ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Duc's Thoughts</TITLE> <META name="description" content="add your site description here"> <META name="keywords" content="add your search engine keywords here separated by commas"> <META http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"> <META name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 6.0"> <META name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document"> <LINK rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css"> </HEAD> <BODY> <DIV align="left"> <TABLE border="1" cellspacing="0" width="100%" class="header"> <TR> <TD width="100%"> <P align="center"><IMG border="0" src="images/logomusic.jpg" width="600" height="150"></P> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> </DIV> <P>&nbsp;</P> <DIV align="left"> <TABLE border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" cellpadding="0"> <TR> <TD width="200" class="sidebar"> <P align="center"><B>T 0 D A Y</B></P> <P align="center"> <SCRIPT src="calendar.js"></SCRIPT><br> <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"> <!-- Original: George Chuang --> <!-- This script and many more are available free online at --> <!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com --> <!-- Begin theDate= new Date(); var day = theDate.getDate(); var year = theDate.getYear(); year = (year < 2000) ? year + 1900 : year; var textdate = (theDate.getMonth() + 1) + '/' + theDate.getDate() + '/' + year; var numquotes = 31; quotes = new Array(numquotes+1); quotes[1] = "On a long journey of human life, faith is the best of companions; it is the best refreshment on the journey; and it is the greatest property. (Buddha)"; quotes[2] = "Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. (Buddha)"; quotes[3] = "You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. (Buddha)"; quotes[4] = "The point of the teachings is to control your own mind. Restrain your mind from greed, and you will keep your body right, your mind pure and your words faithful. Always thinking of the transiency of your life, you will be able to desist from greed and anger and will be able to avoid all evils. (Buddha)"; quotes[5] = "The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly. (Buddha)"; quotes[6] = "The Mind is the source of happiness and unhappiness. (Buddha)"; quotes[7] = "To live a single day and hear a good teaching is better than to live a hundred years without knowing such teaching. (Buddha)"; quotes[8] = "Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. (Buddha)"; quotes[9] = "There is no fire like passion, there is no shark like hatred, there is no snare like folly, there is no torrent like greed. (Buddha)"; quotes[10] = "Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart, give yourself to it. (Buddha)"; quotes[11] = "The man who foolishly does me wrong, I will return to him the protection of my most ungrudging love; and the more evil comes from him, the more good shall go from me. (Buddha)"; quotes[12] = "Look within, thou art the Buddha. (Buddha)"; quotes[13] = "'He insulted me, he cheated me, he beat me, he robbed me.' Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace. (Buddha)"; quotes[14] = "There is only one time when it is essential to awaken. That time is now. (Buddha)"; quotes[15] = "Attachment is the source of all suffering. (Buddha)"; quotes[16] = "Thou one man conquers a thousand men, a thousand times in battle, he who conquers himself is the greatest warrior. (Buddha)"; quotes[17] = "If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way. (Buddha)"; quotes[18] = "He who never thinks of anything as mine' does not feel the lack of anything: he is never worried by a sense of loss. (Buddha)"; quotes[19] = "Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed. (Buddha)"; quotes[20] = "I gained nothing at all from Supreme Enlightenment, and for that very reason it is called Supreme Enlightenment. (Buddha)"; quotes[21] = "The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed. (Buddha)"; quotes[22] = "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense. (Buddha)"; quotes[23] = "Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine. (Buddha)"; quotes[24] = "Decay is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence. (Buddha's last words)"; quotes[25] = "Whenever I see an erring man, I say to myself I have also erred; when I see a lustful man I say to myself, so was I once; and in this way I feel kinship with everyone in the world and feel that I cannot be happy without the humblest of us being happy. (Mahatma Gandhi)"; quotes[26] = "When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it  always. (Mahatma Gandhi)"; quotes[27] = "I believe in the fundamental truth of all great religions of the world. I believe they are all God-given and I believe that they were necessary for the people to whom these religions were revealed. And I believe that if only we could all of us read the scriptures of the different faiths from the standpoints of the followers of these faiths, we should find that they were at the bottom all one and were all helpful to one another. (Mahatma Gandhi)"; quotes[28] = "Hatred ever kills, love never dies such is the vast difference between the two. What is obtained by love is retained for all time. What is obtained by hatred proves a burden in reality for it increases hatred. (Mahatma Gandhi)"; quotes[29] = "Non-violence and cowardice go ill together. I can imagine a fully armed man to be at heart a coward. Possession of arms implies an element of fear, if not cowardice. But true non-violence is an impossibility without the possession of unadulterated fearlessness. (Mahatma Gandhi)"; quotes[30] = "Who am I? I have no strength save what God gives me. I have no authority over my countrymen save the pure moral. If He holds me to be a pure instrument for the spread of non-violence in place of the awful violence now ruling the earth, He will give me the strength and show me the way. My greatest weapon is mute prayer. The cause of peace is therefore, in God s good hands. (Mahatma Gandhi)"; quotes[31] = "As soon as we lose the moral basis, we cease to be religious. There is no such thing as religion over-riding morality. Man, for instance, cannot be untruthful, cruel or incontinent and claim to have God on his side. (Mahatma Gandhi)"; <!-- document.write('<b>Date: ' + textdate + '</b><br>'); --> document.write('<i>' + quotes[day] + '</i><br>'); // End --> </script><br> </P> <HR><!--WEBBOT bot="Navigation" s-orientation="vertical" s-rendering="graphics" s-type="top" b-include-home="TRUE" b-include-up="FALSE" startspan --> <nobr><a href="/">Home</a></nobr><br> <nobr><A title="My personal thought" href="thoughtoftheweek.html" target="">His Thought</a></nobr><br> <nobr><A title="Writings, Comments, & Core stories" href="english.html" target="">English Page</a></nobr><br> <nobr><A title="My own poems" href="vietnamese.html" target="">His Poems</a></nobr><br> <nobr>Music</nobr><br> <!-- <nobr><A title="My taste of music" href="music.html" target="">Music</a></nobr><br> --> <nobr><A title="My Pics" href="pictures.html" target="">Pics</a></nobr><br> <nobr><A title="Greatest Quotes Collected" href="quotes.html" target="">Collected Quotes</a></nobr><br> <nobr><A title="Budhist Sense of Humor" href="commedycenterbuddhist.html" target="">The Comedy Channel</a></nobr><br> <nobr><A title="Eastern Philosophy" href="corestorybuddhism.html" target="">How They See It</a></nobr><br> <!-- <nobr><a href="resume.html" target="">Resume</a></nobr><br><br> --><br> <HR> <P style="text-align: center"><B><FONT face="Verdana">&#9679; </FONT><A title="Comments? Drop me a note!" href="mailto:ductluu@gmail.com">Email Me</A> <FONT face="Verdana">&#9679; </FONT></B><br> <p class=fine> <b>Winter Hunter</b><br> (Jesse Sykes)<br> <EMBED TYPE=audio/midi SRC=/music/jessesykes/winterhunter.mid DELAY=5 AUTOSTART=true LOOP="-1" WIDTH=140 HEIGHT=40><br><br> <IMG border="0" src="images/spacer.gif" width="225" height="22"> <!-- <P><SPAN style="font-size: 90%">Template by<BR> </SPAN><A href="http://www.rtbwizards.com"><SPAN style="font-size: 90%">Round the Bend Wizards</SPAN></A></P> --> </TD> <TD width="20" valign="top"><IMG border="0" src="images/spacer.gif" width="25" height="25"></TD> <TD width="100%" class="main"> <H1><!--WEBBOT bot="Navigation" s-type="banner" s-orientation="horizontal" s-rendering="graphics" startspan --> <FONT face="AirfoilScriptSSK"> A few favorite ones...</FONT> <!--webbot bot="Navigation" i-checksum="29217" endspan --></H1> <FONT face="verdana, Arial, Helvetica"> <P align="justify"> <UL> <LI><a href="/music/abba/abba.html"><b>ABBA</b></a>: <i>Björn Ulvaeus</i>, a vocalist-guitarist (born 1945), and <i>Benny Andersson</i>, a vocalist-keyboardist (born 1946), were the first pair of the group until 1969 when <i>Agnetha Faltskog</i> (born 1950) and <i>Anni-FridLyngstad </i> (born 1945) joined in and completed the name of the band. '<b>ABBA</b>' was named using each of their innitials. With a smooth, softer, and much more gentle touch (compared to Boney M), ABBA's was a young, cute, lovely, and full-of-life style of music that brought energy and enthusiasm to fans that made them the most well-known and successful Sweedish pop music group in the world during 1970s and well beyond 1980's.<br> A few of my favorite ones include <a href="/music/abba/chiquitita.mp3"> <i>Chiquitita</i></a>, <a href="/music/abba/fernando.mp3"> <i>Fernando</i></a>, <a href="/music/abba/ihaveadream.mp3"> <i>I Have A Dream</i></a>, <a href="/music/abba/knowingmeknowingyou.mp3"> <i>Knowing Me Knowing You</i></a>, <a href="/music/abba/mammamia.mp3"> <i>Mamma Mia</i></a>, <a href="/music/abba/ringring.mp3"> <i>Ring Ring</i></a>, <a href="/music/abba/sos.mp3"> <i>S.O.S</i></a>, <a href="/music/abba/supertrouper.mp3"> <i>Super Trouper</i></a>, and so on... </LI> </UL> <UL> <LI><a href="/music/boneym/boneym.html"><b>Boney-M</b></a>: Although not widely known in America as much as ABBA, with the combination of pop, disco, dancing style, along with its sensuous tunes and catchy rythm, Boney-M was also a phenomenal icon in Europe & Western world during mid 70's. From Boney-M, fans can easily find its special earthy tone, short beats, and catch rythm that somehow reflected the Western African style of music. That unique icon had Boney-M's own style of bringing fans along with their story-tellings in a special unique way . Despite the successful of ABBA, Boney M however was the first disco band I've ever listened to and felt for in my early teens due to its short, catchy, but attractve beats in its music. <br> A few of my favorie ones include <a href="/music/boneym/bahamamama.mid"><i>Bahama Mama</i></a>, <a href="/music/boneym/mabaker.mid"><i>Ma Baker</i></a>, <a href="/music/boneym/goingbackwest.mid"> <i>Going Back West</i></a>, <a href="/music/boneym/rasputin.mid"> <i>Rasputin</i></a>, <a href="/music/boneym/riversofbabylon.mid"><i>Rivers Of Babylon</i></a>, <a href="/music/boneym/consuelabiaz.mid"><i>Consuel Abiza</i></a>, <a href="/music/boneym/ellute.mid"> <i>El lute</i></a>, <a href="/music/boneym/hellomonkey.mid"> <i>Hello Mr. Monkey</i></a>, and many others... </LI> </UL> <UL> <LI>Sung by <a href="/music/iglesias/iglesias.html"><b>Julio Iglesias</b></a>; in Spanish, French, or English version. Listed here are only a few selected ones. </LI> </UL> <UL> <LI><a href="/music/moderntalking/moderntalking.html"><b>Modern Talking</b></a>: German's pop music duo that was formed in mid 80's. Composing, producing, and singing their own songs, they became famous in Europe and outside of America. I did not listen to this band until 1986 after residing in America however. You don't find the variety of beats but only a simple, single tone in almost every song they wrote; however it was an elegant, upbeat, and very unique rythm in their beat. A few of my favorite ones are <a href="/music/moderntalking/brotherlouie.mid"> <i>Brother Louie</i></a>, <a href="/music/moderntalking/callmewhenyouaresad.mid"> <i>Call Me When You Are Sad</i></a>, <a href="/music/moderntalking/doyouwanna.mid"> <i>Do You Wanna</i></a>, <a href="/music/moderntalking/gerominoscadillac.mid"> <i>Geromino's Cadillac</i></a>, <a href="/music/moderntalking/jetairliner.mid"> <i>Jet Airliner</i></a>, <a href="/music/moderntalking/withalittlelove.mid"> <i>With A Little Love</i></a>, <a href="/music/moderntalking/youcanwinifyouwant.mid"> <i>You Can Win If You Want</i></a>, <a href="/music/moderntalking/youareawomaniamaman.mid"> <i>You're A Woman I'm A Man</i></a>, and definitely <a href="/music/moderntalking/youaremyheartyouaremysoul.mid"> <i>You Are My Heart, You Are My Soul</i></a>, and <a href="/music/moderntalking/touchbytouch.mid"> <i>Touch By Touch</i></a> </LI> </UL> <UL> <LI><A title="Richard Clayderman Instrumental" href="/music/clayderman/clayderman.html"><b>Richard Clayderman</b></a>: My most prefered instrumental music. I used to listen songs played by this pianist in my junior & senior years @ college (where were those golden days and quiet nights at UMCP's Engineering lounge doing homeworks???) <br> Listed here are only a few samples of my most favorite ones. </LI> </UL> <UL> <LI> <a href="/music/tcs/tcs.html"><b>TrËnh Công S¡n</b></a> (1939 - 2001): Vietnam's greatest and most beloved composer that I admire the most. Probably the best of all time; a Vietnam's "Bob Dylan", as some had respectfully named him. Beside many deep and meaningful philosophical point of view (<a href="/music/tcs/dauchandiadang.mp3">D¥u Chân Ëa àng</a>, <a href="/music/tcs/motcoidive.mp3">MÙt Cõi i VÁ</a>, <a href="/music/tcs/bonmuathayla.mp3"> BÑn Mùa Thay Lá</a>, or <a href="/music/tcs/chieclathuphai.mp3">Chi¿c Lá Thu Phai</a>) the love for peace and speaking out against wars (<a href="/music/tcs/daibacrudem.mp3">¡i Bác Ru êm</a>, <a href="/music/tcs/giataicuame.mp3">Gia Tài Cça M¹</a>, <a href="/music/tcs/goplamuaxuan.mp3">Góp Lá Mùa Xuân</a> ...) were the main messages from most of his songs. His calling out for patriotism from his fellow Vietnamese would not come from painting out a beautiful countryside on a lovely sunny day; instead he triggered audience's love for peace and stand up against wars by painting out the pain, the heartache (<a href="/music/tcs/nguoigiavaembe.mp3">Ng°Ýi Già Và Em Bé</a>), the lonesomeness (<a href="/music/tcs/nguoiditanbuon.mp3">Ng°Ýi Di T£n BuÓn</a>), or the touchy screen from the destruction of wars (<a href="/music/tcs/hattrennhungxacnguoi.mp3">Hát Trên Nhïng Xác Ng°Ýi</a>) that had been brought to his crippled war-torn country and to his beloved fellow Vietnamese. Because of his strong anti-war sentiment against any government, TrËnh Công S¡n was probably targeted politically from both regimes: persecuted by South-Vietnamese government in late 60s to early 70s and later spent another decade in a forced-labor camp (re-education camp) under the new regime that united the country after 1975. His songs were not just simply the songs themselves but rather an endless string of several sad and sorrow stories that cried out the deep wound of a war-torn country that he happened to live through, bared witness, and deeply care for passionately.<br> Believed to have written more than 600 songs throughout his career. TrËnh Công S¡n, by far most, was my favorite and admired Vietnamese artist.<br> Khanh Ly, one of the best female vocalists of all time (in my own assessment) was probably the only one who could best carry out Mr. Trinh's messages to his fellow Vietnamese. The sound, the tone, the rythm, and the philosophy in Mr. Trinh's songs could only best revealed through Ms. Khanh Ly's voice. </LI> </UL> <UL> <LI> <a href="/music/khanhly/khanhly.html"><b>Khánh Ly</b></a>: Nói ¿n TrËnh Công S¡n không thà không Á c­p ¿n Khánh Ly, mÙt trong hai giÍng ca nï (sau LÇ Thu) mình hâm mÙ nh¥t. D°Ýng nh° bà ta sinh ra à ca nh¡c TrËnh Công S¡n. N¿u nói TrËnh Công S¡n °ãc ¿n vÛi khán gi£ mÙt cánh h­u ãi qua giÍng hát Khánh Ly, thì cing không thà không kh³ng Ënh r±ng Khánh Ly tìm °ãc ch× éng cça bà cing là nhÝ vào nh¡c TrËnh. Vãi nh¡c TrËnh, giÍng Khánh Ly có mÙt cái gì ó ·c biÇt. GiÍng bà ta hàm chéa mÙt chút gì ó tr§m, buÓn; mÙt chút ít t° lñ, £m ¡m nh°ng không quá cô ¡n, bi át; ç à °a thính gi£ x­p xình vào nhïng iÇu Boston buÓn, t° lñ (<a href="/music/khanhly/nhungngaythomong.mp3">Nhïng Ngày Th¡ MÙng</a>); slow, ho·c slow-rock du d°¡ng (<a href="/music/khanhly/vunglaycuachungta.mp3">Ving L§y Cça Chúng Ta</a>). Ngay c£ Tango, mÙt trong nhïng iÇu nh¡c khó ca bà cing có mÙt giÍng ca ç m¡nh ç à i theo ti¿ng nh£y cça Tango (<a href="/music/khanhly/vunuthangay.mp3">Vi Nï Thân G§y</a>).<br> Bài ca mình chuÙng nh¥t là bài <a href="/music/khanhly/chunhatbuon.mp3"> Chç Nh­t BuÓn</a> cça Ph¡m Duy qua giÍng hát cça bà. Cho ¿n nay, mình ch°a nghe mÙt giÍng ca thé hai nào có cái kh£ nng t£ °ãc mÙt n×i buÓn, cô ¡n, mÙt chút gì ó gói ghém, mÙt chút tâm sñ, trn trß cça k» tr§n tình nh°ng không quá chán n£n, bi ai.<br> Trong ph§n <a href="/music/khanhly/khanhly.html"><b>Khánh Ly</b></a> này, mình chÉ thu th­p nhïng bài ca qua giÍng hát cça bà ta. <br> MuÑn th°ßng théc Khánh Ly qua nh¡c TrËnh, mÝi quý vË trß l¡i ph§n nh¡c <a href="/music/tcs/tcs.html"><b>TrËnh Công S¡n</b></a> £ t£i ß trên. </LI> </UL> <UL> <LI><A title="Vong-Co" href="/music/vongco/vongco.html"><b>Vong-Co, A traditional Southern Vietnamese Folk-Song Music</b></a> are also part of my favorite music.<br> Listed here are only a few samples of those I could collect so far. </LI> </UL> <UL> <LI><A title="Th¡" href="/music/thica/thica.html"><b>Thi-Ca</b></a> cing óng mÙt vai trò quan trÍng trong vn hÍc nghÇ thu­t. Mình cing có mÙt trang s°u t§m nhïng bài th¡ và nhïng giÍng ngâm hay mÝi quý vË th°ßng théc.<br> </LI> </UL> <UL> <LI>Last but not least, the joy of music can't be fulfilled without a little bit taste of <A title="Disco" href="/music/disco/disco.html"><b>Disco where Late 70's - early 80's</b></a> marked a great deal of my time grwowing up with it. See here a few favorite ones.<br><br> There are also a few typical Russian red-army choir songs collected in this <A title="Disco" href="/music/disco/disco.html"> <b>Miscellaneous</b></a> section. Only a few who grew up with Communist regimes would be hearing these tone over and over again. Despite the political view perspective they might bring, one can't deny such powerful, strong, and influencial beat of such theme from the artistic point of view. Part of my collection. <br><br> </LI> </UL> <UL> <LI><A title="Buddhist Lectures" href="/music/thichchanquang/thichchanquang.html"><b>A few selected Buddhist lectures (Thuyet Phap)</b></a> could be found in here should you be interested (in Vietnamese)<br> </LI> </UL> Enjoy and thanks for tuning in.<br> Duc Luu.<br<br> <HR> <P style="text-align: center"> <B><FONT face="Verdana">&#9679; </FONT> <nobr><A title="Duc's Home" href="/">Home</a></nobr> <FONT face="Verdana">&#9679;</FONT> <nobr><A title="My personal thought" href="thoughtoftheweek.html" target="">His Thought</a></nobr> <FONT face="Verdana">&#9679;</FONT> <nobr><A title="Writings, Comments, and Core stories" href="english.html" target="">English Page</a></nobr> <FONT face="Verdana">&#9679;</FONT> <nobr><A title="Duc's poems" href="vietnamese.html">His Poems</a></nobr> <FONT face="Verdana">&#9679;</FONT> <norb><A title="My taste of music" href="music.html">Music</a></nobr> <FONT face="Verdana">&#9679;</FONT> <norb><A title="My Pics" href="pictures.html">Pics</a></nobr> <FONT face="Verdana">&#9679;</FONT> <norb><A title="Greatest Quotes" href="quotes.html">Quotes</a></nobr> <FONT face="Verdana">&#9679;</FONT> <nobr><A title="Budhist Sense of Humor" href="commedycenterbuddhist.html">Comedy</a></nobr> <FONT face="Verdana">&#9679;</FONT> <nobr><A title="Eastern Philosophy" href="corestorybuddhism.html">How They See It</a></nobr><br> <!-- <FONT face="Verdana">&#9679;</FONT> <norb><A title="My resume" href="resume.html">Resume</a></nobr> <FONT face="Verdana">&#9679;</FONT></B> --> </TD> <HR> <!-- <P style="text-align: center"> <B><FONT face="Verdana">&#9679; </FONT> <A title="Comments? 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