My Mummy is enjoying weekend retreat with her friends in Ho Chi Minh city now. She left home yesterday morning while I was sleeping. Now that the best cook of my life has been away from home, I have to cook my own meals. Yesterday, I fed myself boiled squid, veggies soup with shrimp and a duck egg. Today, I decided to cook my favorite dish – xương ống hầm rau củ. I went go the market quite early to get some fresh veggies and ...pork bone (of course with some meat on it.) Sóc accompanied me to the market as he often does to my mom. I felt strange but I could stop him - my naughty four-leg brother.If you'd love to try cooking this, all you need is: a carrot, two potatoes, two sweet potatoes, two dozen lotus seeds, one gram of mushrooms, spring onions and pork bone. Stew the pork bone for ... well... I don't quite remember exactly but maybe it takes about 15 minutes. While stewing the bone, peal and chop the carrot, potatoes, sweet potatoes into cubes. Wait until the meat on the bone is really well done then put chopped veggies in. After 2 minutes or so, add lotus seeds and mushrooms in. Next, add some salt and pepper in. No need to add MSG as the pork bone makes the soup tasty enough. Serve this in a small bowl, and don’t forget to scatter some chopped spring onions.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Xương ống hầm rau củ - A Vietnamese cuisine
My Mummy is enjoying weekend retreat with her friends in Ho Chi Minh city now. She left home yesterday morning while I was sleeping. Now that the best cook of my life has been away from home, I have to cook my own meals. Yesterday, I fed myself boiled squid, veggies soup with shrimp and a duck egg. Today, I decided to cook my favorite dish – xương ống hầm rau củ. I went go the market quite early to get some fresh veggies and ...pork bone (of course with some meat on it.) Sóc accompanied me to the market as he often does to my mom. I felt strange but I could stop him - my naughty four-leg brother.If you'd love to try cooking this, all you need is: a carrot, two potatoes, two sweet potatoes, two dozen lotus seeds, one gram of mushrooms, spring onions and pork bone. Stew the pork bone for ... well... I don't quite remember exactly but maybe it takes about 15 minutes. While stewing the bone, peal and chop the carrot, potatoes, sweet potatoes into cubes. Wait until the meat on the bone is really well done then put chopped veggies in. After 2 minutes or so, add lotus seeds and mushrooms in. Next, add some salt and pepper in. No need to add MSG as the pork bone makes the soup tasty enough. Serve this in a small bowl, and don’t forget to scatter some chopped spring onions.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Phantom of the Opera
This is my favourite version. No doubt of it.
Sarah Is a great singer,and Sarah's voice is really good, but the guy playing the phantom (Steve Harley) isn't the best singer ever. I really don't get that mask either.........he look so weird, especially at 1:54 and 2:12.
And the end of the movie isn't bad. You just have to understand the meaning of all movie. Then you see why she stayed with Raoul.
When I was younger, I was terrified... Not only are the vocals horrible, to me at least to me,(I don't mean to offend, too much anyway) but the video itself was poorly done. I didn't like this at all
If it weren't for the fact that I find Sarah so ridiculously gorgeous, I would be vomiting along a level unprecedented in human history right now.
This is terrible! maybe, it was good for the 80's.It’s my favorite song from the play and movie but the play version is better I still love it.
In my opinion, you should hear it when Sarah Brightman sings it she was the original Christine and Webber had her in mind when writing the part Of Christine.
J’espère ... ( I hope)
J’espère ...
Vietnamese
Tôi hy vọng
Tôi gửi thật nhanh những bức email
Tôi hy vọng.
This is so a pretty French song it brings people together. And I have just known the word they keep repeating “ J'espere’” means “ I hope”.It is really beautiful song.
Marc Lavoine has a beautiful voice. So does Quynh Anh. She has gorgeous sad eyes. ]
Quynh Anh was born in Norway.And I don't know any Norwegian, so I can't tell how hard it is for foreigners in Norway. But I think it’s very difficult for her to learn Vietnamese and to speak Vietnamese fluently.
I still remember in Ho Chi Minh City Television Station’s interview , Quynh Anh said that in school she learns English, French, and Dutch. That's amazing. I guess the fact that she can't speak Vietnamese is because it's a difficult language.
I'm Vietnamese and I have been studying in the US for 4 months, and I realize that I gradually have to trade some complicated words with simpler ones or Vietnamese words to have a smooth conversation with other Vietnamese American people. My language is never easy even for a native American. However, when I realize the language is not easy for myself, my judgement goes away. Don't stress out! If you don't like Vietnamese, then don't study it.
In the US, Vietnamese middle-aged or older people tend to have difficult time learning English even though English has simple grammatical structure. I think the problem is only vocabulary and pronunciation.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
For the wind to blow it away ( A Vietnamese song )
In this life, we should live with heart and soul
It is for what, do you know?
For the wind to blow
Blow it away...
The wind blows
For the clouds to pass the rivers
Day has just risen or dark night comes
Oh, see the heart that's flying with time
Acting as a ghost that cries out lies.
When the evening comes we need a laughter
Just to fly away silently with the leaves
And then the water sweeps it away
Sweeps it away...
Let's take a look through a love story
Just look in silence, no words spoken
To feel your heart's acute pain
The heart's acute pain...
Deep within the heart
An injured bird lies in silence
Spends a long sleep, carrying the bad wound
One morning, the bird shall fly away for good
And her singing fades away when the afternoon wind arrives
Love, love the coming days even though you feel exhausted from this life
Life is still there, be happy
Even though someone is missing
Even though someone is missing...
Để làm gì, em biết không?
Để gió cuốn đi
Để gió cuốn đi
Gió cuốn đi
Cho mây qua dòng sông
Ngày vừa lên hay đêm xuống mênh mông
Ôi trái tim đang bay theo thời gian
Làm chiếc bóng đi rao lời dối gian
Những khi chiều tới cần có một tiếng cười
Để ngậm ngùi theo gió bay
Rồi nước cuốn trôi
Rồi nước cuốn trôi
Hãy nghiêng đời xuống nhìn suốt một mối tình
Chỉ lặng nhìn không nói năng
Để buốt trái tim
Để buốt trái tim
Trong trái tim
Con chim đau ngủ im
Ngủ dài lâu mang theo vết thương sầu
Một sớm mai chim bay đi triền miên
Và tiếng hót tan trong chiều gió lên
Hãy yêu ngày tới dù quá mệt kiếp người
Còn cuộc đời ta cứ vui
Dù vắng bóng ai
Dù vắng bóng ai….
Trinh Cong Son was one of the greatest musicians of Vietnam. His works consist of more than 500 songs, most of which have become classics in Vietnamese music. He once said "In this life, we should live with heart and soul. Even though it is for nothing. Even though it is just for the wind to blow it away"
(Sống trên đời sống cần phải có một tấm lòng.Dù không để làm gì cả.Dù chỉ để gió cuốn đi).
He wrote a song called “For the wind to blow it away” in which he explained what he said. I was hurt real bad when I realized that I had given away so much love and I didn't get that much in return. But somehow, now I think, I was wrong. Listening to the song again, I've felt better. If I keep on thinking that life is unfair for me, and that no one except for my family can give me as much love as I have given to them, I will just hurt myself. I've written down the song's lyric after few times listening to it. And then, I felt an inspiration to translate it into English...
"Life goes on, as it never ends", I'll be fine. I'll keep on going, keep on being myself. Life is beautiful, human beings are beautiful. This world is beautiful with various artworks, artworks of God. My parents, my sister, my best friend. They're all gifts of life and artworks of God that I've been given. I am grateful to each and everyone I have met in my life, thanks for the lesson they've taught, the love they've given, the pain they've caused.
For each I'm getting stronger, for each I'm growing up some more...
Thank you so much…
Sunday, July 5, 2009
If tomorrow never comes ( A Novel - Marlo Schalesky)
“IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES” began with a single image that popped powerfully into the author’s mind – an old man, walking along a foggy beach at dawn, bending to pick up an old locket from the sand. The rest of the story grew from there.
There are many choices : Choosing to love, choosing to do right despite pain, disappointment, and sorrow, allows tomorrow to come.
But choices made out of desperation, fear, and clinging to our own desires can cut off the future God wants for us. We don't know, we can't see, what tomorrow holds. So all we can do is do what's right now, love now, trust now.
The heart of If Tomorrow Never Comes . . .the choice to love, the choice to believe, the choice to let go of our dreams in order to embrace His. To do it today, for the sake of all our tomorrows.
For anyone who has experienced the heartbreak of infertility or has grown cold toward their spouse or slipped away from their faith because God was not answering their prayers, this book will encourage and give hope.
For anyone looking for an exciting story with many surprises, IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES will provide a good read. Marlo Schalesky has the gift of writing straight from her heart to ours.
I have just finished reading the novel “IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES”, and I'm glad I did. Marlo Schalesky is a fine writer who tells a good story.
I hope I can introduce to all you the whole content of “If tomorrow never comes “ on our last day’s class
I also loved Marlo's novel BEYOND THE NIGHT. If you like well-written, emotionally gripping fiction, read both of these books!
Midway, CA 92655
Thu Nhat Anh Nguyen