Somehow listening to Nguyen Chuong’s “Nhung Gi Con Lai” performed by Nguyen Khang reminds me of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, especially with the idiosyncratic lyrics: “Bay gio nguoi ta noi chuyen doi thay trai tim / va muoi nam sau nguoi ta se noi chuyen thay tri nho… / Bay gio nguoi ta noi chuyen doi thay mat moi / va muoi nam sau nguoi ta se noi chuyen thay qua khu.” That’s the mind game of love. Romantic relationship is indulging to get in, but excruciating to get out, and takes some memory hacking to move on. Therefore, one should approach a relationship with both heart and head, not one without the other. The problem is that most fellows started out with their little head then work their way to the heart and up the big head.

Julia Thuy sings Pham Anh Dung’s “Mua Xuan Anh Yeu Em.” The lyrics and the arrangement aren’t exciting, but Jblues’s raspy voice is quite attractive.

Jay-Z’s new video “Minority Report” from his Kingdom Come.

Wouldn’t you loot, if you didn’t have the loot?
Baby needed food and you stuck on the roof
Helicopter swooped down just to get a scoop
Through his telescopic lens but he didn’t scoop you
The next five days, no help ensued
They called you a refugee because you seek refuge
The Commander in Chief just flew by
Did he stop? No, he had a couple seats
Just rude jet blue he’s not
Jet blue by the spot
What if he ran out of jet fuel and just dropped
That would’ve been something to watch

In his response to 50’s “Funeral Music,” Cam keeps saying, “Cur…tis…,” in such a soft, sweet tone that comes off as if he’s seducing 50. It sounds like battle of love to me.

My mini web page at Vassar College gets a face-lifted. Check it out!

Enchiladas Verdes

Craving for some Mexican food? Check out Keisha’s Enchiladas Verdes dish. Nice little recipe with fun photos. Looks delicious, Keish! Can’t wait to try them.

Wicked Animation

Although Tokyoplastic is not usable but the animation is mad wicked. Don’t forget to check out the bloody graphics. They are pretty wicked too.

Are you sick and tired of viruses and pop-up ads in Internet Explorer? I highly encourage you to switch to Firefox—a slimmer, faster and safer browser for your online experience—if you haven’t yet. As a web designer, I prefer Firefox for her fantastic CSS support that makes my job much easier. Beside Safari, which is available exclusively for Mac users, Firefox is my choice of surfling tool, and you can get it any time at the bottom of this site. Yes, I do get a small commission if you download her from Visualgui.com, but that’s not the only reason I am endorsing her. She’s truly a hot little fox.

Anita O’day, one of my favorite scat singers, had a great sense of humor, swing, and improvisation. Her rendition of “Tea for Two,” which captured in Jazz on a Summer’s Day, at Newport Jazz Festival 1958 demonstrates her melodic invention. Even though the tempo is expeditious, she never sounds overwhelmed. Love the way she masquerades her voice around the melody and interacts with the band. That’s how you work with a standard, baby!

50 Cent spits hard at Cam’ron on “Funeral Music.” I am not big on 50 and used to dig Cam, but that dude is a straight bully. Talking about how much Jim Jone’s album sold compared to Lloyd Banks, yet he didn’t check his own Killa Season. Beside the ghetto chicks, the best part of the video is when 50 mocks Cam’s lyrics: “Computers computing.”

The new design of Happy Cog Studios is clean, simple, and elegance. The little blurb that introduces the navigation adds a personal touch to the site.

Will Murai is a skillful illustrator with some sexy works.

The color of jazz—vibrant, off-beat, bold, syncopated—by Pete Turner.

These great jazz posters are from Niklaus Troxler.

NPR profiles the queen of hip-hop soul Mary J. Blige.

Cherry Coke gets a street flavor from Jay-Z.

The Naked Truth: Authors Who Write in the Buff. (Not so surprising. I blog naked before.)

I still can’t think of a logical explanation why or how an email was written to Nguyen Khang but delivered to me. How strange is that? In any rate, the sender is someone goes by the name Tu Duy and he wanted Nguyen Khang to hear his new song titled, “Nguoi Toi Em Van La Em.” He also sent along the MP3 audio in which he sang and arranged himself. Since the song is not officially released, I don’t want to leak it out. The tune is painfully dramatic or he had made it too “sen” with his own singing. Either way, it wouldn’t fit with the direction Nguyen Khang is striving for. What does Nguyen Khang have in mind? Wait until his album drops.

In the meantime, check out his cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game,” which translated as “Tim Nhau.” The only reason this song stuck with me is the blazing-hot model in the video.