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.

Tag: Madonna

  • 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…

  • Switching the script

    On film set, writer is often called out on short notice to fix the dialogue. Something is better left unsaid or sounded odd when in “live” context. In life, we can’t retrace our steps to switch the script. It’s live, and happened once only. There lies the importance of getting the right words first time around. Another…

  • Madonna and child

    Not the Seine in Paris. But Rach Nhieu Loc in Saigon. She wore a cone hat. Baby tanning in the morning sun, resting in her bosom. The other hand, she checked her messages from a mobile phone. It’s  Thanksgiving in Vietnam. People  have a lot to be thankful for. It’s now ranked second on Happy Country…

  • Socially connected

    The inner ring then the outer ones. We learn to trust, to collaborate. Great things cannot be achieved alone. That’s why the President tweets. That’s why we tweet. Do you know someone who needs our services? Or some place who is hiring so our students can apply. We need those links and those leads. People…

  • Being Here-Being There

    “Being There” was first released years ago. Peter Sellers portrayed an illiterate gardener who had been walled in all his adult life. His only window to the world was through the TV screen. Hence his speech and demeanor replicated sound bites and screen gestures (awaiting for a “cut” to commercials). Shirley McClain played a society…

  • Short-tail product pool

    Muzak pipes out “Beautiful stranger” by Madonna. Yahoo celebs still carries head-shots of Paris Hilton. And Vanity Fair features Cher-is-back.  Holiday best-seller list shows John Grisham and Harry Potter. Across the pond, we are refreshed with royal wedding. I know 20 per cent of celebrities dictate 80 per cent of what we see or hear.…

  • all flesh!

    It must be hard to keep reinventing one’s self, especially when it comes to topping your own high marks. Gaga does it again on Vogue cover (all- meat bikini ). http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/09/07/2010-09-07_lady_gaga_dons_raw_meat_on_cover_of_vogue_hommes_japan.html Use all your resources. Follow the money and your instincts. This is to show that when it comes to imagination, we have no bound.…

  • Pattern recognition

    As the saying goes, “those who don’t know history tend to repeat it”. I should have titled this blog, “the art of reinventing the wheel” as I saw familiar patterns reemerge everyday. Avatar for instance. For a moment there, I thought I was watching Jurassic Park and Never-Ending Story put together. Lady Gaga takes Madonna’s…

  • tale of a survivor

    A Canadian lady, back from visiting her family in India, was aboard the flight to Detroit on Christmas day.http://www.thecanadianpress.com/english/online/OnlineFullStory.aspx?filename=p122649A&newsitemid=27268234&languageid=1 She recalled vivid details of near-miss explosion, the terror and the bravery of passengers and crews. We cannot control some events, but we can control our reaction (10/90 rule). As far as stats , the chance…