Thang Nguyen 555
Cultures on Collision Course
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Tag: London
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In the end of A Christmas Holiday, our Somerset Maugham‘s character went back to his middle-class comfort zone but quite aware of his “plastic” existence. This was right after he had spent a week in Paris, meeting Lydia, a Russian gypsy whose suffering life was nothing Charlie had ever imagined. I couldn’t help think of…
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It’s been some years since my last visit to Georgetown. Who could forget the last scene in Exorcist (which set standard for a whole new genre). But first, a stop at my parent’s graves in nearby George Mason U. Cold and crisp. Students were out for a jog, some even shopped for shoes. It’s President…
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In all my stops in London, Zurich, Cote D’Ivoire, Monrovia, Ghana, Hong Kong, Manila, Mexico, Montreal, I formed good impressions of each locality and people. When I came back to Vietnam in 2000 and on subsequent trips, I did the same even in the worst of scenes e.g. how could that guy without legs drag himself on the street selling lottery tickets!…
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You want to see wheels at work, you come to Saigon. (Baby) strollers, scooters, (food) stalls, all on wheels. But instead of having you walk up to a vending machine, here the merchandise come to you. Ladies in cone hats would walk about with all sorts of knickknacks on their shoulders: toe clippers, wallets, key…
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Right about now. If the economy is going to pick up, authorities should push spending. Credit card spending. Gadgets are out. Electronic devices miniaturized. Skirts cut shorter even when it says Winter Clothes. Victoria Secret pulled Native American outfit from broadcast. Planned controversy or not, we don’t know. We just know that things are back…
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Dead Valley is known to be the hottest place on Earth. Yet millions have traveled pass there on their way to Las Vegas. Venture Capitalists are also well versed in what’s so called “valley of death” i.e. when a start-up moved pass its honey-moon stage, and simply cannot sustain the burnt rate. Yet people keep trying. Then,…
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The Curiosity Rover landed intact. Mission Control jumped up and down. Machine and Man. One giant step. Let’s hug, even the meanest-looking of guys. From Moon to Mars (better known as a candy bar), machine as modern-day Columbus. Something in the way she moves. Knowledge gap will be filled in the days ahead, on-screen and online. Ask…
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Hard work is a given, a prereq for success. But that necessary spark, the 10% inspiration, must be there. Two candidates, with equal experience, the one with a great attitude wins. You must have the mojo. It shows up in conversation, in off-hand moments (kicking the dog on the way out or giving the finger in…
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BlackBerry was blamed for London Summer unrest while tech proponents gave it credits for Arab Spring. Tech is just out there, with its incremental and osmotic effect. What society chooses to do with it is entirely different. There will come a time when we do need to switch to energy-efficient light bulbs, paint our roofs white and…
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