Back in middle school, I had Juice for breakfast before heading out to school, and then had Juice again before going to sleep. Juice was part of my daily routine for about a month. Now I am having Juice again on YouTube. The greatest moment in Juice comes on when Q (Omar Epps) called Bishop (Tupac Shakur) crazy (the scene can be watched at the end of this clip, starting at 08:30). You can see the soul-chilling, bone-wrenching, and I-don’t-give-a-fuck charisma on Pac’s face. The soundtrack, “Juice (Know the Ledge),” is also mad wicked. Rakim’s hardcore flows blazes like adrenaline rush over Eric B’s dope beat. Fucking juicy!

Oh shit! Didn’t even realize that today is 10 years after 2pac Shakur was gunned down. Here are some of the coverages on his memory:
NPR’s “Growing Tupac’s Legacy, 10 Years After His Death“
Y! Music’s “Tupac Shakur Retrospective“
Seatle PI’s “10 Years Later, Tupac’s Legacy Lives On“
BBC’s “Why Tupac Still Matters to Fans“

A jaw-dropping animation for Honda from Nexus Productions.

The Environmental Risks and Breast Cancer (ERBC) project is a collaborative effort from the Vassar community. The goal of the interactive CD is to inform people about environmental factors that could cause serious breast cancer. Chris Silverman, one of our designers, is the creative mind behind the project, and he has pulled quite a few of those all-night muscles (powered by venti Expresso, which is about 12 shots, from Starbucks) in the past two years to get the CD rolling out. Thanks to his time and efforts, as well as the rest of the ERBC team, the final product, which is beautifully designed with breathtaking 3D animation and audio, is informational, educational, accessible, and approachable. Best of all, you can get a free copy for personal use. I strongly encourage you to sign up for one.

A brief mentioning of me in “Khi Dam Me = Chia Se” by Ngoc Tram, a recent-graduated jounalist in Viet Nam.

I am not the only designer who bang out good shit for Vassar. Check out the new redesigns from my fellow designers:

Chris reworked Dean of the College. Clean, open, and well-organized contents.

Tim revamped Career Development. Fresh colors, well-structured information.

Kevin reflashed The Hudson Valley. Simply gorgeous!

Glad you have picked up Mingus Ah Um, one of Mingus’s inventive joints. You can reassure that you won’t suffer any remorse from it. There is an important missing detail, however, in “Fables Of Faubus.” Columbia Records dropped out the words, and I’ll let you find out why. Mingus then re-recorded the piece with the lyrics included. So here is the “Original Faubus Fables” from Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus. You’ll see the huge difference between the two. Of course, you have to pay attention to Mingus’s solo, but Ted Curson’s trumpet growling and Eric Dolphy’s sax shrieking are full of trills and arpeggios. Can’t get enough of that little baby-whining noise Dolphy made at the end. It’s just hilarious every time I listen to it. Mingus’s little speech in the begining, in which he talked to his imagined audience, is witty as well.

Billie Holiday’s “Come Rain Or Come Shine.”

I’m gonna love you like nobody’s loved you
Come rain or come shine
High as a mountain and deep as a river
Come rain or come shine.

The days may be cloudy or sunny
We’re in or out of the money
But I’m with you always
I’m with you rain or shine.

Keep your head up, my Lady D!

While going through my Monday morning doses, I come across a brief but thoughtful post on Visual Gui from no other than the young, intelligent, and incredibly beautiful Diem Thuyen whose writing I have admired and musical taste I can connect with. Thanks for the love and support, lil sis! Keep rockin’ them traditional long dresses! You are blazin’ in them!

In the August issue of BN Magazine, which could be read online at their Web site, Michelle Man gets up close and personal with an Vietnamese-French adult entertainer in “Katsumi: From Schoolgirl to Pornstar” (p.120). When Man asked, “What does sex mean to you?” Katsumi replied, “Sex is like food for me. It feeds me, it gives me pleasure, it’s always the discovery of new tastes, good or bad…” Is it just me or only pornstar thinks that sex is like food? Don’t give me wrong, I love sex. But if I have a choice between raw oysters and the punannies, I am going for the seafood. Shit, I might consider the second choice if it is spiced up with hot sauce, but I ain’t eating it raw, baby. How the fuck do you discover new tastes from sex? His saugage is a bit salty? How disgusting is that?

The site I use at least ten times a day gets a new facelift as well as web-standards treatment. Nice!