 32 Mb). The show is about 6 minutes long. Let me know what you think! Later this week I'll try to put up some supplementary material to go with the episode (for all you lifelong Khmer students out there), including video of an interview that didn't make the final cut. Enjoy! Frank ps Nothing else on the website studykhmer.com exists just yet, but I hope to have the textbook section set up by the end of this month or so...so just keep checking back. In the "assorted goodies" section, I'll be putting up various videos and other documents about Khmer language. Tags: ,

- jinja Link

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Sep 9, 2006

Bird Flu Poster

Bird Flu Poster I'm seeing these wherever I travel. bird_flu_large 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: ,

- jinja Link

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Sep 8, 2006

How To Learn French Without Really Trying:

How To Learn French Without Really Trying: at Cinema Centre Culturel Français, Phnom Penh: 7 pm Friday 8 Sept: Donnie Darko. 6 pm Saturday 9 Sept: The Frighteners (Peter Jackson) 6 pm Sunday 10 Sept: Baron Munchausen (Terry Gilliam) 7 pm Tuesday 12 Sept: Brazil (Terry Gilliam) All with English subtitles to boot! Nicola, wish you were here to join us. Tags: ,

- jinja Link

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Sep 7, 2006

Bloggers Abroad

Bloggers Abroad Khmerak writes about Malaysian Independence Day, meeting up with other bloggers, and landing back in the thick of Phnom Penh's traffic. It's cool to see intra-Southeast Asia connections being made. And Fulbrighter Mongkol catches up with Beth Kanter in the States. http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2006/09/social_networki.html Tags:

- jinja Link

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Sep 6, 2006

Eastern Europe Digs Khmer Comics

Eastern Europe digs Khmer Comics Eastern Europe likes 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: ,

- jinja Link

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Sep 5, 2006

Architect in Action

Architect in Action A great presentation by Vann Molyvann yesterday (Sept 04 2006) at the French Cultural Centre, in Khmer this time. The return engagement was largely due to there being so many questions at his last talk. Vann Molyvann lecture 01 While quite quiet when off the stage, the architect was impassioned in his discussion of what Phnom Penh was, is - and could be. I'll revise this post with more details tomorrow, I'm still webbing up some of his stunning pictures. If you couldn't go? In the words of Mr. T, 'I pity the fool.' What were you thinking? Tags: ,

- jinja Link

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Sep 2, 2006

Em Satya: Back in Form

Em Satya: Back in Form em_satya_small 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: ,

- jinja Link

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Sep 1, 2006

Vann Molyvann Conference, French Cultural Centre, Sept 04

Vann Molyvann Conference, French Cultural Centre, Sept 04 You may not speak Khmer. You may not know much about architecture, or urban planning. PP heyday 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.
LUNDI 4 SEPTEMBRE AU CENTRE CULTUREL FRANCAIS
/ Monday the 4th of Septembre at CCF
conférence
Vann Molyvann,
Conférence en khmer.
> lundi 4 septembre- 18h30/ Monday the 4th of Septembre - 6.30pm > Cinéma du CCF. / French Cultural Center
> 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: ,,

- jinja Link

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