Tag: United States

strip tease

A Canadian lady, on her insurance-paid leave for mental distress, walked into a bar. Not just any bar, but a male strip tease bar. And she posted her excursion in Facebook to share with “friends”. Among the uninvited  “friends” was the Insurance adjuster. So, her insurance checks stop coming. Reason: “we have joy, we have fun, we have seasons in the sun”, now back to work.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091121/wl_canada_afp/lifestylecanadahealthinternetfacebook_20091121190842

Yahoo News has “denial” theme today: claim denial (Canadian) to Communion denial (Kennedy).

Huge companies are probably up for another round of Stimulus . The Beast got a taste for blood. Should that be denied also?

V-shape recovery? Here is a portrait of a nation, according to Garp.

More people are “discovering” Thrift Shops. More people are buying Peanut Butter and Jelly.

Black Friday pre-sales, soft opening etc…Long Island or nation wide, Walmart doormen now have plan C, with color-coded alert taking a page from Home Land Security.

Less people on the payroll= less tax revenue=tuition increase.

Berkeley students protest , this time, not against the Law professor who argues for torture, but against the U system that seeks to turn torture closer to home: on their own students.

Instead of “Hell No, we won’t go”, it is Pink Floyd’s ” We don’t need no education”.

Some have argued for a 3-year college sysrem. Others went overseas to obtain nursing degrees (cheaper).

I personally went to Hanoi, to obtain my CELTA , a taste of Edu- tourism.

There is a growing field if one really wants to get a job: negotiating for a lower national debt in Mandarin. That’s what our Utah ex-governor was doing in China.

Or you can claim extreme stress, and wants to be depressurized in a strip bar. Just make sure you are thorough with your Facebook privacy setting. Out of fear, we settle for the lowest common denominator, and end up with triviality, and plasticity. Facebook turns Filebook full of self-incriminating evidence instead of peer recommendation.

Everything you post may be used against you in the court of law. There, you have been warned.

In social history, every time we were told to shut up, we ended up with a movement that changed history.

I can’t wait to see what’s next. But first, let me go get my Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich.

P.S. I feel for California college students, among them, my daughter. Give peace and Aimy a chance.

You don’t want both Daddy and daughter “backpacking” in Vietnam, on an extended eco/edu tour, do you?

I am just being proactive, in case the US needs a bi-lingual debt negotiator after I am gone. I got a succession plan in place. Today’s freshmen are tomorrow’s congress person. Treat them right, and do not provoke them, Provost!

Ireland and India offered free education, and look at where those two countries are today.

P.S. 2 we need a new policy to protect online sharing, that way, people are less vulnerable to preying and prying. The insurance claim specialist was probably enjoying his/her moment of “gotcha!”, thinking he/she was en par with CNBC special investigation.  I hope the lady (even posed in bikini lying on the beach) gets her checks. And this time, don’t spend it all in Chippendale.

 

Forced realities

“the Network Effect of Nations”.

Brazil, the “B” in BRIC, is on course to be number 5 by 2014 according to the Economist.

http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14845197&source=most_commented

So, it’s not just the International Olympic Committee which noticed Brazil Rising. Nor is it seen only as the  corn basket of the world (When I hear Brazil, immediately popped to mind is “energy”, long before the Ethanol craze). In fact, Brazil doesn’t rely solely on energy exports as Russia or Venezuela. It also caters to tourism, commercialism and world-class sports (in 2016).

With EU and Emerging economies out of the Recession, we will see Network Effect mesh of G-20 : more multi-lateral trading, traveling and telephoning.

One example. What does Banco De Chile have to do with Vietnam? Yet, it has a presence there, and tries to secure markets for its agricultural products (as if Vietnam were not agrarian enough). Nations crisscross exponentially.

The US Navy Commander is visiting his relatives (see Gatsby in China Beach).  President Carter is coming to build

houses  for the Mekong poor (Habitat for Humanity, an organization I support). And French Prime Minister is touring Hue (probably putting 2 and 2 together: Colonial past and Commercial present). And Meet Vietnam will feature Vietnam Minister of Education in San Francisco. And let’s not forget Obama visiting China, where his half-brother was launching a book, having stayed there and married local for quite some time. The Network Effect of Nations!

Technology and people are always ahead of the political process. Deng was seen wearing a cowboy hat when visiting Texas in the late 70’s ( He just reciprocated Nixon’s trip to China where 3000-course meal had been served) . “To get rich is glorious” . Subsequently, we heard similar echo on Wall Street in the 80’s: “Greed is good” .

Information flow used to go from North to South. Now, the global picture has completely changed.

No longer do we see a bi-polar world. And while changes are taking place on the global stage,  “groundswell” is detected online (kids joined in to play games, but pretty soon, will be glancing at headline news, and shopping for “early Black Friday” deals on peer’s recommendation. No wonder Dell cannot sit still, waiting to take “just-in-time” orders.

After all the shopping at the urging of President Bush right after 9/11, Americans are now penny-pinching.  So, it’s President Obama’s turn to give the same speech, this time, to the Chinese, with a BTW,  try our Made-in-USA stuff (SPAM?).

It’s tough to be a Recommender-In-Chief . Even the Vatican can’t seem to get a handle on the new Social media that seem to grow their flocks much faster than Christendom’s. So the Pope invites in the paupers, out of the dorm to the Dome for a  (face-2-face) chat. Where do you click? You mean one doesn’t have to sit down in front of a monitor? Mobile Apps?

At the Olympic in Rio, with a Smart phone, you won’t miss a single soccer score . Are you game? One will never know where the putt is going to be . And it makes the journey all the more exciting. Stay “eyes wide opened” for forced realities. The future doesn’t sleep: it is on steroid. No wonder Emerging economies, especially Brazil, seem to get out from under much more quickly than the rest. Fareed Zakarai coins this “the rise of the rest” in Post American World. He certainly has Brazil in mind.

Gatsby in China Beach

I thought the USS New York was cool until I read about ex-refugee came back as US Naval Commander in China Beach.

http://www.omantribune.com/index.php?page=news&id=58579&heading=Asia

Same waters, similar vessels, but context and crew have changed.

Just like what we read today about a school teacher walking students on a day field trip to former East Germany.

What used to shed blood is now a no-sweat endeavor.

All you need is Love (Beatles) and the rest will take care of itself.

As of this edit, I would like to congratulate House Representative Joseph Cao on his historic Health Care vote.

I would love to project this good will into the future, and see if we can visualize pass Future Shock.

Year 2020. Open source and open collaboration will have been the norm (just like Open border in Berlin or Open Seas in China Beach).

EU-N-America-Asia will already have been the new pipeline of talent infrastructure, NAFTA gone horizontal, with combined resource and market.

Many N American professors (many of them had their origins somewhere else to begin with) will hold online classes for Chinese students via Tele-lectures.

(Back in 1981, my Marketing professor, Jim Engel, kept hopping on the plane to go teach in Singapore. I should have seen it coming).

Movies get watched on watches (Spectator Gadgets).

20/20, the TV magazine show, will be accessible in the USC Film School Archive by robot. My two daughters, Aimy and Maily, will be dropping  off their Amerasian or South Amerasian children for me to baby sit.

2020, the year Re-globalization takes off: trains, planes, automobiles, and of course, ships (for supply chain containers to be loaded at the Alameda Corridor). While proponents and opponents of re-globalization continue their debates, companies which try to evade the health care mandate will continue to seek off-shored “health havens”, just as they did with tax havens.

Companies like Lifan, maker of motorbikes, will outsource more of its manufacturing to secondary markets such as Vietnam (already did). Vietnamese diaspora will supply the talent and know-how. Like their Chinese-American counterparts, they will serve as bridges, not in terms of culture and language, but in challenging us with a different mindset and thought leadership (Net Neutrality). And they will in turn uphold and sustain new benchmarks in social concerns and environmental concerns e.g. bamboo housing, solar energy, nano materials.

One thing I am sure is that the USS New York will still proudly chart the heroic waters, and many more Vietnamese Americans will try out  various roles, beyond the traditional “model minorities” fields such as pharmacy, engineering and accounting. More will be in TV announcing, film directing (Powder Blue), US House Representative, and even US Navy. See, it’s not an individualistic culture .The community just wait for one early adopter to test the waters, than the rest will join in. I . I am sure the Commander did his dad proud. Who wouldn’t? Journey at seas is exhaustive. But when it exhibits the best of humanity and good will, it makes the traveling worthwhile. The Navy certainly earns points these days and that’s the best PR one can buy (It’s on NPR and ABC Person of the Week).

Gatsby is back in China Beach, just a ship hop away from his former home in Hue, in daddy’s navy-white.

The Tale of Kieu couldn’t find a better contemporary equivalent.

//

 

Smart brand

Given everything that has been going on, recent news that Ford turned the corner on North American market was quite remarkable.

Ford, as American as Coca Cola and apple pie, has done a number of things right:

– it cross-pollinated ideas and markets (Smart in US vs Fiesta in Europe)

– it stuck out while competitors rightfully took the easy way out of bankruptcy (early on, it was the first auto manufacturer to pay high wages for its assembly workers)

– it believed in the intrinsic value of its brand and the resilient consumer market (not without government incentives).

That’s said. Three cheers for Ford, because it’s been a tough fight (Michigan unemployment is at 15%).

The tougher it built its F-series trucks, the longer it takes for people to return to the showroom.

Inadvertently, it creates its own self-victimizing cycle (especially if its customers are not into the latest and greatest).

No more planned obsolescence. Not in this globally connected environment, where a Tata is sold for less than $3000.

Or a Hyundai carries a 100,000 miles warranty.

Yet, somehow, the flag is still flown high at Ford, if not in Detroit, than else where around the world, where people can’t wait to own a Ford (symbol of American prowess). Perhaps the best way to experience this is when you are an expat,

living in China or Vietnam, and can’t wait to get inside of an A/C building, or be driven in a Ford when it’s pouring out.

These days, Made- in- the- USA is hard to find, but Made-in-somewhere-else  quite ubiquitous.

I still remember the feel, popping up sound, and sizzling taste of my Coca Cola in Subic Bay (my first sales reward). There has not been anything quite like it. (Chicago has been known to copy CocaCola font for its CD). Incidentally, CNBC will broadcast a series of report on Coca Cola the brand.

Perhaps the eye-catching sight of Ford’s Smart will slowly erase the negative imprints of those rolled-over Explorers ( its tires controversy).

Last week I believe once again in the power of brand: its consistency which  assures consumers in uncertain time. Forward enough so we don’t feel left behind, yet (emotionally) connected so we can find our anchor. When faced with an array of choices,  one tends to cling onto “the security blanket”: the nearest rock in the stream, an immediately recognized face at Chamber mixers. In social connection, trust is our personal brand. No wonder Ford chose a Ford’s descendant to be its spoke person, to show continuity which began with the Model T. It’s been a smart move that paid off.

 

California Dreaming

TIME spotlights California on its cover this week.

As a country, California would be with the G8 ( between Italy and Brazil, thus displacing BRIC with CRIC  i.e. California, Russia, India and China).

Yet it has no world-class soccer team (despite having in-shored Beckham) just yet. That’s said, it is one of the brownest States in the Union. And it will stand tall, demographically and technologically.

I wrote about the up-trading Taco truck in my earlier blog. TIME also showed a Korean BBQ truck  using Twitter to announce its stops (high-tech high touch).

What surprised me was foreign students’ major in the State: more chose Business and Management over Science, Math and Engineering (exactly what the Chinese need to move up the value chain).

With 13 percent Asian, California has a natural inroad to Asia (just a plane-hop away).

Washington State has also capitalized on its geographic “proximity” to set up strong ties with the East (and sell some apples, Window and Starbucks while at it).

Who wouldn’t want to live in California: paradise and paradox, problems and promises, most congested freeways, yet greenest state. It has a underexploited Modesto and an overexposed Hollywood , clean tech and bio tech; gay and straight.

California is home to dream factories (Disney and Dream Work). So enamoured with the big screen that the State elected actors to be its Governor not once but twice. Its script keeps getting a rewrite even on location (budget cut? well, hold up a knife Governor. “This is a knife” the line last said by Crocodile Dundee on his first visit to the Big Apple). It’s used to be “Go West young man!” Now, it’s keeping going West and follow the sun.

I talked to people in the Orient and they wanted to come and live in California. To them, California is America (especially if they have a free account on Yahoo, own an I-Phone and watch YouTube, all California home-grown, like its wine and raisins). In up scale China, one can find new developments that were modeled after Newport Beach.

“All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray”. If the gubernatorial race is an early indicator of things to come, we are in great shape. After all, anything can happen in a dream, or when we “sit down and pray”. The truth is, my relationship with California has been a dysfunctional one, as is the State.

Despite its high costs of living, California is where you’ll find innovation around the corner, or in the garage .

Californians don’t do attic or basement like East-Coast counterparts. They compose music on wheels (Jewel), produce TV shows on wheels (Jay Leno), and of course, cater tacos on wheels. Year round, they don’t need the bottom half of their jeans (hence the cut off or zip out). This recession and recent gold price peak led a bunch of people to the high mountain, once again, creating a mini Gold Rush, California’s original raison d’etre.

Most listened to is its rush hour traffic report. Least visited is the downtown LA library, before or after the fire. When EReader and Kindle get full adoption, they will turn library into museum .  What’s hip in California (women volleyball, muscle beach) can’t be easily duplicated .  This Wednesday, Google will team up with Lala to help us search for that “California Dreaming” tune. Just a phrase, such as “I walk into a church” can trigger a bot crawl.

Or ” I’ll be back” to pop up the Terminator. It doesn’t hurt to have a Governor with sound bites or once picked up a dumb bell in what remained of  a LA fire.

And the media ate it up: light, camera, action (background lighting, actor, prop and audio). Keep dreaming California.

 

Load balancing

A few years back, we got headlines like “women made strides with Nobel prizes“.

And I remember hearing our shared winner of Economics said she studied ways which societies managed to share work load,

from fisheries to farming. I assumed she was trying to crack the “non-zero sum” code, or something similar to

Network Theory (how we are most affected by “weaker ties”, a few degrees of separation away from us).

The speed of microprocessors has ushered in nothing short of an information/knowledge revolution.

Essentially, each of us serves as a “node” in our social connectedness.

Back in my sales days, we treated these “nodes” as “sales leads” or “warm calls”.

Whether their influence is positive or negative, they influence nevertheless.

( I remembered for instance one real estate guy who did not like watermelon with seeds, or my former boss who enjoys yoga and sushi).

Our social memory, only to be referred to or occasionally resurfaced as our own, idiocy or idiosyncrasy, constantly gets its supply from myriads of stimuli (new book title, another  headline, latest franchise movie like Fast and Furious or Friday the 13th).

Back to our headline. When I grew up, I admired names like Marie Curie and Marilyn Monroe (I did know that one was French, and the other American, and how far apart they were, spectrum wise: science vs the arts).

Now, I remember Avon and Ebay former CEO’s  (now HP’s).

And I remember my mom, the greatest multi-tasker I have ever known: teacher, mother, wife, cook and great relative to a very large extended family. She managed it all, earning her French teaching credential during that colonial era, to eventually pass away gracefully in a West Virginian nursing home. Her secret: putting herself last. Servant leadership.

Teaching load, laundry load, and household-budget. Women are better at multi-tasking than men (Maria Shriver, one of the Kennedys, was caught on tape yapping away on a cell phone, against CA law). Microprocessing speed and fat pipe will only accelerate the process (of helping women make greater strides, in all spheres).

I would add telecommuting as a great enhancer of load balancing. And a quiet Maytag also helps.

Next studies on collaboration should incorporate machines into the mix. Imagine how fast it could have been had those first Honeywell computers (actually appliances) been sold well. It still doesn’t lessen the burden of a traveling executive, male or female. But then, that’s where out social networking comes in to complete the transformation of the Third Wave, which has swept away both Marie Curie and Marilyn Monroe, leaving only Madame Secretary in its wake (as of this edit, it’s now J. Kerry).

low-emission Recession

The Law of Unintended Consequences kicks in: we got 25% lower in carbon emission this past year, and maybe lower gas prices toward year-end.

Extra cash for Christmas shopping: kids need shoes.

Nation leaders are flying in to NY to attend a Summit on the Environment.

Big boys (and powerful women) club.

Hope they represent the human race well.

Those trees will still be standing when we, one by one, passed away.

But it is more desirable to hand over a clean (green) baton to gen Y.

As a side note.

There are some area restaurants refusing to serve Libyan and Iranian leaders.

(dream on, they aren’t going to stop by for a burger and fries. They are not inspector Clouseau “I would like a hamburger” in French accent).

My head spins just trying to follow the news: health care talk shows, Afghan terrorist plot uncovered, Emmy Award lowest broadcast audience, and the UN summit on the environment.

But there are tectonic shifts underneath: we are living longer and healthier due to medical awareness (proliferation of information available on the Internet), less time devoted to Idiot Tube and more time on YouTube.   Talking about tech. Dell is buying Perot System, trying to diversify away from its core PC business.

Companies and countries have to reinvent themselves every few years. Jumping the curve to the next bubbles (Educational loan? Life insurance?)

The US is no longer number 1 on competitiveness. And Singapore is right behind at number 3.

Instead of meeting in Pittsburgh, the G-20 should try to meet in Singapore, and observe and learn.

It’s humbling when one has to change. Lower emission should be achieved by design, not by default. Granted that, I celebrate this good news nevertheless. In Recession we got lower emission.

Learner-in-Chief

If my memory serves me right, both First Ladies Bush, and their husbands read to school children

(Ex-President G W Bush was sitting at one of those school chairs when he first heard about 9/11.)

So it is hard for me to understand the uproar about President Obama’s Back-to-School speech.

How can one protest something one hasn’t read? He himself has been a student, so was his father, and his school-aged children.

My contention is that we should focus our energy and effort on : raising academic standard, shoring up the innovation spirit to revert brain drain (Yahoo with 40 million eye- balls off-shored its engineering and web design to Taiwan)

beefing up security at schools (no drugs or guns) and cranking up teacher’s recruitment from outside of the female helping profession pool (by default, this Recession has brought in more professionals from non-educational fields – braving the old adage “if you can’t do, then teach”).

Here is my rehearsed and undelivered speech. Go ahead and protest. But read it first.

Dear fellow students,

First of, I want to congratulate you for showing up.

The rule has always been, must be present to win.

Second, there are 1 billion people at the bottom of the pyramid currently are living on less than $1.00 a day, so consider yourselves fortunate. Food, clothing and shelter (not education) will always be their concerns, now until they die. Some will never learn what “primary source” or “a priori” is.

Know yourselves and your learning style: audio, visual or kinetic?

While the internet, Google search, Wikipedia help you obtain information,

it’s parents and teachers who help you with formation (by being your role models).

Develop academic intelligence, as well as social intelligence. Resist peer pressure and stand up to bullies. Might as well fight your battle earlier than later.

You will be exposed to conflicting viewpoints, and dogmas. It’s OK to be confused, because if you are not, you haven’t learned enough. Jealously guard your time and attention, two of your most precious commodities.

Determine early on what’s most important to you and stick to it.

( Beckham of the LA Galaxy said he had known early on that he would play pro soccer).

You will appreciate your parents much more when you have children of your own.

But for now, return their kindness by helping out with household chores.

Everyone is tired after a long day. A kiss on their cheek will melt away the exhaustion.

Again, the Golden Rule rules: get along with others, be sensitive to group’s need as much as your own, and devote yourselves to various subjects (so that later on, you have more career choices). America is changing just as the world is. And even within America, we have people coming from all over the world seeking new opportunities everyday.

Learn to listen, even if the speakers have a heavy accent. English level itself doesn’t necessarily reflect one’s intelligence. Read widely, “Netherlands”, “the House of Sand and Fog” – fiction and non-fiction.

(Mandarin is the most popular language, while French is still used in many international treaties. Spanish will be the new Quebec French of the US).

And learn to forgive yourselves as you forgive the adults who have failed you.

Even adults are caught in situations where the chain of command was broken down (Challenger) or they compartmentalized themselves i.e. the silo’s effect which missed the big Ponzi scheme right under their noses (SEC asks, what Madoff investigation?). Great men are great achievers, but they are not perfect. Read their biographies. Chances are you will find a lot of humanity on those pages. Have them learn life lessons for you, borrow their brilliance and avoid their pitfalls.

And last but not least, enjoy autumn foliage while it is still available. Sorry Aspen. Respect trees, which will still be here long after we are gone. And never forget to write nice notes to your teacher, who is your third parent.

My mother was an elementary teacher of 30 years. So I know what sacrifices she  made for her students, whom I envied while a child. And one little tip: always be mentally prepared for the next step. Rehearsing helps you act reflexively and effectively. You have more control over your immediate future that way.

By showing up at school you are already winners. By learning something new everyday, you will one day become what you have meant to be all along. No matter what the situation, don’t let yourselves down.

Goodnight, Good luck and God bless.

P.S. when it comes to learning, you are your own Learner-in-chief, not the President.

 

Spent

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/477965/Lotto-winner-Callie-Rogers-reveals-hell-her-pound19m-fortune-brought.html

You can’t handle the truth!

Or blew 3 million dollars of lottery winning on booze, boobs and bags of white powder.

What a boyfriend the 16-year-old lottery winner hangs out with.

Meanwhile, another couple from Tokyo win the Tango contest, leaving the Argentinians in the dust (another couple from Colombia win Second place).

Now, that’s winning by hard work and collaboration.

I can’t help noticing the Japanese influence and presence in South America, just as I have recently about Chinese in Africa.

The East has produced a few “Columbus” of their own.

Can’t blame them for wanting to see it up close after years of Hollywood education. Meanwhile,

America still perpetuates the image of Iowa Jim (Incidentally, Clint Eastwood who directs the movie, also stars in his own Gran Torino which shows sensitivity to the plight of Asian immigrants)

even as Japan has moved on (signified by the start of a newly elected government). As of this edit, Japan has scored some shots at the Trans-Pacific Pact in the absence of President Obama, who had to stay home to resolve US Government shut-down.

We have yet to figure out the post-globalized world model.

Our lyric, liturgy and law that govern commerce and communication seem to freeze-frame at the post-WW world.

The star of Bollywood had already arrived at Newark Airport for a film premier, while  Hollywood still churns out Halloween franchise (same weekend that a Hawaii-born President delivered an Eulogy amidst an Irish white congregation.)

I admire the Tango winners ( hard work and collaboration) as much as I empathize with the 16-year-old lottery winner (luck) who has to move back in with her parents. She is learning her lesson at age 19.

To win means perseverance from within and facing challenges from without. Some passengers on United 93 made that heroic and fateful counter measure to retake the  hi-jacked aircraft. Now, that’s a challenge. In my book, they are winners.  Nature never fails to teach us the obvious: even dinosaurs couldn’t survive bio-meteorological pressures.

Size doesn’t make a difference in the scheme of things (my neighborhood bully, bigger than I then, is now dead). And certainly a whopping $3 million for a 16- year old on her spending spree won’t either. She can’t handle the truth!

 

Red lanterns

There is a story on BBC news about an Indian engineer who complains that he only married thrice:

“why would the Muslims have all the wives, and me, a Hindu, cannot have multiple marriages” he vented his apparent frustration.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8224746.stm

Truth be told, he was confirmed to have been married at least six times, concurrently.

This reminds me of a joke . It goes like this.

Three guys battling around. First guy says ” my girl got a very nice crooked tooth” (in Asia, esp. VN, one crooked tooth is considered exotic and rare).

The second guy chimes in “mine got them on both sides”.

The third guy instinctively refuses to lose face “you guys know what, mine have a whole jaw like that”.

I call this misplaced competition.

Sure, It’s the survival of the fittest. So nature lends itself to competition in the process of natural selection.

But competition knows no bound. During the 80’s, cheerleader’s mom went way out of bound to ensure her child’s admission.

My first daughter went to a lot of cheer-leading competitions in S California, so I know the sacrifice and commitment

parents made to their child’s team.

With hip hop, my child learns the value of team work,  hard work  and their place in the larger scheme of things.

We keep hearing for days now how Senator Kennedy was able to reach across the aisle to make sure work get done.

I am sure the Last Lion wanted to win, but he also knew the other side had the same thing in mind.

The art of negotiation is to sell to yourself and your position.

How much compromise are you willing to make? When to hold, and when to fold.

And most of all, to resist the urge to sacrifice all the hard work in the heat of the moment: I win, you lose.

All or nothing. Chances are… you might have the last word, but you may not win. If anything, it’s your girl who ends up with  crooked teeth by the mouthful.