I actually felt bad for Paul Ryan in last night debate as if a little boy was getting his ass whipped by his parents. Joe Biden appeared to be teaching his son some maths. “It’s mathematically impossible,” he responded to Romney-Ryan’s five-trillion-dollar income-tax cut. When Martha Raddatz pressed Ryan for specifics of how he could pay for his tax cuts, Ryan couldn’t give one. Mad props to Ms. Raddatz for an outstanding job of moderating the debate.
Sick, stressed, sleepless and secluded. Those are the four words describing my state of mind. I don’t want to be trapped inside these moods, but I can’t seem to emancipate. Each day I feel the deterioration in my strength. Each day I feel extremely exhausted, lack of motivations and guilty. I no longer have the desire to communicate. Writing down these words is my only therapy.
Vài tuần trước ngồi ăn trưa tán dốc với một đồng nghiệp. Chúc mừng anh ấy sắp lấy vợ mới. Thấy anh cởi mở dể chịu và tôi cũng tò mò nên hỏi, “Sao anh lại ly dị vợ trước?” Ảnh trả lời rằng vì cô quen được nương chìu từ nhỏ còn anh ta thì lại bướng bỉnh. Tôi thấy lý do đó đâu đến nổi đưa đến ly dị. Anh ấy nói thêm, “Những gì tôi nói với cô ta đều trở nên những lời chỉ trích.” Cái vấn đề này nghe quen quen.
Mới tối hôm qua tôi hỏi vợ, “Em đánh răng chưa?” Chỉ một câu đơn giản thế thôi cũng bị cầu nhầu, “Mới tắm ra. Có thời giang đâu mà đánh răng.” Tôi chỉ muốn biết nếu chưa đánh thì xuống nhà ăn bánh Trung Thu và uống trà cho vui chứ tôi đâu có ý chỉ trích vì đâu.
Dỉ nhiên là không chỉ đối phương mà chính tôi cũng có lúc nghe chướng tai. Tôi rút kinh nghiệm rằng muốn giữ hạnh phúc thì nên chỉ mở miệng khi nào cần thiết. Ngày xưa đùa giỡn gì cũng được. Bây giờ câu nói bình thường cũng có thể là chỉ trích.
I can’t believe my baby Dan is turning one next month. It seems like yesterday that we welcomed him into our world. He has been quite a special addition to our little family. He’s playful and cheerful most of the time even when he wasn’t feeling well.
Dan has been exploring the world quite a bit. Not only with his eyes and hands, but also his mouth. Although he could play all by himself if he has toys, we have to keep an eye on him constantly. Anything he could get him hand on, it would also go into his mouth.
He has not been able to stand yet, but he already wanted to walk. The result is bruising cheek and eye brown. Still he has not learned. He keeps on letting go of his hands whenever he’s standing up.
Dan loves food. Today a fed him a bowl of chicken porridge and he ate everything. He would eat pretty much anything we give him. Unfortunately he seems to have pretty bad case of allergy; therefore, we also have to monitor his diet. He also threw up every formula his pediatrician gave him to try. Mother’s milk is the only thing that he could drink.
One of my favorite things about Dan is his positive attitude. He smiles often and interacts with anyone who responses to him. I could play with him all day and he would smile all day. Unfortunately I can’t keep up with his energy. He could never sit still for even just one second. He could crawl everywhere to find things to put in his mouth.
Unlike Dao, Dan has not developed any obsession for anything. He plays with everything for a bit and then moves on. If I remember correctly, Dao developed his obsessions with Curious George, cars and trains very early on. One of the funny things about Dan is that he dances to everything. Even when an “ABC” song comes on, he would move his feet.
Dan is also fearless. Dao still wouldn’t ride the little horsey Bac Tram gave him for his second birthday. Dan already sits on the horse without supervision. Another thing I love about Dan is his consistency. He goes to sleep on quite regular hours. He doesn’t scream when he wakes up and we’re not around. Even til this day, Dao would find his toy and then scream if we’re not sleeping with him.
There are so much things about my baby Dan. Life has been quite hectic for me these days; therefore, I haven’t have much chance to record on his progressions. School takes quite a bit of time away from this part of my life. I am still debating wether this is worth the commitment. School I can always go back as long as I work for a University. The time with my kids can’t turn back. I am really trying hard to balance work, life and school. Will see how this semester goes and then I’ll make a decision. Nevertheless, I am very proud of my baby Dan. He’s my heart and soul.
Hendrik Hertzberg on “The Ungreat Debate“:
By the end of the ninety minutes, Romney had retrofitted himself as the defender of Medicare, the advocate of Wall Street regulation, the scourge of the big banks, the enemy of tax cuts for the rich, and the champion of tax relief for the middle class. All these claims are spectacularly false; all went entirely, or mostly, unrefuted.
Also read: “Mitt Romney-The 767 Lyin’ King“
Introducing the new rating system is a project for my Advanced Typography class. It was quite challenging project. Although I had done twenty designs, I am satisfied with the final version. The flyer tells you a bit more about the thinking behind the rating system.
Hôm nay mưa da diết cả ngày. Thời tiếc thì trở lạnh nên rút trong nhà với hai đứa nhỏ. Ăn, chơi rồi ngủ và giặt hết một đống đồ. Cu Đạo bây giờ tự chơi một mình. Cu Đán cũng thế nhưng cậu Đán bóc được cái gì lạ là bỏ vào miệng thử nên không thể nào không để ý đến cậu. Và cũng khác với lại Cu Đạo, Cu Đán đưa cái gì cũng hả miệng ra ăn. Thấy ai ăn gì nó cũng muốn ăn. Nhờ hảo ăn nên tướng của ổng tròn trịa. Khổ cái là nó bị dị ứng tùm lum nên phải rất cẩn thận khi cho nó ăn. Còn cậu Đạo nhà ta thì nói no rồi khỏ cần ăn. Một ngày ổng nói không biết là bao nhiêu. Trừ khi cho no xem TV hay iPod thì nó mới không nói.
Dạo này ít có cơ hội xem TV hay NetFlix. Ngày mai và ngày mốt khỏi phải đi học nên tối nay khỏi làm homework. Hai thằng nhóc thì đi ngủ cả rồi. Còn lại một vài tiếng xem Diana Krall: Live in Rio cũng hay lắm. Đã lâu không có nghe Jazz.
Two days after the debate and I still am puzzling why Obama performed so bad. He was outstanding against John McCain four years ago even though he lacked the experience. With four years in the White House, I expected words just rolled off his tongue. He couldn’t have fumbled that bad against a flip flopper. Then it hit me. It has to be his strategic move to let his opponent have the first round. The next two debates, he’s going to make a comeback and to win both as well as the election.
I can’t wait to say, “I told you so.”
What Mr. Romney did in the debate, in other words, was, at best, to play a word game with voters, pretending to offer something substantive for the uninsured while actually offering nothing. For all practical purposes, he simply lied about what his policy proposals would do.
When the tape leaked, he was completely behind his comment on the 47%. Now he is completely wrong. I am actually not surprised.
