Bourdain in Cambodia, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Start Loving The Inspector Cluzo

This week on No Reservations, Bourdain returns to Cambodia, one of the more mystifying and misunderstood countries on the planet, or at the very least to westerners. Over the years Bourdain has often taken on his own persona, and his show has become a representation of gonzo-journalism that weighs heavy on the watch-ability of the program, but he does include various segments in this epthat focuses on deep appreciation for what brought most fans to the show in the first place: food and travel. This clip of touring the countryside and randomly falling upon a street side eatery for some real spring rolls (not that flash fried jazz one finds at Wok ‘n Roll) is what makes No Reservations so interesting. Catch Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservation’s Cambodia episode this Monday, March 7, at 8pm Texas time, only on the Travel Channel.

Timothy Braun
Austin, TX
March 5th, 2011

Five Easy Pieces (a quintet of other matters on my mind).
1.) Finally reading Rick Perlstein’s Nixonland, which chronicles the division of culture and politics that haunts America today. Deep and insightful, the book is a road map to the neo-cons and liberal punditry that sets the tone of our current political discourse.
2.) If you haven’t seen HBO’s Reagan documentary, it is a must. The flick takes a hammer to the mythology and treats Reagan as fair as anything I’ve ever seen, showing the former actor turned politician for what he was: human.
3.) My cardiologist has explained the immense level of unadulterated pain in my chest is from my recently discovered heart murmur, but this week I’m certain the discomfort comes from former Colt’s safety Bob Sanders signing with the San Diego Chargers. I was mentally prepared for the oft-injured hammer of justice to leave my favorite team and offer his services to a rival, but signing with the piss-drunk bastards that are the Chargers in the A.J. Smith era is the same as my trusted dog stabbing me in the heart with a milk bone.
4.) With SXSW fast approaching, I’m looking forward to catching the French band The Inspector Cluzo, and unrelenting duo of sonic politics. Their song “French Bastards” is as fun as it gets.
5.) If you haven’t caught the "StarTalk" conversation between Neil deGrasse Tyson and John Hodgman, you can catch it here.
CODA
Always pitied people who bought houses but after scoping a cute-little-place and talking to a mortgage broker and an agent on how to obtain the joint I'm now bewildered. Who in their right mind would buy any house? This makes no financial sense and you're stuck for 30 years. Why not burn all your disposable income and lash a bag of wet cement to your ankle? I'm befuddled. I'm nose deep in befud.