As I am listening to Nguyen Khang’s rendition of Dieu Huong’s “Vi Do La Em” from his boxed sets with the same name, I wish that he had applied to this track his rough, raw, and rugged delivery that was used on Elton John’s “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” from his debut Cung La Tram Nam. The result would have been so damn wicked because he has the ability to metamorphose the basest metal. Imagine what he would sound like kicking off the song with, “Khong can biet em la ai” in his thuggish flow. Too bad, he played safe and performed it in a straightforward approach. If I get a chance to see him in concert, I’ll make him sings the ballad the way I want to hear it (dream on, Donny). Speaking of live performances, the collection included two exceptional recordings—Pham Duy’s “Tam Su Goi Ve Dau” and Vu Thanh An’s “Tinh Khuc Thu Nhat”—in which he ripped live like a professional assassin, efficiently perfecting his execution. Out of all the forty tracks selected, Nguyen Khang made more hits then misses on the standards of well-known songwriters including Trinh Cong Son, Ngo Thuy Mien, and Tram Tu Thieng. I have accumulated both Nguyen Khang’s box sets from Bien Tinh Music, but I rock Vi Do La Em more often than Trai Tim Ben Le.

The remaking of the classic opera Nua Doi Huong Phan is another artless piece of shit from Thuy Nga Production. The actors’ performances are passable (with the exception of Manh Quynh whose acting skill is equal to none and whose face always has that chicken-swallowing-rubber-band paleness to it), but the editing is horrendous.

Who are they trying to fool by incorporating shots of Viet Nam sceneries into the actual production outside of Viet Nam? The differences between the two are significance. A typical scene would start out with a shot of a ghetto part of Sai Gon then cut into a half-assed setting of a broken home somewhere in the States. For the sake of art, if Thuy Nga wanted to capture the visual aesthetics of Viet Nam, film the entire show in Viet Nam. If they don’t want to deal with the politics, just do it in the States. Mixing and mashing the two places together is disorienting and annoying.

The worse element of the film is the sloppy sound editing. A dialogue is loud and noisy but when the actors are about to do an opera soaring, the sound switches to a studio recording, which is quieter and clearer. In one act, Hoai Linh was doing a superb job of conveying an angry dad and he yelled real loud, but suddenly the studio sound cued in and dropped his voice. I know right away, he is about to sing.

What is up with the make-up artists? They tried to make Huong Lan looks older by drawing lines on her face. As she stepped into in scene, my first reaction was like, “What the heck is a cat woman doing in Nua Doi Huong Phan?” So when she sobbed, her face was a big mess. Looking at her face reminded me of my own back in 1991 when I needed a trick-or-treat makeup, and my sister did a much better job than Thuy Nga’s artists.

So if you’ve been caught up into the whole Thuy Nga’s buzz about Nua Doi Huong Phan, save yourself twenty bucks. If you want to cry a river, try to look for the infamous rendition with Thanh Nga in it. Did I purchase the DVD? You’re crazy!

Da Nhat Yen is my video girl. I love to watch her on Asia. I am not ashamed to say, her moves groove me most of the time. She keeps me looking forward to her performances on Asia series because of the constant transformation in her concept and execution. Under the guidance of Truc Ho, musical director of Asia, she could maneuver her ways around various styles. With her Princess Entertainment (still distributed by Asia), however, she is drowning in her own pool of potpourri. Her album, which has no title, is ranging from bubblegum pop, pop rock, pop jazz, disco rap, Latin cha cha to Vietnamese ballads. I wonder why she can’t pick out a title track. One song can’t represent her entire repertoire.

The album starts off with R. Williams and G. Chambers’s “Kids,” a pop/rock production from Peter Siebert. Joining along side DNY is the girlish-voiced Justin. Their duet on the refrain annoys the hell out of me. On the club-friendly “Voi Anh Dem Nay,” penned by DNY and Sy Dan, the Vietnamese-English hook is nerve-raising. I thought Spanglish is bad, until I hear how DNY weaves English into Vietnamese. With the new-wave groove, Sting’s “Send Your Love,” DNY sports a Twista’s speedy flow. The main problem is that I have no idea what she is singing with her unclear enunciation.

The worse cover has to be Jesse Harris’s “I’ve Got to See You Again.” DNY can’t express the sex quality like Norah Jones could. In particular, when Jones phrases, “To not touch your skin is not why I sing,” her smoky contralto makes us want to get our freaks on, but DNY comes off so mundane. Another significant difference between the two renditions is the musical production. The intoxicating Latin flavor on Jones’s piece is perfect for baby-making music while Nhat Trung’s banal arrangement and Vu Anh Tuan’s toneless saxophone is more appropriate for elevator music. Again on Pham Dinh Chuong’s “Nua Hon Thuong Dau,” the ear-breaking sound waves of the saxophone makes DNY’s weak, breathy voice sinks like a Titanic.

Why be so tough on such a sweet darling who tries her hardest to bring us some entertainment values? I have nothing against Da Nhat Yen. In fact, I still have mad love for her, but crafting an album takes skills and experiences. Can’t just throw in everything for everybody. Be selective, be focused, and be original. But don’t lose the eye-candy juice, baby!

Adventurous uncle makes audacious dish. His latest chef-d’oeuvre, Lau Chua Cay, is heaven-sent. Fresh seafood and veggies combined with spicy, savory broth produced an “instant orgasm.” I love those “Bong He” (grass-like vegetables with buds). Their nectarous flavor, when drowned in boiling hotpot and complemented with a dollop of fish sauce, seduces my taste bud. Now I see why women fall for men who can cook. Men with culinary skills must have much easier time picking up girls. They don’t even need to use those obnoxious pickup lines. All they have to say is, “taste it baby,” and let the food does all the talking.

Bonsoir Monsieur Chu (Xin Chao Ong Chu) is a spendid short animation about a simple Vietnamese lifestyle. The film, produced by Stéphanie Lansaque and François Leroy, is well executed. The synopsis (in French) and the credits could be found at ARTE. (Thanks Quynh Tram).

Vassar Innovators. Idea, research, and written by Julia Vandevelder, and designed by Chris Silverman.

SimpleBits realigned. Like the colors, but not too crazy about the fluid columns.

Simmons College. Rich use of colors, clean, and organized.

Coudal. Just dig the simplicity, what more can I say?

Quark rebranded once again.

Dave Devries’s Monster Engine. Dave takes children’s drawings and renders them into freaky monsters. Might frighten your kids, especially the Wonder Woman, so be careful!

Lil’Kyle, a friend’s kid, got that pimp juice from me.

“The Friends, the passion and the simplicity in Trinh’s music” (The article is written in Vietnamese). The Friends will hold down a Trinh’s music night in memory of the talented musician on April 1 in Santa Ana, Ca. From the article, the band is going to incorporate jazz and semi-classical flavors into Trinh’s compositions. Sounds very interesting! If you’re in the area, come out, enjoy the show and let us know what’s up? (Joseph, I know you’ll be there.)

When someone said that she would marry a piano rather than a man, I don’t blame her. I am in love with the keyboard sounds myself. I spent An Evening With Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock and was seduced by their prodigious playing. Both Corea and Hancock are virtuoso pianists and their improvisations are endlessly inventive. The way they performed together feels like they were making their instruments copulating to produce a unifying spirit that flows free and flies high. While the two found their soul mates in their duets, I found a soul mate in their music.

Vermicelli, boiled pig’s belly, and mixed greens (including apple) to complement the fresh-prepared, Thai-inflected, savory-flavored Mam Thai (Pickled Mud Fish) is becoming my favorite dish. And a bottle of Singha beer to cool down the pepper’s flame and wash down the system is not a bad addition at all. Not sure if you could find Mam Thai here in the States. Mine was sneaked in all the way from Viet Nam in a plastic jar that is wrapped with crazy Duct tapes. Have to make sure the security’s dog can’t sniff it. I am sure the dog would go crazy as well if she smells the exotic aroma of Mam Thai.

Want some real hot dogs? Soul Dog is the place to get them. Where can you get a slim hot dog and fill it up with guacamole, fresh jalapeno, bacon, Turkey chili, and savory soul sauce? Those are my favorites, but you have seventeen toppings to choose from. And the soul fries are banging too. With a gorgeous space, tasty dogs, and friendly services, Soul Dog sure is “redefining the hot dog experience!”

Like I haven’t had enough of politic on my own works already. I wanted to see V for Vendetta for some mind-blowing special effects or something along the line of Sin City’s comic style, yet I am in for another political treat.

The whole time, I kept guessing that the director, James McTeigue, is using the technique of covering up the main character with a mask, and eventually revealing his face in the end. But that is not the case; V is a Phantom-of-the-Opera terrorist from start to finish. V is not just a dangerous terrorist but also a powerful killer without having to use guns, and he’s a hero. Since when does a terrorist is considered to be a hero? At the end of the film, people worship him by dressing in black and wear his mask marching down the street. For a minute, I thought I was watching Eminem’s “Mosh” video.

Politic has definitely killed the film, and the computer-generated animation from Wachowski’s brothers was also disappointing—nothing new, same old shtick. So after watching the film, I feel that V is more appropriate for Venti Latte then Vendetta. The English accents combined with the diplomatic talks were given me a hard time staying awake.

Never mind what I said about no comments. It’s getting mad cold up in here, let’s bring the heat back. I’ll try to find other solutions for the hosting problem.