To aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina, iLoveNgocLan.com contributed to the Manilow Fund. For every dollar we donate, Barry Manilow matches it, and so does the Manilow Fund. In less than 48 hours, they have raised $150,000.00 toward Red Cross. They are raising another $150,000.00, so if you’re thinking of giving, get your contribution tripled through Manilow Fund.
The relaunch of Development site is on hold because the client is not ready. Hopefully, sometimes next week.
Received the made-in-Germany version of Jazzy’s Moon & You. The only difference is the black-and-white design of the booklet, which is quite elegance. Nice job, Any Nguyen. Thanks Jazzy!
Just went through my first day of History of American Jazz’s course. Perfect class for me since what we do is learning about jazz’s history and listening to jazz. The instructor is very passionate about jazz, and he brings a lot of energy to the class. I am feeling the vibe already. This class will definitely help broaden my music writings.
Lastly, iLoveNgocLan.com is gathering donations for Katrina’s relief. My heart goes out to the victims and their families.
Dan Cederholm knows exactly what Web designers need, and he writes for them. I praised his previous book, Web Standard Solutions, as not only a markup and style handbook, but also an accessibility guide. With his latest publication, Bulletproof Web Design: Improving flexibility and protecting against worst-case scenarios with XHTML and CSS, he takes accessibility a step further by designing with flexibility or in his own words, “being prepared for whatever is thrown at your design.”
Forward-thinking design is the approach the book takes on. As Web designers, we need to share the control of our sites with the users. For example, allow users to resize their text if they desired. By using percentages, ems or keywords instead of pixels enable Internet Explorer users to increase or decrease the default text sizes. In the first chapter, Cederholm suggests setting keywords for the body text, and then use percentages for the headings when styling the type size in CSS to accommodate IE browsers. Although the method is bulletproofed, a bit of hacking is required. To set the text sizes to display consistently across browsers with hack free, I suggest using percentage for the body and ems for the headings.
Other than the “Flexible Text” approach, I find his tips and tricks throughout the book to be useful and adaptable. The “Scalable Navigation” technique is not only accessible and easy to modify, but also saves bandwidths because of the lightweight markups. The “Expandable Rows” and “Indestructible Boxes” methods give the site invisible, extra spaces to prevent unpredictable scenarios. The strategies for “No Images? No CSS? No Problem” is seemed to be simple, but no less valuable. I am sure many designers wouldn’t be thinking of styling background colors to ensure readability incase users turn off images to speed up the loading process. How could we when we have like million other things to worry about? So this chapter serves as a great reminder for that sort-of-minor-but-important stuff, and be sure to check out the bulletproof tools (Favlets, Web Developer Extension, Web Accessibility Toolbar, and Validator) listed as well.
Once again, Cederholm’s solid writing combined with his easy-to-follow instructions complemented by clear visual presentations make Bulletproof Web Design an essential guide for designers who wish to create Web sites that would always look good under any circumstances. Even though he delves into the “Fluid Layouts” approach, I still feel the book needed a chapter on zoomable layout, which is one of the most flexible and accessible methods I have come to appreciate, to be completed.
San Jose-based Vung Tau Restaurant is high on price, below average on food, and extremely low on customer satisfaction. A rice platter (com tam, suon, bi, cha) costs $9.50, which is almost doubled the price comparing to most places, yet the taste is not even as close as the commoner’s place. My friend’s dad ordered a bowl of Bun Bo Hue, and he described the broth as tasteless as “water that boils the beef,” but that’s not the chef’s fault. It’s the customer’s mistake for ordered an insipid dish; therefore, like it or not the customer has to pay for it even if switching to a different dish. As a result, my friend’s dad ended up not eating after the manager told him there was nothing he could do. The way they handled their business had ruined the entire family’s atmosphere. Is a bowl of Bun Bo Hue worth losing their customers? Obviously, Vung Tau’s manager didn’t care, and he was unapologetic about it. Their method of dealing with the customers made me lost my appetite. I only ate a portion of the plate even though I was starving. Never again will I come back to a place like that.
West coast is nice. Had a great time with my best friend and his family. His kids (one girl and two boys) took up most of my energy, but they are a blast. Ngoc Lan’s Night was a success. Wrote a piece in Vietnamese about the special event. Just a quick note. Need to get back to work for the launch on Thursday.
Check out Vassar’s banner and see if you can spot the visual gui. Mad props to Chris for the geeky but cool look.
I will be flying out to San Jose tomorrow morning and will be attending Ngoc Lan’s Night on Saturday. I will have to fly back on Sunday because I have deadline (September 1st) to meet. I was not planning on going at all, but my projects are working out smoother than I have predicted. Development site is 95% done and will be ready to relaunch on September 1st. The design will be completely new and refreshing, so make sure to come back and check it out. The redesign of German Studies site is coming along too. After several mockups, we finally agree on a design that is contemporary, edgy, clean and simple. After Development site gets out of the way, I’ll knock German Studies out too.
Although being at Ngoc Lan’s Night is the whole purpose of the trip (the organizer works too hard to make it happens), I also get a chance to visit my best friend who will be hosting me for two days. It’s about time I drag myself over the west coast. I am sure I won’t find anything as surprising as the first time I stepped my foot on the land of opportunity, but at least I’ll get to know Californ-I-A. I also needed a short break before the summer is over and the new semester begins. I am planning on taking a jazz history course, but not sure if I can get in. I won’t know until the first day of class. That’s the price I have to pay to get into free class; therefore, nothing is really free.
Ella Fitzgerald sure knew how to have fun. Her playful improvisation of “Mack the Knife” is both creative and hilarious. Her rendition of “Too Darn Hot” is too damn hot. Her live singing was as good as her studio. Oh boy, can she swing and scat on “How High the Moon?” Ella rocked Berlin.
Diana Krall kicked off her concert with “I Love Being Here With You” showcasing her astonishing piano work complemented by her skillful musicians (Jeff Hamilton on drum, John Clayton on bass and John Pisano on guitar). Krall’s recovering of “Let’s Fall in Love” is reviving, and Hamilton’s brushwork is a perfect foil for her contemporary style. The bossa nova groove on “‘s Wonderful” is ‘s marvelous. Krall rocked Paris.
In contrast to Diana Krall’s raspy voice, Tarry Blaine has a sweet, suave tone with a sense of playful. The childlike “Eeny Meeny Miney Mo” is a perfect song for opening the concert. Love the sound of Allan Vaché’s Clarinet. Her version of Billie Holliday’s medley (“When a Woman Loves a Man/My Man”) is obviously not as emotional as Billie (no one can interpret unrequited love better than the Lady Day), but she has made it sound modern. Some highlights of the show includes “A Little Bit Independent” (dig Mark Shane’s piano and Ed Polcer’s cornet), “Carolina Shout” (instrumental) and “I’d Love To Take Orders From You” (the most politically incorrect song). Blaine rocked Cleveland.
Smithsonian Collection of Jazz Piano volume 1, 2, 3 and 4 go way back to Jelly Roll Morton, James P. Johnson and Fats Waller all the way up to Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett and Herbie Hancock. It’s beautiful just to experience how jazz piano had grown in both styles and sounds.
When the two jazz pianists, Duke Ellington and Count Basie, met for the First Time, the heat was on. From the opening “Battle Royal” to the ending “Jumpin’ at the Woodside,” the two big bands combined put the studio on fire. The record is hypnotizing.
Get up close and personal with Thelonious Himself to appreciate Monk’s style. His infamous twenty-two-minute rendition of “‘Round Midnight” is marvelous. Dig the way he pounded the keyboard: both dramatic and emotional. “Functional” is another delightful piece, in which his phrasing is gorgeous.
Maiden Voyage featured four cool-jazz pieces. Along side with Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, tenor saxophonist George Coleman and drummer Tony Williams, Herbie Hancock’s piano takes listeners on a soothing cruise on water.
I must admit, I was rushing through, and didn’t give Jazzy’s album enough attention it deserves; therefore, I have missed many details that should have been included. I didn’t even mention the musical arranger who has contributed a huge part on the album. Since I have been listening more carefully and picking up more important elements, I decided to revise and expand the piece. So please revisit Moon & You for a better review.
