Not only you know what you want, but also you know who can help you to get what you want and you do it in the way that is hard to refuse: by holding the person’s hand. Whenever you want milk, you would hold my hand, walk to the refrigerator and say “sua.” Whenever you want to read, you take me to the bookshelf. When you want to go to sleep, you grab mommy’s hand and say “ngu” (sleep). When we go to Bac Tram’s house, you would pull out fish’s food, grab Bac Ky’s hand, point to the fish tank and say, “fish an.” When you want to play with the train under the Christmas tree, you grab Bac Tram’s hand, point to the controller and say “chocho train.” The first thing you wake up in the morning when you’re at grandparent’s house is running over grandparent’s room. You grab grandma’s hand and point to your favorite ginger candy. At your other grandma’s house, you grab her hand and point her to the pomegranate. When it comes to pomegranate, you do not need any personal assistant. You just pick out each piece one by one. When you want juice, you would say “juice” with your lips stick out longer than Angelina Jolie’s.

At this stage, you already know what you want. You prefer your milk cold. Last night, mommy warmed up your milk. You took a sip, returned the bottle and said “nong.” Whenever we give you Raisin Bran, you would pick out the raisin from the cereal. With sneakers, you prefer to pick your own even though you only have two choices. In reading time, you come to the bookshelf and pick out the book you want me to read to you. I usually read in English and then quickly translate the text to you in Vietnamese as well. Right now you use both languages simultaneously and I hope that you will maintain your bilingual skills. You sure are a good communicator. You mean “no” when you say it out loud and clear. The best thing you do now is putting away your toys when you’re done. The teachers at the daycare train you well. The thing you still need to improve is brushing your teeth.

We were out car shopping today and ended up liking the Toyota Sienna 2011 for its slick spaciousness, not its wack-ass swagger wagon video. We’re aiming for the SE Preferred Package. If anyone knows a good deal, let us know.

Jasmine, a beautiful, intimate collaboration between pianist Keith Jarrett and bassist Charlie Haden, is perfect for the holiday season. Haden’s deep, meditative approach provides Jarrett the spacious, relaxing template to stretch out his ballad playing. From the sentimental “For All We Know” to the soulful “Where Can I Go Without You” to the sensational “Body and Soul” to the serenading “Don’t Ever Leave Me,” Jasmine is, in Jarrett’s own words, “a night-blooming flower with a beautiful fragrance.” I actually started listening to this album a couple months ago and now the holiday spirit brings me even closer to it. Can’t wait to play it on Christmas Eve with my love ones and with a glass of Merlot.

Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés pays homage to jazz legends on his latest release Chucho’s Steps. The title track, which built on a strong Latin percussive rhythm, is a reference to John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps.” The rollicking “Zawinul’s Mambo” is a nod to Dizzy Gillespie and Zawinul. The Dixieland-flavor on “New Orleans” is a tribute to the Marsalis family. The soulful blues “Julián” pays respect to Cannonball Adderley. The real treat though is the Cuban-jazz “Danzón.” The ballad starts off with Carlos Miyares Hernández’s sentimental saxophone solo, but the tempo kicks up a notch when Mr. Valdés enters with sweeping, fleeting solo. His compelling improvisations show that the 69-year-old man still have great chops and his playing attests that age ain’t nothing but a number.

Simplexpression gets a new winter theme. The background photo belongs to a former colleague at Vassar. I always love that shot and very glad that she gave me the position to use it. Thanks Tamar!

Simplexpression is currently my favorite project. The site not only showcases Dana’s work, but also gives me an opportunity to play around with design. I also changed the logo’s typeface and styled it using CSS. No more image, ma.

Some video to watch on Friday:

A fun Christmas flash mob at the food court. I wonder if they do that in the mall around here.

An eigh-year-old Angelo “Lil Demon” Baligad kicked his adult opponent ass in a b-boy battle. This kid is just unbelievable.

Charles Lloyd Quartet’s tasteful, elegant Mirror kicks off with a lush, tender ballad “I Fall in Love Too Easily.” Charles Lloyd begins with a soulful solo on the saxophone with the subtle supportive of Reuben Rogers’s bass and Jason Moran’s piano. Moran’s solo is compact and filled with angularities. In the follow-up “Go Down Moses,” Eric Harland’s drums provide Mr. Lloyd a pulsating, energizing rhythm to lay down his spiritual sound. Whether covering the Beach Boys’ “Caroline, No.” or revisiting Thelonious Monk standards (“Monk’s Mood” and “Ruby, My Dear”) or playing his own originals ( “Desolation Sound”, “Mirror”, “Tagi” and “Being and Becoming”), Mr. Lloyd sounds rejuvenating with his young stars. Mirror shows the beauty of understatement as well as the power in restraint.

Ao Trang 2011 Calendar is now available on its new web site. The new HTML site is much better than the previous Flash version. Congrats to the AT’s staff.

Hot rice with Cava’s Harissa has been my favorite lunch whenever I don’t feel like packing meat. The spicy, tangy table condiment made of tomatoes and peppers is like the Greek version of Vietnamese fermented tofu. Thanks to Dana for introducing to me such a killer dip.