charvey in Vietnam

Tokyo

Hey My Public, I'm in Tokyo!  You can tell from the sign:

I took a bus into the city, then caught a taxi to the hotel.  The taxi driver was the politest taxi driver I've ever had.  Check out the white gloves.  Wow.  The back door of the cab opened and closed automatically.

Here's the magnificent view from my hotel room at the Park Hotel, looking Southwest over Tokyo Tower from the 29th floor.

The room is a bit small, but plenty big for one person.  It's tastefully furnished.  The main lobby on the 25th floor has a similar but much more expansive view.  It's a pretty cool hotel -- similar to the "W" in the States.

Last night there was a reception for prospective Darden students.  I ran into Takeshi (left) and Ichiro (right), two of my Darden Class of 1999 classmates.  Afterwards, Takeshi took me out on the town.

Street scene in the Ginza district.

Spic and span subway car.

The Tokyo subway is easily the biggest and most comprehensive subway I've even been on.  It seems much bigger and more complex than even New York's.  There are even free public restrooms -- none of that urine smell so familiar in Manhattan. 

My initial impressions of Japan are orderly, quiet and clean.  I knew it was different from Vietnam when everyone formed themselves into neat queues waiting for the terminal shuttle at the airport (orderly). Walking the streets of downtown Tokyo is eerily silent even though it's packed with people and cars (quiet).  This puzzled me until I realized there were no muffler-less motorbikes or constantly bleating horns.  The sidewalks and subway cars are spotless with nary a scrap of paper, cigarette butt or discarded gum (clean).  Although I do love Vietnam, this is a nice change for a few days.  I like Japan.

Good Books Regarding Vietnam

After visiting Vietnam for the first time over three years ago I've read many books about Vietnam, mostly focusing on the history in Vietnam since 1945.  The best are:

• "A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam" by Neil Sheehan.  An absolutely outstanding non-fiction account of American involvement in Vietnam.  It follows John Paul Vann, an early US Army adviser to the South, through his nearly 10 years in Vietnam.  Vann was an early critic of US and Southern tactics and strategy.  It reads like a novel, with extraordinarily deft prose.  This book won Sheehan the Pulitzer Prize in 1989.
• "When Heaven and Earth Changed Places" by Le Ly Hayslip.  This is the autobiography of a woman caught in the middle of the conflict, quite literally, in the mid-section of Vietnam near Da Nang.  She recounts in harrowing detail she and her family's fight for survival over 20 years of conflict.  A fabulous book written from a perspective I had never heard from before.
• "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien.   This book is a mix between fiction and non-fiction autobiography.  O'Brien draws on his experience as a soldier in Vietnam to write stories that illustrate with great power the realities and feelings of his characters.  The imagery and cadence is riveting and poetic.  For example:

"They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing--these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight. They carried shameful memories. They carried the common secret of cowardice.... Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to."

• "Fields of Fire" by James Webb.  Another work of fiction, but drawn on real experiences.  Webb was a young Marine officer in Vietnam and spins a tale of men at war in a conflict that seems pointless and crazy.  Webb spends a lot of time developing his characters, and action unfolds against the backdrop of the color he as given us -- people react to situations and each other according to their personalities.  It's a powerful drama.  Tom Wolfe gave it high praise when he said   “In my opinion, the finest of the Vietnam novels.”  An interesting side note is that Webb was Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan Administration.  Last fall he was elected to the US Senate from Virginia.
• "Street Without Joy: The French Debacle in Indochina" by Bernard Fall.  Written shortly after the fall of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, Fall recounts French frustrations and ultimate defeat in Vietnam in the "First Indochina War."  Fall was a French journalist and academic and often traveled with the troops.  I found the book a bit dull and poorly written, but the historical context is fascinating.  The French experience was eerily prescient of the American one in the "Second Indochina War" 10 years later.  Bernard Fall ultimately was killed by a land mine while accompanying American troops on patrol in 1967.
• "The Quiet American" by Graham Greene.  A classic work of fiction also written in the 1950s.  This is the first and only book I've read by Graham Greene.  His worldview can be quite dark at times, but I found the book ultimately uplifting.  Greene has a lot of things to say about life and the meaning we draw from it.

Conspicuously absent from this list are books written from the Vietnamese soldier's perspective.  I currently have on my nightstand "The Sorrow of War" by Bao Ninh.  It is another fictional account, but written by drawing on Ninh's personal experiences as a Northern soldier during the conflict.

I'd love to hear if My Public has read other books they can recommend about Vietnam and its history.  I'm particularly interested in a book that details Vietnam's history prior to 1945, including the dynasties, history with China and beginning of French involvement.

Charvey Superstar 3

Ok I'm getting lazy.  I haven't downloaded the DVD ripping and video editing software.  It's not likely I will, either.  I decided to do the next best thing and upload the partial video I was able to rip, without editing, to my web storage account at Mediamax.  Those of you interested can watch the first 15 minutes of footage or so in the file.  I'm on at about minute 11 doing my introduction.  Click on this link to download a streaming video file.  I couldn't upload to Youtube because the file is over 100 megabytes of spine-tingling entertainment.

Unfortunately this file doesn't contain some of my best moments later in the program where I engaged in playful and witty banter with some of the contestants.  Alex Trebek, move over!

Charmers

Tonight I was taking a xe om (motorbike taxi) to meet my friend for dinner.  I like to take xe oms instead of driving myself because I can look around and check out all the action.  People watching in Vietnam is always excellent since so much life in Saigon happens on the street.  It's also better than a taxi because I have a 360 degree view.

I was at a stoplight when I hear a friendly "hello!" about 50 cm to my right.  I look over and perched comfortably on a motorbike is a young family -- dad, mom and a little girl not a day over 3 years old.  The dad said "hello" again and smiled.  The girl looked at the foreigner shyly, somewhat intrigued but unsure what to do.  "Chào cháu!" ("Hello, youngster!") I said, but still she just looked at me and blinked.  We all had a good laugh.  I think I was part of an impromptu English lesson.  That actually happens a lot.

There are so many charmers here in Vietnam.  Especially the kids.

In other news, it looks like Vietnam Idol has hit the scene.  You thought I was kidding in my post last month, eh?  Well check it out in all its glory here.   There is no doubt the show will be a huge hit in this karaoke-crazed land.

Charvey Superstar 2

Ok My Public.  I've been working on the Charvery Superstar Project for a couple hours.  First I found and downloaded some DVD ripping software.  But then it turned out that the "free" trial copy only allows me to rip the first 10 minutes of the DVD.  That is a problem for you, My Public, since Charvey Superstar's choicest moments are towards the end of the program.

When I tried to purchase the software to have unlimited ripping ability, the software company's payment server detected that I was in Vietnam and offer only the option to pay by Paypal, not by credit card (Vietnam has some notoriety as a not-so-insignificant source of online credit card fraud).  I forgot my Paypal password and had to have it emailed to me.  Upon logging into Paypal I was informed that they have placed my account on "limited access" for reasons unknown, so I am unable to send money.  I followed the procedure to unlock the account whereby Paypal calls you and you enter a special code they display on your account page.  Unfortunately, Skype chose that moment to wig out on me and I missed the call.  Paypal is an unforgiving disciplinarian and would not let me try to verify by phone again.  They informed me that they have mailed a letter to my USA address with instructions.  Oy.

So then I tried finding some other DVD rip programs.  I downloaded another, only to learn that it's the exact same program as the first save for a slightly different interface and marketing.  "Well, I did capture the first 16 minutes of the program, so maybe I can edit it for a clip where I appear."  No dice here either.  I don't have a proper video-editing software on this computer.  Double oy.

So in a bid to whet your appetites, I'm posting this still frame from my introductory bit on the show.  I think I come off as a bit smarmy and self-satisfied in the clip.  I know my folks will get a kick outta that one.  Maybe there is something to what they've been telling me all these years.....



Later this week I'll see if I can get the right software.  After ripping, editing and upload time on YouTube we'll be ready to go.  In the meantime, I'm all ears if any of My Public knows of some good DVD-ripping and video-editing software.

Saigon Blog Summit 3

Much has been written about the newfangled world of cyberspace* and how it enables new social constructs and connections.  Blogs are a great example of the new medium.  They can be many things -- a soapbox upon which to rant, a place to keep friends and family up to date, a travel diary, a business networking tool.  Who knew there were so many witty and able writers out there?  It's an example of the internet fulfilling its highest promise -- empowering individuals to communicate, share and build communities in ways never before possible. 

There are many Saigon bloggers.  I've gotten to know some of them virtually by virtue of reading their blogs regularly.  Their personalities shine through and jump off the screen.  After a few months of regular reading it feels like you know the person behind the prose.  Well, I got to meet many of these people on Saturday at the Saigon Blog Summit, organized by Kevin, aka SaigonNezumi.  It felt a bit strange meeting people I had never met before, but knowing so much about their lives.  A bit like meeting a TV personality or something, and a little like a voyeur.  AznGamerBoi, aka Pao, looked and spoke every inch the part of young gamer from LA, except that he's from the Philippines.  He endured jokes regarding his status as "boi" and not as "man."  " 'AznGamerMan' just doesn't sound as cool," was his response.  Also in attendance were Cheryl (StreetTalk), Jimmy (ThirstyThong -- don't read if you are offended by salty language or R-rated content), Lisa (Alfaspider), Annie (MeetmeinSaigon) and Jon (Itsthefinalword).

We had the event at the top floor of Diamond Plaza, a big shopping complex in District 1 near Notre Dame.  It's a teenager's (and my) idea of Saturday night paradise -- psychadelic black-light bowling with florescent bowling balls, thumping house music, pool tables, ice cream and video games, all topped off by a KFC and Pizza Hut.  We ate at Pizza Hut after working up an appetite bowling (after a slow start I got my mojo back, hitting a string of spares to land at 127).  It's the nicest and best-staffed Pizza Hut I've ever experienced.  The decor is much more upscale, with chrome and fashionable wooden furniture.  The service is excellent also.  On the way out I counted 22 staff.  Incredible.

Pao/AznGamerBoi has a great post about the event with lots of pics.  You can read it here.

Charvey Superstar

Well My Public, your long wait and suffering are over.  I have in my hands a DVD copy of the first "Uoc Mo Cua Toi" (My Dream) program featuring yours truly.  I watched some of it tonight and now I think I'm gonna have to get an agent.  It's that good.  The star power nearly melted my computer screen!  I'm definitely demanding a bigger trailer next time.

I tried some screen captures to give My Public what those of us in the Industry call "teaser content" but the copied images always turned out black.  I also gotta convert the video file to something I can edit and upload on Youtube.  I'll figure it out when I get more time, probably not until later this week.  I figure My Public has waited this long, a couple more days won't kill you (or will it?  ;-)).