Laila Biali has an angelic voice and fine piano chops. Her rendition of “Autumn Leaves” is a quiet beauty. Her low-key singing leaves room for Kelly Jefferson to soar on his soprano saxophone. On “But Not For Me,” she maneuvers her way around the Brazilian rhythm with effortlessness. Her duet with Kurt Elling on “My Funny Valentine” is beautifully romantic. Your Requests is a lovely reinterpretation of jazz standards.
We have a soft spot for drama,
and for memorization;
we like to share whatever we have been told.
We liken ourselves to tadpoles, to works-in-progress,
to fishhooks, to earbuds, to loquacious
teens, and to their vintage Princess phones.
We used to believe that, being so good
at belatedness, we might never have to get old,
which was our mission, or our curse;
though our true age is unclear, we have had equivalents
in nearly every civilization,
both in our efforts at sarcasm and our attempts
at protests. Leave our single sisters alone.
We come in several shapes but are never
heartless, or pointless, and never entirely straight
If you ever see just one of us,
wait.
Stephanie Burt
Here’s a memorable line from Amy Schumer’s latest Netflix special: “Marriage is finding someone who can fucking stand you.” She talks about her pregnancy, appearance, and husband. The jokes were OK. She hits Hilaria the hardest. Anyway, she looks great in the pink dress.
In addition to contributing to the end-of-the-year gifts, I wanted to get into a habit of writing short notes to to my kids’ teachers. They are loving, caring educators and I wanted to show my appreciations for what they have done for my kids.
To Xuân’s English teacher:
Dear Mrs. H,
We would like to thank you for all you have done for the kids throughout their first grade. For Xuân in particular, I reached out to you because I was concerned about his reading. Six months ago, he couldn’t sound out simple three-letter words. With your help and support, his reading has improved tremendously. We were reading together yesterday and my heart filled with joy. I deeply appreciate your efforts to help him reach his milestone. He will use the reading skills you have taught him for the rest of his life. We wish you a wonderful summer and we will send Vương, our youngest boy, to you in two years. Hopefully, you won’t be retired yet. LOL!
Regards,
Donny Trương
To Xuân’s Spanish teacher:
Dear Sra. D,
As this school year comes to an end, you will begin a new journey. We would like to thank you for everything you have done not just for Xuân, but also for Đán and Đạo. We were hoping to send Vương, our youngest boy, to you in the near future, but we are happy for your retirement. In a couple of our conversations in regard to Xuân’s poor decision-making in class, you said to me, “Never a dull moment in first grade.” We hope that there will never be a dull moment (in a positive way) in your retirement journey. We appreciate all of your love and support for our kids. We will miss seeing you around. Have a wonderful summer and happy retirement.
Regards,
Donny Trương
To Đán’s English and Spanish teachers:
Dear Ms. B & Sra. B,
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your love and support for the fifth graders this year. Đán, in particular, had such a great year. He told us that he had the best academic year so far and we could tell by his actions. He enjoyed school and thrived in a smaller group under your supportive guidance. We appreciate the discussions we had with you to get Đán the help he needs to succeed in his education.
We wish you a wonderful summer. We have two more boys sending your way in the next few years. LOL!
Regards,
Donny Trương
Monaleo’s debut kicks off with “Sober Mind” showing her motivational lyrics: “Life is like a book, you gotta read through it / And if at first you don’t succeed then you can re-do it.” Then she went hard on “Beating Down Yo Block,” “Ass Kickin,” and “Return of the P.” She has nice flows and she can ride big beats. Then she softened up with ballad singing, including “Miss Understood,” “Cologne Song,” and “Cosmic Love.” The album lost its cohesiveness in between the two opposite directions.
Honestly astonishing
the first time you see them unless you grew up with them,
they look prickly enough
to cling to your clothing. Instead
they are a soft
unsettlement, their promise
of sweetness more than justified
inside, like the way
you told me you once
got to pet a porcupine, nibs
relaxed and folded back for better
nuzzling, or the first
time (after waiting and
waiting) you let me hold
your hand. Cliché
means clench, clutch and
predictable, but also
sometimes true. Sometimes I feel tenderly
opened up, wet and revealed as if cut
in two. I want to spend
today with you.
Stephanie Burt
I have been spending some time researching and searching for new sports equipments. I would like Đạo and Đán to switch over to aggressive skates instead of rollerblades so they can do more tricks at the skateparks. I also would like a new pair of aggressive skates because the coping on my Flying Eagle is way too small. Stalling on it is way too hard. Aggressive skates are way too expensive. I couldn’t find anything decent for under $250.
I am also looking to get Đán a snowboard, a pair of bindings, and a pair of boots. The entire packet would cost at least $500. We’ll do rental for him again next year since he’s still growing and he’s quite picky about the board. I have a two really old boards. The shorter one I am using in the basement to train during off season. The longer one I will use for the winter, but it is not too great. I bought a new pair of bindings last season. I would like to get a new board, but I couldn’t find anything under $250.
If I want to get some new gears (three pair of aggressive skates and a snowboard), I have to spend at least $1,000. I am less concerned about the money, but more concerned about Đạo and Đán not using them. They are becoming less interested in skating. Yesterday evening, when I asked Đán to go to the skatepark, he threw a tantrum. He just wanted to play video games instead. I was infuriated. I wanted them to be active instead of just sitting on their behinds playing on their digital devices all day, especially in the summer.
In Design for a Better World, Don Norman writes about work issues:
Except for scholars who study and trace the path of history, the rest of us are often unaware of its impact. We are born into the world, and our early experiences and belief systems seem so natural and obvious that it is difficult to imagine any other possibility. People take for granted the basics of their everyday life: living in a family, going to school, learning the topics taught in a certain way there, getting a job, and so on. In many countries, jobs take one away from family for most of the daytime hours and oftentimes into the night. All of this is taken for granted.
Why must the demands of work separate families, though? Why must some cultures demand long hours of work, often from dawn to dusk, six days a week from its citizens, leaving partners and children to struggle throughout the day on their own? The need for a large number of workers at one site started early in history-for example, in the massing of people by the Egyptian pharaohs to build the pyramids. In part, it was a natural result of the rise of cities and nations, where people were concentrated. Providing food for large numbers of people required workers to congregate, whether in Baghdad’s cooking competitions in the ninth century or in Venice’s building of ships in the early twelfth century. The standardization of work in factories took place at the start of the Industrial Revolution in the early 1700s for the weaving and spinning of silk and cotton as well as for the manufacturing of household goods in Great Britain.
The path taken by Western countries of the world and exported globally controlled the lives of the workers, treating them as if they were machines to be used until they wore out and then replaced. Time dominated the lives of the workers, with bells and whistles telling them when to start and end the day, when breaks were permitted, and when they could eat lunch. Time dominated the work, and work dominated wellness, satisfaction, and family. Did it have to be this way? No.
Norman writes about family separation:
Families were separated, with those employed rushing off to their jobs, often not to return home until late at night. I have seen the workers in South Korea and Japan work long hours every day and attend the quasi-obligatory drinking sessions after work. These sessions end so late that the workers do not have time to make the long commuting trip back home, so they stay overnight at the many hotels that catered to this need. Workers often do not return to their families for days. Their work habits are slaves to both the clock and the perception of doing work. In fact, the long hours mean that the workers are sleep deprived, often falling asleep at conferences and meetings and on the commuter trains. Studies have shown that long hours produce less work than the shorter, more focused hours used in some countries.
What if you really had never heard it before?
The throaty voice, the credibility
And strength of a man who could always pick you up
And bring you to that one place and keep you there
And never abandon you, who would move only slowly
And never in circles, a man who would hold your hand
Gently and yet unrelentingly, whose very
Hairline crept up to a heart-shaped peak
Whose gentle curves matched black-tea-colored eyes
And as-if-penciled brows, so that those farewell-free,
As-long-as-you-need-me tones of reassurance
In him and him alone could be believed. There is so little
On this Earth you can trust, so little that comes around
And never goes away, but we will always
Have this gem, this constant
Companion, this life preserver whose love is a promise
You should have seen coming: he is, indeed, never
Gonna give you up, never gonna let
You down, never gonna run
Around and desert you.
Stephanie Burt
The title track opens the album with a delightful duet from Thomas Fonnesbæk and Justin Kauflin. Fonnesbæk’s thumping bass serves as the rhythm of the falling rain to accompany Kauflin’s virtuosic piano improvisation. Together they intimately interpret “Imagine.” Fonnesbæk’s plucking bass sings John Lennon’s lyrics while Kauflin’s comping piano supports his partner and vice versa. The entire album gives jazz listeners an hour of relaxing down time.