Ánh Tuyết’s new album, Duyên Kiếp, comes in two linguistic flavors: One in Northern accent and the other in Quảng’s enunciation. Yet, all of the ballads being covered are suitable for southern voices.

Ánh Tuyết is one of the few Vietnamese female singers with an incredibly high soprano tone, but she hardy uses her upper register in this album, which is a smart move. With jazz-tinged, classy arrangements, she breathes new life into Lam Phương’s title track and “Tình Bơ Vơ.” Her version of Duy Yên & Quốc Kỳ’s “Mưa Chiều Kỷ Niệm” is elegantly reflective.

On the north side, Ánh Tuyết gives bolero ballads, including “Đừng Nói Xa Nhau” (Châu Kỳ & Hồ Đình Phương), “Chiều Cuố Tuần” (Trúc Phương) and “Em Về Kẻo Trời Mưa” (Ngân Giang) an instant refresh. The effortlessness in her delivery and the intimate arrangements are the key elements in remaking these over-sentimental classics.

The Quảng’s side is quite fascinating. Although the arrangements stay the same, the accent changes the vibe a bit. I must admit the pronunciation is a bit strange at first, but it is growing on me upon several listens. If you want to experience this album, I highly recommend starting with the Quảng’s side first.

Fantastic advice from Brian Suda on “Getting to your minimum hourly rate“:

If you are worried about losing a job because you are too expensive then you have two more problems. If you go below your hourly rate, then you are losing money. If you are too expensive even with your minimum hourly rate, then so be it and walk away. If you are worried about being too expensive and all the customer is worried about is cost, then they aren’t the best customer to have anyway. People are happy to pay a premium if they feel they are getting premium work. Sure, your rates might be higher than the competitors, but you are willing to answer the phone at strange hours or go out of your way to help or suggest new projects. You are worth your price. You can never and should never compete on price, that is just a race to the bottom. If you properly sell yourself to your customer, they might balk at your rates, but go out of their way to find the money to still work with you.

Never worry about being too high if you know your rates are reasonable.

I definitely need to take this advice myself, especially when someone from a PR company says that my price is “extremely reasonable.”

One of the criticisms of responsive design I have heard repeatedly is that it only works on simple web sites and that many responsive layouts have moved to a one-column. For someone who appreciates minimalism, I am very glad to see the marriage between simple design and responsive layout.

When I first got into the game, the web was extremely busy: animated gifs, background with repeated tiles, Flash intro and loud audio. I was overwhelmed with the trend and needed something simpler. As a result, I focused more on simplicity. Catharine Fishel’s Minimal Graphics: The Powerful New Look of Graphic Design was the first book that opened up my world to simple design. There was something about the focus on the main subject of a design that attracted me. When I started doing freelance work, simple design was something that I pitched to clients and they all liked it.

Responsive design makes perfect sense to me when I started two years ago because it allows me to focus on the content. My practice of doing simple design prepared me for the transition. Now that I see more and more sites are becoming simpler. Maybe responsive design has forced designers to focus more on the contents and that is all good for the web.

Yes, that day of the year is coming. I know how stressful it is for a guy to look for that perfect gift for his lover. To make your Valentine’s Day less headache, Simplexpression had handcrafted simple gifts that express from your heart. Go check it out and grab something quick. It’s only one-of-a-kind gift.

Một người bạn giới thiệu một số bài Tục Ca của Phạm Duy:

Lời nói đầu của chính tác giả trong Tục Ca 1 đã giải bày một cách trọn vẹn cái giá trị của 10 bài Tục Ca này, đó là giúp nhạc sĩ họ Phạm diễn tả tất cả những trạng thái và cảm xúc của ông và qua đó ông có thể hát ca một cách trọn vẹn hơn. Theo tôi, thì phải nói là để chửi đổng một cách trọn vẹn hơn. Phạm Duy đã thuật lại một câu nói thời ấy mà nó vẫn còn đúng đến bây giờ: “Nhất đĩ, nhì cha, ba sư, bốn tướng”. Ít ra đĩ còn có chút tự trọng vì họ gần như chẳng bao giờ lên tiếng dạy đời hoặc phê phán đạo đức kẻ khác.

Người bạn này viếc nhiều bài về chính trị của Mỹ lẫn Việt Nam rất thẳng thắng. Nếu bạn có thời giờ thì đọc lại những bài củ anh đã blog. Sở dỉ lâu nay tôi không link qua là vì sợ Mulitiply sẽ đóng cửa vào cuối năm qua. Nhưng đến bay giờ trang này vẫn còn tồn tại.

Tiếng Thu, a solo piano album from Vũ Hồng Khanh, is growing on me. Even though Hồng Khanh rarely improvises, his takes on Pham Duy’s unforgettable ballads are full of rich melodies and strong harmonies. Hồng Khanh’s lyrical playing in “Ngậm Ngùi” and “Thuyền Viễn Xứ” are instantly recognizable. His slow cadences on the left hand combined with the high, dramatic keys on the right makes “Đừng Bỏ Em Một Mình” so damn hauntingly beautiful.

While “Nha Trang Ngày Về” is gorgeously reflective, he should have left off the sound effects, which are a little distracting. And since the tune clocks in over eight minutes, I wish he branches off and improvises more. “Tiếng Đàn Tôi” is the only slightly uptempo piece. The tango rhythm is very sexy, but I keep waiting for him to swing it up a bit. Nevertheless this is a fine album for an intimate listening experience.

Last weekend, our little family hit the mall and my wife complained that shopping for boys is so boring. Girls have tons of clothes. She was right indeed. There are many cute outfits for girls. Our family is now dominated with testosterones and trains. We need to balance things out. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a daddy’s little girl?

Parenting is not easy, at least not for me. It’s a lifelong commitment. Obviously I can’t ship them back to Russia. There are tradeoffs, however, and time goes by so fast. Other than some discipline issues, Dao is now doing good on his own. We can enjoy a decent meal in a restaurant with him. Dan is already passing one, but still waking up and screaming on top of his lung every night. Taking him to a restaurant now is a nightmare, especially for the servers.

By the time Dan hits two, we could potentially have a third one. After having two boys, I admittedly prefer a girl although we have about 5% of a chance. A quick look and my wife’s and my family, we are male dominated, especially in our kids’ generation. Sure the chance is quite slim, but we have nothing to lose (other than sleep) if we would have a third boy. We’re still going to love him just as much. In fact, another boy would just make the house more fun.

Dr. Monica Williams-Murphy speaks on death and its reality:

When a doctor does not speak the truth and does not say the words, “Yes, you are dying,” then you are robbed of the opportunity to live fully in the present, savoring each song, each touch of a child’s hand, and the heft of your favorite book.

Live everyday as its your last or as Trinh Cong Son said, “Each day I choose one happiness.”

Being a father of two kids, I get excited about the winter weather forecast. If we were to get hit with heavy snow or ice, I would like to clean up the house to play with the kids. I want the floor to be spotless clean so we could roll around if we wanted to. After picking Dao up from daycare, we went straight home and got to work. As I was vacuuming the room my parents-in-law used to stayed in, Dao jumped up and down the bed. Then he went over to the table to pick up a framed photo of his grandparents. He pointed out to me, “Daddy, look. Ông ngoại and bà ngoại. They wear new clothes.” Every time he mentioned ông ngoại, I feel a bit of sadness. I wish they could have more time together.

Yesterday also marked two months since bố passed away. Six months before that I was with him in the hospital when the doctor came in to talk about his situation. The doctor asked bố if he wanted to hear the truth about his condition. Bố misunderstood the question so I translated to him, but then the doctor stopped me. He called a third-party translator instead. Somehow I predicted that whatever the doctor was going to say, it wouldn’t be good and he didn’t want me to manipulate the translation.

Once he had a Vietnamese translator on the line, he asked bố once again if he wanted to hear about his condition and bố agreed. At this point, bố had already lost his voice. He could barely speak up, but he tried all he could. The doctor went straight to the point. He told bố that he had three to six months left. When I heard that the chill ran through my spines. I couldn’t even imagine what had gone through bố’s mind. When the doctor left, bố said to me in Vietnamese, “Bring me some food. I have to eat even if I am going to die.” Before that he refused to eat anything. The doctor’s statement still haunts me till this day. I was upset that he was so frank about it to a patient, but the truth is the truth. Bố passed away around the time he predicted.

Death is a very sensitive subject and I thought of it so often over the years. Death is inevitable. I will have to face it when it is my time to go. It’s easy for me to say, but how would I face it when it is my turn to go? After bố went back home, I wanted to understand how his feeling at the time when he knew how much time he had left, but I couldn’t ask. The situation was way too devastating.

There was no way I could put myself inside his shoes, but I kept wondering how would I feel if I knew I am going to die. What made the situation so excruciating was that bố’s mind was still strong, but his body was failing him. The day before he drew his final breath he was still in the hospital and my mother-in-law said to him, “Let’s go home.” He responded, “This is it?”

With courage, bố faced his death and left us without saying much. He contented with his life. As a father, he had done a great job of raising his children. He succeeded in guiding them according to the Vietnamese standard: college degree, decent job and happy life. As a husband, he loved and being loved for over forty years. Those two things alone made him the man I look up to. The only thing that he didn’t seem to be satisfied was that he didn’t get a chance to travel the world with his wife after they retired. He was the type of man that get the hard job done first than enjoy later. I shared the same view with him, but I learned through him that you can not plan your life. Live now while you still can.

Love this piece on The Onion:

Users said they yearned to return to a time when they could simply visit a site and experience its content without being asked “What do you think?”, “What’s on your mind?” or, more directly, “Respond to this video.”

Furthermore:

In addition to demanding less interactivity, Internet users requested fewer links and clickable icons connected to social media outlets through which they could email, share, tweet, pin, blog, or re-blog content.

This is the reason I removed all of the social media share buttons and closed the comment section. I just want you to come, scroll, read (if you find something interesting) and move on.