I just compiled a collection of 14 Vietnamese songs that had been arranged with jazz tunes.

“Chay Tron” – Tung Duong
“Nhung Con Duong Nho” – Hong Nhung
“Dem Hoai Vong” – Tuan Ngoc
“Con Tuoi Nao Cho Em” – Trinh Vinh Trinh
“Trang Khat” – Tung Duong
“Loi Ru Mat Em” – Tran Thu Ha
“Voi” – Tuan Ngoc
“Anh Se Ve” – Thanh Lam
“Roi Nhu Da Ngay Ngo” – Hong Nhung
“Khuc Tinh” – Tuan Ngoc
“Dieu Ngot Ngao Nhat” – Tran Thu Ha
“Sau Y Biec” – Tuan Ngoc
“Nu Hon Xa Voi” – Dam Vinh Hung
“Mot Coi Di Ve” – Thanh Lam

While we’re on jazz, Giant Steps is a visually mesmerizing Flash Jazz piece created by Michal Levy. Allow John Coltrane’s saxophone leads you through the architectural animation. It’s a beautiful experience.

Denise Nguyen at Nguoi Viet Online 2 covered an inspiring story on the young and intelligent Vietnamese-American newscaster Leyna Nguyen. If you follow the article, “Anchoring Herself in the Community,” all the way through, notice the paragraph before the ending reads:

“She shows the importance of going back to your roots and to know who you are in order to succeed. And she is a successful woman,” said Donny Truong, a Website designer at Vassar College who manages the popular site for young Vietnamese Americans, www.visualgui.com, where visitors have posted 100 comments on Nguyen and Asia 43. “Not too many Vietnamese people make it to the mainstream media, and she did.”

I didn’t realize that the comment form was not working. No wonder the site has been so quiet for the past couple of days. The form is fixed now so get your comments on.

Hey ma! Nice use of background image. The poached fruits over vanilla ice cream on the Martini glass looks delicious. Wait a minute, that picture looks familiar. Didn’t I snap that photo? It’s all good!

While we’re on food topic, Sasha made a savory, sweet, and tart truffle. Her written up along with the photos make me craving for some sweets.

I am so in need of a hot bowl Bun Goi Gia (Vermicelli with Tamarind Broth) right now. Mom, where are you at?

If you don’t think school can be distracting, listen to an interview with the “Rapper, Producer, Composer: The RZA” on Fresh Air. At the age of fourteen, RZA sat in class and dreamed of screwing his teacher. I was as guilty as charged. At that age, I could not speak a word of English; therefore, listening to a lecture was meaningless. So I had no choice but to entertain my mind.

Greg Tate’s “MCs Are Paid, Not Born” drops some heavy-handed criticisms on the Game and his debut The Documentary.

I thought Kristine Sa’s reBIRTH was bad. J. Lo’s Rebirth is even worst.

Everything Tori has a beautiful design and tableless layout. The elegance use of colors fit Tori Amos style.

CSS Reboot on May 1st, anyone?

Four years ago on this day, Ngoc Lan left this world. She is in a better place now, but we still miss her dearly. A new theme (bliss) was designed to honor our beloved singer. Ngoc Lan will always be remembered!

The Ho Xuan Huong’s poetry recital was exquisite. John Balaban did a great job of reading the translations while Ngo Thanh Nhan provided his intricate finger-picking zither (dan tranh) playing to enhance the experience. Nguyen Boi Co lends a slightly dark and dramatic of her voice to Ho Xuan Huong’s poetry. Her northern accent combined with her emotional expression on the first line from “Lay Chong Chung” (“On Sharing a Husband”) – “Chem cha cai kiep lay chong chung” (“Screw the fate that makes you share a man”) – gave the audience a feel as if Ho Xuan Huong was reciting it herself.

I also had a great time at the dinner afterward and got a chance to meet all three of them as well as two young filmmakers from NYC who are working on the documentary of Vietnamese women. Sounds like an interesting project and I would love to see it.

As I was walking back to the campus after lunch, a group of Vassar students with red paint covered their T-shirts and faces holding up a military protest sign chasing two Navy officers off the campus. Here is a photo of a student lying dead in Main building. Vassar is an interesting place.

John Balaban along with Ngo Thanh Nhan and Nguyen Boi Co will be performing Ho Xuan Huong’s poetry today at Vassar. Check out the frontpage banner created by me.

Hong Nhung’s Khu Vuon Yen Tinh live show is today in Viet Nam. Wish could I attend. She will be chatting with fans online tomorrow night (Vietnamese time) over at VN Express.

My favorite musical producer has a website, check out DuyCuong.com

Kim Tran sliced off her husband’s “little man” while sexing and flushed him down the toilet. Fortunately, the water utility workers found the “little man” and the surgeon put him back in place. She is charged with genital amputation. Damn! She is not playing around.

Duong Dua are worms that eat coconut shoots. They choose the most prosperous coconut trees, bore themselves into the peak, give birth, and together (about 100 at a time) they suck the brains out of the coconut shoots. By the time they are full and satisfied, even the strongest coconut tree could not survived.

When I was nine, my cousins dared me to try them, and I did. They were delicious. Of course, I did not just picked them up and eat them alive. They were grilled inside the bamboo until crispy. Took them out and dipped in fish sauce that was mixed with tamarind, sugar, and hot peppers. Because Duong Dua ate the best part of coconut, they were fat, creamy, and juicy. Along with herbs, vegetables, and the special tamarind fish sauce, Duong Dua is a great dish for drinker. Not sure if I can eat them now.

Although I was only nine at the time, I still remember the vivid details of helping my cousins preparing Duong Dua fries. Picked him up, inserted a peanut into his belly, the milk oozed out, then threw him on the fryer. I called him “Duong chip with tons of protein.”

Imagine throwing a fattest Duong Dua into a bottle of Gusano Rojo Mezcal. I’ll be drunk in a quickness.

Thanks to Pieman for good old memory.

Vy-Thao Nguyen writes, “Hieu Thao is a word that is ingrained in every Vietnamese. It means showing loyal reverence to one’s parents.” The more I think about these two words, the more migraine I get. No matter how hard I try, I am never as “hieu thao” to my mother as my cousins or the children of my mom’s friends to their mothers. The responsibility of being a Vietnamese child is not easy. Check out Vy-Thao Nguyen’s essay on “Hieu Thao – The Filial Piety of Today’s Generation.”

Hong Nhung is right. Everyone should have a quiet garden. So allow me to present mine. While she shares her quiet garden through her voice, I share mine through my design. The white background brings the site back to the basics. Playing off her album, I added several graphic elements on the bottom right including the dewdrops (Giot Suong) and the woodpecker (Con Chim Sau). Clever huh? Let me pat myself on my back.

As you can see, the layout is not completely redesigned. It is more like a make over. With the Vietnamese tradition, cleaning up the house before New Year is to get rid of the bad luck and prepare for a fresh start. So the site is as clean as it gets, not just only the look and feel but the coding and the structuring was well. I also recreate all the screenshots on the sites section because the old rectangular curves are not pleasing to my eyes anymore. All images on the entire site are now converted to PNG to take the advantage of its transparency. So if I get tired of staring at the white pages, I can change the colors instantly on my CSS file and not having to deal with color matching issue. So don’t be so shock if you see the site fills with purple haze. If that is the case, you know I listen to that Killa Kam’s 1970s heroin flow way too much and not because I smoke cracks.

So there you have it. The cleaner and crisper site is here to celebrate the year of the Cock. No ladies, I am talking about chicken, not dildo. Oh boy! I need a quick nap. Enjoy your staying and have a great Lunar New Year!

Thanks Hong Nhung for the inspiration.