Eminem’s new single “Just Lose It.” Here he goes again with the wack-ass hook and bang-ass beat. Can’t wait until Encore, his new album, drops.
Yahoo goes standards but doesn’t support Safari. What is up with that? It looks good though. This is a big move and a right direction for Yahoo.
Asian American is the Least Likely to vote. Hey! I registered.
The real Tuan Ngoc without makeup. Although he is aging, his voice remains unchanged.
This is what you get when you put a group of creative minds together.
Design Inside is what we (designers of College Relations) have been picking out our brains for almost a year and sweating on for the past two weeks. It’s an exhibition showcases web sites, web banners, posters, brochures, books, magazines and other designs produced by the Office of College Relations. This is the image of the college. This is the art of communicating life at Vassar.
Design Inside was a learning experience for me since this is my first time working on an exhibition. It gave us an opportunity to collaborate and communicate closely between web and graphic designers. The best part was where each of our best skill was applied to the project. For example, Julia wrote our texts, George picked out the colors for the walls, Charlie designed the pedestals, Megg constructed a big sitemap, Chris created an interactive piece, and I used Flash for various banners display. As a result, everything comes together nicely.
If you don’t know, now you know.
Below is my brief biography written by Julia Van Devleder.
Donny Truong is a very visual guy, as you will see if you visit his personal website, VisualGUI.com. He’s apparently a punster, too, since G.U.I. also stands for Graphical User Interface.
Truong was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was 12. He received his bachelor’s in Digital Arts and Multimedia Design at La Salle University in 2001, at which point the Office of College Relations scooped him right up.
Inspired by pure and elegant design, Truong says that “it’s sometimes not what you put in but what you take out…. I am obsessed with white space and breathing room.” Web designers often emphasize usability, and of course that’s important, Truong says. But he believes that aesthetically designed sites are easier to use than sites designed without attention to basic aesthetic principles.
In addition to his Vassar websites and his personal site, Truong designed and continues to develop iLoveNgocLan.com, a personal project to honor Ngoc Lan, a talented Vietnamese singer who has more than 600 songs to her credit. He also reads voraciously, watches movies, and writes reviews to hone his writing skills.
Actually? He ought to write restaurant reviews! Truong says he doesn’t cook, but he does eat. Check out his Blog for mouthwatering descriptions of some classic Vietnamese dishes.
First of all, I would like to thank Hoang, a Visualgui.com reader, for providing me an album that I enjoy greatly. Tu Su is a showcase of both Thanh Lam’s artistic vision and her father’s (Thuan Yen) innovative composition. Thuan Yen must be exceedingly proud to have a daughter who can express his music gorgeously. I presume it runs in the family.
Tu Su is an aesthetically beautiful work of art that can be experienced from start to end without skips and many replays are necessary because of the brilliant collaboration between refined vocals, sharpened music, and tranquility poetries. The album kicks off with the sentimental “Em Toi” (poem by Xuan Truong) with the soothing traditional instruments. Together they have created an emotional and beautiful song. On “DangVi Tinh Yeu” (poem by Khanh Nguyen) demonstrates her skillful wordplay. The way she adorably recites, “Em dau co nho” shows her fearless attitude when it comes to push the limit.
On “Tu Su,” “Tinh Ca Mua Thu,” “Tim Anh,” and Thanh Pho Vang Anh,” she delivers breathless performances. “Tinh Yeu Khong Loi” could have been flawless if they didn’t include those nonsense remarks. Thanh Lam definitely exceeds Dam Vinh Hung vocally on this track but what is up with “Uh Yeah! Shake it like a white girl” (Not from Thanh Lam)? That kind of intro degrades the value of the song greatly. Fortunately, “Khac Vong” beautifully wraps up the album with a smooth beat and meticulous flow.
Similar to Tuan Ngoc, Thanh Lam has an incredible style of her own and she is an artist to be reckoned with. Tu Su presents both her passion for making music and her seriousness concerning her craft. Once again, my appreciate goes to Hoang for sharing with me this invaluable piece of music.
Tuan Ngoc’s Huong Toc Em is a rare collection distributed by Tektronic Music, a production I have never heard of. I have no clue when the album released but the musical arrangements are nicely engineered. The album features ten original hits from songwriters/composers such as Bao Truong, Nguyen Tat Vinh, Hoang Viet, and Truong Phu Hau, who works are unfamiliar to me.
An album like Huong Toc Em certifies that Tuan Ngoc is still one of the best Vietnamese singers. He takes on dissimilar and unpopular songs that are not too many artists have the confidence to perform. Yet, he’s still able to captivate the listeners with his robust, suave, and smooth styles. His expert treatments on Bao Truong’s romantic despairs “Tren Nhanh Rong Tinh” and “Mach Suoi Nguon” alone demonstrated his astonishing talents. “Huong Toc Em,” “Toi Yeu Em Nghiet Nga,” “Doan Tinh” and the rest of the tracks are what you would expect from Tuan Ngoc.
Unlike other albums where you can tell whether it is good or best after listening to it for the first time, Huong Toc May, as well as other albums by Tuan Ngoc, doesn’t hit you right away. You might need to give it at least five times to sink in. It takes me at least ten listens to feel its vibe. If you’re not used to Tuan Ngoc’s style, chances are you won’t like this album. If you appreciate his signature songs, you’ll be grateful for possessing it.
While reading Classic Material: The Hip-Hop Album Guide, I am tempting to collect every Hip-Hop album reviewed in the book. Oliver Wang and his contributors have done an extraordinary job of tapping into the movement of Hip-Hop by giving us constructed criticism of albums that had changed the game or taken rap music into another level. I could have reviewed this book, but I don’t feel like reviewing a book full of reviews. Damn! Too many reviews.
2pac’s “Lord Knows” remix is mighty fly. Pac is still my main man in Hip Hop. Still pumping his Me Against the World everyday. His lyrical skills were amazing.
Young Buck’s “Bang Bang” is straight banging. The remix is well produced.
Westcoast beefs: Game’s “I Got a Million on It” vs. Yukmouth’s “Game Over.”
Incase you haven’t noticed, I’ve added a set of GUIs called Typefaces and I also set it to be the default style. The visualgui.com types are refined from serif to sans serif with more colors to match each set of GUIs.
The “Top Ten” and “Rants” catagories have been dropped and moved to “Everything Else.”
Hong Nhung’s outstanding performance on Trinh Cong Son’s “Roi Nhu Da Ngay Ngo.” This is by far the most engaging version I have heard. The beat is just “off the hook.”
Diggin’ the handsome 3D legos navigation on Vassar’s Cognitive Science site. Great job Chris.
Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery is just inspiring with beautiful photos, elegant design, and importantly, jaw-dropping navigation.
A resume with a personal touch from Manon Carrie. Shoot! I’ll hire her any time.
In order for Bun Tom, Cha Gio, Nem Nuong to taste good, nuoc mam ot (fish sauce mixed with lime, hot peppers, garlic and sugar) has to be well blended. Westerners should try the mixed version first before they try the straight one. I know nuoc mam stinks but if used properly -with a light touch- it can increase the depth of flavor for almost any heavy dish. I’ve read that some American chefs have used nuoc mam sparingly on their spaghetti sauce, chili, pot roast and even macaroni and cheese. Usually American foods are kind of plain so nuoc mam will definitely boost up the flavor.
Back to Bun Tom, Cha Gio, Nem Nuong, my favorite meat is Nem Nuong (the red sausage) and of course the mixed fresh vegatables. Although this is not a dish I crave for everyday, it’s nice to have once in a while.
When putting Jay-Z and R. Kelly together, you get the best of both worlds but I am not talking about Hip-Hop and R&B here. Featuring on Cu Tuong Con Trong Tay / Bac Tinh are two of the most famous Vietnamese singers with two completely different styles. While Tuan Ngoc is popular for ballads, Che Linh is well known for music on war and “Nhac Tru Tinh.” Van Son production probably try to kill two birds with one stone on this album but the outcome isn’t what they have expected.
I must admit, Van Son production are clever when they set the “Lien Khuc” with Che Linh and Tuan Ngoc switch styles. Both do a convincing performance but to go as far as creating an album together is a big mistake. Che Linh style doesn’t fit Ngo Thuy Mien’s “Rieng Mot Goc Troi,” “Ban Tinh Cuoi,” and “Dau Tinh Sau.” He couldn’t even pull off Truong Sa’s “Xin Con Goi Ten Nhau.” These songs suit more for Tuan Ngoc’s techniques. “Cu Tuong Con Trong Tay” is the only song Che Linh gives a flawless performance because it fits him perfectly.
Fortunately, Tuan Ngoc does not switch styles on his part. Once again his amazing vocals have applied on Huynh Nhat Tan’s “Bac Tinh,” “Hon Doi,” and “Ngo Ngang.” I just love the way he starts off “Bac Tinh” with confident and power. The band also does a fantastic job of captivating the beauty of the song. On “Hon Doi,” he goes sentimental and his skillful manipulation on “Hon doi, thoi em dung hon doi…” is soothing and mesmerizing. “Ngo Ngang” is equally enchanting as well. Although “Linh Hon Tuong Da” is well done by Tuan Ngoc, the song is more suitable for Che Linh. I guess Tuan Ngoc is switching his style on this one.
Van Son production should have produced two separate albums for Tuan Ngoc and Che Linh instead of grouping them together. They would have made more sells that way. Before even purchasing the album, I was debating whether to get it or not since I could predict it is an uneven album. Not that I am disrespecting Che Linh but these songs aren’t his strongest effort. Even though I expect far more, I still glad I copped the album. Tuan Ngoc’s part alone is worth the price of the CD.
As a kid, I used to gag every time mom shoved Canh Kho Qua down my throat. I was too young to appriecate the bitterness of life -I mean Kho Qua- but now I couldn’t resist that wonderful tang. Canh Kho Qua is not only delectable to eat but good for your health as well. If you have diabetes, Canh Kho Qua would be great for you. When you’re eating too much hot and oily stuff, Canh Kho Qua will cool down your body system. It’s a great soup to add to your daily meals.
Speaking of Kho Qua, does anyone know where the name came from? It’s a very interesting name. I always thought kho means miserable which refers to the bitterness of the melon. Qua means done or over. So if you eat Canh Kho Qua, you won’t be miserable anymore. Right?
