With Portada, ​​Veronika Burian and José Scaglione set out to create a serif family that’s as clear and readable as a sans family in digital environments. Portada is designed specifically for user interfaces as well as long reading online. Portada has extended its support for Vietnamese. In working with Vik and José on Vietnamese diacritics for Portada, I caught a glimpse of how the two talented designers collaborated. They lived up to their foundry’s name: TypeTogether.

Whitney Cummings’s fifth special, which filmed in Newark, New Jersey for Netflix, is filled with sexual materials. Her Jokes were satirical and somewhat hysterical. Her delivery; however, was a bit too much. Her acting, in which she had had quite a bit of energy, was a bit distracted from her writing. She is attractive though. I enjoyed the special, but I wished she took her jokes up a notch.

For August’s Font of the Month, David Jonathan Ross sent his members his revival of Glyptic from the Victorian era. In his digitized interpretation, David retains many of Glyptic’s ornamentations. Even with the diacritical marks, he incorporates delicate spirals and curlicues. It was such a joy for me to work with him on Vietnamese diacritics for Glyptic DJR. If you are into typography, I highly recommend David’s Font of the Month Club.

I bought a pair of three-wheel YF YouFu skates on Amazon to replace my four-wheel Rollerblade Zetrablade. I want a comfortable pair of skates for skating on paved bike trails and boardwalks. The last time I skated on the boardwalk in Wildwood with the Zetrablade, I felt the pain on my feet.

I took the YF for a spin on the bike trail yesterday and it felt smoother. The big wheels were intimidating because they sped up. In addition, the skates have no heel brake. My T-stop isn’t so good. I need more practice. My power stop is decent, but I am not sure if I can do it at a fast speed.

I need to spend more time with the YF to get a grip on it. I spent $90 for it on Amazon Warehouse and I’ll definitely put it to good use. I am still searching for an affordable aggressive pair of skates.

Tapping into the rich typographic and stylistic history of baroques, Garaldes, transitional, and modern categories, Atlante is a conventional-yet-excessive serif family for text and display with carefully crafted diacritics for Vietnamese. Its acute stacks high to the left of its circumflex. Its grave stacks high to the right of its circumflex. Its hook above stacks to the right of its circumflex.

I had the pleasure of working with Martin Sesto and Yorlmar Campos on Vietnamese diacritics for Atlante.

Whether keeping a journal or writing handwritten letters, Novelist and Journalist Anna Quindlen makes the case why you should Write for Your Life. From Anne Frank to the Freedom Writers, Quindlen demonstrates the importance of everyday writing. She argues, “When you write, you connect with yourself, past, present, and future.”

I have been writing on this blog on a daily basis for almost two decades. It is not easy sharing your deepest thoughts and feelings to the world. I often questioned myself if this is the place for me to write, then this sentence she writes hit me, “Writing is undoubtedly interaction with another human being, even if that human being is only yourself.” I have been writing to myself all these years.

If you want to get some inspiration to write, read this short, page-turning guide.

The dramas started with me. I couldn’t hold my emotions. I screwed up everything. I am a monster full of rage. My wife is trying to tame me. She is helping me to move beyond it. I love her for that. She understands me like no one else does.

The reality is that things can no longer go back to normal. We can no longer pretend nothing happened. By being frank, I opened up everyone’s true feelings. We no longer have to mask or hide how we truly see each other. We don’t see eye to eye, but we can’t heal what we never reveal.

I would rather be awkward than not be honest. My emotions might have been channeled in the wrong place, but my heart is always in the right place. If I could take things back, I don’t think I could have changed anything. I am who I am. I can either hold it in or let it out. I spent way too long holding it in. It is time to let it all out so I can learn to live with the consequences. It is not easy and might be lonely, but I want to stay true to myself.

Life’s a bitch and then you die. Why should I live a lie? I am just trying to keep it real. I’ve been doing some soul searching and like Ye said, “Doctors say I’m the illest ’cause I’m suffering from realness.”

My kids joined Liên Đoàn Hùng Vương, a Vietnamese Scout Pack in Northern Virginia, a few years ago. During their weekly activities, they often sang Vietnamese Scout songs from a small booklet. The kids and adults often lost these booklets; therefore, I wanted to create a digital version they can use on their phone. For friendly reading, I chose Bree, designed by Veronika Burian and José Scaglione. For the design, I took the colors from the Liên Đoàn Hùng Vương logo. I also used the details element in HTML to reveal and collapse the lyrics quickly. It’s a fun, little project that I can reference when I join them to sing. I hope I can memorize all the songs. Take a look.

Với cuộc sống luôn vội vã của hiện tại lúc nào cũng gắn liền với điện thoại thông minh, được cầm một quyển sách trên tay là điều rất thú vị. Đọc truyện Ngồi khóc trên cây của nhà văn Nguyễn Nhật Ánh như được sống chậm lại với thiên nhiên. Ông đưa chúng ta đến một thiên đường bình yên và thơ mộng chỉ có hoa cỏ và các con vật hiền hoà. Cách viết của ông nhẹ nhàng và hồn nhiên cho ta chứng kiến được tình cảm giữa loài người, động vật, và cỏ cây cũng có “thứ ngôn ngữ đi trực tiếp từ trái tim đến trái tim”. Tuy cốt truyện nằm trong vòng dự đoán của người đọc vì không có gì ngạc nhiên cả nhưng tác giả đã cho đọc giả những giây phút được thoát khỏi một đời sống đầy phiền muộn.

Last week, I took two trips, which turned into unforgettable vacations. When my niece told me that she, her dad, and her brother were taking a short trip to Wildwood, I asked if I could join them. I haven’t seen them in a long time; therefore, it was a perfect opportunity to spend some time with them. I am glad that they let me crash their party. We biked on the boardwalk, visited the casinos, dined in various restaurants, drank a few cocktails, and took many trips down memory lane.

Time had flown by so fast. It felt like yesterday, my niece and nephew were my kids’ age now, but they had grown into adults. Samantha finished college and spent her time teaching kids English in Taiwan. Eric will start Drexel in December. I am so proud of the fine young woman and man they are becoming. I also had a chance to reconnect with their dad. No matter what happened, he is still my brother-in-law and I have nothing but love and respect for him. Although the trip was only from Sunday to Tuesday, it gave me just enough time to spend with them. I am glad that I invited myself to the trip.

I spent most of last Wednesday packing for the camping trip in First Landing with other Scouts’ parents. Since it was our first time, I didn’t know what to expect. We brought two tents: one for my wife, Vương, Xuân, and me and one for Đạo and Đán. We brought some instant noodles and food. I brought two cases of beer to share with everyone. It turned out that one of the leader’s wife brought Phở, grilled beef, and pork for all the family. I had so much respect and admiration for her. We didn’t have to worry about food from Thursday to Sunday morning. We spent time on the beach, drank beers to keep us hydrated, and ate whenever the meals were ready. It was like living in paradise on budget. The campsite was affordable and the food was free. I wanted to chip in for the food, but she didn’t take it. All I could do was show my appreciation for her generosity.

Because of the extremely hot weather, we (mostly the men) drank cases after cases of beers. I have been quite reckless with my gout, but somehow I am not getting attacked yet. I got a mild case a few weeks ago and two pills of Aleve knocked it right out. The kids had their own fun and I was surprised how well they played together. There were no conflicts nor fights. They played in the water, ate, and watched movies together. They enjoyed catching crabs and fish at night. The men drank and talked until 2 am in the morning. Maybe it was the Scout spirit that drew us closer together. I felt like we were a big family. We put our differences (mostly politics) aside and just enjoyed our companies. We had a fantastic time with our own little family as well as the extended friends.

I am so glad for these two trips. They were my much-needed breaks to clear my mind as I am dealing with some personal dramas. I still need a lot of work to repair the damages. I am thankful for my wife for keeping it real with me as I sort out my issues.