Art & Entertainment News 16/4

First News: ‘Secrets of the Millionaire Mind’ book pirated

Tri Viet Publishing Co., Ltd., also known as First News, has discovered the Vietnamese version of the book “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth” by Canadian writer T. Harv Eker has been pirated.

Two pirated copies of the Vietnamese version, titled “Bi mat tu duy trieu phu”, have been detected on the local market with the name and logo of U.S. publisher HarperCollins on their covers.

Nguyen Van Phuoc, director of Tri Viet Creative Co., Ltd, said the pirated books are the scanned copies of the original book and well bound, which indicates they were illegally made on a large scale.

The pirated copies cost higher than the original by 17-29%. The price of the official copies published by First News was VND58,000 (US$2.68) in 2011 and now VND68,000.

The price of the pirated book is VND75,000, allowing resellers to offer discounts of up to 30-40% to attract readers.

Phuoc said First News will cooperate with representatives of HarperCollins in Vietnam to report the case to the authorities.

First News bought the copyright of “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth” in July, 2005 from HarperCollins.

In the book, T. Harv Eker explains why some people can get rich easily while others are destined for a life of financial struggle. Readers can learn how to identify their own money blueprint and revise it to not only create success but to keep and continually grow it as well, Amazon said in a book review.

Reality show to seek budding comedians

HCMC-based Dien Quan Media is joining hands with HCMC Television to run a reality show, titled “Thach thuc danh hai” (a challenge for comedians), to seek potential local and foreign comedians from different parts of the nation.

The show is based on the format of “Crack them up” program which is known in Ukraine and China. People of all ages and nationalities with a great sense of humor and passion for comedy can take part in the program to challenge judges Tran Thanh and Viet Huong, who are also popular comedians in Vietnam.

The contest comes with five rounds in which contestants will have one minute to perform in front of the judging panel. Those making either of the two comedians laugh will win cash prizes of VND2 million to VND100 million from the first to the final rounds. Participants have the right to either stop the challenge in each round with their winning prizes brought home or continue the game for higher prizes. However, those continuing the competition but losing afterwards will be eliminated without prize money.

“As we may know that there are a lot of reality shows on local TV channels luring audiences by scandals and tricks. Thus, we want to run a comedy program on TV to create opportunities for budding comedians to show off their talent,” said Do Van Buu Dien, CEO of Dien Quan Media.

The program may attract viewers by impromptu performances as there will not be scripts or preparations in advance from both contestants and the organizers, Dien added.

Dien added his company and a foreign partner would launch a bigger talent show next year in search of more comedy talent.

The 13-episode “Thach thuc danh hai” program will be broadcast on HTV7 every Wednesday starting from tomorrow at 9:30 p.m.

H’mong preserve funeral tradition of getting drunk

A funeral tradition of the ethnic H’Mong in a highlands village of northern Cao Bang Province remains intact despite their poverty — getting drunk.

Khau Pay Highlands Village in Hong Tri Commune of Bao Loc District is so poor that relatives of a dead person can rarely afford a bolt of red cloth to cover the coffin.

But Thao A Tu, head of the village, said the 50 households, including 26 poor families, hold to the tradition of celebrating a death, with a modest feast of their staple maize, and sometimes rice. Attendants try to be happy, and dance and drink alcohol until they are drunk.

Local policeman A Ngai said the custom has been in place for centuries and no visitor would dare refuse to drink.

“Our traditional funeral has been maintained for years,” said an elderly villager.

“We don’t think that dead people will go away forever,” he said. “We believe that good people can go to heaven when they die and will be reincarnated to have a better life. So, we find nothing to be sad about but are happy instead.”

Young people in the village consider funerals a good time to meet their partner in life.

Various activities at first Vietnam-RoK cultural festival in Hanoi

Numbers of young Hanoians gathered at the Quan Ngua Sports Palate in Hanoi on April 11 to join various activities of the first Vietnam – RoK cultural festival in Hanoi.

The festival, held for the first time by the Korean Cultural Centre in Vietnam and the Korean People’s Association in Hanoi, was to mark the 23rd anniversary of the diplomatic relation establishment of Vietnam and RoK.

The festival featured more than 80 booths of all kinds, from electronics, to food, crafts, fashion, cosmetics and tourism exhibitions.

Visitors to the event were embedded in a cultural exchange programme including RoK traditional music, folk games, cuisine and fashion shows. There were also performances of modern music by B-boy dance, taekwondo and the Korean hanbok fashion show.

The highlight of the programme was a concert, which featured a number of performances of Korean popular singers such as Park Sang Min, Kim Ho Jung and K-pop idol groups like SWITCH, NOM, On Hui Jung and Vietnamese singer Tuan Hung. The programme also drew the participation of famous Korean MC’s Jo Yeong Gu, Lee Chang Min and comedian Lee Kwang Deuk.

According to Ko Sang Gu, chairman of the Korean Association in Hanoi, with about 40,000 Koreans currently living in Hanoi, in total of 140,000 Korean expatriates living in Vietnam, this event was a chance for the Korean community in Vietnam to raise awareness of community integration and show their love and appreciation for Vietnam.

Director of the Korean Cultural Centre in Vietnam Park Nark Jong said: “This year we emphasised on the unique features of Korean culture and I hope this will become an annual event.”

According to organiser, all the proceeds from the programme will be sent to the Vietnam Fatherland Front Vietnam to support those living in difficulties.

New app introduces European Union to Vietnamese

A new app ‘My European Union’ launched by the delegation of the European Union (EU) at an event in Hanoi on April 14 is a great way for Vietnamese to learn everything about the EU.

The app, one of a series of events to mark the 25th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between the EU and Vietnam, is intended to use on smartphones and tablets, providing an overall picture on the EU and its cultural activities in Vietnam.

Among features of the app is ‘Exploring the EU’, which comes up with information about geography, climate, nature, languages, inventions, and the birth of the EU.

The ‘Knowledge of the EU’ feature deals with the formation, development and operation mechanism, market, currency, policy-planning process and role of the union.

Meanwhile, ‘Visiting the EU’ will tell how to get a visa to the EU.

Programmes and events held in Vietnam by the EU delegation and the EU Cultural Centres throughout 2015 can be found on the ‘List of cultural events’.

Addressing the event, the head of the Delegation of the EU, Franz Jessen reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to building a closer partnership with Vietnam.

With the app, the EU becomes closer to Vietnamese people and mutual understanding will be promoted, he added.

SGT/VNS/ND/VOV

Art & Entertainment News 16/4

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