In his latest piece for The New Yorker, David Sedaris describes his character:

From a distance, her hair looked white, but now I could see that it was streaked with yellow, almost randomly, like snow that had been peed on. If she seemed somewhat mannish, it was the fault of her clothing rather than her features. Both her jacket and her blouse were kitted out with shoulder pads, and when they were worn together she could barely fit through the door. This might be a problem for others, but Rosemary didn’t get out much. And why would she want to?

Tom Bachtell’s portraits of George W. Bush.

Borders’ cafe, A Prairie Home Companion, a gigantic dish of shrimp pasta, “Nu Hon Goi Gio,” countless emails, Tuan Ngoc, Ngoc Ha, Khanh Ly, “Bien Nho,” jazz, Billie Holiday, chao ga, chicken wings, wine, beer, broccoli with egg and soy sauce, steak with rice, sushi, nightly Starbuck coffee, books, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Las Vegas, Virginia, New Yorker, badminton, Barnes & Noble, cheesecake, the park, rain, NYC, egg custard, pho and lau de. Wow! It’s been a wonderful year!

“Nua Doi Yeu Em” is one of my favorite tunes from Lam Phuong and Don Ho has done an exeptional job of expressing the pathos in it. These two lines, “Hai con yeu nhau bang tam hon biet xu / Doi tim ghep lai bang kho dau nua doi,” brings out the melancholic vibe every time.

From “Boy arrives in Canada for life-saving surgery“:

Hoang Son Pham was abandoned by his parents at the age of three because of a facial hemangioma, a benign tumour of blood vessels. Over the next seven years, the tumour continued to grow, causing difficulty with everyday tasks such as eating.

You can find more updates on the boy as well as donation information at Children’s Bridge Foundation. Big up to Kate Maslen!

50 Cent’s new joint featuring Justin Timberlake sounds more like pornography than techology.

Clean, simple and elegant Web site speaks for the hotel.

A mesmerizing soundtrack from The White Silk Dress (Ao Lua Ha Dong).

Hy Zaret who’s responsible for the lyrics of the infamous “Unchained Melody” died on July 3 at 99.

From the Q&A of Savage Love in the Village Voice:

I’m a straight girl in my early twenties and I’ve only had one sex partner. Sex was great, and only occasionally did I have to take the guy’s dick and redirect him to the “better” vagina.

Fantabulous!