“Tinh Viet Kieu” alone is worth the price of the album, which amounts to a cup of Ramen.

Moving from Chinese-translated ballads to Vietnamese sentimental ballads, the dull duo collaborated on an album that primarily designed to let people take an afternoon nap.

George Washington University professor Mark Lynch has an insightful piece comparing Jay-Z’s power in the rap world to the U.S.’s power in the world:

As Jay-Z got older and more powerful, the marginal benefits of such battles declined and the costs increased even as the number of would-be rivals escalated. Just as the U.S. attracts resentment and rhetorical anti-Americanism simply by virtue of being on top, so did Jay-Z attract a disproportionate number of attackers. “I got beefs with like a hundred children” he bragged/complained on one track.

NPR picked up the story as well. “Rapper Feud Mirrors World Politics” is worth a listen.

If you want to learn the art of swinging and singing behind the beat, the virtuosity of timing and the mastery of storytelling, just listen to every track on Billie’s Best. The album has been in heavy rotation on my iTunes even though I usually don’t like this type of compilation.

New study reveals how kids can easily learn two languages at once according to AP:

Scientists now know babies are born with the ability to distinguish all of them, but that ability starts weakening even before they start talking, by the first birthday.

I’ve been speaking both languages to Cu Dao, more Vietnamese than English. We’ll see if the study actually works.

Ha Thanh Xuan has a dark, smoky voice, but her delivery is not dramatic enough for sentimental ballads. She should consider switching to romantic ballads.

Cu Dao gets his first experience of the beach over the weekend. Saturday morning, we headed to Virginia Beach with grandma, aunt and uncle. Half way through the 3.5-hour drive, we got pulled over for tinted window for the first time. Unbelievable!

The nice thing about driving was that Cu Dao slept the whole way through. We arrived around noon and headed toward the beach. He slept some more on the beach under the umbrella. When he woke up I took him into the water. I dipped his feet first and he cried. I pulled him up and he stopped crying. I dunked his entire body in and he screamed his lung out, but stopped immediately when I held him tight into my arms.

Cu Dao slept again when we took a night stroll along the strip. We enjoyed all types of entertainment from jazz to break dance. He slept quite well that night and woke us up at six the next day. We walked along the boardwalk and breathed in the morning fresh air

We hit the beach again before checked out. Dana held him in her arms and walked along the beach. It was a priceless image. I then took him into the water again. The water seemed to clean up some of his acnes.

The traffic on the way home was horrendous. Cu Dao slept for three hours. Woke up, screamed, got fed and then got back to sleep for two more. The result was that he wanted to play at one o’clock in the morning with daddy. Being a parent is a tough job. I feel like I am on cloud nine most of the time due to lack of sleep.

Ly Hai is one of those old heads who refuses to leave the young-pop game. His new release is another instant mediocrity.

The album has more variety than a bag of Skittles and the mechanical productions brought down his slightly hoarse voice.

Lam Vu’s new, trendy album, Hay Tin Vao Tinh Yeu Cua Anh, is a like a brand name handbag you could pick up at Canal Street. The cover adorns a counterfeit LV brand and the music—from the beats to the lyrics to the vocals—feels cheap.