For want of a library...

I just read in the March 16th issue of the Chronicle that my alma mater was named as a potential site for the presidential library and museum, which will include the Bush Institute for Democracy. This is yet one more reason why I will no longer contribute to the Alumni Association Fund at SMU.

Thankfully, the Faculty Senate had voted down the resolution, albeit by a very small margin. "The faculty skeptics fear that such an institute would become a partisan spin machine and that its work would tarnish [emphasis mine] the university's reputation."

My fear is that the trustees will want the library and museum (presented as an all-or-nothing deal with the Bush Democracy institute -- a contradiction in terms, I know) so much that they will for the first time disregard the faculty senate's vote (which failed the resolution by such a small margin, mind you). One of the questions that the trustees will have to consider is what will SMU betray by accepting this package, by aligning itself with this institute, an institute that was to "be independently directed [...] and not fall within the university's governance structure." By gaining such resources such as a museum and a library for the community, what will the institution be declaring as its mission and vision for the work of the school? And what does the school risk losing or gaining with this particular added association?

SMU being the private institution that it is will most likely end up supporting the new proposal. It is unfortunate that they are thinking on this when there are so many other worthwhile projects needing their money and attention.

Additionally, by abstaining, what do those three individuals hope to say or not to say? I wonder...

Killed by Christmas decorations

A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education:

When a fire ripped through a maintenance room in the physics building at the University of Maryland at College Park in October 2002, a master electrician, Kurt G. Tassche, died of smoke inhalation. While four other university workers managed to escape, Mr. Tassche, 41, was trapped by Christmas decorations and chairs stored in the cramped space. The illegally stored items were among six serious violations cited by state safety officials during their investigation of the fire.

Trapped by Christmas decorations. So many things come to mind. Lots of jokes and stories to recall.

But it comes down to safety issues and workers' rights. What happens to our workers -- even at, or especially at, academic institutions? The article stated that less inspections were made even as the number of serious injury incidents arose, and even fewer inspections were conducted at institutions of higher learning. Hazardous work, but does it really have to come down to dying because there were too many Christmas decorations trapping you in place?

The he A cong / Generation @

Hai hom truoc, minh di lui thui tren dien dan Talawas, doc duoc mot bai viet vao nam 2003. Bai viet co passion, va co khong it nhung cau hoi kho tra loi. Tac gia mieu ta The He cua The Ky 21, The He A Cong, voi nhung thac mac chinh dang, voi nhung cau hoi dang duoc nhung cau tra loi thang thang.

Toi hom qua, minh xem mot cuoc phong van nho nho tren cuon bang ca nhac "Asia Video". Anh chang MC Trinh Hoi doc cau hoi tu mot vi khan thinh gia, hoi co Hoa Hau Chau A ti hon (nhin xem nhu co ta chi co 15-16 tuoi ma thoi, nhung chac tai vi co tai "may man" nen moi thay tre nhu vay):

"Dieu thay doi quan trong nhat sau khi em thang giai Hoa Hau Chau A la gi?"

Ngay tu luc co ta mo mieng tra loi, minh da cam thay ai nay trong long, mot chut sau ho, mot chut tuc cuoi, mot chut buc boi trong long.

"Da, dieu thay doi quan trong nhat la...la..."

Camera chieu gan vao khuon mat hoan hot cua co ta. Zoom vao that gan, va mang hinh cua tivi hien ro cap mat cua co Hoa Hau nho be. Liec nhin ben trai, liec nhin ben phai. Chang co ai giup co tra loi.

"La... la..." Liec ben phai, liec ben trai.

Trinh Hoi: "La gi em...?"

"Sao ma... hong biet sao ma em gung wa ah!"

Phai chang day la The He A Cong? Phai chang day la The He Tiep Noi? Phai chang day la tuong lai nguoi Viet chung ta?

Trong nuoc va ngoai nuoc, co ai chung kien canh nay ma khong vua cuoi, vua chat luoi, vua thot len hai chu "tiec thay, tiec thay." Co ai ma khong nghi day la bat dau cua su cuoi cung.

That ra, day khong phai mot cau hoi de tra loi. Neu co Hoa Hau cua chung ta kg "rung" nhu nai to truoc anh den san khau, co le co ta da tra loi mot cach suong se voi su tu tin va cang dam. Co le co ta se noi giong nhu hang tram co A Hau va Hoa Hau truoc day, la thang giai da giup co ta cam nhan duoc su quan trong cua dong bao nguoi Viet, va cam nhan duoc su hanh dien cua dan toc minh, de co ta co the gop phan nho nao do de giup cong dong Viet tai Hoa Ky.

Tiec thay, co ta khong nhung rung, ma co ta con chang co mot y tuong nao het (chat xam da bien mat duoc anh den mau!) de tra loi khoi khoi, va cung khong biet noi tieng Viet hoac tieng Anh cho ranh, va toi nghi co ta cung chang hieu ro cau hoi noi ve dieu gi nua kia!

Khong hieu tieng Me De, khong biet tra loi nhung cau hoi don gian va gian di voi su tu tin, khong biet an noi cho khon ngoan, khong biet to ve mot chut "van minh," khong mang su hanh dien cua Cha Me, Ong Ba, khong bay to su khon lanh cua mot nguoi phu nu hien dai -- lam toi nghi co ta nhu la mot gai nha que duoc tuyen chon chi vi khuon mat "de thuong" ma ban chay thi khong co chat luong chut nao. Nhung nghi vay roi, thi thoi phai xin loi, vi noi vay se lam cho nhung co gai tu mien que (o ben day va o ben kia) rat gian va tu ai, vi co le khong co ai "que mua" va "kho khao" nhu co A Hau nho be nay. Neu toi so sanh co ta voi nhung nguoi phu nu khac, chac toi se bi chung chui vi da xuc pham den danh du cua phu nu Viet Nam.

Ma tai sao Trung Tam Asia lai dua nhung co thieu nu nhu vay dung len san khau? De lam tro he cho khan gia xem? De choc nhung co thieu nu nay, de ho se nghi nho suot doi su xau ho cua Cha Me va Ong Ba khi chung kien con chau minh dung len truoc hang trieu dong bao Viet Nam de lam tro cuoi. Trong mot choc lat, su hanh dien Vietnam da bien mat.

Kinh thua quy vi, mot trang phao tay de nhiet liet chao don The He A Cong. Round of applause, please, for Generation @.

Phien Dich "Bien"

Day mot bai viet rat y nghia tren dien dan Talawas [an insightful commentary on Trinh Lu's Vietnamese translation of Banville's The Sea]:

http://www.talawas.org/talaDB/showFile.php?res=9269&rb=0103

September 1, 1939

I sit in one of the dives
On Fifty-second Street
Uncertain and afraid
As the clever hopes expire
Of a low dishonest decade:
Waves of anger and fear
Circulate over the bright
And darkened lands of the earth,
Obsessing our private lives;
The unmentionable odour of death
Offends the September night.

Accurate scholarship can
Unearth the whole offence
From Luther until now
That has driven a culture mad,
Find what occurred at Linz,
What huge imago made
A psychopathic god:
I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return.

Exiled Thucydides knew
All that a speech can say
About Democracy,
And what dictators do,
The elderly rubbish they talk
To an apathetic grave;
Analysed all in his book,
The enlightenment driven away,
The habit-forming pain,
Mismanagement and grief:
We must suffer them all again.

Into this neutral air
Where blind skyscrapers use
Their full height to proclaim
The strength of Collective Man,
Each language pours its vain
Competitive excuse:
But who can live for long
In an euphoric dream;
Out of the mirror they stare,
Imperialism's face
And the international wrong.

Faces along the bar
Cling to their average day:
The lights must never go out,
The music must always play,
All the conventions conspire
To make this fort assume
The furniture of home;
Lest we should see where we are,
Lost in a haunted wood,
Children afraid of the night
Who have never been happy or good.

The windiest militant trash
Important Persons shout
Is not so crude as our wish:
What mad Nijinsky wrote
About Diaghilev
Is true of the normal heart;
For the error bred in the bone
Of each woman and each man
Craves what it cannot have,
Not universal love
But to be loved alone.

From the conservative dark
Into the ethical life
The dense commuters come,
Repeating their morning vow;
'I will be true to the wife,
I'll concentrate more on my work,'
And helpless governors wake
To resume their compulsory game:
Who can release them now,
Who can reach the dead,
Who can speak for the dumb?

All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen or the police;
We must love one another or die.

Defenseless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.

- WH Auden

Fernando Botero's Abu Ghraib exposed

I visited Fernando Botero's exhibit today, and I am glad for doing it, despite the very gruesome images that still linger in my mind. The exhibit is currently showing at the UCB Bancroft Library (and will only be shown at select galleries b/c museums don't want to pick it up). Tomorrow is the last day of the show, and I don't know where it will travel next. Wherever it goes, it will make a lasting impression. "The force of art is the length of time it speaks to people," says Botero. "This is a permanent accusation."

I appreciate the writer of the SFGate article for quoting Botero's statement: "American museums didn't want this exhibit. For whatever reasons, artistic or political, I don't know... Art has to be seen... This is a testimony. It's not anti-American, it's anti-inhumanity."

Each of the paintings depict a scene of violence, torture, humiliation in gruesome, graphic detail. The brush strokes are wide and sweeping, punctuated by prickling drops of red blood. The greens, blacks, ochres of the dark scenes are accentuated by brightly colored women's underwear which the prisoners are forced to wear, or the bright blue latex glove on the hand of a prison guard, or the green or red blindfolds across prisoners' faces, or the bright yellow stream of urine sweeping across the broad backs of the bound prisoners. The contrast created by color is striking, and the darker tones create a depth that surrounds the prisoners who are exposed and bound and tortured in different ways. The dehumanizing and shaming experiences does not, however, strip these prisoners of their dignity. The fleshiness of their bloodied, naked bodies set against barren cells and empty prison corridors contrast with the markedly absent physical presence of the prison guards. I was struck that they were never shown, and the absence speaks more about what is missing in their character more than anything.

This is one artist's expression of horror, outrage, and resistance. This is an artful challenge for us to remember how to be powerful voices for the acts of remembering and change. This is a reminder that we must never forget this as we write and rewrite histories, and that we must ingrain this experience into our histories, our communal narratives, to say that we do not and must not repeat this. Ever.

Visit Art for Change to read another blogger's viewpoint on Botero.

I hope the exhibit continues showing throughout the world for a long time.

Stop the Killings in the Philippines

The Pacific School of Religion PANA Institute suggests writing to our Representatives:

On October 3, 2006, peace and human rights leader Bishop Alberto Ramento was assassinated. His death is one of over 760 civilian deaths and 180 forced disappearnces of community leaders, journalists, activists, and human rights advocates since 2001 thought to be perpetrated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Join the international human rights and religious community in calling for a thorough investigation and an end to these killings and disappearances. Urge Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to take strong action to stop the political killings and disappearances, prosecute perpetrators, and support proompt, independent investigations. Investigate whether the more than $35 million of U.S. military and counter-terrorism aid given to the Philippines government this year is being used to promote or cause these extra-judicial killings.

N.B. The recent fact-finding trip of the UMC CA-NV Conference Delegation estimates that approximately 4.6 billion is the more probably figure of aid that was provided to the Philippines government.

Word Play

Sometimes images fail by themselves, especially in postmodern art, to communicate anything comprehensible to the general public... Sometimes words fail by themselves. In this show, words and images come to the aid of each other, aiming to avoid the cartoonish and striving toward some fleeting profundity beyond paint and beyond language. -- Lawrence Ferlinghetti

I just found out that I missed the opportunity to see Ferlinghetti's Word Play art exhibit at the Krevsky Gallery (Geary Street, SF). Bummer.

I've been intrigued by this writer/artist who so openly questions the meaning of symbols, words, images, etc. with such pointedness and w/o high-handedness. In a recent KQED Sparks show (a rerun, I think), he spoke about his Word Play exhibit, remarking on the obsurdity of how some art (could he also have meant writing?) was meant to obfuscate and thus was deemed avant-garde.

Taking his quotation under examination, I'm reminded of Lessing's Laocoon (which I am courageously plowing through at a snail's pace -- yes, plowing at a snail's pace) which was (dare I say it) the quintessential German piece of writing that articulated (rather harshly and too definitively at times) the distinction between painting and poetry. The argument is the same throughout the ages -- poetry is painting, painting is poetry, or painting is not poetry and poetry is not painting, etc. Lessing was eloquent about his distinction between the two (they differ in the object of representation, as well as in the manner of representation), but I was more interested in him stressing that they are in fact both representing absence and illusion. Certainly something to think about...

In different languages

Spurious Bastard asked and so I shall reply...

Very recently, VV asked me to translate into English some Viet songs which he had composed. I'm not a lyricist, and I'm not as well-versed in my mother tongue as I'd like to be, but it was a challenge and invitation I could not refuse. Because the song I began translating actually originated as a poem, I had to first translate the poem. I will write more about these particular efforts at a later time, but for this HATpost, I want to focus on how this has inspired me to begin crafting poetry in Vietnamese.

Because Vietnamese is a tonal language (with 6 tones!), Viet poetry naturally falls into rhythms and is easily rendered in metered verse. In fact, if we look at "tho luc bat", which is (crassly explained by me) poetry written in couplets of 6/8 , it is quite evident why the thousand years of Vietnamese literature was specifically written in this style (that is, after the Nom script was no longer used).

An example from Nguyen Du's Truyen Kieu demonstrates this (if you don't read the Vietnamese, it's pretty hard to hear the resonant tones and rhymes, but you'll at least have a general idea):

La gi thanh-khi le hang,
mot day mot buoc ai giang cho ra.

In Vietnamese with diacritics:

Lạ gì thanh-khí lẽ hằng,
một dây một buộc ai giằng cho ra.

In English:

Naturally, when two kindred spirits meet,
one tie one knot none can break loose.

(But, I'll write more about this later.) Despite my love of reading Tho Luc Bat, I am terrible at writing poetry in Vietnamese. I combined what VV deems the heart and spirit of Vietnamese poetry with a different form. In lieu of the 6/8 Luc Bat, I chose "thơ suông" (free verse) following in a Vietnamization of the very traditional form.

For me, it seemed apropo to weave such "traditional" content with (for V. poetry like mine) very post-modern/contemporary forms b/c I want to represent the numerous, conflicted "I's" that is ultimately me. I don't know how many times my Vietnamese friends have marveled at the contradiction that I am. Though raised in southern California, I carry with me a surprising large vocabulary (and other things besides) of very archaic Vietnamese -- and these are terms, phrases, and idiomatic expressions that signify a very different time period in Vietnam's cultural, political, social, and economic history. I am in love with older, more traditional music (nhac tien chien, nhac vang, nhac xanh) and poets (Nguyen Du, Han mac Tu, Nguyen Trai, v.v.) and that amazes them. I eat very strange things that most Vietnamese Americans wouldn't touch (mam ruoc and sau rieng for example) and I love these culinary delights.

A friend of mine said gently once that I don't appear at all like a Vietnamese girl. Not all Vietnamese are good. Not all non-Vietnamese are good. I don't know whether she meant that as a positive remark or a negative remark, because who hasn't wanted to be easily recognized as or associated with something familiar and positive. And I terribly miss being identified as a decent Vietnamese person (I've been mistakened as Latina, Malaysian, Philippina, and Thai). I covet my multi-cultural background. I relish my bilingual self. I work hard at maintaining and cultivating my Vietnamese, at remembering these very particular parts of the "Viet me". I mourn that "on the surface appearnce" loss - I may still be wearing black because of it. But in reflection, it seems a good thing, b/c those who wish to know who I am must ask me (dialogue, listen, engage, etc) so I can show them what I am made of.

And that's what the poetry is about. On the page, the poem looks unlike the traditional Vietnamese poem. It may not be of the same quality as Nguyen Du's Truyen Kieu and I am not of the same caliber, but at the heart of it, the poem wants to be something more -- to be as complex, intricate, and passionate as it can be. On the surface, the poems are strange looking and possibly strange sounding, but they are poetic manifestations of something real. Although the utterances aren't always so beautiful, they try to speak in different languages.

Commission on Status of Women & Arroyo in Philippines

This past Sunday, I attended a presentation given by the Chair of the Asian American Ministry of the United Methodist Church CA-NV Conference. She talked about the recent fact-finding mission to the Philippines in which she and the Conference's Bishop and other UMC representatives interviewed many survivors of the recent extra-judicial killings in Philippines.

The killings are real, the survivors are in hiding, and the struggle continues to gain support from the global communities. The raids, arrests, and assassination attempts target the leaders and members of groups that have openly opposed the government in one way or another -- thereby labeling them as terrorists or communists. In October 2006, the most outspoken, progressive leader of the movement for reform and human rights issues, Bishop Ramento of the Philippine Indepenedent Church, was assassinated. The unofficial word is that the military is responsible for the killiings because the military arm of the government was asked to support President Gloria Arroya by whatever means necessary against these enemies of the state. The people who have been targeted are known to have spoken against some of Arroyo's policies, thus they are blacklisted as terrorists. Things are much more complicated than this, I know, but the delegation that went to the Philippines will be presenting their case in full detail to the convention of the UMC CA-NV conference, when we will have more information about this fact-finding trip.

Hearing this, I was surprised to read on the website of the UN Commission on the Status of Women that in the fall of 2006, President Gloria Arroya was 45th on Forbes Magazine's 100 most powerful women -- above Queen Elizabeth and Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar. How is this possible? Why is this possible? The website makes note of this as a point of pride, as an example of the great strides we have made in bringing women equally into the war of politics and government. Yes, we've made great strides with empowering women such as Arroyo, who is so in love with her position of power that she will stoop to such dehumanizing tactics.

I am ashamed to say that I rejoiced when Arroyo was voted as President of the Philippines. I was naively under the impression that we as a global community had sufficiently progressed to a different sort of government that embraces gender equality and which willingly accepts the people's choices for powerful female leaders of a country.

Now, I am sorry to hear of these extra-judicial killings. I am even more sorry to hear (at the presentation) that the U.S. had given $4.6 billion to the Philippines to jumpstart its own war on terror. What kind of world are we coming to?

Em Di Tren Co Non

Em đi trên cỏ non mọc ôm đôi bờ đường đê.
Em che nghiêng nón lá chân rụt rè qua nhịp cầu tre.
Quê hương em ở ngoại thành xóm nhà tranh,
em đi wa mấy sông vượt mấy đèo,
dẩu trèo lên đỉnh cao mấy núi cũng lặn lội về thăm.

Em quên tên luống rau càng cua mọc bờ thềm xưa,
nhưng em không thể quên cây cầu dừa mưa rụng giọt mưa.
Cha đưa em đi học ngôi trường xa,
đôi chân em bé nhỏ sợ lấm bùn cha ngồi xuống cõng em cha nói cỡi ngựa ngựa phi.
Xám khói xám chân mây hỏi rằng có phải sương mai.
Trắng áo trắng ai đi vội vàng bóng dáng thơ ngây.

Tia nắng nhuộm vàng thôn xóm,
cơn gió rụng bông bưởi trắng.
Nghe có gì như tha thướt.
Qua lối mòn chưa quen biết.

Em chưa đi trên cỏ non chưa từng nghe mát rượi bàn chân.
Em chưa qua mấy khúc sông chưa được nhìn voi vịn chiều hôm.
Em chưa yêu ngoại thành,
khi mà em chưa nghe trái tim mình rung động,
thuở mẹ gặp cha thương lắm như ruộng đợi phù sa.

- Bắc Sơn, tình ca quê hương

Em Di Tren Co Non
Em di tren co non moc om doi bo duong de.
Em che nghieng non la chan rut re qua nhip cau tre.
Que huong em o ngoai thanh xom nha tranh,
em di wa may song vuot may deo,
dau treo len dinh cao may nui cung lan loi ve tham.

Em quen ten luong rau cang cua moc bo them xua,
nhung em khong the quen cay cau dua mua rung giot mua.
Cha dua em di hoc ngoi truong xa,
doi chan em be nho so lam bun cha ngoi xuong cong em cha noi coi ngua ngua phi.
Xam khoi xam chan may hoi rang co phai suong mai.
Trang ao trang ai di voi vang bong dang tho ngay.

Tia nang nhuom vang thon xom,
con gio rung bong buoi trang.
Nghe co gi nhu tha thuot.
Qua loi mon chua quen biet.

Em chua di tren co non chua tung nghe mat ruoi ban chan.
Em chua qua may khuc song chua duoc nhin voi vin chieu hom.
Em chua yeu ngoai thanh,
khi ma em chua nghe trai tim minh rung dong,
thuo me gap cha thuong lam nhu ruong doi phu sa.

- Bac Son

Visit NhacSo.net to hear Huong Lan and Hoai Nam sing this (cac ban men, day co vong co nua nhe! Hay chuan bi tinh than!):

Em Đi Trên Cỏ Non Sáng tác: Chưa rõ - Thể hiện: Chưa rõ

Dem Nay Ai Dua Em Ve

Đêm nay ai đưa em về
Đường khuya sao trời lấp lánh
Đêm nay ai đưa em về
Mắt em sao chiếu long lanh

Đêm nay khi em đi rồi
Đường khuya riêng một mình tôi
Đêm nay khi em đi rồi
Tôi về đêm bước lẻ loi

Người yêu ơi trong tình muộn
Người yêu ơi trong tình buồn
Trọn tình yêu ta đã trao nhau
Hãy quên niềm đau
Thời gian ơi xin dừng lại
Thời gian ơi xin dừng lại
Cho đôi tình nhân yêu trong muộn màng
Đừng khóc ly tan

Đêm mai ai đưa em về
Mình em trên hè phố vắng
Đêm mai ai đưa em về
Mắt em lệ ướt long lanh

Đêm mai không ai đưa về
Người ơi xin đừng hờn dỗi
Đêm nay cô đơn đi về
Xin người hãy nhớ tình tôi

- Nhật Ngân, (nhạc vàng)

Dem Nay Ai Dua Em Ve
Dem nay ai dua em ve
Duong khuya sao troi lap lanh
Dem nay ai dua em ve
Mat em sao chieu long lanh

Dem nay khi em di roi
Duong khuya rieng mot minh toi
Dem nay khi em di roi
Toi ve dem buoc le loi

Nguoi yeu oi trong tinh muon
Nguoi yeu oi trong tinh buon
Tron tinh yeu ta da trao nhau
Hay quen niem dau
Thoi gian oi xin dung lai
Thoi gian oi xin dung lai
Cho doi tinh nhan yeu trong muon mang
Dung khoc ly tan

Dem mai ai dua em ve
Minh em tren he pho vang
Dem mai ai dua em ve
Mat em le uot long lanh

Dem mai khong ai dua ve
Nguoi oi xin dung hon oi
Dem nay co don di ve
Xin nguoi hay nho tinh toi.

- Nhat Ngan

Beach find...

Emery Point

I can't explain in clearer words how wonderful it is to live where I live. I am grateful for the resources that I have, and give thanks for all Creation. On days like this day, when we went to Emery Point, I am absolutely speechless, and can only resort to minimal phrases... so here's the picasa web album to say it all...

Lost and Found at Emery Point

Emery Point is my slice of the Bay -- a small portion off the Pacific Ocean that is practically at my doorstep. You don't just find fishermen and windsurfers and bikers and swimmers in colorful bathing suits. This is stuff of a photographer's dream. But it's really an environmental nightmare.

Vai Giot Suong Mai

Gap em moi mot lan dau
Ma nhu da co soi sau van vuong
Xin chongan bot dam duong
De toi uom mong binh thuong rue m
Xin troi dung de bong dem
De trong hau mai sang niem nho nhung
Cung xin dung co bao bung
De nghe tieng sao khong trung vong dai
Va xin vai giot suong mai
De hoa voi muc viet bai tinh ca.

- Duc Trung

Vài Giọt Sương Mai

Gặp em mơí một lần đầu
Mà như đã có sợi sầu vấn vương
Xin cho ngắn bớt dặm đường
Để tôi ươm mộng bình thường ru em
Xin trời đừng để bóng đêm
Để trông nhau mãi sáng niềm nhớ nhung
Cũng xin đừng có bão bùng
Để nghe tiếng sáo không trung vọng dài
Và xin vài giọt sương mai
Để hòa với mực viết bài tình ca.

- Đức Trung

Sau Rieng

Sầu Riêng

Sầu riêng, riêng một ta sầu
Nào ai biết được nỗi sầu riêng ta
Riêng sầu đầy ắp lòng hoa
Trời xanh mây trắng biết ta riêng sầu
Nỗi niềm chồng chất canh thâu
Lắng khuya sầu rụng… rụng sầu riêng ta.

Sầu riêng, riêng một em sầu
Không ai biết được nỗi sầu riêng em
Riêng sầu phủ kín lòng đêm
Mênh mông rừng biển biết em riêng sầu
Trăng buồn tỏa lạnh canh thâu
Lắng khuya sầu rụng… rụng sầu riêng em.

- Đức Trung

Sau Rieng

Sau rieng, rieng mot ta sau
Nao ai biet duoc noi sau rieng ta
Rieng sau day ap long hoa
Troi xanh may trang biet ta rieng sau
Noi niem chong chat canh thau
Lang khuya sau rung… rung sau rieng ta.

Sau rieng, rieng mot em sau
Khong ai biet duoc noi sau rieng em
Rieng sau phu kin long dem
Menh mong rung bien biet em rieng sau
Trang buon toa lanh canh thau
Lang khuya sau rung… rung sau rieng em.

- Duc Trung

Polar bears relocating to warmer locales

Earlier this week, I heard on the radio that there was a conference held somewhere to discuss whether or not to consider polar bears as an endangered species. NPR played a short clip of a woman who got up to speak. She actually said that she wasn't sure whether or not polar bears will die if the ice caps and glaciers all melted. It's not definitive if their livelihood depends on the ice not melting. Apparently, I and others who think like me are wrong in believing that global warming is an indirect/direct cause of glaciers melting which in turn will endanger the polar bears. It's a slippery slope I'm sitting on (not unlike one of the ones polar bears would sit on if the ice doesn't all melt away). We've recognized the dangers of global warming. We know that polar bears live in very cold weather and make their homes on ice. We know ice melts in warmer climates.

Help me out, folks. What am I missing here...?

There must be other places that polar bears can live. Perhaps they'll live in the rainforest.

Oops, those are gone too. Maybe the polar bears will just migrate to the nearest Irish pub, buy Irish coffees and debate whether or not global warming should be a world wide concern.

Nang Ban Mai

Nắng ban mai, là sáng là sáng
Nắng theo gió phất phơi về
miền viễn xứ, từ quê nghèo, từng gốc phố
buồn tan biến trong bóng, nắng chào
buổi sáng, chào buổi sáng

Nắng ra đi, ra đi
trong hoàng hôn, lời vĩnh biệt
gởi trên vành trăng đơn côi,
từ miền xa nắng nhớ
đường về, đường về

Nắng lên cao, từng giọt nắng,
suốt đoạn đường
yên lặng với câu thơ, nắng bơ vơ
chẳng bao giờ quên, nắng nhớ
đường về, nắng ban mai
là sáng là sáng

- HT

Toc Mai Soi Van Soi Dai

Thuở ấy em vừa thôi kẹp tóc
Thuở ấy anh vừa thôi học xong
Yêu anh, yêu anh em làm thơ
Yêu em, yêu em anh soạn nhạc

Thuở ấy thơ còn non mùi sữa
Thuở ấy tiếng đàn nghe vụng quá
Cho nên không khoe nhau bài thơ
Cho nên không khoe nhau bài nhạc

Ở nhà mẹ dạy câu ca
Mang ra cho nhau nghe nhé
Ở nhà mẹ dạy câu ru
Mang ra cho nhau ghi nhớ.

A à ! Lan Huệ sầu ai Lan Huệ héo
Lan Huệ sầu đời trong héo ngoài tươi.

Từ đó ta thành đôi tình nhân
Từ đó ta cùng vui tình xuân
Yêu nhau, yêu nhau theo thời gian
Xa nhau, xa nhau theo mộng tàn

Từ đó em làm dâu người ta
Từ đó anh thành anh nghệ sĩ
Em thôi, em thôi không làm thơ
Em yên, em yên vui chuyện nhà

Còn đời người bạn năm nao
Trôi theo, trôi theo cơm áo
Cười đùa đàn địch xôn xao
Nhưng không quên câu hoa héo.

A à ! Lan Huệ sầu ai Lan Huệ héo
Lan Huệ sầu đời trong héo ngoài tươi.

Đời sống trôi hoài không nghỉ ngơi
Đời sống kéo dài cõi trần ai
Con tim, con tim gieo ngàn nơi
Anh yêu, anh yêu cũng nhiều rồi

Lòng vẫn thương người em tuổi thơ
Lòng vẫn nhớ tình duyên ngày xưa
Bao nhiêu, bao nhiêu thiên Trường Ca
Không qua, không qua câu Mẹ hò

Ngày nào Mẹ dạy câu ca
Đôi ta ru nhau trong gió
Ngày rày đọc lại câu thơ
Mưa rơi, mưa rơi trên má.

A à ! Tóc mai sợi vắn sợi dài
Lấy nhau chẳng đặng, thương hoài ngàn năm

- Phạm Duy

Fernando Botero: Abu Ghraib Art Exhibition

Abu Ghraib Art Exhibition Details
+ Location: Room 190, Doe Library, UC Berkeley
+ Showing: January 29 - March 23, 2007
+ Hours: M-Th 10:00am - 7:00pm; F-Sat 10:00am - 5:00pm

This exhibit includes 24 paintings and 23 drawings from the provocative Abu Ghraib collection by Colombian artist Fernando Botero that depict the torture of Iraqi prisoners at the infamous Iraq prison.

This collection has been exhibited in major museums throughout Europe, but never in museums in the United States. Botero is considered Latin America's best known living artist and is among the best known artists in the world today.

In conjunction with this exhibit, the Center for Latin American Studies is hosting a series of related events. There will be a panel on "Torture, Human Rights and Terrorism" Wednesday, March 7, 4:00 p.m. at Booth Auditorium, Boalt Hall School of Law.

The discussion features Aryeh Neier (Pres. of Open Society Institute, NYU Adjunct Prof. of Law), José Zalaquett (Pres. of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; Prof. of Law; co-director of the Human Rights Center at Univ. of Chile’s Law School.), Jenny Martinez (Stanford Assoc. Prof. of Law, argued the Rumsfeld v. Padilla case), and Philip Zimbardo (former Pres. of American Psychological Assoc.).

Webcasts of the previous Botero at Berkeley events are also available, including "A Conversation With the Artist" between former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass and Fernando Botero, and the "Art and Violence" panel discussion.

Newspaper articles on the exhibit from the San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, and Associated Press are also available.

Lenten earthquakes, version 4.2

A UC Berkeley seismologist said that the epicenter of yesterday's 4.2 earthquake was on the Lafayette faultline. He said that even though the minor earthquake measured from a depth of 10 miles (versus the usual 5 mile depth) which causes more people to feel the effect, it is still an insignificant tremor.

Because the previous earthquakes have only measured about 3.4 on Richter, yesterday's 4.2 felt as more powerful and shocking. We were jolted out of our indifference last night. More and more, these quakes have impressed on me a greater sense of mortality...

It hasn't slipped my mind that for two years now the quakes have occured in the Lenten season, a time when we all, theoretically, remember the meaning of Christ's sacrifice, when we repent of our negligence and wastefulness, and renew our commitments as members of a Body of faith.

The human race has neglected and abused this planet for so long, it isn't surprising that Mother Earth is sighing and shifting in impatience -- impatience at the slow pace with which we respond to the changes that are occurring, and impatience at our resistance to being proactive in preserving our planet.

Bay Area Quake!!

At about 8:40 p.m. this evening, a 4.2 earthquake centered in the Lafayette area jolted me out of my reverie. Immediately after the quake hit, the news stations began reporting that people were calling to report that books and things had fallen off their shelves. Is that really news?

I'm beginning to wonder whether the Bay Area communities are prepared if the big quake really hits. It's not too far away, the Big One, and I shudder to think of all the damage and destruction that will result.

Donate blood, folks! It's a precious commodity.

I'm reminded of Al Gore's statement on Oscar night -- Will power: it's a renewable resource!!

Why I Hate... AsianWeek's Faux Pas

While I loathe to join in any sort of forum that contributes to the popularizing of something as undeserving as Kenneth Eng's racist Op Eds on AsianWeek, so many people have commented on Kenneth Eng's ignorant, racist rant that I feel compelled to participate in the discussion.

I've decided not to link to any of his articles or to any sites that post his articles (even in commentary) b/c I think they should not be posted and reposted in cyberspace. Suffice it to say, his pieces are filled with anger, ignorance, prejudice, racism, and bad, uneducated writing.

I am disappointed, however, that so few people responded (whether in agreement or disagreement) when AsianWeek published his article "Why I Hate Asians". It was only when his article "Why I Hate Blacks" was published that the comments started rolling in. Interestingly, it was the leaders in the Asian communities that denounced the magazine for publishing that kind of rubbish, and it was the Asian community that apologized for such poor journalism. After that, it all broke loose.

But, you don't hear the public outcry against his rantings against Asians. You don't even know that he wrote an article deriding many different races. Racism at all levels, directed to any individual or any group, is unacceptable. Without doubt. It is a shame that any of the articles of such a person was ever published. A real shame.