Carlo Iacono writes a fascinating essay on “Books and Screens.” Iacono argues:

The real problem isn’t mode but habitat. We don’t struggle with video versus books. We struggle with feeds versus focus. One happens in an ecosystem designed for contemplation, the other in a casino designed for endless pull-to-refresh.

Reading worked so well for so long not because text is magic, but because books came with built-in boundaries. They end. Pages stay still. Libraries provide quiet. These weren’t features of literacy itself but of the habitats where literacy lived. We need to rebuild those habitats for a world where meaning travels through many channels at once.

Iacono concludes:

The choice isn’t between books and screens. The choice is between intentional design and profitable chaos. Between habitats that cultivate human potential and platforms that extract human attention.

I recommend reading or listening to the entire piece.

Bảo Ninh is known for his historical fiction on the Việt Nam War. His works have been translated into 20 languages, including English. After reading his compelling short stories, I decided to create a typographic sample page featuring “Hà Nội at Midnight” and “Untamed Winds.” These two stories provide a glimpse into Bảo Ninh’s observations of the war. I also included English translations from Quân Mạnh Hà and Cab Trần. The sample is typeset in Atlante, designed by Yorlmar Campos & Martín Sesto.

My colleague was being nominated for the Rick Holt Award, which “recognizes a Mason faculty or staff member who is committed to utilizing, promoting, and advocating for the use of active transportation as part of their daily commute life.” I was asked to write a letter of support. Of course, I complied:

To The Rick Holt Active Transportation Advocate Committee,

I am so glad to hear that MK is being nominated for the George Mason University’s Rick Holt Active Transportation Advocate Award.

M has been biking to work for as long as I started working at the Law School in 2011. Rain or shine, hot or cold, she bikes to work almost everyday. She has made the commitment to not only stay strong and healthy, but also contribute to a greener environment.

Furthermore, M promotes active transportation to the Mason community by encouraging me to take advantage of the shuttle system Mason is providing for free. Even though I live right by Fairfax main campus, I commute to Arlington campus at least three days a week. For many years, I drove my car to work for the sake of convenience. A few years ago, I started to take the shuttle because M had encouraged me. If I needed my car to work so I could go to my doctor or dentist appointment, she would offer me her complementary parking pass. As my supervisor, M would also provide me the flexibility if I needed to take care of my personal matters.

Thanks to M’s support and advocacy, I have made the transition from using my own vehicle to using Mason’s transportation service. I get to walk for 12 minutes each way from my house to the shuttle stop on Fairfax campus and back. I get the opportunity to meet other riders and become friends. I also get a chance to read for 40 minutes or catch a quick nap during my commute.

With her commitment in using self-propelled biking to work and her role in promoting active transportation to the Mason community and beyond, M deserves to win the Rick Holt Active Transportation Advocate Award.

Sincerely yours,
Donny Truong

Great news: She has been chosen as the 2026 recipient of the Rick Holt Active Transportation Award. My letter did the job.

The President of the United States:

Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people! President DONALD J. TRUMP

I haven’t written about politics in a while, but I want to keep this quote here. When it’s his time to go, I refer to the despicable way he talk about someone’s death.

Rest in peace, Mr. Mueller.

Replacing 4 rear brake discs since November 2024. The rear brakes wear out quick.

• 4 Rear Brake Discs: $50
• Labor $50

Front brakes and rotors were also replaced:

• 2 Front Rotors: $150
• 4 Front Brake Discs: $50
• Labor: $70

Replaced the following after-market lightbulbs for 2011 Toyota Sienna:

• Fog lights
• License plate lights
• Tail lights

Update March 27: Replaced the passenger headlight for 2018 Toyota Sienna using the lightbulb from 2011 Toyota Sienna.

In 2023, I created a Vietnamese typographic sample page highlighting the Buddhism teachings, in which I found “The Fourteen Teachings of the Buddha” and “The Ten Commandments of Mindfulness” to be insightful. At the time, I used two Buddha illustrations created by AI to accommodate the text. Even though the graphics were nice, AI Buddha just didn’t feel right. I had been wanting to remove them. This weekend, I finally pulled the plug.

In addition to removing the illustrations, I updated the type. In the previous version, the text was set in a beautiful serif typeface. It could have been fine to leave it as it was, but I wanted to give the sample page a bit of a “Biblical” reference. I decided to set the text in Bradley DJR, designed by David Jonathan Ross for his Font of the Month Club. Bradley DJR started out as display typeface, but David had begun working on the text side last year. Even though it is still a work in progress, it covers enough ground to be used on a project like this one.

I am happy with the update. Take a look if you haven’t and you might find the Buddhism teachings to be useful to navigate your life. It’s a quick read.

When I decided to create samples for Vietnamese Typography, the first piece I sampled was the story of Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ. It turns out to be the most visited page to this day.

Last year, someone chastised me for the English translation I was using. It was an oversight on my part; therefore, I removed the English translation and just left the Vietnamese text.

This morning, I went to Bánh Mì Ông Béo to get a bánh mì. On its bookshelf, I discovered a historical graphic novel about the story of Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ in three languages: Vietnamese, English, and French, compiled by Bùi Văn Bảo.

I decided to update the Vietnamese typographic sample with the newly discovered version. Typeset in Pliago, designed by Juanjo López.

I taught a friend’s eight-year-old kid to snowboard three times this season. The first time, he refused to do anything I asked him. His reason was, “I can’t.” He was lacking confidence. I didn’t let him off the hook. I reassured him that he could do it if he followed my instructions.

He didn’t get very far. He made himself fall as soon as the board went straight down. The good thing was he did not give up. The second time, which was a few weeks later, he tried again. He made some progress, but he still made himself fall. I advised him to ride with the board instead of falling to stop himself. The third time, he managed to stay on his board throughout the green run. He couldn’t turn yet, but he enjoyed riding down at his own pace.

Coaching him had taught me about myself. Patience was the key, especially with kids who didn’t have too much confidence in themselves. I didn’t push him, but I had to be firm with him. Too bad the season is over, but he will continue next season.

While I was coaching him on, I switched it up. I normally rode goofy with both of my bindings set forward (positive/positive) so I could carve. Riding regular with a negative-negative setting was quite awkward, but I was making progress. I need to change my bindings to a duck stance to ride regular. I might use Ðạo’s board to learn switch. I got him a used board to learn. He hadn’t made much progress on snowboarding. He still can’t turn yet. He only spent two times this season snowboarding and the rest of the time skiing. That’s cool with me as long as he’s out there skiing.

He didn’t want me to coach him snowboarding. He wanted to learn on his own. I had people who paid high prices for me to teach them, and yet my own kid wouldn’t let me teach him for free. My kids don’t appreciate the privileges they have. Not too many kids can go skiing and riding for free whenever they want. Not too many parents can afford lessons, lift tickets, and rentals. I take care of their gears so that they will have a great experience on the slopes. And yet, they take all of these for granted. They would rather sit in front of their screens than roaming around the big mountains. That’s their choice now. All I can do is provide them the opportunity.

In “99 Problems,” Jay-Z blasts, “Fuck critics, you can kiss my whole asshole! / If you don’t like my lyrics, you can press fast forward.” Nevertheless, Jay cares what critics write about his work. After reading Elizabeth Méndez Berry’s scathing review of Reasonable Doubt; Vol. 3 … Life & Times of S. Carter; The Blueprint, Jay called her and said “You write like I rap.” Motivated by her criticism, Jay rewrote “P.S.A.” for The Black Album, in which he claimed, “I’m like Che Guevara with bling on / I’m complex / I never claimed to have wings on.”

Having read Ms. Méndez Berry’s essay on Jay from Classic Material: The Hip-Hop Album Guide, edited by Oliver Wang, I appreciated the art of music criticism. I read as many reviews I could get my hands on. I also started to write my own music reviews on my blog as a way to hone my writing skills.

For me, hip-hop has always been about lyrics, and yet I was not impressed with Jay’s materialistic, misogynistic rhymes. I enjoyed Vol. 2 … Hard Knock Life, but I couldn’t get past his doses of braggadocio in records such as “Can I Get A…,” “Money, Cash, Hoes,” and “Money Ain’t a Thang.” It took The Black Album, his statement on retirement, for me to pay attention to his lyrics. In the outro of “December 4^th,” he said, “If you can’t respect that, your whole perspective is wack / Maybe you’ll love me when I fade to black.” He was right. The Black Album showcases Jay’s articulate storytelling, witty wordplays, sharp punchlines, and poetic prose. In his book, Jay-Z: Made in America, Professor Michael Eric Dyson describes Jay-Z as “Robert Frost with a Brooklyn Accent, Rita Dove with a Jesus piece.”

After listening to The Black Album on repeat for months, I went back to The Blueprint, Reasonable Doubt, and the rest of his catalog. Reading his lyrics in between the lines, I discovered so many hidden gems that I created a webpage, “Beacon of Hov,” to highlight my favorite quotes.

For this particular project, I would like to put together a collection of essays that were critical of Jay-Z’s music. I called the project: “Hovacritical.” These essays were written by critics and authors I respect: Greg Tate, Elizabeth Méndez Berry, Kelefa Sanneh, Sasha Frere-Jones, Hua Hsu, Zadie Smith, Michael Eric Dyson, and Yannick Giovanni Marshall. They were pulled from various print and online sources. While I enjoyed the content, I found the reading experience, especially online platforms with moving, pop-in ads obscuring the text, to be distracting and unpleasant.

These well-written essays deserve a better reading experience; therefore, I decided to create a space for them. My focus was on typography. For the main text, I chose Turnip, designed by David Jonathan Ross. For big headings, I selected Nickel Gothic, also designed by Ross. For small texts, I went with Forma DJR, also designed by Ross. While I prefer reading black text on white background, I also provide a dark theme if you prefer the reverse.

This project is created for my own reading pleasure, but you are more than welcome to check out Hovacritical.