Tuesday, December 21, 2010

(fame and) Identity (cont'd)

some people don't care about Identity at all
they do have Identity ie. a name, a nationality, the outlook
but they don't really have Personalities ie. special or strong likes/ hates/ feelings/ opinions about certain things/ people

some people care too much about Identity
dress too much
make up too much
show too much
that they forget about the inner values/ charms

i know this girl who doesn't want to talk/ mention about her secondary school just because it is not a well-known one, which is also my primary school - Doan Ket primary school - a local one :)

we both went to a well known top high school in Hanoi, Vietnam ~ Hanoi Amsterdam ~ and yes we are all proud of it

why does she have to reject her secondary school though?
she is still friends with some from Doan Ket isn't she
does she react like that about the school when talking with them?
how would they feel about it?
she spent four years there
had friends there

why does she have to reject it?

ridiculous relationship between people and fame
sometimes fame is built up purely from popularity
and not all the time popularity equals quality

honestly personally i learned the most, not from Ams, but from my secondary school, Ngo Si Lien :) oh well yes, another top one, but it was Actually Good in term of Educating students with Knowledge and Skills, not just the fame (for students who got into specialized classes only actually...)

for Ams, it was just All about the study abroad spirit that i guess Every single student gets and has since the first day we get in
for me it was in 2003, grade 10, newly got in Ams when chi Nhung got out of Ams to go to Harvard - we knew about it from Hoa Hoc Tro's article

before i got into Ams, anh Chau was in the finale of 'Duong len dinh Olympia' (The way to the top of Olympia) and i was inspired when reading in Hoa Hoc Tro that he knows a lot about Astronomy and thought i would have the chance to study that with huge telescopes when being in Ams

my bubble broke
turned out he learned all on his own
that's the Ams's thing
you learn nothing from classes
but have the freedom to do whatever you want

three years in Ams i had lots of...ambitious friends
most of them are now studying abroad
i finally made my 'dream' too now

three years in Ams
half of it i had fun
the other half of it i had tears
lots of them...
closest friends flew away (Ly, Zeo)
parents broke up, again. And still stay together to fight with each other, everyday, as always
broke up with so-called first puppy love
i never thought i would let myself be that miserable because of a guy, back then, a boy
but i guess, more or less, i was
until recently
i used to always think i can be strong all the time
but i am not

three years after Ams
i lost myself in the studying abroad dream
i let myself completely Lost in there
internships
activities
jobs
obsessions
applications
depressions

i lost three years of actually Living a life

if it were not for the Ams's studying abroad popular wave
i could have
learned more
travelled within Vietnam more
discovered Hanoi more
lived more

as how i did
in the last year
before it was too late

before i made the 'dream'
without living too much for 'it'
with more balancing my life

so thanks Ams
but also shame on me
for letting myself completely 'go with the flow'
of your popularity ~ studying abroad
that made me, more or less, lose three years
or more
five years
of my life
having lived too much for that dream
but not for my Real life
when i were in
in Hanoi, Vietnam

it's also because
i thought that were the only way
for me
to run away from
the house, i mean, the hell
my parents build up together
that we were all stuck in
or we all let ourselves stuck in
which they still do...
now...

but it's not the only way
and it doesn't have to be the best way
i thought of being an au pair/ nanny...abroad
why does it always have to be abroad baby?
because i wanted to travel the world
i still do, but in a slightly different way...
i still want to see different parts, places, people on earth
with my own eyes and ears
to see, feel, touch, taste, listen, smell
them all

but the more i live
the more i see and feel
they are, more or less, the same
we are, more or less, the same...

i still want to travel
but it's much more about and to
meet my old friends again
meet new friends
be with favourite friends
on, during, after each trip/ journey :)

i could have worked and lived
in Hoi An
or Sai Gon
or other less popular places in Vietnam
that i should have known more of and been to
and i will
sooner or later
in the near future :)

i really would have done so
if its not for the 'dream' i finally made it
without living too much for it in the last year
so i'm here

but not for the fame
i don't fancy London enough
maybe yet
until i find more charms here
not popular tourist places and stuff...

i could have been in Canterbury for Kent instead
and doing Anthropology as i wished and got it
if it doesn't have to be about the scholarship...
and i really enjoyed the peace and beauty in Cambridge :)

but what do i know
finally i'm doing Contemporary Media
which is Not the popular tv production media as it might sound
it's a combination of photography, film, video and digital media things i've more or less been doing and enjoy doing
from my heart
in the last few years

i hope i can combine
anthropology Qualitative research method
and
Contemporary media
to make worthy media productions
that people can actually learn some thing from it

at the same time a creative work can just be about expressing
oneself
to be then reflected through, might be small, might be large a number of people
the point of expressing
is to share
to speak out
we are never actually alone in anything
we just feel like we are
because we haven't seen or heard the same things

and if creative products work better than long text books or speeches
to share
thoughts
feelings
knowledge
then that Is the reason why
i am happy
learning and trying to do the same thing
as what i would have done in Anthropology
just in a different way of expression now
with Contemporary Media Practice

there is a combination actually
Visual Anthropology
and that's what i've been trying to do
by filming documentaries

--
my name on fb/ email is 'sam Hang Tran'
'sam' is my english name
that's why it is not in capital because it is not my birthname
and i also prefer 'sam' to not stand tall in capital but be really humble and simple
just as how i want myself to be

i'm not quite in love with my vietnamese name
because it's not special
my parents don't have a special or just interesting story for it
just because it starts with 'H' as how my dad's name 'Hai' starts
and he thinks girls with name 'Hang' are bold, which is a sweet thought
and it turns out he has been making me to Have To be strong, mentally speaking...
with his mental and physical violence towards my mom and i...
'Hang' is also an India's river
and his name 'Hai' means 'the sea'...
actually, it starts to seem quite sweet why he wanted to name me Hang now
...

and i saw myself in Samantha from 'Now and Then' (1995)
when i was 14
Sam's a 12 year old girl in the movie
about a four girl friendship back in the 70s
sam and i share the same thoughts and feelings
sitting on the roof thinking writing
wholeheartedly passionate about friendship
divorced parents...

--
easily distracted but once concentrate
when i'm really into doing something
i don't eat/ drink/ pee etc. at all
All is forgotten and held back

also difficult to really fall for someone
but once i am with one
the world is 'two in a million'

i'm not sure if this is good
it is said the truth lies in between
and i hate lies
but i've always been to the extremes
in the late years...

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Asger




A Dane

London December 2010

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

self and/ vs selfishness

individuality/ self vs. selfishness


nothingness for self & lots for community


similarities?


differences?


to be cont'd

Sunday, December 5, 2010

I'm Just A Kid - Reference (2)

All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. ~Pablo Picasso

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo da Vinci


Saturday, December 4, 2010

I'm Just A Kid - Reference (1)

Movie: Selected scenes from ‘Harold and Maude’ (1977)


Motorcycle Officer: License, lady?
Maude: I don't have one. I don't believe in them.
Motorcycle Officer: How long you been driving, lady?
Maude: About 45 minutes,
[turning to Harold]
Maude: Wouldn't you say, Harold? We were hoping to start sooner but you see it's rather hard to find a truck.
Motorcycle Officer: This your truck?
Maude: Oh no, I just took it.



Harold: [referring to police officer] He's following us.
Maude: Is he? Police always want to play games!




Harold: What were you fighting for?
Maude: Oh, big issues. Liberty. Rights. Justice. Kings died, kingdoms fell. I don't regret the kingdoms - what sense in borders and nations and patriotism? But I miss the kings.



Maude: A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they are not dead, really. They're just backing away from life. *Reach* out. Take a *chance*. Get *hurt* even. But play as well as you can. Go team, go! Give me an L. Give me an I. Give me a V. Give me an E. L-I-V-E. LIVE! Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room.



Harold: Maude.
Maude: Hmm?
Harold: Do you pray?
Maude: Pray? No. I communicate.
Harold: With God?
Maude: With *life*.



Maude: Vice, Virtue. It's best not to be too moral. You cheat yourself out of too much *life*. Aim above morality. If you apply that to life, then you're bound to live life fully.



Maude: Harold, *everyone* has the right to make an ass out of themselves. You just can't let the world judge you too much.



Maude: You know, at one time, I used to break into pet shops to liberate the canaries. But I decided that was an idea way before its time. Zoos are full, prisons are overflowing...oh my, how the world still dearly loves a cage.



Maude: Tell me, do you dance?
Harold: Pardon me?
Maude: Do you sing and dance?
Harold: Uh, no.
Maude: Uh, no. I thought not.
[laughs]



Harold: You hop in any car you want and just drive off?
Maude: Well, not any car - I like to keep a variety. I'm always looking for the new experience.
Harold: [smiling] Maybe.
Harold: [more seriously] Nevertheless, I think you're upsetting people. I don't know if that's right.
Maude: Well, if some people get upset because they feel they have a hold on some things, I'm merely acting as a gentle reminder: here today, gone tomorrow, so don't get attached to things.



Maude: [gesturing to a sick tree growing through a sidewalk] Harold, we have *got* to do something about this life.
Harold: What?
Maude: We'll transplant it. To the forest.
Harold: You can't do that.
Maude: Why not?
Harold: This is public property.
Maude: Well, *exactly*.



Maude: [to a motorcycle officer] *Don't* get officious. You're not yourself when you're officious - That is the curse of a government job.



Maude: The earth is my body; my head is in the stars.
[pauses]
Maude: Who said that, Harold?
Harold: I don't know.
Maude: Well, I suppose I did, then



Harold: Maude?
Maude: Yeah?
Harold: [pulls the stamped coin from the arcade out of his pocket] Here.
Maude: A gift!
[reads the engraving]
Maude: "Harold loves Maude."... and Maude loves Harold. This is the nicest gift I've received in years.
[she throws the stamped coin into the water]
Harold: [gasps, bemused]
Maude: So I'll always know where it is.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067185/quotes

Friday, December 3, 2010

I'M JUST A KID!






My idea about Identity is


‘Why do we need to be identified?’


In my opinion, as long as people are asked to be identified or have the need to be identified – that’s sad.


Why are we asked to be identified?


ID Cards

Uni Cards

Passport

Visa

With Photos, Names, Numbers


So that people who don’t belong to that certain university, city, country can’t enter.

When we still need what is called ‘security’ that means we are afraid, we are scared, we are terrified of those who don’t belong to our ‘groups’, ‘countries’; that means there are bad or horrified people that we need to keep track of; that means people can be evil so we need their records to find them when they turn to be so. And that’s sad.



Why do we want to be identified?


Clothes/ Phones/ Laptops

A boyfriend/ girlfriend

A group of ‘friends’

Facebook


How are we without them?

Who we are without them?


We want to belong.

We want to possess things, people.

When we own something or someone who is valuable to us, we are afraid to lose them and that’s what makes our lives miserable.

To some extent, we are imprisoned in our own small cages of materialistic life when we want to possess things or people.


It’s not comfortable to walk on high heels, to wear tight clothes or to have lots of make-up on our faces.

It’s not comfortable to be in a miserable relationship.

It’s not comfortable to try to be someone else not the true you to fit into a group.

It’s tiring to sit in front of a computer taking care of our profile photos and statuses to show people how we are living our life.

It’s not comfortable having to take care of expensive phones, laptops.


But we’re still buying all that clothes, wearing all that on, keeping all that relationships – to possess, to be identified, to belong. And with all that, we judge others on what they wear, who they are with, what university they study, where they are from.


And that’s sad.



9 year old Elliot and his 6 year old triplet brothers~ my buddies on the trainLondon - CambridgeOctober 29th 2010



Let’s take a look at happy carefree kids around us!


They are not old enough to be asked for cards.

No card. No number.

Just smiles.



Bi ~ my little cousin. Summer 2006.


They don’t care about clothes, phones.

They don’t need a boy/girlfriend

They don’t need to belong to any certain group.

They don’t judge others by all these things.


They are happy in their little own world.

They walk carefree happily.

Dancing on their tip toes.

Scream, sing, fly

whenever they want

wherever they are

whoever they are with!

They are not scared

of new things/ people.

They

discover

learn

with

greatest curiosity!



Chuột/ Hamster - my neighbor in Vietnam. 2009

They talk carefree happily

Being truly into every tiny little single thing they do

And enjoy life to the fullest

Naturally!


They own not many properties but lots of happiness and joy!

They don’t know much and they are the happiest people on earth!

We all used to be one of them

We all used to be happy carefree lovely kids

Why do we keep changing for the worse

When we 'grow up'

--



I'm Just A Kid!



Elliot writing his email in my diary planner before we said goodbye

Elliot: how should I write my name for you?

me: oh just your name

his dad: don't give out your full name Elliot

Materials: Photos + Videos of kids that I have been taking







--
Tutor note: essay filmsChris Marker ~ La Jetée (1962)Patrick Keiller ~ London, Robinson in Space

--
All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. ~Pablo PicassoSimplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo da Vinci

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

questions i have been asking london

~ why don't you have numbers on places while you have them on your addresses?

~ why some of you keep driving like you are not going to stop even when the light is red already? that makes me feel confused whether or not i can cross the streets.

~ why houses here are same height (and style)? i adore that. not many ugly high modern buildings :) the cab driver said it's because under houses here are clay and mud not stones like in for eg. new york where they can have tall high buildings. here if they build big tall ones the houses will sink. interesting. is that true?

~ why aren't there Bright lights on the road and pavements for walkers? i'm quite sure you can afford that better than Vietnam does? we have bright lights on the pavements in Vietnam. oh by the way, you haven't had the count-down clock for traffic lights like we do in Vietnam, oh la la.

~ why three legs adapters? safety reason as a friend says. kinda sweet :) i asked what if a kid plug in 3 metal things at the same time 'well then he's too smart and he'd get electric shock'

to be cont'd

Friday, November 26, 2010

film making ~ story telling

GS Trịnh Thị Minh Hà: Giáo sư của nhiều bộ môn

TT - Vào ngày 23-2 tới, giáo sư Trịnh Thị Minh Hà sẽ nhận giải thưởng Thành tựu trọn đời vì sự nghiệp phê bình nghệ thuật. Đây là giải thưởng thường niên do Trường cao đẳng Hiệp hội nghệ thuật (Boston, Mỹ) trao cho tác giả tiêu biểu nhất tại Mỹ, để biểu dương những thành tựu và cống hiến của họ trong lĩnh vực nghệ thuật.

Người nhận giải còn phải là cá nhân có tác động nhất định đối với lĩnh vực nghệ thuật trong phạm vi nước Mỹ và trên toàn thế giới.

Giáo sư Trịnh Thị Minh Hà sinh năm 1952 tại VN, từng học ở VN và Philippines trước khi di cư đến Mỹ vào năm 1970. Bà đến Paris (Pháp) để sinh sống và dạy học trong hai năm 1974-1975, sau đó giảng dạy tại Nhạc viện Quốc gia Senegal ở Dakar (Senegal) từ năm 1977 - 1980.

Những năm 1980 thật sự là khoảng thời gian tồi tệ trong cuộc đời bà, khi bà trở về Oklahoma (Mỹ) và không thể kiếm được việc làm.

Chính vào thời điểm này, bà làm quen với phim ảnh rồi kết hợp môn nghệ thuật này với những niềm đam mê khác của mình dành cho thi ca, âm nhạc, nghệ thuật thị giác và nhân chủng học.

Bà cũng bắt đầu đến với nghiệp cầm bút. Bà thật sự thấm thía câu “vạn sự khởi đầu nan” khi phải mất đến sáu năm cùng 33 lần bị từ chối để quyển sách Woman, native, other: Writing postcoloniality and feminism (Nữ giới, bản địa và những vấn đề khác: bàn về thời kỳ hậu thuộc địa và chủ nghĩa nữ quyền) được Indiana University Press đồng ý xuất bản vào năm 1989.

Tác phẩm phê bình văn học và văn hóa từng bị từ chối vì lý do “kén độc giả” này không ngờ lại được giới phê bình đánh giá cao và bán chạy đến chóng mặt. Nhiều tác phẩm viết lách và phim ảnh của bà phát hành sau đó đều được mọi người đón nhận nồng nhiệt, đặc biệt là giới sinh viên và học giả.

Đến nay giáo sư Minh Hà đã sở hữu một gia tài đồ sộ các tác phẩm và công trình nghệ thuật, với bảy phim truyện, 10 đầu sách, hơn 30 triển lãm phim cùng một số tác phẩm thơ và âm nhạc khác. Ngoài tiếng Việt, bà còn sử dụng thông thạo tiếng Anh, Pháp, Tây Ban Nha và Đức.

Tiếp xúc với hai nền văn hóa Việt - Pháp trong những năm 1950 - 1960 tại Sài Gòn, bà đã xác định cho mình một thái độ sống “chuyển dịch”. Nói về điều này, bà cho biết: “Dường như tôi chưa bao giờ cảm thấy mình phụ thuộc vào một nhóm, một tầng lớp, một qui tắc hay thậm chí một loại ngôn ngữ nào. Đối với tôi, cuộc sống không chỉ có một mà rất nhiều tâm điểm”.

Hiện bà đang là giáo sư môn nghiên cứu về nữ giới tại Trường đại học California, Berkeley và môn phim ảnh tại Trường đại học San Francisco. Ngoài ra bà còn là giáo sư thỉnh giảng của một số trường đại học danh tiếng như Harvard, Smith, Illinois...

THANH TRÚC tổng hợp

http://tuoitre.vn/The-gioi/Nguoi-Viet-xa-que/123488/GS-Trinh-Thi-Minh-Ha-Giao-su-cua-nhieu-bo-mon.html


http://arttorrents.blogspot.com/2008/06/t-minh-ha-trinh-surname-viet-given-name.html

http://ubu.com/film/minh_shoot.html

http://www.trinhminh-ha.com/

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/minhabib.html

http://mediaartists.org/content.php?sec=artist&sub=detail&artist_id=86

http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/makers/fm5.shtml


P.S. http://www.ngaydienanh.com/detail/mot-vai-net-ve-nsnd-hai-ninh-nguyen-hai-ninh.html
Trang's grandpa :)

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Bottles





Cambridge University
Cambridge October 2010


Notting Hill
March 2011

Monday, October 4, 2010

Just Dance

Joshua & sam

Video Production Workshop
University of Westminster
London October 4th 2010