Instead of serving our traditional Vietnamese cuisine, we were honored to have our dear friend Alan Favini -who is one of the finest chefs in Boston- prepared some special Italian dishes to celebrate our aunt and uncle’s 5th anniversary. Although the weather didn’t cooperate with us, the party still went on smoothly with everyone attended and special thanks to Alan for a superior dining and wining. A little bit too much wining actually.

I know you’re getting hungry so let’s get straight to the menu. After three glasses of Manhattan, my dinner began with a nice and fresh taste of Grilled Scallop Salad with endive and watercress. For appetizer, the Lobster Ravioli is just irresistible. If you get a chance to try Alan’s cooking, this marvelously indulgent ravioli is surely not to be missed. For the main course, the Grilled Salmon over portabella mushroom and broccoli couscous is simply delicious. One of my uncles is a salmon freak and the compliment he gave was, “This is one of the best salmon I ever had.” Lastly, Poached Fruits Over Vanilla Ice Cream on Martini glass is our yummy dessert.

Not only his food tastes delicious, Alan’s presentation is aesthetically beautiful as well. I love his clean, simple and elegant design. You probably couldn’t see the details too well (specially the Grill Salmon) from my photos because they are a bit blurry. Sorry, I was a bit too buzz to get my camera focused after doses of beer, wine, champagne, mix drinks, and a few Tequila shots.

If you’re in the Boston area and would like some Italian finest cuisine for your special occasions, Alan is available for catering. I am telling you, Alan can cook and I am recommending him undoubtedly. So drop me a note if you’re interested and I’ll get you hook up.

Need some inspiration while designing? Pop in Luis Mejia’s Alegria, a beautiful instrumental album that guarantee to sprawl up creativities to your work. Luis’s golden fingers will strum you into a fantasy world and juice up your mind. Although Luis’s guitar is the key ingredient, the album wouldn’t be complete without the help of other elegant instruments.

Luis’s Alegria is the album that you can enjoy from begin to end without any interruption. Even when the album ended, you just feel so empty and yearning for more. With 12 mesmerizing tracks, Luis and his music will give you a little bit of Flamenco, Spanish, Contemporary, Pop and various rhythms to feed your mind. Although I love all 12 songs on the album, the ones stand out for me include: “Selva,” “Romance,” “To The Night,” “Rumba” and especially “Mediterraneo” (not sure how he does it but it sounds like he strokes with 20 fingers at once).

What more do I need to say? This album is an aesthetically beautiful work of art so I’ll let the music speaks for itself. Go ahead and buy it from his own website, LuisMusic.com, to support the independent artist for giving us such an incredible work.

Somethin’ for your enjoyment:
Tinh Oi Xin Ngu Yen
Binh Minh Se Mang Em Di
Tan Tro
Tinh Yeu Khong Loi
Co Don Minh Anh

Fresh off the meat rack, Bo Nuong La Lop has a fantastic fragrance and a dazzling taste. Thanks to the leaves, the beefs are protected from being burned, chewy and dried. What you get is the sweet and juicy meat. While the beefs are still hot, roll them up with a piece of banh trang (spring roll), a little bit of bun (vermicelli) and a whole lot of mixed vegetables; Dip into Mam Nem (Fermented Anchovy) that has been mixed with pineapple, sugar, lime and hot peppers; and enjoy! It’s just magnificent. Thanks ma for this incredible gourmet.

On the cover, the combination of Thanh Lam and Trinh Con Son just doesn’t seem quite right; I must admit, however, Thanh Lam’s Ru Doi Di Nhe is one of the most innovative Trinh’s albums I have enjoyed. On this album, Thanh Lam is giving us her own interpretation of Trinh’s music. It’s quite a daring move but the result is unbelievable. For example, Thanh Lam turns “Mot Coi Di Ve” into a compelling Jazz flavor. I wonder where Dam Vinh Hung gets his inspiration.

On “Toi Ru Em Ngu,” Thanh Lam gives a groundbreaking a capella performance with her exotic vocals and she has done a beautiful job of holding off her breath. Her version of “Ru Ta Ngam Ngui” is bold, confidence, and creative. She has brought the liveliness out of the song with her strong and clear expressions. Thanh Lam is a great artist with a creative mind and her ingenuity has proven through the performance of “Em Hay Ngu Di,” “Ru Doi Ta Nhe,” “Nhu Canh Vac Bay,” “Mua Hong,” and “Goi Ten Bon Mua.”

Other than “Tinh Sau” which is way too “buon ngu” (sadly sleepy), Thanh Lam’s Ru Doi Di Nhe is a solid Trinh’s album. It’s perfect for my Trinh’s collection. Two thumbs up for Thanh Lam who has made it to my favorite Vietnamese artists list for her rule-breaking attitude and skillful musical interpretation.

I drove 4 hours last weekend just for Vit Nau Chao and it was definitely worth it. This time our uncle made it just perfect. The duck was tender and juicy. The broth was just right. Look at the young and fresh Rau Muong (Vietnamese Spinach). Just imagine dipping Rau Muon into the boiling broth and finished it off with a bit of fermented tofu mixed with sugar, lemon and hot peppers. Oh Lord! My mouth is salivating just thinking about it. I am craving for more already. Thanks to our uncle 9 for this bangin’ Vit Nau Chao. We have to to this once again before the summer ends.

During my sophomore year in college, I had an internship opportunity with Trump Marina assisting an in-house graphic designer with various ads. At that time, my Photoshop skills were limited and I did not know how to create those simple yet useful effects to make my graphic design more appealing. As a result, both my internship and my desire to be a graphic designer ended that summer. If I had read Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Classic Effects back then, I wouldn’t have disliked graphic design so much; however, I am still glad that I have focused my energy on the web.

Before delving into each project in the book, I glance at the final piece and use my own methods to see if I can come up with the same result. Of course, there are many different ways to come up with the same effects in Photoshop; however, I find Kelby’s techniques to be more concise, simplier, and faster. Time is money so if I can come up with the same effects in lesser amount of time, why not following his methods?

Kelby has done a great job of keeping his instructions clear, easy, intuitive, and with a sense of humor. Furthermore, he has selected effects that I had always wanted to know when I first stepping into the graphic design era. Although I work mainly on the web and have been using Photoshop for years, I still find Photoshop Classic Effects to be an invaluable resource for quick and simple tasks.

Now that I am looking at my bookshelf, I am surprised that there is no book on Photoshop. Well, Classic Effects will be the first one. So if you’re looking into becoming a graphic designer whether creating magazines, brochures, banners or even web graphics, pick up this book – especially students – to save you the miseries I went through when I first started out. Kelby has written a classic Photoshop book with this one.

Biggie’s mix joints by DJ Dirty Harry and DJ Vlad should be pumpin’ in everything freakin’ club. The beats are off the hook and Biggie rhymes are just blazin’. This mix is taken from The Notorious BIG Rap Phenomenon LP.

Yeah baby! Apple’s Motion is shipping. She looks hot as hell with real-time design. I can’t wait to play with her.

Hong Nhung’s acappella version of Ru Tinh rocks. Her voice is mesmerizing.

Tran Duy Tinh’s interpretion of Trinh Con Son’s music. Tinh translated many songs Trinh had written before 1975 about humanity. It’s quite inspiring. Although Tinh’s Vietnamese is not perfect, he got my respect for trying.

Studio shots of my lovely cousin Jessica Ly. Isn’t she beautiful? Still young and restless.

Check out this crazy Bozzetto in the Olympics.

Although I have Hong Nhung’s Thuo Bong La Nguoi for a while, it takes me some time to absorb Trinh Cong Son’s poetic lyrics. In every song, he paints beautiful descriptions with his simple yet influential words. In this album, Hong Nhung has chosen 11 delightful songs to celebrate the splendor of life and to appreciate the beauty of nature.

With her sweet, clear, and effortless vocals, Hong Nhung has created an aesthetic experience on this album with Trinh’s music. Furthermore, she has done a wonderful job of focusing on his expressions. For example, in “Moi Ngay Toi Chon Niem Vui” (Everyday I Choose a Happiness), she keeps it simple as everyday’s life and the result is artistically inspired.

In “Co Xot Xa Dua,” the language is filled with imaginative words, “Tren doi nguoi tro nhanh hoang vu/Tren ngay di moc canh la mu.” I have no idea how to translate that. I even have trouble understanding it but once I closed my eyes and listened to Hong Nhung’s crystal clear vocals, the images emerged. You just have experience it.

Again, “Ra Dong Truoc Ngo” paints a gorgeous scene of a little kid flying his kite among the big and beautiful sky. “Ru Em” creates a sweet lullaby, “Ru em cung nhung u me/Ru em, ru em du da chia xa.” In “De Gio Cuon Di” he touches on moral of life, “Song trong cuoc doi/Can co mot tam long/De lam gi em biet khong?”

Unlike other Trinh’s album where you get the same popular songs from Trinh Cong Son, Thuo Bong La Nguoi contains 10 songs I haven’t heard before and one bonus “Ben Doi Hiu Quanh.” This is a Trinh’s album that stands apart from the rest because of the songs selection. The musical arrangement is admirable and the traditional instruments (Dan Nguyet, Tieu) enhanced the experience greatly. If you haven’t heard of Hong Nhung, this is the album to get a taste of that fine and lovely voice.

I just love the mininalist presentation of Canh Mang; however, don’t let the look fools you. Take a bite of the bamboo and you’ll find the tenderness to be pleasing. The broth it just amazing and I don’t know how my mom made it. Although it looks clear and plain like water, the tang is just perfect. Not too heavy, not too sweet, not too salty, it’s just right. I am not sure if the chicken gives off the juicy flavor to the broth or the broth enhances the vigorous taste of the chicken or they compliment each other. Whatever it is, Canh Mang is scrumptious. Thanks ma.