A New Dog, Top Tweets, and My Take on the “Khmer Rouge” Trial…

1. Welcome to the Family – Its been almost five months since my dog Lucky fell off of a motorbike and was tragically killed. Its been a little over two weeks since my family’s other dog was hit by a car and eaten by the neighbors. And now its been almost 24 hours since I picked up this brand new, one month old, Vietnamese born puppy, who has gotta be one of the cutest four-legged animals to ever step foot in this country. Obviously I paid way more for her than I should have, but look at her and tell me it wasn’t worth it.

2. “Dog to be Named Later” Pictures – The dog has still not been given a name, but as of now it looks like the choices have been narrowed down to Fi Fi, Jessica, and Star. Don’t ask me…

3. The Art of Giving – I’m not sure if it’s a Cambodian thing, or if this happens in other countries as well, but anytime you give a gift in this country, the receiver of the gift always responds by giving something back in return. It’s like there is some kind of obligation to return the favor regardless of how much or how little one has.

4. Fresh Eyes – My home stay sister, who have never been to Phnom Penh before, came with me yesterday on the dog expedition. While she’s a smart girl and acts way older than 14, it was funny to see the city with someone who had never stepped foot outside of rural Cambodia. The things I expected her to be shocked by– the big buildings and crazy traffic– were of little interest. Yet the whole day she kept pointing out things like the landscaping, the windows, and the traffic lights — things I never even notice.     

5. The “Khmer Rouge” Trial – I follow whats written about Cambodia in most of the major American newspapers and I would estimate that about 75% of all “Cambodian news stories” have something to do with the trial of the former Khmer Rouge leaders. Not surprisingly this trial is also followed very closely in the local Cambodian newspapers. Yet despite the amount of attention the press gives this story, I would say that from my experience 95% of Cambodians couldn’t care less about whats happening in the courtroom. I’ve now been here for two years and while I’ve had countless conversations about the Khmer Rouge period, I’ve never once heard anyone mention the trial or a desire to see justice served. I think if you asked almost anyone here whether they would rather spend the money (the cost from 2006 until the end of December 2009 amounted to $78.4 million. The budget for 2010-2011 is $31.2 million and $40.7 million, respectively) to have five men sentenced or help build schools and hospitals, almost everyone would choose the latter. Just a thought.

6.A Visit From The Goon Squad - I just finished Jennifer Egan’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel A Visit From the Goon Squad. If you haven’t read it yet, you’re missing out. It’s a classic. Rumor has it that it’s also going to be turned into an HBO show soon. Can’t wait for that.

7. Undocumented – This week in the NYT Magazine, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, has written an amazing piece about his life as an undocumented “illegal” immigrant in America: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant. It’s a fascinating story and one that should be required reading for every American — especially anyone who is/was against the DREAM Act.

8. Charts That Will Make Your Blood Boil – Check out these charts from Mother Jones Magazine. There are twelve of them and together they paint a very bleak picture. Check them out: Overworked America.

You should also read the article: All Work and No Pay (You: doing more with less. Corporate profits: Up 22 percent. The dirty secret of the jobless recovery.)

9. Top Tweets – Some of my favorites for the past couple of days…

• My fathers day gift was pictures of the kids, which is the Mother’s Day equivalent of getting my wife an orbital sander. – Adam Carolla
• Happy Father’s Day. Shout out to the bad fathers as well, for without you we wouldn’t have strippers and the best entertainers/athletes. – Donald Glover
• Tree of Life unfolds as quickly as trees and lives. – Mandy Kaling
• I saw a woman with a huge chest tattoo that read “Only God Can Judge Me”. Cool, but I’ve already gone ahead & done some prelim work. – Joel McHale
• So, when Bristol Palin’s son grows up & reads her book he gets to find out he’s a drunken mistake? Thanks, mom! – Patton Oswalt

10. The US Championships – And finally… whose excited about the US National Track and Field Championships happening this weekend in Eugene, Oregon? Did you hear Galen Rupp is doubling? Crazy right! Unfortunately I can’t watch the action in Cambodia, but I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure I’m in Track Town USA this time next year for the Olympic Trials. Anyone else down?

That’s all for today. I’ve got a busy weekend ahead of me so I probably won’t post again until Monday.

Thanks for stopping by.