Andy Brouwer has a post about the premier of the Cambodian Rock Opera "Where Elephants Weep." Also has pictures. These pictures below are from his blog.
http://www.andybrouwer.co.uk/blog/ 
Read more from this Blog:
http://www.andybrouwer.co.uk/blog/
Hugging an old man.
I hug him tight,
bear chest,
half naked.
I want to feel his hard earned wrinkles.
His skin sagging like laundry hanging
draping his sorrows over his skeleton frame.
His pain roll down his face like tear drops
and the sweat on his forehead tells his story.
I want to squeeze him until secrets oozing out
like hot palm sugar.
I hug him tight like long lost friends,
generations apart, oceans apart, world apart.
I hug him tightly to feel myself 30 years from now.
I want to feel what it’s like to have no fear of death.
I want to feel my father and grandfather all at once.
I know the strangeness of my behavior,
But something whispering in my ears:
“Now it’s time, no turning back, now it’s your time.”
And I realized for the first time,
even at my age, I’ve just become a man.
pr 20 May 2008
"The opposition will have no chance. Our party is this HUGE. I get dizzy just thinking about it."
I meant to make this post long ago but didn’t get a chance to.
Two great short stories about Cambodia or set in Cambodia have appeared in magazine type of publication for massive audience recently. And they are greatly read, talked about, and commented. The two works are:
Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter (Fantasy)
Geoff Ryman
http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/extras/GeoffRyman_PolPotsBeautifulDaughter.pdf
Swimming
By T. Cooper
(in the New Yorker)
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2007/08/20/070820fi_fiction_cooper?currentPage=1
Please check them out, read, and comment. They are great read.
Thanks to DAS and Jinja for the links.
Best of Luck to Geoff Ryman who got nominated for the 2007 Hugo Award for Best Novellette for Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter (Fantasy).
The 2007 Hugo Awards will be held on Aug. 30 to Sept. 3 2007 in Yokohama Japan.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Bernard Krisher LENA AFRAMOVA PHOTOBernard Krisher said...
We send out the Khmer edition of The Cambodia
Daily free by e-mail to anyone who requests it. Just contact: thero[at]cambodiadaily.comBest regards
Bernard Krisher
Publisher
3/09/2007 3:53 PMYes Folks. You can get the Cambodian edition of the Cambodia Daily by email. Just email in your email request with the email above.
Thank you very much Mr. Krisher and Cambodia Daily Newspaper in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Many interesting and beautiful books in PDF format are available on DC-CAM (Document Center of Cambodia) website. Please check them out, including this very interesting book.
Dr. Chigas did an excellent job on this book.
There are 2 NEW books about Cambodia that just came out in 2007. Check out.
HOW TO BEHAVE: Buddhism and Modernity in Colonial Cambodia, 1860-1930
Author: Anne Ruth Hansen
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press, 2007
Book Description
This ambitious cross-disciplinary study of Buddhist modernism in colonial Cambodia breaks new ground in understanding the history and development of religion and colonialism in Southeast Asia. In How to Behave, Anne Hansen argues for the importance of Theravāda Buddhist ethics for imagining and articulating what it means to be modern in early-twentieth-century Cambodia. The 1920s in Cambodia saw an exuberant burst of new printed writings by self-described Khmer Buddhist modernists on the subject of how to behave (as good Buddhists and moral persons) and how to purify oneself in everyday life in the modern world. Hansen's book, one of the first studies of colonial Buddhism based largely on Khmer language sources, examines the modernists' questioning of Buddhist values that they deemed most important and relevant. She explores their new interpretations of traditional doctrines, how they were produced, and how they represent Southeast Asian ethical and religious responses to the modern circulation of local and translocal events, people, ideas, and anxieties.
Hansen begins her study in the mid-nineteenth century with a Buddhist purification movement that had been set in motion by the Khmer king Ang Duang. She follows Khmer monks to Siam as they sought out Buddhist scriptures and examines how they carried ideas back to Cambodia and shaped their own reformist movement in a colonial society influenced by French discourses of modernization. Drawing on literary and ethical forms of analysis as well as historical, Hansen not only accounts for this historical rise of modernist values but also introduces readers to modernist worldviews through careful translations of sermons, ritual manuals, ethics compendia, and vernacular folktales.
How to Behave will be of interest to a wide, multi-disciplinary audience in the fields of Southeast Asian studies, religious studies, colonial history, and Buddhist ethics. It adds to the examination of the comparative and pan-Asian contours of religious modernism among scholars of Asia and will be essential reading for those working in the fields of comparative colonialism, nationalism, and religious modernity.
From the Back Cover
"It has become increasingly clear that the rational and ethical religion called Buddhism is as much a product of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as it is of the time of the Buddha, more than two millennia ago. What remain to be determined are the specific ways in which this Buddhism was produced within and among the cultures of Asia. In this fascinating study, Anne Hansen examines the case of Cambodia, combining extensive research with insightful analysis to both contextualize and complicate the category of modern Buddhism." --Donald S. Lopez, Jr., University of Michigan
"A remarkable characteristic of this book is the deftness with which the author moves between the intellectual currents of Buddhist Studies and Southeast Asian history, drawing analyses of textual practice, regionalism, nation-building, and colonial experience into fruitful conversation. The study uses, and significantly develops, new work in Buddhist Studies related to vernacular textuality, education, and the emergence of Buddhist print culture. It is particularly timely in the context of comparative colonial studies, where it will be a welcome addition to a movement now underway to depart from rather narrow colonial stimulus-local response analyses of colonialism and Asian modernity." --Anne M. Blackburn, Cornell University
About the Author
Anne Ruth Hansen is associate professor in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and a faculty member in the Comparative Study of Religion Program.
CAMBODGE: The Cultivation of a Nation, 1860-1945
Author: Penny Edwards
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press, 2007
Book Description
This strikingly original study of Cambodian nationalism brings to life eight turbulent decades of cultural change and sheds new light on the colonial ancestry of Pol Pot’s murderous dystopia. Penny Edwards recreates the intellectual milieux and cultural traffic linking Europe and empire, interweaving analysis of key movements and ideas in the French Protectorate of Cambodge with contemporary developments in the Métropole. From the naturalist Henri Mouhot’s expedition to Angkor in 1860 to the nationalist Son Ngoc Thanh’s short-lived premiership in 1945, this history of ideas tracks the talented Cambodian and French men and women who shaped the contours of the modern Khmer nation. Their visions and ambitions played out within a shifting landscape of Angkorean temples, Parisian museums, Khmer printing presses, world’s fairs, Buddhist monasteries, and Cambodian youth hostels. This is cross-cultural history at its best.
With its fresh take on the dynamics of colonialism and nationalism, Cambodge: The Cultivation of a Nation will become essential reading for scholars of history, politics, and society in Southeast Asia. Edwards’ nuanced analysis of Buddhism and her consideration of Angkor’s emergence as a national monument will be of particular interest to students of Asian and European religion, museology, heritage studies, and art history. As a highly readable guide to Cambodia’s recent past, it will also appeal to specialists in modern French history, cultural studies, and colonialism, as well as readers with a general interest in Cambodia.
About the Author
Penny Edwards is research fellow at the Centre for Cross-Cultural Research, Australian National University.
http://www.amazon.com/Cambodge-Cultivation-1860-1945-Southeast-Asia-Politics/dp/0824829239/ref=sr_1_1/002-9656757-8092043?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174575525&sr=8-1
Welcome to the new Forever in Transit!
Too much frustration with Blogger website, so now I switch to Wordpress blog.
The NEW Forever in Transit blog: http://khmeroverseas.wordpress.com/
Hoy Mary Mother of Jesus! A Motocycle SUV?
Holy smoke! What the hell? A shack and a whole village on a motocycle? This must be a new world record. :O
Check out the whole story here (The Brown Daily Herald, Brown Univ., USA)
International and Cambodian Judges of the KRT meet in Phnom Penh to iron out details.A letter to the Phnom Penh Post (PPP) is questioning the reports written by journalists and by the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) about the alleged corruption by the Khmer members of Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC). The critical letter was written by Allen Myers - Phnom Penh.
Finally, as regards "corruption": I don't know who, if anyone, at the ECCC gives up part of their salary involuntarily to anyone. (I do know that the government would be entitled to collect a percentage as income tax but has decided not to do so, presumably not to further lower the status of Cambodian staff relative to UN staff, who are also tax-free and receive twice the salary of Cambodians, plus various extras.)
You have to read the letter and the reports. They are very interesting and reveal a lot of stuffs about what's going on regarding the allegations. The allegations may turn out to be false and that people maybe influenced by their preconception of Cambodia.
One lesson: can't trust everything written in the press about Cambodia.
With "parachute journalism", the low standard of the Cambodian press, and pre-conception some people have of Cambodia (got mainly from what was written about Cambodia), reporters and writers readily accept and jump the gun on what they hear as fact and failed to check out the reality on the ground or spend sometime getting to feel and know the real story.
The letter is in the "Letters" section and the article (Kickback Claims stain the KRT by Cat Barton) is in the "Free Edition" of Phnom Penh Post.
Another article is here in KI Media (Cambodian genocide tribunal judges demand retraction over corruption allegation by the Associated Press).
From one of their stories in Cambodge Soir, Le Magazine Edition du Weekend.The French language newspaper in Cambodia, Cambodge Soir, is now available online. The website is very nice looking and has lots of materials. Its' magazine, Le Magazine, Edition du Weekend, is also online with lots of stories and pictures. Later on the Khmer edition of Cambodge Soir will also be available online. Very impressive. Tres bien et merci beaucoup.
The Cambodia Daily, the English language newspaper in Cambodia, also has the Khmer Edition. However, non of the Daily's material is online. I wish the Cambodia Daily at least put the Khmer Edition online, if they don't put the English version.
The Phnom Penh Post, the other English language newspaper in Cambodia, puts some English articles online.
So, 1 point for Francophonie, 0.5 point for Khmerophonie, and 0.5 point for Anglophonie.
Come on Cambodia Daily put some of your material online, please.
The video sharing website: http://www.youtube.com/ is blocked in Turkey. The court ordered the site blocked after vidoes trashing the leader started appearing.
Incidently, I can't access youtube from either. The site is blocked worldwide? I don't know why I can't access youtube now? very curious.
The blog DAS, Details are Sketchy, is back with new updates.
Check it out. Always something to read about Cambodia.
Welcome back DAS.
I was thinking about upgrading my system to Window Vista, then I got this email from Mongkol. I laughed non-stop. Thanks Mongkol.
The woman asking the Tech Support for help.
>Dear Tech Support,
Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance -- Particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.
In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5 and then installed undesirable programs such as NFL 5.0, NBA 3.0, and Golf Clubs 4.1.
Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.
What can I do?
>Signed, Desperate
Tech Support Answers:
>Dear Desperate:
First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, While Husband 1.0 is an Operating System.
Please enter the command: "http: I Thought You Loved Me.HTML" and try to download Tears 6.2 and don't forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.
But remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1.
Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta.
Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-in-law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources). Also, do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.
In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance We recommend Food 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7.
Good Luck,
>Tech Support
The crew poses after interviewing Sieng Vanthy, former lead singer (and go-go girl pictured on the support page) of the 70s super group SKD. 
The director and co-producer with Ros Serey Sothea's family after interviewing her sister, niece and granddaughter.There is another awsome documentary/movie being made called "Don't Think I've Forgotten." It's about Cambodia's lost rock and roll. It combines history, politics, and Cambodian music all together. On top of that, it uses awsome old footages of Cambodia and the music scene in Cambodia with interviews and artist profile. The trailer looked awsome. I can't wait to see this one.
A winding path snakes up the emerald slopes of Phnom Dosh Kramom, linking a spirit shrine at the summit with a smaller sanctuary at the base. Powerful mystical beings lurk in the azure meadows, whispering each time the wind blows. Halfway up, water tumbles over jagged rocks, a place revered by ethnic Phnong.
I mentioned Phnom Dos Krawmon in my post about my visit to Mondulkiri. We stayed on top of that mountain for a few hours playing cards and eating and drinking Anchors. It was freezing up there in the late afternoon to evening. But it was fun and the sun set was memorable. You can read more about this mountain in Cambodian Scene Magazine. And you can read about "The Legend of Srosh and Phlom" too.
