I am glad that MsNguyen continues to wear her heart on her sleeves and feed us her emotional threshold:

Writing is personal. It’s a journey. I have grown emotionally by looking back at what I wrote many years ago. Most of these entries are written at the spur of the moment, fresh and raw, full of me and my personal nuances in every day life. I consider this place my outlet, that’s it, a place to let it all out or air-bleeding the valves.

To show my appreciate, here is my little gift for ya:
The Best of Bang Kieu 1
The Best of Bang Kieu 2

NPR‘s second installment of John Coltrane:

Though steeped in the feel of swing and the blues, Coltrane’s music quickly absorbed influences from around the globe, including Spain and West Africa. Spiritually, he was drawn to the teachings of Hinduism and the music of sitar master Ravi Shankar, and Coltrane also incorporated South Asian textures into his work.

Check out the program here.

With the soaring gas prices, more people are hopping on the train. During the peak time, taking the Metro in and out of DC is quite a hassle. When I got into the station last Friday, the passengers already packed the platform waiting for the late trains. I knew this was not going to be a good ride. My train boarded and everyone cramped in like sardines. I was standing in front of a white woman with big tits and behind a black guy. As the train started to take off, the engine stalled because the doors wouldn’t shut tight. The Metro driver had to ask people to stand clear off the doors. Every time the train stalled, the lady’s tits rubbed my back. I tried to move up to avoid the contact, but I was faced with a big ass in front of me. I was stuck and all that I could do was praying the lord not to make me hard.

A must-read article by Atul Gawande on itching and scratching:

Itch, it turns out, is indeed inseparable from the desire to scratch. It can be triggered chemically (by the saliva injected when a mosquito bites, say) or mechanically (from the mosquito’s legs, even before it bites). The itch-scratch reflex activates higher levels of your brain than the spinal-cord-level reflex that makes you pull your hand away from a flame. Brain scans also show that scratching diminishes activity in brain areas associated with unpleasant sensations.

Jerry Seinfeld pays tribute to George Carlin:

He worked over an idea like a diamond cutter with facets and angles and refractions of light. He made you sorry you ever thought you wanted to be a comedian. He was like a train hobo with a chicken bone. When he was done there was nothing left for anybody.

“Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker, and Tits.” From Carlin’s infamous routine.

This guy has some weird artwork. Check out leda and the swan.

Reuters:

Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs, dirty words and the demise of humanity, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday. He was 71.

Oh damn! He was my favorite comedian.

T.I.’s “A Better Day” and Lil Wayne’s “Never Get It.” Both are pretty hot.

In Thuy Nga’s last year talent show, Trinh Lam came in first and Quynh Vi came in second, but I concluded it the other way around. Need some proof? Listen no further than their new duo release Tinh Con Vuong Van, in which Quynh Vi is the one who picks him up where he doesn’t deliver.

Trinh Lam has a strong voice, but he doesn’t have the flow. He sings with the same tone on every track. His low register is so boring. His solos, “Don Coi” and “Mua Buon,” are snore-worthies. Even on the bossa-nova “Coi Mong” he could hardly ride the beat. He also tries too hard in his enunciation, which gets a bit irritating.

In contrast, Quynh Vi has less strength in her voice, but the clear and sweet qualities make up for it. Her intonation, of course, is impeccable. She knows how not to over dramatize a pop tune like “Em Da Tung Yeu.” But then on “Han Tinh Trong Mua,” she couldn’t reach the depth of the tune’s sorrow.

Nevertheless, Quynh Vi saves Trinh Lam’s ass not once, but twice on their duets. She starts off “Nua Vang Trang” so damn lovely. Her voice floats like clouds over the moonlight until Trinh Lam comes in and makes everything disappear. On “Nuoi Tiec,” Trinh Lam’s low notes sound so flat that making me wish the male part could have performed by Trinh Nam Son, the writer himself.