Tag: Hawaii

Le Da – Tales of sorrow told by a Rock

My birth certificate shows my parents in their early 40’s.

No wonder my Dad’s taste for music was a bit off.

One of his favorites however stood the test of time: Le Da.

After all, it has something to do with the rock of ages.

It’s very sentimental (Rock solid yet soft when it comes to matter of the heart).

I gave it a try last night. Got a square 100 according to the karaoke machine.

My Dad must have sung through me.

The musical genes.

His generation experienced upheavals: revolution, uprootedness, and twice a refugee.

No wonder they were defined by and encoded their experience and emotion via music. A famous Vietnamese composer of my Dad’s time, Pham Duy, has just passed away.

Other singers (The Uptight) are making their way back to performing in Vietnam: new audience, new aspiration.

Something about a wandering soul seeking solace and wounded heart, soothing.

America has indeed been blessed with many talents from elsewhere.

The experience of America’s newest poet speaks well of this.

The American Century might be coming to an end, but in its place, the American Character barely blooms, blending best in class.

The style and confidence Viet Kieu singers (Vietnamese American) and filmmakers prove this point.

And before you know, you will find The Boat, The Book of Salt etc.. on Amazon book list.

It’s been since its inception that America embraces seekers and searchers.

It entertains doubts and encourages determination.

After all, it has elected not one term, but two terms, an American of exception.

Uniquely 21st century, he always has vacation in Hawaii, a half-way between East and West. There in the cliff, you will find some rocks, some tears and some tales of sorrow only rock could last long enough to tell.

My Dad would be passionate to join, if you give him the second mike. I wouldn’t bet on the score at the end though. Even me, I was just lucky last night.

My 555 plan

Get back to your roots.

Eliminate waste and accessories.

Differentiate and make it relevant.

Actually, 555 is just a self-branding attempt, after a cigarette a friend of mine used to smoke.

I had to attach a numeric code to differentiate (sticky and trans-cultural)  my Yahoo log-on ID.

Now we hear of 999 plan etc…

It’s hard to stand out among Earth’s 7 Billion.

During a town hall meeting on LinkedIn, its CEO was ambitious to convey its vision i.e. to connect people to people, and people to opportunities.

Now we have the way (technology that connects millions at 2nd and 3rd degree separation), but we lack the will.

I heard of a new book entitled “Lean Start-ups”. The author mentioned “rentorship” of the means of production (Google Adwords, Amazon rack space etc…).

Even when the barriers to entry (means of production) are lowered, new entrants still get cold feet (catch 22: low consumer confidence leads to low spending, hence reduces the size of the pie, in turn, weakens the pull factor).

Even our Greek demi-gods need bail-out.

In education, we heard of “Waiting for Superman“.

Now, it’s waiting for Superman everywhere from EU zone to the O zone.

No, I don’t have a 555 plan to come to the rescue. It’s all in the unwinding.

And this takes time and belt-tightening (the 60’s protest was a rage against the machine i.e. inhumane,

now Occupy WS couldn’t articulate its distress i.e. wanting things back to the way it used to be in).

One thing is clear: we are in this together (dark side of globalization).

Vacationers from Europe couldn’t afford to travel to Hawaii. A resort in Hawaii got shut down (Michael Dell lost a lot of money there along with his Santa Monica hotels).

A Chinaman decided to shop in France (instead of Florida).  A Filipino street vendor just got flooded and went under. A Korean caterer LA tweets about his lunch site. And a Vietnamese man tweaks his latest app to share photos (Color) while Japan nuclear power plants striked a deal for two more reactors along the Vietnam coasts (this time, with Fukushima lessons learned).

There will be a lot of sorting out inside our hot and crowded sandbox.

The age of oligarchy has just dawned, not only in broadband, but in all sectors.

We can’t remember and choose among too many offerings (as BRIC countries export themselves e.g Tata in England, Huawei in TX).

Consumers always say they want more choices, while in reality, they pick the default option (organ donors in Europe were too lazy to opt out ).

So we are back to our roots (As of this writing re-shoring is on the rise with Albany getting $4 B pledge for chip facilities, and Pitts a huge endowment).  After all, America got talent, right!

I read somewhere that Youtoo is doing just that: to offer everyone a chance to submit their own video and to broadcast their 15-seconds of fame.

There will be enough bandwidth for everyone. Everyone is a star, because each has lived a wonderful life. Irreplaceable and invincible.

When your heart still beats, the cursor still blinks, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There are zillion of stars in the Universe whose 7 Billion are here on Spaceship Earth, wading water to school, landing a plane at near miss, or coding all night to finish version n.0.

There is no better time to live, to invent and to round people out of their slumber. Victim no longer. Victor all the way. Brain bubble is the kind that never bursts. What’s your 555 plan?