Jane Monheit’s latest release, The Lovers, The Dreamers and Me, is not an easy-listening one. It may take some patience and shots of espresso to get through the entire disc. Except for the light swing on “Get Out of Town,” the tempos are slow and sometimes dead slow. Her sweet, rounded voice combined with the doleful orchestration makes tunes like “Ballad of the Sad Young Men,” “Slow Like Honey” and “I Do It For Your Love” sound super sleepy. On “Lucky to Be Me,” her languorous phrasings drag the melody into an indolent afternoon. “Rainbow Connection” perfectly ends the album with a lullaby. As unexciting as it might be, the album does come to life in the stillness of the night when everything else is asleep.

The fun, attractive portfolio of Joe Lifrieri. I would love to use his “Overly Judgemental IE6 Splash Pages” for some internal folks at GWSB. Yes, please upgrade and kill IE6.

Boxes from Wal-Mart have been arriving on our doorsteps. I checked the baby registry the other day and we have quite a bit of gifts. I love Baby Trend’s jogger travel system. I can’t wait to jog with the boy around the block and on the beach this summer. Thanks to everyone who has purchased the gifts. We will find out who you are on April 4.

First, Thuy Nga rips off Apple’s web site. Now iPho also rips off Apple’s brand. Vietnamese sure loves Apple.

Wait a second, the restaurant might be owned by Chinese.

Happy Time, a little family-run Korean eatery spot located inside El Grande International Supermarket, has been our Friday’s supper before working on our house. Happy Time’s menu features about thirty items and we are in the process of trying every one of them. If the photo looked good, we ordered it. The dishes are consistence, but my two favorites are the codfish with hot and spicy soup and the seafood and vegetables with rice in a pot. The latter dish tastes similar to our Com Tay Cam (rice in clay pot) but with Korean spices.

What makes Happy Time a favorite spot of mine beside the great food and the great price is the mannerism. I made my orders through both a man who appears to be in his mid 40’s and a teenage girl at different times. When they take my money or give me back my change, they always bowed down a little and handed me the money with both hands. I was impressed with the way they have kept their traditions.

New Orleans pianist and singer Eddie Bo passed away last Wednesday from a heart attack. He was 79. RIP

If you haven’t heard of Mr. Bo’s one-man orchestra (bass from the left hand, chords from the right hand and rhythm from the feet), check out New Orleans Solo Piano.

Thuong Vuong-Riddick’s The Evergreen Country came in the mail yesterday. The author sent me the book in a return favor of using “Bonjour Viet Nam” slideshow for a presentation. I am reading it and here is the translation of the proverb we all know by heart:

Father’s work is like the mountain Tai Son
Mother’s dedication is like a spring running water
With the same heart we must worship Mother and respect Father
To accomplish this is a son or a daughter’s religion.

“Pretty girls can do anything, but ugly girls have to do everything.” -Jack Sheldon from Benny Goodman’s Live at Carnegie Hall: 40th Anniversary Concert.

Pitchfork gets a clean, organized layout from Tangible Worldwide.

With the house still unpacking and Dana being pregnant, we haven’t had any homemade meals. We eat out almost everyday and it gets a little bit costly. So we try to cut down our budget. Yesterday we were driving around Fairfax hunting for our dinner and we came across Bombay Café with a big sign reads $5 buffet. We peeped inside and the place was filled with Indians so it has to be authentic. We went in and it was the best $5 buffet we have ever spent. You can’t even get that price at a Chinese buffet anymore. The selection was limited, but the curry chicken, barbecued chicken and rice are enough to feel you up. No tips are required since eat and you clean after yourself. I love this bargain place and it’s only five minutes from our house (in the same building with Pho Today). So next time if we don’t want to cook and don’t want to spend too much cash, we know where to go.