Welcome to
a stranger inner space.
Welcome to
a stranger inner space.
So many times, I've immersed myself in someone's blog, read their thoughts, and felt like I had just finished watching a three-hour movie when I closed the browser tab.
The idea that one stranger opens the door to their inner life for any stranger to come in, wander for a while, and then freely leave without any notice — they remain strangers to each other after all, but it's actually not.
I call it "a distant sense of closeness - sự gần gũi xa lạ"
And that feeling is close to the sense of the infinite,
when I look up at the stars.
I appreciate that kind of connection.
And I hope you feel the same here, too.
——
Welcome to a slice of a stranger inner space.
Or things that made me.
MUSIC
My music playlist is a great mess.
Maybe I have never gone through a day without listening to that mess.
I have big love for 20th-century Vietnamese music, for its poetic and beautiful lyrics. There’s a great chance that I can sing along to at least one song if you play any random music playlist.
Some of the names I have huge respect for are: Van Cao (FYI - He was once an assassin), Pham Duy, Ngo Thuy Mien, Lam Phuong, Trinh Cong Son,...
I also listen to lots of Rap, Pop, and I'm currently exploring Jazz and City Pop. (is it even possible to be sad while listening to City Pop?)
——
About the background image:
If one could put all the love for our homeland in a song, that song would be "Tình ca" (Love Song) by Pham Duy.
MUSIC
My music playlist is a great mess.
Maybe I have never gone through a day without listening to that mess.
I have big love for 20th-century Vietnamese music, for its poetic and beautiful lyrics. There’s a great chance that I can sing along to at least one song if you play any random music playlist.
Some of the names I have huge respect for are: Van Cao (FYI - He was once an assassin), Pham Duy, Ngo Thuy Mien, Lam Phuong, Trinh Cong Son,...
I also listen to lots of Rap, Pop, and I'm currently exploring Jazz and City Pop. (is it even possible to be sad while listening to City Pop?)
——
About the background image:
If one could put all the love for our homeland in a song, that song would be "Tình ca" (Love Song) by Pham Duy.
Manga
My childhood and teenage summers were filled with Doraemon, Dorabase (A bunch of Doraemons that play Baseball. I practiced pitching with a tennis ball and use a plastic pipe as the bat, as baseball is not a common sport in Vietnam, even now), Conan, Naruto, One Piece, GTO (iykyk), Full Metal Alchemists... and so much more than I can remember.
And I would sacrifice my sleep again if I came across any great mangas like Black Jack, Attack on Titans, One Outs (Another baseball manga but mainly about mind game - recommended), Yotsuba&! or Chainsaw Man (the plot is so-so but the art is freaking lit) and the latest one was Give My Regards to Black Jack - aka the background image.
——
As a kid, I once wished to become a doctor and save people's lives.
Now the only thing I can save is image.
My unfulfilled dream because of Chemistry and Biology subjects was probably the reason I loved reading medical manga.
Doctors are heroes, no doubt. Even when some of them are mean.
(Really.)
Manga
My childhood and teenage summers were filled with Doraemon, Dorabase (A bunch of Doraemons that play Baseball. I practiced pitching with a tennis ball and use a plastic pipe as the bat, as baseball is not a common sport in Vietnam, even now), Conan, Naruto, One Piece, GTO (iykyk), Full Metal Alchemists... and so much more than I can remember.
And I would sacrifice my sleep again if I came across any great mangas like Black Jack, Attack on Titans, One Outs (Another baseball manga but mainly about mind game - recommended), Yotsuba&! or Chainsaw Man (the plot is so-so but the art is freaking lit) and the latest one was Give My Regards to Black Jack - aka the background image.
——
As a kid, I once wished to become a doctor and save people's lives.
Now the only thing I can save is image.
My unfulfilled dream because of Chemistry and Biology subjects was probably the reason I loved reading medical manga.
Doctors are heroes, no doubt. Even when some of them are mean.
(Really.)
MOVIE
To judge a movie, I always consider two aspects:
· Is it good? (objective - things that can be scored)
· Is it unforgettable? (subjective - how profoundly the movie can connect with and evoke deep down emotions in the person watching it)
That's why movie is an extremely personal experience and a good movie might not be an unforgettable one.
Yes, it has 34% Rotten Tomatoes score, it's not a good movie and I also don't like it that much. But it stays forever in my memory because in one scene, less than 1 minute, I thought I saw myself standing there.
Sometimes, an over 8 IMDB movie couldn't do such a thing.
——
The background image is from the movie "Her". Instead of listening to music, I once used this movie as background noise while working.
I like it a lot. This is an excellent movie about loneliness, and its excellence in understanding loneliness makes viewers feel sympathized with, leaving them less lonely once the credits roll.
MOVIE
To judge a movie, I always consider two aspects:
· Is it good? (objective - things that can be scored)
· Is it unforgettable? (subjective - how profoundly the movie can connect with and evoke deep down emotions in the person watching it)
That's why movie is an extremely personal experience and a good movie might not be an unforgettable one.
Yes, it has 34% Rotten Tomatoes score, it's not a good movie and I also don't like it that much. But it stays forever in my memory because in one scene, less than 1 minute, I thought I saw myself standing there.
Sometimes, an over 8 IMDB movie couldn't do such a thing.
——
The background image is from the movie "Her". Instead of listening to music, I once used this movie as background noise while working.
I like it a lot. This is an excellent movie about loneliness, and its excellence in understanding loneliness makes viewers feel sympathized with, leaving them less lonely once the credits roll.
BOOK
I don't remember much from books I've read. But I agree with Charles Chu who wrote:
"What we get from books is not just a collection of names, dates and events stored in our minds like files in a computer. Books also change, via our mental models, the very reality that we perceive. You can think of mental models as psychological lenses that color and shape what we see."
"Reading and experience train your model of the world. And even if you forget the experience or what you read, its effect on your model of the world persists. Your mind is like a compiled program you’ve lost the source of. It works, but you don’t know why."
That's why I don't remember much what happened in my favorite books like Einstein’s Dreams, Những ngã tư và những cột đèn (Crossroads and Lampposts) but I remember the imaginary worlds I've built, or the "No fucking problem" spirit and the quote below in Shoe Dog just live rent-free in my mind.
“The art of competing, I’d learned from track, was the art of forgetting, and I now reminded myself of that fact. You must forget your limits. You must forget your doubts, your pain, your past. You must forget that internal voice screaming, begging, “Not one more step!” And when it’s not possible to forget it, you must negotiate with it.”
I don't remember much from books I've read. But I agree with Charles Chu who wrote:
"What we get from books is not just a collection of names, dates and events stored in our minds like files in a computer. Books also change, via our mental models, the very reality that we perceive. You can think of mental models as psychological lenses that color and shape what we see."
"Reading and experience train your model of the world. And even if you forget the experience or what you read, its effect on your model of the world persists. Your mind is like a compiled program you’ve lost the source of. It works, but you don’t know why."
That's why I don't remember much what happened in my favorite books like Einstein’s Dreams, Những ngã tư và những cột đèn (Crossroads and Lampposts) but I remember the imaginary worlds I've built, or the "No fucking problem" spirit and the quote below in Shoe Dog just live rent-free in my mind.
“The art of competing, I’d learned from track, was the art of forgetting, and I now reminded myself of that fact. You must forget your limits. You must forget your doubts, your pain, your past. You must forget that internal voice screaming, begging, “Not one more step!” And when it’s not possible to forget it, you must negotiate with it.”
👋
Thank you for being here!
As a goodbye, please enjoy this artwork by Hiroshi Nagai with a vibe.
EXIT NOW
