22th Trung Thu Festival in the Metropolitan DC Area

A wonderful gathering where children can learn about the Vietnamese culture in a festive and vibrant atmosphere. Known as Tet Trung Thu in Vietnamese, the festival is one of the most anticipated annual events in the Metropolitan DC Vietnamese community. The festival will feature carnival games, craft booths, food and youth-led cultural performances. There will be prizes, raffles, and every child receives a free lantern.

When
Sunday, September 19, 2010
12pm to 4pm

Where
Thomas Jefferson Community Center
3501 2nd Street S.,
Arlington, VA 22204

Tet Trung Thu and Miss Eden Scholarship Pageant

When
Saturday, September 25, 2010
2pm to 8pm

Where
The Eden Center
6751 Wilson Blvd
Falls Church, VA 22044

For more info, visit Miss Eden Scholarship Pageant web site

I told my wife that Lam Thuy Van was once my dream girl and her response was, “Wasn’t she every men dream girl?” True that, true that. Every man who listened to Vietnamese music probably drooled over Lam Thuy Van at one point during the 90s. Lam Thuy Van was young, sexy and at the top of her game.

With her new release, Trai Cam Tinh Yeu, Lam Thuy Van tries to return to that peak period. As a result, the album sounds dated with covers like “Xa Em Ky Niem,” “Em Se Den” and “Thoi The Minh Chia Tay.” While Lam Thuy Van’s vocals haven’t deteriorated much, her selected materials have been abused by countless of singers and she is not doing anything to give them a new life. In fact, her singing is very relaxing as if she has picked up Ngoc Lan’s approach.

Lam Thuy Van has been associated with Ngoc Lan and more than half of the tunes on Trai Cam Tinh Yeu remind me of the great late Ngoc Lan. The strongest influence are on “Chang,” “Troi Con Lam Mua Mai,” “Tan Tro” and “Dung Pha Vo An Tinh.” The arrangement of “Dung Pha Vo An Tinh” in particular sounds awfully familiar as if it has been produced for Ngoc Lan. Techniques wise, Ngoc Lan had a much better breath control than Lam Thuy Van.

The intention behind the release of Trai Cam Tinh Yeu is unclear. The album sounded as if it has been recorded fifteen years ago. In fact, it would have been a phenomenal pop album at that time. As for the current time, it seems like Asia and Lam Thuy Van are trying to scoop up Ngoc Lan’s fans.

You got sent home on your second day in the toddler class. Your teacher called me and said you had diarrhea. I came to pick you up. I peaked inside the little glass window on the door and saw you we were playing by yourself. You caught me and immediately dropped everything and rushed to the door. What a great feeling that was.

You slept in the car when we were home so I had to carry you and the car seat inside the house. Your mom and I logged back to work while you were sleeping. I got some work done before you got up. You continued to play around the house while we were working. For being such a good boy, we took you out to the playground and had a fun, relaxing evening. One lady said that you have a face that could be kiss all day. I agreed all the way. Not just all day but all night too. I love kissing those soft cheeks of yours.

After the playground, we took home some Pho and you enjoyed it. You went straight to bed at 8:30. The play time must have worn you out. I don’t think you had diarrhea. We fed you milk, cereal and yogurt in the morning and the combination might have caused the liquidity. In any rate, you’ll get to spend the whole day with mom tomorrow. Lucky boy!

Just finished Paul Tingen’s Miles Beyond, an insightful read on Miles Davis’s electric journey from 1967-1991. Tingen delves not into only Miles’s fearless musical directions, but also his dark personality. Tingen argues, “Miles Davis’s greatness lies in the fact that he achieved some extraordinary things and was a deeply flawed human being at the same time. Fleshing out his human side increases the depth and meaning of his legacy.” Highly recommended for those who seek to explore the electric adventures of Miles Davis.

The first time I went to Present cuisine, I didn’t get a chance to try different dishes so I invited my in-laws back last Saturday for dinner. As I stepped into the restaurant, a hostess in traditional ao dai greeted me and set up the table for us.

We started off with the server’s recommendation: Banh Da Xuc Hen and Goi Hai San Trai Thom. The former was a bit too salty but decent. The latter was a bit sour. Canh Chua Ca was too sweet. Ca Kho To was way too salty. Bo Luc Lac was burnt. Muc Xao Chua Ngot was sour. After dinner, our throats were coarsen. I suspect MSG had something to do with it.

As much as I liked the service and the presentation, I doubt that I will revisit Present Cuisine for the taste.

By the time we arrived at the 20th Annual Rosslyn Jazz Festival on Saturday, The Bad Plus was wrapping up its performance. I could only heard the last two tracks, but I loved the energetic classical, jazz and rock fusion the trio was playing. So we just hung around to catch the final lineup: Tierney Sutton Band.

With such a fantastic rhythm section—Christian Jacob (piano), Kevin Axt (bass) and Ray Brinker (drums)—backing her up, Tierney Sutton brought down the joint. They “abused” (Sutton’s own muse) Frank Sinatra’s “In Other Words” and “The Lady is a Tramp” by completely reimagined the arrangements. They gave the audience a taste of the band’s forthcoming release with George Gershwin’s “Summertime” and “My Man’s Gone Now.” The group crafted its own vision of “Summertime” and Sutton incorporated her opera vocals into “My Man’s Gone Now.”

From hypnotic bass groove on “Fever” to the mellow tempo on “Something Cool” to the drums-vocals duet on “What a Little Moonlight Will Do,” it was a joy listening to the creative ways the band does covers. The show closed out with yet another fantastic swing on “Devil May Care.” During the concert, Sutton cleverly promoted her live album, which could be purchased for autograph, by pointing out the tunes she performed. I copped I’m With the Band, which consists of 16 tracks recorded live at Birdland on March 29 and 30, 2005, and I have been enjoying it since the ride home.

Do you have a couple of bars from a song that stuck in your head forever? If you were asked to sing a few lines right from the top of your head, what would roll of your tongue? For me this is it: “It’s a tragedy for me / To see the dream is over / And I never will forget the day we met / Girl, I’m gonna miss you.” I borrowed Milli Vanilli album from my cousin back in ’92 or ’93 and it stuck with me ever since, especially “Girl, I’m Gonna Miss You.”

As for Vietnamese, it has to be: “Em ơi nếu mộng không thành thì sao / Non cao đất rộng biết đâu mà tìm.” I can’t even recall when or how Lam Phuong’s Duyen Kiep stuck in my head.

There are new releases that you can’t wait to jump right in, like a Tung Duong album. Speaking of Tung Duong, when do we expect a new joint? Then there are some new releases that you’re just not sure if you even want to give it a try, like a Duy Manh album. Doan Phi’s Thien Than Toi Loi is the latter.

Doan Phi is an entertainer and Asia brought him in just for that purpose. He is fun to watch. Who wouldn’t get a kick out of a little dude prancing around the stage like he has no spine in his body? As far as his vocal development, I have heard nada. Thien Than Toi Loi is not like a box of chocolate. Even without listening to album, you’ll already know exactly what you’ll get.

He hides his voice behind uptempo beats like “Quen Di,” “Membo Italian” and “Mua He Tinh Yeu.” He hardly gets out of his comfort register. The slow tracks including “Em Yeu Oi,” “Mot Trai Tim Mot Tinh Yeu” and “Giac Mo Tuyet Voi” show the whiny, feminine side of him. Trish joins him on “Tinh La Soi To.” With two of Asia’s weakest vocalists and a mechanical club production make this version the worse yet.

The release of Thien Than Toi Loi is like Asia throwing Doan Phi a bone for being with the production.

You sure know how to put on a scene if things don’t go your way. When you were about six months, you tried to bang your head on the floor when we don’t give you what you want. As a protective parent, I couldn’t let you do that to yourself. I stopped you and tried to calm you down. In return you took it for granted. One time I just let you bang your forehead on the hardwood floor and you immediately realized that your head is not as solid as the floor. You learned your lesson and stopped using that trick.

Lately you had found a new one. If you don’t like something, you would slide on the floor and kick your feet. You don’t just slide on any floor though. You run to the rug or carpet to do it. You figured it would be less painful to do it on something soft. We just got a kick of of you whenever you try to pull that off. It’s quite hilarious. We just laughed and you laughed back and forgot the whole misbehavior attitude. You’re quite a character, son.

Watching you eat Canh Kho Hoa (bitter gourd soup) today was quite a pleasure. Your aunt can’t take the bitterness of it, yet you just scoop it up and slurp it down. Now that is my boy. You also begin to be interested in books. You like me to read Dr. Seuss to you. Your current favorite book is Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb. You like it when I make the “ditty dum dum” sound. You also have a great sense of rhythm and you could dance to any beat including Le Quyen’s version of “Han Mac Tu” and Thanh Ha’s version of “Tinh La Soi To.”

Our new Dean who is an expert in the fields of economic reform in China speaks some Chinese in a new video. I designed an email announcement for the video.