In an interview, Doan Van Toai, Ha Tran’s father-in-law, said, “Khi Thanh Lam va Tran Thu Ha sang My thu nhac, neu noi ve sac thi dang le no phai me Thanh Lam chu.” Sounds like the old man got more pimp juice than his boy.

Constructed Behaviours featured amazing illustrations from the collaboration of Drew Europeo (Philippines) and Halil Yildirim (UK). Love the Nomad pieces.

By the way, get Half Project back up, Drew. I miss that shit.

The Complete Sessions in which Louis Armstrong sings, scats, and blows Duke Ellington’s tunes and accompanied by the composer himself on the piano, what more could the jazz aficionados ask for? In “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good,” Satchmo demonstrates his mastery as a distinctive singer as well as an unmistakable trumpeter. Pops’ solo, which complemented by Duke’s minimal piano, is so damn fine and mellow. Even though Duke is an extraordinary pianist, he only plays when necessary, and when he does, the result is spellbinding. “I’m Just a Lucky So and So” is a perfect example. The way he plays the blues with his stride technique (pay attention to how he grabs notes the intro) and the way he plays behind Satchmo’s vocals are inimitable. Big up Pops and Duke!

Intonation is a great piece of type-in-motion designed by Jarratt Moody based on a great line from Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction.

Some blogs speak loud without using words:
Babes With Books
The Cleavage Blog
Sleeping Cuties (sadly doesn’t update anymore)

What could possibly go wrong when Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson? With Armstrong’s marvelous voice and hypnotic trumpet backing up by the prodigious technique of Peterson’s piano, nothing wrong I could think of. These two masters of jazz virtuosity sure bring back that “That Old Feeling” with standards including “Let’s Fall in Love,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” and the irresistible “Blues in the Night.”

My mama done tol’ me
When I was in knee-pants
My mama done tol’ me
Son, yes woman’ll sweet talk
And give ya the big eye
But when the sweet talking is done
A woman’s a two-face
A worrisome thing who’ll leave you
To sing the blues, in the night.

Damn right Pops, my mama done told me the same thang.

As a kid, I was obsessed with Rubik’s Cube; therefore, when I come across Rubikcubism, I couldn’t resist the inspirational work.

Thuy Vu’s rendition of Trinh Cong Son’s “Diem Xua” is so damn hipnotizing because of his dope, deep, dark vocals. Love the way he croons “Mua van hay mau cho doi bien dong…” and makes a vibrating bass out of last word. I still come back to his album from time to time just for that savory timbre I don’t get to hear so often with the current trend of Vietnamese music.

As I forced myself to shove down a plate full of nothing but macaroni and cheese for lunch yesterday, I missed my mom and her home meal with a hand-squeezed glass of orange juice. She has been staying at my sister’s house for almost a month to continue her dental issues, and I have nothing to look forward to for lunch. When she was here, I can’t wait to twelve o’clock to go home. I didn’t pick an apartment closed to the school for nothing. Mom probably is having way too much fun with the grandkids that she’s forgetting her little boy. I’ve been checking on her to see if she has made her appointment and she keeps blaming on the dentist for the delay. Good excuse, ma!

NPR presents “The Birth of Rap: A Look Back” with Kurtis Blow and DJ Grand Wizard Theodore.