In James Gandolfini’s powerful documentary, Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq, ten soldiers who lost their arms, legs, sights or minds tell the horrific incidents that almost took away their lives.

One of the thing that people missed about the old design of Vassar homepage is the simplisity. In that regard, we bring back the mininal design with the sky-blue shot of the Observatory. I selected this particular shot to give an open feel and a breakaway from the three-column layout in the previous two designs.

In his “Hà Trần: Mỗi lần đến còn mang theo bí mật?,” Xuân Anh nails it:

Một năm sau khi ra “Đối thoại 06” thì nhìn lại có thể thấy album đó không làm cho Hà Trần tiến thêm bậc nào trên con đường âm nhạc ngoài việc được đánh giá là ca sĩ luôn tìm tòi cái mới.

Đối thoại 06 came and went despite how much the press ate it up. What has she contributed in Tình ca qua thế kỷ? Ain’t a damn thing.

Matt Bai’s “America’s Mayor Goes to America“:

Rudy ran as a real S.O.B., the guy who had the steel to restore order and sanity where no one else could or would. Whatever you think of Giuliani personally, it’s hard to argue that he didn’t succeed; crime and the welfare rolls plummeted for the first time in decades, while jobs and neighborhoods came back… He did the dirty work that made their city, at long last, livable and safe, the things their political correctness would never allow them to openly countenance.

Shira Boss’ “Even in a Virtual World, ‘Stuff’ Matters“:

Second Life, a three-dimensional world built by hundreds of thousands of users over the Internet, is also being used for education, meetings, marketing and more obvious game playing. It’s a wide world with a lot going on, in multiple languages, and it can be real-life enhancing for populations who are isolated for physical, mental, or geographic reasons. But as a petri dish for examining what makes many of us tick, Second Life reveals just how deep-seated the drive is to fit in, look good and get ahead in a material world.

Little Eric managed to memorize the lyrics to Hong Nhung’s “Tia Nang Cuoi Cung.” I just can’t get enough of his cute voice and the way he pronounces the words. Love the bracelet too.

In his interview (1, 2, 3, 4) with Hoang Trong Thuy, Nguyen Khang mentioned a release party for his new album, Ta Muon Say Cung Em, at Majestic tomorrow. Sounds good!

KTVU.com: “[Ha] Nguyen was performing cosmetic surgery in her home and earning at least $500 a day, while also receiving welfare… All victims were Vietnamese.”

Eardrum once again secures Talib Kweli as a virtuoso of lyricism. His rapping, however, is still restricted to just a monoflow. Doesn’t matter if the beat is fast or slow, he rides in a steady pace. His swift, rapid-fire delivery works well on the up-tempo such as “Hostile Gospel” and “Say Something,” but not on the mellow vibe like “In the Mood” (Kanye West rhymes more on-beat than Kweli). Still, his sixth studio solo is more consistent than his previous releases, and “Soon The New Day” is a beautiful hip-hop-meets-jazz collaboration with Norah Jones.

The Department of Earth Science and Geography gets a striking redesign from my colleague Kevin. Love it!