Album mới của Phương Thanh khởi đầu với bài chủ đề do cô viết lời Việt. Phải chi cô hát hoàn toàn tiếng Việt thì sẽ hay hơn nhiều vì Anh ngữ của cô có quá nhiều vấn đề. Cô gào thét chữ “mid” (trong “midnight”) như người đàn bà rao bán “mít” lúc nữa đêm. Nghe cũng thèm thèm. Thật là điều đáng tiếc là vì cách hát và lối hòa âm đậm chất rock nghe rất khác so với bài chính của Chris Norman.

Phần còn lại của album là những bài của Toàn Thắng và Phạm Khải Tuấn. Tuy những ca khúc này mới nghe lần đầu nhưng có cảm giác như chúng đã bị quên lãng đi mấy chục năm về trước. Giai điệu trong “Nụ Cười và Nước Mắt” của Toàn Thắng nghe như một sáng tác của Quốc Hùng. Còn “Làm Sao Để Quên Một Người” tựa như một bài ngoại quốc được Phạm Khải Tuấn chuyển sang lời Việt cho Phương Thanh và Lam Trường song ca.

Hai bài cuối được đưa vào cho đủ album quả thật không giúp được gì cả. Có lẽ nhạc sĩ Anh Bằng cũng không ngờ rằng “Anh Còn Nợ Em” sẽ bị nhắc mãi. Nợ nhà, nợ xe hay nợ nhà băng cùng lắm là phá sản. Nợ du đãng tệ nhất là bị chép chết là hết nợ. Còn nợ em thì không bao giờ trả hết. Tuy nhiên bài này rất hợp với Phương Thanh là vì cô ca y như đang giận dữ đòi nợ.

The correct name should probably called Pho Capitol since the logo, which looks quite decent, has an illustration of the U.S. Capitol building. In any rate, I noticed this place a while ago since it is locating on Little River Turnpike, but never tried it out. I also read some negative reviews on Yelp, but decided to give it a try anyway since the location is convenience from my house.

I ordered a large pho togo yesterday for the kids to eat at home since Dan really loves Pho. Unfortunately, both Dao and Dan took one spoon and didn’t want it anymore. Dana said it was not good. I also took one spoon and it tasted really bad. The broth was not only watered down, it also had a sour taste to it as if it had started to spoil. I ended up throwing the entire thing out.

I went back to Yelp to read some more reviews and came across one patron who found a cockroach in his pho. If I read it before, I would had skipped this place. Nowadays, our regular spot is Pho 50 since Dan really loves this place.

I have read a handful of books on JavaScript, and yet John Pollock’s JavaScript: A Beginner’s Guide, by far, is the easiest to learn. While most authors have done a great job of explaining the core concepts like variables, functions, operators, conditional statements and loops, they don’t show you how these fundamentals are being used in the web page. Pollock, on the other hand, provides step-by-step tutorials on how to create an HTML page with each concept he taught. What makes this book stands out is the connection between theory and real usage. With other books, you’ll get the programming theories, but you’ll understand how to applied them with this book.

When it comes to recommend a good book on JavaScript for beginners, people tends to point out Eloquent JavaScript, JavaScript Enlightenment, Professional JavaScript for Web Developers and JavaScript: The Good Part. Having read three out of four, The Good Part is on my reading list, I highly recommend A Beginner’s Guide as a starting point.

Virginia governor GOP candidate Ken Cuccinelli pushes for reinstatement of state’s anti-sodomy law:

The law makes consensual oral or anal sex acts felonies, even for married couples who commit the acts in the privacy of their own homes.

Dude, keep your faith to yourself and stay the fuck out of our bedroom. I don’t need another religious nutjob running our state.

Hồ Quỳnh Hương has a marvelous range: raspy on the low and husky on the high. Though well-known as a pop star, she could maneuver her way around jazz and blues with ease and seduction. In her new release, Tĩnh Lặng, she’s back to the pop mainstream.

The album kicks off with her own tune “Nỗi Nhớ Anh Mùa Đông.” The track is a powerhouse ballad that starts out soft and launches into full force. It’s definitely a big hit that showcases her vocal competence. “Hallelujah” is the other track that she penned the lyrics herself. It’s actually a smart move on her part to write the lyrics in Vietnamese rather than singing in English. Even though her English is not so bad in “Love Me” (Phi Vân), she isn’t quite comprehended the nuances.

The rest of Tĩnh Lặng is filled with romantic numbers from hit-writers like Minh Hà, Mạnh Quân and Nguyễn Hữu Đức. Even though the album is nothing more than a typical pop ballad, it is enjoyable because of Hồ Quỳnh Hương’s voice.

I have been into green smoothie lately. Each morning, I made two glasses. I share one with Dan on the way to daycare. The other one for Dana. I do the same at dinner time. Here’s the recipe:
1 apple
1 banana
1 orange
1 cup pineapple
2 celery sticks
2 spoons of chia seeds
2 cups of baby spinach
4 large kale leaves

Pour one cup of water into the blender. Add chia seeds, stir and let them absolve for a few minutes. Add in the rest of the ingredients and six ice cubes. Once blended, you’ll get a beautiful, fresh green color.

Not sure how I managed to miss Erik Spiekermann & E.M. Ginger’s Stop Stealing Sheep & find out how type works. It’s a classic with exceptional materials and entertaining analogies. Just finished reading in a few hours and it’s instantly one of my favorite books on type. Preordered the third edition for rereads.

Michael Harkin’s Understanding Type is a short and sweet overview that provides the basic knowledge of typographic matter. With Harkin’s approachable language backed up by excellent examples, anyone who is new to type will learn the core foundation including history, terminology and technology. Recommended read for design students.

I asked Dao if he would like to have a baby sister and he replied, “Yes, I want a baby girl.” Then he asked his mom, “Mommy, can we have a baby girl tomorrow?” Not so sure how to response to that other than laughed out loud. Looking around our family, the chance of us having a baby girl is probably less than 10%. Still adding one more boy to the family is the merrier. The first kid was tough, especially a boy.

True, things do get a bit crazy sometimes with two boys, but they are quite enjoyable. Or maybe after the second kid, you realize that there’s no denial. You either enjoy the time with them or they’ll make you miserable. If you choose to go with the former, you might get to live your life. As a result, a third boy is not going to be any worse than what we have now.

As they always say, you’re already on the tiger’s back. Just ride her out. No pun intended. Tiger mom.

From a potential client:

Do you use Word Press as your open source to customize the website as per your client’s needs? Are you familiar with e-Commerce Zen Cart or Joomla? and what would the cost be using of any e-Commerce open source package with Content Management System? Can you finish the website within a few days? Pls advise.

Obviously I didn’t get the job. Although I replied to the request and wanted to learn more about the project, I couldn’t pull something like that in a few days. Even if I have a team of designers and developers, it would not be possible. The complexity of an e-commerce site needs time to work out. The user experience needs to be well-thought out and the security needs to be tight.

Truth be told, I have never missed the client’s deadline. The holdup is mostly from the client. From the beginning of the project, I try to get as much contents as I could, but that’s not always possible. Without contents, I can’t get the project rolling. If I don’t get anything after a three or four reminders, I have to put the project aside until the client is ready. When that happens, my passion for the project is somewhat weakening because I feel as though the client’s heart is not in it. A client should care about her project more than I do if not as much.

How fast I can work on a site depends on the client. I have a rule that I won’t start a project until I get at least 50% of the contents. Like most things in my life, I don’t follow my own rules from time to time.