It’s snowing outside and I am praying that GW will be closed tomorrow so I can get some more painting done. I did two coats of purple for the basement this weekend. It’s dark and mad wicked. My sister-in-law and her husband helped us out once again.

It’s a good thing that we our house a mile away from them. Not only they come and fix the place, but they also provide us food and hospitality. I wake up and seven, work to twelve and then drive back to their house for lunch. Came back and work until seven and go back for dinner. I used up his gin and vodka. I need to go to the liquor store and restock them.

The only things left to paint are ceiling in the basement, my office in the basement and stairway to the basement. After that we should be set to go. One more weekend, baby!

Quach Thanh Danh’s fourth album, Nhu Da Dau Yeu, is snore-worthy not because of his vocals but his karaoke-standard productions. Even though his relaxed baritone is charming, the lifeless accompaniments make him sound so sleepy. It would have been a great album of cover if QTD were to hire either Hoai Sa or Duc Tri to provide him some simple but classy arrangements.

Yen Lam is unknown to me and I am not impressed with his work on this album. The use of zither on the intro of Anh Bang’s “Khuc Thuy Du” gives an impression that we’re about to hear a Chinese tune until the lyrics come in. The cheesy guitar riff on Truong Sa’s “Xin Con Goi Ten Nhau” is just unbearable. Yet, the most distracting sound is the programmed drums on most of these tracks. Phu Quang’s “Em Oi, Ha Noi Pho” is one of the best two songs on the album because the drums were illuminated. The strumming guitars offer a sense of intimacy to QTD’s warm voice. The other standout track is also from Phu Quang and without the rhythm section. The blending of tinkling piano and sorrowful violin brings a lonesome and chilling vibe to his soulful delivery on “Noi Nho Mua Dong.”

If Nhu Da Yeu Yeu were stripped down to just his voice accompanied by either a piano or a guitar, it would have been a worthwhile album. I have never heard of a Vietnamese singer who sings with just the double bass. Both Cassandra Wilson (on “The Very Thought of You” from her recent album, Lovely) and Kevin Mahogany (who did it live on stage) hypnotized me with just their vocals backed up by the plucking bass.

“I rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6 / 12 to 12, well, they carry my bricks.” From Killa Cam’s “I Used To Get It In Ohio”

Dave Brubeck’s classic “Take Five” gets a Chinese flavor from the 12 Girls Band. Melody wise, it’s a novelty. Improvising wise, I still prefer the classic quartet.

I am a smoothie fanatic. I have to have my strawberry, wild blueberry, banana, pineapple and yogurt each night and I make some margarita once in a while. We’ve been using a 40-buck blender for more than a year now. It still works, but the noise level is getting loud and bottom part of the blade cutter is grinding against the base of the blender. These days I have to add some orange juice to have some liquid in order for the blender to blend.

I have my eyes set on Blendtec for a while but failed to persuade my wife even when I showed her Will It Blend videos including iPhone, marbles and golf balls. We were at Costco last night and the guy gave us a demonstration of Blendtec. The guy was very slick. He said something like this Blendtec is a perfect tool to make baby food after seeing that we might be expecting one.

One of the reasons I still holding off on getting Blendtec is obviously the price, which is almost $400. I think it might be worthwhile though.

Guess what I’ll be doing? That’s right, painting again. I hope to get the basement done this week. We just picked out a color and it’s purple (Victorian Iris). It’s going to be hot for the basement, which I am thinking of turning into an entertainment room and a little bar. Again if you’re in the area and have absolutely nothing to do, you know where to go. This week music will be Cassandra Wilson, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Nina Simone and John Coltrane.

Trailer for a new Vietnamese horror film starring Ho Le Thu coming this May. She looks mad freaky.

The change of 20 corporate logos.

The Arts at Vassar page has been realigned, but the classic 4-column layout still can be view on my site.

I was just checking out Thuy Nga Shop for the first time and immediate recognized the familiar elements from the Apple Store. Sure the gray nav turned blue, but the borders and the breadcrumb trails were lifted straight off the Apple’s site. Even the blue box on the left hand side below the main nav is identical. Of course the handling of type is quite sloppy on Thuy Nga’s site comparing to Apple. I am wondering if Thuy Nga Shop is going to be down before Apple’s lawyer knocks on its door. Shame on you, Thuy Nga.