I have worked with some fine designers who graduated from Kutztown University; therefore, I am excited to see the redesign of the Communication Design Department reflects its excellent program with superb illustrations, gorgeous colors and spendid typography. Not only the layout is visually stunning, but the coding is also clean and validated.

Viet Nam News has written an article called “Forget Hip-hop, War Songs Are Da Bomb.” I know the author tries to be down, but the slang being used here is inappropriate. War songs aren’t “da bomb.” They contain serious contents.

Big shout out to Diem Thuyen Ngoc Tran for her active involvement in the Vietnamese community. She will be participating in the Arizona Ao Dai Pageant 2006 and Miss Vietnamese USA 2007. Based on her extensive interests (thankfully not just sleeping and shopping) and insightful comments on this site, Miss Diem Thuyen is a well-rounded individual who not only strives to excel herself, but also is passionate in helping others. Yet, the most important characteristic of Miss Diem Thuyen is that she cherishes the beauty of our Vietnamese culture, especially in music. We’re proud of her, and we’re rooting for her.

“Blue Rondo A La Turk” (Love the odd timing, the polyrhythms, and the switching of tempos at the bridge)

“Three to Get Ready” (Dig Joe Morrello’s marvelous brushwork here)

“The Duke” (An invigorating tribute to Ellington)

“The Crossing” (An amazing piece that is filled with polytonality)

For more comprehensive experience of Brubeck’s unorthodox jazz style, Time Signatures: A Career Retrospective is highly recommended. The box set featured fifty-nine tracks selected by Brubeck himself including Time Out masterpieces, a Charles Mingus-collaborated “Non-Sectarian Blues,” and the silky-smooth “Summer Song” with Louis Armstrong on vocal.

Music: a bluesy “Nghien” music by Pham Anh Dung, poem by Tho Tho, arrange by Quang Dat and perform by Quynh Lan.

Thy Vi interviews Jazzy Da Lam on RFA (Radio Free Asia) in Vietnamese. The best part is when Jazzy demonstrates how she incorporates the harmony of “Da Co Hoai Lan” into her own “Vong Dem.”

Nguyen Khang gets the polygamous rumor off his chest on VOA (Voice of America) in Vietnamese, produced by Truong Ky. Although his response comes off inappropriate, I understand how he feels when people accused him of having five wives and six kids.

Flash Sites: True to its brand, Fluid Web site navigation is fluidly attractive. One of the best use of Flash menus since Joshua Davis’s PS3. The only thing that turns me off is the use of frames.

Wash-Design‘s minimal approach is not too striking until you hit the “Studio” section.

Vietnamese Hotties: Merina Tram Vo (damn… is all I can say)

Thuy Le Hong Phan (sweet and elegance, the type moms and pops would approve)

Barbara Nguyen (the one that passed the mic on the question “What are the three advantages and disadvantages of being a Vietnamese-American woman?” during the Second Annual Miss Vietnam Usa 2005 contest.)

Read: In his critical column, “Deceptively Conceptual,” on Ned Drew and Paul Sternberger’s By Its Cover: Modern American Book Cover Design, John Updike concludes, “You can, possibly, tell a book by its cover, but the cover isn’t the contents. ”

Cameron Moll‘s article, “Good Designers Redesign, Great Designers Realign,” elaborates on my earlier post about refining Visualgui.com.

When Macromedia announces its new Studio 8, the major buzz is on Flash. Fortunately, Dreamweaver also makes a fantastic release. The obvious improvement is CSS rendering in the design view. Complex CSS layouts look much closer to browsers than the previous release. In the code view, which I use the most, Macromedia finally included the “Code Collapse” features to help designers organize their codes. In addition to the faster performances in the background (site cache and FTP), the new “Tabbed Window” (like Firefox and Safari) is a tremendous enhancement to the workflow. Dreamweaver 8 is definitely worth upgrading.

Any ragtime lovers in here? Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag” is one of my favorite rag pieces. Joplin plays it the way he wrote it; therefore, the timing is perfect and the tone is crisp.

“Nu Hon Goi Gio” is a masterful display of Quang Ly’s sensitivity to Hoang Viet Khanh’s passion for traditional folk. Ly’s efforless singing breathes fresh air into the quirky arrangement. His warm and exquisite timbre combined with orchestration’s exotic sounds make the piece irresistible.

A striking collection of sceneries throughout Viet Nam. Isn’t she gorgeous?

I am thrilled with the amount of emails praising the “Music Comment” section. The messages are encouraging and motivating. For instance, one reader writes, “Thank you for utilizing your website as a means to voice your passions. It has opened up an outlet for fine music reviews from Vietnamese Americans like you and I.” That is exactly my goal for this site.

I’ve also received emails recommending me albums that have been posted on this site. It’s not you fault since I have written more than 100 pieces and they all hidden. If you are interesting in reading just music reviews, you can click on the “Music Comment” on the right under “Departments” and use the “Previous page” and “Next Page” at the bottom to navigate. If you would like to find out if there is an album already written, simply use the search box. One of the reasons I get rid of everything else on the homepage is to encourage the use of the search box. For example, just type in Hong Nhung Khu Vuon Yen Tinh (this post is also listed in the search), and you’ll get various results on those keywords. Of course, the album is also included. So stick around and have fun surfing and reading.

Here are a few fantastic songs for your enjoyment:

Smooth jazz “Autumn Leaves” performs in French (lyrics: Jacques Prévert) and English (lyrics: Johnny Mercer) by Singaporean singer Jacintha.

A magnificent presentation by Tam Khanh on “Mua Thu Ve Giua Paris.” Her delivery is filled with passion and emotion.

Hoang Trang’s “Hoai Nho.” What a splendid piece!

“Loi Nhan Dai Thu” (poem by Song Viet, music by Ngan Hanh ). A gorgeous performance by Bao Yen.