Kampuchea Crossings

Bump to baby on the beaten expat track

#FollowFriday

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Extended isolation is wretched dull. Boundless gems brewing in the Kingdom notwithstanding, there’s nothing like the left-thinking stimulation from people who are so totally different than you’re daily engaging with. I love the witty babble and people who facilitate mental bridges. That said, here are some streams with a lot of smarts, a dash of personality, and a little bit of sassy.

Must-follow for their critical views:

@pdenlinger China, China-US, Asia-West business and politics

@kawdess @elizrael @jerusalembureau @3arabawy @asteris @alexlobov  Mid-East and North Africa

@AriCostello @atomiota (@kevindoylejones #socap/#socent) (@kiwanja @tmsruge #socap/#socent in Africa) Investing

@teresakopec @yatpundit @davidbadash @scobleizer (also see his follow list)  US happenings (stateside perspectives)

@jayrosen_nyu @fuzheado  journalism, media matters

@sagarikaghose @sardesairajdeep @gregorylent  India and Asia life and politics

For their expertise / interest areas:

@meryl333 Consumer advocacy in the US; grassroots health, safe food and farming initiatives

@fridley  IT and social networks, and news on Japan and Australia — see his very cool-designed blog and #FollowFriday recommendations

@marabg a connector– a warm, generous, big-hearted people-person

@imrananwar  news on Pakistan, Afghanistan

@tri26 @terryfrd @saksith @ktiu on the escalating troubles of Thailand [Read more…] about #FollowFriday

SIALY: Slow Internet-Adjusted Life Years

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One of the metrics used to define the burden of disease is DALY, or Disability-Adjusted Life Years. It quantifies the difference between the actual health status of a population and an ideal situation where all individuals live long lives free of disease and disability. It measures mortality and morbidity, and it’s a measurement based on time. This allows for the impact of disease or risk factor to be determined in that one DALY is equivalent to one lost year of healthy life.

DALY = YLL (Years of life lost to premature death) + YLD (Years lived with a disability)

Given that posts sometimes take 15 minutes to write but two hours to upload, I’ve come up with a unit of measurement to measure the burden of slow internet for an aid worker living in a developing country.

SIALY (Slow internet adjusted life years) = YLL (Years of Life Lost) + YLSI (Years living with Slow Internet)

Mind you, my slow high-speed connection in this Kingdom’s capital is not as bad as some of the screaming fast Commodore 64 connections that other colleagues have to contend with. So kudos to the best of you who can produce creative pieces of writing amid these uninspiring conditions. I think I just grayed three more hairs.

:-(

Sunset on the Mekong

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sunset on the confluence of Mekong and Tonle Sap Rivers

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a sunset here. After the brief lull in the rains last month, September stormed in with brilliant downpours and the energy-sapping intermittent drizzling all day long. In some provinces these downpours made up for the drought. Unfortunately there was so much sudden deluge that up to 2m have been recorded in some villages around the country, and flash floods have taken about a dozen lives.

This photo above of the Phnom Penh skyline was taken from the peninsula before the rainy season started. That is the royal palace and royal viewing stage on the riverfront (for the November boat races during the Water Festival, or Bon Om Touk). [Read more…] about Sunset on the Mekong

Dramatic skies in rainy season

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Canadia tower and Wat Phnom to its left. view from Maxine's Bar.
Royal Palace is all the way to the left, off the pic.

There was a brief lull in the rainy season as usual this past August. But the rains are back in full swing again. The Mekong and Tonlé Sap Rivers are swollen rich from the monsoons up north. The Tonlé Sap River, which meets the Mekong towards the south of Phnom Penh in front of the Royal Palace, reversed directions about three or four times already, but volume and flow reversal has been weak due to dam building in China and Laos, north of Cambodia. [Read more…] about Dramatic skies in rainy season

The Socialist-Free Purity Pledge!

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Please print and sign the below pledge from DailyKos. Ask all your teabagger/libertarian friends and family to sign it!

The Teabagger Socialist-Free Purity Pledge

I, ________________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following:

I will complain about the destruction of 1st Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment Rights.

I will complain about the destruction of my 2ndAmendment Rights in this country, while I am duly >being allowed to exercise my 2ndAmendment rights by legally but brazenly brandishing unconcealed firearms in public.

I will forswear the time-honored principles of fairness, decency, and respect by screaming unintelligible platitudes regarding tyranny, Nazi-ism, and socialism at public town halls. Also.

I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:

*Social Security
*Medicare/Medicaid
*State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
*Police, Fire, and Emergency Services
*US Postal Service
*Roads and Highways
*Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)
*The US Railway System
*Public Subways and Metro Systems
*Public Bus and Lightrail Systems
*Rest Areas on Highways
*Sidewalks
*All Government-Funded Local/State Projects (e.g., see Iowa 2009 federal senate appropriations) [Read more…] about The Socialist-Free Purity Pledge!

Pchum Ben- remember the ancestors

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This is such a great photo, shared by Metro Cafe.

It is Pchum Ben in Cambodia, one of the biggest Buddhist holidays in which people visit the pagodas and bring offerings in remembrance of their ancestors. Once again there is a mass exodus from the city as the Khmer go to their provinces to visit their families, and foreigners take advantage of the many days off to flee the country.

Pchum Ben is similar to the Christians’ All Saints’ Day. This ritual used to be an ancient Celtic celebration called Samhain. Attempting to suppress these pagan traditions the Catholic Church created All Saints’ Day (All Hallows Day) in the 7th century to christianise the event.

Other cultures have rituals for remembering their dead around this same time of year too:

  • the Pasola Festival in Sumba, an island east of Bali
  • Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico
  • Dia de los ñatitas (Day of the Skulls) in Bolivia
  • Brazil celebrates Finados (Day of the Dead)
  • Araw ng mga Patay (Day of the Dead) in the Philippines
  • O-bon (お盆) or only Bon (盆), a Buddhist holiday in Japan
  • Hankawi (한가위,中秋节) is Korea’s traditional day of remembrance of their dead
  • Ghost month (鬼月) in China
Safe travels on this holiday everyone!