Besides Miles Davis, Clifford Brown is my other favorite jazz trumpeter. Unlike Miles’s work, which I have an extensive collection, I only own three Brownie’s albums, but I keep revisiting them again and again. His crisp, melodic phrasing and big, bright tone mesmerize me every time. Unfortunately Brownie didn’t make much recordings because he was killed in a car accident when he was only twenty-five.

Also unlike Miles, whose music and life had been documented in great lengths, Brownie only has one major biography. Nick Catalano’s Clifford Brown: The Life and Art of the Legendary Jazz Trumpeter is a short, but well-researched text on the jazz trumpet giant. From his childhood development to his beautiful personality to his virtuosity, readers can see how Brownie became one of the most influential trumpeters in the world of jazz. Catalano’s analysis of the Brown-Roach-Rollins collaboration is a must read.

Why Responsive Web Design? Ethan Marcotte explains:

As the past few years have shown us, we simply can’t compete with the pace of technology. Are we really going to create a custom experience for every new browser or device that appears?

The alternative is to make web site responses to the users’ device using three core ingredients:

1. A flexible, grid-based layout,
2. Flexible images and media, and
3. Media queries, a module from the CSS3 specification.

With clear illustrations and concise explanations, the three chapters covering the techniques alone can prepare readers to start making responsive web sites, but the equally delightful part of the book is to hear Marcotte’s views on “Becoming Responsive,” responses to the critics and insights on “mobile first” approach. An immediate-read for web designers.

Out of the three Clifford Brown’s albums I possess, I revisit quite often his live recordings with Art Blakey and Max Roach for energetic hard bop drives. The Jazz ‘Round Midnight collection, on the other hand, is for after-hour relaxation. Whether accompanying a vocalist or soloing with an orchestra, Brownie’s clear, rich tone brings out the beauty of ballad. His heart-rending rendition of “Willow Weep for Me, “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and “(I don’t stand a) Ghost of a Chance” makes this set suitable for easy but soulful listening.

Responsive Web Design by Ethan Marcotte: I haven’t read this book yet and can’t wait to get my hands on it. I also predict that I’ll re-read this book more than once.

The History of Jazz by Ted Gioia: I read the first edition back in 2005. I have been wanting to re-read it, but keep pushing it off. The second edition just came out so it is a good time for a revisit.

The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst: I read this book 2 times already, but still wanting to return to it every one or two years.

Designing Type by Karen Cheng: This book has so much technical details on typography that a second and third read is required.

JavaScript: The Definitive Guide by David Flanagan: Read this book on my vacation, but a second read is necessary.

DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model by Jeremy Keith, Jeffrey Sambells: Like The Definitive Guide, this book definitely needs a revisit.

Ordering Disorder by Khoi Vinh: Although this book is a quick read, the thinking behind the grid needs to be read again carefully.

Cu Dao and his mama are now inseparable. If she’s not in sight, he would ask for her even if she has to go to the bathroom. On Monday, she was in the kitchen cooking and he was in the living room, which was about three feet from her, and yet he still asked, “Daddy, mmmmmommy dau roi?” [Where is mommy?]. He has been stuttering just for the heck of it. I pointed to him where his mommy was, but he kept on asking repeatedly as some sort of a game. So I played along. I asked him, “Cccccccu Dao dau roi?” [Where is Cu Dao?]. He pointed to his private part and said “Ccccccu Dao day ne.” [Here’s my penis]. That was not what I meant, but technically he was right.

No one can do Ray Charles like brother Ray himself, not even with the three superstars, Willie Nelson, Wynton Marsalis and Norah Jones, came together.

Listening to Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles makes me want to return to The Birth of the Soul box set. Brother Ray brought so much soul into his songs that Willie Nelson’s laid-back style came across as plain lazy. “Hit the Road Jack” and “Busted” for example, Ray sang with so much anguish that you can feel his pain, even though the lyrics suggested otherwise, whereas Nelson just sounded worn out. On “What’d I Say,” Ray’s moaning part was so damn seductive whereas Nelson’s “heys” and “hos” sounded like he needed some viagra to get it up, and Marsalis should stick to the trumpet rather than trying to micmic Ray.

Norah Jones’s version of “Come Rain or Come Shine” was soothing and Marsalis’s solo added a touch of tenderness to the tune. While the vocals are lackluster, Here We Go Again has enjoyable moments thanks to Marsalis’s traditional-but-sensational arrangement.

Nguyen Hong Nhung’s latest release, Duong Nhu, displays her maturity in handling classic ballads. From Cung Tien’s “Hoai Cam” to Pham Duy’s “Nghin Trung Xa Cach” to Trinh Cong Son’s “Ru Em Tung Ngon Xuan Nong,” she delivers each song with soulfulness and tastefulness, but still lacking the uniqueness. Because these timeless tunes have been sung to death from generation to generation, they need to be reinvigorated. Singing them straight on the melody just won’t cut it.

The strength of the album isn’t from the classic covers, but from Mai Thanh Son’s compositions. “Duong Nhu” and “Nghiet Nga” blend surprisingly well with the rest of the tracks on the album despite they are written by a young musician. “Duong Nhu” is captivating thanks to the little bluesy keyboard licks in the arrangement. Mai Thanh Son has not only done a wonderful job of producing it, he has also done an excellent of penning the lyrics. “Nghiet Nga” is also well written. The lyrics and the melody are far better than today’s trendy pop tunes.

When Mai Thanh Son appeared on Asia’s stage singing well-known English tunes, I couldn’t figure out why Asia took him under its wing. His weak, virgin voice doesn’t stand out, but now I can see where his real talent is. He is a fantastic arranger, which I had noticed when he produced some tracks for Nguyen Khang’s show. Now his tunes on Nguyen Hong Nhung’s album make me interested in his work behind the scene more than in front of the camera and on the mic. The good thing is that he lets Nguyen Hong Nhung sings his songs. Listening to both of his and her version of “Nghiet Nga,” one can clearly tell that Nguyen Hong Nhung kicked the tune up a notch.

Before heading out to Wildwood last week, we stopped by Super H Mart to pick up some greens. Dao and I went sampling the foods while Dana did the shopping. At the check out, I was like, “Damn, we spent $120 on vegetables and fruits?” Dana gave me that stop-being-a-cheap-ass impression. So I just let Dao swiped my credit card, something he loves to do when we go shopping, and brought the bags to the car.

Later on that night, Dana checked the receipt and found out that we paid for 22 cantaloups instead of 2. No wonder the total was so high and I was the one to blame again. I suspected the amount, but didn’t bother to check the receipt. Whenever I went shopping with my mom, she would make me check every item to make sure they charged the right amount. Sometimes a couple of bucks were overcharged, but I don’t mind. It’s just not worth waiting in line to explain about a couple of dollars, but the different between 2 and 22 were tremendous.

Yesterday we went back to the store for more groceries. I told Dana to give me the receipt and see if we could get the refund. I didn’t really expect to get our money back because I had no proof. Lucky for me, the customer service rep was a young man who spoke fluent English. I showed him the receipt and explained the error. He got it immediately and apologized for the mistake. I told him, “There was no way I could carry 22 cantaloups into my car.” We laughed and he issued a refund.

Lesson learned: check everything before leaving the store.

The week-long vacation is already over. Time went by fast even though all that I did was relaxing and hanging out by the beach in Wildwood, New Jersey. We were back yesterday and I am still recuperating before diving back into the regular schedule tomorrow.

Woke up early this morning and I already missed jogging on the beach biking on the boardwalk and listening to music. My favorite morning listenings were Art Pepper & Hollywood All-Stars’ Art Standards and Kenny Garrett’s Pursuance: Music of John Coltrane. I returned to these two again and again in one week.

For the first three days, we were completely shut off from Cyberspace, which was really nice. When the whole family, which consisted of eight adults and one kid, took a long nap or watched some TV, I did my reading. I finished a 1000-page book in less than week without Internet. By Wednesday, my sister-in-law’s husband could not stand it so he went out and get the MiFi from Sprint. Even though we were connected, I tried my best to stay offline and I did pretty well.

Dao was the only kid; therefore, he was spoiled by his aunts and uncles. They took him to the arcades on the boardwalk and got him all kinds of toys. He was having a great time, but refused to go on any of rides on the amusement park. The water was a bit cold so he didn’t like that either. In fact, none of the adults went into the water except for me. It was a little cold at first, but it felt nice especially in the afternoon when the temperature hit above 90 degrees.

We went to Atlantic City twice, but I hung out with Dao most of the time rather than playing cards. Pai Gow poker minimum was $25, which was too high for me. I don’t really like slot machines, but Dao loved them. He loved the lights, the spinning wheels and the sounds. I did let him play the slot machines at the arcade.

We didn’t eat out much, except for the first day Dana and I treated the family to a Mexican cuisine to celebrate our anniversary. We cooked most of the food at the house we rented. Dana FedExed 30 pounds of live crawfish from Louisiana. It turned out that 30 pounds weren’t enough for the nine of us. The crawfish were delicious because my sister-law-law used up most of my beers to cook them. In one pot she used 5 bottles of Yuengling and we cooked three pots.

It was really nice to spend some time with the family. I am glad that they have turned this into an annual event.

The 6th edition of David Flanagan’s JavaScript: The Definitive Guide is over 1000 pages and divided into four parts. Part 1, which covers the core of JavaScript, is an essential read for beginners who would like to learn the ins-and-outs of the language. Part 2, which delves into the client-side scripting including HTML5 APIs, CSS, media, graphics and jQuery, is for developers who want to take their web pages to another level with the power of JavaScript in conjunction to HTML5 and CSS3. Part 3 & 4, which provide further references for the first two parts, make this book a comprehensive guide and a must-have for JavaScript programmers and front-end web developers.