Toni Morrison:

I only have 26 letters of the alphabet;
I don’t have color or music. I must use my craft
to make the reader see the colors and hear the sounds.

Word!

I have been sick since last Wednesday. First was the sore throat. My throat was burning so much that I couldn’t sleep. Then the cough. I tried to beat the sickness by being active. On Thursday, I went ice skating because the skate park was wet. My skills are rusted. I tried to learn the waltz jump, the toe loop, and the salchow. I could only get the first two down.

I went back to the ice rink again yesterday. I ended up trying to learn ski carving on ice skates. I think I figured out how to transfer my weight to my outside ski when I carve. Of course, I have to try it out on the mountains to see if I can get it down. My goal for this winter is to nail ski carving.

Yesterday evening, I went to the skatepark myself. The weather was beautiful. I had on a light jacket to block the winds. I didn’t cough at all when I breathed in the fresh air.

Unfortunately, today my sickness is getting worse. I am coughing more. My whole body is a little sore. I am also having a headache. I haven’t done anything but lay in bed all day trying to catch some sleep with cải lương music. For some reason, I always return to cải lương when I feel sick.

I also miss my mother terribly when I am sick. She was always taking care of me when I was sick. I hate being sick. I can’t wait for it to go away. I hope that when the winter comes I won’t be getting sick. I have skiing and snowboarding to do.

I can’t hardly wait to hit the mountain this coming winter. I have been watching tons of snowboarding tutorials. My goal for the season is to focus on my posture, turns, and carving. There are quite a bit of YouTube videos on snowboarding. My favorite snowboard instructor including Malcolm Moore, Nev Lapwood, Tommie Bennett, Johnathan Buckhouse, Doug Fagel, and Kevin Pearce

To practice my turns I will tune into Tommie Bennett’s “Proper Snowboard Heelside and Toeside Turn Technique 101.” I like his analogy for squashing the bug on toeside turns and opening the door on heelside turns. In “Five Reasons Your Carving Sucks,” Jonathan Buckhouse shares the mistakes that beginners make and how to correct them. Nev Lapwood has some great tips on “How to Carve on a Snowboard” and “How to Keep Your Weight Over the Top of Your Board.” Finally, I really love Doug Fagel’s “Snowboard Tips: Steeps Riding.” I can’t wait to try it on the double-black diamond terrains.

I also want to learn carving on skis, but I haven’t found any tutorial that clicks. Skiing videos are harder to find than snowboarding. I need to dig some more. Can’t wait for the snow storms to hit. Please Mother Nature, make snow this year. You haven’t given us much in the past two years.

Icons, stepping on pythons
Spitting that cayenne,
Eat ya like Zion,
Peaking at the skyline
Reaching for the stars like
I’m reaching for the pylon
I sent ya on the sideline
We need to walk a fine line
We need to read the guidelines
Instead of reading the timelines
Where everybody like lying
Nobody flow like mine
I’m sonning these niggas
Got me coaching niggas like Prime
Tongue, I never bite mine
Got dough like Taekwon
To spend all this money
I’ma have to spend a lifetime
You broke, can’t even buy time
Should throw niggas a lifeline
You know money’s on my mind
And I be on your wife’s mind
I hit her with the pipe bomb
Then pass her down the pipeline
But actually, we quite fine
Diamonds on me sparkling
And splashing like some white wine
They love me in the night time
They hate me when the light shine
Shots, I got a hundred
And problems, I got 99
Bugatti Veyron
Take off with no flight time
Bad bitch on the passenger side
She don’t even like flying
Booty soft as nylon
You niggas small as micron
I got a Black Nina
That get nasty as a white blonde
Low credit, high crime
Open mind, tight rhymes
When they hear my lines
These rappers gotta catch up like Heinz
Weezy and my slime
Nas, ain’t nobody like ours
Like bygones
Gotta let icons be icons, hi moms.

Lil Wayne (A guest verse from “Never Die” by Nas)

I loved the clip of my four-year-old Vương trying to climb up the ramp at the skate park. Watching him climb reminding me of Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All,” especially these lines, “If I fail, if I succeed / At least I’ll live as I believe.” I put the song and the video together to create a YouTube Short.

The third edition has expanded to include more grid-design examples for inspiration. I enjoyed flipping through the book, especially the breaking section. I wanted to read the text too, but I find the grid typeface to be quite distracting. The choppy letters (with ink traps) make it hard for the eyes to follow. I wish the typesetting was more reading-friendly.

Can’t you dream out of the box?
Marbles rattling in your brain
Your mother was in pain
She said no when she meant yes

Marbles rattling in your brain
You will never amount to anything
She said no when she meant yes
Sickness, death, and despair

You will never amount to anything
Your mother was in pain
Sickness, death, and despair
Can’t you dream out of the box?

My Dearest Vương,

My lil King turns 5 today. Being the youngest, you get showered with love and some envy. You get along with all four of your brothers, but you are closest to Xuân. You guys are closer to the same age. Isn’t it nice to have a brother to hangout and play with?

Unlike your older brothers, you spent lots of time at home, especially during the pandemic. I was a bit worried about your social isolation, but you had proved that you can make friends and be independent at the same time. I am so happy for you.

You are developing fast and picking up new skills with ease when you are willing to try. You are now riding your balance bike at the skatepark like a pro. I am sure you’ll be able to ride a paddled bike soon. You have always wanted to hold your hands when you ice skate, but you can skate on your own. You are making tremendous progress. I can’t wait for you to be able to ski on your own as well. That would be great.

You are doing great in kindergarten, even though dropping off is still a bit tough. You still want to stay with your mom and that’s understandable. She loves you unconditionally. I am not worrying too much about your education. You are smart and a keen observer. I am sure you will do fine.

The last baby step you need to get over is pooping in a diaper. The goal for turning 5 is to use the toilet to poop. You can definitely do it. You just don’t want to. I know you like to do things on your own time and term, but this one is way overdue. Let’s get it done and over with.

I love you with all my heart!

Daddy.

Ma’ am

I know that you are rich
And I’m just a poor immigrant
I’ve been selling milk tea on the street
Since I was seven
But my grandmother watches me close
From her banana tree in heaven

Ma’ am

I dream of a beautiful white house
Can you buy it for me
Give me the keys to the republic?
That baby grand in the window
Some day, I will play it

Ma’ am

No matter what you think
I am not after your son
I mean, he’s not terribly smart
He’s dyslexic and ridiculous
Can’t hold a day job
And got a D in calculus

Ma’ am

You know your son is odd
He skins cats with his scout knife
He carries around a rubber doll
And calls it his wife

Ma’ am

He doesn’t love me
Don’t worry about it
We just have fun sex
And listen to rap in the basement
I’ll go away to a good college
And he’ll go to prison

Ma’ am

No, he didn’t tell on you
Not really, he didn’t say
Nothing about your uncle
Or your ex-husband
He didn’t tell me much
He just sat there, crying

Ma’ am

Did you say “She’s war trash
She came from the jungle
She’s a weirdo geek, can’t
Look up from her books.
Why do you want her?”

Ma’ am

Did you say
“Stay away, she’s schizoid
Downright ugly
Her father owns that rat-infested roach coach
She’ll amount to nothing”

Ma’ am

I did not love him, exactly
I did love him too much
It’s that in-between-ness
Of love and hate
That made me stuck

Ma’ am

I’m gonna love him and drive him crazy
I’m gonna love him though he’s lazy
I’m gonna wash his feet and wrap his wounds
Take him off the cross and carry him to his tomb
I’m gonna love him til he hates me
I’m gonna love him and drive him crazy

Marilyn Chin

The president hits back at the Heritage:

There is always room for serious discussion on how best to make a university open, welcoming, and productive for all citizens, but unfortunately this report – sloppy, methodologically questionable, and simply inaccurate as it is – not only falls short of something we can take seriously, it does damage to our capacity to have such a serious conversation. Quite frankly, it also damages Heritage’s reputation for providing accurate and useful information.

He even invited the Heritage to campus to explain the report. Why does he need to invite these racist conservatives who oppose diversity to campus? He just gives them an opportunity to speak about their whiteness heritage. While they claimed that hiring a diverse group of talents is wasteful, they have no idea how much money has been wasted by the white incompetent leaders to hide their ignorant and lack of knowledge. Those incompetent leaders should be fired instead.