Hands Student work at the Royal University of Fine Art's South Campus, Phnom Penh. Tags:cambodia,sculpture

Visualize Whirled Peas USA Embassy folks don't seem to get out much. Doubtless it's related to the States' endemic 'anti-terror' procedures. Which led to some pub postulation: maybe the reason the American Embassy is so big because there's a secret discotheque underneath. That's where all the diplomats tie one on - if you can get an invite. Really, Cambodia is more safeful and peaceful than it's portrayed. Safe at least for the USA to approve its first ever crop of Peace Corps Cambodia volunteers. For now, they're keeping a low profile. First order of business seems to be learning Khmer, second seems to be teaching English. From their blogs, seems like the usual ups and downs of transition and adaptation. http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com/cb.html Once they arrived, they were whisked away to two separate villages (Prey Char / T'Bong Kmom) in Kompong Cham for language training, hosted by local families. That's a good move; get them out of Phnom Penh's expatriate scene. After that, it's off to the provinces. Curious to know how they select schools for teaching assignments, and what community groups they'll be working with. I have a sneaking feeling that after a year of study, some Khmer kids will be more au courant with Stateside slang than I am. Tags:cambodia

Read Other Blogs An early start today, thanks to the loud blaring of wedding music at 5am. Weddings, funerals: share the joy, share the pain. With the entire neighborhood. So while I wrap myself around an extra-large mug of coffee, wrap your head around these bits of bloggery. Go on, it's good to vary your media diet. Mandevu takes the 100 Houses Architecture Tour. http://www.mandevu.net/2007/02/25/100-houses Plus: priceless image of toilets at Angkor. http://www.mandevu.net/2007/02/17/changing-technologies Jeff at Jungle-Bar notes that there is a new map CD out for a very good cause, teaching at Wat Kampong Tralach. http://jungle-bar.blogspot.com/2007/02/cambodia-maps.html GPS coordinates and more details at:http://cambodiamaps.blogspot.com Rambling Spoon writes up their fave coffee place. http://ramblingspoon.com/blog/?p=443 Details are Sketchy comments on the recent shootings. http://detailsaresketchy.wordpress.com From Finland: "Phnom Penh is like the Berlin of South East Asia – a hectic but fascinating construction site, slowly coming to terms with layers of turbulent history." Ouch. http://www.6d.fi/travel/page.2007-02-22.9549351306 "The one place where all travellers and expats come together is the legendary Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC), famously featured in the novel and film “The Killing Fields”. The view from the rooftop bar is a must." Can I get a witness? Geek Corner: Khmer Open Source latest, in dead tree blog Phnom Penh Post. http://www.phnompenhpost.com/TXT/current/stories/1604/writ.htm The Development Agenda of Free Software http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=532&res=1024_ff&print=0 Oldies corner: http://ttwalker.blogspot.com (how 'bout an update?) Well-intentioned but inaccurate article on the press in Cambodia. http://panchitaphilosophica.blogspot.com/2007/02/evolution-of-press-in-developing.html try the recently reissued Publishing in Cambodia report for the definitive story. (Available at the Book Federation). Dead tree bloggers The Age: Cambodia's lost village. http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/new-world-mysteries-test-cambodias-lost-tribe/2007/02/23/1171734021627.html Tomorrow: fun with the Peace Corps. Tags:cambodia

Skeletal Elephant Gratuitous photo: wireframe pachyderm, Khien Svay. Tags:cambodia

Impunity is a word that gets used often in discussions about Cambodia. Yesterday, pop star Pov Panhapich was shot at close range, on her way to English class. Khmer forums are rife with speculation. Today: via text message: it seems another Free Trade Union officer has been killed. That would be the fourth since Chea Vichea. I'll leave it to the press to cover more details on both. For all we know, both victims could have had a dispute unrelated to their professional roles. (A gambling debt? An old grudge?) Cambodia has an extensive legal code, but enforcement is uneven. If these two have done something wrong, they should have been taken to court. But until there is stronger rule of law, daylight shootings will continue. And the details will never see the light of day. Tags:cambodia,law

Spectacle Kompong Som Wow. I'm just going to web this up. The spectacle is as much in the announcement as it is in the planning! Click for larger version. : ] Tags:cambodia,circus,HIV

Literary Latest: A busy day today just keeping track of publishing and comics and stuff.

	Lisa Mandel is on the move with her crew of intrepid art students. More via www.lisamandel.net (You'll need flash.) I'm hoping to set up a small talk/exhibition when the team hits Phnom Penh; right now she's in Sisophon.
Also on the comics front, Séra will be returning to Phnom Penh in April and will be conducting a new workshop for Khmer visual artists. (Email if you want more details, or hit the French Cultural Centre). Plans are also in progress to publish his 'Water and Earth' graphic novel in Khmer.
	The Nou Hach Literary Journalis out with issue #3 of their award- winning poetry and short stories. Available at Monument Books, Independence Bookshop, Peace Bookshop, and many others. (Including some material in English and Japanese as well as Khmer!)
Caught up with with blogger/businessswoman Diana Saw & crew from Bloom for lunch today. Very interesting to hear about the ups and downs of setting up a small business in Cambodia. I think she could/should make a book out of it.
A pleasant surprise in the latest issue of jobseeker magazine 'Search': an interview with Belle from Sovanna Phum. (Seated, on the left.) Get your copy at any newsstand.

Tags:cambodia,literature,business,dance

Siem Reap Signage: One small step for a restaurant, one gigantic leap from Hinduism to Tourism. Tags:cambodia

The Perfect Phnom Penh OK, maybe this whole 'Phnom Penh = Prague' meme is a little overblown. I shouldn't be too critical. Phnom Penh (and Cambodia) have a lot of cool things to offer. I just don't enjoy seeing it oversimplified. So: bring us your tourist dollars, hippies!* There's a happening art scene (below - picture from New Art Gallery) and lots to discover, if you're willing to explore. Tharum has created a Flickr group of Phnom Penh pictures that have some great images of the city. http://flickr.com/groups/perfectphnompenh Earth's Molten Core has a charming appreciation of the ubiquitous Cambodian Camry. http://earthsmoltencore.blogspot.com/2007/01/love-is-camry.html Overseas Khmer Brenda shares the love with her Last.Fm Cambo-Pop hit list. And Phnomenon's Phil 'animates the internet with his blog consecrated to Khmer cuisine' (Cambodge Soir writeup today. Alas, the newspaper has no web site. Nudge, nudge.) Tags:cambodia,photography,travel,media *A friend old enough to have been a real hippie reminded me once that the term has been colloquialized, and that they often called themselves 'heads'.

Wat a Relief Siem Reap's Wat Preah Prom Rath (Jewelled Lord Brahma Wat) is getting a bit of a makeover, with some fresh paint. I've always been particularly intrigued by this entrance gate. Ray Zepp's A Field Guide to Siem Reap Pagodas, Phnom Penh (KEAP, 2000) mentions the 'maravijaya' story on this gate, but not all of the details. The Wat was founded in 1915, this is definitely more recent. Prior to 1989 there were government controls on Wat expenditures, and this work would have required some money and effort, due to the detail. I would hazard a guess this gate was built post-UNTAC time, prior to the final surrender of the Khmer Rouge. It might be the work of famed Siem Reap artist Dy Proeung. During my all-too-brief time shooting photos I couldn't find a credit for it. Here we have the army of Mara, representing illusion/desire, physically attacking the man who would be Buddha. Note the uniforms. This is an extremely popular scene, depicted around the world in different styles. In other images you'll find Mara's army wearing clothes that represent whatever the local artist considers in opposition to Buddhism. So here it's interesting to see them wearing what look like - Mao caps! Could they represent the Khmer Rouge/communists? The tremendous will of Buddha is impervious to these efforts. In a local variation, this story is linked to that of Mae Thoriani (Mother Earth) who wrings water out of her hair with such force that it sprays the forces away... And as their weapons turn into flowers, soldiers repent, pray for forgiveness and mercy... as some are devoured by Makara (crocodile like creatures). I'll see if I can find a little more info on my next Siem Reap visit. Links: http://www.keap-net.org http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/bodgaya.htm (Thanks heaps to 'Squatter', R.Z., and Elizabeth for contextual advice!) Tags:cambodia,buddhism

================================================== IRASEC Newsletter 01 English (PDF) Tag: Cambodia

Short notice, I know... but give it a go if you want to see some cool contemporary art.

Great Artwork, fantastic prizes and delicious drinks&snacks tonight at Sala Artspace’s first FUNDRAISING AUCTION!!

from: What's On

Business Blogs: Goodness me, everyone's got one now. Corporate Social Responsibility Asia on Cambodia's stalled anti-corruption law. http://www.csr-asia.com/index.php?p=9055 Exotissimo updates on development down south... http://www.exotissimo.com/eblog/?p=152 Media Consulting & Development offers the latest ASEAN Business News (PDF, sign up for updates via email) http://www.mcdcambodia.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=104&func=select&id=4&orderby=4 Tags:cambodia,business

Shedding some Light Nathan Spande at "Dark Reading" writes about software pirating in Cambodia, and gets 'slashdotted'. [Linked to on popular geek site Slashdot] http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=116907 http://slashdot.org/articles/07/02/11/1435231.shtml The prescription for malware and viruses? He recommends Open Source programs. Sounds good, no mention of Khmer Open Source in the article though! Tags:cambodia Tags:cambodia

Reflections from the Mirror From 1997 to 2006, Norbert Klein edited “The Mirror” for Open Forum, providing short summaries of news articles with some extra commentary. (Also available via email). From 1998 to 2006, the Khmer “Kanychok Sangkum (Mirror of Society)” was also produced, until funding issues caused both publications and Open Forum to close their doors. Now the Mirror is back, as (surprise) a weblog. http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/about/ Open Forum has changed hands, and re-booted CambodiaCIC.info - with new staff and change of domain name. Meanwhile, the new local organization Open Institute is running "The Mirror", including some prior staff from Open Forum. Looks like Open Institute won't have the resources to produce Kanychok Sangkum in the immediate future. http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/editorial-2006-12-30-at-the-end-of-the-10th-year-of-the-mirror/ I don't know the full story. Hopefully having two re-branded organizations dedicated to the information technology field will make even more resources available to local techies. Wouldn't bet the farm on it though. We'll just wait and see. Tags:cambodia

Phnom Penh: the 'next Prague' "Yo Chuck, they must be on the pipe, right?"* http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/travel/11next.html I read it in the New York Times, (and Cambodia Daily) so it must be true... I suppose from street 240 and environs things do look pretty swell for visitors. Just ignore the squatter camps on the outskirts of town. Postscript, Feb 16, 4:05 pm: Gridskipper contributes a charming photo mashup and some well-intentioned if occasionally inaccurate elucidations on the scene. (Java/Sala Arts is not an internet cafe, and while the Pink Elephant is dear to my heart, it is not the best restaurant in town.) Meanwhile Phnomenon is keeping tabs on the 'Phnom Penh Prague' meme. T-Shirts, anyone? [*Ref: P.E.] Tag:cambodia

Glocalization - Cambodia Style Signage in Siem Reap: Hey, that looks familiar. I guess they open at 7am and close at 8pm? Lorn Mart joins 'Pizza Hot' and 'BB World', and Palais Coffee (Starbucks clone) as another example of Cambodia's unique approach to marketing and branding. Cambodia is a member of the World Trade Organization but enforcement of rules such as copyright law are taking some time to be fully implemented. The Pizza Company has bravely waded in, one of the first global franchise companies to give it a go. So far it seems to be doing well. I'm just waiting for them to offer prahok pizza. Tags:cambodia,marketing

Spreading The Word From Geoff Ryman: A short discussion about Cambodian literature will be broadcast on the BBC World Service in their regular literature programme, THE WORD. It features an interview with David Pechoux of Monument Books and a three way discussion with Theary Seng, Phin Santel and Geoff Ryman. I hope people find it of interest. It will be broadcast on the following frequencies and times, and can be accessed for a week afterwards from the BBC website. ...... In Cambodia the World Service is broadcast on 100FM The edition of "The Word" with yesterday's discussion will go out on Tues 13th of Feb at 9.30am and Wed 14th at 12.30am (past midnight) London: you can listen to the WS on DAB digital radio and on medium wave 648 KHZ. The Word will go out on Sunday 11 th of Feb at 1.05am, Tuesday 13th at 9.30am and 15.30 and Wed 14th at 14.30 New York: you can only listen to the Word on satellite radio (Sirius satellite) on Sat at 22.30pm, Sunday at 13.06 and Tues at 3.30am Also it will be online for a week from Monday at the following website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/the_word.shtml Postscript: February 19: For those with a low-bandwith connection, the 'Cambodia' segment on 'The Word' is from 15:18 to 25:30. From What's On. Tags:cambodia,literature

or: "Leave Your Weapon With the Guard" "Vuth" is a common nickname in Cambodia, a shortening of a longer name like 'Daravuth' or "Sisavuthara". Anecdote: some Khmers are on their way to an office and see a sign in front: 'Please leave your weapon (avut) at the door'. "Sorry Vuth," they say to their friend, "we'll have to go inside without you." These signs used to be pretty common just a decade ago, and you can still see a number around. By the time I was working in Siem Reap, (2000) this sign was already pretty redundant (and now has disappeared). I'd pretend to check myself, and tell the guard I left my grenades at home. Tags:cambodia

More Wedding Pictures Congrats Steffen and Konstanze! (A lot of weddings lately, maybe I'll change the title of this weblog to "Webbed Feet, Wedding Registry".) This time it took place in Siem Reap. A great time as the wedding and reception took place in a melange of German, Khmer, English, and French. When a local wedding has the right mix it's lots of fun. Tags:cambodia,wedding

Development? What a buzzword. It means so many different things, to different people. Above: lonely moto taxi waits outside a row of cookie-cutter style buildings in Siem Reap. New construction is going on at a frenetic pace. Tags:cambodia,development

Puppet Project, Siem Reap Being familiar with ‘Burning Man’ and having just seen the lame Hollwood remake of ‘The Wicker Man’ (stick with the original) I am perhaps a little apprehensive when it comes to making large artificial figures. However this project seems to be shaping up to be a lot of fun for the participants and is in need of a little assistance as is approaches its final leg. Get in touch via the info below. I’ll try to get some pictures from the big show next week. ------------------------------------------- The Puppet Man is coming to town! International Puppet Maker James Cochrane will be leading a series of workshops starting 22nd July until 9th February, working with kids from nine local high schools and orphanages in Siem Reap. Giant Puppets will be made by all participating kids. Puppets will be made for the purpose of educational development and environmental awareness covering themes of endangered species, road safety and oral hygiene. The project finale will end with a puppet procession through Siem Reap. We need your help The giant puppets will be made using recycled materials. Collect!.... Find!....Collect! Plastic bottles, clean plastic bags, plastic cups, straws, corks, paper cups, cardboard, tin foil, newspapers, magazines, bottle tops, polystyrene containers, cigarette boxes All donations gratefully accepted Contact: Stuart Cochlin 0121 613 896 ------------------------------------------- Also contactable via Sasha Constable at the Art House, Siem Reap Seconstable [at] hotmail (dot) com Tags:cambodia,puppet

Silong Gets Hitched! Khmer Hip Hop producer extraordinaire Silong just got married. Congrats! Pix @ http://www.arielpayopay.com/wordpress/?p=319 Tags:cambodia

Freely comes a Savage Pony To Battambang! Lisa Mandel is back for yet another workshop with Phare Art School students. More details to follow. www.lisamandel.net

Lok Kru Frank takes us on a trip down memory lane as he looks up former students Phatry, Navin, Nirav in Cambodia. Available via Youtube or StudyKhmer.com. Actual classes? http://seassi.wisc.edu/ Tags:cambodia,khmer

In Search of Khmer Hip Hop Part 9: Aaliyah Styles Walk inside and you'll find doo-rags draped over... an oxcart. It's a hip-hop boutique! I'm pretty sure that model ain't Aaliya either. But then, they spelled it with an 'h' at the end just to be safe. On the row of shops bordering Soryia center, Phnom Penh. Tags: cambodia,hiphop

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