A sharp piece on Jay-z at BestLife:

Staying true to yourself might stand as a succinct summary of Jay-Z’s philosophy of success. The notion goes back to Shakespeare’s “To thine own self be true,” and further back than that to the Greeks. But for Jay-Z, it has an urgently contemporary meaning. Even, or perhaps, especially, in recessionary times, amid the thousands of entertainment and lifestyle choices consumers have available to them, what separates winners from losers is a commitment to a single proposition: You are the product. If people believe in you, they will believe in what you create. Jay-Z understands this and is down with it.

A sketch based on Chris Brown and Rihanna’s descriptive report.

Doug Bowman stopdesigns Google:

When I joined, I thought there was potential to help the company change course in its design direction. But I learned that Google had set its course long before I arrived. Google was a massive aircraft carrier, and I was just a small dinghy trying to push it a few degrees North.

The commencement page for the School of Business has been updated with latest information and new slideshow.

I don’t know anything about The Friends other than the group is founded by violinist Luan Vu, but I have admiration for concerts they had put out. If I live in Cali, I would love to come and see their show. However, I just came across a vicious attack on The Friends regarding to the missing of Ngo Thuy Mien, Tu Cong Phung and Vu Thanh An on their recent show called “Du Doi Cho Nhau.” I am skeptical the credit of the source, but want to put it out here to see what others have to say about it. Here is what Dao Nuong Hoang Duoc Thao said:

Chương trình ca nhạc Giữ Đời Cho Nhau, dùng một tên bản nhạc của nhạc sĩ Từ Công Phụng làm chủ đề, bán vé với giá $60, $50, $40 và $30. Dưới giòng chữ ghi giá tiền vé vào cửa, Đào Nương tôi lại đọc được một một hàng chữ nhỏ: Sẽ trích một số tiền vé thu được vào quỹ đào tạo tài năng âm nhạc thiếu nhi hải ngoại. Nhưng đây không phải là lần đầu tiên Đào Nương tôi nghe than phiền về sự kiện “công tử” Luân Vũ lợi dụng tên tuổi của nhạc sĩ Từ Công Phụng, trước đây, khi nghe tin có sự hiện diện của ông, Đào Nương tôi có mua vé đi xem. Đến nơi, ông Luân Vũ cho biết nhạc sĩ Từ Công Phụng… không về kịp vì đang ở bên Houston hay Dallas gì đó mặc dù vẫn nhận lời. Sau này khi có dịp gặp nhạc sĩ họ Từ tại Cali, ông cho biết ông không hề được mời hay nhận lời xuất hiện trong buổi nhạc của ông Luân Vũ.

GW School of Business homepage has been rearranged around a little bit to keep the site organize and easy to navigate. Links to social networks were added to the bottom left corner.

These glasses will make you look real slanties.

Philip Greenspun:

We (the taxpayers) own AIG. We should fire the top 20 managers immediately as an example to the rest.

This whole bonus bogus makes no sense to me at all. Why would a company give out “retention incentives” to employees who screwed up the company? It sounds to me like an encouragement to incompetence. Your performance almost bankrupted the company, but here are some bonuses for you to stick around.

I am digging the swinging rendition of Ngo Thuy Mien’s “Niem Khuc Cuoi” performed by violinist Luan Vu and the young, beautiful pianist Thanh Nha. She has some really nice syncopations going there. Check out more duets and interviews at Radio VNCR.

Analysts argued:

[T]he Web 2.0 model of building a product and then figuring out how to monetize it has been largely debunked.

Also check out “If President Obama Twittered…“