Tag: PBS

The road most traveled

Fireplace (fake or real), Christmas tree (fake or real) and toy boxes (stuffed or life-sized), all

put together to create a Hollywood home version of  White Christmas, the illusion that we are OK and what-and-how-much we charged at the registers won’t haunt us in late January.

In America, the road most traveled has been to the retail outlets. I live near a Costco.

And by sheer size of traffic leading to the store, I can read the health of the economy. When it comes to the economy, I am a bush man, unable to verify “supply side” from “trickle-down” economy.

There is a PBS documentary showing Americans in Paris during the 20’s.

Some say they came because of the Prohibition at home. Others say it was because the War exposed these young men to a wider (and wilder) world.

Whatever the case may be, more Americans have stayed home to watch others arriving at their shores  since WW II. Then, the latest census shows a decline in new arrivals.

Gas price increases not because of increased consumption in the US, but because of BRIC‘s nations.

For the first time, Americans feel the pinch not caused by domestic factors. Yes, we have been blamed for over consumption that brought up the level of carbon emission. But, lately, carbon emission have caused by high rises in Dubai and Eastern China.

Cars have been downsized in the US (Fiesta, forever), and refrigerators for dorm room from China are selling like hot cakes. I keep seeing people buying bikes at Wal-Mart.

Baby-boomer’s life-style trend. But the solution is still the same: shopping for items, large or small.

When we prepare for emergencies like Y2K, we went shopping. When we are celebrating Christmas, we go shopping.

When the economy is down, or right after 9/11, the President called on all Americans to go shopping. Robert Frost wouldn’t comment on the current state of affairs, since he must be the only one who took the road less traveled.

His other most quoted line “fence makes good neighbors”. Solitude and austerity don’t cut it . It’s a nation favors the road most traveled. When the road took an unfavorable turn, the youth went somewhere else. Twice in recent memories, they either went to Paris (Prohibition period) or Canada (during the Vietnam era) in protest.

Can you imagine everywhere you go, you run into the same people (let’s say, seeing all your friends in Ha Long Bay over Tet).  Or worst, at Costco while waiting in line paying for fake trees, fake boxes and fake firewood.

“Two roads diverged in a wood…I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” The other, most traveled, has a huge billboard which urges you to “shop for things you don’t need, with the money you don’t have, to impress people you don’t like”.

 

South-South emergence

A Vietnamese film director, a Japanese novelist, a Beatles title (which I read the Vietnamese translation bought in Hanoi)= Norwegian Wood.

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/film/norwegian-wood-film-a-labour-of-love

Indian telecom companies bought out Middle Eastern counterparts to target mobile market in Africa.

China beefs up its investment in construction and rare earth mining in S America, Australia and Africa.

These are examples of South-South trading and emerging opportunities.

BRIC by BRIC, these strategic moves will soon create a new Silk Road.

PBS and Christian Science Monitor are covering Cuba as it slowly reopened.

You saw the test scores (Math and Science from Shanghai).  Young people are asserting themselves and will go the distance, starting with online.

I am glad to see film makers encounter less barrier to entry. It started with “the Blair Witch project” and took off from there.

CNN dared to cover the first Iraq war live   Now, we get to see almost everything live via cable TV.

The rise of Pro-Ams i.e. wikipedia and wikileak.

(we forgot what’s like to see protests on the street, now that they have moved on-screen).

Like Hip Hop moves from street to stage, South-South movement will bring us  new radical ideas (such as mobile banking, low-cost car and peer-2-peer lending).

I can’t wait to see Norwegian Wood. To many who are underrepresented, having a story told on the big screen (outside of Hollywood) feels like the dragon-tatoo girl finally kicked the hornet’s nest (Sundance Festival). Remember those brick phones which once belonged only to Sunset boulevard producers (early adopters)? South-South is David’s turn at his sling shot. And this time, it started with trade and is spilling over to arts.

I heard it took a while for Haruki Murukami to agree to this mise-en-scene. Wonder who he would choose to bring 1Q84 to the big screen.

 

All things equal, take attitude

IT engineers are back in demand. A few years ago, it was the opposite.

Labor surplus creates serious contest on “Who wants to be an employee”.

All things being equal, I take attitude ( one executive told me, all things equal, he takes the one with the best communication skill –  who could express him/herself on global conference calls).

After all, you spend more time with this new employee than you would your loved ones at home.

Will he/she be a team player e.g. hold the door, refill the coffee when emptying its last cup, show up at people’s birthday party.

In “the Orange Revolution“, the author noted that workers who spend time with co-workers outside of work make great teams.

(the V formation in bird migration as an analogy e.g. each bird takes turn to lead, thus bear the full forward impact so the rest can conserve energy).

I was fortunate to have worked with great teams (one of which bleeds orange). We were trained with trust games etc.. but most importantly, we survived lay-offs and rehired, dot.com boom and burst.

I recognize a team player miles away: the self-assured way he/she carries him/herself, the smile, social intelligence quotient and most importantly culture-fit.

Before Google, there was (academic) records, references and referrals to determine a candidate’s suitability.

Now with Google, employees can research a company and vice  versus for free (without subscribing to Hoover etc…).

The paradox of Artificial Intelligence is that robots can do difficult task (computation) very easily, and easy tasks (folding a towel) with difficulty.

And I venture to add that Social Intelligence will be the last frontier for AI, since that’s what makes us human, sociable and sacrificial (no greater than one man who gives his life for another) e.g. Purple Heart medal earners.

(Incidentally, PBS was showing an experiment to have robots carry heavy armory walking through rough terrains). We will learn how to work intelligent machines into our lives (from the ground up, first with I-robot to vacuum the floor, then to accompany astronauts into space). But one thing we cannot outsource to machine is sense of caring, and empathy (studies conducted with infants confirms that babies needed human touch besides just mechanical feeding).

Back to human resource. Teams are formed and dissolved. But besides outward factors such as product life cycle, market adoption etc…we shouldn’t neglect team cycle (artificial, conflict, compromise and collaboration – per Scott Peck‘s studies on stages of community). Think of it as an indispensable hyphen, between product (factory) and consumer (market). The change machine can spit out coins, but cannot look you in the eyes and say “We appreciate your business. Come and see us again”. A business book, titled “HOW”, written by a liberal arts major explores this soft-skill set.

Pick not the best candidate (skill-wise) but with an attitude. Pick the one who adds to the overall success of the team. Ask around, and use your power of observation.

We are built to recognize greatness as well as great attitude. That’s what schema is all about. The social and emotional context that helps us “read” a person. In sales, we call this buying signals. Frankl puts it best ” you can take away my body, but not what resides in it”. Attitude is everything, when all things are equal. It set the tone and makes a difference in each touchpoint and each task. Tina Turner once said that each time she sings Proud Mary, she sings it differently. Or, like the actress who portrays “girl with the dragon tatoo” said on Charlie Rose, ” I researched, researched until one day, I feel the character living in me” .

We recognize great acting. And we will also recognize exceptional service by employees who go over and beyond their jobs (Ritz Carlton empowers their employees – at whatever level – to deal with customer service incidents).

A team deserves great team players, who  in turn, put a positive spin on work place atmosphere and  performance.

For me, every day is a gift, and could very well be my last. Do not take for granted the normality of every day life. Each interaction and passing moment is an opportunity and a touchpoint to be cherished.

 

The three towers

Tower Records and Twin Towers.

All came down.

I remember watching it over and over in disbelief.

My “where were you when Kennedy was assassinated” moment. My friend even commented on my being so upset.

And I remember blurting out that a culture with Howard Stern throwing bagels at cream-cheesed butts on TV  was in collision with a culture which condones woman stoning. The two could not co-exist .

Yet, after nine years, I saw a planned Quran-burning pastor standing next to a Muslim cleric who wants to build a Mosque in lower Manhattan.

It’s an unusual line up on PBS, yet not Howard Stern show.

Things have never been the same after the three towers came down.

After 11/9, we no longer have East Germany. After 9/11, we live life so exposed and vulnerable (traveling has been more difficult, with shoes off etc…).

I am sure I have mailed less packages, if at all. We read more and know more about
the Others (I wouldn’t have known about the many shades of Islam in Iraq for instance, thanks to the likes of Thomas Friedman, expert on Middle East affairs. )

And suddenly, we find ourselves living in a multi-polar world, one in which nations stand together to condemn acts of terrorism and extremism.

(I am glad people with decency spoke up against the Gainesville pastor’s plan and bluff).

Have we learned anything? or just react Pavlovianly?  Tit for tat. A bagel here, a stone there.

I couldn’t articulate my feelings to my friend. I am not sure I can now, after years of processing those emotions.

I just knew then that the world, as we knew it, would never be the same.

It flash backed that mass grave scene in Hue I saw on TV back in 1968 (Tet), when CBS anchor said it was a stalemate -signifying VN war ‘s turning point.

With 68 came 75 and my vanishing innocence.

With 9/11, my confidence in Good triumph over Evil. What a decade it has been (for both towers and treasury).

I couldn’t tell my friend then how I felt since I was in shock (while he was probably in denial) .  I realize now, that even with the same event, people react in various ways. I hear myself pledge my allegiance once more to the flag, but knowing that I am too old to enlist. It’s a different kind of warfare now. But it still demands courage, sacrifice and willingness to draw a line in the sand. Evil hasn’t changed. Just its manifestation. And we need not to forget enormous harm it has brought on us all, one tower at a time. When Tower Records folded, it was quoted that “it was the day the music died.” 9/11 has been humanity’s double death. We are mourning still, widows, widowers and watchers by. The only thing that should be burned is the hate that resides in us all. Don’t take it out on anyone or anything. Use it, to rebuild better towers.

 

strong as an ox

I am back to the land where people work animals into daily speech:

– strong as an ox

– wrinkle as a monkey

– dumb as a cow.

Everything gets used more than once (recycled): plastic bags, banana leaves. In Understanding Vietnam ( through literature) published by Berkeley Press, the author, after surveying many well-known pieces, came to see that the tension between “Hieu” and “Tinh” is key to understand Vietnam.

I would posit that this tension gets new expressions and variations in today’s context. For instance, the “Hieu” (loyalty to parents and extended families) could easily evolve to loyalty to a team or support system (women group).

Meanwhile “Tinh” gets complicated with the introduction of Western understanding of sexuality (even homosexuality).

I can understand why Asian young struggling with changes challenges.

PBS has a piece on this subject. A Chinese peasant girl went to the city for work (garment). She saved up enough for the annual trip back home on the train. Upon arrival, her independence came to a head- on with traditional mores.

Bang! Conflict. Collision. Compromise.

Changes in morality, changes in the tools we use and changes due to the influx of FDI and foreign influences (smoking or non-smoking?).

Web sites are discussing a country bride who was set up to marry a Korean man through a matchmaking service, only to die a week after her arrival to the new country.  Groom wasn’t well in the head and did not take his medicine, or so they said.

Infrastructure need FDI. People need Foreign Aid even without “Tinh”, as long as the “Hieu” gets taken care of (building country houses with modern electricity and plumbing for parents).

This tension intensifies with each new element gets added-on into the old system.

So the parents of the dead bride now experience the most extreme of unintended consequences.

This leads me back to the bamboo as a symbol of strength, but a quiet one.

Bend with the wind. Unbreakable. Resilient.

I would rather use plants to describe strength, than animals (the Zodiac leads first with the Rat, yew!).

Western world, on the other hand, works machine, instead of plants or animals, into their daily figure of speech: robust, retooling, reboot.  Whatever the dominant factor at the time in that society becomes the mental construct of the day.

With 90% back then, and 60% today, Vietnam can’t help using the buffalo to describe strength (Buffalo Boy vs Cowboy). Everyone can relate to the usefulness and stamina of an ox, a traditional symbol of strength in Vietnamese literature. After all, it has been around helping to cultivate the field for thousand of years. (Similar to Wolf Totem in Mongolia).

But it’s bamboo that helped mobilize Quang Trung‘s troop to traverse the entire expanse of the country, during New Year, to defeat the invading army. Two soldiers carry the one who rests. Very much like Spain during World cup. They were unselfish. They stayed with their triangular formation.

They claimed victory, rightfully. History (rewritten one) always favors the strong. But the strong have known this for  some time: strength alone doesn’t assure victory. Just go to the museum of Natural Sciences and see now-extinct dinosaurs for yourself.

 

My SAAB story

OK, I took a picture standing next to the convertible SAAB I won, but I took the cash option ( for grad student loan).

Now, this brand, along with Pontiac and Saturn, will soon be relics of the past.

We have a lot of In’s/Out’s at the end of this decade: ABC new anchor, BoA new CEO…

It’s been a strange decade. “Overloading” is the word.

On top of Y2K, 9/11 and 06.08 Recession, I have some personal reshuffling, not to mention the deaths of my parents

and father-in-law.

All along, I knew Google would hit the jack pot and  Voice will be at near-zero pricing ( even when bundled with wireless).

I have been privileged with friends and colleagues online (thank you Social Networking sites).

We went through a lot together, some have gone with me through 5 companies.

And I don’t remember when I do away with watching Network news at 6:30PM.

Perhaps by 6:30, I have already got “informed” with pop-up news online, radio and cable news.

PBS format of the News Hour stays very consistent and this has been a blessing in disguise (amidst uncertainty and change).

I have worked out of home a lot during this decade, except for a few years of commuting to Santa Monica from Orange County, and a few months abroad.

I don’t understand people who not only make money with “the 4-hour work week”.

Naturally, this decade has seen:

– cutting the wire line phone

– doing away with the fax machine

– Skype becomes the new wire line (w/headset)

– driving smaller vehicles, if at all

– watching HDTV

– lost taste in ties (what color and pattern is in now? )

– hardly see “chain” e-mail regarding Microsoft handouts, or Nigerian fake uncle’s will

– Vista Operating System gone

I enjoy all the feedback loops, collaborative tools and open-source in this Brave New New World.

Next decade?

CD‘s will join the fate of cassette tapes, books belong to those archives, and students don’t carry hard back text (just E-reader and other gadgets).

More on-screen heroes will emerge from the East, to retire Jackie Chan ( a new Bruce Lee).

Boomers will volunteer to build a more conscious-raising society.

They have been witnesses to changes, from social to technological, from local to global.

That generation is worth listening to (who wouldn’t want to be critiqued by Robert Redford at Sundance when trying to make a film).

And perhaps, the most anticipated happening of the next decade is the Next Big Thing.  Maybe it will be out of Shanghai or Mumbai. Keep your mileage plus handy. You might need it for those long flights. But this time, no more lugging those hard-back books (Tom Clancy) or heavy lap tops. And, leave your tie home.