Taming the Dragon starts off with pianist Brad Mehldau telling his trippy dream over an atmospheric, organic backdrop. Then the groovy beat from drummer Mark Guiliana interrupts Mehldau’s talk to set off the vibe for the entire album. Mehldau steps out of his jazz tradition to join Guiliana for an experimental journey filled with imaginative (electric and acoustic) keyboard licks backing up by big, pulsating drum’n’bass kicks. Mehliana is, without a doubt, a fruitful and creative collaboration.

Vijay Iyer is unstoppable. Mutations, his latest release, is a compositional exploration. The 10-part suite, a marvelous interaction between string chamber and improvisation, is a proof that Iyer is versatile in both musical landscapes or he sees no distinction between the two. He just makes music that is forward-thinking and beyond category.

With Southern Comfort, violinist Regina Carter sets out to revive traditional southern classics, but also keeping them raw. From the opening “Miner’s Child,” an ode to her grandfather who was a coal miner in Alabama, to the slow-soaring “I’m Going Home” to the savory closing medley of “Death Have Mercy/Breakaway,” Carter accomplished her goals of making a musical journey that has both historical discovery and emotional sincerity.

My go-to sans serif typeface is Andrian Frutiger’s Univers. Its family has grown to 44 different weights and styles. You can’t get any more versatile than that. For serif, my go-to typeface is Robert Slimbach’s Minion. It’s a vanilla text face that gets out of the way.

Emil Ruder’s Typographie is a classic reference that is still relevant today. It’s a quick read with tons of visual examples.

Prof. Phil:

Good typesetting is a craft and skill set that you will spend your whole career trying to master.

There is very little design where type does not make up over 50 percent of the graphic communication. So learn to use it like you learned to walk or ride a bike, as you will always need to be able to control it. Good type makes or breaks a job.

Three words to describe student: Rational, impulsive, sweet.

Likes to play with: Dao enjoys playing with trains, blocks and Legos. He loves to work at our writing center. He also enjoys going to art.

Child’s strength: Dao has shown amazing improvement in his participation during discussions. He also contributes to class discussions. He also is now willing to try new things and enjoys art. His writing skills have improved. Dao builds friendship easily.

Areas we are working on: Dao’s tantrums have become more extreme. He is less easily pacified than in the past. We are working on controlling his temper.

Jewish comedian Elon Gold takes race to whole new level. His sex marriage is spot on. Chosen & Taken is available on NetFlix. Also worth watching is Christian Finnegan’s The Fun Part. He packed tons of witty commentaries on politics as well as sex at 40s.

Ironically I just finished a course on professional design practices that taught me most of the skills Phil Cleaver wrote in his new book titled What They Didn’t Teach You in Design School. Similar to the topics in the book, we worked on our resume, business card, leave behind, video resume and portfolio. We discussed extensively on job interview, freelance and presentational skills. This book would have been a perfect companion for that class. Prof. Phil has some good tips on typography and responsive web design. What makes the book stood out is the design of the book itself. The typesetting is beautiful and the typographic puns are a visual pleasure. I am definitely recommending it to the teacher to be used for his next class, but this is also a great guide for graduating students looking to get their foot in the door.

Last night’s portfolio presentation wrapped up the spring 2014 semester. Instead of doing an independent study for one credit, I opted in for a forth seminar. The focus on analog type turned out to fun even though I am horrible with doing crafts with my hands. The projects were somewhat challenging, but they gave me an opportunity to play. I had a blast handcrafting types.

The 4-credit Professional Design Practices turned out to be very useful. The class helped me improve my presentation skills. I am now more confidence in talking and showing my work to a small crowd. We also had lectures came to teach us speaking skills, inform us about the industry and share their experience in the work force. The professor was encouraging and sharing.

The workload was not so bad. Even though I enjoyed the classes, I am ready for the summer. We already have a few vacation spots planned. I can’t wait to spend time with my lovely girl and boys and catching up on readings.