Nghìn trùng xa cách người nhạc sĩ đa tài, đa dạng và đa tình đã đi rồi. Tuy Phạm Duy đã rời xa thế gian nhưng ông sẽ vĩnh viễn sống mãi trong tâm hồn những người yêu nhạc Việt Nam. Theo lời ông từng tâm sự: “Tôi không bao giờ nghĩ đến chuyện tôi sẽ chết vì tôi sẽ không bao giờ chết được cả. Tôi có chết đi chăng nữa thì nhạc của tôi vẫn sẽ hiện hồn trên môi những người ca hát.” Đúng thế vì tôi liền nghỉ đến ông mỗi khi nghêu ngao câu: “Tôi mơ thành triệu phú cứu vớt gái bơ vơ.” Cám ơn ông đã để lại cho người Việt trên khắp thế giới một kho tàng nhạc thật quý báo và tràng đầy “Kỷ Niệm.”

Responsive Web Design

With the rapid increase of new mobile devices hitting the market, responsive web design is here to stay. While responsive architecture is not the best solution for every project, it is one of the most reliable practices that meets the COPE (Create Once, Publish Everywhere) model.

Responsive design is a great skill set, if not required, to acquired for designers; therefore, I would like to propose making an e-learning course, for our advanced web design project, to teach the fundamental concepts through three core principles:

1. A flexible, grid-based layout
2. Flexible images and media
3. Media queries

Web Accessibility

For web designers, making our web sites accessible is as important as creating beautiful visual design. All web sites should meet the Web Accessibility Standards specified in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Web accessibility is a must-have knowledge for every web designers and developers; therefore, I would like to propose making an e-learning course on accessibility focusing on the implementation of ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) Landmark Roles such as banner, complementary, contentinfo, form, main, navigation and search.

I started school yesterday. I am taking Advanced Web Design and Graduate Seminar. Each student is required to create a course page for web design, so I whipped up this. It looks like my schedule is going to be crazy again so blogging will be sporadic.

Over the holiday break, I managed to launch Black Bag, a freelance project. I also picked up another gig and will get starting soon. I probably won’t be able to take on anymore work in the next few months. I have to make time for the kids. I am still working on balancing time between work, school and family.

I also got a brand new iPhone 5 yesterday courtesy of George Mason. The retina screen is truly stunning. The typography looks crystal clear. I really hope the next iPad Mini will get retina display as well. I am holding off on the first generation.

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.