Once again I signed up for press. It was weird. I never saw so much segregation between Canonites and Nikonians. The trash talking begun at the opening ceremony. I also found DSLR hypebeasts (newbies to photography that buy the greatest and most expensive gear to show off) trying to start shit with the pros that been shooting for many years. Pretty sad. Anyways I met a cool old guy that talked all about vietnamese porn and emphasized on Tia Tanaka and Teanna Kai. Funny times.
Before I left I finally got up to 12.5K in monopoly
Tet Offensive finds this offensive
Pots and nice things
Various modelling agencies scattered throughout the festival grounds
Dahomie
DragonWorks
Main Stages
I only think about: Pho, Lee's sandwiches, Tia Tanaka, Egg soda, spitting, Nam, Guerilla Warfare, Chuckie Akenz, LCV, Ho Chi Minh, Saigon, etc.
The pare
Don't do this to elders. Not cool
Yeo's = Greatest soymilk
Sienna
Soldier Boy
Tower
Fruits
Trip to vietnam
I think this guy is the King of vietnam
Carn Evil
Monkey
UFO ride is the most grandest thing ever. If you don't agree with me don't ever visit my blog again
Decorations
Sign
The band: No Vacancy
Awesome guy. Check out his 300mm f/2.8. He gave me a few tips
Empty
Yee. JBs
Common
"Shot through the heart!"
Keytar guy. Playing a zelda tune
On Vietnam TV
Yee. Awesome shorts
Was hoping for a lesbian scene
Flowin
New band: Fallout!
Blink 182 - All the Small Things.
Classic
"Sweet Child of Mine"
Dual vocals
Looks like one of my friends
Great Voice. She was singing in Vietnaglish. She said something like "Nick is awesome" I believe
Really liked the lighting
Epic
Explosions
I mainly came here because it was the day of Miss Vietnam of Southern California 2010. I know a couple of people here so I showed them some support. The girls looked beautiful. Here was the lineup on their site: http://www.tetpageant.com/2010/contestants.html
The announcers I guess are celebrities. They rolled up to the stage in style
Hosts
Who are these obscure females?
Ye
#7 Cecile. Nice
Mindy from UCR! I like the lighting
#11 is cute. She goes to OCC
Priscilla! UCR CNAS! Biomajor!
The Queen arrives
Women
Some girl said she was like the Vietnamese BoA
Viet Jokes. I didn't understand. I just laughed when everyone else laughed. I was the only Filipino in press so my name stuck out on the list. "Barcelona" out of the Nguyens and Trans
The walkway. Shooting was tough. It was my first kind of fashion type shoot. The lighting kept on changing so I had to keep playing with my white balance and metering with each different person. They were pretty fast. Some came out mad yellow. Usually fashion walks are done indoors with perfect lighting, but in this case it was a challenge, like life:
#1 - High schooler.
#2 - Had a class with her
#3 -....
#4 - Geeky
#5 - Really nice eyes
#6 - Hybrid
#7 - Nurse. Makes me wanna get sick
#8 - Looks mestizaish
#9 - Looks like an actor
#10 - No idea
#11 - cute
#12 - Had lots of fans
#13 - A teacher
#14 - cool forehead
#15 - a fellow writer/blogger
#16 - the short one
#17 - Thug
#18 - My favorite
#19 - ....
#20 - ....
My favorites are: 7,9,11,18
Media/Press got free Lee's Sandwiches. I ended up getting 2. I like the sardines one.
This guy declared everyone his Valentine. Mad Brave
UCR VSA teacher
The speeches. They were mostly Vietnaglish
The eyes
The Prevs
I got bored so decided to explore around and check out carnival foods
Wheels
Raito
Speaking spanish
Back in Nam
Uniforming
Tet Room
Philippines. 0.19
Bootlegs
I started feeling really sick. The smell was a bit overwhelming for me. I'm used to Philippine/Mexican family seafood marts smells, but image an enclosed are that smells like a vietnamese supermarket x 1000, Lee's sandwiches burps, opium, the chicken from chinatown that just died, Body odor of sweaty people, third world swamps, and John Lin's unopen fridge all put together. I don't mean to offend anyone, but I haven't acquired the ultimate smell receptors yet. I ended up puking in the parking lot.
Yet I went back again for some Vietnamese Tacos.
Remember to do these during the week if you wanna be cultural:
Do's
-One should give people lucky presents to enhance the relationship between themselves and others: new clothes, peach branches (for expelling evil), cocks (wishing for good manners), new rice (wishing for being well-fed), rice wine in a gourd (wishing for a rich and comfortable life), bánh chưng (or bánh tét) and bánh dày which symbolize sky and earth (for worshipping the ancestors), red things (red symbolizes happiness, luckiness, advantages) like watermelon, dogs (the bark – gâu gâu – sounds like the word giàu - richness in Vietnamese language), medicated oil (dầu in Vietnamese, also sounds similar to giàu).
-One should give lucky Dong Ho Paintings such as: "Gà đàn" (wishing for having many children), or "Vinh hoa", but should not give unlucky Dong Ho paintings like "Đánh ghen" related to legal proceedings.
-One should buy a lot of water for Tết, because people wish for money to flow like water currents in a stream (proverb: "Tiền vô như nước").
-One should sprinkle lime powder around the house to expel evil.
-One should return all things borrowed, and pay debts before Tết.
-Go gambling after you are done with the festivities.
Don'ts
-One shouldn't say or do bad things during Tết.
-One shouldn't hurt or kill animals or plants but should set them free. The reason for this originates from Buddhism's causality.
-One shouldn't sweep the house or empty out the rubbish to avoid luck and benefits going with it, especially on the first day of the new year. One shouldn't let the broom in confusion if people don't want it to be stolen.
-One shouldn't give these presents to others: clock or watch (the recipient's time is going to pass), cats (mèo in Vietnamese language pronounced like nghèo, poverty), medicine (the receiver will get ill), cuttle fish (its ink is black, an unlucky colour), writing ink (for the same reason), scissors or knives (they bring incompatibility).
-One shouldn't have duck meat because it brings unluckiness.
-One shouldn't have shrimp in case one would move backwards like shrimp, in other words, one would not succeed.
-One shouldn't buy or wear white clothes because white is the colour of funerals in Vietnam.
-One shouldn't let the rice-hulling mill go empty because it symbolizes failed crops.
-One shouldn't refuse anything others give or wish you during Tết.
I think it's fun and a great expence to partake in a culture other than your own. I learned a lot. I'm going international like Bourdain, but I'll attend conventions/festivals in SoCal...as opposed to the world. Maybe when I get richer I'll do an international galavant. But for now, I'll just learn before diving in full force.
