R-Kudo Urban Blog

what the f**k ?

2012-02-01T09:30:00.000+07:00

is happening at Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam, Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

These people are ruining!

source: http://www.ngoisao.net/tin-tuc/24h/2012/01/rai-tien-so-dau-rua-o-van-mieu-189698/

hey I like wat she's doing

2012-01-29T11:17:00.000+07:00

Family party for the new year

2012-01-25T00:36:00.000+07:00

Playing "Loto"

from children to grandma

while we're playing, others were cooking in the kitchen.

after the lunch-party, we went to bed.

And when we woke up, the next party was coming. haha

That's the very simple story of many families in Tet.

Ipad

me in a shot by my little cousin

"Giao thua"

2012-01-25T00:16:00.002+07:00

"Giao thua" is the moment ending an old year and beginning a new year.

"Dem giao thua" is the last night of an old year and after the midnight will be a whole new year.

Like every year, I and my mom spend our Giao thua at Tran Hung Dao temple on Vo Thi Sau Str. of my city. Many people from the North of Vietnam worship the historic general Tran Hung Dao, who is also called "Thanh Tran"(Saint Tran). That explains why many of visitors,like my mom, in this temple are Northern-original.

The layout of the temple has a front yard with a big bronze statue of a powerful commanding Tran Hung Dao at the feet of which are loads of incense (and smoke). At the back of the layout is the temple with the main hall, left wing, right wing and a small space backward. Although called the temple of Tran Hung Dao, it is also the worship place of a buddha and some relics.

At a corner of the front yard is a small temple of Than Tai and Tho Dia. Than Tai is a saint who take care of wealth while Tho Dia is a saint of land managing. These two are usually worshipped together for their importance to people business.

On the right of the front yard is a gallery displaying the history of wars relating to Tran Hung Dao. So disappointed that they have closed the gallery for years.

Young volunteers from the Union of Communist Youth.

They give "loc" for free and people may donate for the charity fund.

"Loc" can be anything that the temple distribute: a small plant (that will simply grow much more when brought home and put into water), a cake or a "Lixi" (red envelope with some money inside)

Because the temple is over-crowded, some people choose to stand outside in the yard to worship.

Some people believe that cutting a branch of any trees in the temple or pagoda and bring home will give them "loc". In fact, that just helps killing the trees. Religiously, I'd rather bring a small plant so that I will grow it. That is the true sign of prosperity.

Some people buy lottery. Yeah I wish I would win billions someday.

After rituals, some people stay at the temple for awhile, calling their beloved families and friends just to say cheerful things. Such a way to begin a Happy New Year!

Designs on the Future

2012-01-23T22:14:00.006+07:00

In the mood of welcoming a challenging new year, I post this video of a very interesting research from MUDD program of UNSW, Australia.

I was inspired by not the simple task of the project but by how the students carried it out and how the studio is organized. Presenting the results to residents, councillors, senior bureaucrats is both a real challenge and a precious opportunity for students. On the other side, the audiences would listen to new, possibly even innovative, ideas from students from various countries with various experiences and perspectives on residential planning. I still haven't truly had all of those experiences even though having 3 years of working experience. That's a shame but it does encourage me!

And I'm looking forward to the future.

Life in a day

2012-01-23T22:11:00.002+07:00

Branded

2012-01-22T16:43:00.000+07:00

I found this from an Goeteh Institut's blog entry with photos by Christian Berg. These images express the same thing I've seen recently in my city. I just wanna add that it doesn't only happen with Xmas but also New Year's Eve and Lunar New Year.Thank the author for not having left any comment below his photos. To me, this is just good.

view the original entry here

TET is coming, again

2012-01-11T17:53:00.000+07:00

Just one more week will be the longest holiday ever in this country, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year that we call Tet. Things have truly changed a lot since I started to have certain understanding about it. Though it's no longer what a child expect to have off-school days, to receive "Lì xì", to enjoy a handful of delicious (and possibly expensive food, Tet is still the time for people to sit down, looking back and maybe writing down things they have been through in the previous year.

Tan Son Nhat airport

2012-01-10T10:24:00.000+07:00

At Tan Son Nhat airport, international terminal.

Saying goodbye to another friend studying abroad.

besides benches, there are also seats like this.

1F is for arrival and 2F is for departure.

Vietnam Designer House show Jan 2012

2012-01-07T10:41:00.000+07:00

06 Jan 2012

Khanh Ke and her LNKK brand

Thanh Hoa with his Le.Thanh.Hoa brand

My last night of 2011 (2)

2012-01-02T00:56:00.000+07:00

Dong Khoi street

Dong Khoi street, near Vincom Center

vintage and kool style for the night

Self-photographed at Highland Nguyen Du

The red light at the corner of Nguyen Du str. and Pasteur str.

some snacks

In front of Duc Ba Cathedral

my last night of 2011 (1) - with new mates

2012-01-01T00:02:00.000+07:00

in Dong Khoi street, near Duc Ba Cathedral

in Dong Du street, near Sheraton hotel

and right in Nguyen Hue street, count down the last year and dance for the new year

"Mo" for 2012!

2011-12-31T00:00:00.000+07:00

I want "Mo" of these:

1. Above all, mo jobs mo money and mo wish come true.

2. Mo time mo health

3. Mo travel
I haven't traveled to any new country since summer of 2010. With my new camera, I believe there will be greater photos and I want to officially show off my works on FlickR.

4. Mo photography
I have a 60D, a Sigma 50mm 1.4, another Sigma 24-70mm 2.8. Though feeling satisfied with those stuffs, I still want an ultra-wide len below 24mm with fixed F and then a zoom len above 100mm. I also need a Speedlite. Canon is quite expensive so I might invest on Youngnuo or Metz. Lomography is really kool but still prefer digitals. And even when I'm tired of digitals, I'd prefer a Polaroid.
Recently I've been better with studio photography, but haven't produced elegant and really fashionable images yet. I will work more.

5. Mo language
I chose Chinese as the second foreign language to learn last year but dropped off after the 3-month intermediate class. Still check my old note book and listen to "Chinese Pod" now and then but I know I should spend more time for this new language. I want to understand what billions of people say and sing, hehe.
"Renshi ni wo hen gaoxing!" is my favorite.

6. Mo calm mo peace
This is a personal effort to be a better man, ha ha.

7. Mo academic
I think my professional career is going up well. New experience with larger scale projects is not as boring as I used to think. In fact, it does encourage a small ambition in me. However, I don't have much time to dig academic things which might support my competitiveness at work. Some of my friends even finished their master degree. Well, I'm gonna do something this new year.

Survey #1 Result

2011-12-30T09:48:00.001+07:00

Haven't taken the survey yet? click here

And here is the result on 30 December 2012 with 26 responses

Mah Kristmas 2011

2011-12-25T20:05:00.000+07:00

behind these 9X guys was Quach Thi Trang roundabout.

After dinner, we caught a taxi intending to get into the city center. The taxi driver refused to take us to where exactly wanted to go for traffic jam. He was right. If he had taken us by the usual route, he would have slept in his car, stuck among the huge crowd of people and motorbikes. Therefore, we arrived at the back of Ben Thanh market and walked to the city core where people were sharing their Xmas celebration.

After traversing the crowd of Saigonese citizens, tourists and hyper-young guys disturbingly spraying artificial snow on passerbys, my friends took me to Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers' 23th floor where NightSpot located. It was a really exciting place, much more interesting than those where fashionable guys come to show off. Prices there are really expensive but worth-paying for their excellent and sociable performers, elegant but friendly ambient and spectacular views down to the city below. There was also a more peaceful cafe' rich of outdoor breeze next to NightSpot that I promised to myself I would visit next time.

The dance floor from our seats.

We joined the crazy dancing several times during their 3 sessions. Unforgettable!

We then went to Pho 99 on Nguyen Trai street and got home at about 2:00 p.m. Not drunk at all. So the next morning was fine with no headache but a late wake-up.

credit: photos by Felix Nguyen (with his so-well Sony NEX-5n)

The audacity of public space

2011-12-22T21:24:00.000+07:00

"...Who would actually sit down in the middle of the street? Would it make traffic better or worse?..."
"...Almost a year after the plan was announced most of these questions have been answered. Yes, people sit down in the middle of the street (if you give them chairs)..."

read more here at Good.is

A glorious morning

2011-12-20T11:14:00.000+07:00

Magic
All I want to do then was stopping and taking a picture of what I was seeing. I was on my way to work this morning, dazzled by the sunlight and its reflection on the street's surface. This had had happened to me many times before but this time added with a stream of peculiar twinkling 4 or 5 meter above people's head. It did fly, up and down, changing direction smoothly like a flock of silver birds. For a sudden moment I wondered whether it was magic and got amazed how people seemed to pay no attention what was flying above their head. I've digged " The secrets of the immortal Nicholas Flamels" recently and my mind was filled with fantasy, spell, alchemy, aura and countless of invisible that ordinary "humani" couldn't see. Finally, only when I got about 100 meter closer did I realize what was that thing: a cloud of pieces of silver papers from the brand opening of a bank office. Slightly exhaling, I felt like awakened and the song in my headphone at the moment was Halo by Beyonce. What a whole scene!

Photography
It seems like everybody around is doing photography now. DSLRs are still expensive, but people rush at it. Moreover, affordable cameras like Canon 1100D or 550D bring more choices. My friend Felix has just bought a Sony NEX-5n, a micro four third, which looks like a interchangeable len stick to an iPhone. The micro four-third is really compact but its production is really good. Beside those digitals, playful guys now look for lomography camera. Shooting in Bulb mode with a small film vintage-style camera is really enjoyable.
My choice? I'd still prefer an DSLR. I've got a 60D, such an investment for both personal interest and professionals earnings. Several days ago, I suggested a group of friends hire a studio and I photographed them for free. Fortunately I got good feedback for the outcomes.

photo by R-kudo

The Season
Time for winter sense now. You might feel cold if you haven't got home after 10 p.m wearing just a T-shirt for your top. But it's really nice in the morning, I feel great on my way to work at the speed of 30 kmh on my motorbike. Sunlight, cool breeze and city life!

photo by R-kudo

Schooling

2011-12-13T13:03:00.002+07:00

a photography journalism about schools in faraway lands in my country ( Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Yen Bai, Gia Lai, Lam Dong)

source: VietnamNet.

Price afterdeath

2011-12-09T10:40:00.001+07:00

Photo: Vinh Phu

19 million VND/ m2 ( approximately 1000 USD at the moment)

in Binh Hung Hoa , the largest cemetery of Ho Chi Minh City

stuck!

2011-12-09T10:22:00.001+07:00

Hanoi is raising the fee of car's number plate to 10 times.

The parking fee is also being raised.

There is 1 car license per 13 people, and 1 motorbike license per 3.5 people in The Capitol.

There are debates between people suggesting cars should be limited and people suggesting motorbikes should be reduced. Everybody, I think, knows it's not about cars or motorbikes but about infrastructural upgrading.

Stuck!

"Redemption Song"

2011-12-06T21:09:00.001+07:00

by singer, contemporary artist Tung Duong

in his very first personal concert, marking his position as a star of Vietnamese music after 8 years of professional career.

Daily Inspiration

2011-12-06T09:13:00.001+07:00

Coca-Cola by *ry-spirit on deviantART
Baqceti Street by ~weebasaurus on deviantART
down by ~pivan on deviantART

Aaaaasooommee!

2011-12-05T18:52:00.001+07:00

Traffic in Frenetic HCMC, Vietnam from Rob Whitworth on Vimeo.

Description

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is an amazing up and coming city.

This time lapse is a culmination of 10,000 RAW images and

multiple shoots capturing some of the cities relentless energy

and pace of change.

Everyone who has visited Ho Chi Minh City,

Vietnam knows part of the magic (love it or hate it) is in the traffic.

Ever since I first set foot in HCMC I have been captivated by the

cities energy. Saigon is a city on the move unlike anything I have

experienced before which I wanted to capture and share.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the film and thanks also

to the numerous kind people who allowed me access to some

amazing locations.

Soundtrack to the video is the energetic Mondo'77 by Looper - http://z6.co.uk/sy

Son of a les. couple

2011-12-02T08:27:00.001+07:00

http://front.moveon.org/two-lesbians-raised-a-baby-and-this-is-what-they-got/#.TteZag86Oka.facebook

"...and you know why? Because the sexual orientation of my parents has a zero affect on the content of my character " - said this son raised by a couple of lesbian.

I'm wondering whether they can prevent homosexuality or not. Currently, it seems impossible to do that, which means that no parents are sure their new born babies are heterosexual or homosexual until the children get 13 or even 18. So it would be an awkward situation when a person strongly opposing gay marriage gets married, having babies to discover 18 years later that one of his/her children will just love a same-sex partner. Does he or she feel cursed? If that is a curse, then don't curse homosexual people because you don't know what will happen to your children and your grand children.

And I think preventing people from happiness is a curse.

Daily Inspiration

2011-11-30T09:18:00.000+07:00

Entre les arbres by ~cameraflou on deviantART
Cortex by ~555nm on deviantART
Street Photography BW 038 by ~sagi-k on deviantART
Speedy Time Square2 by *duytter on deviantART
Awakening by =IvanAndreevich on deviantART

"SAIGON- my city" by MD

2011-11-28T23:25:00.001+07:00

An entry by MD, or Le Minh Dung, for the Urban Design blog of the School of Architecture Planning and Landscape. Part of his study module, but not boring at all.

check it out!

Glenn Murcutt Interview

2011-11-27T01:21:00.001+07:00

From UNSWTV of University of New South Wale, Faculty of Built environment:
link

Some notes:

He gets anxious during every architectural project

Have to understand the climatic zone

He stops playing piano because he hates compromise.

He loves the rhythm of architecture, how things go together.

Drawing: the "thinking hand".
to draw is to bring out-> to reveal-> to understand-> to know

Noisy architecture - do you really want to do this?

State of architecture education of this country:
1 teacher and 12 students is the best ratio
now not enough time for too many students per tutor
problem with fundings
it takes a long time to become an architect
Glenn cannot do well with a class of 20 students, thinking that he cannot give them real feedbacks.

Do ordinary things extra-ordinarily well

Making design decision must be arguments

It's too complex to describe what elements are Australian (in architecture)
but how things are related.

draw and eat

2011-11-26T22:40:00.001+07:00

two of my drawings-before-eating in Al Fresco.

There came Thu Thiem tunnel!

2011-11-26T10:46:00.001+07:00

Finally, the expected Thu Thiem tunnel which connects District 1 and District 2 has started its operation. Besides trafically joining two contrast districts of the city, this tunnel brings opportunities to abridge the distance between these two areas' development.

from Vnexpress.net

Timeline:
Thu Thiem tunnel has two tunnel ways and the project started in Feb 2005

From Mar 2010 to June 2010, 4 segments of the sunk part were transported 22 km by river from Nhon Trach, Dong Nai to Thu Thiem.

4th Sep 2010: the last concrete mass was successfully poured and
21st Sep 2010: the tunnel was finally junctioned.

21st Nov 2011: Thu Thiem tunnel started its public serving officially.

Welcome Thu Thiem tunnel, Goodbye Thu Thiem ferry port: (link)

from Vnexpress.net

"It's sad not because I will lose my earnings from now on for the closing of the ferry port but because this places has had a strong attachment with me for decades. There were so many memories with it." said a "xe-ôm" (motobike taxi) driver.

"Despite knowing that the tunnel crossing the river is the pride of our city, I still feel sorry when leaving the river port where I worked as a trader before marriage until now my children have grown up. Having a new house in Binh Thanh district, I still cannot forget the ferry's siren, the crowd of commuters" said Mrs.Muoi who sold drinks at one stop of the ferry in district 2.

Banning motobikes traffic from Thu Thiem tunnel?

I think this is one of the most stupid ideas ever about the tunnel. Somebody wrote an article and post to VnExpress.net (link). Luckily, the writing got its right replies. It's as absurd as preventing citizens from using a service that they paid by tax.

Flooded - 11/11/11

2011-11-17T01:55:00.001+07:00

some images of the flood in Saigon, by photographer Naoto Ohike

"Pedestrian streets" on the go

2011-11-15T09:39:00.001+07:00

Major cities like Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh city is thinking of, again, pedestrian streets in their central areas where motorbikes would be restricted.

The Department of Architectural Planning of Ho Chi Minh City (DoAP-HCMC) and IDOM ( from Spain) have finished a conceptual landscape design for pedestrian streets in the core area of the city. Mr. Huynh Xuan Thu, director of Planning Information Center (PLANIC) of DoAP-HCMC, says: "Above all, we must understand that pedestrian is not the main goal of this research but the decrease of private vehicles and the increase of public transportation in the city center"

There will be 3 areas to develop this idea:

illustration by v.Cuong

The first one is the district zoned by Tran Hung Dao str., Bui Vien str. and Pham Ngu Lao str. of District 1.

illustration by Rkudo, map by Google Maps

The second one is the area surrounding Ben Thanh market.

illustration by Rkudo, map by Google Maps

The third one is major cultural and historic streets like Dong Khoi, Le Loi, Nguyen Hue, Ham Nghi, Le Duan.

illustration by Rkudo, map by Google Maps

source: TuoiTre.com.vn

BBQ in Cu Chi

2011-11-13T19:57:00.001+07:00

A trip to my friend's second nest which locating in Cu Chi.

Introducing Jimi Sweet NYC

2011-11-13T12:15:00.005+07:00

It may sound stupid to say "introducing" cuz he's already a professional one working in New York. I don't know how is his job going in the empire state of Jay Z and Alicia Key and lots of great artists. I'm sure not many of my Facebook friends like his photos which usually capturing black sporty model in urban settings and even showing 99% their masculine bodies. In fact, I am getting more and more interested in his colourful and texture-rich style now.

Some days ago, while surfing through his albums, I suddenly remembered that I knew and chatted with him after seeing his website in 2000 or 2001, when I still used a phone-line 56 kbps modem and got shocked to see his photos. It's been 10 years already. Worth-noting for an 10-year online acquaintanceship. It's still very interesting his biography again: a child born in Vietnam but adopted and raised in USA, an Asian-American photographer among the community of colored people, somebody still "believe in being straightforward, being humble, being honest and crying." and "believe in giving 100%".

Check out his web: http://jimisweetnyc.com/
Fashion, Fitness and Lifestyle photographer

Recently, from my android fone

2011-11-12T20:34:00.004+07:00

one of my drawings at Al Fresco's. Every table has a paper cover and some piece of crayon.

A kindergarten near CMT8 street.

A BBQ at my colleague's house

CD-ROOM, lol. In the bookstore of Coop-Mart Nguyen Kiem

An after lunch cup of capucino in Coffee Bean

my favorite thongs, now broken.

my professional photographer friend's Canon 5D and Canon 24-70 mm lense

Assisting him during his shot for Vietnam Next Top Model 2011 on 11/11/2011

A Sat. morning photo journalism

2011-11-12T11:10:00.000+07:00

the single chair in the garden

flowers in Gia Dinh park near my house

landscaping workers of the park

shadow of a tree

walkway

nobody's cat

the cat-walk

Phu Nhuan highschool, opposite to which is my usual gym class and a complex of sport facilities

1000 bil. for Recycle energy

2011-11-01T14:33:00.002+07:00

According to Ashui.com:
Ho Chi Minh City will invest 1000 billion of VND on recycle energy during 2011-2015, based on the decision 6493/QĐ-BCT. Also in this plan, it's expected that the city will build a waste-burning power plant in the complex of solid waste treatment in North-West Cu Chi. The city will also develop renewable energy from waste, wind and solar power to not only create a new power supply but also help protect the environment.
From 2011 to 2015, HCM City will underground-ize all high voltage grid of new urban areas and industrial parks.
(translated by R-kudo)

Savannah at first sight by Midupz and Nam Nghiem

2011-10-27T09:44:00.000+07:00

They are two freshmen studying fashion design and illustration in Savannah College of Art. They're enjoying not only new education but also a whole new environment. Things will be looked differently in one's eyes through time, so I want to save some of their first photographs in the place in case I'll make a comparison in the future.

And this is Savannah, Georgia, USA:

Vietnam in the paintings by Direk Kingnok

2011-10-26T09:22:00.000+07:00

see more at: ashui.com magazine or the artist's Facebook

Ironically, I saw this on Facebook

2011-10-25T09:14:00.003+07:00

Saigon's river-bus ?

2011-10-24T15:52:00.001+07:00

one of the two routes

According to Tuoi Tre, Ho Chi Minh city's Committee approved to let firms making plan for two public transportation in waterways, called river-bus. The Committee also assigned the Department of Transporation and districts' committees to research this project with the deadline is 31 December 2011.

Actually, the project was proposed this time by a private company, Thuong Nhat Ltd. During the interview with Tuoi Tre, Mr. Nguyen Kim Toan didn't ignore the previous failure of the proposal in the past. The ticket price would still be the main problem to attract public using. However, Mr. Toan implied that if the project was supported by the city government, the price of river-bus would be just slightly more expensive than that of normal bus if considering travelling time. For example, it might take an office worker 4 hour to travel from his home at the city center to Nhon Trach, Dong Nai due to traffic jam. But in the same distance, river-bus would only take him 45 minutes. Nice example!

I myself had a similar experience. I once had a short trip to Vung Tau with friends by high speed water bus. The price was 200000 VND but it took me only 1 hour 45 minutes. And the port in Vung Tau is not too far from the most popular beach. A friend of mine needed more than 2 hour to go by road-bus with a 50000 VND ticket and a taxi driver suggested us the price of 1200000 VND for a speed that would take us only more than 1 hour.

To conclude, I hope this project would find its best way to reduce the price to the lowest. The more people use river-bus, the more of the city's riverside feature will be seen and impressed on local life.

Earthscrapper

2011-10-24T14:47:00.001+07:00

I really like the word "Earth-scrapper" that exactly describes this kind of architecture. It looks nice, saving the open save above the ground, bring light and life to the deep underground. But at such depth, in my opinion, the building would destroy the underground water tables, the soil structure and more important, the earth crust structure. In comparison with invading the sky-space, digging the ground-space seems to me still less friendly to the environment because, under no circumstances, the ground is limited while the sky is limitless.

However, I like this concept:

Visit the original page to see more of this conceptual design.

I am afraid, too

2011-10-21T08:45:00.000+07:00

"...I am afraid to go under the sun now because of the holes in the ozone
I am afraid to breathe the air because I don't know what chemicals are in it..."

Severine Suzuki ONU 1992 bởi unzip
UN Speech 1992 by Severn Suzuki.

I feel afraid, too. But at the year 1992, or at the age of 12, I was not. I often have an optimistic perspective of the world, believing that finally humanbeings will find ways to save the world. But deep from the inside, I am scared.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Wikipedia: "Severn Cullis-Suzuki (born 30 November 1979 in Vancouver, Canada) is a Canadian environmental activist, speaker, television host and author. She has spoken around the world about environmental issues, urging listeners to define their values, act with the future in mind, and take individual responsibility..."
read more ...

This woman is gorgeous !

Today is Vietnamese Women's Day

2011-10-20T10:50:00.001+07:00

charming, elegant, and strong.

Everytime I watch X-men

2011-10-19T09:07:00.002+07:00

Everytime I watch X-men, I often feel a little bit lonely cuz not many surrounding people see the philosophy behind. What they see is the extra-ordinary abilities of the characters, the fightings between between seemingly good and seemingly bad guys. No, actually it's not about good and bad. It's about being ordinary and inordinary. This is what distinguishes X-men and many other comics, science-fictions, ...

During my childhood, X-men was almost the only group of heroes I knew. Superman was single. Batman and Robin was just a couple. I didn't count Power-Rangers and its various versions for its weakness of individuality, and I couldn't remember them well. Cyclops, Storm and Magneto were my favorites then. And I didn't understand much the power of Xavier and didn't like Wolverine's rudeness. Actually, appearance and power were key factors: Cyclops was handsome, Storm was sexy and charming, Magneto looked powerful in his red coat and iron helmet.

Well, until they released X-men movie in 2000, I discovered the more interesting side of the story. While X-men in 2000 was about the hatre of mutants to ordinary people, X2 (2003) was about the extreme hatre from ordinary human beings. And I really liked it when the Brotherhood of Mutants by Magneto and X-men teamed up together. X-men : The Last Stands was kind of an extreme story with the final battle between two organizations of mutants, and the final result of destruction (Phoenix) versus self-recovery (Wolverine). X-men Origins: Wolverine is the story of a man looking for his origin, of true brotherhood between men. I thought X-men story would go on like that, talking about each character but producers pushed it back to its earliest stage with X-men: First class with a nice story about the long-gone friendship between Professor X and Magneto. Now I understand why Magneto and Professor X are the leaders of two contrary forces, fighting each other but never do anything harmful to each other. They once were friends.

As I said above, I think the true story of X-men is about being considered ordinary and inordinary. Being about mutant vs humanbeings is being about special and being about normal. It's just like being homosexual versus being, more popular, heterosexual. Being extra-talented, weird, and lonely versus being average, normal, and crowded. And more.

In a large scene, X-men story is so trendy as a part of what is happening around the world, or at least the entertainment world. Lady Gaga is singing songs for LGBT. Adam Lambert keeps freaky. Great cities and states allow gay marriage. More and more celecrities, artists, young people who have same-sex partners or who just want to live the way they were truly born.

Another interesting part of X-men is that even the mutants conflict with each other. They have different re-actions to the world. Some try to be accepted. Others revenge. In my point of view, especially after X-men First Class, Erik "Magneto" is not wrong at all. He just stands on the dark side. In fact, he's very ordinary human. He's aggressive. He wants the war. He's cruel. ... The normal people, at least in the movie, are just the same. They use wars, power, politics,... but still think they have justice. The only truly good man is seemingly Charles Xavier. But in this real world, how many people of that type are there? Not many. If given 1 minute, I just can think of Buddha, Jesus and Mother Teresa.

So, I don't expect any endings from the movie, just like from the similar "war" in the world. Life will just go on. Something gets better, something gets worse. Something will be fixed. Something will be destroyed.

link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ultimate_X-Men_characters

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Men_(film_series)#X-Men_.282000.29

Lost in paradise

2011-10-16T09:28:00.008+07:00

Watched it yesterday. This is possibly the most serious movie about gay subject in Vietnam til now.

In my opinion, "Lost in paradise" succeeded in bringing the feeling of watching an international movie to its audience with its cinematography, script, hot scenes, ... However, as a local audience that has seen so many reasonable and unreasonable mistakes in Vietnamese contemporary movies, I think the movie still has certain flaws. However, this one provides the most "real" vision of gay scene in my country than any other before.

Along with the love story of two protagonists is another story of a mentally deficient, a prostitute and a duck. To me, that's the more tear-triggering side of the movie. The idea of combining two separate stories into one "Lost in paradise" is nice and in fact, the director did it successfully.

The movie seems to gain certain success in Toronto. Hope it does much better in its hometown.

The music video "Bao ngay nho em" (translated: days of missing you) by Ho Vinh Khoa, also one the main actors in "Lost in paradise"

CT Plaza- Parkson Airport - Megastar Cineplex and Highland Coffee

2011-10-15T17:08:00.003+07:00

Fastfood counter

Highland coffee on 10th floor of CT plaza, Tan Son Nhat airport view

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

Masterpiece of Vietnamese Architecture

2011-10-13T09:17:00.003+07:00

A new photo contest has come with the name "Masterpiece Photo Contest 2011".

There have been a good amount of works posted here. Still haven't seen any real masterpiece of photography but some photos really attracts me:

Lien Khuong airport: (Lam Dong province)
I haven't known about this airport before. Looks modern and kool!

Ho Chi Minh Museum ( HCM city)

Bitexco Financial tower ( HCM city)

A corner of the corridors in HCMC Uni. of Architecture (HCM city)
I don't know who the hell posted this, lol.

Thu Thiem bridge (HCM city)

Bai Dinh pagoda, still under construction but has broken several national records.

Thuan Phuoc bridge ( Han river, Da Nang city)

Fix you

2011-10-12T23:12:00.001+07:00

not an excellent coverage but surely a good thing to do.

A house that produce its Water and Energy

2011-10-07T16:33:00.003+07:00

Great! very practical and simple!
But...how about the expense?

By the way, I found that video from Fair Companies
They have an Eco-DIY page, very interesting. I'm digging it.

2011-10-07T16:05:00.000+07:00

Among many ads by Panasonic, I was touched by this one for not just the natural landscape but also the architectural style. Besides, Sarah Brightman's voice is godlike!

hope he's resting in peace, cuz people are feeling sorry

2011-10-06T16:16:00.000+07:00

the city of darkness

2011-09-30T09:03:00.000+07:00

Today's keyword to google is " The city of darkness"
And I found " the Walled city of Kownloon", Hong Kong

Among many sites having articles about The City of Darkness, here are some good links:
Archidose/KWC
Vi.sualize.us

But the best thing I found is this one, the hand-drawing of its cross-section

To photograph this super-slum must be very interesting. But to see something like this in one's hometown is a shame. It's great to know that they demolished it, replacing it by a park. Uhm...lemme think, is there any area in my city need the same treatment ?

the old car

2011-09-29T21:21:00.002+07:00

From the window of Coca-suki restaurant, Mac Thi Buoi str. Dist.1, during my monthly lunch with colleagues in Siup.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

2011-09-27T08:43:00.003+07:00

our XNM's second photoshoot on last Sunday afternoon.

I'm retouching the photos. The outcome is coming soon on rkudo-xnm

Colombiana

2011-09-24T01:49:00.001+07:00

In my opinion, I think this one is a good action movie which includes not only action scenes but also psychology, situations, etc. Besides, the fighting style of the main actress is also different to many others in female-action movies. I really like how Cataleya shivers after finishing the semi-final but most dangerous enemy. It's so real. It's how people shiver after doing something so terrible that they get themselves shocked and exhausted.

Beside the story, I especially notice the urban scene of Colombia at the beginning. Bad, but interesting to see!

notice the scene at 0:34 in the trailer, it's the urban scene I mentioned above

On a motorbike, in the streets

2011-09-23T00:55:00.000+07:00

Usually I cant have shots like these for I can't handle a camera while driving. If I stop by, the shots would be from just one side of a street. This time, I asked a friend to pick me up on his expensive motorbike, more than my salary of a whole year, and take me around.
Well, here are some of the photos from my home to the city center. Some people might see they're meaningless. I'm sure some like them if they see their values.

Bokeh with a compact camera ?

My Canon S90 has a wide F1/2.0 len.

Hoang Van Thu street

Tran Huy Lieu street

Nguyen Van Troi street

the axis connecting Tan Son Nhat international airport to the city center

Nguyen Van Troi street

Cong Ly bridge,

Nguyen Van Troi street

Cong Ly bridge,

Nguyen Van Troi street

Nam Ky Khoi Nghi street

near Sacombank tower (on the left)

Nam Ky Khoi Nghi street

Dong Khoi street

on the left is Caravelle hotel

on the right is Louis Vutton's Opera View building

then we went back home on Phan Dinh Phung street

Phan Dinh Phung street

Nice and ambitious

2011-09-22T11:50:00.000+07:00

From Fastcodesign.com

"The site is unique in that it links two parks, each with their own lakes, which had previously been divided by the busy street. Like an overpass for a freeway, the white, cantilevered structure uses a series of ramps and skyways to provide pedestrians access to the parks, while containing a cultural experience within."

"Musevi is the first phase of a three-pronged plan for the Paseo Tabasco, which runs east to west across the entire city. The hope is that infrastructure and environmental improvements will help pave the way for new development and create vital public space for interaction between residents. Future phases include streetscape improvements, reinvented parks, and renewed access to the waterfront -- all of which Norten hopes will turn the Paseo Tabasco into a world-class, pedestrian-friendly experience."

How do they recognize me?

2011-09-20T15:53:00.000+07:00

For several times, some people told me my face look familiar at their first meeting with me. At first I was surprised but now I get used to that situation. Recently, some even say I look like Baggio (a young Vietnamese entertainer favorited my many teen girls). Humm, I don't think so except that I look somehow like a hybrid-son (Yes, Baggio is a hybrid son) with my deep eyes and my high nose, and my 6 feet height also.

In other cases, some of my Facebook friends or...someone else on FB see me in real life and they recognize quickly, asking my name to be sure. Then they tell me " you look so different!"

That's true, but I wonder why do I look that different to my profile photos but they still recognize me ???

I think this article on Science News is quite related. There must be some clues!

Same face, different person - or different faces one person ?

-----------------------------------------

Also, I'm interested Multiple Exposure and even Double Exposure (usually done with a film camera), gonna experiment soon!

image source:

Still looks good

2011-09-17T15:58:00.004+07:00

Still looks good, even though the city center is very far and out of the len's focus.

I intentionally used bokeh effect for this photo and the result look really nice.

shot on last Thursday night, on Thu Thiem bridge, about 10 p.m

From now on, with my new toy Canon 60D, I'm gonna post more urban photos here.

So inspired now!

11-09-11

2011-09-11T13:46:00.000+07:00

I think when memorizing something sad, we should think more about its happier future.

Photo by Michael J,Crosbie

from ArchitectureWeek.com

Like Love contest

2011-09-05T00:06:00.002+07:00

SONY LIKE.LOVE CONTEST, huhmmm...

should I join ?

Kwanon

2011-09-04T23:35:00.000+07:00

from Wikipedia:
"The name Canon began in 1947 after the company Kwanon changed its name. In 1934 Kwanon began with a prototype for Japan’s first-ever 35 mm camera with a focal plane shutter. It was named 'Kwanon'^[3] by Goro Yoshida after the Buddhist bodhisattva Guan Yin, known in Japanese as Kannon."

today is the NATIONAL DAY!

2011-09-02T15:35:00.003+07:00

I failed in looking for a barber shop that still opens today. Only 1 out of 10 shops I near my house that still worked and it was for ladies only.

Most of my friends are out of the city today. Some of those who still stay in the city are preparing to fly to US, UK.

Usually, Vietnamese companies give bonus on the National Day. The government-sector companies do it best. SIUP-South (100% government owned) gave me a bonus that is tripple the bonus that my old firm NAGECCO (51% gov) had done before. Some of my friends working in private sector or foreign companies don't receive any bonus but a day-off. Somes are more lucky with vouchers to buy expensive stuffs.

Mom and I are going to dinner out tonight. I chose Japanese cuisines. There are two options: Tokyo Deli and Sushi Bar. Although prefering Sushi bar, I'm sure Mom won't eat much and she will groan when seeing the bill (no matter who pays) so I think Tokyo Deli with a slightly cheaper price is okay. For dessert, don't know yet should we move to MOF (also Japanese) or enjoy the dessert right at Tokyo Deli. Uhm...MOF's Hokkaido Red Bean, Warabi Mochi and Green tea Ice-cream are delicious...Maybe I should show Mom more.

----------------------------------------------------------------

wel well, the plan went so well, better than I had expected. Mom got so excited that she asked me to take her to fashion shops around the city center. But after just one shop, I decided to take her to Vincom Center, the so-called biggest mall of Vietnam locating in the fabulous shopping street Dong Khoi. It was her first time ever to visit such a place with loads of luxury brands, and she really enjoyed it. Although we hadn't plan it, I told her to dress up as fashionable as possible when asked what she should wear for the night.
Recently I must agree that Mom does have a taste. And fortunately her taste just fix with the current trend of wild animal skin texture. She wore a barracuda dress from top to heel, added with a small chic hand bag. I was so proud when she caught a lot of eyes in the mall. She knew how catchy she was, and couldn't hide her pride.

My Mom isn't rich. But that doesn't kill her confidence when visiting those Versace, Just Cavalli, Runway, Bebe, .... She always feels free to comment. Sometimes she made me laugh of her innocence of luxury brands. But I like it. (and actually her comments are usually right)
Now she doesn't groan much on seeing the bills. I want her to enjoy life as Saigonese do.

from my friend's album - a trip to the Middle of Vietnam

2011-09-01T16:19:00.001+07:00

She was mainly to Da Nang, the travelling around the middle of my country

oops, delicious!

And this was how she marked her "been there done that"

Inspired by Pink Panther

2011-09-01T14:20:00.001+07:00

"Eleva" by BABELstudio

read more about this

Nice and ambitous

2011-09-01T14:11:00.001+07:00

"The site is unique in that it links two parks, each with their own lakes, which had previously been divided by the busy street. Like an overpass for a freeway, the white, cantilevered structure uses a series of ramps and skyways to provide pedestrians access to the parks, while containing a cultural experience within"

"The Museo Elevado de Villahermosa, or Musevi for short, is the first phase of a three-pronged plan for the Paseo Tabasco, which runs east to west across the entire city. The hope is that infrastructure and environmental improvements will help pave the way for new development and create vital public space for interaction between residents. Future phases include streetscape improvements, reinvented parks, and renewed access to the waterfront -- all of which Norten hopes will turn the Paseo Tabasco into a world-class, pedestrian-friendly experience."

from Fastcodesign.com

typical headache

2011-08-31T00:14:00.004+07:00

Everytime I was going to buy something, I got headache comparing features, saving money, deciding after all.
This time, I'm on the edge of choosing a DSLR for the first time of my life.

My budget currently allow me to buy a Canon 60D or a second-hand 5D. Their prices are not much different, but they appeal strongly in different ways. Well, 60D is like a young and kool man that can do a lot of things, while 5D is like an experienced old man working excellently at his prestigious jobs.

I've got the advices from some professional photographers. 3/3 of them suggested the second-hand 5D.

I've searched many stores and can't find any second-hand 5D left.

This is one of my favorite place to compare and get a better view of the cameras:
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Compare-Camera-Sensors/Compare-cameras-side-by-side/(appareil1)/619%7C0/(appareil2)/663%7C0/(appareil3)/176%7C0/(onglet)/0/(brand)/Canon/(brand2)/Canon/(brand3)/Canon

I also have to think about other stuffs like lens, flash, bag, etc. But the budget issue can be solved by time.

Now, for my need 60D is still slightly more a suitable choice than 5D. Maybe I'll get a 5 markII in the future when I'll be richer.

Create a Local's Guide to Your City

2011-08-25T00:17:00.002+07:00

An Infographic design competition by Good.Is

http://www.good.is/post/submissions-create-a-local-s-guide-to-your-city/

Interview

2011-08-23T10:19:00.000+07:00

Vietnam Designer House - 1st anniversary show

2011-08-22T00:22:00.000+07:00

the impressive performance for the collection by Minh Hoa

a design by the emerging designer Le Thanh Hoa

the collection by Minh Hanh, the leader of Vietnam Designer House

who has always been struggling for the traditional value in Vietnamese fashion.

Minh Hanh at the ending of the show, with all the designers and models.

All in one uniform.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Want real girls?

2011-08-17T22:53:00.002+07:00

Want real girls? by ~redgoat3003 on deviant ART

M a g n a s a n t i

2011-08-10T15:08:00.003+07:00

Brilliant !

I miss SimCity !

I'll buy, who sell! c'mon!

2011-08-08T22:35:00.005+07:00

Recently I've become more and more interested in reading news from big cities in the world(I'm a dreamer!), finding a lot of good things, making some comparison to things in my hometown.

Big city life, love it, is not easy. The truth is that we do not only live with city-people, but also with people from many-somewhere-else. No, not discrimination, I swear. But I have to admit that..there are lines between city and non-city people. For many times in the street, it happened. Some quickly learn the urban lifestyle. Some may never, and keep on ruining my city. Sad!

Big city life, love it, can be easier. It's a big big market. From a side, I can say most people come to sell and buy. And I realize people in my city really love to sell and buy, anything possible. My aunt wants her son to be accepted to a good school. She tried to use her relationship and finally found a seat. She quit right after hearing "the price" - 4.5 mil VND! Relationship is useless. They sell, just buy.

Some people might have negative look on that situation. But buy and sell undoubtedly help our lives better. I once imagined what would happen if one day, everything can be sold ? I may try to buy a seat for my children if I have enough money. That's a big thing. Small things? Sometimes I'm late for a movie. So good if someone come and re-sell their tickets for me. So inspiring. And I found out this morning that " you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one" . "Zaarly" has already done that.

I read about it on The New York Times, more information here, and I think this idea will soon spread wide. Won't have to wait too long.

Hey is there anybody want to "buy" me? I'm on sale!

Welcome to "XNM" !!!

2011-08-08T22:10:00.000+07:00

Last night, I had had to wait until midnight to post "it", which had took all my mind for three week. It's not only a blog, a place to show off my works, to advertise. It's more a decision to me. A small biz, finally. I love the term " entrepreneur" even though I might not understand it deeply enough.

Yep, this is it, my "XNM" at : rkudo-xnm.blogspot.com.
Most people would use " Photography and Retouching ". Not me. I wanna play with my English vocab-ability.
X stands for Exposure
M stands for Manipulation
XNM, my new ambition, are two sides of photography that I love both!

Enough said, hope you'd have some time to check it out.

A friend of mine thought the text was so "Oscar winner" . I agree, hehe. But that's sincerely what I want to say, mostly to my friends who supported what I've done.

Male sunday

2011-08-07T22:38:00.001+07:00

- Finishing some small extra-jobs. Had been working on them through all Saturday and feeling so relaxing now. Just upload and email.
- Still working on the personal project. A service. In fact, a serious small biz.
- Meeting a nice guy who seems to be a potential biz-partner.
- Reading news on Newsweek, then turn to Askmen.com and get excited.
- Gonna be back to the new blog, hehe. The blog of my biz.

well, some thing to share here:
- Feel so sorry for this man, but more sorry for myself when I still haven't had enough money to buy my favorite DSLR.
- Anne Hathaway will be the next Cat-woman!

- Oslo on Askmen, just my curiosity.
(I checked all the list, no city of Vietnam)
- Helmut Newton' polaroids, kool!

- Finally, How presidents react to disaster, on my favorite The New Yorker- seems kool but haven't read yet.

This house that we call home

2011-08-03T09:00:00.002+07:00

From: The New Yorker

"The two of them met twenty-seven years ago, in Columbia, South Carolina: “Gregory and William were both commissioned officers in the U.S. Army.” How much were they asked to hide then, or not tell? They were married in New York, where they live now, last Tuesday.

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2011/08/this-house-that-we-call-home.html#ixzz1TvXfa6Mi""

" I'd buy a big house where we both could live" - Elton John's "Your song"

Is this how we're growing?

2011-08-03T08:55:00.002+07:00

3 months: down

12 months: down

all time: up...wow! (exhale)

Today's schedule

2011-07-30T14:31:00.001+07:00

Morning:
- borrow Canon 50D
- go to district 7 and take some photos for personal research
( with Canon S90 the compact!)
Afternoon:
- Charge the battery
- Haircut
- Go buying baby-oil
- Review sample layouts
Evening:
- Photoshoot with Minh Meo and Khanh Ke
- Go on with "the web"

big big Hanoi

2011-07-30T11:45:00.002+07:00

"The Prime Minister has recently approved the Hà Nội’s master plan until 2030 with a vision toward 2050 to convert the city into a sustainable development capital with synchronous and modern infrastructure system, harmonious cultural values, economic growth, and environmental protection.

The capital in 2030 will have an administrative borderline of around 3,344 km2 with its center – the old Hà Nội – surrounded by satellite cities, towns and countryside"

Want something abstract?

2011-07-30T07:03:00.006+07:00

Picturing the phenomenon: What's an abstract picture? by Bill Benzon, described himself as a thinker, a writer, a musician, an artist, a photographer and a pioneer.

About his blog- New Savanna, he says:
" Humankind got its start on the African savannas some hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years ago. At various times in our cultural history we’ve moved to distinctly new cultural ground, as it were. And so we are moving now, and have been for the past half century. This blog, mostly intellectual, but not entirely so, is how I see that move. Intellectually, I'm broadly interested in culture and the brain. Within that compass, anything could show up here (but most likely won't). Literature and films (including animation), certainly, music as well, and graffiti. But, other things may show up as well. It's a blog, don't you know, it moves."
"Some posts will be moderately hard-core intellectual stuff, not technical, but you’ll have to want to read them. Others will be more relaxed, and a few are likely to be just plain brainless."

Bill also has Youtube and a place on Social Science Research Network

I like his funny comics, his miscellaneous photos, especially the photos of graffiti works, and some of his thoughts. It's going to take me a lot of time to read his whole blog things!

What I find today

2011-07-29T11:27:00.002+07:00

I need the codes

While reading Cyburbia threads, I found a question about building code. And some provided diagrams. However, the best thing was provided is this page : Municode.com

They have a very clear system so that I can find codes of every state in their country.
Accessing a data base of construction management is what architects, planners usually do, to not just make their projects fit well but also reduce effectively the cost of time and money. Well, I was glad to know "moc.gov.vn" website but I think it should be improved a lot and it admins should learn more from other sites among which Municode.com is a good choice.
At the time of posting this entry, I can't access the MOC's web.

The world is urban
Totally agree with the title of that blog. Moreover, I came up with these entries when first visiting the site:

On urban design education

What is so wrong with graffiti

History of the grid

Not new topics but nice to re-discuss.

URBNscape
A kool blog about one of my favorite subjects, urbanscape.
Wonder why they stop blogging? I see the lastest entry was posted on 2010.
I was going to add them to my blogroll

link: http://urbnscape.blogspot.com/

Penn Chintan 2010

Linked to URBNscape and also freezed by the authors, this blog is somehow similar to mine but providing more researching information. I'm spending sometime reading it.

India, India!

link: http://pennchintan10.blogspot.com/

Two dogs and a wheel chair

2011-07-28T09:31:00.002+07:00

From: Thanh Nien

A young ex-diver now still lives and dreams on his wheel chair with the help of his two dogs in Bé island, Ly Son, Quang Ngai.

Inspired by Kelvin Lynch

2011-07-20T15:12:00.004+07:00

Working on a small-size-but-great-importance project, designing a new city center. To make it clear (for me, my boss and the investors), I use the theory of Images of the city by Kelvin Lynch to illustrate the proposed structure of the center. The project area is about 55 ha but I decided to use only 40 ha for the center with a square, commercial centers, a hotel, parks, interior pedestrian area, two types of offices, a community cultural center, a conference hall and an administrative building. Other left will be for a special residential development.
Nothing too much special, just joy at work.

and finally, I combined them all:

Daily Inspiration

2011-07-20T00:27:00.000+07:00

The spinner by ~TotoRino on deviant ART

About leaving by ~loganart on deviant ART

Firewall by ~Thoum on deviant ART

and finally, Dark side of the moon with its loads of Chicago under destruction by Decepticons.

Gold Rush!

2011-07-19T23:59:00.003+07:00

in 10 days

in 3 months

in 1 year

Good news: I don't have enough money to invest on gold, so I have no worry about its pricing up and down.

Bad news: In case I want to invest on gold, it may take me twice as the price the last time I thought of buying gold.

source: sjc.com,vn

something they often forget

2011-07-16T09:23:00.003+07:00

I love futuristic scene. Love them a lot!
But I discover that 8/10 of them forget one element: PLANTS!

In the next century, no matter where would this Earth go to, the cities (if still exist)would not look so dried without a tree like that. With new technology, humanbeings can create artificial environment for plants to grow, or can create new plants that sufficiently produce oxygen. They will be much more cautious about their living environment than we are today. That's what I think. Hope futuristic artist will soon consider this.

Customs Checkpoint by ~kingjamesuk on deviant ART

I have just thought of the Final Fantasy VIII RPG game's fantastic environment. They're futuristic but many of them are green. They may live and study in machine-like schools and cities, but they have various gardens, and even the surrounding world. Well done FFVIII!

Dontbekhoi (quick sketch)

2011-07-15T09:02:00.000+07:00

dontbekhoi sketch by ~redgoat3003 on deviant ART

Daily inspiration (is back)

2011-07-11T09:15:00.001+07:00

yep, spend some time in the morning looking for inspirations for the day.

Sunset from Hong Kong Peak by ~Nujabes on deviant ART

26 by ~magzed on deviant ART

Turbojugends by ~p0m on deviant ART

I can't handle this

2011-07-09T20:56:00.006+07:00

Found this from a post of a Facebook's friend.
I can't handle til thinking of something good to type here for my most favorite and most inspiring band.

I was shocked when they covered the Adele's new hit "Rolling in the deep". When I first heard some first sentences, I felt Chester sang the wrong notes. But then things went all okay, LP rocks! After listening again and again, I think Chester and Mike did very well and some wrong notes are usual to a singer in such a huge performance. Moreover, if any body ever sings rock, he would understand this because the voice will be distorted a little bit after several screaming. I guess if they're gonna cover this song again, Mike will add in LP-style background music at the end.

In the same show, it's still amazing to watch LP perform "In the end", my first LP song ever. It was LP that introduced rock music to a pop's listener like me.

I don't like Transformer 3's new soundtrack much. "New divide" is still my latest favorite LP-hit with its rhythm, mixings, and some imagination relating to the movie. Here, Mike seems to do some magic with his hand. I don't know what kind of device is it, a "new device" to play? haha

Thanx youtube for all these clips!
Been replaying these three all this Sat.

Maschio Fall/Winter 2011

2011-07-09T08:55:00.010+07:00

from left: Le Thanh Hoa (Creative Director of Celebrity's World magazine), Khanh Ke (stylist of Nam magazine), Tee Lam and Dinh Huong ( editors of RSVP magazine)

crowd of fabulous people, mostly gay.

some celebrities at the first row

we, non-celeb young designers

the Korean-like "365" boyband

the Korean-like

the Karzasky-like

the Maschio

Survey #1

2011-06-30T22:54:00.004+07:00

With Google docs, now I can create some surveys for this blog. To me it has always been interesting to "survey" people since my research for my undergraduate graduation project. A small survey might seem useless but can be an answer to one of my questions or my studies, both academic and professional. I'm focusing on casual issues in my city first. Will expand asap.

Now, the Survey #1.
Thank you very much for spending sometime here. I am willing to share my results with anyone who needs them and I will post the results soon after a certain amount of submission.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

Go panorama!

2011-06-29T09:47:00.004+07:00

Photaf 3D Panorama is the new toy to play on my android phone.

Will make make some nice shot soon and post to their gallery. It's interesting that they have a community to share panoramas, GPS available, and embed into blogs.

There I found some cool stuffs. I think it's easy to take panorama shot. I just have to do carefully. The only problem I've got is the size of the embedded panorama windows. Badly fit my blog column.

Official Survey for my Urban blog

2011-06-26T00:14:00.006+07:00

Hello everybody, I really appreciate your visiting whether it's your first time here or not.
Although I'm busier than ever now, I still want to develop this blog, keep posting stuffs about urban life. That's why I need some suggestions to make it more ...interesting. I will use the result of this survey to make a list of priority for my own. So, even though I don't have much time for postings, I will know what best to do whenever I update this blog.
My focus is not on professional issues or urban design but casual things of the life in cities. It includes graphic design, fashion design, architecture, events, photography, etc. anything that reflects a piece of the urban life. Sometimes I share my private life here but I believe it's also " a piece of an urban life". I always try to write much about my hometown Saigon but maybe I havent gone out much enough to have things to post.

I'm starting with a small survey on Facebook.
And there will be another survey here soon.
My time for survey is about 1 month ( this July) so you can go back and check if you really have time, hehe.
Would love you more for that, lol.

Here are some of my top concerns:

1/ What contents should I add to make this blog more interesting (to readers that like/care/research about urban life/lifestyle)

2/ Is some advertisement okay? I must confess I add ads but dont know what to do with them, dont even know how they work and how they pay me, haha. In fact, I'm BANNED by Google Ads, so this site is non-benificial to me now.

3/ Is my English here okay ? If you find too many flaws, just tell me. I will ...consider, hehe

4/ If you are Non-Saigonese or Non-Vietnamese, what do you want to know about my city?

Please leave your comment below, you dont have to register or sign-in to do that.
Thank you very much!

Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town

2011-06-25T15:54:00.000+07:00

Panasonic's President Fumio Ohtsubo announced on May 26, 2011, it is working together with eight other companies in an eco-conscious smart city project called Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (Fujisawa SST). This smart town concept showcases Panasonic's "entire solutions" business model in full scale and will serve as a worldwide model project of an eco-friendly city in action.
See a news flash by our reporter Cathy in Tokyo, Japan on the announcement.

source

Saigon montage

2011-06-25T14:03:00.000+07:00

another pick-up from Vimeo

Saigon Montage from NEO Production on Vimeo.

Retrospective Saigon 2011

2011-06-24T02:22:00.000+07:00

A set of photos named "Saigon Tour" in 2011 by Chuotcoduoi and his friends who were trying to get back the image of Saigon, Ho Chi Minh city, in 60s 70s.

A photo in the famous collection of LIFE magazine

and the remake in 2011

Ca Mau city

2011-06-22T23:35:00.004+07:00

some photo on my very short trip to Ca Mau city on May 30 2011

a new civic center is under construction

Ca Mau river, under the bridge on Phan Ngoc Hien street

a Big City Plan

2011-06-21T11:38:00.002+07:00

Found this while researching for my current project in Bien Hoa city .
Great work!

Birmingham's Big City Plan is the most ambitious and far-reaching citywide development project ever undertaken in the UK: to create a world class city centre by planning for the next 20 years of transformation, to be in the top 20 most liveable cities in the world and to ultimately progress the city’s continued regeneration, in the spirit of Birmingham, as a global city with a local heart.

BIG CITY PLAN website: http://bigcityplan.birmingham.gov.uk/

The new "New Street Station"
http://youtu.be/WVuwKGN4tC8

Note from a highschool graduation ceremony

2011-06-19T02:07:00.001+07:00

Tin,my cousin, had just got the graduation exam test result and he was having his last ceremony in Bui Thi Xuan highschool. And I came to take some photos for him. Because it was my first time to join a ceremony in another highschool not mine, I was quite excited to experience. Here are some of my notes:

1/ The school was built in Modernism style which was not my favorite one for a highschool. I prefer the yellow wall red tile roof of French conlonial style of schools like Le Quy Don highschool or my le Hong Phong highschool for the gifted.

2/ Never before had I felt "I'm old" as much. Though there are parents at the ceremony, but the boys and girls in white chemise and "ao dai" at their age of 18 made anybody older there have the same feeling with me.

3/ White is always the best colour for student uniform. Clean and bright.

4/ Some people used ceremony as an opportunity to advertise. It's fine but some over-used their chance and it became a bad performance.

5/ Bui Thi Xuan highschool got an amazing achievement with 8 years of 100% of students passing the exam. It's funny that my school "for the gifted" always has someone fail it each year.

6/ 9X generation obviously has a better physical health. I could see the height and thickness of their bodies. When will the youth of Vietnam has the same height as Koreans or Japanese ?

And some photos :-D

motobike-parkings in the school yard

the headmaster and a student

my cousin (on the right) with his friends and his teachers

future ahead, good luck with the University Entrance Exam!

from Silland tower, Binh Chanh

2011-06-12T16:33:00.002+07:00

from my friend's new 110-m2-apartment in Trung Son area, Binh Chanh.
The area urbanscape is quite similar to Phu My Hung. Its location is just 5 minute to Phu My Hung, 5 minute to District 5 and about 15 minute to the city center.

Far in this photo is the Red Bridge of District 7, on the way to Phu My Hung.
The construction site is of another residential tower.

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