She's Over

I'm done. 10 days on the waterboarding diet completed (at least the fooding hours are now complete). I feel great but I'm ready to sink the choppers into something substantial. I don't have a scale but I'll say I lost at most maybe six or seven pounds. A lot for 10 days I suppose but actually less than I thought given how radical a diet this has been.

So what am I thinking about?

First and foremost, ribs and mango salad at Restaurant 522 in Kien Svay. It's been too long since I've gone out there and it's my favorite meal in Cambodia (boat or no boat). Thai boat noodle soup, but mostly because it became subject of a thread on Khmer440 yesterday. I've got a lead where I might be able to find some. The frozen steak in my freezer, or even better, a Metro steak. A pasta with pesto for which a quart of olive oil awaits in the pantry. Or maybe mussels with pesto since I've got those New Zealand green lipped boys in the freezer too. Spicy sausages, inspired by a post on Phil Lees' The Last Appetite site (he formerly of the Phnomenon Cambodia food blog). My anchovie and black olive pizza from Cafe Sarawan -- best in town. A nice Greek salad from Jungle.

Alas, I'm going to have to ease into food again. So tomorrow will be soup and juice and maybe something something very very light. Hey, but that beats the hell out of a quart of brine.

Food for Thought

Cost of importing a 1962 Studebaker Hawk to Cambodia: $5,600, delivered to Phnom Penh.

Fastest Hawk on the block: Bo Burt's Studebaker-powered '63 Hawk: 9.99 quarter mile. Horsepower: 600+(pictured)

The why and how of building a fast Stude: Ted Harbit and the Chicken Hawk (pdf download)

Play Ball!

The Cambodian national baseball team got Jamaican bobsled team like attention (video here)...but they didn't exactly set the diamond on fire in the recent Southeast Asian games. So hopes, springing eternal as they do, turn to the Dodgers (sigh), with spring training's first game on Thursday.

The addition of a now portly Andruw Jones, who hit 51 home runs just three seasons ago, and at 31 should have plenty left, is one reason for hope. But alas, a lot pieces will have to fall into place for the Dodgers this year to make it, including getting a good season out of 40-year old Jeff Kent and getting a full season out of recovering pitcher Jason Schmidt.

Projected Rotation:

1. RHP Brad Penny
2. RHP Derek Lowe
3. RHP Hiroki Kuroda
4. RHP Chad Billingsley
5. RHP Jason Schmidt

Projected Lineup:

1. SS Rafael Furcal
2. LF Juan Pierre
3. CF Andruw Jones
4. 2B Jeff Kent
5. RF Andre Ethier/Matt Kemp
6. 1B James Loney
7. C Russell Martin
8. 3B Nomar Garciaparra/Andy LaRoche

So what's with this Andruw Jones character's parents? Couldn't spell Andrew? Typo at the hospital? I guess I could have spelled Aliyah "ALI3YAH" but it just didn't occur to me.

Tiny Yong - Tais Toi Petite Foll

I've blogged about Tiny Yong before but just came across this video which I trust you'll enjoy (It's got a puppy for crying out loud, how can you not), a cover of the Shirelles' "Foolish Little Girl".

A blog reader informed me today that the Phnom Penh born Ye-Ye star ran a small Paris restaurant through 2001. I hope she is doing well.

I'm still looking for a copy of the French magazine Jukebox, Issue 216 which features Tiny Yong. C'mon, somebody, help me out here.

Tiny Yong - Tais Toi Petite Folle
Uploaded by teppazandco

The Doctor's Corner

I've been fortunate never having to see the inside of a hospital for myself for any serious ailment. I've got a cast iron stomach and despite all the time I've spent in Southeast Asia have never suffered more than minor discomfort from bad food. I've also never had any road accidents and on that score I count myself lucky as moto crackups are pretty common in these parts. I had Dengue last year, but that's not difficult to diagnose (and untreatable), and a few months ago had a secondary cataract removed, a five minute laser job in Bangkok. Vatey on the other hand, has had to suffer through more hospitals in just these past two years than anyone should have to. Ulcer, appendicitis, childbirth, and most recently a double bout of salmonella/typhoid from which she is still recovering. Aliyah has been a very healthy baby, thank God.

Our favorite doctor has gone back to the States, leaving us without our trusted GP. Knowing all this, I decided it was time to get some good insurance and find a new doctor. Good news on both fronts.

Forte Insurance here in Cambodia offers a pretty good insurance package for the family. It will costs us $1864 per year (with no deductibles) for the three of us, with evacuation to Bangkok should it be necessary. Coverages are low compared to US, but reasonable when you consider all-out cost for an angioplasty at the best hospital in Bangkok is less than $7,000. This doesn't include dental, eyecare, our outpatient medical but that is all ridiculously inexpensive here -- one can get an eye exam and glasses for $35 in Phnom Penh, or a dental cleaning for $25, not something to worry about, certainly not worth the additional $1500 it would cost for that coverage.

And on the doctor front Rattanak Clinic, where Aliyah was born, is now Royal Rattanak Hospital, part of the world-class Bangkok Hospital Group, and one of only two hospitals so affiliated outside of Thailand. We haven't yet gone there but it will be where I'll go next time any of us need to see a doctor. Good news indeed.

Me, I'm on Day 8 of the diet and coasting all the way home. Time for my lemonade.

Cambodia Calling: Gizmo5

There's a new VOIP mobile service on the block, Gizmo5, which enables calling from your Cambodia mobile phone to anywhere in the world at reasonable rates. Not as cheap as calling from an internet cafe, but about $.21 a minute to the US. You download the Gizmo client to your mobile and pc, and buy some Gizmo Call Out time as you would with a Skype account (be forewarned it's not instantly credited). To make a call you load Gizmo on the mobile, dial the number you want to reach, and wait for the Gizmo service to ring your phone. You accept the call and are then connected to your party. You're billed both for Gizmo's call to you ($.19/min for Cambodia) as well as the Gizmo rate to your party ($.02 to the US) which is why it's not as cheap as a computer initiated call.

I called my Mom this morning and it does work as advertised. Call quality is decent -- not as good as a good Skype connection but close, certainly better than many calling card calls. And you have the convenience of making the call anywhere, anytime. US call in numbers are available as well if you want a Gizmo local US number someone can call which would ring your mobile and pc. Skype for Mobile has never been available for more than a couple of handhelds so this is quite a nice offerinng.

You can download the Gizmo software here.

Day 6

I'm finished with the sixth day of the Waterboarding diet and feeling very good. It's amazing one can eat so little and get by like this. My energy level is good, I'm sleeping like a baby, and don't really feel that hungry through the day. I thought I might give it up after a week, but now I'm feeling good about seeing it through the recommended 10. Coming off the diet requires a couple days transition so I'm afraid no pork ribs for another week. Si se puede!

That's more like it. Not perfect but you get the picture. Id want a more differentiated roofline and the Khmer style stairs will add a lot (see Tamarind House below).

I've seen two cool houses here which inspire. Here's Dr. Andrew's house (click through for more pics), which features a large living area opening onto a veranda with views:



Here's Tamarind House, one of four beautiful wood houses Helen Jarvis and her partner Alan built on the Mekong (again click through):

Kampot House Design Study

I took a few hours out of my hectic schedule (right) to play with site planning for the house in Kampot and this is what I came up with. It's a pretty big house for the site but something close to this might work. Note that what looks like screened porches would be covered but not screened. My cheap-ass software won't render stairs properly but yes there would be stairs at front and back. The trees shown are existing. The house is oriented such that the primary living spaces at the front of the house, a large, open living room, dining room and kitchen, face the mountains to the northwest. Primary entry though has to be at the back where the driveway is coming up from Stan' s property.



As is commonly done with Khmer houses, the ground floor would be half open (for the chickens and pigs to run around). In my dreams there's a rec room big enough to accomodate a pool table, a bedroom and bath on this ground floor. This part of the house would certainly be brick construction.



On the second floor (first floor in European parlance) there are two bedrooms in the back of the house, then the big open living, dining and kitchen areas in the front. Covered porches all around. The luxurious wood houses on the Mekong that I visited a few months ago with Justin had an open plan like this and I think it works great. This part of the house might be primarily composite with wood details.

Anyway, these are my first thoughts. The ground and first floor walls don't line up as well as they should but that's what architects are for I suppose. And since the future of the property behind me is unknown I might want to move the house away from that lot line a bit. But I think it's not a bad start.

$$$$????

The Waterboarding Diet

Waterboarding is torture. Ask anyone who isn't a Bush cabinet member or formerly employed at Tuol Sleng.

I'm now well into Day 4 of the Waterboard...er Master Cleanse diet. Having consumed a quart of brine for breakfast, the rest of the day will be a piece of cake (I wish). Actually the water/lemon/molasses/cayenne I drink for sustenance is not so bad at all, it's only when in the presence of actual food that I come close to throwing in the towel. Shopping at Lucky's was tough last night for example. I bought some EV olive oil for the pesto I want to make when released from Guantanamo, and the crackers on sale had visions of duck pate dancing in my head. Don't get me started on pizza. Vatey ordered one while we were hanging at Sugar Shack and I did cheat a little with a taste of a bit of mushroom and anchovie.

I don't know how long I'll make it, but I think at least a week. Macka's got me thinking about a river cruise next week and that and the lunch it entails would be hard to pass up. But I think I can make it through the weekend. Will keep you posted.

Summer Plans: Singapore Girls

I know I just got back from California but travel from Asia requires considerable advance planning to get decent flights and fares -- the trans Pacific flights fill up real fast. Flights are expensive this summer (like $1400), so I decided to use my accumulated frequent flyer miles to book the flights (thank you National Equity Fund). Good thing I did because I learned they're going to expire in a year and United's "saver" awards have become useless unless you book nine months in advance. I couldn't find a thing all summer on United.

But it seems to have worked out fine because there are still some seats on Singapore. The family is booked on Singapore Airlines for a flight out of Bangkok on July 30. We leave L.A. on the return leg on August 30. The Singapore flights won't be as quick as the EVA flights would be, but they will sure beat EVA as far as service and food, and at 20 hours/22 hours it's not any worse than I've done many many times. Hopefully they'll be able to accomodate Aliyah as far as seating -- I'll have to stop in at the Singapore office to tie that aspect down. Aliyah goes at the infant rate of $256. Not bad at all. I 've only flown Singapore on legs of long flights but never a complete itinerary, and I must say I'm looking forward to the prospect.

Ya know, when you're a Singapore Girl there are a lotta rules. Such as:

* The airline requires flight attendants to color their hair black or dark brown. The airline does not allow for flight attendants to use highlights. Flight attendants with long hair coif their hair into buns. Flight attendants wear short hair above their collar lines. Fringes (bangs) of flight attendants do not touch eyebrows.
* No fanciful, dangling earrings allowed. Only studs or pearls. No chains and necklaces allowed. Only simple bracelets and rings can be worn. Only small and simple watches can be worn.
* A spare kebaya must be brought for every flight, even short one-hour flights.
* Safety shoes, or covered sandals must be worn during takeoff and landing. At other times, she should wear the batik slippers.
* Toenails must be of the bright red colour prescribed by the company. If her toenails are not painted, stockings must be worn to substitute for the non red toenails.
* Eyebrows must be shaped, and cannot be the fake drawn-on or tattooed types. Eye shadow must be of the color prescribed by the company - either blue or brown, depending on skin tone.
* Lipstick colour must be among the few shades of bright red prescribed by the company. Pink or plum colors are not allowed.
* Nail polish must be of the bright red colour prescribed by the company. Nails should not be chipped.

I can live with these.

Phew. More than one hour on the phone with United (sounded like the Bombay office) -- with one disconnect and a lost credit card -- but it's done! What a relief.

One of the DVD's I brought from California is John Bishop's' film documenting the production of Sophiline Shapiro's Seasons of Migration. It's a beautiful performance of Khmer classical dance, and it's worth getting your hands on a copy of the film from its distributor. A new production of Seasons of Migration returned to Cambodia this year and the related article below just appeared in the Long Beach Press Telegram.

Khmer art and soul

By Greg Mellen, Staff writer Long Beach Press Telegram
Article Launched: 02/16/2008 08:02:10 PM PST

TAKMAO District, Cambodia - As a gentle breeze wafts through the open space of the Khmer Arts Theater 15 kilometers south of Phnom Penh, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro glides effortlessly through a group of about 20 dancers.

Drifting from one dancer to the next, the teacher softly adjusts an elbow, cocks a wrist and bends fingers, as if molding each like a piece of clay. Then she floats on to another, again fine-tuning the intricate movements and positions that define Cambodian classical dance.

A traditional seven-piece band accompanies the dancers, who are practicing a traditional and complex two-hour dance called Ream Eyso and Moni Melchala, a ritualistic story of the struggle between a water goddess and a demon.

As Shapiro puts her professional touring dancers, the Khmer Arts Ensemble, through their paces in a magnificent theater at the Center for Culture and Vipassana, it's hard to imagine that less than six years ago she was teaching inner-city youth in Long Beach in a cramped space at the United Cambodian Community building as well as conducting sessions in her living room.

"This is a surprise and a good surprise," Shapiro says of her recent run of success. "I never thought I'd make it back like this and spend more time in Cambodia."

Part of her heart, though, remains in Long Beach.

"I'm keeping that connection and sense of attachment in both places," she says.

Shapiro leads a professional group that tours internationally and performs both traditional dances and Shapiro's original pieces. This month, the Khmer Arts Ensemble is preparing to take a production of Pamina Devi, Shapiro's Cambodian interpretation of Mozart's Magic Flute, to Amsterdam. It is a piece Shapiro debuted in Vienna in August 2006 at the Schonbrunn Palace Theatre.

Shapiro and her dancers are also working on projects with artists from Japan to San Diego.

To appreciate how far Shapiro has come, it helps to know a little of her past.

As a child, Shapiro survived the Cambodian genocide. After the downfall of the Khmer Rouge and the restoration of arts and dance programs in Cambodia, Shapiro was one of the first classical dancers to graduate from the Phnom Penh School of Fine Arts. Under the Pol Pot regime, arts and artists were systematically purged. Among the 1.7 million Cambodians who died were about 90 percent of the nation's dancers.

As a result, for Shapiro dance is more than just movement and music, it is a vital part of the culture and soul of Cambodia, a fragile form that was nearly wiped away forever.

"I think classical dance is a very beautiful piece of artistry that's unique to the heritage from Cambodia," she says. "It's a symbol of a precious thing, a symbol of cultural pride."

As a tuk-tuk putters along a nondescript country road in Kandal Province, passengers start to hear a distinctly Cambodian melody drifting through the trees. Next to an empty field are a pair of small signs that read "Khmer Arts Academy" and "Center for Culture and Vipassana," referring to a form of Buddhist meditation. And there, behind a stand of trees, rises an imposing structure built by Shapiro's uncle, Chheng Phon.

The roofed open dance practice area is half a football field long. It backs into stairs rising to a stage area and into a 20-foot-tall building topped by large pillars featuring Buddha faces reminiscent of the ancient Bayon temples and featuring details that look as if they were lifted straight out of Angkor Wat.

As Shapiro jokes, instead of limestone it's made of cement, and instead of being built in the 1300s it was built in 1999. Also, unlike the Angkor Wat temples, it has electricity and air conditioning.

The theater complex sits across the street from the Shapiros' decidedly more modest home.

Sophiline founded the Khmer Arts Academy in 2002 with her husband John, whom she married in 1991. Together, they are becoming a kind of power couple in the Khmer arts scene. In addition to the dance troupe, the academy features traditional music and singing. They are working on creating a media center that will produce films and documentaries about classical dance and an archive center.

At the core remains the Khmer Arts Academy in Long Beach, where former students of Shapiro teach about 50 Cambodian-American children the dances and traditions of their homeland.

Shapiro says the youngsters remain a vital part of Khmer Arts. She says teaching children the basics and fundamentals of Cambodian dance at an early age makes them better dancers down the road.

Furthermore, she said it gives Cambodian-American children a sense of self and pride in their culture.

In the summer, the Shapiros plan to bring students from Long Beach to Cambodia for a camp in which they will not only learn dance from the professionals but be immersed in Khmer arts and culture.

"We have kind of a double goal," John Shapiro says of the couple's dreams for the academy. "We want to make meaningful art and present it here and (worldwide). And we want to foster the vitality of the dance environment. We want to train dancers, but we also want to encourage scholarship, education and outreach."

The dance troupe has only been together in its current form for about a year. The dancers are all graduates of the Royal University of Fine Arts and range in age from 18 to 21. Many have been dancers for most of their lives.

Shapiro hopes that as time goes on, many of her students will begin their own troupes and classes.

Sopheap Chan is one of Shapiro's students and gushes about the experiences she has gained, traveling to the United States to dance.

When asked about her long-term goals, as if reading from Shapiro's playbook, Chan says, "I want to do like my teacher."

While the success of the academy in the last couple of years has been stunning, there is no sense of complacency. The group still has to rely on donors and grants for much of its money and still has a way to go before becoming self-sustaining.

John Shapiro says the Khmer Arts Academy is one of very few traditional Cambodian arts enterprises that are independent of the government. They are by far the most accomplished of those groups. Keeping the momentum going will be a challenge, but the Shapiros have optimism to spare.

But Sophiline Shapiro is happy with what she sees. In February her dancers performed opposite the Ministry of Culture's troupe, which represents the country, and more than held its own. In fact, Shapiro said her girls outperformed their more renowned rivals.

In the meantime, the creative juices have been flowing. On the day several journalists showed up, the Shapiros were also visited by Japanese artist Assui Minagishi, who is a master of the ichigenkin, a one-stringed traditional instrument. A collaborative effort is in the works to do a piece that represents visions of rice goddesses in the two cultures.

Like many who stumble across the academy, Minagishi was blown away by what she saw.

"I am so excited to have a chance to combine with them," the musician said.

When first introduced to the Shapiros, Minagishi saw only a solo dance performance with recorded music.

After seeing a full rehearsal she said, "Before I had an idea what I wanted to do. Now it's all gone."

Plans are also under way for a collaboration with San Diego composer Chinary Ung that could be performed at Disney Hall.

Whether it's in Cambodia, Europe or the United States, Shapiro just wants to expose as many people as she can to her country's art.

"Angkor Wat is a great structure," Shapiro says, "but dance is artistry that can be shared throughout the world and made more accessible to humanity."

Thanks For The Memories

Jeff with Fidel
Havana, Cuba
December 1980

I'll Have a Blue Christmas...

Toshiba Announces Discontinuation of HD DVD Businesses

19 February, 2008

Company Remains Focused on Championing Consumer Access to High Definition Content

TOKYO--Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has undertaken a thorough review of its overall strategy for HD DVD and has decided it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders. This decision has been made following recent major changes in the market. Toshiba will continue, however, to provide full product support and after-sales service for all owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.

HD DVD was developed to offer consumers access at an affordable price to high-quality, high definition content and prepare them for the digital convergence of tomorrow where the fusion of consumer electronics and IT will continue to progress.

"We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop," said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation. "While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality."

Toshiba will continue to lead innovation, in a wide range of technologies that will drive mass market access to high definition content. These include high capacity NAND flash memory, small form factor hard disk drives, next generation CPUs, visual processing, and wireless and encryption technologies. The company expects to make forthcoming announcements around strategic progress in these convergence technologies.

Toshiba will begin to reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail channels, aiming for cessation of these businesses by the end of March 2008. Toshiba also plans to end volume production of HD DVD disk drives for such applications as PCs and games in the same timeframe, yet will continue to make efforts to meet customer requirements. The company will continue to assess the position of notebook PCs with integrated HD DVD drives within the overall PC business relative to future market demand.

This decision will not impact on Toshiba's commitment to standard DVD, and the company will continue to market conventional DVD players and recorders. Toshiba intends to continue to contribute to the development of the DVD industry, as a member of the DVD Forum, an international organization with some 200 member companies, committed to the discussion and defining of optimum optical disc formats for the consumer and the related industries.

Toshiba also intends to maintain collaborative relations with the companies who joined with Toshiba in working to build up the HD DVD market, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks Animation and major Japanese and European content providers on the entertainment side, as well as leaders in the IT industry, including Microsoft, Intel, and HP. Toshiba will study possible collaboration with these companies for future business opportunities, utilizing the many assets generated through the development of HD DVD.

New Dengue Fever Dates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FEBRUARY 15, 2008, (LOS ANGELES, CA.) – Cambodian rock band Dengue Fever have today confirmed additional live dates in the Western United States in support of their new release, Venus On Earth (M80 Music). The first date of the band's expanding tour will be March 21 at Wonder Ballroom in Portland, Oregon, and includes many cities where the band will be making their live debut, including Denver, Salt Lake City, Houston and Ft. Worth.

Last month, Dengue Fever confirmed their first live dates in the United Kingdom and The Netherlands in May and June 2008. Additional tour dates, including high profile festivals in the U.S. & Europe this summer, will be announced shortly. All confirmed tour dates are below:

02/15 @ SF Independent Film Festival
Screening of documentary “Sleepwalking Through the Mekong” with Band Q&A 9:30pm
02/16 @ SF Independent Film Festival
Screening of documentary “Sleepwalking Through the Mekong” with Band Q&A 12:30pm
02/18 @ The Viper Room, Los Angeles, CA (Indie 103’s Check One Two – FREE w/ RSVP)
02/27 @ Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL
02/28 @ Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac, MI
02/29 @ Skulley’s, Columbus, OH
03/01 @ Black Cat, Washington, DC
03/02 @ Arden Gild Hall, Arden, DE
03/04 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY
03/05 @ Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY
03/06 @ Terrace F. Club, Princeton, NJ
03/07 @ La Sala Rossa, Montreal, Quebec, CANADA
03/08 @ Sneaky Dee’s, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
03/08 @ Cinema Space at The Segal Centre for Performing Arts, Montreal, Quebec, CANADA Screening of documentary “Sleepwalking Through the Mekong” with Director Q&A 9:30pm
03/12 @ UCLA Live, Los Angeles, CA. (w/ Angelique Kidjo)
03/13 @ Echo Park Film Center, Los Angeles, CA
(Screening of documentary “Sleepwalking Through the Mekong” with band Q&A)

New Dates:

03/21 @ Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
03/22 @ Neumos Crystal Ball Reading Room, Seattle, WA
03/23 @ Nightlife Lounge, Bellingham, WA
03/25 @ Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
03/26 @ Hi Dive, Denver, CO
03/28 @ Club Deville, Austin, TX
03/29 @ Orange Show Center For Visual Arts, Houston, TX
03/30 @ Lola’s, Ft. Worth, TX
04/01 @ Orpheum Theater, Flagstaff, AZ
04/02 @ Club Congress, Tucson, AZ
04/17 @ Soho, Santa Barbara, CA
04/18 @ The Independent, San Francisco, CA
04/19 @ The Casbah, San Diego, CA
05/10 @ Santa Monica Festival, Santa Monica, CA
05/27 @ The Borderline, London ENGLAND
05/30 @ Tong Tong Festival, Pasar Malam Besar, The Hague, THE NETHERLANDS
06/01 @ Wychwood Music Festival, Gloucestershire, ENGLAND

To coincide with the tour, Dengue Fever will be releasing the first video off Venus On Earth for the song “Seeing Hands” which is directed by Lance Acord. Best known for his work as Director of Photography on MARIE ANTOINETTE, LOST IN TRANSLATION and BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, Acord shot the video in High Definition in the high desert outside of Los Angeles.

Dengue Fever will also be performing 2 songs off Venus On Earth live-to-tape on Fuel TV’s hit show “The Daily Habit” (http://www.fuel.tv/TheDailyHabit). “The Daily Habit” is a half hour show highlighting today’s most-popular action sports celebrities, musicians, comedy and cutting-edge new products. An airdate is pending.

Since its release this January, Venus On Earth has garnered rave reviews and amazing radio support. The band recently charted at #14 on the CMJ Top 200 chart and hit #8 on the CMJ Media Guide Chart (aka spins chart). Dengue Fever has also been written about extensively on their new record in the New York Times, Global Rhythm, the Times of London, Mojo, Uncut, CMJ, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Paste, Relix and Blender among others for this new release. The Los Angeles Times called Dengue Fever, “Sexy and eclectic, it’s world music for the cool kids.”

The Haney Place

Still working on title for the place in Kampot. That too is a slow go, perhaps another couple weeks. Above pictured is the smaller of the two parcels. A driveway will go from the "road", by neighbor Stan's garden and fishpond to a garage and workshed. The house (like this Justin?) will be built on the larger adjacent parcel, pictured below.



You can see both lots, and the Haney cow, below. The cow's fate is yet to be determined.

Kampot Style

Some anonymous French colonial is said to have observed "Vietnamese plant rice, Cambodians watch it grow and Laotians listen to it grow" and I've never heard anyone dispute the wisdom of the observation. The Khmer (and the Lao) are not exactly known for their industriousness or work ethic. The only time you'll see them hurry is to pass you on a blind curve. And no other place that I've visited exemplifies the watching the rice grow truism more than Kampot. Blessed with a fine river, good soil and few blind curves, the people of Kampot are in no hurry to do...well anything. Perhaps why should they be? Confronted and confounded with the "service" found in pretty much every Kampot restaurant I've visited, the non-Kampotians among us should probably ask themselves, what's my hurry? Because if you can get past this Kampot is a wonderful place. If you can't it will make your head explode.

I usually time my two and a half hour drive down to Kampot so as to arrive at Jasmine for lunch, but occasionally go to Ta Oeuv, the Khmer seafood restaurant on the river which offers excellent local seafood at good prices--most dishes being $3. This weekend found us arriving in Kampot and opting for lunch at Ta Oeuv, where we ordered two squid dishes. Of course we had to scream across the restaurant to get a menu...but one learns this is simply the way things are done in Kampot. It was the best, most flavorful squid I've ever had, period end of story. I swear it must of been pulled straight from sea to pan and was perfectly cooked and spiced. The spicy beef soup was also delicious. $5 per person including two big bottles of Angkor beer.

Jasmine we hit twice for dinner, the first evening in celebration of my friend Paul's birthday. The food at Jasmine is simply crazy throw-up-your-hands good. You want to shake your head repeatedly and say "I can't believe I'm eating this in Kampot". A penne pasta, al dente to absolute perfection, green beans with rare snap (I can't believe I can get excited by green beans but there you are), a six dollar steak which just melts in your mouth...and it's always like this. It's always like this because Jasmine knows her stuff, cares what she serves her customers, and does it herself. But you can't be in a hurry. Because Jasmine does it herself service at Jasmine is in the Kampot style, meaning it's the customers job to secure a menu, chase down the one waitress (Jasmine's sister) to take the order or request a bill, and the food takes a long while to come if the place is crowded. So view dinner as less a meal and more of an event... Perhaps it helps that Jasmine herself is so beautiful and charming, but If the food weren't so good you'd wonder how they'd survive. Fortunately, the food is more delicious than the wait is long. By a lot.

Bill and Konthea

That's four down, two to go.

The Big Time

Well wouldn't you know, the month I sell the bar, Jungle makes it into the Lonely Planet. I met a guy last night at Sugar Shack who had just come from there based on its listing in the new edition. Well run with it Macka! Better stock up on the bottled water mate.

Sarawan

Sarawan, somtimes written Saravan, Salavan, Salavane, or Saravoan, is a Khmer musical and dance style (ram sarawan) with origins in Laos. It is also the name of a southern Lao province and town. It happens also to be the name of the wat right across the street from my apartment. I'm pretty sure it's the spires of Wat Sarawan which grace the film poster and DVD cover of City of Ghosts as it was the wat seen in the first part of the film.

In case you were wondering, there you are.

Sleepwalking in San Francisco

From John Pirozzi comes this message:

Hello everyone - The documentary film I made about Dengue Fever's trip to Cambodia will be screening this weekend as part of the San Francisco Indie Fest.

If you know anyone in the Bay area who might be interested please forward this along.

There are two screenings. One is Feb. 15th, Friday night at 930pm and the other is Feb. 16th, Saturday afternoon at 12:30pm. Some of the band and I will be present for a q&a after both screenings.

If you go to the film's website and choose screenings you'll be directed to more info.

www.sleepwalkingthroughthemekong.com

Village Voice Poll 2007

It's been out for a couple weeks now, but I just noticed the results of the Village Voice annual writers poll of the best music releases of 2007. Consistently I don't know half of what even makes the top ten, but I do make a point of going back and listening to some of the things which seem interesting. So let's see, of this year's top ten I know Arcade Fire, Of Montreal, Springsteen, Radiohead, Winehose, and Plant/Krauss and Kanye West, a bit more than usual. Spoon? LCD Soundsystem? The National? I dunno. For what it's worth, here's the list:

The albums poll combines ballots from 577 critics, who divided 100 points among 10 2007 titles. (Every individual ballot is available online.) Maximum per album: 30. Minimum: 5. Points determined placement, with total mentions (included in parentheses) used for tiebreaking.

• 1
  
  LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver
  DFA/EMI
  
  
  POINTS: 1,662
  MENTIONS: 141
• 2
  Radiohead In Rainbows
  Self Released
  
  
  POINTS: 1,611
  MENTIONS: 148
• 3
  M.I.A. Kala
  XL/Interscope
  
  
  POINTS: 1,611
  MENTIONS: 144
• 4
  Amy Winehouse Back To Black
  Universal
  
  
  POINTS: 1,492
  MENTIONS: 131
• 5
  Arcade Fire Neon Bible
  Merge
  
  
  POINTS: 1,212
  MENTIONS: 111
• 6
  Kanye West Graduation
  Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
  
  
  POINTS: 913
  MENTIONS: 91
• 7
  Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
  Merge
  
  
  POINTS: 785
  MENTIONS: 77
• 8
  Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Raising Sand
  Rounder
  
  
  POINTS: 759
  MENTIONS: 78
• 9
  Bruce Springsteen Magic
  Columbia
  
  
  POINTS: 747
  MENTIONS: 64
• 10
  The National Boxer
  Beggars Banquet
  
  
  POINTS: 743
  MENTIONS: 68

The Film Haul

I picked up a few films while in California --- hey not all for me -- and there's an open invitation to anyone who wants to come by the house and watch anything on the big screen with us on what I would guess is the first 1080p projector to make it to Cambodia.

It's the usual bizzare mix among the standard def, definitely not to be found at the Russian Market:

STANDARD DEFINITION

Classic sci-fi:
Them
Day of the Triffids
The Thing
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Ed Wood:
Plan 9 from Outer Space
Glen or Glenda
Night of the Ghouls

Chuck Norris:
Missing in Action III
Invasion USA
On Deadly Ground
Breaker Breaker

Seijun Suzuki:
Gates of Flesh
Story of a Prostitute

Pasolini's Teorema
Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep
Phantom of the Paradise
The Killers (1946)
Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Syndromes and a Century
Russ Meyer's Faster Pussycat Kill Kill
John Gorka: The Gypsy Life
Sophline Cheam Shapiro's Seasons of Migration
Bob Dylan: The Other Side of the Mirror
Todd Haynes' I'm Not There (a bootleg pre-release)

HD-DVD

Grand Prix
2001
The Sting
The Cowboys
Rio Bravo
Casino
Field of Dreams
Hot Fuzz
Blade Runner
The Wild Bunch
2001
A Clockwork Orange
The Shining
Deliverance
Cat People (1982)
The Untouchables
The Departed
The Fountain
The Host
Babel
World Trade Center
Transformers
Bullitt
The Getaway
Eastern Promises
Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same (original release)
Blade Runner
Tideland
The Prestige
Reservoir Dogs
Jimi Hendrix Live at Monterey
Roy Orbison: Black and White Night
Children of Men
Dune
The Big Lebowski
Letters From Iwo Jima
Carlito's Way
Being John Malkovich

Quite a haul. Believe me, I made Air Asia's day. Now to open that nice cafe...

Happy New Year

Chinese New Year/Tet is a sloooow time here and it's kinda nice to have the streets so quiet. I spent the day yesteday getting the music server set up at home and got that done. First on, Joni Mitchell's Blue. Access to 400gb of music now on a new external drive hooked through my new DAC into the Trends amp. It's a relief it all works. Having just completed that task, Vatey and I enjoyed a lovely dinner at Metro with friends then went on a bit of a pub crawl....in the name of research for an article for Khmer440....and this would be the day after and I''m feeling appropriately hung over. As always, thanks Stuart. It's always that last martini at Sugar that just puts me over.

I'm back on the noodle soup and salad diet now that the Metro meat-fest is behind me, so I'll be off to Jungle shortly and then to USA Donut to cast my vote for the presidential election, then back to relax with the family. No apple fritter plans but I guess it will be a test of my resolve. After my friend Bill's wedding on the 14th, I'm off on a serious diet as my new year's resolution. Ethan from Dengue Fever recently finished up a colon cleansing diet which served him very well, and he persuaded me to give it a try. So beginning the 15th it will be a couple weeks of salt water, lemon, molasses and cayenne. Sounds fun doesn't it?

Aliyah is doing great, she's got teeth coming in but doesn't seem at all bothered by it. She loves her new doggie.

Especially for my Chinese and Vietnamese friends, enjoy this time and may this year of the Rat bring all of us health, happiness and prosperity.

The PAL Hack

A bit nervous about bricking my DVD player I plunged ahead with the hack to enable region-free and PAL playback on the Toshiba HD-DVD player. Downloaded a hex editor and two old firmwares for European players, made two small hex code changes, rolled back then updated the firmware twice, and voila. It works. The XA2 is now region-free and PAL/NTSC capable. Which most immediately means Faster Pussycat Kill Kill coming up Jonathan. And I can finally watch that Powell-Pressburger box set. Happy day.

Ephemera

My parents have lived in the same house since 1967 (August 7th), and one of the joys of coming home is the opportunity to help relieve them of stuff of mine that's accumulated in the garage over the years. This year I unearthed a bunch of photo albums I thought were lost -- including the crucial one sequestered as part of the Girlfriend Relocation Program at the time of my first marriage. Phew. But lots of choice other stuff from another box showed up including old concert ticket stubs, a Phil Ochs review from the L.A. Times (c.1974), some very old pictures (that's my Che Guevara imitiation c.1981) and High School ID's (John Elway's alma mater Granada Hills High School '71-'74). Ah but my favorite bits of ephemera are the program for the Summer Jam concert that never was (CSNY et al c.1974) and the handwritten list of every concert I attended between 1974 and 1981.

1979 was a good year. Here's the list:

- The Clash/Dils/Bo Diddley - Santa Monica Civic
- Elvis Costello/Rubinoos - Long Beach Arena
- Readymades/20-20 - Starwood
- Mitch Ryder/20-20 - Whiskey
- Tom Robinson Band/Geisha - Royce Hall UCLA
- Kinky Friedman - The Palamino
- Ronee Blakely - The Palamino
- Blondie/Rockpile - Greek Theater
- Delbert McClinton/Rodney Crowell - The Palamino
- Naughty Sweeties/Kats - Starwood
- Southside Johnny/Pop - Santa Monica Civic
- The Clash/Joe Ely - Hollywood Palladium
- Van Morrison - Hollywood Palladium
- Bob Dylan - Santa Monica Civic
- Southside Johnny - Roxy Theater

Small club gigs I didn't track. I'm sure I saw Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs, the Blasters and a whole bunch of great bands that year whose shows I didn't note.

I obviously thought disco sucked.

The Grail

Toshiba HD-DVD news is hard to come by these days, but a terrific development has come out of the user forums, which is a firmware hack to render the XA2 both region-free and enable PAL playback. Now the former is no big deal as when you copy a disc you can easily remove region coding, but enabling PAL playback is huge. All those British and Australian sourced stuff that I would need to drag out the OPPO for -- meaning I never get to around to watching them -- should now be playable on the best upscaling player on the market. Sweet!

Venus on Earth: Available Now in PP

The CD shop on Street 178 near Fresco should as of tomorrow have the CD in stock. But please since Amazon delivers to Cambodia, support the band and buy one from Amazon, and pass the boot onto your friends.