Butterick’s Practical Typography is insightful as well as opinionated. You’ll learn the difference between straight and curly quotes as well as to stay away from bad fonts (in his opinion). Obviously if you use his fonts (Equity and Concourse), you can’t go wrong. The book is a great read and I love the way Butterick uses the web as a publishing platform. The book is set in the beautiful Equity and Concourse. Unfortunately the site is not made for mobile. Reading the book on the iPhone is a bit of a pain because the text is tiny and you have to move the body text around a bit to fit nicely on the small screen. Taking the responsive design approach would have solved these issues.

Over the weekend, I came across Thùy Dương’s Chút Tình Xa Vắng while spending time at my in-law’s house. Thanks to my son Đán who pushed all of the CDs off the shelf and led me to discover the album, but I didn’t listen to it until we spent a few days in Atlantic City. Sunday night when the kids went to bed with their mom and grandma, I strolled down the boardwalk from casino to casino looking for a cheap Pai Gow table to play. Started from the Tropicana where we stayed, I walked all the way to the Taj Mahal in the middle of the night and listened to Chút Tình Xa Vắng.

After having to deal with the kids all day long, nothing beat walking down the beautiful night with Thùy Dương to unwind. Her rendition of “Đà Lạt Trong Nỗi Nhớ Muộn Màng” (Tú Nguyễn) was filled with nostalgia as the cool wind breezed by. “Lá Thư” a beloved ballad from Đoàn Chuẩn and Từ Linh had been covered many times, but never with the melancholy that Thùy Dương brought to it. Her interpretation of Trịnh Công Sơn’s “Hoa Vàng Mấy Độ,” “Lặng Lẽ Nơi Này” and “Như Một Lời Chia Tay” were all outstanding. Her voice was so cold, yet so hopeful.

Thanh Tùng’s “Giọt Nắng Bên Thềm” was not one of my personal favorites, especially when Thanh Lam butchered it, but Thùy Dương’s version just fucking cut it. She hardly sang in the upper register and yet she hit it dead on: “Bài hát tìm trong nỗi nhớ từng ngày bình yên.” You can just feel it.

When I excitedly telling my wife about an old gem I discovered in her parents’ place, she responded, “Honey, I bought that CD years ago.” As always, she’s way ahead of me.

As Tết Trung Thu (Mid-Autumn Festival) is approaching, mooncakes are on displayed everywhere in Asian stores. As always, Kim Phung’s fresh mooncake is still the best. My wife and I shared its specialty (egg yoke, ham, mixed nuts and melon) and sipped some tea. As I am getting older and older, this is the only reason to love Tết Trung Thu. If you have a chance to visit Eden Center in the next few weeks, check out Kim Phung Bakery. It’s kind of pricey ($8 a pop), but definitely worth it.

Message from the Provost:

Today, I am informing the George Washington University community that Doug Guthrie is no longer serving as the Dean of the School of Business. Fundamental differences about financial and operational performance were significant enough to warrant a change in leadership.

Damn!

After taking the boys home from daycare, gave them a bath, Dao asked me, “Where is mommy? Why is she not home yet?” I joked, “Mommy got captured by the police.” He started bawling and requested, “Daddy, can you go get her? I want her to be free.” I felt horrible so I said, “I was just kidding, baby. Mommy will be home soon. She’s running a bit late to buy us some food.” He was fine with that.

At bed time, he asked me to go to sleep with him. He wanted both me and his mom to sleep with him. He didn’t fall asleep so I started to. As I was snoring, he kicked me out. He told me, “Daddy, can you go to sleep with em? I just want mommy to sleep with me.” I felt jilted. Can’t compete with mama’s boy.

I can’t believe school starts next week. I am taking Brand Identity Design and Graduate Design Seminar this semester. As a result, I am winding down my freelance projects to concentrate on school work. I still have one project in the queue waiting for the client to get rolling. We were halfway through and then the client doesn’t have the time or the devotion to work on it. At this time I am not taking on any freelance works until school is over. I am very excited to get back into class though. I really like being around other creative students.

I am diagnosed with mild Hemophilia or Von Willebrand disease. My Factor VIII is 32%, which is low. The normal Factor VIII is between 50%-108%. I have nothing to worry about. I just need to be careful not to get into major injuries. If I need major surgeries or dental works like root canal, I would need to notify a hematologist. I should take only Tylenol, not Advil, Aleve, Aspirin or any NSAID class. Chances are my sons would also have the disease.

Đả lâu rồi không có nghe Đàm Vĩnh Hưng hát. Thế nhưng dạo này láy xe đi xa hơi nhiều nên cũng lôi nhạc mới của Mr. Đàm ra nghe để chóng buồn ngủ lúc đêm khuya. Xóa Tên Người Tình (vol. 6) và Chờ Đông (vol.7) đều là những ca khúc trữ tình nhưng nghe cũng khá hay.

Mr. Đàm đã nhuần nhiển để chuyên trị dòng nhạc này. Anh ca không quá mùi cũng không quá da diết nên những ca khúc bolero như “Nhật Ký Đời Tôi,” “Thói Đời,” “Tình Yêu Trả Lại Trăng Sao” và “Sương Lạnh Chiều Đông” không bị quá nhão. Ngoài ra anh cũng cho vào những ca khúc tươi vui như “Bên Nhau Ngày Vui,” “Ghen,” “Giả Từ Đêm Mưa” và đặc biệt là “Gặp Nhau Làm Ngơ” qua vũ điệu chachacha. Nghe nhịp trống làm nhớ đến thời còn ham mê khiêu vũ.

Lần này lối hòa âm cũng tương đối tốt. Không mới lạ nhưng cũng không quá xưa nên không bị nhàm chán. Về lối phát âm của Mr. Đàm cũng đả nhẹ nhàng hơn trước tuy rằng chữ “ch” và “tr” nghe vẫn còn hơi nặng như “Một sớm tan chuông tà áo trắng ngập đường / Mình anh chơ vơ chờ em trước cổng trường” (“Bên Nhau Ngày Vui”). Anh hát chữ “hoa hòe” trong “Xoá Tên Người Tình” nghe thật ngộ nghĩnh.

I just started reading Butterick’s Practical Typography and really digging it. I am half way through Frank Chimero’s The Shape of Design and liking it. Scott Chacon’s is Pro Git is highly recommended to me from a former colleague and I’ll get to it eventually. You should read them too because they’re all free. Do support the writers though.

Neuroscientist Penelope Lewis talks to Terry Gross about how sleep affects memory from her new book The Secret World of Sleep: The Surprising Science of the Mind at Rest. Also worth listening is TED talk from circadian neuroscientist Russell Foster in which he shares three popular theories about why we sleep.