Halloween, October 31, 2006

I got this out of the book, Kids' Holiday Fun! by Penny Warner. (Click on image to enlarge.)


October 31 is Halloween, a time for children and some adults in the United States to celebrate the night of the dead with costumes, parades, candies, dancings, and Trick or Treating. Happy Halloween.

This Spirit store on Shattuck Avenue sells only halloween stuff. A lot of gross and yucky looking creatures and things.










Wallgreens Drug store across from Spirit sells masks, costumes, and lots of candies.



Bao in a Frankenstein mask eating popcorn.









Teachers and students from Arts Magnet School in Berkeley celebrate Halloween in beautiful, colorful and scary costumes.



Households with decorations in front of their houses mean an invitation for the children to knock on their doors and said: "Trick or Treat!" People then give the children candies or fruits. The most popular colors for Halloween are orange and black. People like to carve pumpkins and put them in front of their houses.



I volunteered to work at Bao's school-Oakland School for the Arts on Halloween day. I helped with selling sweets to the students at the party to raise fund for the school's field trips. It was really fun to see all of them having such a good time dressing up, dancing, eating and singing.









Bao, Jason and Luis. As Bao is getting older, he doesn't like to wear a costume any more.


A green butterfly is having a face-painting.



Bao, Jason and his sister, Lily.

Designers' Names

I never like to have any designers' names on my clothings. It doesn't make any sense to me to spend money on Kelvin Kline's or Tommy Hilfinger's shirts and pants, then parade myself around town, and give them a free advertisement. Instead I design my own name on my own shirts and proud to wear them. Many people I know said: "Hey! that is nice!" But one guy said to me in a mocking voice: "You afraid that you might forget your name heh?" I then replied: "Yeh! I am old and forgetful now, and my name is not Kelvin or Tommy that's for sure."

Why do people like to wear other people's names and seem proud to wear them? To show others that they can afford to pay for a designer's shirt and pants? Would people treat or respect them better because of material things? There is a saying: "Don't judge a book by its cover." I only judge a person's worth by his/her actions, but not by what he/she is wearing or how much money he/she has. You can't take fame or money with you when you die, and you will never know what tomorrow will bring. So please be nice and kind to your loved ones and the people around you now, and perhaps spend more money on them instead. I believe that good deeds will last and be cherrished as long as humans are still on this earth, and not the material things that we created.



This design was written on the shirt using a black permanent marker.



The same design was sewn on the blouse with white threads.







I also use the same design on my album.



I made this for a friend, S. L.


COMMENT:

November 15, 2006

Nga,

I were so amazed of your gift, not only beautiful photo album but also your touch of art. Thank you so much!

Take care,

S. L.

Be True to Your Color

If Fake Blond Hair is a fad, then I wish it will go away soon. Only people who have problem with self-image or feeling inferior, and without self-respect would dye their hair blond. It disgusts me whenever I see an Asian or an African person with a head full of fake blond hair. What were they thinking when they decided to change the color of their hair? Just for fun? To make their skin paler with a lighter toned hair? Because being blond is more fun? or to look European is to look better? For whatever reasons, to me, a copy will always be a copy, and a fake can't compare to a real one. Don't give in to any hair-dye-companies' advertisements. They only care about your money, not your scalp or how much chemicals that they use or add to our ground water. Don't copy off celebrities because they themselves have self-image problems too, and don't know any better. In conclusion, be true to your color and respect youself.



A Chinese blond.


She should know better, don't you think?



A Vietnamese-American blonde.



Vietnamese blondes in Viet Nam. What a shame!



An Asian-American blonde.







African-American blondes.

This is the same lady who dyed her hair blond last year, and this year she has returned to her original color. She is beautiful the way she is now, but she looked so fake in the insert.

Streets of Viet Nam

The big cities' streets in Viet Nam are very chaotic, and choking in exhaust, especially during rush hour. We still don't know how to navigate just to cross the street in the big cities like Ho Chi Minh, or Ha Noi. Whenever we went there, we wouldn't dare to drive ourselves. We would let our relatives to do the driving or call the taxis. I prefer to sit back, enjoy the scenery, and take lots of pictures.



Xe tang-The Funeral truck.


Duong di Cu Chi-On the way to Cu Chi we spotted this Lambreta with two oxen on it.






Duong di Mui Ne-street. Old and new transportations.



Duong di Nha Trang. The rice fields.


Duong di Phan Thiet. I ran after this oxen-cart to take the picture.



The newly built road near Cam Ranh.


Duong di Cam Ranh. What is this? An anti-aircraft-gun?









Duong trong thanh pho Nha Trang-Streets.






Many boys don't like shopping even for their own clothing, and Anh Vu is one of them.



My sister-in-law, Mai, sneaked up behind me and gave me the "rabit ears". Darn! We went shopping on the street (I forget the name) in Ho Chi Minh City with Mai and her daughter,Chau. They know how to bargain and we don't. Both sides of this street sale mostly mens' clothing. There are a lot to choose from and they are cheap-3, 5 to 10 dollars for a shirt or a pair of pants.
Have you noticed that Mai and Chau carried their jackets? They only took them off for the picture, because women in Viet Nam like pale skin, and they don't go outside without jackets to cover their arms. For me, the weather in Viet Nam is way too hot for even a light jacket, and I like tan skin better.