Kampuchea Crossings

Bump to baby on the beaten expat track

what liberal media bias? ;-)

by Leave a Comment

And here I thought there’d be no fodder for comedy under an articulate, competent African-American president! Not that I’m a Democrat, but the GOP sure is providing a good stream of material these days!

Rachel Maddow on (what I didn’t know was a liberal-leaning) MSNBC about Bush and Cheney being wanted men in the State of Vermont. It’s the only state not visited by Bush during his administration… 06 Feb 2009

Jon Stewart eviscerates Rick Santelli and CNBC 05 Mar 2009

(@jayrosen_nyu) Rush as the face of the GOP brand. Good for the Democrats. “No, I am” Steele says. Better! “No, social conservatives are the brand.” BEST. LOL!!! 28 Feb 2009

Dialogue and the Khmer Rouge tribunals

by Leave a Comment

Photo courtesy of the Far Eastern Economic Review, article cited below.

One of the recurrent topics at a meditation group in Boeng Keng Kang with some teens is the culpability of the Khmer Rouge soldiers. The KR period is not a dialogue that younger generations born after the atrocities actively engage in. It’s a concern of many advocates and the international community here that some young adults are ignorant of the fact that it ever even occurred. There are several factors at work.

One is that while a lot of aid is allocated to feel-good causes taxpayers back home like, eg HIV, private sector development, democratisation, conservation etc, there is little committed to other needs, like mental health. It just isn’t sexy enough. So despite the high prevalence of PTSD (so soon post-conflict), the advocacy and attention given this problem and opening a greater dialogue or forum has no momentum.

Another complaint, which has been gaining more voice, is the lack of efforts to educate Khmers on the significance and progress of the KR tribunal. The tribunal finally began after years of setbacks and conflicts. But for many, it’s almost as if the trials are a matter of course rather than for the benefit of the Khmers. There’s no shortage of interns, academics and legal aids pouring into the country from abroad, each coming with high fees and expenditures. But to host townhall meetings, debates or panels?– the efforts are sparse.

It’s truly a wasted opportunity. Khmers emerged from this period with a cultural identity crisis. The country is caught up in a rapid development pace that even this global crisis won’t impact as much as other countries of similar development stage. Teens affiliate more with “western” culture than with their own, in the quest to modernise and westernise as quickly as possible, while elements of their heritage and traditions are increasingly lost.

The meditation group (impressively) discussed the culpability factor, when executioners are under orders on threat of a gruesome death themselves. And to see these kids crying after being told (by foreigners) of the facts of their history that their elders won’t discuss with them (understandably to a certain level).. it’s unsettling.

Recently these articles appeared in the NY Times that addressed this culpability issue. How do you mete out justice to the pee-ons while elements of the Khmer Rouge still sit in the current administration?
Trials in Cambodia Expose the Cogs in a Killing Machine
At Trial, a Plea for Rights of a Khmer Prison Official.

Locally, thanks in part to people like Chea Vanthan and arts communities like at Meta House, there has been increased advocacy to engage young people in this very important dialogue about their history. And since the tribunals have begun, people are now starting to engage.

On the political level, from the Far Eastern Economic Review is a good article on the issues plaguing the legitimacy of the tribunals: Judging the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. Some of author John Hall’s recommendations:

1) Limit opportunities for political interference in judicial decision making.
2) Create an independent investigation mechanism for accusations of wrongdoing.
3) Human rights monitors, NGOs and reporters must be allowed to keep their sources confidential.
4) Ensure adequate whistleblower protections for those reporting wrongdoing.

for Intl Women’s Day: women-owned beauty biz

by Leave a Comment

It’s still International Women’s Day in Cambodia (holidays falling on weekends are observed on the next working day), and today’s topic is natural beauty.

Photo from the "All Natural Beauty" site

About the time I got married 5 years ago, I was on an organic / natural makeup and skincare kick. I don’t normally use makeup, but around a year ago people started asking if I were tired, since I’ve started to develop dark undereye circles. Yikes– back to those companies I used for my wedding makeup! Here’s a list of my favorite women-owned small-business eco-friendly natural makeup and skincare lines:

Markey has a lot of raw materials for the do-it-yourself skincare enthusiast. In recent years she’s begun to offer finished formulations, and now she opened a storefront location in Arizona. I’ve used other ‘natural’ lines before which are just natural botanical products for the sake of using natural materials. Markey’s products are effective and she really knows how to synergise ingredients. The customer raves aren’t hype, the products truly do work (in synergy with a good overall skincare routine, that is)!

Camellia Rose is also a natural skincare formulator, and very knowledgeable with years of research into the raw materials going into any product that touches your skin. Based in California, Jen has been working with Markey for years, and their products really do complement each other. Jen specialises in skin conditions like rosacea, acne, eczema etc.

Solarkat’s Eco Blog is a graduate student in the environmental sciences and will soon open her own line of natural skincare. She collaborates with the above women and shares her passion for eco-friendly botanical-based skincare products.

Monave is a company based in Baltimore, MD. Debbie, its owner, shares a space with Botanical Skinworks (also a good line). Her line of mineral makeup is great for me and other ethnic skintones. I stopped by while she was there once and she gave me a complete makeover. Was a very nice treat!

This stat is often seen: The average woman applies at least 150 different chemicals to her body through her skincare and cosmetics everyday. “Many of these chemicals are hormone disruptors, carcinogens, and toxic heavy metals”, says the Natural Solutions magazine editor Linda Sparrowe. Check out this magazine’s 2008 Beauty With a Conscience Award Winners.

There is a noticeable clearing of conditions (eg rosacea, acne, eczema etc) and brightening of skin when non-toxic drugstore or department store brands are removed from the routine. The Essential Day Spa and Garden of Wisdom forum users can provide some info and experiences with going natural. This is also a good place to start with articles on natural beauty products: All Natural Beauty.

———————-
As an aside (since these aren’t necessarily women-owned products), yesterday Keith and I explored the outskirts of Phnom Penh by renting a motorbike ($4/day!). I’d have avoided this kind of extended tropical sun exposure if I hadn’t had my trusty little tubes of natural sunscreens. Didn’t know there were “natural” sunscreens out there? Check these products out, and don’t take my word for it, google for reviews:

Lavera, a German-based natural cosmetics company. Their spf20 facial sunscreen doubles as a moisturiser. There is still a whitish cast if you don’t blend the cream in well, but it’s light, non-greasy and good especially for oily skin types as it can be drying.

Dr Hauschke, a UK-based natural cosmetics company. I don’t agree with all of their skincare philosophies but the products are very nice. And I have yet to try their sunscreens, but they now have a spray which I’ll get when I go back to ‘civilisation’ this summer on my annual leave back to the US.

Devita has a GREAT product that I am so happy to find. This is the lightest sunscreen facial formula I have ever tried, and sinks into my skin really well.

For a more thorough review of these and more natural sunscreens as well as shampoos, mineral makeup, and other natural products, see my friend’s Solarkat’s Eco Blog.

on presentations…

by Leave a Comment

This graphic on the US trade surplus/deficits at Visual Ephiphanies is quite cool. I love how large a amount of data is captured in a single image.

It reminded me of the bane of our work here– ineffective presentations (…of which I’m guilty of occasionally as well!). Speakers’ points are buried so deep in useless images, graphics and meandering bullet points that oftentimes at the end victi– err, participants— spend the precious little time allotted to questions trying to hash out exactly what the point is rather than actually brainstorming solutions. Imagine our conferences with back-to-back powerpoint presentations and simultaneous translations to French and English…

The above statistician is an advocate for effective data visualisation, much like Edward Tufte. I was introduced to the Tufte principles for data visualisation a couple of years ago (by Leslie? Bill?). He’s a passionate champion for good information design for practical, actionable presentations. One of his more famous examples is the Shuttle Columbia disaster, where crucial information was presented ineffectually, leading to a disastrous management decision.

Barring needing to graphically depict large amounts of data competently, his tips are useful at any level of data / message complexity, even for tech-unsavvy folks like me! Here are at least some key points I try to stick with for simplifying presentations for effectiveness:
* Frame your presentations: What’s the problem; who cares; and what’s your proposed solution
* When presenting, show up early and finish early
* Don’t use bulletpoints (though I must disagree with this for some of the less-sophisticated audience here)
* 1+1=3… Two elements in close proximity can create a third “ghost image” from the negative space between the two elements
* Put your name on things — it shows you care about the content and take responsibility for its validity
* “It’s better to be approximately right than exactly wrong”
* The resolution of good old paper is higher than the most advanced computer monitors
* Never harm the content — the design should be based on the content, not the other way around
* If a chart, table or object needs a label, do it inline — don’t use legends/keys that require “back-and-forths”
* Don’t use footnotes, use sidenotes — they’ll be closer to the content you’re referencing
* Reduce clutter by clarifying the design and then adding information
* The power of the Smallest Effective Difference — make all visual distinctions as subtle as possible, but still clear and effective
* Good design is clear thinking made visible, bad design is stupidity made visible

Culinary alchemy and Taste science

by Leave a Comment

Being a former French colony, Cambodia isn’t new to the critical taste buds of sophisticated palates. But even though it’s produced few consistent culinary winners (even at the posh establishments), the little engine that could that is Phnom Penh is nevertheless exploring global epicurean trends. Excellent wine selection and a streaming influx of gourmands and chefs with star experience indicate it’s ready to take on the challenge.

We had a spectacular dessert event last night by one of these chefs, complete with flavour pairings and wine. It’s always interesting to look at food beyond the function of sustenance, and it’s definitely more fun with fellow foodies (otherwise gastro-physics is just another rocket science uninspiring to the average chowhound like me). Now I ramble around topics so bear with me!

First wine. Consider the Euro-centric language of wine discourse: leather component in a malbec, pine on the nose of a cabernet, pepper at the back end in a syrah, etc etc.. It’s greek to the aspiring ‘Asian’ palate, where socialisation of tastes and aromas differ vastly from Western sensibilities. That lack of communication retards the potentially wider appeal of wine. But take this same science of tasting to gastronomy and somehow, emotively, diverse ‘languages’ can better communicate. Why the difficulties with wine when the universal language of food is readily understood?

Now food tasting. Molecular gastronomy, enter stage left. The trend is still too experimental for wide appeal, but it boils down to matching the major chemical components of food or wine (or volatile molecules) with others containing the same compounds, so that when put together they achieve a savoury synergy (ever seen the animation Ratatouille?).

For example, try these pairings in recipes: wasabi with maple, soy sauce and malt, strawberry and coriander– the possibilities are endless (for someone with no talent for creating a tasty meal, consulting the chemistry makes cooking seem almost easy… no?). Network graphs like the one below illustrate how the components of different food products relate to each other, as a tool to inspire the creation of original recipes. (wonder if that’ll help me?!)

Get past the rather dull narration and this video explains it well, using chocolate and asparagus as starting points for pairings:

So back to my dinner. One of the other guests was a chef who created a nice treat for dessert. He put together small bites for each of us, strategically placing discordant taste elements on a spoon to hit the palate at a desired sequence: lychee mousse and reduced coconut cream at the front, espresso gelatin at the back, followed by a sip of De Bortoli Black Noble (Botrytised Semillon). We were also instructed to savour a small taste of each alone in the mouth to accompany a sip of wine. So I found that the lychee and coconut paired extremely well with it, while the coffee was overpowered and receded at the first hint of wine.

The next round was a chocolate cake topped with a dollop of rich chocolate mousse, a caramel stripe, pickled beet in balsamic and honey, beet jelly. (The extraneous elements were also incorporated in the cake.) These were paired with a very good Cabernet Sauvignon, and the routine above was repeated.

The point? To hone the taste buds. Do you know the average person can’t tell apart the fruit flavours in ice cream until they’re prompted? But why bother sharpening your taste buds, you ask and so did I. Purely for the multisensory, sophisticated eating experience (naturally) (or maybe so you can articulate that bite of sweet currant from the merlot)! The proliferation of tasting menus at top restaurants in major cities is testimony to this trend, welcome by both gourmands and foodies alike.

Wine and food are great conversation pieces aren’t they, and in that spirit, here’s a smattering of the foodie chatter for 2009:

Spice pairings for 2009 courtesy of McCormick, the largest spice company in the world:

Cayenne & Tart Cherry
Chinese Five Spice & Artisan-Cured Pork
Dill & Avocado Oil
Garam Masala & Pepitas
Mint & Quinoa
Peppercorn Mélange & Saké
Rosemary & Fruit Preserves
Smoked Paprika & Agave Nectar
Tarragon & Beetroot
Toasted Sesame & Root Beer

Top trends for home cooks and restaurant-goers in 2009 by Epicurious:

“Value” is the new “Sustainable”
The Compost Pile is the new Flower Garden
Peruvian is the new Thai
Noodle Bars are the new Sushi Joints
Ginger is the new Mint
Smoking is the new Frying
Regional Roasters are the new Starbucks
Portland (Maine) is the new Portland (Oregon)
Rustic Food is the new Molecular Gastronomy
“Top-Rated” is the new “Critic’s Pick”

Food: What Not to Miss in 2009 by The Guardian, who sees foodies taking back the day given the present economic climate:

Spending more not less
Reclaiming the steak
Digging the scene
Home, sweet homestead
Re-entering the atmosphere
Pop-ups
The unbearable smugness of foodies

The January issue of Bon Apetit puts peanut butter and Peru on the short list for 2009 food trends… mmmmm…!

And this video sums up the functional, less waste, environmentally-minded, budget-conscious foodie trends the hospitality industry expects in the coming year: