We were at a festival in Delaware last weekend and spotted a vendor from Pampers. The truck displayed nothing but diapers. Then they had a long table with several changing mattresses. Parents could use them to change their kids. They provide diapers, wipes, sheets and sanitizer all free. What a great way for Pampers to promote its products. I loved that concept.

Speaking of diapers, Đán uses at least three a night. He sleeps on his tummy and he pees quite a lot. I have to remember to change him or else he would pee all over his clothes and the bed. I rather change his diaper than clean him up, change his clothes and wash the sheets. Though he sleeps well at night I have to get up to change him.

One night, I must had been quite sleepy when I change him; therefore, his thing was not tucked inside. About half an hour or so, he suddenly got up really fast and rested on my tummy. Then I noticed that he was completely wet. I had to clean him up, changed his cloths, threw the towel where he left his urine and went back to bed.

The nice thing about Đán is that he never wakes up when I change his diaper.

I haven’t have coffee for three weeks straight. I needed to stay free from caffeine because I have been under tremendous stress. When I am in that kind of pressure, drinking coffee only makes me more depress. I used to get migraine in the evening because of stress and coffee. I needed my mind to be clear to deal with the situation; therefore, I decided to stop drinking coffee altogether.

The first few days was tough. I fell asleep a couple of times during the day. Then I got through it easily; therefore, I am not addicted as I thought I was. Somehow whenever I get myself into something, like jazz, blog and web design, I have a really hard time quitting. Luckily those three obsessions are harmless. I haven’t smoked a cigarette my whole life. I am not sure why I was never drawn into it, but it’s a good thing. Sometimes I just want to try to see why so many people are inhaling it even though they know it’s not good for their health. Then I chicken out. I am afraid I might get addicted to it. I also need to set an example to my kids that smoking is not cool. Hopefully they won’t do it when they get older.

Hôm nọ sau khi thay đồ cho hai thằng nhóc, tôi đùa với mẹ nó, “Mommy ơi, cu Đạo bay giờ nhỏ hơn cu Đán.” Đạo trả lời, “No, cu Đạo không có nhỏ. Cu Đạo medium.” Thằng Đạo nhà ta là thế. Nói đến nó cái gì nó đều có câu trả lời cả. Cái thằng con này vừa thông minh lại vừa lì nên thật rất mệt với nó. Nói cái gì nó cũng cãi lại được. Nhiều lúc giận vô cùng nhưng giận thì giận thương thì vẫn thương. Dù sao cũng là ruột thịt. Con ruột đã thấy khó rồi. Con ghẻ chắc càng khó hơn nhiều. Tôi chắc không thể nào làm cha ghẻ được vì làm cha ruột còn không xong. Rất khâm phục những ai làm được cha mẹ ghẻ tốt.

Cu Đán thì dễ hơn một tí. Nói chung là nó không kháng cự lại nhiều như thằng anh của nó. Ăn uống cũng dễ hơn. Chỉ cần dumpling với chả lụa là nói ok rồi. Tuy nhiên cu Đán thì quậy hơn thằng anh nó nhiều. Bây giờ cũng sắp bước vào giai đoạn “terrible two” rồi nên cũng khá phá phách. Nó mà thức giấc thì chạy theo canh chừng nó cũng mệt. Hôm kia trong hotel, thấy nó cầm cục nước đá làm rơi xuống đất. Khi nó lượm lên lại bỏ miệng tôi vội chạy đến móc ra. Lấy ra không thấy cục nước đá mà là viên thuốc người khách trước để rơi. Không biết là viên thuốc gì. Vì viên thuốc màu cam và cái thảm cũng màu cam, nên nhìn không ra. Vậy mà nó lại nhìn ra. Cũng mai là lấy ra kịp. Nó mà Nuốt vô là chuyện lớn rồi.

Launched a little prototype web app for Mason Law Library. This web app was developed for a graduate course (Advanced Web Design) using jQuery Mobile. The purpose of the app is to offer a set of core functions, such as searching for books, chatting with a librarian, connecting to law-related catalogs, that catered to the Law Library patrons. Please note that this is a prototype; therefore, not all features are functional. Read more about the concept of the app.

Stephen Coles’s The Anatomy of Type takes less time to read, but much more to digest. From the terminals to the tails, Coles breaks down the nuances of 100 typefaces with beautiful, comprehensible illustrations. He draws particular attention to the details that make a typeface unique. With a short history of each type and suggestion for what the type is good for, this is a must-have for web and print designers.

Once you’ve mastered The Anatomy of Type, you can pick up Lara McCormick’s Playing With Type to explore various typographic techniques. The book provides 50 experimental guidelines to jumpstart your creativity. The hands-on approaches aren’t limited to just playing with type on the computer. For example, the first experiment, “Ransom Note,” encourages you to cut out types from printed materials and assemble them together as a collage. With simple instructions and well-executed examples, Playing With Type is fun to read and inspiring to apply.

Một lần nữa, Hiền Thục ra mắt một khai thác khá bất ngờ với album mới nhất mang tựa đề Tằm Tháng Năm. Tuy sở trường của Hiền Thục luôn gắn liền với dòng nhạc trẻ, cô có thể chuyên chở thành công các dòng nhạc khác như những ca khúc của Trịnh Công Sơn qua lối hát mộc mạc, xinh xắn nhưng không kém cảm xúc. Phải công nhận rằng càng ngày cách hát của Hiền Thục càng quyến rũ hơn. Chỉ cần nghe lối phát âm chuẩn nhẹ nhàng của nàng là đủ phê rồi.

Bí quyết làm mới lại những bài trữ tình trong Tằm Tháng Năm không chỉ qua lối trình diễn trẻ trung trong giọng hát và lối hoà âm mang âm hưởng quê hương đương đại, mà là cách xử lý khéo léo trong ca khúc. Điển hình là bài “Còn Thương Rau Đắng Mọc Sau Hè” của nhạc sĩ Bắc Sơn. Hiền Thục không làm cho nó quá mùi mẫn cũng không quá điệu bộ nên nghe dễ thương mà không đến độ sến. Tuy nhiên nếu Hiền Thục ca bằng giọng Bắc rặc thay vì giọng Nam thì càng hay hơn nữa. Ví dụ như bài “Ngày Đá Đơm Bông” của Nhật Ngân, Hiền Thục hát bằng giọng Bắc nghe thật đáng yêu.

Với bài tươi vui “Gặp Nhau Làm Ngơ” của Trần Thiện Thanh, Hiền Thục thật hiện rất có duyên. Tuy nhiên nếu lối hòa âm chỉ giữa chọn điệu swing và đừng chuyển qua dance thì hoàn hảo hơn. Tuy rằng album này có nhiều sơ hở nho nhỏ, rất hoan nghênh tinh thần đổi thay của cô.

Tim Brown, a former colleague and a great friend of mine, had written a little book called Combining Typefaces. Even though the text is quite short, Tim managed to squeeze in invaluable resources for readers to explore further. The e-book format turns out to be quite useful for that task.

One of the advices I take away from the book is to experiment with different types. Nothing wrong with sticking to just one family, “But it also robs us of the opportunity to truly understand why a combination works or doesn’t, and can lead to a false sense of completion.” Tim said, “The task of combining typefaces doesn’t begin or end with any single piece of advice—it is necessarily more complex, and dependent upon a project’s design goals.” I’ll definitely keep that mind when designing my next project.

Thank goodness Trần Thu Hà is not obligated to make poppy shits for Thuy Nga. Although Lệ Buồn Nhớ Mi is billed as a Trần Thu Hà’s album, it actually released under DK (dentist-songwriter Đăng Khánh) Productions, and yet it features some of her best recordings in years. She brings her full vocal range to do the justice to Đăng Khánh’s music.

With “Đừng Gọi Tên Em Nữa,” in particular, she soars, floats, ebbs and flows her voice all over the excellent, lust orchestration courtesy of Hoàng Công Luận, a very low profile producer. In the title track, she reaches the upper register with ease and maneuvers her way around the beautiful arrangement from Thanh Phương with poise and grace. “Biển Sầu Mênh Mông,” “Đêm Trăng Khuya” and “Sàigòn Buồn Cho Riêng Ai” are also outstanding recordings.

It’s a shame that Đăng Khánh didn’t make a whole album of Trần Thu Hà singing his songs. Instead he filled in the rest of the album with male vocalists from Quang Dũng, Nguyên Khang and Elvis Phương. In “Dù Nghìn Năm Qua Đi,” Quang Dũng mispronounced both “Capri” and “Venice”; therefore, he ruined the whole song. Even the sensational bossa-nova-swing arrangement from Hoàng Công Luận couldn’t save the track. He should have learned Tuấn Ngọc’s version before making the record. The different between the master and disciple is that Tuấn Ngọc made those two words alone worth listening to the whole song.

If Đăng Khánh invested more into Trần Thu Hà, he would have created another classic album for himself. For now, Tuấn Ngọc’s Dù Nghìn Năm Qua Đi still stands the test of time. His rendition of “Ta Muốn Cùng Em Say” is a killer.

I did a very thoughtless thing the other night. I clicked on an extremely savage video a friend shared on Facebook. I am still traumatized today. The graphic still stuck in my head. How could a human being do such a thing to another human?

I used to be quite tolerant for graphical violence. I enjoyed violent films because I know that underneath all the gruesome scenes are just fiction. This particular video, however, was not fake. It was captured on a cell phone and it was one of the most horrifying violences I have ever seen.

Now being a father makes me even more sensitive to those things. I almost delete my Facebook account last night, but I am still tied into several admin roles for work and various projects. I won’t be using Facebook much anymore for that reason and I also need to be extremely cautious when clicking on a video even when a friend shared it.

Thanh Ha is obviously in love. Her new release, Mong Manh Tình Về, is the proof. Her heart is not in it even though her lover is collaborated on the album. They rather make something else together than music.

As a result, Mong Manh Tình Về is either romantically sleepy or sleepily romantic. From the opening “Có Đôi Lần” to the sugary “Những Ngày Mưa ” to the sedating title track, Thanh Hà and Roland seem to be rather cuddling under sheets than recording in the studio. No wonder the rope she adorns on the cover is so damn fitting.

Even when conveying anguish in “Giận Anh,” Thanh Hà seems to prefer to just nap it off. Don’t blame her for the dullness in her music. Just congratulate her for being in love. She probably won’t make an exciting record until shit happens. I am suggest that it should. I am just saying.