mother

Latest U.S. export to Vietnam: Mother's Day

Editor's note: CNET editor and Crave contributor Dong Ngo is spending several weeks in his homeland of Vietnam and will file occasional dispatches chronicling his adventures. To read stories from Dong's last visit, in December, click here.

HANOI, Vietnam--I'm not a big fan of holidays. I don't mean the time off, of course, but the mass consumption that generally accompanies them.

For this reason, I've been sort of secretly happy that my parents live in Vietnam. This means that for years I haven't had to pay attention to Mother's Day or Father's Day. The Vietnamese, one would think, have no reason to even be aware of these American days. And for a long time, they weren't.

Thus, it was a revelation to me the other day, during a casual conversation at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport, when a trendy-looking and friendly Vietnamese girl asked me if I had done anything for Father's Day.

Learning where I stand on the issue, the girl, Lan, expressed surprise. "I bought my dad a Gillette shaving set," she shared, "and he was very happy. You should have done something! I bought my mom a nice bouquet for Mother's Day a month ago, too."

I was speechless. I live in America and my American friends have hardly ever asked me the same question. As it turned out, over the years I was away in America, American pop culture, via TV and the Internet, has sneaked into my home country in a big way.

Apparently, a month ago, for the first time, Mother's Day was a big event in Vietnam. Newspapers talked about it, TV talked about it, teenagers blogged and made YouTube videos about it, and people went out to buy flowers and presents for moms.

The day was hyped so much some people even felt guilty because they hadn't known about it in previous years. Yet at the same time, most didn't know the origin of it. "I had never heard of it and all of a sudden everywhere people started talking about it," Lan told me honestly. "But I think it's meaningful to honor your parents. Don't you think?"

Though it might have seemed "all of a sudden," the introduction of Mother's Day marked a very deliberate attempt by businesses here to sell products.… Read more

Friday Poll: Best Mother's Day gift for a geeky mom?

Mother's Day is approaching--in less than 48 hours! Quick, what are you getting for the dear woman who birthed/raised you?

If your mom is like mine, she doesn't pick out her own gadgets, so Sunday will be a great time to shower her with all sorts of newfangled (to her) technology.

We've come up with several (admittedly stereotypical) mom-oriented gifts. Which are you most likely to give? Got some other ideas? Let us know in the TalkBack section below.

Mother's Day shirt for the geeky mom-to-be

Motherhood starts in the womb, so here's a gift for the geeky pregnant lady in your life. This cotton maternity shirt--available at ThinkGeek for $22.99--has a print that looks like a computer's progress meter and says "Loading... please wait." Unfortunately, the meter doesn't actually move as the mother-to-be approaches her delivery date, but that's something you could solve progressively using a white fabric marker.

(Source: Crave Asia)

Nintendo helps moms cook, lose weight, be more maternal

Gamers and geeks, step aside. It's Mom's turn to jump on the gaming bandwagon. On Monday, Nintendo announced a new DS Lite bundle, clearly tailored to the interests of middle-aged women.

At the usual $149.99, the bundle includes a lime green console, a matching carrying case, and Personal Trainer: Cooking. Those who tend to buy into gender stereotypes can already preorder the bundle just in time for Mother's Day on Amazon. Don't forget to add on My Weight Loss Coach and Imagine: Babyz while you're at it.

In the past couple of years we'… Read more

40th Anniversary of "Mother of all demos"

Today is the 40th anniversary of what came to be known as "The Mother of All Demos", Doug Engelbart's presentation to the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco. In this one 90 minute presentation he showed, in working form, for the very first time all of the following technologies:

The mouse Graphical user interface with point and click and menus Intermingling of text and graphics within a document, styling of text in a document Hypertext and linking between documents Remote collaboration plus videoconferencing

That's a pretty astonishing list. It basically described the landscape of computing … Read more

The 404 203: Where we're not even supposed to be here today

The 404 is back together again and this time around we welcome DIY comic book artist Samuel Vera to the show. Artist, publisher, and do-it-all for Crazee Comics, Sam sits in for a chat about the state of the comic book industry, how to get your start in publishing, the war between online and print comics, and the recent surge of comic book movie adaptations.

Don't forget to come and say hi to us tonight at our second 404 meetup at Gstaad Bar on 26th and 6th Avenue in New York! We'll be there at 6:30 tonight, kicking back and celebrating our 200th episode anniversary, and you're welcome to join us! We want to meet as many of our New York listeners as we can, so if you're in the New York area, come check it out--if nothing else, Natali Del Conte, Mark the Intern, and Dan the Mantern will all be there as well.

Big thanks to our buddy Samuel Vera for coming on the show today. Listen in for seriously helpful tips on how to publish your own comic and even hear Sam's opinions on existing comics and his humble beginning in the thriving comic book industry (no matter what Wilson thinks). He also weighs in on a few current events including the closing of two corporate pillars of American excellence: Circuit City and Mother's Cookies. All right, all right, nobody is going to miss Circuit City but Mother's Cookies gave us the famous ANIMAL CRACKER! You're never going to believe this, but neither Jeff, Wilson, nor Sam knows what those are. Whaaaattt? Is this a West Coast thing or what? I don't get it, but nevertheless I'm still really bummed out because I practically survived off those things for the first half of my life. Hmm, that explains a few things...RIP Mothers Cookies, we'll almost remember you and your deliciously sprinkled confections.

EPISODE 203 Download today's podcast … Read more

The 404 146: Where Wilson's optimism is making us nauseous

Every time Wilson smiles, an angel loses its wings. Critics agree, Wilson is the reason Christian Bale beat up his family. But seriously though, c'mon Christian, was worldwide fame and fortune not enough for you? Did Warner Brothers not include a "maternal abuse" clause in the contract there, guy? Unbelievable. Needless to say, we express our disappointment with Mr. Bale regarding this breaking news, and also comment on the Japanese trend of upskirt iPhone pics, mourn the death of the local coffee shop, and warn our young viewers about the dangers of lighting your friends' pants on … Read more

Google's little g. Does it allow for a conversation about the big S?

Sometimes, apparently unrelated events are really part of a strategy.

You trim your eyebrows. You visit a shrink. You suggest a late meeting with an attractive co-worker. Only afterwards do those around you see the connection between the three.

I am getting the same feeling about Google.

Google always wanted everyone to believe that it would never change. That it was a fine and spiritual body, eager to do good, while taking charitable donations on the side. (the side of the page, to be precise)

A sort of Mother Teresa with sideburns and a poetic songbook.

Now, as Bronski Beat … Read more

Mother-of-pearl Xbox 360: For VVIPs only

We have the regular whitish Xbox 360 gaming console and the souped-up black Elite. But if you're an important associate of Bill Gates, there's also the limited-edition "mother-of-pearl" flavor as pictured here. A special gift from Gates to the president of South Korea, it features a special oriental motif that supposedly symbolizes patience and perseverance, according to Register Hardware.

The exquisite handy work of Korean artist Kim Young-Jun, 100 of these "VVIP" consoles are purported to have been commissioned by Microsoft. If you have any information on the rest of these swanky consoles' lucky … Read more