Monday, December 27, 2004
What's Going On?
Did you have a nice holiday? Sorry, R. and J., we got so insanely wound up with out out-of-town guests that we were not able to get together in NYC.
M., I received your message and will call when we are beneath the normal panic level.
Calista is sitting at the breakfast table and listening to Dam Vinh Hung play on my laptop. Grandma is making eggs for her, hot bagels are in the toaster, and our son is still snoring in the bedroom.
M., I received your message and will call when we are beneath the normal panic level.
Calista is sitting at the breakfast table and listening to Dam Vinh Hung play on my laptop. Grandma is making eggs for her, hot bagels are in the toaster, and our son is still snoring in the bedroom.
Saturday, December 25, 2004
Morton's and other stuff
Had the best steak of my life, a porterhouse at Morton's on 45th street in mid-town. The office next door was testing its alarms, so we listened to constant frantic blaring and bleeping throughout our fine dining experience. Still did not diminish the taste of that beef. Wow!
Earlier that day I dragged our Vietnamese friends to a Ray's pizza shop and to the Rockettes' Xmas spectacular...yeah, they were pleasantly surprised.
And my wife and our friends went nuts in a store called Century 21 near the WTC. A bit like a huge Filene's basement, they have designed stuff on sale for very cheap. When my friend asked me why I wasn't buying anything, I told him I didn't need to because Thu already had. Sure enough, she picked up four ties, three shirts and two pants for me. If I had bought more it would have been overkill.
Took Cal to the Strand and to Village Books, where he snagged some more goodies such as an analysis of the Vatican II Council and a compendium of Enlightment-era English philosophers. And I finally found Mandelbaum's translation of Virgil's Aeneid, plus I picked up Porter's translation of the libretto of Wagner's Ring Cycle and a paperback of Chekhov's plays. I bought the Chekhov book more for the inscription than anything else (I have a collection of his plays somewhere, maybe in storage): "Ray, you're not mad, I'm mad for putting up with you. But, oh how I enjoy it. Here's to being mad! Juliet."
Earlier that day I dragged our Vietnamese friends to a Ray's pizza shop and to the Rockettes' Xmas spectacular...yeah, they were pleasantly surprised.
And my wife and our friends went nuts in a store called Century 21 near the WTC. A bit like a huge Filene's basement, they have designed stuff on sale for very cheap. When my friend asked me why I wasn't buying anything, I told him I didn't need to because Thu already had. Sure enough, she picked up four ties, three shirts and two pants for me. If I had bought more it would have been overkill.
Took Cal to the Strand and to Village Books, where he snagged some more goodies such as an analysis of the Vatican II Council and a compendium of Enlightment-era English philosophers. And I finally found Mandelbaum's translation of Virgil's Aeneid, plus I picked up Porter's translation of the libretto of Wagner's Ring Cycle and a paperback of Chekhov's plays. I bought the Chekhov book more for the inscription than anything else (I have a collection of his plays somewhere, maybe in storage): "Ray, you're not mad, I'm mad for putting up with you. But, oh how I enjoy it. Here's to being mad! Juliet."
Xmas Day
Among many treasures, Calista got a lot of kitchen set stuff, Cal got Warhammer books, I got 'American Idiot' by Green Day, Thu got a very nice and warm bathrobe, and my mom a framed photos of kids splashing in a river in the Mekong Delta.
With a Smiling Buddha
My five-decade old sister-in-law married for the first time a couple of days after we arrived. She held the wedding until we could get back to America (heck, what's a few extra weeks?) and we shivered through an hour-long service in an unheated Buddhist temple off of 16th Street in DC. My sister-in-law and her husband drew all the warmth of the room into their hearts, so it seemed.
California Street Blues
We were on our way up to NYC when our friends said, 'Let's stop by Atlantic City!' The place depresses me and I don't gamble, but we all said what the heck and stopped by. Thu plopped three quarters into a slot machine and came out 200 bucks richer, but Cal said, 'WIth very good luck there is usually really bad luck close behind.' About ten minutes later our friend, who following us, plowed into a parked car on a narrow dark lane called California Street.
Four firemen came charging out from the fire house next door, threw sand on the hissing engine to prevent a fire and called the cops. I called the rental car company and we bundled our friends off to the bus station where they had 10 minutes to catch the last shuttle to mid-town NYC.
We got to NYC at about 2AM and, starved, we ended up at a noodle place in Chinatown eating and drinking until 4am.
Pretty much a normal day.
Four firemen came charging out from the fire house next door, threw sand on the hissing engine to prevent a fire and called the cops. I called the rental car company and we bundled our friends off to the bus station where they had 10 minutes to catch the last shuttle to mid-town NYC.
We got to NYC at about 2AM and, starved, we ended up at a noodle place in Chinatown eating and drinking until 4am.
Pretty much a normal day.
All for the Ukraine
Ate lunch at a great Ukrainian diner in the East Village yesterday with our amazing friend Mike, a life coach and--his latest service--student advisor. He analyzed Cal's situation in the few minutes it took to walk from Union Square to Second Avenue, and gave him a wonderful amount of encouragement and advice. For free! Can't imagine what he charges his paying clients--the latest include the family that owns one of the largest business centers in America.
We had Ukrainian dumplings and hot beet and beef soup and stuffed cabbage. Really great on that 20F day. Funny ting was trying to talk to the waiters. I turned to Mike and said, "What I love about New York is how everything is turned upside-down; it is one of the few places in America where you're talking to a white person n English and they have no idea what you're saying."
We had Ukrainian dumplings and hot beet and beef soup and stuffed cabbage. Really great on that 20F day. Funny ting was trying to talk to the waiters. I turned to Mike and said, "What I love about New York is how everything is turned upside-down; it is one of the few places in America where you're talking to a white person n English and they have no idea what you're saying."
Right in the Eye!
My mom's surgery went well, a laser removed some film from behind her eye. The whole thing sounds hideous but it was an outpatient procedure and all she needed was a lot of reassurance and rest. That's the only bad thing about being overseas--worrying about my mom, who's 86 and has no other family in Maryland.
U2 Revolution on a Two-inch Box
So my secret agenda throughout this trip (ignoring the serious things like medical appointments and a wedding) was getting an Apple iPod. I picked up the U2 special edition, black and red in the front and the etched signatures of the band members on the back. It can hold 4000 songs (i have loaded 375 so far) and when in shuffle it feels like being in music heaven. This morning I heard a cut from Sun Ra's lost years CD (spooky ethereal experimental music from the 1960s) followed by a Charlie Pride (country western) tune and then Velvet Revolver's new one, "Falls to Pieces." And on and on.
When I get back to Saigon I am going to upload every Marshall Crenshaw and NRBQ I own. I grabbed my son's Linkin Park and Eminem albums and already have them up and running.
And I heard a line from my favorite album of 2004, "American Idiot" by Green Day: I'm not part of your redneck agenda.
When I get back to Saigon I am going to upload every Marshall Crenshaw and NRBQ I own. I grabbed my son's Linkin Park and Eminem albums and already have them up and running.
And I heard a line from my favorite album of 2004, "American Idiot" by Green Day: I'm not part of your redneck agenda.
Blame It on Confucius
We arrived last Saturday and I am sitting down to write for the first time...eight days later.
We flew Eva Air's economy deluxe class. The seats are nearly as spacious as in business class and the service is friendly and the foo dmore than passable. It's actually better than many business class expereinces I have had on United and other American airlines (sorry to say).
A quick transit through Taipei (in which we learned that if you are an Eva frequent flyer card holder you can use your miles instantly to gain access to the biz class lounge), then we had a several hour stopover in LA.
Now we had just come from Saigon, so what did we do? Hopped in friends' cars and drove down to Garden Grove! We ended up eating in a Korean BBQ place, though, so the experience was not totally redundant of being in Vietnam
Plus I rode from a friend's house to the BBQ place in Brian's Mercedes convertible. The thing can put the top up (or down at 30mph) and it is so well designed you can talk at 50 miles per hour with the wind lightly blowing through your hair. Brian said he buys a new car every three years because...well, because it is LA, and LA people are in love with their cars. I don't blame him.
On the way back Thu insisted that we stop in South Coast Mall to get shoes for Callie at Nordstrom. They disappeared into the Christmas shopping crowd and Cal&I found ourselves stuck there. We found a Borders bookstore in the mall annex and Cal bought a hardcover edition of Arthur Waley's Analects (Confucius) and another nice hardcover of Augustine's Confessions. I looked at my watch and realized we had had our noses in the books for way too long, so we ran back to Nordstrom, could not find Thu and company, and then we heard frantic shouts from the front door. It was Thu and our friends screaming for us to get into the car and get to the airport. Of course the low gas light came on in one of our friend's cars, and there was a traffic jam right before the turn-off, and we only had ten minutes before the flight departed. We ran through security (the TSA people looked at us and saw a frantic rather than a fanatic look in our eyes and let us pass fairly quickly) and were the last ones to board.
We flew Eva Air's economy deluxe class. The seats are nearly as spacious as in business class and the service is friendly and the foo dmore than passable. It's actually better than many business class expereinces I have had on United and other American airlines (sorry to say).
A quick transit through Taipei (in which we learned that if you are an Eva frequent flyer card holder you can use your miles instantly to gain access to the biz class lounge), then we had a several hour stopover in LA.
Now we had just come from Saigon, so what did we do? Hopped in friends' cars and drove down to Garden Grove! We ended up eating in a Korean BBQ place, though, so the experience was not totally redundant of being in Vietnam
Plus I rode from a friend's house to the BBQ place in Brian's Mercedes convertible. The thing can put the top up (or down at 30mph) and it is so well designed you can talk at 50 miles per hour with the wind lightly blowing through your hair. Brian said he buys a new car every three years because...well, because it is LA, and LA people are in love with their cars. I don't blame him.
On the way back Thu insisted that we stop in South Coast Mall to get shoes for Callie at Nordstrom. They disappeared into the Christmas shopping crowd and Cal&I found ourselves stuck there. We found a Borders bookstore in the mall annex and Cal bought a hardcover edition of Arthur Waley's Analects (Confucius) and another nice hardcover of Augustine's Confessions. I looked at my watch and realized we had had our noses in the books for way too long, so we ran back to Nordstrom, could not find Thu and company, and then we heard frantic shouts from the front door. It was Thu and our friends screaming for us to get into the car and get to the airport. Of course the low gas light came on in one of our friend's cars, and there was a traffic jam right before the turn-off, and we only had ten minutes before the flight departed. We ran through security (the TSA people looked at us and saw a frantic rather than a fanatic look in our eyes and let us pass fairly quickly) and were the last ones to board.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Wide Wake in America
Am back in the DC area, leaving in two minutes for NYC. More as soon as I get a moment...
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
New York Art events
My friend Rodney Dickson sent this to me. I have a nice painting of his hanging in my office, but it does not quite look like the preview for his new installation!
http://www.vycka.com/html/bee_home.html
http://www.vycka.com/html/bee_home.html
Monday, December 13, 2004
Star Wars DVD Box Set
Has anyone seen the new DVD box set of Star Wars? I hope to pick it up when I am back in the States, but I wonder if sometime in the future a descendant of George Lucas will delete all the human characters and substitute much more pliable computer-generated Lukes and Chewies. Will the Stars Wars of the year 2100 be holographic with new music, new characters, different dialogue, much better effects...and still be billed as the original Star Wars?
Thursday, December 09, 2004
USA Abroad
http://www.usabroad.org/
A friend of a friend started the above site for progressive Americans living abroad.
The top story is:
Thousands of immigrant soldiers are taking advantage of new rules and laws that make it easier for them to become U.S. citizens, the Arizona Republic reports. (Immigrants make up 3 to 4 percent of active-duty military). Nearly 20,000 U.S. soldiers, representing almost two-thirds of the country's 31,000 foreign-born military personnel, have applied to become U.S. citizens since 2002, according to officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a federal agency charged with processing naturalization applications. Agency officials said that more than 12,000 soldiers have been sworn in as new Americans and 37 others who died fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have been awarded posthumous citizenship.
The second story about the President being booed in Chile is a bit silly, because most Chileans appreciate what the Bush White House has done to bulk up trade between the two countries. Definitely need more Pisco exports to the U.S., though.
A friend of a friend started the above site for progressive Americans living abroad.
The top story is:
Thousands of immigrant soldiers are taking advantage of new rules and laws that make it easier for them to become U.S. citizens, the Arizona Republic reports. (Immigrants make up 3 to 4 percent of active-duty military). Nearly 20,000 U.S. soldiers, representing almost two-thirds of the country's 31,000 foreign-born military personnel, have applied to become U.S. citizens since 2002, according to officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a federal agency charged with processing naturalization applications. Agency officials said that more than 12,000 soldiers have been sworn in as new Americans and 37 others who died fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have been awarded posthumous citizenship.
The second story about the President being booed in Chile is a bit silly, because most Chileans appreciate what the Bush White House has done to bulk up trade between the two countries. Definitely need more Pisco exports to the U.S., though.
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Will be in the Delta; World AIDS Day
Going to cant for a few days to catch up with university and media friends.
I think I forgot to mention that we observed World AIDS Day on December 1 with a full day of awareness workshops, discussion groups and a concluding concert with Dam Vinh Hung and Hong Ngoc, two very popular area singers. The day helped round out their knowledge of HIP/AIDS--a subject that is usually not discussed frankly here. I really appreciated Mike M.'s advice when we first started planning the program. www.MichaelMelcher.com if you need a life coach (and we all do).
I think I forgot to mention that we observed World AIDS Day on December 1 with a full day of awareness workshops, discussion groups and a concluding concert with Dam Vinh Hung and Hong Ngoc, two very popular area singers. The day helped round out their knowledge of HIP/AIDS--a subject that is usually not discussed frankly here. I really appreciated Mike M.'s advice when we first started planning the program. www.MichaelMelcher.com if you need a life coach (and we all do).
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Very Useful Vietnam Blog; Christmas in Saigon
Steve Denney from Berkeley has now consolidated his excellent list serv into a blog site:
http://vietnamlist.blogspot.com
He says it is only a beta, but I think it already looks pretty good.
The Xmas trees, giant stuffed dancing Santa mannequins and Xmas carols have sprouted up all over downtown Saigon. Went to my younger kid's Xmas concert this morning--have to go to another one tonight for the older kid. No snow but we did have a big rain last night--perhaps the last of the rainy season.
http://vietnamlist.blogspot.com
He says it is only a beta, but I think it already looks pretty good.
The Xmas trees, giant stuffed dancing Santa mannequins and Xmas carols have sprouted up all over downtown Saigon. Went to my younger kid's Xmas concert this morning--have to go to another one tonight for the older kid. No snow but we did have a big rain last night--perhaps the last of the rainy season.
