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

  • Financial worker bees

    Long weekend. Accidents and mishaps. And this…buzz from Wall Street. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/06/wall_street_bee.php Metaphorical or satirical? It’s definitely a sweet spot (honey). Just don’t make me wish I belong in their society than ours. You think Crocodile Dundee seems out-of-place in New York? Think again. These bees must really be out of their league (unless CDO’s now…

  • Our biospheric selves

    I woke up to a cloudy Memorial Day. Solemn is the word. They are going to let the robot try again at the Gulf spill. Meanwhile, flowers and flags are everywhere at nation’s cemeteries. I was at the beach (Juno) yesterday, and I was wondering how long it will take for the oil spill to…

  • Hopper in Hoosiers

    Some music just stuck in your head. Other movie scenes some how struck the chord. Dennis Hopper in Hoosiers did it for me. He put on a suit, and showed up at the game to show support and solidarity. Fathers have their own hangups, just like all grown-ups do. Mine was no exception (He showed…

  • Think of me, next Memorial Day

    How much time do you have left? Life expectancy average has been up, but individually, it’s an open question. The question. And this question should stand Maslow scale on its head i.e. if you knew you were going to die tonight, would you be moving methodically up the Need pyramid? Or just go ahead to…

  • The larger-than-life generation

    Tom Brokaw‘s coined it “The Greatest Generation” those who preceded the Boomer Gen. This weekend we remember many who fought those huge battles. The way they carried themselves: smoking, shooting and even kissing in the streets of New York (celebrating victory). Subsequent G.I. Bill made possible their going to college (many were into engineering and management, having been…

  • Third place, third screen, third world

    Known as the third place (away from home and work), Starbucks did not stop after opening up in Forbidden City, China. It has just opened for business in Vietnam (where the I-phone, our third screen – after TV and desktop – recently made a stirring appearance). Vietnam young consumer segment and older generations with French-cafe…

  • Village Versailles

    Vietnamese boat people in New Orleans, post-Katrina resettlement and resentment (against Toxic landfill). When I showed up at the Hong Kong Mall in Houston, with a backpack full of Katrina Relief Prepaid cards to be given out for free, I did not realize that the Vietnamese seeking shelter there actually were going through their third…

  • Those of us who are Lost

    13.5 million tuned in, with mixed emotions as LOST comes to the end. Every generation has its water cooler’s moment: Star Trek, Star Wars, and now LOST. It’s not just a plane-crash survivor story. It’s about lives flash forward and back, and about doubt (not dumb down). Most of all, it’s about new beginning (especially…

  • My list of Influencers

    Despite their flaws (who doesn’t have one please cast the first stone), these are the people I look up to: – President Carter with his commitment to build housing for the poor – President Clinton out of that place called Hope – Jim Elliot, the late great missionary who died for his cause – Danny…

  • Grand vision, small acts

    You can take it in any direction you want: B2B vs B2C, margin vs volume, effectiveness vs efficiency. Business and Life both ask us for long-range planning, and short-term cash flow. In China, they collect $23 per entrant at the Shanghai Expo. Not much per ticket, but if you do the math, it’s a big…