America: The Unknown Country is a limited series written by F.H. Buckley and Esther Goldberg. I was hired to design a website for it and launched in February 2018. A few weeks ago, I noticed that the site was dead. I checked the Wayback Machine and the last time the site archived was in November 2025. Since the site had been gone for a while, I decided to put it on my server for my own posterity. I kept the site pretty much the same. I just tightened the typesetting and added a dark mode.

One of the biggest issues I have with the web is that most sites don’t last. I hate to see my projects just disappear. I am trying to save as many projects I worked on as I can. Then again, all my own work as well as the projects I worked on will be gone as well. Nothing I can do about it at that point.

When I was still in college, which was over 25 years ago, I started freelancing. I created quite a bit of sites back then, but I did not save any. One particular project I worked on was creating a website for a memoir. The author was a recovering alcoholic. He and his wife invited me to lunch when we started the project and took me out to dinner after we launched the website.

He even gave me a copy of his book. Unfortunately at the time, I hated reading; therefore, I didn’t even read the book. In fact, I lost the book. With my busy schedule, I didn’t get in touch with them. They were already retired when we met. I am not sure if they are still around.

I regret not keeping the book. I regret not keeping the website. I regret not remembering their names. I wish I could have the copy of the book so I could rework the site and keep it for posterity.

Anyway, here’s the unofficial site for America: The Unknown Country

In retrospect, I had a worry-free life for the first 10 years of my life. I was living a calm, stress-free life in Vietnam. My life changed dramatically when I migrated to the U.S. I worried about the language barrier. That led to my worry about grades in school. From sixth grade until I graduated from college, not a single day that I didn’t worry about my grades. My life depended on the school system.

After I graduated, I couldn’t find a job. I worried that my profession was non-essential and would be obsolete before I even landed my first job. I spent so much time honing my craft because I worried that I couldn’t do anything else besides web design. I only changed a few different jobs in my career because I preferred stability. Then again, job security is no longer valid these days.

My current worries are my kids, particularly my two older ones. They are stressing me out. It feels like I am waiting for the bombs to explode. I can’t get them off my mind. I can’t sleep at night. When are they going to start caring about their future? When are they going to stop wasting time playing video games and start getting their act together?

I need to stop worrying so much. It is not good for my health. I need to take care of myself first.

Gần đây tôi lại bị lôi vào tình trạng hoang mang. Tôi cố gắng để tâm hồn mình lắng đọng xuống nhưng vẫn không thể nào làm được. Quá nhiều chuyện ngoài tầm tay của tôi nên tôi cũng đành bó tay.

Công việc giờ đây bấp bênh nên không biết ngày mai sẽ ra sao. Dù có ra sao thì tôi vẫn tiếp tục đi làm để lo cho gia đình. Sự nghiệp của tôi giờ đây không còn quan trọng nữa nên tôi cũng không quan tâm cho lắm.

Điều tôi lo lắng nhất là hai thằng con lớn. Tụi nó đến lứa tuổi chống lại. Càng lo lắng càng muốn giúp đỡ tụi nó, tụi nó càng ghét mình thêm. Buông xuôi thì tụi nó càng tệ. Chẳng lẽ để nó chơi games tám chín tiếng một ngày? Không biết chừng nào chúng nó mới hiểu được nỗi lòng của người làm cha mẹ.

Giờ đây hai thằng nhỏ vẫn còn là niềm an ủi. Chỉ vài năm nữa thôi chắc cũng sẽ nối tiếp theo mấy thằng anh của nó. Thú thật tôi không ngờ làm cha lại khó khăn đến thế. Với tụi nó, tôi cũng là một người cha tồi tệ lắm.

Tình cảm vợ chồng tạm thời cũng ổn nhưng không còn như lúc trước nữa. Để giữ hạnh phúc, có nhiều thứ tôi không còn chia sẻ với vợ được nữa. Đành phải chịu thôi.

Chắc chắn nhiều bạn đọc trang này xem World Cup. Cách đây 20 năm, bạn đọc đã vừa xem World Cup vừa bàn luận trên đây. Giờ đây phần comments đã khép lại chỉ còn mình tôi viết thôi. Mới đó mà đã hai thập kỷ trôi qua.

Nhà tôi giờ đây cũng không còn cable nữa nên không xem được World Cup trên TV. May là có người bạn cho tôi biết về trang colatv48.live. Bây giờ đến giờ xem Pháp đá với Sénégal. Go France!

Sam Knight reports for the New Yorker:

The governments that Infantino has worked most closely with as FIFA president have been Putin’s, the Emir of Qatar’s, the Trump Administration, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

On the one hand, it is a self-selecting group. FIFA has to deal with rulers who have the wealth, and the disposition, to put on the largest events. “A lot of the sucking up is exactly as a multinational corporation will do,” a former FIFA committee member told me. “It’s the behavior of Coca-Cola, of Siemens, of Mercedes.” In 2024, Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil company, became an official FIFA sponsor. On the other hand, Infantino’s fascination with autocracy seems to be more than just a matter of the people whom he does business with.

As a World Cup fan, I find the reporting fascinating and disheartening to read.

Two of my drinking buddies introduced me to Midleton Very Rare 2023. I was not as impressed as they were for a bottle of blended whisky that cost over $300.

At 80 proof, Midleton Very Rare 2023 goes down smoothly with fruity palate and a tad of spice. It finishes with a bit of smoky oak. At the price point of over $300, it was not worthwhile. Even though one of my buddies got a military discount for about $140, I still passed on it. Though I wouldn’t mind if they offer me to drink.

It is definitely a somewhat extravagant bottle to share with close friends, but I can also drink it a glass or two after long day of work to unwind. Some Trịnh Công Sơn’s music arranged in jazz and blue vibes would be nice to accommodate Midleton Very Rare 2023.

Instead of playing pickleball with friends, I am working on my snowboard carving with a Kryptonics cruiser skateboard. I missed the social aspect, but I preferred progressing on my own. I watched some YouTube videos on how to ride a longboard and I was not doing it correctly. I applied my snowboard carving techniques to the longboard instead of learning the skateboard techniques.

Since my goal is to work on my snowboard carving skills, I don’t need to go to the skatepark. As long as I can find an empty parking lot with a bit of a hill, I am all good to go. I am focusing on my balance and stance. Snowboarding is much more forgiving even if you are off balance because you are always strapped in. On a skateboard, it is harder to keep yourself on the board if you are not balanced. When I first started, I kept jumping off the board, but now I can stay on the board and make wide turns from toe to heel.I ride goofy. I tried to ride regular on skateboard, but it was way too scary. I will need to work more on that.

I still rollerblade with my big wheels to work on ski carving and with my aggressive skates in the skatepark. Xuân got bored with the scooter. He’s now riding a bike with his little brother. My older sons stayed indoors on their digital devices. I skateboard and rollerblade on my own. It’s a bit lonely, but I need to do a bit of exercise. I progress much slower, but I am also getting old. Getting injured isn’t worth the risk anymore. I am not sure how I banged up my left wrist, but it takes forever to heal. It has been like 3 or 4 weeks and I am still in pain. I can’t pull my seatbelt. I can’t even wipe my ass with it.

I picked up Maris Kreizman’s book of essays because it’s fairly short—160 pages. Her writing is indeed concise. Whether on our current state of healthcare, police brutality, or her own struggle with diabetes, her opinions are honesty, sharp, and engaging. She writes about Don Jr:

I am in the same graduating class as Donald Trump Jr. In college, he appears only to be a dumb frat boy with a bit of a drinking problem, not the legitimate threat to national security that he is destined to become. The only vaguely political thing I ever see him do during our college years is attend a protest on the College Green when the administration bans drinking at undergraduate parties in 1999 after a twenty-six-year-old alumnus of Donnie’s fraternity dies after drunkenly falling down the stairs at their fraternity house. (To be fair, I was at the protest, too.) I never gave Donnie enough credit; I’ve got to admit that he’s really come a long way since then, political impact-wise.

I enjoyed reading these essays.

I spent Thursday and Friday with my sister’s family to celebrate my nephew’s graduation from Drexel University. I hadn’t had a chance to hang out with them; therefore, it was a perfect opportunity. We had a wonderful time together, and yet I kept thinking about my wife and kids. I felt guilty for leaving them.

I have developed the mentality that my time is limited and I need to spend time with my family. Whenever I am not with them, I feel so damn guilty. Ironically, the kids don’t want to spend time with me as they get older.

I have been thinking about my own dilemma. I need to stop over thinking. It doesn’t matter if I were with family or friends, I just need to be present for the moment. The time will pass and I will be back to my regular schedule.

Lately I just wanted to stay home more. I don’t want to play pickleball with friends. I don’t want to drink much anymore. I am getting fed up with the headaches, hangovers, and feeling like hell.

I have books to read. I have things to write. I have design projects I want to work on. I want to tidy up our house. I have so many things to do and so little time. I also just want to lounge with my kids. They spend most of their time on their digital devices anyway. I have no comment on my wife.

I was not impressed with Maker’s Mark® 46 on the first try, but it grew on me the more I sipped.

At 94 proof, 46 doesn’t go down too strong. It has a slightly sweet taste of vanilla and a hint of cinnamon. For $38 a bottle (750 ml), it is not bad to keep one in handy. I’ll definitely go back to drink it with friends or just kick back listening to hip-hop. As a matter of fact, I am sipping and listening to Jay-Z’s The Blueprint.

Maker’s Mark® 46 won World’s Best Finished Bourbon for 2026.