Pamela Paul opines in The New York Times:

Of course, it’s not really the boredom itself that’s important; it’s what we do with it. When you reach your breaking point, boredom teaches you to respond constructively, to make something happen for yourself. But unless we are faced with a steady diet of stultifying boredom, we never learn how.

When Đạo and Đán weren’t allowed to watch TV or play on iPads, they complained that they were bored. My response has been, “Bored is good. Find something you like to do.” They would go and build their imaginative world in Lego, do some sketching, and read a book. It’s good to be bored.

Ms. Paul goes on:

But surely teaching children to endure boredom rather than ratcheting up the entertainment will prepare them for a more realistic future, one that doesn’t raise false expectations of what work or life itself actually entails. One day, even in a job they otherwise love, our kids may have to spend an entire day answering Friday’s leftover email. They may have to check spreadsheets. Or assist robots at a vast internet-ready warehouse.

I was bored when I was a kid, but I didn’t appreciate it. Now I wish I have all the time in the world to be bored again.

Maniscalco’s latest Netflix’s special revolves around family materials, which include his Italian parents, his Jewish wife, and the birth of his newborn baby. Unfortunately, the content is quite shallow and he was acting too much. For a grown-ass man, his clowning is a bit silly. Not my cup of tea.

I did some tweaking on my professional website. It still has the bold text, but I turned the background to black on the homepage for a stronger effect. I also switched up the body text to Exchange by Tobias Frere-Jones. To promote freelance work, I included this paragraph:

Together we will create an experience that is focused on your audience and tailored to your brand. Even with a limited budget, your online presence does not deserve to be templated. So skip pre-made site builders like Squarespace or Wix and get a custom design. Take a look around. If you like what you see, let’s talk.

With a full-job in place, I wanted to take on small projects that would give me some creative freedom. It’s a shamed that so many smaller websites are powered by site builders like Squarespace and Wix. They all look pretty much the same. Let’s change that and bring back the good, unique designs.

Đán still drives everyone nuts. He snatches toys from Xuân. Despite the little fellow screaming, he wouldn’t give it back until I intervened. He plays rough with Đạo and chases him with a toy fishing rod. Even though he wouldn’t hit him with it, he scares the crap out of the older brother. He ignores his mom’s and grandma’s words, which outraged them. What irritates me the most is the classless things come out of his mouth, like “you eat diarrhea.”

A couple of days ago, Đán and Đạo were arguing. Đạo got mad and told him that his friend’s mom does not want Đán to come over for playdates anymore because Đán is “inappropriate.” I could see the sadness on Đán’s face because he loves hanging with Đạo and his friend. Last week when I came to pick them up at the friend’s house, his mom invited me for coffee. We talked and I asked her how they were behaving and she told me they were great. She even told me that because her son is the only child he loves to play with Đán and Đạo like brothers. Then again kids do not know how to lie. Even though I know how Đán could be really annoying, I felt bad for him. I took him to Popeyes for his favorite popcorn shrimp. He was happy again.

I don’t know what to do with his behavior other than constantly reminding him. Sometimes I feel so frustrated and irritated, I just give him the silent treatment until I could calm myself down. Maybe he’s the second child and just wanted attention. He has changed so much in the past two years. He was so caring and charming. I just hope this stage will pass soon.

Yesterday after work I stopped by our public library to pick up a few books. Then I saw Michelle Obama’s Becoming displayed on the shelf. I grabbed it immediately with joy. When I got home and turned on the Facebook app on my phone, there was an ad for the audio version of of book. How the hell did Facebook know when my phone was in my pocket the whole time? Creepy as fuck.

Earlier this evening, I went to our neighborhood meeting to hear a proposal from private companies wanting to build housing for low-income families, seniors, and Mason students. Just now, Facebook is showing me an ad for house prices in my neighborhood and I don’t even have location turned on. Damn, this is intrusive.

I wrote about about not being able to leave Facebook just two days ago. Now I am back on contemplating it. Oddly enough, the NYT app keeps showing me ads for bras on every article I read. I know I am getting titties, but come on, they are not large enough for bras.

Ngôi nhà Tôi yêu Ngọc Lan được xây dựng vào năm 2003. Đối với internet, 16 năm là một khoản thời gian dài. Chúng tôi sẽ cố gắng duy trì nó để những ai còn yêu Ngọc Lan vẫn có thể trở về mái nhà xưa.

Trong khoảng thời gian qua, ngôi nhà được thiết kế lại nhiều lần để thích hợp với những thay đổi của công nghệ mạng. Chẳng hạn như năm hoặc sáu năm gần đây, bạn có thể ghé thăm nhà bằng bất cứ máy máy vi tính nào. Luôn cả điện thoại thông minh, chữ vẫn có thể đọc được rõ ràng. Với nghệ thuật chữ Việt càng ngày càng phát triển, trang nhà này cũng sẽ thay đổi để có được những fonts mới và đẹp.

Phần ngoài của ngôi nhà thì cũng tạm ổn nhưng phần trong thì có vấn đề. Lúc thành lập trang nhà này, chúng tôi muốn được mở rộng ra cho tất cả những người yêu mến Ngọc Lan được tham gia. Chúng tôi không nghĩ đến việc phần đăng ký bị lạm dụng bởi spammers. Khi chúng tôi đóng trang register năm 2012, số lượng đăng ký đã lên gần đến 6,000 thành viên. Đa số là những thành viên giả tạo để đăng bài quảng cáo và những phần comments rác rưởi. Vì những lý do đó mà trang nhà hoạt động rất chậm. Thậm chí bị hỏng không thể vào được.

Chúng tôi đã bỏ khá nhiều thời gian và công sức để cố gắng ngăn chặn nhưng không thể nào kiểm soát hết 6000 thành viên. Sau một thời gian dài, chúng tôi quyết định thu dọn lại hết phần người đăng ký. Không chỉ những thành viên giả tạo, mà thành viên nào đã đăng nhập nhưng chưa từng viết một bài nào và cũng chưa từng để lại một comment nào, chúng tôi đã xóa đi. Từ 6,000 thành viên, chúng tôi đã giữ lại 468 người đã cống hiến cho trang nhà này.

Tuy nhiên chúng tôi luôn luôn đón nhận những thành viên mới. Nếu bạn yêu mến Ngọc Lan và một tham gia vào gia đình iLoveNgocLan, xin liên lạc cho chúng tôi. Dĩ nhiên là các bạn phải viết bài hoặc comment để account của bạn được tiếp tục hoạt động.

Trong quá trình dọn dẹp, chúng tôi rút ra được một tài liệu thú vị. Sau đây chúng tôi xin được chia sẻ 20 thành viên góp phần viết bài và comment nhiều nhất.

Thành viên viết bài nhiều nhất:

1. ngoc: 86
2. TNS: 73
3. thangdo: 72
4. minhtam: 35
5. vickinguyen1990: 32
6. minhtrang: 30
7. minhkhue_8888: 29
8. TVH: 26
9. nam son: 24
10. Sweetie: 23
11. myall: 22
12. Happy-ghost: 21
13. condautienghatrudoi: 16
14. nick phan: 16
15. happy_ghost: 15
16. nguoitinhnammy88: 15
17. nangxanh: 14
18. Thao: 14
19. kimquan118: 13
20. Trong: 13

Thành viên viết comments nhiều nhất:

1. AngelNgocLan: 819
2. hanhphucdiudang: 438
3. Thuongtiec_NL: 199
4. kimquan118: 159
5. minhtrang: 141
6. Happy-ghost: 123
7. nick phan: 116
8. kimthanh: 109
9. myall: 107
10. Minh Ha: 88
11. thangdo: 75
12. TVH: 70
13. condautienghatrudoi: 69
14. tranthingocyen: 66
15. minhtam: 63
16. Quoc Huy: 57
17. Tu Mi: 56
18. Thao: 53
19. Khongloi: 51
20. Happy-Ghost18: 49

Xin cám ơn tất cả những người yêu Ngọc Lan đã đóng góp cho ngôi nhà này. Xin chúc tất cả năm mới an khang thịnh vượng.

I don’t trust Facebook, and yet I am complicit in using it. Despite knowing its misuse of privacy, I still feed the monster my kids’ photos and videos. I have thought of quitting many times, but I simply can’t shut off my connection with close friends and family members, particularly my parents. If I have the opportunity to see them I would, but it is not always possible. I visit my mom and my sister once or twice a month. I only get to see my dad and my family in Vietnam probably once every 10 years. I am suck and awkward at socializing in real life with friends. As a result, Facebook is still next best thing to stay in touch.

I talk to my mom almost everyday during my drive home from work and she always complimented on the latest photo or video of my kids I posted on Facebook. It makes me happy that she gets to see her grandchildren almost on the daily basis even though we live miles and miles away. My dad in Vietnam also gets a chance to look at his grandsons and they make him happy.

I understand that Facebook isn’t the place to share photos and videos, but it is the only place that my parents can access digital content. So if I overwhelm your feed with baby pictures, please ignore or unfriend me. In the past few days, I reduced my list to family members and friends I know. If you are still here, thank you for all the likes, loves, and positive comments. I truly appreciate them.

I also want to make it clear that these posts do not capture the whole picture. I am absolutely guilty of posting only the good part and leave off the not-so-good part. I am not a great dad as several of you have complimented. I have my share of bad parenting moments. I usually write about them on my blog.

I don’t know how long I will keep my Facebook active. I do hope Mark Zuckerberg and his team get their act together. If not, I will be out. But for know, I am giving Facebook a benefit of a doubt.

I just finished the longest book I have ever read. Through 789 unwasted pages, Jill Lepore, a staff writer at The New Yorker and a professor of American History at Harvard University, has written a compelling and comprehensive history of America spanning over five centuries. Beginning in 1492 with Christopher Columbus first discovered the Indians and ending in 2018 with the current Trump administration, Ms. Lepore told the naked truth of our great yet flawed nation through the concoction of illuminating politics, fascinating biographies, arresting journalism, and sprawling technology.

What I appreciate most is Ms. Lepore’s fearless approach. She isn’t shy away from our painful past, in particular the way America treated Native American, African American, Japanese American, Chinese, and Mexican. When I first set my foot on the “land of opportunity” as an eleven-year-old immigrant, all I knew was that I was about to embark on a journey to find the “American Dream.” I had white teachers who not only taught me English, but also welcomed me with their open arms. I had African-American, Hispanic-American, and Asian-American mentors who made sure I had the best education I could get for my future. I also had co-workers from different backgrounds and we collaborated together as a team. Even though I have been aware of racism, I always felt integrated until the rise of Donald Trump. Having read this book, I see why the references of “Make America Great Again” and “America First” appealed to the white nationalist.

Although Vietnam was my birthplace and I will never forget the first decade of my life, I have lived in the United States for almost three decades. I am a U.S. citizen and America is my home. Despite the current political divisiveness, I strongly believe in the resiliency of democracy of this nation. Not only it will not die, it will become stronger in the next few years or decades as showed through the history of our nation in this book.

Many thanks to my wife for buying me this book for Christmas. I am glad that I had taken the time to read it. If you want to learn about the unique story of America, I highly recommend this book. Even though it might seem long, Ms. Lepore’s clear, concise, and engaging prose will keep you turning the pages. Trust me, I was never interested in reading any form of history. Then again, I would read any book written by any staff writer from The New Yorker.

Thật ngạc nhiên và thú vị khi nghe những jazz arrangements của Võ Thiện Thanh cho các ca khúc của anh. Chẳng hạn như “Sài Gòn có mùa thu” được dàn dựng công phu với big band khiến cho điệu swing tươi vui và đầy nghị lực. Về phần hát, Hồ Trung Dũng luyến láy khôn khéo để hòa hợp với từng thể loại jazz khác nhau. Dũng bay lượn nhẹ nhàng theo nhịp điệu bossa nova trong nhạc phẩm “Sài Gòn có mùa thu” hoặc sâu lắng theo chất blues nồng nàn trong “Đôi mắt.” Ngoài phần hát, những phần tiết tấu tuy ngắn nhưng làm tăng thêm những màu sắc vào những ca khúc. Saigon feel là một thành quả tốt đẹp giữa Dũng và Thanh rất xứng đáng được nhìn nhận và thưởng thức.

Ấn tượng đầu tiên khi nghe Hồng Duyên hát “Guốc mộc” của Hồ Trọng Tấn là giọng hát khoẻ và trẻ thơ (childlike) có phần giống Ngọc Khuê. “Guốc mộc” là một ca khúc quan họ được hoà âm theo nhiệp điệu swing rất dễ thương. Nửa phần đầu của bài dân ca Nghệ Tĩnh “Giận mà thương” được đệm với nhạc cụ guitar điện đơn giản nhưng hơi bị cute. Dân ca Bắc bộ “Gói đánh đò đưa” Hồng Duyên song ca cùng Tạ Quang Thắng được remix lại với nhịp điệu r&b trẻ trung. Đáng lý ra album nên ngưng lại ở dân ca Trung bộ “Lý mười thương” để người nghe được thưởng thức trọn vẹn những bài dân ca. Tuy Hồng Duyên trình bài “Em tôi” của Thuận Yến rất tốt nhưng nó đi lạc hướng. Hai bài cuối cũng chỉ là filler.