Thi Nguyễn

in Loạt Soạt

Revisiting the Delicious Satirical Society of 'Số Đỏ' by Vũ Trọng Phụng

Published in 1938, Dumb Luck, or Số Đỏ, remains one of Vietnam's most popular and controversial novels. Vũ Trọng Phụng was fined by the French colonial administration in Hanoi in 1932 for his stark po...

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Examining the Role of Shame in Building a National Identity via Vietnam's Thinkers

“Shame, rather than pride, can be the basis for national identity… individuals may be motivated to move their country in a desirable direction when national shame outweighs pride.”

Thi Nguyễn

in Snack Attack

Via Curry Packets, Curry Powder Made Its Way From India Into Vietnamese Homes

Step inside the kitchen of any household in Saigon and chances are that you will find one or two ready-made curry powder packets in a cupboard waiting for the family's next weekend treat of cà ri gà (...

Paul Christiansen

in Literature

5 Books by Vietnamese Authors Centered on Strong Female Protagonists

Literature, more than any other art form, allows people an intimate vantage point from which to witness the experiences, emotions, and thoughts of individuals drastically different from themselves. Bo...

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

In 'Water: A Chronicle,' Nguyễn Ngọc Tư Wades Into the Mekong via Vignettes

“When you’ve lived to a certain age, you don’t ask whether or not something is true, you ask which truth it is.”

in Hanoi

How Hanoi's Infectious Rats and Impish Locals Bamboozled the French in 1902

When facing a bubonic plague epidemic, is it wiser to delve into sewers and cull infected rats yourself or offer payment to Vietnamese for deliveries of severed tails instead? For Hanoi’s French colon...

in Architecture

A New Reading Space in Trà Vinh Creates Comfort From Recycled Materials

“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us,” according to famed Czech writer Franz Kafka.

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Mơ Đi Hội, When Florists Dream of Opening a Cafe

When book lovers open a café, we are blessed with book cafes; when animal lovers open a café, we are given a myriad of animal cafes; what happens when florists open a café? This is the case of Mơ Đi H...

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

'Longings' Brings 22 Stories by Vietnamese Female Writers to the World

Where are all the female writers?

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Social Commentary, Empathy in Nguyễn Quang Thân's Short Story Collection

Nguyễn Quang Thân passed away on March 4, 2017, several weeks before I moved to Saigon. So of course I never met him, but I feel like I know him. My first introduction was via An Insignificant Family,...

Paul Christiansen

in Literature

How Nam Cao Almost Ruined My Favorite Canal Cafe

Spoilers for an 80-year-old story that every student in the nation is required to read: the dog dies, the old man dies, his son's misfortunes show no sign of abetting. Simply, misery abounds at the en...

in Loạt Soạt

A World of Riveting Medically Inspired Magic in Vanessa Le's YA Debut

Captured by Butchers, the “blackmarket bogey men who deal in rare goods,” Nhika Suonyasan is caged and auctioned off to the city’s elite. A figure in a fox mask attempting to purchase her is outbid by...

in Vietnam

French Illustrated Encyclopedia Paints the Slices of Vietnam Life in the 1900s

"To effectively govern colonial peoples, the foremost requirement is a thorough understanding of the very people one rules over," so believed Paul Doumer, the second Governor-General of French Indochi...

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Reading Cabin Sells Stationery, Serves Drinks, and Builds Friendships

If I had to describe Reading Cabin in one phrase, it would be “every cafe in Saigon all at once.”

in In Plain Sight

At Bá Tân Bookstore, a Home for Vintage Books, Readers, and Goodness

I got to know Bá Tân Bookstore thanks to a friend’s suggestion.

in Literature

English-Language Edition of 'Chinatown' by Thuận Wins US Translation Award

The 2023 National Translation Award for fiction was given by the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) to Nguyễn An Lý’s translation of Chinatown by Thuận.

in Loạt Soạt

'The Mountain in the Sea' Is a Meditation on Myths, Monsters, and the Mind

“A myth,” said existentialist psychologist Rollo May, “is a way of making sense in a senseless world.” Humans need myths and legends to survive. And they need us to survive too; it’s how we’ve learned...

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Khải Đơn's Poetry Debut Won't Shy Away From the Mekong Delta's Untold Complexities

Environmental devastation, irresponsible development, economic imperilment, social ills, war legacies and the abandonment of cultural traditions and connections: these multifaceted, interconnected rea...

in Literature

Viet Thanh Nguyen Memoir 'A Man of Two Faces' Releases Today

A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial, the new book by Pulitzer Prize-winner Viet Thanh Nguyen arrives from Grove City Press on October 3. 

in Music & Arts

How Richie Fawcett's Saigon Sketches Illuminate a Decade of Change

It’s been hidden right there in the heart of Saigon for over half a decade. 

Paul Christiansen

in Literature

In Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai's New Novel, Saigon's Rhythms Hum in the Background

“I’m always homesick for Vietnam. To write is to return home. That's why I had to bring Vietnam alive onto the pages. I had to hear the people speak, I had to listen to the music, to the language; I h...

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: Tender Bar Is an Introvert's Haven, Except on Tuesdays

“Just read it and forget it. Then you can write anything you like about Tender Bar. Thank you.”

Linh Phạm

in Trích or Triết

In Xuân Diệu's Tender Poetry, a Reminder to Love Honestly and Courageously

“Tenderly, fondly, Xuân Diệu held on to my wrist, caressing it up and down. Our eyes locked in affection…Xuân Diệu loved me.”

in Literature

'The Shard, the Tissue, an Affair': A Short Story by Andrew Lam

This short story is featured in Volume 2 of In My Ear, Your Voice Still Flickering // Bên tai tôi, giọng người vẫn chờn vờn, a three-part, bilingual collection of works by more than 20 Vietnamese arti...

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

'The Chosen and the Beautiful,' a Queer, Magical, Asian American Gatsby Remix

“The Great Gatsby, but with an Asian American narrator and some of the characters are queer and there’s magic.” This is a fine elevator explanation for The Chosen and the Beautiful.

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

A Memoir Ruminates on Saigon in the Now and via Childhood Memories

Born in Saigon in 1977, Tuan Phan and his parents left for America via boat in 1986. Remembering Water includes depictions of the voyage including lengthy stops in refugee camps followed by acclimatio...

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Bảo Ninh's English-Language Return and the Magic of Mundane Moments

Of all 20th-century Vietnamese authors whose works were translated into English, none have received more high-profile attention than Bảo Ninh for his wartime novel Nỗi buồn chiến tranh (The ...

Khôi Phạm

in Literature

From Architecture to Folklore: 5 Indie Book Projects for Vietnamese Culture Buffs

In our years of writing about Vietnam, Saigoneer has had the pleasure to meet many passionate, inquisitive individuals whose creative and academic projects inspired us to appreciate the many facets of...

Paul Christiansen

in Travel

How a Film Turned a Historic H'Mông Homestead in Hà Giang Into a Tourist Attraction

The photos don’t do it justice. That’s what you’ll often hear from people who visit Hà Giang to cruise its famed highway loop.

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

The Fraught Human-Earth Dynamics in 'Revenge of Gaia,' a Collection of Vietnamese Eco-Fiction

Stories focusing on the natural world and humanity’s relationships with the environment existed before the term eco-literature became popular in the west in the 1970s, but since its coinage, writers a...

in Music & Arts

The Hanoian Artisan Carving Intricate Reliefs From Leather to Make Book Covers

The enduring pages in our history deserve book covers that match their significance.

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

'Bronze Drum,' an Entertaining, TV-Ready Reimagining of the Legend of Hai Bà Trưng

Turning a beloved but brief legend based on scant historical evidence into a page-turning novel is no easy task. But Phong Nguyen’s book Bronze Drum succeeds in depicting the upbringing and rebel...

Michael Tatarski

in Loạt Soạt

A Study of the Mekong Through Stories Told on the River

Much like humanity, great systems of the natural world rely on connectivity to thrive.

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Thuận’s Novel 'Chinatown' Targets the Tedium of Migration

Vĩnh, born in Hanoi to a Vietnamese mother who studied in the Soviet Union and teaches English in France, and an ethnically Chinese father raised in Hanoi but now working in Chợ Lớn, dreams of the day...

in Loạt Soạt

Once Derided, 'Lục Xì' Is a Trail-Blazing Lesson in Nuanced Sympathy

Lục Xì is a reportage written by Vũ Trọng Phụng in the first volume of Tương Lai newspaper in 1937. In the series, Phụng describes his experiences visiting the dispensary (nhà lục xì) where prostitute...

in Music & Arts

Japan-Vietnam Football Manga 'Sơn Goal!' Releases 1st Volume in Vietnamese

If Captain Tsubasa was a treasured part of your childhood, perhaps you can give Sơn Goal! a try. 

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

'Chronicles of a Village' Is an Avant-Garde Deconstruction of the Familiar Rural Vietnam

How would you tell the story of your birth soil?

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

How to Navigate Coming Out to Your Parents With the Help of 3 Fairy Tales

Sometimes stories can articulate what we cannot put into our own words. Fairy tales can function as long-form proverbs that allow people to identify and pass on important values, expectations and expe...

in Environment

Award-Winning Children's Book on Conservation to Release Sequel Tomorrow

Saving H'non: Chang and the Elephants, a sequel to the critically acclaimed children’s book by Trang Nguyễn, is scheduled to hit shelves on June 11 following the success of Saving Sorya: Chang and the...

in Literature

'My Father’s Bàng Tree': A Poem by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

This poem is featured in Volume 1 of In My Ear, Your Voice Still Flickering // Bên tai tôi, giọng người vẫn chờn vờn, a three-part, bilingual collection of works by more than 20 Vietnamese artists and...

in Literature

Read Saigoneer's Literary Zine, Featuring 20 Works by Vietnamese Writers and Artists

In My Ear, Your Voice Still Flickering // Bên tai tôi, giọng người vẫn chờn vờn is a collection of work from twenty Vietnamese writers and artists released as part of the Miami Book Fair, one of ...

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: Ocean Vuong Asks Questions in 'Time Is a Mother'

Fame and poetry rarely go together.

in Music & Arts

Mythology, History, and Supernaturals Mingle in the World of 'Lĩnh Nam Chích Quái'

Lĩnh Nam Chích Quái was one of Vietnam’s first anthologies written in Hán characters in prose form. It’s a collection of 22 folk tales, mythologies, and legends surrounding the origin story of the Vie...

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: The Instruction Manual of Phillips H92X Offers Something for Everyone

Engaging plot or strong characters? Fantastic escapism or insightful depictions of the real world? A sweeping epic across generations and nations, or a deep examination of a brief moment in time? What...

Michael Tatarski

in Environment

Huế's Fantastic Herbs and Where to Find Them, Now in Book Form

Have you ever walked past a plant and wondered "Hey, I wonder what that could do?"

in Literature

How Indie Book Publisher Bar De Force Marries Art, Literature and Translation

“A collision of literature and art on the pages” is the descriptor that Bar De Force, a Vietnamese independent press, gives itself.

in Music & Arts

A Local High School Student Gives His Own Textbooks a Sleek Makeover

"I embarked on the project with the desire to help students like me have a more positive and interesting view of textbooks in particular and learning in general, making subjects no longer an abstract ...

in Loạt Soạt

Heartfelt, Queer and Wickedly Witty: How Poetry Collection 'Come Clean' Sparks Joy

Joshua Nguyen lists himself as many things on his Instagram bio — a writer, a PhD student, a boba snob. He received his MFA from the University of Mississippi, where he is currently studying for ...

in Literature

Vietnamese Novel 'The Mountains Sing' Honored by Prestigious US Peace Prize

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai was named the runner-up for this year's Dayton Literary Peace Prize in the fiction category. 

Michael Tatarski

in Loạt Soạt

A Wildly Original Intermingling of Tales From Vietnam, Past and Present

In the Saigoneer office — which I haven't actually seen in person for months — a common concern is the prevalence of the war in literature about Vietnam. Even among younger writers, particul...

in Food Culture

Triệu Thị Chơi, Cookbook Author Extraordinaire, Passes Away Due to Covid-19

Growing up in the 1990s, many Saigoneers must have gotten used to the sight of Triệu Thị Chơi’s name embossed in the author position of many cookbooks.

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: 'Luminous Nights' Explores the 20th Century Literary Landscape

Why haven’t some of Vietnam’s most famous early 20th-century short stories been translated into English?

in Sports

Thanh Hoa Groom Runs 19km to Bride's House on Wedding Day

If recent developments in Vietnam’s COVID-19 outbreak have dampened your spirit, here’s a wholesome pick-me-up.

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: 'A Thousand Times You Lose Your Treasure' Speaks Many Voices

When I first met Hoa Nguyen several years ago in Hanoi, it was her first trip back to Vietnam since she left as a child.

in Environment

Two Illustrated Books by Vietnamese Conservationist to Have Global Release

They tell the story of a Vietnamese woman working to rescue a bear and an elephant.

in Asia

Vintage Illustrations From 1931 Showcase Native Birds of Indochina

Somebody definitely paid attention in art class.

in Film & TV

Park Chan-Wook to Direct TV Series Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen's 'The Sympathizer'

Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2015 novel The Sympathizer will be getting a TV adaptation directed by Park Chan-wook, the auteur behind the success of The Handmaiden and Oldboy.

in Podcast

Saigoneer Podcast: 'Things We Lost to the Water' Author Eric Nguyen

We hope you had a good, safe holiday weekend!

in Health

Dầu Gió, a Poignant Link Between My Family Legacy and Traditional Medicine

This is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of the book Pills, Teas, and Songs: Stories of Medicine Around the World by Debby Nguyen, republished with permission. Debby's family of pharmacists and doc...

in Music & Arts

[Illustrations] Tet's Timeless Dishes Turned into a Colorful Cookbook

Tteokbokki, sushi, dim sum, pizza, croissants, burritos: during an average year, many people in Saigon eat dishes from a great variety of global cuisines.

in Vietnam

Vietnam's Communications Ministry Opens Anti-Fake News Center

Will the organization become the Vietnamese Snopes?

in Culture

[Video] How Has Vietnamese Fashion Changed in a Millennium of History?

The most fascinating factoid about the video project is that black teeth had such enduring appeal across centuries and dynasties.

in Podcast

Saigoneer Podcast: Our Favorite Non-Pandemic Stories of 2020

It's our last episode of the year!

in Podcast

Saigoneer Podcast: Vietnamese Christmas Movies and Author Debby Nguyen

Our second-to-last episode of 2020 is here!

in Tech

Major Apple Supplier to Divert iPad, MacBook Production From China to Vietnam

The move comes amid major production shifts from China to Vietnam over the last two years.

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: In Poetry Collection 'OM,' Đặng Thân Embraces Human Turmoil

At the heart of Đặng Thân's poetry collection, OM [Other Moments], is the poetics of dichotomy: beauty and brutality, light and darkness, hope and despair, nihilism and existentialism.

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: 'Other Moons' Aims to Amplify Voices of Vietnam's Wartime Writers

Why must we continue talking about war?

in Music & Arts

Penguin Random House to Publish Acclaimed Storybook by 2 Vietnamese Illustrators

An’s first journey to school isn’t just limited to the Mekong Delta anymore, he’s paddled his way to the wide oceans of the world.

in Literature

This New Edition of 'Số Đỏ' Comes With Lively Illustrations by Thành Phong

If your grasp of the ingenious satire of Vũ Trọng Phụng’s Số Đỏ (Dumb Luck) is slipping, this newly published edition might prove helpful for brushing up before the film adaptation comes out.

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: Portraits of Frontline Workers From Inside Quarantine

In Con Đã Về Nhà - I'm Home, Tăng Quang documents his two-week stint in quarantine at Military School Zone 7 in District 12 of Saigon with a combination of paintings and prose.

in Architecture

The Story of Vietnam's Urban Energy and Aspirations Told via Southern Modernist Architecture

The following article is an edited excerpt from the recently published book Southern Vietnamese Modernist Architecture, presenting the history of the style, and how it contrasts with modernism in nort...

in Literature

Vietnam Is Publishing More Books, but Only a Fraction of Which Are Children's Literature

With a depleting number of children’s literature writers, it is becoming ever more difficult to meet the appetite of Vietnam’s youths hungry for a good Vietnamese book.

in Podcast

Saigoneer Podcast: Hanoi During, After the Pandemic; Modernist Architecture With Mel Schenck Returns

The latest Saigoneer Podcast episode is now available!

Khoi Pham

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Lower Your Voice, the Hidden Elephant Is Reading

In Saigon’s indie cafe scene, there are household names and well-kept secrets; and then there are secrets that one might think are well-kept, but are actually household names. 

Khoi Pham

in Culture

The Art Book That Delves Into the History of Ancient Vietnamese Fashion

Born at the intersection of fashion and history, a new art book by a team of Vietnamese researchers and creatives will take readers on a journey back to the eras of the country’s past royalty.

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: The Different Dealings of Trauma in 'Birds of Paradise Lost'

“I just can’t get the voices out my head,” Andrew Lam explains of his writing process.

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: Finding Hong in Gangster Noir Thriller ‘Dragonfish’

For those of us who have read countless books by Vietnamese authors and members of the diaspora, the novel Dragonfish is not just one more installment of ethnic literature or postwar fiction.

in Saigon

Saigon Tet Book Festival Rakes in VND3.6bn, 28.5% More Than Last Year

The Book Street Festival was open for Tet from January 22 to 28.

in Music & Arts

[Illustrations] An Art Book of Watercolor Saigon Sketches 3 Years in the Making

How envious we are of those who can render in great detail paper scenes that otherwise could only be accessed through one’s memory.

in Music & Arts

The Masterful Urban Symbolism of 'Turn Left, Turn Right' Author Jimmy Liao

Jimmy Liao is a prolific Taiwanese illustrator and author who has expanded readership of picture books beyond children to general audiences. With sensitivity and creativity, he crafts each of his stor...

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

'The Mountains Sing,' a Quintessential Vietnamese Novel, Written in Memories

As American bombers roared over the horizon preparing to drop fire and misery, air raid sirens screeched and people throughout Hanoi scrambled to find safety.

in Vietnam

He Boasted About Driving From Saigon to Hanoi in 20 Hours. The Police Aren't Amused.

To Ha Dong Nghi, a 25-year-old professional racer, recently caused controversy after announcing on Facebook that he finished a drive from Saigon to Hanoi in only 19 hours and 45 minutes.

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: Americana Through a Vietnamese Lens in 'Butterfly Yellow'

“Read what you don’t know because if you can already imagine it, then you can already imagine it; but if you can’t, then open up something that reveals a world you can’t imagine and then suddenly you’...

in Culture

[Video] Nas Daily Is in Vietnam to Remind Us Why We're Happy

If you’re not content with your life right now, fret not, for travel video blogger Nas Daily is here in the flesh to remind you why Vietnam is a deliriously happy country.

in Saigon

Saigon's Built Heritage Is Under Threat. How Do We Protect What's Left?

In an exclusive excerpt from his latest book, Exploring Saigon-Chợ Lớn: Vanishing Heritage of Hồ Chí Minh City, historian Tim Doling discusses the city's threatened heritage architecture and what the ...

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: Direct Routes to Whimsy in 'Ticket to Childhood'

Children can “hear the music and see the colors of letters on a page — magic portals to a wilderness without fixed meanings… all adults see are the neat rows of black lines, the building blocks of def...

Paul Christiansen

in Literature

A Radio Program Puts Vietnamese Poetry in the Limelight With Bilingual Readings

"Lanterns Hanging on the Wind" features 18 poems read in Vietnamese and translated into English that span themes, styles, time periods and locations to give listeners a broad introduction to the natio...

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: Multitudes Contained in 'Red Thread' by Teresa Mei Chuc

Seeking, sucking, tonguing for each scrap of contained marrow: should a book of poetry labor over a single topic the way a mouth savors a soup bone? Or should it be akin to a buffet plate atop which t...

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Saigoneer Bookshelf: A Touch of Magical Realism in 'The Cemetery of Chua Village'

Vietnam transitioned to a market economy like an old train lurching to life: momentous shakes and shudders, steam bursting out busted gaskets, disheveled cargo tumbling from luggage racks, sparks shoo...

in Music & Arts

High School Student Gives Vietnam's History Textbooks a Sleek Makeover

This bold makeover project of Vietnam’s history textbooks might make you wish you were in school once again.

Paul Christiansen

in Literature

Meet the Author of the Most Important Vietnamese Novel You've Never Read

When the wind strafes Da Ngan’s window, seedpods shake and rattle like spent bullet casings in the tamarind tree that Americans planted decades ago. They also built the large apartment complex where s...

in Arts & Culture

Weaving a Realm: Documenting Vietnam's Royal Costumes From the 15th Century

In their latest crowdfunding project, Vietnam Centre is combining the fashion design and history in a comprehensive art book detailing the ancient Vietnamese costumes worn during the late Le dynasty.

Thi Nguyen

in Literature

On Reading Thi Bui's Illustrated Memoir 'The Best We Could Do' in Saigon

One of my favorite pastimes during summer holidays was reading through the textbooks for my next school year. History textbooks were the most interesting and fun to read: they were like the Harry Pott...

Khoi Pham

in Tech

A Brief History of the Internet in Vietnam on Its 20th Birthday

My first memory of the internet in Vietnam occurred in an internet café on Tran Hung Dao Street. It was the early 2000s: Walkman players were still a thing, MTV actually played music, and Britney Spea...

Khoi Pham

in Music & Arts

Sketching Saigon: Charming Indie Cafes Through the Eyes of Taiwanese Illustrator

In Shao-Chen Lin’s new sketchbook, On-the-spot Sketching at Cafes in Saigon, Vietnam, the southern metropolis is defined by its most charming aspect: a robust coffee culture that permeates every ...

in Architecture

Opinion: Saigon’s Architecture Should Express Our Times Today, Not the Past

Based upon its fascinating history, modern-day Saigon displays a rich character all its own, with buildings across the city representing each era of its storied past. However, several faux colonial bu...

Michael Tatarski

in Literature

How Mekong Review Aims to Connect Southeast Asia Through Literature

First published in late 2015, The Mekong Review has quickly garnered a sterling reputation in a region short on quality print publications. Minh Bui Jones, its founder and editor, talks to Saigoneer a...

in Architecture

How Vietnam Created Its Own Brand of Modernist Architecture

Throughout the 20th century, as Vietnam underwent dramatic historical and political changes, a unique brand of modernist architecture developed in the country, transforming its present-da...

in Music & Arts

Inside Award-Winning Vietnamese Children's Book 'The First Journey'

A couple months back, we wrote about Phung Nguyen Quang and Huynh Kim Lien, a pair of Vietnamese children's book authors who took the top prize at this year's Asia-wide Scholastic Picture Book Award&n...

in Tech

Logging Into Facebook in Vietnam - The Elegant Solution

For many of us, words like DNS, proxy and VPN are familiar due to the difficulties of logging into Facebook from inside Vietnam. At Saigoneer, we are aware of this problem and have found a few s...