TMZ has obtained a photo of Rihanna taken after Chris Brown allegedly beat her. Chris’s career is definitely done.

My man Snooks Eaglin died of a heart attack yesterday. He was 72.

Like any songwriter’s album, Pham Duy’s newest release, Phuong Yeu, is nothing more than a bunch of tracks thrown together. With way too many vocalists and producers, the record feels more like a compilation rather than a concept. The experience is disconnected even though all the songs are from one composer.

The only aspect the album has in common is that all of the singers are young and they breathe new air into Pham Duy’s classics. Ngoc Khue’s take on “Bai Ca Sao” is quite refreshing. Her distinctive interpretation makes me want to hear more of what she could pull off with Pham Duy’s songs. One track is just not enough.
Likewise, Khanh Linh’s cover of “Em Le Chua Nay” is a sensation with the support of 5 Dong Ke. Both Mai Khoi and Phuong Anh give “Tim Nhau” and the title track a rejuvenating vibe.

Despite the tracks are consistence in quality, they still sound all over the place. If the album was refrained to a producer and a vocalist, it would yield a much more intimate result. Too much variety interrupts the flow, but variations in a focused concept is rewarding.

I’ll take off a day off tomorrow for the heating and air conditioning installation. I’ll also do some more painting while the technicians do their job. This weekend my sister-in-law and her husband will be in New Jersey so I’ll be painting all by myself. If you’re in the area and have absolutely nothing to do, come by. I’ll have some great jazz music.

Kanye West’s new video looks pretty artistic.

Damn, this new version of Street Fighter (my only favorite video game) looks hot. I am going to get it for my sister-in-law’s husband for his birthday so I can play it too.

I find it hard to convince that parents would allow their child to eat food off the table in a public restaurant, but than again I was raised by a hygienic freak. My mama would whip my ass if I drop a piece of meat on the table and try to pick it up. We weren’t rich but eating dirty food has never been my mama’s style.

The older she gets the cleaner she becomes. These days, her food is losing its savory and authenticity. I love lap xuong (Vietnamese sausages), but not when my mom prepares them. She rinses them thoroughly. Then she pokes holes around them and steams them until all the fats drained off. The final product tastes pretty much like robber. She does the same thing with cha lau. Before we eat, she steams the heck out cha lua and the end result is quite chewy.

Worst of all, she ruins my favorite dish of all: mam ruoc xao xa ot (salted fermented shrimp). She has to filter the shrimp paste to get all the sands out. Well, all the good parts get filtered out as well. I rather go to Eden and buy me a dirty version for full satisfaction.

Except those extreme cases, my mom still bangs out pretty delicious dishes, especially her fantastic version of bun goi da (vermicelli with tamarind broth). I even slurp up all the broth because I know it’s freaking clean.

Garth Risk Hallberg’s “Diagramming the Obama Sentence“:

[T]he “ums” and “ahs” Obama sometimes inserts into his speeches are not meant to buy time to think about substance, or to long for a teleprompter, but to make sure his long sentences stay on solid grammatical terrain.

T.I.’s new video featuring Justin Timberlake. The rhyme is sentimental and the flow is sensational.

Big props to my cousin for the promotion of Simplexpression on Vietshowbiz.