Hung Truong: The Blog!

Ingrid Michaelson at The Ark, Ann Arbor 8/9/10

I went to see Ingrid Michaelson with my .gf at The Ark in Ann Arbor on August 9th, 2010. This was the third time I’ve seen her in concert, which is the most times I’ve seen anyone in concert, I think. Besides the band I was in myself, which doesn’t count.

I had recently seen her and the band in Seattle in October last year. I was hoping there’d be a lot of new material, but for the most part it was a lot of songs from her latest two albums, Everybody and Be Okay/Girls and Boys. She played one new song called “Parachute” that was catchy.

As usual, Ingrid and the band came off as genuinely having a good time. I think it helped that this was a fan show (they pre-sold out to the fan email list) and they had been opening for a band so no one knew who they were for the past few shows. As with any live show, the best parts are when the band does something unexpected. In this show, they mixed in the chorus from Poker Face into Soldier (I think they might’ve done that last time, too), did a cover of Britney Spears’ Toxic as a last song (before they left for an encore) and also played a punky fast version of The Way I Am as their real last song (which they also played at normal speed earlier in the show).

Overall, It was a really fun show. Ingrid and the band really have a good time, and it rubs off on the fans, especially in a small venue like The Ark. Hopefully a new album is on the way. I’d like to hear more new material next time.

Indian Pizza Hut Spam

I got this spam in my email box from Pizza Hut India:

I did not realize there were Pizza Huts in India. They appear to be marvelous institutions. There appears to be dancing and “Magic Times” to be had.

I’ll make a point to try and visit Pizza Hut next time I am in India. Which is likely never.

The Angry Birds Secondary Market

So I was searching for Angry Birds on iTunes in order to get the link for it. I’ve already bought the game, and it’s an awesome one for $1.

I noticed that there are a number of “Angry Bird” apps, but only two of them are the original. Angry Birds and the lite demo version. The others are all either cheat/walkthrough guides, or random knockoffs. The insane thing is that the price of the actual game is $1, and so are the knockoffs! You can buy the game for the same amount as an unauthorized guide, which has information freely that’s available online! The craziest one is the app called “The Angry Bird,” which has an angry looking bird trying to kill worms or something. I am assuming all of these apps are legal under fair use and whatnot (if they’re only stating facts), yet something tells me they could be violating trademark rules…

I wonder if other popular apps have this same kind of thing happening to them. And I wonder if the developers of Angry Birds are bothered by it. If they got angry enough, they might be able to make a spinoff game called “Angry Developers of Angry Birds.”

Guile Theme Ringtone for iPhone

Because Guile’s theme goes with everything, I made a ringtone, which I’m currently using on my iPhone.

Get it.

Hung Withdrew TWENTY TEN. Hung Sent Out K2. It’s Super Effective!

I switched my blog theme again. Twenty Ten is the official default theme of WordPress 3.0, but that doesn’t make it good. Too much wasted space on top. On a normal monitor, you practically have to go below the fold to get to any content!

I switched back to good ol’ K2. It’s good to have you back, buddy (even though by default you show post featured images in a really, really stupid way)!