This week’s photos come from our redecking project. You can see random photos of the project in progress or you can read my seven-part blog posts. We’re pretty happy withe the final result.

I am devastated and deeply in despair for our country. I am powerless as I witnessed another tragic death of a black man. He was lynched not standing up but laying down and not by a noose but by a knee. My heart goes out to George Floyd, his family, and Black Americans. I feel their anger and grieve. I am lost for words; therefore, I am going to let the photos speak. An image is worth a thousand words.

This week’s photos accompanying my blog are artworks by Robert Irwin. I just finished rereading his book in the last couple of days; therefore, his work is still fresh on my mind. As a designer, I have always prefer simplicity. As a result, I can relate to his minimalism. I hope you enjoy some of his works I have selected.

This week, I am featuring paintings by my friend Molly Brauer. Molly was my boss at George Washington University School of Business. She got out of communications and picked up painting.

If you visit this site on a large screen instead of a mobile device, you can see some of her beautiful paintings. What I like about her work is that each painting has a wonderful story behind it.

If you are interested in purchasing her artwork, you can connect with her on LinkedIn. She also posts her artworks on Facebook, but I am temporarily deactivating my account. I don’t find the use for it anymore.

If you visit this site on a laptop or desktop, you can see that photography occupies a big space on this blog. I want to turn this image-heave design into a weekly feature. Each week, I will select a few photos that are related and let them load randomly as readers visit the blog. What’s the point? I just wanted to give the blog more visual. Why not on mobile devices? I don’t want to waste reader’s data. This is an enhancement, not a requirement.

For the inaugural week, I would like to share some photos of my kids living their lives in quarantine. We, my wife in particular, wanted our kids to spend more time off the screen; therefore, we tried to let them do a bit of outdoor activities like playing in the sandbox in backyard, watering the plants, or biking around the block. With our jobs, we struggled to keep them busy; therefore, we had loosen up the screen time policy. Unfortunately, they had took our generosity for granted.

In the past few days, our two older sons went berserk when we asked them to do school work or turn off their video games. They also threw a fit when they asked us to play video games and we said no. Now we have to re-enforce the strict policy. Their patience for school work is amount to zero. As a result, their academic is suffering. I am feeling guilty and overwhelming.

Một ngày như mọi ngày vẫn bị cách ly ở nhà. Sau 45 năm, tôi cũng không có lời lẽ gì để bày tỏ. Thôi thì chỉ chia sẽ những hình ảnh và nhạc tôi đã phối họp để tưởng nhớ ngày Sài Gòn sụp đổ. Mời quý vị xem:

• Tưởng niệm Việt Nam
• Một chút quà cho quê hương
• Biển nhớ

I am happy to see the launch of “Mapping Corruption: The Interactive Exhibit.” I hope the information will shed some light on our current corrupting government. Let’s change that in November. Whether by ballot or mail, make sure to cast your vote in this extremely important general election.

I had the pleasure of working with Grilli Type to review their typefaces for Vietnamese support. I can’t wait to see Vietnamese language added to GT America, GT Pressura, and GT Sectra. I also worked with Signal Type on their Ballinger family. That’s a fine one as well.

What’s next? I started working on a website for a writer this week. She is releasing her third novel and needed a fresh website to promote it. The book won’t come out until November, but the website will be launched in the next few months.

It is unusual to have projects lining up at this time, but they keep my mind off the news, the pathological narcissist, and the coronavirus. I stopped drinking and no longer feeling depressed. I am doing my best to cope with this crisis. It hasn’t been easy, but I have to adapt. I am glad to have some resilience in me. I hope you are doing well too. Just hanging in there. Social distance is working. Stay home, stay safe, and stay informed.

Lâm Huyền Vi viết:

Donny đọc bài này chưa? Mình hoàn toàn đồng ý với tác giả bài viết. Có nhiều bản hòa âm cho các bài hát của chị Ngọc Lan dở quá. Không biết có ai đó có thể viết lại hòa âm cho các bài đó không? Tiếc quá! Giọng hát của chị thật là hay, nhưng hòa âm thật là tệ.

Tôi trả lời:

Dĩ nhiên là đã đọc vì mình chính là tác giả của bài đó. Thật là một tình cờ thú vị. Visualgui.com là trang blog cá nhân của mình. Không ngờ đã viết bài này tám năm rồi. Cám ơn Vi đọc và chia sẻ. Chúc Vi an lành và khỏe mạnh.

Đã lâu rồi tôi không viết về nhạc Việt nữa cũng nhớ nhớ. Chắc lâu lâu phải lôi ra những album cũ viết cho vui.

Thấy bà con làm thơ chống dịch vui vui nên cũng tham gia.

Tôi là Doanh
Sẽ không đi loanh quanh
Ở nhà tự xử cho nhanh.

Tôi là Donny
Ở nhà khỏi bận quần xì
Chỉ ăn mì và ngủ li bì.

Các bạn cố gắng ở nhà nhé để tai qua nạn khỏi. Chúc tất cả bình an và khoẻ mạnh.

Cường writes:

Hi Donny,

This is Cuong, the writer at Cuong.com. I was reading a few of your blog entries at VisualGUI and had to email you after I read “A Bad Asian Confession.” Wow. She seemed like a sweet girl. You did mess up. But messing up is part of being young, maturing, growing up. Look at me. I didn’t tell Nhi I loved her until 20 years later. And even then I didn’t take her hand. So your bad ain’t so bad. I hope you contacted your old girlfriend afterwards and made up, even if it was 20 years later.

Keep on writing! Your articles are refreshing! By the way, where’s your email list sign up? Can you sign me up? Thanks!

I just added you to my blogroll! You’re my first!

Cuong

Dear Anh Cường,

Thank you for taking the time to write to me. It is an honor to hear from a Vietnamese-American voice I respect. I am glad that I had discovered cuong.com and subscribed to your blog via RSS Feed. On that note, I have an RSS Feed if you would like to subscribe. I do not have an email subscription because I don’t want to manage an email list. I don’t want to be responsible for people’s email. Furthermore, I don’t want to flood people’s inbox with my rants.

Thank you for sharing your story about your relationship and your advise to reconnect. A few years ago, I came across her name on Facebook through a mutual friend. I immediately sent a friend request hoping that we could put our past behind. Unfortunately, she still has not accepted my request. I tried. Based on some public photos she had posted, she seemed happy with her husband and kids. Maybe it is a good thing we aren’t reconnected.

Also thanks for adding me to your blog roll. It means a lot to me.

Take care of yourself and your family. Stay safe and healthy!

Regards,

Donny Truong