I'm A TV Star!!!!

(PICTURE: The script and me at Noi Bai Airport.)

My big break finally came!!! I'm gonna be on a Vietnamese sitcom called, "The End of The Rainbow." The show -- which I had never heard of before -- will be airing on VTV3 (date and time to be announced on a future blog when I find out).

As many of my friends know from my acting premiere on Fox's "On The Lot", I'm quite an amazing actor. If you'd like to see my TV debut you can check it out on here. Admittedly I'm a terrible actor and only come across as half decent because of my buddy Sam's amazing direction.

As challenging as my last role was, my newest role was by far my hardest. On the sitcom I play an Australian businessman named Mr. Han. I'm pretty sure Han is not a native Australian name so I can only assume I'm a Dutch-Australian and perhaps even one of the bad guys from the original Die Hard.

So you're probably asking yourself, "Ben, how did you get on a Vietnamese sitcom?" Fair question. Well, my buddy Nicky has recently befriended a Vietnamese actress. Long story short, Nicky calls me one night and says, "Hey, this show need foreigners to shoot tomorrow morning. Can you do it?" Being on Vietnamese TV has been a secret dream of mine for two years now so I cleared my schedule and told Nicky I was in.

The next morning I showed up at the "production office" at 8AM. I waited there for a solid two hours before we went to set. So, yeah, Vietnamese TV is just like American TV -- the talent has to wait for hours before they're needed. The production van (a taxi) took us to the set which happened to be Noi Bai Airport. As we set up shop in the airport I thought to myself, "No chance a production crew like this could ever film at Los Angeles airport without serious permits." Nobody even asked me for an ID.

(PICTURE: My lines...which apparently got severely shortened in translation.)

About ten minutes before we were supposed to start shooting, I was handed a script. Naturally I was a little surprised when the script -- and more specifically MY LINES -- were in Vietnamese. I casually said to Nicky's friend, "Um, I'm not so great at Vietnamese." She told me to practice as if I hadn't been practicing (and failing) for 2.5 years. Luckily, right before we started shooting the director told us that we could say our lines in English. Well, let me just say I gave one hell of a performance. Here were my lines:

MR. HAN: Nice to meet you, I'm Mr. Han.
....
MR. HAN: We've been waiting for thirty minutes. You wasted our time.

We were scheduled to film a second scene today. However, the shoot got pushed back to an indefinite date. I can only assume that they've decided to rewrite the script and wrote out our characters.

Carl's Jr/Vietnam Conspiracy

For two years now something has been bothering me. Has anyone else ever noticed how much the Carl's Jr. logo and the Vietnamese flag look alike?




Maybe it's because I lived up the street from a Carl's Jr. in LA that this thought always pops into my head:
1. Both flags are five pointed stars
2. The color scheme is basically the exact same: yellow and red.
3. The smiley face in the Carl's Jr. flag is almost identical to the cartoonish Vietnamese propaganda posters all over this country. Like this one:

I'm not sure what the conspiracy theory is but just be mindful next time you bite into a Carl's Jr. burger.

Motorbike Shops

(PICTURE: Huyen's sister's bike getting fixed-up at the shop.)

All over Vietnam are motorbike shops. Near our house we have our local guy who we always bring our bikes to whether we need air in the tires or something more substantial done to our bikes. This past week my friend Jed and his wife Lena have been visiting so before they came we took our bikes to the shop to get fixed-up.

First off, I should say that I'm using the term "our" bikes very loosely. Currently we have two bikes: Huyen's and Huyen's sister's bike. Huyen's sister's bike is her spare bike and has seen its better days. When we dropped the bike off at the shop, we told our repair guy to look over the bike and to specifically fix the brakes and signal lights. When we came back a couple of hours later, the bike was half apart. One of the repair guys was basically blow torching the brakes while another was rewiring everything under, what could only be called, "the hood." As far as Huyen's bike, we just needed a few little repairs on it like putting in a new left turn signal.

Overall we had a few new lights put in, got new brakes, had some things tightened and also had air put in the tires. The total cost -- including labor -- was 350,000 VND or roughly $17.50. The repair guy worked on our bike for at least an hour. Can you imagine going to a car shop in America and getting new brakes and new lights for anything less than $1,000? I'm having specific flashbacks to my Jeep Grand Cherokee and having to replace the brakes in 2005 for a solid grand. Put this on the list of things I'm gonna miss about Vietnam.

Trivia Question: What country's flag has an AK-47 on it?

Trivia Question: What country's flag has an AK-47 on it?

Take a moment to think about it....

....keep thinking....

...seriously, there really is a country that has an AK-47 pictured on its flag...

...give up?....

...here's the flag....


...still can't figure it out, right?...

The answer is...

Mozambique.

Yes, Mozambique's national flag has a picture of an AK-47 on it. According to wikipedia the Kalashnikov assault rifle's image on the flag is supposed to symbolize the nation's struggle for independence.

So what does this have to do with Hanoi? Well, since Hanoi is the capital of the country lots of heads of nations come here to meet with the government. Whenever a foreign dignitary comes to town, the city drapes the country's flag on every lamp post near Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and the Prime Minister's house. The other day I was driving in that neighborhood and saw dozens of flags with an AK-47 on them. I was immediately confused thinking that no country would have an AK-47 on their flag. Clearly I was wrong.

According to Wikipedia, Mozambique had a national contest in 2005 to change the flag and get rid of the AK-47. I guess nobody won the contest because it is definitely still very much part of the flag. I'm not a PR guy by any means, but personally I don't want to visit any country with an AK-47 on their flag.

The Last Man Standing

(PICTURE: The stars of the "Pretty Woman" remake.)

I can't tell you how many times my father has said to me over the years, "You and Jeremy are the only two Livingston guys who aren't married or engaged." Usually he followed that up with some comment about our noses or some sly remark that there is something wrong with us (besides our huge noses). Well, after Huyen and I got engaged, Jeremy was the last man standing. However, he's now jumped ship too...

Jeremy recently proposed to Allie while doing his best Richard Gere impersonation. You see, "Pretty Woman" is Allie's favorite movie and always cries at the end proposal. So Jeremy arraigned to give Allie her own Hollywood movie proposal. Jeremy hired a white stretch limo and pulled up outside of a restaurant where Allie was waiting on the second floor. Allie saw Jeremy from the second floor window and Jeremy began his re-enactment of the famous scene. No, he didn't climb the fire escape but used the inside stairs. Anyway, Allie said yes which means my father has to find something new to make fun of us for.

I can honestly say that I've never seen Jeremy as happy as he is when he's with Allie. The two of them are definitely a perfect match and I can't wait to celebrate with them next November 19th!

The Next Generation of Red Heads

(PICTURE: Brett and Rina, two peas in a pod.)

A few weeks ago, my buddy Brett surprised his girlfriend Rina with twelve dozen roses and a diamond ring in their apartment. After Rina said yes, Brett finished his romantic proposal by booking them a room and a table at the hotel where they had their first date. At dinner, Brett had arrainged for both his and Rina's parents to be waiting to help celebrate. It was a great day for a great couple.

Sometimes you meet a couple and you say to yourself, "Yeah, they make sense together." I've been abroad for Brett's whole relationship with Rina but on the few chances I've gotten to meet her, they seem like a perfect fit for each other. I have no doubt they're gonna have an amazing life together.

Congratulations, Brett and Rina!!!! I can't wait to have my kids play with your red-headed children in a few years!

The Lord of The Rings

Our rings are finished!!!...although there was of course a little drama.

When Huyen and I went to pick up our rings, mine didn't fit. Shockingly, despite measuring my finger, the shop made my ring two millimeters smaller than they said they would. However, the shop worker told us it was no big deal and that they could fix the ring by the next day.

We picked up our rings twenty four hours later and they both fit like a charm. We then had the rings inscribed. After much thought, we decided to go with: "You always make me smile" and the date of our wedding. Whenever I've told anyone about Huyen, I've always said, "She always makes me smile." For both of us, this seemed like the essential fact of our relationship -- when we're together we're always smiling and laughing.

(PICTURE: The inscription machine.)