For four years I have wanted to get a good picture of a water buffalo... these are not exactly what I had in mind, but they still came out pretty well...
October 31, 2007
Take Five
One of the classic jazz tunes of all time is "Take Five" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet (Dave Brubeck - piano, Paul Desmond - alto sax, Eugene Wright - bass, Joe Morello - drums). The song was actually written for two reasons... first, Paul Desmond had been experimenting with rhythms in 5/4, and second, the group needed a song that would give the drummer, Joe Morello something more interesting to play (aside from just keeping time), but then it turned into a mega-hit. The song was actually written by the alto saxophonist Paul Desmond. One of the first things that drew me to this group's music was Desmond's sweet sax sound... here, in a performance in Germany, 1966, he adds in a few almost Arabian sounding scales for his own personal interest.. for those who didn't know, I actually met Dave Brubeck almost two years ago at a music convention... I told him then, and I would tell him now, that he truly 'opened the doors of jazz music to me'... I hope that you enjoy it...
October 26, 2007
Footprints
This song from Miles Davis and his second great quintet (the recently deceased Ron Carter: bass, Tony Williams: Drums, Herbie Hancock: Piano, Wayne Shorter: Tenor Sax) is definitley from the beginnings of his esoteric recordings... frankly I don't always understand everything, but this song takes a step further the idea (that was conceieved around Nefertiti) of the wind instruments providing the accompaniment, and the rhythm section creating constant improvisation... if you can understand that, you will appreciate what happens here... good stuff. From New York, 1966... The Miles Davis Quintet performing, 'Footprints'.
October 25, 2007
Come on!
There are so many things in Cambodia that can make the English speaker laugh... this sign is near a kind of shady area, so I was not sure what the implications were... anyway... hope that you laugh too... 
X-Man
Here is my x ray... nothing wrong... but there is some hairline fracture somewhere... undetectible by doctors, so you and I won't find it either... my arm is doing better... this x-ray was taken three weeks ago today... I think that I have developed some tendonitis in my wrist though (from the sling)... whatever... today is the first day I have not used the sling at all... it needs a bath anyway... 
October 22, 2007
Casting nets...
In Kompang Thom, Seda and I "caught" a net fisherman in the act of casting his net... she actually used my camera to take these shots, which came out very well... he only got one small fish on this cast, but the little bugger almost got away (last pic)...
October 21, 2007
Pchum Ben Day pics
I took a lot of pictures of people carrying food to the pagodas
to appease the ire of their dead relatives...
These were the food offerings to the ansestors from the day before...
I am not sure if they would be happy with how their food is treated...
Despite all of the people in these pictures,
the roads were almost deserted at different points in the day...
I never thought about idols going into retirement, but I found these sitting behind a wall...
No fair weather fans here...
Well, the Tribe is on the verge of winning (or losing) the American League crown... let's hope that the win comes tomorrow on the arm of Westbrook... thought that Carmona would take care of business, but there are no guarantees... and no, the sling is not from practicing my slider... yes I DID bring my Tribe jersey to Cambodia...
October 11, 2007
News and Views and Life from Cambodia…
Graham Geisler, reporter
News...
Pchum Ben Day is upon us… Pchum Ben (pronounced P-choom Ben), is an important Buddhist holiday in Cambodia. We do not have school the rest of this week because of it. Most of the people in Phnom Penh have left the city and have traveled back to their family’s province of origin. It essentially is a holiday/celebration for ancestors who have died. Each family is responsible to take food to a nearby pagoda as a gift to their dead ancestors. The food is somehow supposed to make their time in the afterlife better. When the ancestors are released into the world on Thursday, they will travel to different pagodas looking for the food, as well as the presence of their living relatives. If after visiting seven different pagodas, they do not find the food, the living family is cursed by the dead ancestors for the next year.
Views...
This is a very difficult celebration for young Christians. Please pray for them. There is a tremendous amount of guilt placed upon people that will not travel to the pagoda to worship the false gods and to offer sacrifices and prayers to their ancestors. If a Christian family member does not go to the pagoda, the rest of the family is convinced that evil things will fall upon them in the coming year. Please pray for the young Christians in all Buddhist nations that are trying to faithfully worship the true God. Help them to know that nothing in God’s world happens by mistake, and that by no means are they the source of bad things that happen to their families. Pray that they will take the opportunities they have to help serve the needy people in their communities and to share about the guilt-free love of Jesus.
Life...
Last Tuesday (October 2), I was in a moto accident that was not my fault, but did cause me to have to wear a sling on my arm for the next 3-6 weeks. After one week, there is not much improvement… there is a full account of the when’s, how’s and x-rays on my blog.
Because of the accident, I have taken a turn for the left handed. My handwriting on paper is atrocious, but I have been able to write okay on the whiteboards at school. However, it has really made life a lot more expensive. Because I cannot drive the moto, I have had to resort to moto taxi’s (called moto dopes)… this is costing me upwards of $5 per day, as opposed to the price of gas before. Also, food preparation has become almost impossible. We do have some people here at the house right now that are helping me from time to time, but I find myself having to eat out more. And jeesh, I won’t even go into the problems with typing, shaving, showers and toilets… enough said. All of that to say, I would appreciate your prayers for a speedy healing.
But hey, the Tribe beat the Yankees and the Bucks are 6-0 and ranked third in the country… that makes the pain a little easier to take…little blessings can be important...
On the Asia's Hope front, we currently have 9 other people here doing various things. We do have exciting news that God has provided a new facility for our orphans in Phnom Penh to live. It is a property that is about four times bigger and about half as expensive. The kids will now have a great place to run and play freely! Also, God has provided transportation for all of the orphans to and from school through the generous donation of a sponsor in the States... these answers to prayer are huge!
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. I hope that you are all well. May God bless you in every way. G
News...
Pchum Ben Day is upon us… Pchum Ben (pronounced P-choom Ben), is an important Buddhist holiday in Cambodia. We do not have school the rest of this week because of it. Most of the people in Phnom Penh have left the city and have traveled back to their family’s province of origin. It essentially is a holiday/celebration for ancestors who have died. Each family is responsible to take food to a nearby pagoda as a gift to their dead ancestors. The food is somehow supposed to make their time in the afterlife better. When the ancestors are released into the world on Thursday, they will travel to different pagodas looking for the food, as well as the presence of their living relatives. If after visiting seven different pagodas, they do not find the food, the living family is cursed by the dead ancestors for the next year.
Views...
This is a very difficult celebration for young Christians. Please pray for them. There is a tremendous amount of guilt placed upon people that will not travel to the pagoda to worship the false gods and to offer sacrifices and prayers to their ancestors. If a Christian family member does not go to the pagoda, the rest of the family is convinced that evil things will fall upon them in the coming year. Please pray for the young Christians in all Buddhist nations that are trying to faithfully worship the true God. Help them to know that nothing in God’s world happens by mistake, and that by no means are they the source of bad things that happen to their families. Pray that they will take the opportunities they have to help serve the needy people in their communities and to share about the guilt-free love of Jesus.
Life...
Last Tuesday (October 2), I was in a moto accident that was not my fault, but did cause me to have to wear a sling on my arm for the next 3-6 weeks. After one week, there is not much improvement… there is a full account of the when’s, how’s and x-rays on my blog.
Because of the accident, I have taken a turn for the left handed. My handwriting on paper is atrocious, but I have been able to write okay on the whiteboards at school. However, it has really made life a lot more expensive. Because I cannot drive the moto, I have had to resort to moto taxi’s (called moto dopes)… this is costing me upwards of $5 per day, as opposed to the price of gas before. Also, food preparation has become almost impossible. We do have some people here at the house right now that are helping me from time to time, but I find myself having to eat out more. And jeesh, I won’t even go into the problems with typing, shaving, showers and toilets… enough said. All of that to say, I would appreciate your prayers for a speedy healing.
But hey, the Tribe beat the Yankees and the Bucks are 6-0 and ranked third in the country… that makes the pain a little easier to take…little blessings can be important...
On the Asia's Hope front, we currently have 9 other people here doing various things. We do have exciting news that God has provided a new facility for our orphans in Phnom Penh to live. It is a property that is about four times bigger and about half as expensive. The kids will now have a great place to run and play freely! Also, God has provided transportation for all of the orphans to and from school through the generous donation of a sponsor in the States... these answers to prayer are huge!
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. I hope that you are all well. May God bless you in every way. G
October 08, 2007
October 07, 2007
John's blog
I hope that you will check out John McC's blog... he is here with his 9 year old son... he always does a good job writing... he is also a great photographer... here is the link... http://www.othersideofdawn.blogspot.com/
October 05, 2007
Long story...
The red moto is the one that I bought,
the grey one is the one that I (was) am driving...
on Thursday
Yesterday I had an x-ray taken, and even though it showed that nothing was broken, the Aussie doctor has told me that I have to wear a sling for 3-6 weeks... no moto driving and no writing on the whiteboard... so I will be entering the world of the left handed... i am using the one or two finger typing method right now... they are treating it as acracked bone because their seems to be fluid in my arm that would only be present in the case of a broken bone... i am not able to straighten the arm all the way, nor bend it to my face at this point... what are you going to do? Just thought that I would keep you in the loop...
on Tuesday
Tuesday I got in a moto accident... my arm is not broken, but it hurts a lot... thankfully we have a doctor in the house... I have an ACE bandage around my right elbow... I was driving along, and this girl who was driving in front of me turned right all of a sudden and I hit her... the bike went careening into the sidewalk, I flew off of the bike onto the sidewalk, the bike I and I went separate ways... my arm is hurting, I cut my hand... and in the end, the girl made me pay $5 to get her to leave... the blessings of being Caucasian... I am going to be pretty sore tomorrow, and it was really hard to write on the white board this afternoon... one more class tonight... talk to you again soon...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)