Took a vacation day off work to catch up chores at home. Dropped Đán off daycare in the morning. He cried a little and said, “Daddy, I am going to miss you.” What a charming kid. Went home and tidied things up a bit for a little birthday party for Đạo. He’s turning six tomorrow.

Then went over to Đạo’s school to read a little to his class. He picked Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman. The kids seemed to enjoy it. Then went home continued to clean up the house. It has been awhile. We have so much junks now. I still need to get rid of them.

Ate lunch and mowed the lawn. It’s the first cut of the season. Listened to lots of hip-hop while pushing the lawn mower. It actually feels good to see everything nice and neat. Enjoying a bit time alone until the kids come home.

It’s going to be a busy day tomorrow. Take Đán to his soccer in the morning and then take Đạo to his friend’s birthday party in the afternoon. His birthday party will start at four. My mom, cousins, nephews, and niece will visit us from Lancaster.

Got four bottles of Patrón silver last week in New Jersey. It was on sale for $40 a pop. One bottle will be for the party tomorrow and three will be reserved for family reunion in August. I am not an alcoholic, but I do like to take some Tequila shots at special occasion.

It’s already time to pick up Đạo from school. Enjoy the beautiful weekend everyone.

So I made it through thirty seven years of my life. I am still healthy and blessed with a loving family. In order to maintain these two important aspects, I have work to do. I used to believe that age ain’t nothing but a number, but I am having a reality check as I am heading to the big four zero.

Even though I don’t have any health problem yet, I need to make some changes in my diet and activity. I had been eating way too reckless lately and had not have the time to exercise. Started this week, I am cutting off sugar and trying out intermittent fasting. Goodbye cheesecake and Krispy Kreme doughnuts. For caffeine, I am replacing my coffee (with cream and sugar) with green tea. I stopped running for a while, but slowing getting back into walking. Let’s see how these new changes go.

As a husband, I am not always on my best behavior. I need to work harder on that. As a dad, I am not as patience as I should. I am making that change as well. I love you guys. Thank you for a nice little birthday dinner with spring rolls and jello.

Đán: Daddy, how do you spell Lego?
Me: L-E-G-O
Đán: No, it’s B-O-G-O.
Me: OK
Đán: How do you spell jelly bean?
Me: J-E-L-L-Y space B-E-A-N
Đán: No, it’s B-O-G-O.

Đán picks up spelling from Đạo who is in the process of learning how to read. Đạo asks us to spell any word he either just learned or wanting to learn. Although Đán also asks us to spell different words, his answer is always B-O-G-O.

These days when I drop Đán off at daycare. He always asked me for a kiss goodbye. I am so glad the crying is over. As I head back to my car to work, I saw a mother hiding outside the door listening to her kid’s screaming. It brought back so much memories.

Earl Sweatshirt tweeted about his new album: “WHEN YOU GET DONE LISTENING TO IT, LISTEN TO IT AGAIN, THATS WHY ITS 30 MINUTES NUMBNUTS.” It’s true. The album is surprisingly short. His rhymes are dark; his beats, self-produced, are unpolished; yet his stories are compelling. “Faucet” is an impressive track that has the early Wu Tang vibe to it. His opening bars sound so much like Method Man, but with a chilling menace. His tone is serious when he rhymes, “Fuck out my face while I’m thinking.” “DNA” is another gloomy track. His verse is superb. His flow is fluid and his message is clear: “Tell momma get a gun if I get too popular / I’m just being honest with it.” In the guest spot, his brother Na’kel contributed an emotional story of his friend who passed away. Earl is right in his tweet. This is an album to be experienced again and again to appreciate the grim storytellings and hypnotic beats.

Lately Đạo has been talking about death. I don’t know where or how he picked up on the subject, but I am sure that he doesn’t quite understand the concept yet.

Right before bedtime tonight, he came over and said to me, “I love you, daddy. I don’t want you to die.” I asked him why he thinks that way, but he didn’t answer my question.

About a week or so ago, I overheard a conversation between him and his brother. Somehow Đán talked about ông ngoại (grandpa) and Đạo said that “ông ngoại is not coming back.” He went on, “He is gone forever.”

A couple weeks ago, he showed me a calendar, which has a picture of H and his mom, and said, “Daddy, when H’s mom dies, he can look at this picture and he will remember his mom.” I tried to explain to him that it was not an appropriate thing to say, but he didn’t quite get it.

I asked my wife if he had mentioned to her anything about death and she said that he asked her, “Mommy, what will happen to me when you die?” I am not sure what she told him.

He seems to be curious about this subject. I am not quite sure how to explain to him the concept of death. Is he ready to learn about the truth of death?

Designing for the web could be scary if you can’t accept the fact that your website won’t look the same in every device. In his recent book, Rob Larsen makes an excellent case for embracing the uncertain web. He also provides practical principles, such as progressive enhancement, fluid approach, optimal experience, to help you make the transition without intimidation.

Mark Sinclair’s untold stories on iconic logo design are intriguing and inspiring. The visual illustrations help readers to see how the brands executed. From Bell System to Coca-Cola to London Underground to V&A, MT is a recommended read and reference for graphic designers.

Bích Vân’s debut, Kiếp Nào Có Yêu Nhau, demonstrates the benefits of being an independent singer. She has complete control of her creative output. She chose the right songs for her voice and hired the appropriate musicians to produce them. The result is a superb album that could be experience in its entirety.

Even though nine out of the ten songs on the album are well-known standards, she has managed to inject her own feelings and soaring soprano into them with the help of elegant, exceptional arrangements. On “Nữa Hồn Thương Đau,” Hoài Phương reworks a Phạm Đình Chương ballad into a blues form and Zoltan Vegvari enhances the song with his mesmerizing piano solo and accompaniment. Hoài Phương also turns “Tuổi 13,” a Ngô Thụy Miên’s ballad, into a bossa nova flavor and adds his own sax supplement into the record.

Elsewhere, Hoàng Công Luận, one of the Vietnamese best classical-inflected arrangers and pianists, contributes three excellent tracks. His skillful string orchestration is showcased in the title track, “Kiếp Nào Có Yêu Nhau” (Phạm Duy), and his sensational jazz touch is displayed in “Hoài Cảm” (Cung Tiến).

Another standout arranger is Phan Khắc Tuấn who invigorates “Xin Còn Gọi Tên Nhau,” a Trường Sa standard, using the blues. Brian Mantz enriches the late-night vibe with his hypnotic muted trumpet sounds. With Ngô Hoàng’s sensational orchestration, Bích Vân was abled to slip in her own tune “Một Mảnh Tình Thơ” without sounding out of place among the old standards.

Although the album features a wide range of songs and arrangers, it still sounds cohesive throughout because of Bích Vân’s indelible delivery and art direction. Kiếp Nào Có Yêu Nhau is a strong debut. Can’t wait to hear where she will be heading next.

Packed with contents and examples on editorial design, Cath Caldwell and Yolanda Zappaterra’s book is not easy to digest. The scattering information interrupts the flow. Text, Illustrations, and commentaries are not organized in a logical hierarchy. The main text, which sets in a slab, geometric typeface, is hard to read. Worse is when the same typeface is set in white against the dark background. The text is barely readable. As far as the contents, the book focuses far more on print than digital editorial design. Sorry, not recommending it.

In his new book on Billie Holiday, John Szwed sheds some lights on the mysterious complexity in the life and music of one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. He divided the book into three distinctive sections. In the first part, he reveals stories that were left off her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues. The incidents were too bold for 1956, when the book was published. In the second part, he briefly reconstructs Billie’s appearances on film, television, and photography. The best part of the book yet is the musical analysis. From Billie’s unconventional approach to singing to her distinctive vocals to her controversial song choices, Szwed makes her music easy to understand and to appreciate. Szwed is a musical scholar with a gift for explaining music in plain and simple language. I’ll definitely reread it in the near future since the book is set in Arno Pro, a beautiful and readable text face designed by Robert Slimbach.