Thang Nguyen 555

Cultures on Collision Course

recent posts

about

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

  • The New Low

    Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: Canadian University system has just introduced a new low grade (lower than F) for Academic Dishonesty (plagiarism or online essay service etc…). At least, the University is catching on with high-tech trickery, and how these portable devices and outsourcing services can aid cheaters. TA’s will have to play cops,…

  • Fat pipe, fast food

    Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: FIOS in Triple Play, for $79.00 for the first six months. The last time I looked, it was $100 for the Triple Play package: phone, TV and broadband. In China, kids played until they dropped dead (unwilling to lose their seats at the Internet cafe and online, where supposedly,…

  • 10,000 hours

    How many among us actually put in that many hours pursuing one thing? Yet studies show it takes that much practice to master a skill or a trade. That long to promote ourselves to the rank of outlier : Bill Gates coding skill, the Beatles smooth performance etc… Today marks my first 10,000 views of…

  • worthless currency

    Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: The bus rider paid for the fare in Trillions of Zimdollar. Or else, a live chicken will do. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090816/ap_on_re_af/af_zimbabwe_zimdollar I experienced this back on May 1st, 1975 aboard a Seventh Fleet warship on the way to Subic Bay (thank you President Ford). We learned from word of mouth that…

  • Cancer and Career

    At Van’s Cafe Ho Chi Minh City, if you stayed til the end of their second set of music, you would no longer hear Truc Vy doing her closing songs. She performed her set last week for the last time. Despite her late-stage throat cancer, she gave her best with composure and courage. I did…

  • Next-Gen Leader

    With the passing of Mandela, the world raises a legit question: will there be another one in the horizon of equal moral stature! Yes and No. This is why. Gen Next grows up digitally. Search at their fingertips. Conversation has long tail. Everyone is well-informed by those tweets (Welcome Pres George H.W. Bush to Twitter).…

  • The racist that is us

    The world mourns for a beacon that was Mendela. It rains in the stadium and inside the heart. Racism was an ingrained system up to the Civil War, fought in World War, struggled in the 60’s and onto the 90’s in Apartheid. We simply don’t like color folks, first in speech, than in hush-hush, now only…

  • Reality bites

    Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: It’s Sunday. Jamming Sunday. Singer-musician-owner of Van’s Unforgettable was kidding, after a round of live and unrehearsed performances that we should just play a commercially released CD  since we at times failed at recalling certain lyrics. He had a point. The age of automation and atomization is here. Each of…

  • Reality bites

    It’s Sunday. Jamming Sunday. Singer-musician-owner of Van’s Unforgettable was kidding, after a round of live and unrehearsed performances that we should just play a commercially released CD  since we at times failed at recalling certain lyrics. He had a point. The age of automation and atomization is here. Each of us, with headset and  in private…

  • Monk in Wal-Mart

    Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: God, guns and country. Then, a monk, not outside of Wal-Mart soliciting for donation, but inside, at the cashier line, waiting to pay. It’s a common sight today. But by turning the clock back a few decades, you wouldn’t expect both (Monk and Wal-Mart) to coexist. At least, it’s…