“…the kind they sell in drug stores ” as in If you can read my mind. Graham Greene in Paris of the Orient, Hemmingway in original Paris etc…both found inspiration out of war and wound ( “we’re all broken in many places….where light can shine through”. Many soldiers were wishing to “someday, when this war…

I was about 4. Growing up in a refugees enclave of Saigon. In the days leading up to Mid-Autumn Festival (aka Children’s Festival) one could witness torches, chants and marches…convoluting through all alleys and byways. The mob grew in size, as if it were trash day, except it’s kids, and not cans. “Tung tung tung,…

Upon reading Ralph White’s “Getting out of Saigon”, I noticed a sad fact about the bayan tree of the US Embassy, as if it had once been a symbol of America’s resolve, up until it’s time to “turn the Embassy’s courtyard into a lumberyard” pg 37. It also reminds me of a story about visiting…

It’s dark outside. Very early morning. Every day. The person sleeps all stretched out on the pavement, just outside of the local AMC. No shows at that time. No one around. Just under the neon sign, that says “AMC”. Relax, enjoy our feature presentation: dream, dream, dream…the American Dream. One half says this, the other…

It is one of the most dreaded experiences. It left without us. From the Internet to the Space Ship, from one lover to the next. Opportunities. Missed. I have a nephew who missed the boat. Out of compassion for his daughter who became ill overnight. Karma rewarded him with wealth gone wildest. Sometimes we have…

Admire or despise and anywhere in between. There exists a whole range, since perception and opinion tend to shift as more data become available. Like the 12 people. The jury. In the court of public opinion. We, human being, learn to distinguish the poisonous from the perfect, what is toxic and what is nutritious. We…

We Are. Extra. Backgrounding in a comedy in the making. Just like those men of the mass who once surrounded Howard Cosell in the hope of showing our faces on “Bananas”. Been a long time, but the script kept rehashing. Especially when writers strike. Machine learning, writing and scripting. A new mix of formula: boy…

We are living in the age of the Megaphone: zooming out from any city, the sight might be breathtaking, but the sound dotted with white noise and all. Lots of sound: high, low, medium, baritone, tenor, alto etc… “I heard he sang a good song…I heard he had a style”. We need our stories to…

Proponents of BPO suggest cost-shaving. Proponents of Automation remind us machine doesn’t take breaks, holidays etc… Proponents of re-shoring boast the hiring of locals and more taxes to the public coffer. Proponents of post-Covid era advocate not the return to 9-5 habit. Workers themselves feel like a yo-yo: school one’s self, train one’s self only…