Thang Nguyen 555
Cultures on Collision Course
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Tag: United States
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My first American solo supper was a big Whopper, at the time, sold by the leading Burger King. The next day, I sampled McDonald known for its fries. You may say, I got myself into a blind-fold test not unlike Coke vs Pepsi tasting. To this day, my number-one choice would be In-and-Out. But seeing…
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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…
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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).…
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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…
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You can take a boy out of Texas, but you can’t take Texas out of the boy. This happens to me, not once, but twice. Culture shock upon culture shock! until I feel numbed. I jog on the street full of motorbikes (nice people would say “Co len”, bad people would try to run me…
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Last Sunday morning was my first time at the jam session here. Today, my second. It is getting better, sweeter and with more substance. Thanksgiving weekend with friends and music lovers. It’s game weekend in the US. Or shop til you drop. Here jazz music permeates the air we breathe. Unrehearsed of course. But it…
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Another friend flew out for Thanksgiving. There is no such a thing here in Saigon: oven-roasted turkey, croton and mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce , yam and apple pie. Mouth-watering! children running around and old folks reminiscing the good old days. Yes, his destination has a few hallmarks of the American Dream. Here in old Saigon,…
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Industrial society once allowed to run its full course leaves behind many casualties: pollution, typhoons, unemployment and crime. Kids with early exposure to the I pad and I phone, turn near-sighted if not bi-focal. Adults with easy access to porn (free or paid) found real organic relationship something of a burden if not boredom. Back…
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At work or at home, we relate to a network of people e.g. parents, siblings, neighbors and co-workers. Now, on top of that, we got our online reputation to build and keep up. It’s the new currency. Trust and transparency. Amazon and Facebook model are built on that. Delivering what we are promised, on time…
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The world’s poor seem to bear the brunt of typhoon destruction more than the world’s rich. They live in The Ring of Fire. Can’t afford to move anywhere and now can’t go home. Disaster relief is needed. But long-term and sustained recovery takes time. We have come up with pre-fab housing that can withstand heavy…
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