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Two Vietnamese have reached the highest heights, space. One under the USSR banner and under the Stars and Stripes. We have a chat about them, a failed back up pilot for the SRV cosmonaut and a failed attempt at having an F1 race in Vietnam.

PS: Amanda Nguyễn, an American social entrepreneur and civil rights activist (EN Wiki) was able to achieve her dream of reaching space on the Blue Origin New Shepard flight on April 14, 2025. This was after a devastating rape during her college years and due maliciousness or ineptitude in the legal system, her rapist was never charged and the evidence was destroyed. Amanda persevered, dedicated her life to social justice and has become the first Vietnamese woman to reach space. Unfortunately, her achievement was overshadowed by her co-passenger's [Katy Perry and Gayle King] actions and the media circus around it. A related article: https://joysauce.com/in-defense-of-amanda-nguyen-who-actually-did-something-on-the-blue-origin-flight/

PPS: The former last emperor of Việt Nam apparently like F1 or going to it because he was living high on the hog. Here is a photo of him attending the 6th F1 Italian Grand Prix after he abdicated the throne ending Nguyễn dynasty. https://www.instagram.com/p/DOge_Re3gLO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

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September 2, 1945 (Hanoi). Hồ Chí Minh declares the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (Tuyên ngôn độc lập Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa) at the Ba Đình square. This is a major milestone on Vietnam's journey to freeing itself from French colonization and ultimately becoming a free and independent country. The shape that Vietnam would take came from decades more strife and pain.

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A question few have asked is, how many Vietnamese have ever gone to the coldest reaches our world, away from the typical hot and humid climate of Vietnam. Bear with us, as Dennis and I explore the questions while making our rounds to both ends of the Earth.

Link to the news article about the Vietnamese living on the remote Alaskan islands:

https://youtu.be/8oTmyQp-qAA?si=QcVaBdToW4-SlhCe

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Smelly, salty, savory, the life blood of the Vietnamese, Thais and other southeast Asian peoples. Also a few folks from China, Korea and Japan. We touch upon this crucial condiment in this episode.

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Forget the other lists you ever seen (I looked at most of them), this is the real list of what I think are the worst food (or food categories). Don't think for a second these aren't foods! They are popular for different people. As a bonus, we included some whack foods from neighbouring countries. And Dennis has found out about century eggs (Trứng vịt bắc thảo) and their long partnership with congee. Now who wants to eat some live octupi (thanks Korea)!

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Is Lý Long Tường (Yi Yong-sang) one of Vietnam's greatest exports to Korea? The Grand Tutor, a general who defeated Mongols invaders twice, showing that it was the Trần in Đại Việt who could get it done. The progenitor of the Hwasan Lee clan, his influence has stretched across the centuries.

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Reunification. An innocuous word in general, a dirty word for many overseas Vietnamese. In light of the 50th anniversary of Vietnam being reunified on April 30, 1975 (whether some choose to accept it or not, the reality is that Vietnam is unified as a Socialist Republic), these are some stories from my parents, before and after this seminal event. Many of these memories are fragments that surfaced in the mind of my parents across the years. Often times, neither wants to remember that time period.

These are only echoes of what they saw, what they lived through, what they carry. Many others have captured the memories of their parents and grandparents, their aunts and uncles, in books, in audio and in video. These are my family's now and for the future.

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During this 161 year rivalry, the figurehead Lê emperor watches helplessly as two prominent families who helped reclaim the throne from the Mạc usurpers, vie for power. A prelude to the later division of Vietnam in the 20th century, the two halves of Vietnam (at the time Đại Việt or Great Viet) would continue to march forward, or in the case of the Nguyễn, march south, into history until the Tây Sơn uprising. Who was the winner amongst these cousins? Let's hash it out.