True love

Moses Mendelssohn, the grandfather of the well-known German composer, was far from being handsome. Along with a rather short stature, he had a grotesque hunchback.

One day, he visited a merchant in Hamburg who had a lovely daughter named Frumtje. Moses fell hopelessly in love with her. But Frumtje was repulsed by his misshapen appearance.

When it came time for him to leave, Moses gathered his courage and climbed the stairs to her room to take one last opportunity to speak with her. She was a vision of heavenly beauty, but caused him deep sadness by her refusal to look at him. After several attempts at conversation, Moses shyly asked, "Do you believe marriages are made in heaven?"

"Yes," she answered, still looking at the floor. "And do you?"

"Yes I do," he replied. "You see, in heaven at the birth of each boy, the Lord announces which girl he will marry. When I was born, my future bride was pointed out to me. Then the Lord added, 'But your wife will be humpbacked. Right then and there I called out, 'Oh Lord, a humpbacked woman would be a tragedy. Please, Lord, give me the hump and let her be beautiful.'"

Then Frumtje looked up into his eyes and was stirred by some deep memory. She reached out and gave Mendelssohn her hand and later became his devoted wife.

- Barry and Joyce Vissell

In love the paradox occurs that two beings become one and yet remain two.

- Erich Fromm

Whenever a Man Lies

One day, while a woodcutter was cutting a branch of a tree above a river, his axe fell into the river. When he cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, "Why are you crying?"
The woodcutter replied that his axe has fallen into water. The Lord went down into the water and reappeared with a golden axe.

"Is this your axe?" the Lord asked.

The woodcutter replied, "No."

The Lord again went down and came up with a silver axe. "Is this your axe?" the Lord asked.

Again, the woodcutter replied, "No."

The Lord went down again and came up with an iron axe. "Is this your axe?" the Lord asked.

The woodcutter replied, "Yes."

The Lord was pleased with the man's honesty and gave him all three axes to keep, and the woodcutter went home happily.

One day while he was walking with his wife along the riverbank, the woodcutter's wife fell into the river. When he cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?" "Oh Lord, my wife has fallen into the water!"

The Lord went down into the water and came up with Jennifer Lopez. "Is this your wife?" the Lord asked.

"Yes," cried the woodcutter.

The Lord was furious. "You cheat! That is an untruth!"


The woodcutter replied, "Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding. You see, if I said 'no' to Jennifer Lopez, You will come up with Catherine Zeta-Jones. Then if I also say 'no' to her. You willthirdly come up with my wife, and I will say 'yes,' and then all three will be given to me. But Lord, I am a poor man and I will not be able to take care of all three wives, so that's why I said yes this time."

The moral of the story is whenever a man lies it is for an honorable and useful reason !!

The donkey in a well

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up any way, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the ell and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our challenges is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!

Tang Thanh Ha with "Ugly Girl" and... naked ?

Tang Thanh Ha naked ???

Q.N.
Picture: Pham Hoai Nam
Stylist & Make-up: Cu-tie

Hanoi street festival highlights best of east and west

Hanoi Street Art 2009 enraptured crowds in Hanoi on Nov. 3 with its multicultural mix of hip-hopping, b-bopping and traditional Vietnamese arts.

Hanoi’s first street art festival was attended by Danish Queen Margrethe II as part of a cultural exchange program.

For nearly seven hours at Ly Thai To flower garden, the main stage was cordoned off into four sections: one for hip-hop and modern dance, one for experiential art, one for traditional music, and one for circus acts and dramatic performances.

Members of the audience were asked on stage to sing hat xam, a traditional Vietnamese style of singing originally performed by the poor and the blind. Audiences also learned to sing ca tru, which was first performed in sacred ceremonies and rituals in the 11th century.

Andrew Talle, a music teacher and tourist from the US, said he was “impressed” by the performances. He said he knew many kinds of traditional music from around the world but this was the first time he sat down and sang age-old ca tru songs with authentic artists.

Visitors also enjoyed graffiti on the main stage and break-dancing led by artists from Denmark, who also performed jazz dancing, and art troupes that rode unicycles and performed slight-of-hand magic tricks.

Renowned contemporary Vietnamese singer Tung Duong said the show was “magical” and performed for free.

Some 150 Danish and Vietnamese artists partook in the event, organized by parties from both Denmark and Vietnam.

Queen Margrethe II arrived in Hanoi on Nov. 1, marking the first state visit by Denmark’s Royal family to Vietnam. The Queen also met with Communist Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh as well as President Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

The Queen missed a rock music show featuring the Danish band Blue Van Nov. 4 as her flight to Thua Thien-Hue Province landed in Da Nang instead due to strong winds from Typhoon Mirinae.

On Nov. 5 she visited the tomb of King Minh Mang and Hue’s Imperial Palace, and met with the authorities of Hue City before departing for Ho Chi Minh City the same day.

Reported by Dinh Huong