Nasty or Sexy?

The bridge of R. Kelly’s latest single “Sex In the Kitchen” goes: “Girl, I’m ready to toss your salad / while making love, I’ll be feasting.” Mr. Kelly, would you prefer jelly or syrup to go with it?

Ngo Thanh Van is Fake?

Ngo Thanh Van Xao is a website written by an anonymous trashing the model-turned-singer Ngo Thanh Van. The site features half-naked photos of Van and points out how she got her fames from whoring the men. It looks like someone has nothing else better to do. On the intro, the writer stated that he or she has spent a great amount of time and cash to get the story. What a waste!

Red Dragonfly

On “Chuon Chuon Ot,” Ngoc Khue starts off with “Chuon Chuon Ot, trua he nong buc / Bat dem can run, tap boi,” which refers to the infamous saying: taking a red dragonfly and let her bite your bellybutton to learn to swim. Does anyone have any idea behind this weird folk tale? Of course, it is untrue because my uncle told me he allowed the dragonfly to bite him a numerous time and he still couldn’t float. I am interested to know because the story is cute.

Vietnamese Jazz

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.

Leyna Nguyen

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.

I Ain’t Mad at Ya!

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?

A Few Notes

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?

Remembering Ngoc Lan

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!

Poetry Performance

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.

Various News

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.

Contact