Heads, helmets...
The two professors' respective recent accidents, one fatal, in Hanoi, which I mentioned previously, has apparently caused quite a stir according to this article. Nothing else new stated in the article. "Lots of motorbikes, lots of crashes, lots of deaths... etc, etc"

Wonder how many of those upset people wore helmets to work today. My friend who used to work in traffic safety along with Mr Greig Craft, who's mentioned in the above link, said even the Viet Duc emergency ward doctors, despite seeing countless serious if not fatal head injuries from day to day, don't wear helmets - if they won't, who will? Especially when so many other Hanoians have such glamorous haircuts, which a helmet would just do no justice to, if not ruin for the night.

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This is from a Boston Globe article on Papert(full piece here):
Strangely, shortly before the accident, Papert had been discussing how to build a computer model of Hanoi's notoriously chaotic traffic. He found it an interesting instance of a theme closely associated with his work: "emergent behavior," or the way that large groups of agents following simple rules, with no central leader, can spontaneously create sophisticated systems and activities. Examples include schools of fish, anthills, bee swarms, and, apparently, Vietnamese motorbike drivers. Like bees, Hanoi motorbikes move in swarms, unrestrained by laws, lanes, or traffic signals. Somehow, the swarm self-organizes to keep people moving and, mostly, not crashing into one another. Papert was fascinated, and spent his first days in Hanoi talking with his former student, Northwestern computer scientist Uri Wilensky, about how to model the city's traffic flow. As the two were crossing a six-lane road separating their hotel from the university, Papert was hit by a motorbike. Traffic in Hanoi is a self-defining flow of merging groups. Lights are few and often ignored, and divisions between lanes are determined less by lines on the ground than by a shifting, implicit group consensus. "Hanoi is one of the first places I've been where traffic really is organic," says Wilensky. "It really is more like a herd of buffalo." The system would be impossible without a large reserve of tolerance and informality. Newcomers to Hanoi, who are often unable to figure out how to cross the street, are told to step into traffic at a steady pace; the motorbikes will part around you. When the city began introducing traffic lights some years ago, a Vietnamese performance artist went to one of the busiest intersections in town and videotaped himself repeatedly crossing against the light to see whether traffic would make way for him; it did. "People were still nice," as he put it -- they hadn't yet embraced the tyranny of traffic lights. But there's a problem: as Vietnam grows richer, the number of motorbikes and cars on the street is rising furiously. From 2002 to 2004, the percentage of Vietnamese households owning motor vehicles went from 22 percent to 33 percent. These new vehicles are pouring into a hopelessly inadequate grid of winding alleyways, ancient dike roads, and Soviet-style highways. And as density rises, drivers behave more aggressively: 9,400 Vietnamese died in traffic accidents in the first nine months of this year.

Traffic, traffic, traffic...
This is woeful. A few days ago a 78-year old mathematician, Professor Papert, from the US was knocked into a coma. HORRIBLY ironically he was talking with another prof about the traffic when it happened, at least that's how I understood the following from the article - "The accident occurred when Professor Papert talked with Professor Wilensky about a math model, imitating the current situation of Hanoi’s traffic, where transport lights are not enough, and motorbikes speed dangerously..."

Or does that mean he was lecturing on that topic prior to the incident? The article isn't the Mae West I'm afraid. A shorter International Herald Tribune version here.

What a guy!
When he came the first time back in 2000 one man in Hanoi said this kind of visit "happened once in a thousand years". But smoke him a kipper he's back for breakfast. Mr Bill Clinton that is, showing up Dubya's comparatively stale APEC visit by braving the traffic and walking through the streets towards Hoan kiem lake (surprised the turtle wasn't sticking his head up) and speaking to the folks along the way as well as shaking their hands.

"It feels great to be back," Clinton said as he set off for his stroll.

The feeling among most Vietnamese was mutual.

"I love you!" a young man shouted, reaching over the crowd for a handshake.

"There are no words to describe how happy I am," squealed 17-year-old Nguyen Thu Hang, jumping up and down and clutching Clinton's freshly signed autograph. "I'm going to frame this and hang it on my bedroom wall!"

Apparently his smart attire was also commented on by a tailor. He visited Bac Ho's Mausoleum and generally didn't put a foot wrong.

Reminds me of that Red Dwarf episode (or episodes?) where Rimmer's alternative self from another dimension arrives, ACE Rimmer. Everywhere he goes everyone says... "What a guy!"



Clinton was in town to sign an agreement between his foundation and the Vietnamese to get more drugs to AIDS/ HIV drugs to children. Here's the AP article in full.

Zippos and paper planes
Artist Bradford Edwards explains here why he's fascinated by the US marines' zippos found in Vietnam and their slogans. A few classics are mentioned, such as - “If you got this off my dead ass I hope it brings you the same luck it brought me.” Edwards' personal favourite makes reading the article worthwhile in itself. I won't spoil it for you.

Edwards, whose dad flew for the US army in the Vietnam war, also had a show last week in Hanoi with a Vietnamese artist, Nguyen Manh Hung, whose father also flew (in a different direction, naturally) in the same war.

What did they do? Why they built an enormous replica plane of course (crossed between a US F-4 and a Ruski MiG 21). Entirely made out of paper and bamboo it was supposed to be set on fire... "We wanted to make our own version of a fighter jet and burn it in a symbolic effort to exorcise this ‘instrument of destruction’ from our own lives.”



...but, alack, permission was denied for the fire. Rumour has it it's now flying on eBay, though I couldn't find it. Drop us a link in the comments if you can.

I drank bia with the Hoan Kiem turtle (or more accurately how an old man told me a tall story I'd like to believe)
Here's a piece about the Hoan Kiem turtle - a lot of articles I've read claim the big fella often magically appears on big days; it is conveniently a symbol of good luck, so it's a good omen when he pops his wee head up on days of national importance.

However there maybe another reason for this synchronicity. I say this 'cos I met the turtle at the old Tong Dan bia hoi (RIP - we still remember you well) a couple of years ago. He went by the name Nam, he drank a lot of bia and smoked Vinataba and resembled a 50-year-old man. I didn't understand it when he said he was a turtle (goo goo goo joob), so he explained...

...the story was that he was an army man. In some division of the navy. A sub-aquatic diving minesweeper chap or something (none too exact translations by a local friend means I'm conveniently sketchy on the details). Retired he still had his contacts from his "hello Sailor!" days which had led to him being asked by an old friend to put on a wet suit and swim around Hoan Kiem on holidays with a fake turtle on his back so the crowd would "ooo" and "oi gioi oi" at the sight of the legendary turtle swimming across the lake. He got well paid, the spectators went home feeling lucky. So everyone's happy. That day he was celebrating his latest gig (for what day I can't recall).

When I pulled a few doubting Thomas looks he tried to prove he was a diver (and therefore potentially a good candidate for pretending to be a turtle) by pulling his top up and making his beer-belly continually undulate (if that's the right word). He said this was good for breathing underwater. I tried not to look. Perhaps, more convincingly, he bought a large round of bia for me and all my friends, which is pretty rare as he didn't know anyone of us.

We thanked him and tried to buy him one back but he "thoi"-ed us. He'd earned $100 that day and he was buying.

Who could argue with a turtle anyway? Le Thai To didn't so why should I?

By Yorkie P.