The “Emperor” of Khmer music, Sin Si Samuth, was born in 1932. He was an integral element of the Cambodian pop scene in Phnom Penh, along with other musicians such as ‘The Golden Voice of the Golden Capital” Ros Serey Sothea, andsecond lady Pan Ron. Fusing western influences with traditional Cambodian music, Si Samuth created a sort of synthetic mix of Khmer-garagey-psychadelic rock and roll.
Si Samuth and Ron are widely accepted to have been killed off in 1975 by the Khmer Rouge. Sothea, for her part, ‘disappeared’ in 1978, presumably another victim of the regime.
“Airplane travel is the quintessential phobia, and it causes suffering for millions. More than half of fliers report some level of anxiety before boarding a plane, and 5% of the population refuses to fly at all. The fear, however, is not supported by data. A passenger’s chance of dying on a plane is roughly 2000% lower than the chance of dying in a car on any given trip. The accident rate on airplanes is lower than two deaths per billion passenger-miles flown. In fact, for most airlines, more people die from heart attacks and other medical emergencies in flight than die when their airplane crashes. Transportation by air is undeniably safe.
But those are mere facts. As we reach our cruising altitude, none of them matter to Mr. Kandarski.”
Boeing recently unveiled its new airplane: The 787 Dreamliner. They’re still performing final tests, and production has been delayed several times (now slated to start in the fourth quarter of 2010). Though the Marine World circa 1992** design on the hull is pretty uninspired, this plane’s shape looks amazing- like a big metal dolphin with curvier-than-your-average-airplane wings (Va Va Voom). Imagine how it would look if it were painted a nice dark pewter.
**No link to sample Marine World design cause is now some Six Flags nonsense and they’re erased all virtual traces to its former iteration, but Marine World’s brand identity boasted some very wavy designs, in various shades of blue.
Went to see Aaron Cohen tonight at Book Soup on Sunset Blvd in LA. He was reading from his new book ‘Slave Hunter‘. His rehearsed delivery notwithstanding, one is struck by the sheer bravery of the dude, and the enormity of what he is trying to undertake.
Aaron Cohen reading at Book Soup
In any case, seeing Mr. Cohen speak reminded me to remind you to support, if you can, a non-profit in Cambodia called the Cambodian Children’s Painting Project. It’s run by a heroic young Spanish-American fellow (and a friend of mine) by the name of Felix Brooks-Church, and serves young Cambodian kids who spend their days selling trinkets on the beach.
Naturally, small children selling stuff to tourists in a rough and tumble beach town has its dangers- which I’ll leave to your imagination (or this website). CCPP takes the kids off the beaches and gives them a safe place every day, teaching them art and language classes. Then, CCPP sells the paintings the kids make in art class to the tourists and backpackers coming through for $4 a pop, giving the kids money to help support their poverty-stricken families while gaining an education. Pretty brilliant, and worth a donation, dontcha think?
I think that Kuala Lumpur is the best city I’ve ever been to: Call to prayers on a balmy afternoon in the park, in the shadow of Petronas towers. Heaven.
