lifestyle THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2015

Features

Tourists trekking through the jungles of Mondulkiri Province, located in eastern Cambodia. Two of the elderly elephants that are part of the Mondulkiri Project in Mondulkiri Province in eastern Cambodia. — AP photos Elephants get love and care in Cambodia, with tourists’ help

he trip to the hills of eastern Cambodia had all the mak- Named for Cambodia’s most sparsely populated province, comfortable set of bungalows with magnificent views of the us on an easy trek through the lush jungles as we headed to a ings of a luxurious getaway: delicious fresh fruit fed by the Mondulkiri Project aims to act as a sanctuary for elephants Cambodian countryside. chilly watering hole to wash one of the creatures. More photo Thand, a dip in a refreshingly cold watering hole and a that previously worked for timber companies or as attractions During my stay, I joined several other tourists, both solo opportunity than actual cleansing, the elephant seemed to relaxing massage. But I wasn’t receiving these amenities. in the tourist hub of Siem Reap, home to the Angkor Wat site. and group travelers, in cleaning and feeding the elephants. enjoy getting his back scratched and didn’t mind the picture- Elderly elephants were. And I was one of several tourists pay- The Mondulkiri Project also seeks to give the local indigenous We also got an in-depth explanation of the project, its goals taking. We all had the same post-cleansing goal anyway: a ing for the privilege of doting on them. population, called the Bunong, opportunities for jobs and and why preserving the area is important. Then came the fun nap. — AP At the Mondulkiri Project, it’s not the people who call the help in curtailing logging and promoting forest conservation. part: getting up close and personal with the gigantic mam- shots, but the elephants. Visitors from all over the world come The Mondulkiri Project began in 2013, founded by the Tree mals. The elephants spend all their time in a protected area of here for the chance to interact with the behemoth creatures family, who are not members of the Bunong community but the forest, with local guides watching over them. The ele- by washing them, feeding them, playing with them and, of who support the Bunongs with revenue from the Mondulkiri phants were friendly, hungry and eager to interact with us. course, getting selfies with them. One thing that doesn’t hap- Project. The Tree family offers trekking along with the ele- For the humans, there was a lunch of rice, vegetables, meat pen: riding on the animals’ backs. phant experiences, and they run Tree Lodge, a bare-bones but and iced coffee. Then an English-speaking Bunong guide led List of SAG nominees FILM NOMINEES Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture: “Beasts of No Nation” “The Big Short” “Spotlight” “Straight Outta Compton” “Trumbo”

Outstanding performance by a male in a leading role: Bryan Cranston, “Trumbo” , “Black Mass” Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant” Michael Fassbender, “Steve Jobs” Eddie Redmayne, “The Danish Girl”

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role Cate Blanchett, “Carol” Brie Larson, “Room” Helen Mirren, “Woman in Gold” Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn” Sarah Silverman, “I Smile Back”

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role Contestant Taigen Yokoyama demonstrates his technique in the Japanese martial art of , “The Big Short” karate by breaking a pile of 10 tiles with his bare right hand. — AFP photos Idris Elba, “Beasts Of No Nation” , “Bridge of Spies” Michael Shannon, “99 Homes” Anna Faris and Anthony Mackie make the 22nd annual Screen Actors Guild awards Jacob Tremblay, “Room” nominations announcement at SilverScreen Theater at the Pacific Design Center yester- Japanese monks day in WestHollywood, California. — AFP photos Outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role Rooney Mara, “Carol” Rachel McAdams, “Spotlight” karate chop, chant Helen Mirren, “Trumbo” Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl” Kate Winslet, “Steve Jobs” in funeral contest TELEVISION NOMINEES Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series apanese Buddhist monks strutted their pile of 10 tiles with his bare right hand. “Downton Abbey” stuff yesterday in a contest highlight- “Ha!” he shouted, followed by the cacopho- “Game of Thrones” Jing sutra chanting skills, giving funeral nous sound of tiles shattering. “I’m sorry to “Homeland” sermons and, surprisingly, loud karate have frightened you,” he added calmly. The “House of Cards” chops. The contest, held on the sidelines of event was held in conjunction with the Life “Mad Men” Japan’s first ever expo on the business of Ending Industry Expo, which attracted death and dying, was aimed at winning more than 200 companies involved in the Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series back public interest in funeral services business of death and funerals. “The Big Bang Theory” “Key & Peele” offered by priests and monks as more peo- “Modern Family” ple seek alternatives to traditional burial Shift from tradition “Orange Is The New Black” customs. It followed another unique competition “Transparent” Wearing pale gold, purple, or black and the previous day that highlighted the work “Veep” white robes, the eight monks walked calm- of the declining number of specialists who ly onto a stage one by one, bowing to an prepare the dead for Buddhist funerals and Outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series audience of about 100 people with their cremations. Observers say an increasing Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones” palms together. They then proceeded to number of people are cutting ties with tra- Jon Hamm, “Mad Men” give short sermons and also chant solemn ditional Buddhist temples and are not , “Mr. Robot” sutras and Buddhist songs, key require- building new tombs in graveyards, citing Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul” ments for conducting wakes and funerals growing individualism and shortage of , “House of Cards” according to the rites of the ancient reli- younger family members who can take gion. care of graves. “It’s getting more and more Outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series But one of the contestants, Taigen difficult for monks to maintain their tem- Claire Danes, “Homeland” Yokoyama, showed off a different talent, ples as a business as the temple member- Viola Davis, “How To Get Away With Murder” demonstrating his technique in the ships are declining, especially in the coun- Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife” Actress/SAG-AFTRA Executive Vice President Gabrielle Carteris speaks onstage during Japanese martial art of karate by breaking a tryside,” said Mayumi Tominaga, a spokes- Maggie Smith, “Downton Abbey” announcement. woman for the event. Robin Wright, “House of Cards” “The number of people who die will peak in 2040 in Japan, but many elderly Outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series people are choosing to stop using their Ty Burrell, “Modern Family” ancestral tombs,” she said. The winner of Louis C.K., “Louie” the “Beautiful Bozu (monk) Contest” was William H. Macy, “Shameless” Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory” ‘Trumbo’, ‘House of Cards’ Shouyo Takiyoshi from a temple in north- Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent” ern Hokkaido, who sang melancholic Buddhist songs. He was selected the win- Outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy ner based on the votes of audience mem- series lead SAG award nominations bers as well as a five-judge panel of compa- Uzo Aduba, “Orange Is The New Black” ny managers, a monk and a pianist. “It was Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie” rumbo”, a biopic about a black- best supporting actress prize for her role as interesting to see monks in a scene differ- Ellie Kemper, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” listed 1940s screenwriter, scored conservative gossip columnist Hedda ent from funerals” usually filled with a Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep” the most nominations for the Hopper. Mirren is a double nominee, also solemn atmosphere, said Sae Igarashi, 24, “T Amy Poehler, “Parks and Recreation” Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards given a nod for best actress for her work on who works for a company offering ceremo- announced yesterday, with nods in three “Woman in Gold”. nial services. Outstanding performance by a male actor in a television categories including best ensemble cast. In the best drama actor category, Yokoyama, who performed the karate movie or miniseries On the television side, Netflix’s political dra- Cranston is up against Johnny Depp (“Black chop, said he is also pursuing a parallel Idris Elba, “Luther” ma “House of Cards” led the field with three Mass”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“The career as a nurse. “Priests often meet peo- , “Tut” nominations, for best actor (Kevin Spacey), Revenant”), Michael Fassbender (“Steve ple for the first time after their death,” he Ray Liotta, “Texas Rising” best actress (Robin Wright) and best cast Jobs”) and Eddie Redmayne for the trans- , “A Very Murray Christmas” said, stressing that he wanted to know and performance in a drama series. gender tale “The Danish Girl.” The 22nd Mark Rylance, “Wolf Hall” care for people fighting illness or other dif- “Trumbo” tells the story of screenwriter annual SAG awards winners will be ficulties. As an example, he mentioned an Outstanding performance by a female actor in a television Dalton Trumbo, who in 1947 was blacklist- announced on January 30 in Los Angeles. elderly woman who had forgotten her own ed along with other artists for refusing to The SAG nominations were announced 24 name because of dementia but still cared movie or miniseries Nicole Kidman, “Grace of Monaco” testify before Congress about alleged hours before the Golden Globe nominees for her children in her mind. “I found the Communist propaganda in Hollywood are set to be revealed, by the Hollywood heart of Buddha in her,” he said. — AFP Queen Latifah, “Bessie” Christina Ricci, “The Lizzie Borden Chronicles” films. The film’s star Bryan Cranston is up for Foreign Press Association (HFPA). — AFP Susan Sarandon, “The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe” an award for his portrayal of Trumbo, and Kristen Wiig, “The Spoils Before Dying” co-star Helen Mirren was also tapped for a