At 21, I did not rush to the nearest pub. Instead, so unspoiled, I was rolling up those cables at Penn State Agricultural Extension Radio and TV Studio – under a Work Study program. Cables were all over the floor and someone had to put in some hours, even after “It’s a wrap.”
Little did I know, today we can have SKY news reporter filming themselves with selfie stick. Electronic News Gathering (ENG) no longer takes a 3-men crew. Of note is Network Anchor now goes on Apology Tour for lying instead of catching other VIPs in the act e.g. Watergate.
Times have changed. Softbank is selling Pepper (robot) for a mere $1600 to make money on the apps and maintenance. A star is born as apps like Uber, using phone-sex independent contractor who should have been classified W-2.
Times have changed. So, have I. Had I known all this, I would still wrap those cables neatly and quietly (good practice for garden hose). At 21, one can drive around and shoot people mindlessly. At 21, one can rush to drink all you can down in Tijuana. At 21, one can code till one drop (a joint program between Microsoft and China elite University has just been launched to foster technology and innovation). At this edit, the twice-elect President wants to “import” hundreds of thousands of Chinese students onto American campus.
At 21, one can backpack and see the world. The ENG camera back then was so heavy, plus the 3/4-inch tape deck, plus the battery pack (very much like our Black G.I.’s grunts seen in Platoon). The things they carried. Anchors back then e.g. ABC World News Tonight were elegant. Peter Jennings reporting from London, Max Robinson from Chicago and Frank Reynolds in Washington D.C.: fact-checking, fact-checking and fact-checking. But no holds barred (AP debated back and forth before releasing Napalm girl pic). The fourth estate.
Playboy interviewed President Carter about his sex life while the nation was boiled with anti-establishment sentiment (Carter admits, “we are faced with a crisis of confidence”). You are either real or you are not. Dig it? After all, I was a city boy enrolling in cow-college, having to re-learn and adapt to survive. Wish I had traveled more and shop less. No elbow patch sport coats, nor Mr. Roger grandpa sweaters. No knee-high athletic socks.
What I keep are running, reading and writing. Selfie reporter or 3-man ENG crew, content and character still count. Now that I know. I wouldn’t buy in to Penn State defense or watch any of the Bill Cosby episodes. Meanwhile, Japan is “softly” and quietly developing and launching Pepper. The battle will soon be declared: man vs machine.
Someday, Roof (Charleston church shooter) will also no longer be 21, and he will have realized he had fought the wrong battle. The new “others” are machines, heartless and 100 times more efficient than Nazis. Although times have changed, I would rather stay true to self, born a pleaser always a pleaser. How could I be of service for your pleasure.
Wish I had done more than hopping on the plane and handing out needed supplies to refugees – the survived but raped by pirates. When you did to the least of these, you have done unto Me. In helping others, I have helped myself, at the very least, enfolding into the larger human family if not finding and becoming my best self.
When I turned 21, I did not rush to the nearest pub. Instead, I was rolling up those cables in the TV studio, the Penn State Agricultural Extension Radio and TV Studio – under a Work Study program. Cables all over and someone has to stay behind after the shoot to “wrap” them. Little did I know, we can have SKY news reporters filming themselves with selfie sticks. Electronic News Gathering (ENG) no longer takes a 3-man crew. Just one. (on a side note, Network Anchor now goes on Apology Tour, for lying instead of catching others in the act e.g. Watergate).
Times have changed.
Softbank is selling Pepper (robot) for a mere $1600 to make money on the apps and maintenance. A star is born. So has “on demand” apps like Uber, using phone-sex independent contractor who should have been classified as an employee, according to California latest ruling. It looks as though the dis-intermediator has become the new middleman.
Times have changed.
Had I known all this, I would still wrap up those cables neatly and quietly.
At 21, one can drive around and shoot people mindlessly.
At 21, one can rush to drink all you can down in Tijuana.
At 21, one can code through the night (a joint program between Microsoft and China elite University has just been launched to foster technology and innovation).
At 21, one can backpack and see the world while one’s joints are still up for it.
I wish I had known all this. The ENG camera back then was so heavy. Plus the 3/4 inch tape deck, plus the battery pack. The things they carried.
But the anchors back then (my ABC World News Tonight) were so cool! Peter Jennings reporting from London, Max Robinson from Chicago and Frank Reynolds in Washington D.C.: fact-checking, no-holds bar and let the chips fall where they may. The fourth estate. Playboy interview was asking President Carter about his sex life. And the nation was boiled with anti-establishment cynicism (Carter admits “we are faced with a crisis of confidence”).
You are either real or you are not. Dig it?
Wish I could do it again. I travel more and shop less. No elbow patch sport coat, or Mr Roger sweater. No knee-high athletic socks. I would still keep running, reading and writing. Selfie reporter or 3-man ENG crew, content and character still count.
Now that I know. I wouldn’t buy in to too much Penn State defence team, or watch any of the Bill Cosby episodes. This might give some clues about perpetual hatred and in-fighting in America. Meanwhile, Japan is “softly” and quietly developing and launching Pepper. The battle will soon be declared: man vs machine. And someday, Roof will realize he has fought the wrong battle. The new “others” are machines, heartless and 100 times more efficient than the Nazis, whose philosophical root he embraces.
Come to think of it, I would just stick with my studio cables. Head down and humble. Too much thinking makes me restless. But then, would Rest of World leave me alone? What would my daughters think of me on Fathers Day? Dad, you are a coward. Too many books, too few action. Wish I had done more. Never too late.
Thang Nguyen 555 