Your Basic Wednesday in Cambodia

Hello All.

All is well in Cambodia after a few days. For those of you just joining us, please check out my previous post to get a handle on what the hell I am doing in Cambodia. It's only been a few days but I am starting to figure out a few things around here. The hospital gave me a bicycle to get around for the month which has proven to be quite useful. The driving around here, however, is just south of fucking crazy. Imagine a group of your average Rhode Island (or Massachusetts or whatever) drivers on a motorbike and then let them smoke crack and then, oh yeah, abolish all traffic law - that's driving in Siem Reap.

Today, I went on a series of home visits with my trusty medical student, Roy, the homecare nurse, and our driver. We took off to see some kids with chronic disease some 50 km outside of town. It was quite an amazing experience to see the countryside of Cambodia - but it was also quite incredible to see how most people live here. While I could sit back and wax poetic about the level of poverty here in Cambodia, I find that my best defense mechanism, HUMOR, can best describe what I saw today... If American Poverty and Cambodian Poverty got in a fight, Cambodian Poverty would kick the living shit out of American Poverty. No contest - like a 1988 era Mike Tyson knockout.

The trip was amazing. We went to see three different children (two with HIV, one with severe malnutrition). The first child lived in a makeshift wooden shack with his 78 year grandmother (his father was dead from AIDS and mom was making $0.75 a day harvesting rice). The kid was really cute although quite sick and living in total squalor. His grandmother allowed me to take some pictures of him that I will put up on the site once I get back to the States. After we saw the kid, we headed back to our truck only to find our driver stripped down to his boxers and wading knee deep in the water next to our trunk. While he was trying to turn around the trunk on this one lane dirt road in the middle of nowhere, the right side of the truck slide into the drainage ditch. I was really kicking myself, because I left my AAA card back in Rhode Island and I did NOT remember my account number offhand. Anywho, Roy and I watched as our driver wedged some logs under the truck ("What is he doing?"). So I look up the road and here comes a young man with an oxen-driven cart, clearly he'll help us! (right, right) - people drive oxen driven carts, is anyone else suprised?. Then comes a truck with two gentlemen (I use the term gentlemen loosely). I will from henceforth refer to the older gentleman as "the Colonel" for he wore some sort of military garb. Our driver and the Colonol rigged up some sort of cable system and for the love of God, they pulled us out of the ditch. Well, now the homecare nurse and the driver disappeared into the village to return something "we" used to get the truck out of the ditch. Here I am with Roy, my trusty med student, standing there holding a couple of bags of rice and eggs for the kids. The Colonel is starring us down, saying something in Khmer, and laughing - his gold capped tooth glaring in the sunlight- oh by the way, a crowd of some 15 villagers have gathered and they are laughing as well - very sinister like. I try to put on the Spaeder charm but found myself thinking, "If they want these eggs, they can fucking have them". So what seemed like an eternity ended when our driver returned and we paid off the Colonel for helping us and moved on to see the next kid. I joke but being invite into these kids' "homes" was quite amazing for me. One of the other American doctors I am working with say that the Cambodian have this crazy Survival gene and goddammit if he's not right.

I guess that I will leave it at that. Thanks to everyone for the emails and the comments on the website. See you all soon. big love, mike

Greetings from Cambodia

Well, I'm here in Cambodia. For those of you wondering why I am here, I'll give you the short story. There is a free children's hospital in Siem Reap, Cambodia started six years ago by a Japanese photographer. The director of the hospital is originally from Rhode Island and since everybody knows everybody in Rhode Island, I ended up here working for the month.

My trip was long and arduous. The 17 hour direct flight from JFK to Bangkok pushed the limits of my endurance due more to the lack of good movie selections. The Longest Yard, yikes! Didn't get to see too much of Bangkok before heading off again to Cambodia. The saddest part of the journey was finding the only option for breakfast in the Bangkok airport was KFC. The Thai have obtained the Colonel's secret Hot & Spicy recipe. I repeat the Thai have the Colonel's secret recipe.

Siem Reap is the town just outside the temple area of Cambodia and the location for much of Angelina Jolie's stellar film Tombraider - this was the birthplace of her Cambodia fixation and every bar in town where she drank will be sure to tell you about her.

The hospital is hard to describe. Somewhere out of a movie and a Sally Struthers commercial. Where 1-2 kids might die a month at my hospital in Rhode Island, death is a daily occurence here so I am trying to get used to that. I saw a bunch of kids yesterday with heart disease who will most likely die in their teens, but if they were only born in the West they'd live just as long as me or you. There is this 70 year doctor from New Mexico (imagine your typical New Yorker who spent the last 32 years as the pediatrician on an Indian Reservation - yeah tough for me to imagine as well) who has been trying to convince me just to block it all out. Ahh yes, repression of emotions - always healthy. Anywho, I am learning a ton - about medicine and the world.

Keep checking back. mike

Teenbeat Records 20th Anniversary

While the official celebration of Teenbeat Records 20th Anniversary took place back in February, I felt it necessary to celebrate one more time before the new year. Started by Wakefield HS (Arlington, VA) student Mark Robinson in 1985 quickly rose to prominence in the late 1980's and early 1990's as the DC area's second indie label behind Dischord (currently celebrating their 25th anniversary). Along with another Arlington run indie Simple Machines, Teenbeat put out record after record of infectious indie pop. Led by Robinson's own Unrest, the label's roster included acts as diverse as Eggs, Versus, Cath Carroll, The Rondelles and Romania. While Unrest's 1992 release Imperial ffrr probably remains the label's most critically praised record, I would really encourage any lover of indie rock to check out Versus' 1994 album The Stars are Insane - an mp3 for the album track "Deseret" included below.

The Ropers "You Have A Light" (mp3)
Unrest "Cherry Cherry" (mp3)
Plus/Minus "Ventriloquist" (mp3)
Versus "Deseret" (mp3)

Pretty Girls Make Graves east coast tour

The best band ever named after a Smiths' song, Pretty Girls Make Graves, is heading out on the road in the next few weeks and will be making their way through the northeast/mid-atlantic region. I've seen them twice and they are definitely worth trying to catch live. Of course, they are going out of their way to hit Providence and luck has it that I will be in Cambodia. Anywho, I've posted two of their songs for your listening pleasure. The first is from 2003's The New Romance while the second is from 2002's Good Health, which is still my favorite record from this decade.

12-05 New York, NY - Knitting Factory
12-06 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
12-08 Washington, DC - Black Cat
12-09 Bellmore, NY - Live Trax
12-10 Providence, RI - The Living Room
12-11 Cambridge, MA - Middle East
12-12 Philadelphia, PA - North Star Bar

"All Medicated Geniuses" (mp3)
"Speakers Push the Air" (mp3)

Just a Quick Note

Interesting article from the Post about the Bright Eyes show in DC and Conor's anger towards Bush. It's funny how many friends I've heard from in the last 24 hours that have reminded they're Republican. I still love you guys.

Received a nice email from the Wrens' guitarist, Greg Whelan, regarding my review of their show in Providence posted below. Hobnobbing with rockstars!!!

The Wrens live 11/18/05

I had the good fortune of seeing New Jersey's finest, the Wrens, this past Friday at Alumnae Hall at Brown University. Not well publicized to the public and requiring a college ID to gain entry, I was a little nervous about going in solo - but a show's a show, right? Luckily as a quasi-faculty member, my ID and $5 gained me entry into not only a great show, but some excellent people watching conditions. As I sidled up to the "bar" to purchase a $1 Stroh's from the young fraternity pledge I was fascinated by the eclectic crowd of Ivy League smarties dressed to the nines in their alterna-wear. I particularly loved the two young ladies in their Olivia Newton John a la` "Let's Get Physical" ensembles, complete with teal leg warmers - is this supposed to be ironic? Anyway, I kept telling myself that the band members are even older than me so I need to just get over the age thing (where are all the grad students?).

One of 2003's best albums, The Meadowlands, was the centerpiece of the show. Hightlights included "Happy", "Hopeless", "Faster Gun" and "Everyone Choose Sides" - many of the songs deviated from their recorded arrangements but to uniform success. Bassist/Keyboardist/ Singer Kevin Whelan was clearly the linchpin, looking like a boyish cross between Colin Firth and Jim Carey as he spazzed out on stage - unbelievable energy which could be reigned in for beautiful songs like "Boy, You Won't Remember". Greg Whelan (lead guitar and Kevin's big brother) and Jerry MacDonald (drums) were clearly the yin to Kevin's yang. All the while, Charles Bissell (Guitar/Vocals) was creating crazy sounds with his Strat while strumming as if his right elbow was on some sort of swivel. Although the acoustics of the room left something to be desired, the energy and song selection more than made up for it.

Everyone Choose Sides(mp3)

A New Morning, Changing Weather

Welcome to Despite the Times. The name is a reference to a line from R.E.M.'s "These Days" on 1986's Life's Rich Pageant. That song, released during my freshman year in high school, has always served as source of creative inspiration for me. I hope that spirit lives on as I rant and rave about issues of interest to me - music, politics, entertainment, culture, my crazy son. So, check back when you can and let me know how I'm doing.

Enjoy and big love.