“They can’t drink the alcohol or woo the ladies”

Originally sent: 27 June 2005 About this series I’m in Battambang: which is famous across Indochina for its decrepit colonial French architecture, raunchy statues of garudas having their way with apsaras and a state of sleepiness that gives the lack of English expressions for somnolence a bad name. Since the Khmer Rouge stopped firing rocket-propelled… Continue reading “They can’t drink the alcohol or woo the ladies”

“At worst, it’s an ugly manifestation of foodies’ deep-seated disdain for the poor.”

“However good the illusion, would anyone really mistake Moto’s BURGER with cheese for the fast-food familiar? No more than one would confuse an Andy Warhol silk screen of Campbell’s soup cans with Campbell’s soup.” But it is not 1962, a petit four is not a silk screen, and McDonald’s burgers are not merely a symbol… Continue reading “At worst, it’s an ugly manifestation of foodies’ deep-seated disdain for the poor.”

Phnomenon

Sent: 10 April 2005 It’s day seven of CNN becoming Pope Channel, and M and I are rapidly settling in the expat Cambodian lifestyle. Fairly unsurprisingly, Phnom Penh is absolutely different to what I thought – I was expecting everything that we need to do to be much harder. Quite embarrassingly, practically everyone that you… Continue reading Phnomenon

I like your old stuff better than your new stuff.

I get this, often. Writing was more of a priority when I was virtually unemployed in Cambodia with no responsibility whatsoever rather than holding down a full time job that I enjoy and being a somewhat responsible parent. Circumstances have changed a little. Like anyone who writes, I’ve got a whole lot more unpublished old… Continue reading I like your old stuff better than your new stuff.

Two links on the cult of authenticity

The quest for authenticity is an ugly thing. Will there never be an end to the spectacle of (usually white, middle-class) people draping themselves in exotic tribal fabrics, bribing sherpas to haul them up mountains, spending $15 for turkey-burgers in urban hunting lodges, throwing out perfectly good kitchen tables for expensive new tables made out… Continue reading Two links on the cult of authenticity

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