As of today Visualgui is no longer supporting legacy browsers, particularly Internet Explore 8 and below. The markups have been revised and to take advantage of the new HTML elements. Without providing support for older browsers the markups are much more simplified, but the main reason for the switching is to improve accessibility with ARIA roles.

After listening to Bruce Lawson talking about ARIA roles baked in HTML5 default elements on “The Web Ahead” (episode #74) with Jen Simmons, I was inspired to do my research on it. Even though I have already used ARIA roles a few years already, I have learned that I didn’t use them quite correctly. After some Googling, I found the documentation on “Using WAI-ARIA in HTML” from W3C to be very helpful, especially the recommendations table.

As much as I want to support legacy browsers, I ought to move forward. After all this is my personal site. It is a place that allowing me to experiment. So if you are using legacy browsers, I apologize that Visualgui might not render correctly. If you can, please consider upgrading your browser.

Another significant change is that the text on Visualgui is now powered by Typekit.

Carter, Twentieth Century Type Designers, (p.9):

Offending readers with distortions of the basic proportions of letters, or even attracting their notice with minor eccentricities of detail, creates a resistance not only to the type but to the message of which the type should be the faithful messenger.

Carter on well-designed type (p.187):

Finally, we should always remember that well-designed type is only the first step towards readable texts and handsome pages: bad setting and thoughtless layout can ruin the best-looking typeface. I hope that this account of the labours of some of the creators of type will increase the respect among users and consumers for these small miracles of art and skill.

Morison, First principles of typography (1930):

Type design moves at the pace of the most conservative reader. The good type designer therefore realises that, for a new fount to be successful, it has to be so good that only very few recognise its novelty. If readers do not notice the consummate reticence and rare discipline of a new type, it is probably a good letter. But if my friends think that the tail of my lower-case r or the lip of my lower-case e is rather jolly, you may know that the fount would have been better had neither been made.

Sebastian Carter’s short profile of prominent type designers starting from Frederic W. Goudy to Carol Twombly (the only female designer featured in the book) is a good overview to typography. Worth a read.

With the exclusion of “Nghìn Trùng Xa Cách” (Phạm Duy) and “Nghiệt Ngã” (Mai Thanh Sơn), Nguyễn Hồng Nhung’s new CD, Giờ Anh Ra Đi, is identical to her live show DVD Tình Yêu Tôi Hát. Asia’s repackaging production is so obvious. All the songs were pre-recorded. Tickets were sold to see Nguyễn Hồng Nhung, her guests and musicians faking out on stage. The DVD then released as a live show and the album is sold with a different title. Three revenue streams from just one source. Not bad marketing strategy at all.

If you don’t want to hear the clap box and watch Nguyễn Hồng Nhung’s lip-synching in her absolutely reprehensible fashion sense, the album is the better choice. Most cover tracks, including the duets with Nguyên Khang, Lâm Nhật Tiến, Quốc Khanh and Đan Nguyên, are enjoyable. Standout is her sensational rendition of Trầm Tử Thiêng’s “Chợt Nghĩ Về Hai Nơi.” Mai Thanh Sơn’s semi-classical arrangement is simply beautiful. Again he should focus more on his chops behind the scene than on the mic. His voice is way too thin and his singing is way too fragile, noticeably their duet on “Tình Yêu Tôi Hát.”

With “Giờ Anh Ra Đi” and “Sẽ Có Một Ngày,” she could easily handle Trúc Hồ’s romantic pop hits. Her version of Diệu Hương’s “Em Yêu Anh” is soaring and heart-rending. Not a bad album at all.

Bruce Rogers designed Centaur (one of the well-known humanist typefaces) and responsible for classic book design including works from Shakespeare and the Bible. As one of Rogers’s apprentices, Joseph Blumenthal collected the letters Rogers had written and presented in a form of an autobiographical; therefore, the subtitle of this book not only refers to the typographic letters, but also the actual written letters. The book is set in Monotype Centaur and printed on Mohawk Superfine paper. Needless to say, it’s an insightful, beautiful read.

On Monday the three of us played some Ninjago on bed. I was the monster and the kids were the Ninjago. Unfortunately Ninjago Dan dived straight into the bead maze table. Even though the edge of the table was rounded off, he still had a minor cut on his forehead with a lime-size swollen. I held him tight with a remorse. I asked him if he wanted an ice pack. He said yes and held the ice pack to his forehead all by himself. The swollen subsided about half an hour later and he wanted to play again.

Yesterday as we were watching the World Cup, he asked for the ice pack again. I gave it to him again and he held it for five minutes and handed back to me. He said, “Daddy, your turn.” I replied, “No, thank you. I don’t have a boobo.” He came up to me, punched me on my face lightly, and said, “Now you have a boobo.” I told my wife, “I think our Dan is going to be a doctor. He’ll knock you out then give you a treatment.”

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!