Tierney Sutton‘s rendition of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” is such a novelty. This beautiful ballad has been covered numerous times from Frank Sinatra to Diana Krall, but never in an idiosyncratic approach like Sutton. She reinvents the melody, speeds up the tempo, and scats the shit out of it. Damn, just love it when a singer takes a well-known standard to where no one else had taken it before. The live performance is taken from Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz program on NPR. (You’re the best, baby!)

After battling a vocal competition against diva Khanh Ha in “Tinh Yeu Cho Em,” Bang Kieu has created a signature style for himself: painful covers of already disheartening songs. His latest evisceration of “Anh Den Tham Em Dem 30” proves that Bang Kieu is already on his way to become the next Vietnamese diva who loves to wail up his mezzo-soprano voice over a depressing tune.

In the beginning, Bang Kieu stays faithful to Vu Thanh An’s original intention by singing the song softly and quietly, “Anh đến thăm em đêm 30 / còn đêm nào vui bằng đêm 30.” Sounds lovely, but based on his previous performances on Thuy Nga’s Paris by Night, you already know where he’s going with the progression. So embrace yourself for a powerful, painful drama by sticking a glock to your head and let the count down begins. “Tay em lạnh để cho tình mình ấm / môi em mềm cho giấc ngủ anh thơm,” be patience it will come because he, himself, can’t wait to belt his voice out like divas such as Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston. “Dòng sông đêm hồn đen sâu thao thức… / ngàn vì sao mọc hay lệ khóc nhau…” the lyrics get gloomy but not quite there yet. “Đá… buồn chết theo sau ngày vực sâu… / rớt hoài xuống hư không,” so depressing that even a rock wants to die. Why would you want to live? Bang Kieu don’t even give you time to think about it; therefore, he skips over a whole octave and drops napalm on the last three words, “cuộc tình đau” to make sure you’ll blow your own brain out. Would you rather die or being tortured with that horrendous scream from an eunuch? The choice is yours.

So if you’re looking for the saddest, gloomiest tune for Vietnamese New Year, look no further than Bang Kieu’s rendition of “Anh Den Tham Em Dem 30.” No one will be able to top that for a long, long time. Great depressing job, honey Kieu!

If nothing else, Christina Ricci is the reason to watch Craig Brewer’s Black Snake Moan. She’s hot, wild and eighty-five percent naked throughout the film. Ricci’s character, Rae, struggles with some kind of sex spell that would lead her to jump on any dicks available when her boyfriend Ronnie (not bad performance from Justin Timberlake) isn’t around. Of course, how could any man resist a sex fiend with body like her?

Thank goodness for Lazarus (plays by the incredible Samuel L. Jackson) who is the only exception. Even when Rae tries to hop on him, he runs off with the Bible in his hand. To rescue Rae from her uncontrollable sexual craves, Lazarus chains her to a radiator in his house. Rae’s still “off the chain” even when she’s on the chain. He feeds her, baths her, and sings her the blues (Jackson has that gruff old voice that is perfect for that soulful country blues), but never touches her. Through their own dramas, the two develop a mutual respect for each other like father and daughter.

Even though the heart of Black Snake Moan is an inspiring story, the film pushes race straight in your face. “Nigger’s whore” is what Ronnie calls Rae when he busts into Lazarus house. But then again, Jackson’s role has shifted from A Time to Kill to a time to heal, and he is convincing on both counts.

Loan Chau’s live performance proved that she’s one of those eye-candy babes that you enjoy watching more than hearing. She tripped up several times on one of the most simple, straight-forward ballads, “Mua Tren Bien Vang,” and tried to played it off on Don Ho.

Here’s a tip for you, Ms. Chau. Next time if you forget the lyrics, start scatting.

Cam’ron’s HP Commercial (parody)

EPIC (Evolving Personalized Information Construct) 2015 (Very intriquing. Must see)

Kanye West’s “Classic” video with Rakim, Nas and KRS-One.

“Built Like That” (Scott Storch disses Timbaland)

Real big ole ass. Yuck!

Them pillows look real comfy.

Nice collection of logo design.

Melting Globe, a graphic for global warming awareness.

From Speak Up: Idiocratic Design and Nissan and the Black Experience

Haven’t been to Full Sail for a while. I have no reason to other than to see if they have a new design. The homepage looks hot.

When you make not so positive posts most of the time, you’ll get negative comments sometimes. I made a light muse yesterday and it turned into a heavy hate (from the reader’s view that is). For the first time I am being compared to Hitler. Coming from a confused broad, I am very flattered. I am joking again, but let’s get back to the food rant.

I do not have a problem with other ethnicity making a living off our food if they keep it authentic. A while ago, I went to a Vietnamese restaurant owned by Chinese, ordered a bowl of grilled pork vermicelli (bun thit nuong) and got grilled pork with mung bean noodles (bun tau). It was the weirdest combination I have ever taste. Much as I love my mama’s food, I didn’t like her version of pizza. Thankfully, she only made it once.

On the other hand, I do have a problem with Vietnamese restaurants that ran by Vietnamese but disgarded our true authenticity for American customers. Even though there are two restaurants, Miss Saigon and Saigon Café, located on the same street and two blocks from Vassar’s campus, I only visited each once. I ordered a bowl of Pho from Miss Saigon and asked for rau que. The owner told me, “Americans don’t eat rau que.” After I finished eating, she asked me how was it. I told her it is not so bad (comparing to instant Pho).

Leslie Hunt was voted off today even though she sang “Feeling Good” with a gorgeous scat. Before going home, she encored the tune with much more power and ended the show improvising: “Why did I care to scat / America don’t like jazz.” That’s my girl.

The new AIGA is clean and organized, but the visual looks dull and gray for a site that targets designers. The archives, which designed by Second Story, is much livelier.

Ngoc Khue’s colorful, imaginative Giot Suong Bay Len has been my creative juice for my work. I was jamming the album on my headphone yesterday while creating a comp in Photoshop and a fellow designer whose office is adjacent to mine heard it. He came over and asked what is that cool music I am playing. After filling him in on the mixture of contemporary and traditional vibe, I cut him a CD right away. I was astounded that he’s opened up to something that is even alien sounding to our own people. Music sure is a universal language.

As for the album, I can’t get “Ba Toi” out of my head, especially with the opening line: “Ba toi dua toi ra dau lang / Mot minh ba doi ca troi nang to.” Just love the way she carries the whole heated sun on her. The main reason the song appeals to me is that I don’t have a fond memory of my grandmas. My mama’s mama already left this earth before I entered into this world. My strongest memory of my father’s mother is that she made banging com ruou (rice liquor) and I was buzzed every time I ate it. Whenever we had family gathering, she would make an extra jar of com ruou just for me. Love you and your com ruou, granny. Hope you could feel me up there.

Tuan Ngoc is a bravura singer, but he isn’t at his best without Duy Cuong behind the board. Duy Cuong simply knows how to take the unfathomable melancholy of Tuan Ngoc’s voice and places into his classical-inspired orchestration. Du Nghin Nam Qua Di validates another sensational collaboration between the two. They have reached into the core of Dang Khanh’s compositions and touched upon the writer’s impulses. So when Tuan Ngoc croons, “Tu ngay ta co nhau / Cuoc tinh gieo noi dau / Mot chieu moi ke trao / Nghe cay la xon xao” in “Yeu Dang Em Xua,” you could feel the inexplicable compassion as well as the power of love.