Tram Nguyen

Photo

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:32:03 -0400

Photo

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 17:34:51 -0400

"Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow and reap, they gather nothing into barns; yet your..."

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:36:37 -0500

“Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow and reap, they gather nothing into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more important than they? Which of you by worrying can add a moment to his life-span? As for clothes, why be concerned? Learn a lesson from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work, they do not spin. Yet I assure you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was arrayed like one of these. If God can clothe in such splendor the grass of the field, which blooms today and is thrown on the fire tomorrow, will he not provide much more for you, O weak in faith!”

"After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul and you..."

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:48:10 -0500

“After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul and you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t always mean security. And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead with the grace of woman, not the grief of a child and you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight. After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much so you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure you really are strong you really do have worth and you learn and you learn with every goodbye, you learn.”

thedailywhat: World-Record-Setting Waterskiers of the Day: A...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:12:59 -0500

thedailywhat:

World-Record-Setting Waterskiers of the Day: A new world record was set off the coast of Strahan, Tasmania, where 145 waterskiers were pulled by the same boat across Macquarie Harbour, successfully maintaining an upright position for a full nautical mile.

The previous record, set by the same group, was 114. The youngest participant? 12-year-old Alexandria Seaton.

Watch the world record attempt below:

[dailymail / biotv.]

Photo

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:54:28 -0500

Photo

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:18:34 -0500

thedailywhat: Don’t Keep The Change of the Day: The TSA...

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:14:09 -0500

thedailywhat:

Don’t Keep The Change of the Day: The TSA disclosed today that it had collected a total of $409,085.56 in coins from forgetful or neglectful passengers over the course of 2010.

Rifling through what amounts to the world’s most profitable couch, the TSA turned up $376,480.39 in domestic currency and $32,605.17 in foreign coins.

TSA spokesman Greg Soule swears his agency isn’t just an elaborate scheme to bilk you out of your loose change. “[The TSA] makes every effort to reunite passengers with items left at the checkpoint,” says Soule.

So what happens to the money they collect? According to Soule, it goes to fund agency operations. Surprisingly, there are people in government who are just as upset about that as you are probably right now.

“Allowing TSA to keep unclaimed taxpayer money for any and all purposes is an egregious breach of its duty to the public that it serves,” wrote Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL) to Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Miller believes the cash should go to help the USO, but really anyone besides the TSA will do.

[usatoday.]

pagoda in norfolk

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:56:44 -0500

pagoda in norfolk

thedailywhat: Calling In Stupid of the Day: A staff member at...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:16:47 -0500

thedailywhat:

Calling In Stupid of the Day: A staff member at the Manhattan High School of Hospitality Management managed to tack on an extra week to her school-sanctioned spring break by convincing her employer that her daughter had died.

Parent coordinator Joan Barnett fooled the school by having one of her daughters phone an official and claim her sister had died of a heart attack in Costa Rica, requiring Barnett to travel there for the funeral.

Barnett went the extra morbid mile and forwarded the school a forged death certificate — a document which is required prior to the approval of bereavement days.

According to an investigator, a school official raised a red flag after spotting discrepancies in the certificate’s font alignment. A phone call to the Costa Rican government confirmed the certificate was a fake.

However, faced with the fact, Barnett doubled down, insisting her daughter was dead, and providing a second forged certificate as proof.

Unwilling to go as far as actually killing her daughter for the sake of her case — rookie mistake — Barnett had no choice but to plead guilty to misdemeanor forgery and exit stage left.

[nydn.]

thedailywhat: Orange Juice Import Ban of the Day: The FDA has...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:14:52 -0500

thedailywhat:

Orange Juice Import Ban of the Day: The FDA has placed a temporary ban on the importation of orange juice after trace amounts of a fungicide linked to liver tumors were found in OJ from Brazil.

The South American country supplies the States with 41 percent of its imported OJ.

Additionally, some domestic products have imported juice mixed in, meaning containers could be pulled off the shelf and destroyed if tests for carpendazim — a chemical not approved from use on US crops — come back positive.

The FDA promised to “take the necessary action to ensure that the product is removed from the market” if found to be dangerous. However, there is nothing much to be done about the millions of potentially contaminated gallons of OJ already consumed by Americans.

Despite the disconcerting move and the subsequent price spike, the EPA and FDA both sought to assuage fears that citizens have been exposed to harmful toxins.

“Based on monitoring data provided to EPA by FDA, the EPA has no reason to expect that residues of carbenzadim in oranges grown in Brazil would ever approach levels that would raise safety concerns,” said EPA spokesman Dale Kemery in a statement.

Test results are due back this week.

[bloomberg / photo: flickr via laweekly.]

thedailywhat: This Is All Kinds Of Wrong of the Day: A...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:14:00 -0500

thedailywhat:

This Is All Kinds Of Wrong of the Day: A Texas-based “pro-family” group is calling for a boycott of Girl Scout cookies [pdf] in response to the organization’s decision to allow a Colorado boy who identifies as a girl to join a local troop.

In a video uploaded to YouTube last week, Honest Girl Scouts member Taylor, a 14-year-old Girl Scout from Ventura County, California, reads a statement excoriating GSUSA for “not being honest with us girls, its troops, its leaders, its parents or the American public.”

“Girl Scouts describes itself as an all-girl experience,” Taylor continues. “With that label, families trust that the girls will be in an environment that is not only nurturing and sensitive to girls’ needs, but also safe for girls.”

This isn’t the first backlash GSUSA has seen from its decision in Colorado: Three troops in Louisiana disbanded in December, citing the inclusion of trans girls as the reason.

A boycott of Girl Scout cookies would undoubtedly harm the august organization, as it receives a generous amount of its funding from their sale.

Reached for comment, Girl Scouts spokeswoman Michelle Tompkins told the Washington Post that GSUSA “prided itself on being an inclusive organization serving girls from all walks of life,” and will continue to review “cases involving transgender children on a case by case basis with a focus on ensuring the welfare and best interests of the child in question and the other girls in the troop as our highest priority.”

[blogpost.]

thedailywhat: Google Street View Stumble of the Day: A woman...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:12:48 -0500

thedailywhat:

Google Street View Stumble of the Day: A woman was walking along Rua Flor de Espatódia in the Brazilian town of Belo Horizonte in July of last year when she suddenly tripped and fell.

Normally, this wouldn’t merit a mention, except this particular misstep happened to be captured by a passing Google Street View van and uploaded online for the world to see.

Follow this link, and then click on the woman to recreate the fateful moment that will forever associate this street with her stumble.

[reddit.]

"You are getting to a point where you either need to talk to Pat, and stop seeing eddy, or stop..."

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:05:49 -0500

“You are getting to a point where you either need to talk to Pat, and stop seeing eddy, or stop seeing pat and see other people”

- Lola

bad guy good guy

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 10:24:24 -0500

I spent all day Thursday with Eddy and Stephanie. I spent Friday night/sat morning with Patrick. I’m the bad guy right now.

“I’m a boomerang doesnt matter how you throw me Turn around and...

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 08:41:19 -0500

“I’m a boomerang doesnt matter how you throw me Turn around and im back in the game”

thedailywhat: This Is Just Great of the Day: Appearing in the...

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:42:03 -0500

thedailywhat:

This Is Just Great of the Day: Appearing in the latest Target circular is 6-year-old Ryan: A happy, gregarious, photogenic rising star in the world of child modeling — who happens to have Down syndrome.

Ryan has also appeared in a recent Nordstrom catalog among other clothing ads.

On the Daddyblog of a father whose child also has Down syndrome, Ryan’s mother writes:

The whole process of modeling is an extreme confidance booster for him. He received so much warmth and caring from the Nordstrom crew that he thought they were there just for him! We are honored that Ryan is making the Down syndrome community proud. He is a beautiful boy inside and out. He makes us better parents, and a better family.

[noahsdad / adweek.]

thedailywhat: ICWUDT of the Day: A Facebook thread in a...

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:38:03 -0500

thedailywhat:

ICWUDT of the Day: A Facebook thread in a pokeless place.

(Do better below.)

[peetaah / ratsoff / context.]

thedailywhat: Early Bird Special: Kien Lam says: “After I quit...

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 07:57:39 -0500

thedailywhat:

Early Bird Special: Kien Lam says: “After I quit my job last year, I packed a bag, grabbed my camera and bought a one way ticket to London. 17 countries later, I compiled this time lapse of the many amazing places I came across.”

17 Countries. 343 Days. 6237 Photographs. One incredible journey.

[kiendlam.]

thedailywhat: What The Hell of the Day: How does a 14-year-old...

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 07:55:48 -0500

thedailywhat:

What The Hell of the Day: How does a 14-year-old African-American girl who speaks not one word of Spanish end up being deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to Colombia? That’s what they would like to know.

ICE Director of Public Affairs Brian Hale said the department has opened an investigation into the circumstances leading to the deportation of a Texas teen named Jakadrien, who was arrested and sent to Colombia last year despite never having been there in her life.

According to Jakadrien’s grandmother, who managed to track down her granddaughter with the help of Dallas Police and Facebook, the then-14-year-old ran away from home in 2010 after her grandfather died and her parents divorced.

News 8 says Jakadrien ended up on the streets of Houston, where she was arrested by police for theft. Alone and scared, the young girl gave officers a fake name, which, by sheer misfortune, happened to belong to a 22-year-old illegal immigrant from Colombia.

Without verification, ICE collected Jakadrien’s fingerprints and deported her to the South American republic, where she was given a work card and released. In Facebook posts, Jakadrien reportedly complained of being tired from having to work all day cleaning a big house.

Though the U.S. Embassy has been notified of her whereabouts, this sad story isn’t over yet: The Colombian government has since seized Jakadrien, and is holding her in a detention facility for reasons unknown.

Her grandmother, however, is far from giving up: “I feel like she will come home,” she says. “I just need help and prayer.”

[wfaa.]