Tuesday was a busy, fun evening and our man about town Andy Brouwer obliges with a writeup:
http://andybrouwer.blogspot.com
/2007/12/comics-come-good.html

As does comicist Anne Moore:
http://camblogdia.blogspot.com
/2007/12/victory-in-art-fight.html

Em Satya talked about his 17 year journey to publish ‘Bopha Battambang’, out now in Khmer and shortly, French and English.

He fielded a number of questions from the audience at Phnom Penh’s Meta-House, and the evening was rounded out by a ‘Comic Art Battle’, a game new to Cambodia but fairly common overseas.

Some photos of the Art Battle:

Teams One and Two had a mix of foreigners and Cambodians. The audience supplied the situation/scenario and the drawing adhered to a time limit.

First Challenge: An animal in an unusual situation: a water buffalo in a ‘lift’.

Challenge #2: A story suggested by the audience.

Team 1: The King who liked sweet cucumbers.

Team 2: The cow that got arrested.

Em Satya judged the contestants, and the winner: Team One! (Everyone’s a winner with fun like this.)

The evening was rounded out with a book signing of ‘Bopha Battambang‘ and most of Em Satya’s remaining framed art was sold.

I am scrounging around for pictures of the event, I was a little too preoccupied to take many for myself! (Email if you’ve got some to share, please.)

More about the comic? Updates to follow at www.ourbookscambodia.org.

Tags: cambodia,khmer,comics

Monday: Up early. A quick bowl of noodle soup and I’m off to the Tonle Bassac area. It’s the first of many events for Human Rights Day. Nanajapana has slept there overnight and is running around trying to get footage.

Today many residents and supporters donned ‘Stop Evictions’ *t-shirts and held hands to form a giant line around the communities being relocated. Legal permission had not been sought for this demonstration, but there is a constitutional right to free assembly. And especially on Human Rights Day, it would be hard to justify breaking this up.

Moments from the demo:

*little girls carefully adding ‘Barbie‘ and ‘Kim Possible‘ stickers on their ‘Stop Evictions’ t-shirts.
*solemn looking guys (plainclothes police?) walking up to the t-shirt distribution area, eying it over, quietly walking away.
*quick appearance by Yash Ghai**, UN rep.
*A kid playing with a rather realistic looking toy gun. Woah, don’t shoot!
*laughter as we formed the line. (Holy cow, I’m holding hands with a foreigner!) Not the sort of thing that happens every day for most residents.

After that, travel down winding roads to a quick assemblage at Rik Riyay community. It’s starting to get hot. Lines form at the sugarcane juice stand. I tote batteries and eventually a camera for Nana.

Onward to the main event at Wat Phnom, that’s been going on since early AM.

There’s been a mass distribution of t-shirts and caps. I try to shoot some video of the crowd. More moments:

*Is that the US Ambassador? Hmm… yep, looks like him.
*Nana is running around trying to get the best shot.
*It’s closed by the son of Kung Nei, who has some pretty good chops. He’s been trained by the best.
*And the crowd of human rights NGO staff and activists heads into the crowd, and suddenly join the tourist crowd at Wat Phnom.

Was it a successful Human Rights day? That warrants some chewing over. I like the idea that a day of demonstrations and discussion could be considered… normal, in Cambodia. Even if just for one day. But over the coming weeks, months and years, there are some serious challenges to face. http://www.licadho.org/reports.php#r-113

More:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7135827.stm
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Global%20News&p=54&type=2&sec=3&aid=2007121023
http://www.youtube.com/user/nanajapana
http://detailsaresketchy.wordpress.com/2007/12/10/human-rights-day/

*I actually think that there are cases where an eviction may be warranted. But the wide-ranging overall scope and character of evictions in Cambodia does need a simple tagline.

**The usual establishment response to this external criticism is basically that it is indeed, well, external and international, not local and Khmer.

Tags: cambodia,khmer,human rights,evictions

Tuesday, December 11th at 7pm:

‘Book Launch’ for Em Satya’s graphic novel ‘Flower of Battambang’, at Meta-House.

17 years in the making, this may well be Cambodia’s first locally-produced comic to be published in graphic novel format! (Khmer, English, French).

View original art, meet guests from the Cambodian/International comic art scene, see the English, French and Khmer versions of the graphic novel, and witness our “Comic Art Battle”!

Online invitation in English, French, Khmer at: http://www.siewphewyeung.org.kh/?p=47

More information

John Weeks 023 223 242

Lydia Parusol 012 208 347

META HOUSE
Street 264, #6 – Sangkat Chaktomuk, Khan Daun Penh,
Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia
Fixed +855- (0)23 – 224 140, Mobil +855- (0) 12- 607 465
Homepage: www.meta-house.com

http://www.expat-advisory.com/forums/flower-of-battambang-book-launch-tuesday-11th-7pm-vt3704.html

From “What’s On“.Tags: cambodia,khmer,comics

Above: a crowd gathers at the scene of a traffic accident.

Here at Jinja.apsara.org we like to keep up with the latest hip, happening trends. Mobile telecommunication technology has enabled people to assemble quickly for spontaneous events, leading to the ‘flash mob’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_mob

Cambodia has always been ahead curve, sans phones. When a traffic accident happens, it is negotiated and arbitrated on the spot,  with a crowd of onlookers chiming in their opinions. Sometimes it’s resolved quickly and simply, other times it’s cheap public drama as each person asserts their case. Police arrive but depending on the situation and size of the crowd, even they may not be able to affect the outcome.

Want to see citizens take the law (and traffic rules) into their own hands? Anarchists take note.

Me? I’d be happy to see some effort made to improve traffic flow – and growing numbers of drivers with insurance. Western countries generally mandate that to drive, you must have insurance. Universal coverage is an impossible rule to implement with current Cambodian income levels; hit-and-run drivers often flee the scene. I once observed a car running a red traffic light late in the evening on Charles de Gaulle Boulevard, trailing a shower of sparks due to the small Honda firmly lodged underneath it.

More? Try Cambodia’s only dedicated (and opinionated) traffic blog, Crossing Cambodia.

Tags: cambodia,traffic,insurance

Last Saturday: ‘Phnom Penh Rocks‘ a live gig presented by Meta-House, at ‘Titanic’ restaurant. While not of gargantuan proportions or impact, it was good fun, and live music is in short supply in The Big Sawmaw.

First up: (above) MC Curly, TV3 hip hop awardee “together with his German music producer Ian-C-Lion ‘on the decks’ “. Some good basic flow.

Next up was Thom Thom. (formerly Vealsre, formerly Teuk Máte, pictured below.) They looked to be having fun.

Some Casio-core courtesy Thailand’s Bear-Garden was next. Curly freestyled with some help from Thom Thom’s drummer while the band sorted out some technical prep.

“In Phnom Penh the two Pandas Somsiri Sangkaew (female singer known as JUNE) & Mr. Gunn Werawut perform as a duo – with bass, keyboards and IPODS they are creating sweet melodies for urban dreamers.”

Next up: (above) surprise guest DJ Sdey with Curly! This picture is a bit wobbly but hopefully captures the energy of the moment.

Finally, headliners Diva International provided some fun pop rock and filled the floor.

I’m trying to remember the last time my aging ears listened to a live band that used reverb competently, so I may not be the most objective judge. No complaints from this end.
Next? I’d love to see a showcase like this attempted in as public a venue as possible. Tricky, given the technical and logistical challenges. Many Asian countries have a signature music festival, maybe it’s time for Cambodia to step up to the challenge.

Tags: cambodia,rock+and+roll,hiphop