I got home from work around 6:15pm, but Dana and Duke weren’t home. After taking a shower, I could hear them in the living room. Dana handed Duke over to me to give him a bath so she could cook some dinner. I fed him a bowl full of porridge and hang out with him while Dana was still cooking.

I peeped into the kitchen and there were Vietnamese salad, mussels and lobster tails. I asked her what is the special occasion? She replied, “It’s our anniversary.” Holy crap, I totally forgot about it. I popped open a bottle of white wine, the one that I brought to her place the first time she invited me over for dinner. I was so nervous that I dropped the bottle on the floor and we had to clean it up.

Anyway dinner was delicious. We had to rush a bit because Cu Dao was sleepy and fussy. Dana put him to bed so I just kick back and watched some American Idol. Crystal Bowersox dominated the show and she’ll win for sure. Then Glee came on. I was expecting more of Lady Gaga covers, but it was not the case. The show was still enjoyable though.

After the show, I clean up the table and put the dishes into the machine. Dana came down and now we’re sharing a chocolate mousse and a cup of tea while I quickly put this post together before the night end.

Lately I got tired listening to Vietnamese timeless ballads that had been covered with uninspiring results; therefore, I have turned my attention to dance-pop hits. Thanh Thao’s 2010 Dance Remix is still on heavy rotation in my car stereo. Each morning, the medleys help me stay awake until my grande bold at Starbucks pumps in. The opening track, “Lien Khuc Nguoi Yeu Cua Toi,” is extremely addictive. The Thai-translated “Ok Minh Chia Tay” in particular grooves me and I always get a kick out of the nursery rhymes: “Nguoi doi thay ma toi dau co hay / Vi chot yeu nen dang cay / Nguoi muon quen ngay xua nhu bong may / Ok minh chia tay.” Tien Dat has done a great job of incorporating the lyrics into his delivery and his flow is tight.

My second guilty pleasure is Ung Hoang Phuc’s Greatest Hits, in which he re-recorded some of his signature slow ballads with up-tempo productions. “Toi Di Tim Toi” is addictive as hell and the beat is catchier than a motherfucker. The upbeat version of “Co Don Mot Vi Sao” is also off the hook. The beat speeds up as the song progresses and the lyrics can’t get any sweeter than this: “Nay hoi ong trang tren cao / Co hay toi dang nho nang / Phai chang luc nay nang cung dang nhin ong.” Any man who talks to the moon is simply romantic. I am totally gay for that.

Lastly, I am not ashamed to admit that I get more pleasure listening to Hoang Thuy Linh’s debut than watching her sex video. I viewed the clip once (out of curiosity of course), but I have been enjoying the album over and over again like a bitter cup of coffee. Her sexy voice along with the ingenious beats seduce me. She is more naked on the slow pop ballads, “Cam On Vi Da Yeu Em,” “Anh Co Nho Gi,” “Cho Nhau Loi Di Rieng,” than in the video, in which she appeared extremely uncomfortable even though she was an actress. Her acting on camera had ended, but she was able to transfer her skills to music. When she sings, “Luc em buon anh luon gan ben / Luc em vui nhin anh cuoi theo nhu anh la em,” her emotion is convincing and that is a songstress. As for the rest of the up-tempo numbers including the title track, “Nghe Nay Chang Trai,” “Khoc Lan Cuoi,” I just want to bounce along and she did so without the help from the none-sense raps. Hoang Thuy Linh had done put the Vietnamese pop music on the map and I can’t wait to hear what she’ll have to offer next.

Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” was chosen as the official anthem of the 2010 World Cup and she is encouraging fans around the world to upload clips of themselves on YouTube dancing to the tune.

When I read a piece in Dep magazine slaughtering Quang Dung, I thought he overreacted for suing them. I just read another article in the same publication titled “Quang Dũng chứ không phải Mr. Đàm,” I could see why Quang Dung got offended. Comparing to Dam Vinh Hung sure is a blow in the face and the writer is completely goofed up on this one. True, DHV also covered standards like Quang Dung, but there is a different between reinventing old songs and fucking them up. DVH has done the latter. His Trinh Cong Son album is a sacrilege. His other covered albums are horrendous from the mechanical productions to belt-out vocals. The writer simply doesn’t understand the art of reinterpretation. To him, singing louder and fucking up every note is better. To me, that is disrespectful. Although Quang Dung hasn’t been creative, at least he has been respectful to the timeless ballads and I am glad that he is not Mr. Damn.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is coming in two weeks. I am very excited that ESPN360.com will simulcast 52 out of 64 matches online. It’s about time the US pays attention to the sport that the whole world loves. I am pretty sure Viet Nam would be an exciting place to be. Since I can’t be in Viet Nam, Eden Center will do. As you already noticed, I put together a banner to start the countdown. I will try to blog about the World Cup as much as I can, so here is the Nike commercial to start off the excitement.

Quang Dung takes Dep magazine to court for an opinion piece (“Quang Dũng – Chàng tỉnh lẻ lên phố thành sao“) that literally slammed him. From his stilted enunciation to lack of innovation to formulaic music production, the article doesn’t point out anything we haven’t already known. Quang Dung just couldn’t take the negative comments and demanded an apology, which is ridiculous. The author doesn’t attack Quang Dung’s personal life; he only writes about his musical style. It’s called the art of criticism. Quang Dung had made a mistake of making the case even bigger.

We’re returning Cu Dao’s grandma back to grandpa this weekend after spending more than a year with us. Gone are the homemeals after work. Gone are the beautiful flowers around the house. Gone are laughter and the joy of having her around.

A year later and grandma remains the closest to Cu Dao. In a year she had spent more time with him than any of us. I can’t thank her enough for what she had done for us. At times I felt so guilty that she had to look after him for me and Dana to catch some sleep. We were just too damn tired. I don’t know how she could keep up with his energy for ten hours a day and I never see her fuss or complain. Duke smiles often and grandma has something to do with that.

After a year of living in the same house with grandma, one thing I had learned is her easy approach to life. She doesn’t allow anything to stress her out. She lives and works with what she has. For instance, she cooks with whatever we have in the kitchen. Unlike my mom who has to have all the right ingredients, she just substitutes whatever that needed to make the dish taste right. In way her, her cooking is quite creative. She approaches to anything else that way; therefore, her life is very laid back. She doesn’t need much to feel happy. I really admire that quality of her and I am learning to apply that lifestyle into my own.

Thank you mom for a wonderful year. We will miss having you around. If you miss Cu Dao, you are welcome back any time.

Doan Minh Duc was born with his digest system hanging out his gut. The operations caused his family everything. At times, there was no food so his grandma had to feed him water mixed with sugar. Duc’s dad died in a work-related accident trying to make money to cure his son’s rare defect. The heartbreaking story could be read in Vietnamese at VnExpress.

Looking at Duc makes me think of Cu Dao, especially those round eyes and big ears. I am very fortunate that Cu Dao doesn’t have to go through the pain that Duc is going through; therefore, I really do hope that little Duc will get a chance to live a normal life. Information on donation is at the end of the article, please do what you can to help the poor little boy.

In an interview (1, 2 ,3) with Kristine Sa, Cathy Viet Thy was in tears when speaking about her public divorce with Johnny Tri Nguyen. She said that she was not attracted to him back when he started noticing her. Based on his old photos, I could see why. Johnny had some really girly hairdo back in the days. If Ngo Thanh Van saw him back then, he would had no chance. Viet Thi had done changed the little boy’s appearance by dressed him up and gave him a haircut. Still, a little boy is still a little boy. It’s time to let the little boy go and find herself a real man. I doubt that she will have a hard time finding one. Even though she has some wrinkles around her eyes from crying, she is still one hot MILF.

The double-set Highway Rider showcases both of Brad Mehldau’s pianistic virtuosity and artistic versatility. No matter what setting producer Jon Brion placed him in, Mehldau could transform his style and make his piano flows. Backing up by the crisp, hip-hop beat, he gets his swag on in the title track. His playing is no less addictive on the Latin-flavor “Capricco.” Saxophonist Joshua Redman shows up on “Don’t Be Sad” and makes a remarkable impact with his achingly beautiful soprano. From the lively orchestra to Mehldau’s dissonant chords to Redman’s gorgeous tone, the classical-jazz “We’ll Cross the River Together” is the composition that defines the album. Highly recommended!