Dear independent voters,

We are 42 days from one of the most critical elections in U.S. history and I hope that you have made up your mind already. If you are still undecided, however, I urge you to vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I vote for Biden and Harris because I vote for Democrats. You vote for Biden and Harris not for Democrats but for democracy.

Let’s face it. The Republican Party is under captive. Republican leaders who were elected to work for the American people are now taking orders from Trump instead. They are looking out for their own interests rather than for our country. In the past four years, Trumpism has replaced the Republican Party. If Trump gets re-elected, our democracy will be replaced with a totalitarian regime. The more Trump gets away with abusing his power, the closer he reaches authoritarian. Trump is an existential threat to our democracy. Your vote can stop this danger.

If you feel that you can vote for neither candidate and are planning on sitting out to protest, particularly Bernie’s supporters, I hope you would reconsider your vote. This might be the last election you get to vote if Trump gets re-elected. Unlike Trump who brings chaos and corruption, Biden will bring unity and fairness. Biden will be a President for all, not just his base. You don’t have to take my words for it. You can give him a chance by voting for him. If he proves to be incompetent (such as mishandling the pandemic that cost 200,000 lives) or tries to destroy our democracy, we can elect a new Republican candidate to replace him in 2024. On the other hand, if Trump gets re-elected, you can kiss democracy goodbye.

Part research, part memoir, Patrik Svensson’s The Book of Eels is a wondrous, poignant read. Svensson delves into the laborious study of one of the most mysterious creatures on the planet. One of its standout characteristics is patience—something we could learn from them. Svensson’s personal connection with eels started when his father took him to eel fishing when he was a kid. They bonded over eels and his father loved to eat eels, which were mostly deep fried or steamed.

Speaking of eel dishes, Svensson needs to pay Vietnam a visit. We have over 20 eel dishes that will change his perspective on eels. My personal favorites include eel hotpot (lẩu lươn), stir-fried eel (lươn xào lăn), braised eel with lemongrass (lươn kho sả ớt), and sweet and sour eel soup (canh lươn nấu bạc hà). Then again, the extinction of eels is worrisome. Maybe we shouldn’t be eating eels anymore. The book has more details on this issue.

If you are into natural history and curious about eels, this is the book to read.

The passing of our beloved Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is devastating. She was a fighter for equality. She fought to save democracy until she took her last breath. Justice Ginsburg dictated, “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

I was hoping we have the decency to honor her last wish, but Mitch McConnell and the Republicans already make the move to replace her on the day she died. They can’t even wait until the next day. How do we get to this? Has America lost its soul and humanity?

If they don’t respect her wish, we must fight to honor her wish. She has fought all her life for us. It is on us to carry on her legacy.

Rest in peace, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Since I had created a graphic for the Biden campaign, it is only fair that I create one for the Trump campaign as well. The graphic is based on a cognitive test I took, in which I had to remember and repeat five words: “Fascist. Unhinged. Coward. Knave. Trump.” It was quite a challenge. Like Trump, however, I aced the test.

I am making the graphic available for anyone, including Trump supporters, to use for free. You can download an SVG or PNG version. As for designers, I challenge you to create your own and post on social media using this tag #FascistUnhingedCowardKnaveTrump.

Tin cậu Huy vừa lìa trần khiến tôi sửng sốt. Tuy đã lâu lắm không có dịp gặp cậu, tôi vẫn nhớ mãi những lời nói hài hước của cậu làm cho mọi người xung quanh bật cười. Những tháng ngày bên cậu tuy ngắn ngủi nhưng tôi vẫn ấn tượng mãi một người cậu tuy xa mà gần. Tôi khâm phục tánh tình thẳng thắng và bẩm chất chân thật của cậu. Tôi ngưỡng mộ sự hiếu thảo của cậu đối với cha mẹ. Và tôi kính nể tình cảm cậu dành cho vợ con và gia đình.

Kỷ niệm gia đình hợp mặt mấy mươi năm trước cứ ngỡ như ngày hôm qua. Tôi vẫn nhớ mãi những phút giây cùng cậu bắt cua, câu cá, và vui đùa trên biển. Được nghe cậu văng tục với những người bạn Việt ở tiệm sửa xe thật đã tai. Đã lâu lắm tôi không được nghe những lời tục tĩu như lúc còn ở Việt Nam.

Thế mà giờ đây cậu đã đột ngột ra đi ở tuổi 64 vì ung thư máu. Nhìn đi nhìn lại, ung thư đã cướp đi cuộc đời của cậu và những người thân của tôi. Tương lai tôi cũng sẽ không thoát khỏi nó. Nghĩ đến thấy cuộc đời này quá mong manh. Xin cầu nguyện cho linh hồn của cậu được giải thoát.

Scientific American have never endorsed a presidential candidate in its 175-year history—until now. From the editors:

The evidence and the science show that Donald Trump has badly damaged the U.S. and its people—because he rejects evidence and science. The most devastating example is his dishonest and inept response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which cost more than 190,000 Americans their lives by the middle of September.

On masking, they writes:

[I]f almost everyone in the U.S. wore masks in public, it could save about 66,000 lives by the beginning of December, according to projections from the University of Washington School of Medicine. Such a strategy would hurt no one. It would close no business. It would cost next to nothing. But Trump and his vice president flouted local mask rules, making it a point not to wear masks themselves in public appearances.

Trump supporters don’t believe in science, but I hope independent voters aren’t so ignorant about science.

Jessica Hische has kicked off an amazing campaign to help elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The posters are inspiring. I couldn’t decide which one to place on my website; therefore, I made my own using David Jonathan Ross’s Fit. Feel free to use it to spread the message. Here’s the PNG version. If you are inspired to create your own, however, you can download the template to get started. Let’s rise up, show up, unite, and vote the motherfucker out.

The forth iteration of this blog returns to an ad-free design. The ad experiment was fun, but didn’t quite work out as I hope it would. I didn’t think it would work out because I always wanted to change up the design of this blog. With ads, I might be stuck with one design for a while. As a result, I wanted to get back to just making this site a personal blog like it always has been.

A few months ago, I also reduced the footer. I moved all the footer stuff to the info page. The bottom of the blog is now much lighter. I like that. Scrolling on a mobile device is less exhausting.

Of course, the redesign comes with new set of typefaces. Body copy is set in Harriet. UI elements are set in Alright. Both typefaces designed by Jackson Showalter-Cavanaugh for Okay Type.

Il Cho’s #Alive dials up the pandemic to the horror level. The virus turns humans into violent, blood-sucking zombies. Once infected, the zombies would look for more humans to attack and spread. This virus makes COVID-19 seems much milder. With COVID-19, you can wear mask and stay home peacefully. It’s a comic relief for quarantining.

Cuối tuần Lễ Độc Lập vừa qua được bà xã ông anh vợ đãi món lẩu dê. Cả gia đình bên vợ đều ăn nhưng không mấy hảo món này nên còn dư rất nhiều và thế là tống hết cho tôi. Cả tuần nay, ngày nào tôi cũng thưởng thức món mì gói lẩu dê và uống một loan saké. Ăn vẫn thấy ngon và không thấy ngán. Chỉ khổ cái là ăn thịt dê thì nhiều mà không được thả dê gì cả.