Thang Nguyen 555

Cultures on Collision Course

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With some short-term relief work in Asia/Africa and long stint in Telecom, Thang also earned a B.A. at Pennsylvania State University. M.A. in Communication at Wheaton Graduate School, M.A. in Cross-Cultural Communication at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, Boston. In addition, he earned a CELTA – classes taken in Hanoi for cultural re-immersion.

Author: Thang Nguyen 555

  • Solomon wisdom

    Many of us men got up early this morning. It’s not an ordinary Friday. It’s World Cup Friday. Our Christmas morning. And I am supposed to decide which team I am going to root for: S Africa vs Mexico. Reminds me of Solomon wisdom (who asked the two competing claims of motherhood to stand and…

  • Our broadband rights

    When passengers got stranded for hours at the airport, they banded together to voice their grievances. And the result was the Air Passenger Bill of Rights. Now that 4-G is here, at the very least, library and home should be able to have broadband access. It’s our new grid. Studies show that those who have…

  • Sustainable Vietnam

    The leadership of World Economic Forum met in Vietnam a few years back. Concerned parties already discussed Green Vietnam. http://www.good.is/post/how-vietnam-is-going-green/ These days, if you are late into the Industrial game, at least you can leap-frog in thought leadership and learned from others’ mistakes (China is overtaking Japan as number 2 economy, but it faces Hon…

  • A month at the altar

    Many are hoping and praying that this weekend comes quickly. World Cup. And not just World Cup. But World Cup in South Africa. Back in the early 80’s, we wouldn’t expect to see World Cup in S Africa, or the Olympics in Beijing. We were still standing on this side of the Wall at the…

  • My tech adoption

    First, I talked through two empty condensed-milk cans and a string (you can actually hear). Then, came the AKAI (audio tape, with “Do it Again” by Steely Dan). Finally arrived the 8mm film recorder (after vinyl records, Beta and VHS, brick phones, pager and fax). Oh, don’t forget the 8-track which my college roommate kept…

  • Takes time to be happy

    By now, we all read about the study which links age and happiness. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/health/research/01happy.html This finding at first seems counter-intuitive i.e. young bikinis and surfers on the beach would be perceived as happier than old folks hiding behind their umbrellas and paperbacks. Yet here it is. Data don’t lie. Yet businesses still run with the…

  • Introspect, retrospect and reflect

    Books started to come out, dissecting the effects of the Net. A new one, entitled “The Shallows, What the Internet is doing to our brains” by Nicholas Carr. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6523DV20100603?feedType=nl&feedName=ustechnology In retrospect, it brings to mind Neil Postman‘s “Amusing ourselves to death“, a classic critique about effects of television. (He argues that the sheer quantity of…

  • Paul, the constant contestant

    Sir Paul that is. Last night, at the White House. And it’s not an audition for America Got Talent. It’s taped. And will be aired on PBS. http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2010-06-03-paulgershwin03_st_N.htm And on YouTube, people were downloading his 1968 Blackbird. 40+ years. Some people don’t even live that long. Phenomenal. In the age of change, it’s good for…

  • Wet rainbow

    Rainbow only comes after the storm. Just as each one of us arrived thanks to our mother’s labor pain. The fabrics of life. I have a sprout leak in the bathtub. And hearing the water leaking drives me nuts. If you use this to torture me, I will tell you everything. So far, we have…

  • Vietnamize the franchise

    Carl Jr, Starbucks, Hard Rock Cafe, KFC, BK, MacDonald, Circle K, Domino, Pizza Hut. The age of franchise bull run. When I said I had been to 40+ cities in N America, I actually meant, I have been to only one. The one with MacDonald, Starbucks, Walmart, Target etc… You got the idea. The funny…