for_sv's blog

FATAL CROSSROADS: A Novel of Vietnam 1945

As a child in Bombay, India I enjoyed reading international newspapers at the library. Initially it was just a desire to know what is happening in the far away land. One name that kept coming over and over again was Seymour Topping. I must have read every article of his which I could find. To me New York Times became a great newspaper when Seymour Topping joined them.

Seymour Topping has devoted much of his fifty years in journalism to covering Vietnam and China as a correspondent and editor. He became the first American correspondent to be stationed in Vietnam after World War II when in 1950 after reporting the Chinese civil war for three years he opened the Associated Press bureau in Saigon. Following two years of roaming Indochina and traveling with the French Foreign Legion along the China border, he went to posts in London and Berlin. He joined the New York Times in 1959 and after three years in Moscow as chief correspondent became Chief Correspondent Southeast Asia. He was appointed Foreign Editor in 1969 serving later as Managing Editor for ten years. He was the Administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes and is now SanPaolo Professor Emeritus of International Journalism at Columbia University and lives with his wife, Audrey, a photojournalist, in Scarsdale, New York. He has written three fiction books so far.

Today I am lucky to know the Toppings personally and to be invited for his book party of “FATAL CROSSROADS: A Novel of Vietnam 1945”. It is an historical novel and except for the story characters is historically accurate. To me this book is especially interesting to read since I can draw similarities with the current situation in Iraq.

I can proudly say that like Walter Cronkite, U.S. Broadcast Journalist, Neil Sheehan, Pulitzer Prize author, A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam, Henry F. Graff, Historian and editor, History of the Presidents, A.J. Langguth, author, Our Vietnam, David Phillips, Council on foreign relations, Dr. Andrew Economos, Chairman of RCS and many more; I know Seymour Topping and am a fan of his.

I wish the world would learn a lesson from history and from Mr. Seymour Topping!

Fatal Crossroads: A Novel of Vietnam 1945 by Seymour Topping

January 14, 2005 in Columnists, History | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

January 13, 2005

Parachuting to Titan

Get ready for two of the strangest hours in the history of space exploration. Two hours. That's how long it will take the European Space Agency's Huygens probe to parachute to the surface of Titan on January 14th. Descending through thick orange clouds, Huygens will taste Titan’s atmosphere, measure its wind and rain, listen for alien sounds and, when the clouds part, start taking pictures. No one knows what the photos will reveal. Icy mountains? Liquid methane seas? Hot lightning? "It's anyone's guess," says Jonathan Lunine, a professor of planetary science at the University of Arizona and a member of the Huygens science team. "We might not even understand what we see, not immediately."

Such is Titan--the biggest mystery in the solar system.

Astronomers have been watching Titan, Saturn's largest moon, for centuries. What's down there? No one knows, but it's bound to be strange. Get ready.

January 13, 2005 in Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 12, 2005

Vietnam: Journeys of Body, Mind, and Spirit

From exuberantly flavored pho noodles to flowing ao dai dresses and festive New Year celebrations, the colorful culture of Vietnam has slowly become part of mainstream America. This American Museum of Natural History exhibit travels to the ancestral land of Vietnamese Americans to focus on journeys that embody their rich heritage. Start at the bustling marketplace where zesty, effortless cuisine reigns supreme. Walk along dusty village streets and see how the global demand for exotic ceramics, Hmong textiles, and intricate baskets affect the pace of villagers' lives. Local gods and heroes are revered -- the Gia festival honors a hero, while the Chuy Thay festival commemorates the water puppet tradition. Marriage and death rites vary by region, and mystical shamans are still active today. With more than 80 million residents and 50 ethnic groups, the country proudly faces the future while remembering the past.

January 12, 2005 in Info | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

THE PROMISE (a true story)

'How long will you be poring over that newspaper? Will you come here right away and make your darling daughter eat her food?' I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter Sindu looked frightened. Tears were welling up in her eyes. In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with Curd Rice. Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for her age. She has just turned eight. She particularly detested Curd Rice. My mother and my wife are orthodox, and believe firmly in the 'cooling effects' of Curd Rice!

I cleared my throat, and picked up the bowl. "Sindu, darling, why don't you take a few mouthful of this Curd Rice? Just for Dad's sake, dear. And, if you don't, your Mom will shout at me' I could sense my wife's scowl behind my back. Sindu softened a bit, and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. 'OK, Dad. I will eat - not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this. But, you should...' Sindu hesitated, 'Dad, if I eat this entire Curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?'

'Oh sure, darling'.

'Promise?'

'Promise'. I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine, and clinched the deal.

'Ask Mom also to give a similar promise', my daughter insisted. My wife slapped her hand on Sindu's, muttering 'Promise', without any emotion.

Now I became a bit anxious. 'Sindumma, you shouldn't insist on getting a computer or any such expensive items. Dad does not have that kind of money right now. OK?'

'No, Dad. I do not want anything expensive'. Slowly and painfully, she finished eating the whole quantity.

I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child eat something that she detested. After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with expectation. All our attention was on her.

'Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!' was her demand!

'Atrocious!' shouted my wife, 'a girl child having her head shaved off?

Impossible!'.

'Never in our family!' my mother rasped. 'She has been watching too much of television. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV programs!'

'Sindumma, why don't you ask for something else? We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head.'

'No, Dad. I do not want anything else', Sindu said with finality.

'Please, Sindu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?' I tried to plead with her.

'Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice'. Sindu was in tears. 'And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for. Now, you are going back on your words. Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra, and its moral that we should honor our promises no matter what?' It was time for me to call the shots. 'Our promise must be kept.'

'Are you out your mind?' chorused my mother and wife.

'No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honor her own. Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled.'

With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big & beautiful On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around and waved.

I waved back with a smile. Just then, a boy alighted from a car, and shouted, 'Sinduja, please wait for me!'

What struck me was the hairless head of that boy.

'May be, that is the in-stuff', I thought.

'Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!'

Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car, and continued, 'That boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son Harish. He is suffering from ... ... leukemia.'

She paused to muffle her sobs. 'Harish could not attend the school for the whole of the last month. He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates. Sinduja visited him last week, and promised him that she will take care of the teasing issue.

But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son! Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter.'

I stood transfixed. And then, I wept. 'My little Angel, will you grant me a boon? Should there be another birth for me, will you be my mother, and teach me what Love is?'

January 12, 2005 in Reality | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

January 11, 2005

Human Ad Space!

Read eBay at it's best.

Do you think this is a right thing to do?

January 11, 2005 in Info | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

safe computing

Let's start off the New Year by getting our systems free of the accumulated junk that various malware programs have left on them. And it is nice that the fruit of the acquisition of Giant Software by Microsoft (I know, it sounds like a redundant joke) is finally in evidence: last week, Microsoft released its first beta of its very own spyware removal tool.

I have following on my computer and am hoping am secure.

- Spyware Doctor from PCTOOLS (best so far)
- Ad-Aware SE Personal from Lavasoft
- SpyBot
- SpywareBlaster from Java Cool Software
and now Microsoft's AntiSpyware.

January 11, 2005 in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 10, 2005

Snafu University

​ ​​​​If you feel that there's a special circle of hell reserved for the people responsible for creating the lengthy college admissions process, Snafu University is the school for you. It's got all the essential elements of an ideal college experience, with none of the lofty standards. Emphasis on higher learning? Check. Dean Dean and the diverse faculty at Snafu pride themselves on believing that academics come first. Sports teams for the athletically inclined? Naturally. Join the varsity marbles squad or the intramural wheelbarrow-racing club. A totally hoppin' social scene? But of course. The list of extracurricular activities offers something for everyone from Tetris enthusiasts to Vegans for Violence. So go ahead and download their pre-approved online application. Not a single personal statement essay in sight.

January 10, 2005 in Humor, Info | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 09, 2005

Andy Goldsworthy

A new kind of poetry is created when Andy Goldsworthy works with stone, wood and water — our world never looks quite the same again.

Goldsworthy regards all his creations as temporary. He photographs each piece once right after he makes it. His goal is to understand nature by directly participating in nature as intimately as he can. He generally works with whatever he notices: twigs, leaves, stones, snow and ice, reeds and thorns.

I like all his work but one of my favorites is 'Wall'. Come walk alongside Andy Goldsworthy's extraordinary Storm King Wall. Created over a two-year period, the 2,278-foot-long site-specific sculpture was made using stones gathered from the Art Center property. The first part of the wall weaves in and out of trees, following and extending the path of an old stone wall that had existed previously on the site, meandering downhill to a nearby pond. The wall's second section emerges out from the other side of the pond, continuing its westward "walk" uphill. According to historical maps, another wall originally existed in this vicinity, but its remnants are gone. The wall's full extension physically links disparate areas of the property, from the trail overlooking Moodna creek to the south fields and the western border.

January 9, 2005 in Art, Books, Photography | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Rock On, Rock On: The Balancing Art of Bill Dan

To those of us who find it impossible to balance a teaspoon on a saucer, Bill Dan is a man of awe-inspiring skill. Somehow and for some reason, he balances rock upon rock upon rock in a gravity-defying display of virtuosity. Watch as he carefully places the tiniest point of one rock on the roundest surface of another. Bill works on the shores of San Francisco, where an occasional seagull threatens the equilibrium of his creations. But balancing rocks isn't restricted to the water's edge of northern California -- it's a worldwide phenomenon, with new practitioners joining the ranks every day. If you're inspired to try a little stone stacking yourself, Bill offers this helpful advice, "Try to place a bigger rock at the bottom."

January 9, 2005 in Art | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack