When Miles Davis formed his new quintet with tenorman Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and the young drummer Tony Williams, he knew that they were “going to be a motherfucker of a group.” He was absolutely right. I have been playing their materials again and again starting from E.S.P, Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, Nefertiti, Miles in the Sky and Filles de Kilimanjaro. Except for the last two, in which Miles started to move toward fusion, the rest of the albums are just incredible acoustic jazz. If your haven’t picked up Miles Davis: The Complete Columbia Album Collection already, you definitely should. You’re missing out on great stuff.

Paul Krugman on Obama’s economic plan:

Mr. Obama’s problem wasn’t lack of focus; it was lack of audacity. At the start of his administration he settled for an economic plan that was far too weak. He compounded this original sin both by pretending that everything was on track and by adopting the rhetoric of his enemies.

The aftermath of major financial crises is almost always terrible: severe crises are typically followed by multiple years of very high unemployment. And when Mr. Obama took office, America had just suffered its worst financial crisis since the 1930s. What the nation needed, given this grim prospect, was a really ambitious recovery plan.

After many hours of converting PDF articles to clean, HTML formats, GWbusiness online magazine is now live. I need a drink.

Inspired by GWbusiness, GW Arts & Sciences also offers web format instead of just PDF. Nice job, Ryan.

Poor lil Duke vomited several times last night. Woke up this morning with a huge pain in my head. The commute makes it worst. Not sure what causes it. Might be catching a cold or didn’t have any coffee yesterday. Took an Aleve with a grande bold and let’s see if it helps. Not a good start for Friday.

Since Thuy Nga and Asia videos are filmed with pre-recorded materials, they often repackage those tracks and release them on CDs. They kill two birds with one stone and cut out expenses.

Thuy Nga just released Bang Kieu’s Xin Dung Quay Lai with a collection of his lip-sync performances on Paris By Night including “Em Oi Ha Noi Pho,” “Chi Toi,” “Phut Cuoi” “Ban Tinh Cuoi” and “Buon Oi Xin Chao Mi.” If you’re a fan of Bang Kieu and do not watch Paris By Night videos than this album is for you.

Asia recently released Nguyen Khang’s Mot Lan Trong Doi, which featured songs right from his DVD Mua Tren Hanh Phuc Toi such as “Dem Dai, “Thoi” and “Se Hon Bao Gio Het.” The nice thing about the album is that you don’t have to hear the fake clapping and cheering, which gets really annoying on the DVD.

Personally I find these repackaging releases to be a lazy way of making money. If they don’t have anything new, don’t put anything out. I would rather listen to unreleased materials then already-released materials, but I doubt that there are any unreleased recordings in the vault.

Forget the election. What even more depressing for me right now is that I am bloated. I asked for a big bowl of Pho and my wife sure delivered it. I ate so much and so fast that I am now enduring a stomach ache. We had pho last night as well, but I had a small bowl and woke up in the middle of the night looking for cereal. Duke got up as well and cried for milk so we had our late night treat before getting back to bed. I don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night again, but it looks like it’s going to be a while before I can go to sleep.

T.I. hits Arkansas federal prison to serve another 11-month sentence for breaking his probation. He was planning on making a new album titled King’s Uncaged, but the King is being caged once again.

VNRE

Last night 31/10, Bitexco Financial Tower (BFT) – Vietnam’s highest tower with 68 floors, 262 meters high, was officially inaugurated in Hochiminh City. This lotus-shaped tower is a symbol for the development of Vietnam in the era of international economic integration.

NPR‘s Exclusive First Listen is streaming Cee Lo Green’s The Lady Killer. Check it out.

The Lil Devil was back because he looked so darn cute. Comparing from last year, he looked much more evil this year and of course cute too. The Lil Devil went out treat-or-treating last night. He ran off on the first two houses, but got into the groove afterward. After getting the treat, he blew a kiss back. What a sweet Lil Devil.