As a music listener, I prefer well-crafted albums from a single artist over a handful of singers. I also appreciate albums with thought-out concepts more than a whole bunch of songs thrown in together. I like to experience a record from beginning to end without interruption.

When I started to get into jazz singing, I listened to Billie Holidays for a month straight. She impressed the hell out of me, but that was the reason I tuned in for. Lady in Satin took me into the darkest corner of her world and let me touch her soul. If I was in the mood for some psychedelic rock, Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland would be my goto album. If I was in a mood for some Vietnamese romantic ballad, I would reach for Tuấn Ngọc’s Giọt Lệ Cho Ngàn Sau. Likewise, I could relax to Hồng Nhung’s Khu Vườn Yên Tĩnh or get some lyrical pleasure from Jay Z’s The Black Album. Of course I could pick out any record of Miles Davis for any occasion.

To describe my listening experience, the best analogy I could think of is an interview with a porn star. I can’t recall what her name was, but her answer to why she wanted to be a porn star struck a cord with me. She said that for the next 30 minutes or so she could leave the world behind her and just focus on her partner and the only thing that stands between them is the camera. That is exactly how I feel. Between me and the musician is a pair of earbud. I want the intimate relationship between me and the artist. So yes, from Jimi, Coltrane, Dylan, Thu Phương, Nguyên Khang to Hồng Nhung, I fucked them all.

One of Dan’s current favorite TV shows is Ninjago. His mom complained that I let him watch too much violent video. He goes around and destroy everything around the house like flipping the kid’s table over, yanking books off the shelf, and dumping toys out of boxes. Then at night when I put him to bed, I told him that I am scared of the dark. He put his arms around my neck tight and stuttered, “DDDDDDDDDon’t be scared. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII rescue you.” He melted my heart.

Chiều thứ Bảy lúc chạy xe ngang qua Starbucks, tôi hỏi vợ, “Em uống cafe không? Anh có một cái free.” Vợ trả lời, “Uống thì uống.” Tôi nói, “Vậy anh order một ly cối Coffee Frappuccino chơi thêm hai shots expresso nữa nhé.” Vợ gật đầu, “Uống xong tối thức làm bài.” Tôi cười đáp, “Vậy thì chiều nào anh cũng mua cho em một ly để tối thức em trả bài.” Vợ trả lời, “Anh đừng có nằm mơ. Trả bài cho boss đó.” Ouch!

This morning I took Dao to his friend’s house for birthday celebration. The party started at 10am. The parents served bagels with cream cheese, pastries, coffee, juice for the kids, Mimosa and Bloody Mary for the adults.

We arrived around 10:15. While the rest of the kids went outside to play moon bounce, Dao wanted to stay inside to play with massive Batman toys. The parents all went outside except me, the host (birthday boy’s dad) and another dad who I met for the first time. The host was making drinks in the kitchen.

I didn’t want to appear to be anti-social so I asked for a Bloody Mary and started a conversation about sports. “So you guys follow the World Cup?” I asked. The other dad responded, “No, I hate soccer. It’s a slow, stop and play game and it drags on forever.” The host replied, “You can say that about baseball and you like baseball right?” The dad responded, “Yeah, I love baseball but I don’t get soccer. How can you lose and still win?” I chimed in, “We did beat Ghana.” He gave me that everybody-can-beat-Ghana gesture. Then he went on, “I just read a piece Ann Coulter wrote about soccer and she is right on.” I couldn’t resist questioning, “You actually read Ann Coulter?” He replied, “I normally don’t, but I agree with her on this one.” I mused, “I haven’t read what she has written, but I am sure Ann Coulter talks about soccer is like a nun talking about anal sex.” Needless to say my joke didn’t go too well. I knew I needed to shut up before a 300-pound dad crushes me.

It’s amazing how many Americans are so ignorant about soccer, but aren’t so ashamed to show it. I was listening to The Talk Show the other day and John Gruber and his guest showed the same ignorant for soccer. On his site, he also linked to another ignorant commentary from Keith Olbermann on soccer. Obermann better off focusing his energy and talent on attacking the right wing than wasting it on something he is so clueless and has no passion for.

While the entire world is embracing soccer, America hates it. It’s not a surprising the U.S. team has been suck for long due to the lack of support. This year the U.S. team is gaining some traction and yet we still get no love. I am proud of the U.S. team and I hope that they’ll advance to the quarterfinal.

In the first 35 pages of The Complete Typographer, Christopher Perfect managed to give readers a brief history of typography starting from 3000BC to 1990s. The second section exams the different categories of types with illustrations to help identify their characteristics. The last part provides guides on working with type. This is a good overview for anyone wanting to learn a bit about typography but doesn’t want to delve into it too deeply.

Với giọng ca khoẻ và chút chất khàng, Đan Kim có cá tính giống Phương Thanh khi cô hát lại “Tình Xa Khuất” và “Chia Tay Trong Mưa” trong album mới nhất, Cho Một Lần Quên, do trung tâm Thúy Nga phát hành. Để tránh sự so sánh khi ca hai bài ruột của Phương Thanh, người làm nhạc đã chuyển qua giai điệu nhanh. Nhờ giọng mạnh mẻ, Đan Kim không bị nhiệp đập nhạc lấn áp giọng hát của mình. Nên không cần thiết phải nhờ đến Autotune.

Ngoài những bài remix, đây là một album nhạc trẻ về tình yêu đôi lứa không chọn vẹn. “Nơi Em Chờ Anh” (Nguyễn Văn Trung) mở đầu với giai điệu dễ nghe dễ nhớ rồi cũng dễ quên. “Một Lần Nữa Em Ra Đi” tự Đan Kim sáng tác. Tuy lời và nhạc ngọt ngào nhưng chưa đến mức thấm thía như “Dừng Lại Là Hạnh Phúc” của Trương Lê Sơn, người đã khéo léo dựng lên một chuyện tình rất đáng thương. Nhất là nghe Đan Kim tâm sự: “Mình đánh mất lý chí để đến bên nhau… Che dấu bao lâu con tim em đã quá mỏi mệt.” Nàng đã lỡ yêu chàng nhưng chàng đã có gia đình và con cái nên nàng vang xin, “Người hãy buông tay để em đi.” Nghe thật tội nghiệp cho nàng phải thuyết phục người yêu của mình để nàng được ra đi với thằng khác.

Cám ơn Đan Kim đã cho những đàn ông đang có gia đình bận bịu thay tả cho con cái có được vài giây phút thú vị. Ít ra trong âm nhạc cũng có người để ý đến họ.

Since I plowed through the summer reading list already, I now got a handful of books on typography.

• Alphabets to Order: The Literature of Nineteenth-Century Typefounders’ Specimens by Alastair Johnston
• Bruce Rogers: A Life in Letters, 1870-1957 by Joseph Blumenthal
• The Complete Typographer: A Manual for Designing with Type by Christopher Perfect
• An Introduction to the History of Printing Types by Geoffrey Dowding
• Printer’s Type in the Twentieth Century: Manufacturing And Design Methods by Richard Southall
• Twentieth Century Type Designers by Sebastian Carter
• Typographers on Type : an Illustrated Anthology from William Morris to the Present Day edited by Ruari McLean

Đĩa đầu tay hợp tác với trung tâm Thúy Nga, Đình Bảo nhẹ nhàng đem lại cho người nghe những bài tình ca lãng mạng với giọng ca ấm áp và truyền cảm. Với kinh nghiệm của một thành viên trong nhóm AC&M, Đình Bảo chuyên chở dễ dàng những nhạc phẩm nổi tiếng của Ngô Thụy Miên, Trường Sa, hoặc Lê Uyên Phương. Chỉ cần trình bài một cách chân thật và Đình Bảo đã làm chọn vẹn như thế. Đình Bảo mọc mạc thổi nhẹ một chúc blues vào “Dư Âm” của Nguyễn Văn Tý nghe rất phê. Chỉ đáng tiết là những bài hòa âm không được hay. Như tiếng đàn điện solo trong “Dư Âm” hoặc những bài phối khí qua kỹ thuật điện tử làm mất đi cái hồn nhiên của âm nhạc. Tuy đây là một album rất khá nhưng cũng thiếu sáng tạo. Chỉ mông rằng Đình Bảo không đi theo con đường của Ngoc Anh từ một ca sĩ đầy bản lỉnh trở thành một ngôi sao theo yêu cầu.

Tracy, The Typographic Scene, (p.11):

Typography is a professional activity directed towards a practical, and usually commercial, result.

Tracy defends Tschichold (p.56):

But it was unreasonable to criticise Tschichold as though the new typography had the status of religious doctrine and he had defected from it. He had turned away from the style, not against it.

Tracy on the role of typographer (p.60):

Since most typographic work is done in the hope that it will be read (though there is never any guarantee of that) it is not very sensible of the designer to adopt practices that may repel a potential reader.

The competent typographer serves the one by securing the attention of the other. The really good typographer does something more: he invests his work with such visual quality as to persuade us that (whether or not it is true) the words he is presenting to us are going to be a pleasure to read.

Walter Tracy’s brief collection of essays give a broad history of typographic events in the twentieth century with the focus on symmetrical verses asymmetrical design. Like Letters of Credit, his concise, thoughtful writing makes the argument on both sides clear and balanced. The piece on reading research is also intriguing.