You may have heard that we had a record-breaking snowfall early on Monday. It was sweet.
Modern comedy is too fast paced. Nobody appreciates a really delicious awkward pause anymore.
And because I love snow, I went out in the snow to take some pictures. Jongmyo Shrine and Changgyeonggung were my destinations, and it was great. I'm going to write this post quickly, so please pardon lack of organizational coherence, etc.. If it really bugs you, well, you got what you paid for, didn't you?
This was built in a snowpile in myeongdong.
Palace and grounds.
Jongmyo Shrine and Grounds
liked the snow pattern on the roof here
tracking across fresh snow is such a joy. I couldn't even tell you why.
liked this wonky tree. cool-shaped branches
everybody was out there with their cameras, taking pictures of everything.
The ajosshi playground in front of jongmyo shrine.
The fresh snow was deep. and wet, later.
barely felt like Seoul.
All around myeongdong the snow had been scraped and broom-brushed (can you believe people use brooms to clear snow in Korea? And nobody has a proper snow shovel.
Chunggyecheon at night always makes me happy.
ze han river. taken from a subway car.
more on my travels this christmas break, and a look back on 2009, coming soon on Roboseyo
So now that everybody's gone primate poo over Avatar, I've gotta say a few things, too.
I've seen it three times now... so I guess you'd have to say I'm strongly in the "liked it" camp.
First: here are the plain facts, sir. If you paid money to see Transformers 2 (I did - Craptacles are one of my guilty pleasures) then you're morally obligated to go see Avatar in the cinema as well. Morally obligated, sirs and madams.
See, if those money-grubbing filmmakers are willing to insult us with their complacent storytelling, their clumsy directing, their filling the screen with crappy actors who are basically good-looking set-pieces that lead the audience from one big explosion to the next... that's one thing. And you know, I'm not going to judge you for spending money to see junk like that in the theater... you better see it there, because anywhere else, and it's horrible, but at least in the cinema, with digital sound and everything, it'll clean out your ear wax.
But here's the other thing: if we're saps enough to give money to the cynical sputum-suckers who make movies like that, apparently out of sheer contempt for their audiences, then we owe it to ourselves, and to the film industry at large, to also give our money to people who are trying to make something that will actually chock us up full with wonder. So if movie spectacle doesn't do it for you anyway, if you didn't bother seeing Transformers 2 in the Cinema, don't bother seeing Avatar either... I guess. But if you did see Transformers 2, because you DO like movies that ought to be seen on the big screen, that are impressive and awesome and make you say "wow," then go see Avatar, too. It's the movie of the decade, and indeed an incredibly powerful expression of regret for humanity, and especially America's vainglory, and specifically the Bush administration.
It's also the movie of the decade: the last decade. And what I mean by that is that there are echoes in the imagery and content of this film that sum up a big part of the major headline news of the decade...
The first way this works is looking at the reason the humans are in Pandora: the indescribably precious and rather obviously named "unobtainium" - a macguffin, perhaps, and also a pretty good stand-in for oil. The language the soldiers use to go to war with the "Navi" (which sounds like Nabi, the Korean word for butterfly) echoes the Bush White House's: pre-emptive strike, shock and awe, fight terror with terror. There's even a scene ... I don't want to give any spoilers here, but there's a certain scene where something starts falling, and one of the shots is totally evocative of the cloud of dust that billowed out when the twin towers fell, and during htat same scene, something is fluttering down in a way that totally evoked all the looseleaf paper floating around the World Trade Center when the office buildings crashed.
It's also a movie that encapsulates the issue that has swollen from small potatoes to big cojones during the decade: the 2000s will be remembered as the decade that the world finally really became aware of the precarious state of the environment. One of the very first images in the film is of a disgusting strip-mine -- an even bigger blight when one sees the beauty of the forest that must have been cleared to make way for that mine. The Navi live in a world of ridiculously rich foliage, of every imaginable color and shape of life-form; the forest flares up with phosphorescence at night, to create one of the loveliest imaginary worlds ever seen on film. Show me a nicer one. The "Aiua" - the life force of the planet, is a direct echo of the Gaia myth - earth's environmental life force, and the idea that all living things are connected. The contrast between the grey, ugly industrial compound the humans built, and the breathtaking foliage of Pandora is startling.
So Avatar is the movie of the naughty oughties, in its political undertones as well as its environmental ones. Another is in its technological concepts. The name Avatar, as we internet people know, is what we call the character I create in an online game, and that character acts out my actions inside the computer game. The idea of acting through a created body is straight out of computer gaming... but then, the Navi people on the alien planet have their own technological correlative: all the Navi have long braids coming out of the back of their heads, which they can use to connect to a similar organ on some of the creatures on pandora, and even to communicate with certain trees. That organ looks a eerily like a fiber-optic cable, as do the strands of the trees which communicate with the Navi. That idea of connecting with a universally compatible port is remarkably similar to those USB ports that every computer has, which you can use to plug into just about anything. Not to mention the way the cords go into the base of your skull, not unlike the Matrix, which was actually 1999, but a series which found its cultural niche (and had a few sequels) in the 2000s. Think again about the difference between those two movies - Matrix, in 1999, introducing you to a world through virtual reality, a movie of violence, of grey, drab design, lots of guns, and a really bleak, dystopian future, and then think about Avatar, where you can plug an entire world into your brain, rather than interacting with a world that has been taken over by ruthless robots. Interesting change indeed. While I'm not one to go in depth into what this might reveal about changing attitudes toward technology and connectivity, it's an interesting idea to bat around, if you happen to get a few nerds in the same room.
See, this is why I love science fiction. The way a person conceptualizes his/her futuristic world reveals so clearly what a person sees in the world around them: that's WHY we use science fiction: as a mirror that is different enough from our world that we can recognize stuff, while still agreeing silently with each other to continue pretending it's a story. It's also interesting seeing James Cameron make connectivity, using fiber optic cables, no less, an integral part of his amazing alien race, especially given the unease with technology he earlier demonstrates in his Terminator movies.
Finally, one must also note that, right down to the bow-and-arrows and long braids, the Navi most resemble some band of First Nations North Americans, crossed with a blue cat - the long ponytale and bald sides to the male warriors heads, a race of people living close to nature: say whatever else you want, but yeah, this is also the noble savage myth retold... but then again, James Cameron's films have always been that way: his Terminator films were straightforward action films - down to the formula, but excellently done. Terminator 2 was the most nuanced film he ever made, thematically, and that had a kid shouting "You can't kill people!" and a narrator saying, "if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too" - way to go for subtle. Titanic was also a pretty typical love vs. money, poor kid vs. rich jerk love story - thematic nuance isn't something James Cameron does... but then, when he can create a world as beautiful as Pandora, who cares if he doesn't?
So go see it. Take off your irony glasses, take a "gee-whiz" pill, and let him blow you away with a real treat for the eyes. Plus, if you paid money for Transformers 2, you'll be thrilled by this one: the action sequences make visual sense, the story is coherent, the characters are likeable, and there actually ARE themes, rather than just running gags and racist stereotypes!
Seoul Eats Meetup is a foodie meetup that's been going on over at Seoul Eats for a while, and 2S2 is heading for its January session, on the Second Saturday at 2pm. Here's the breakdown:
The plan for January just got sorted: the Anguk chapter of 2S2 is getting together with Seoul Eats for a teamup:
The Seoul Eats Meetup will be at noon in Insadong. There's a dumpling restaurant there with nice ddeok soup, a traditional new year's meal. Then, at 2, we'll head to twosome place to gather anybody who's there, and depending on the group size, we'll either head for a nifty tea room somewhere nearby to have some nice Korean teas, or (if the group is smaller) boot up the road to a little place with amazing warm, spiced wine. Once there, we'll have a book exchange. Bring the books you're done with, and trade them in for ones you haven't read yet. We're not fussy about genres... but I know I plan on bringing three or four books, to give my friends a little more choice. I'm also planning on bringing my set of Gostop cards, so that we can have another session of either learning, or playing the game. Once the weather gets warmer, we'll be a little more adventurous in our activities, but just so you know, the last 2S2's have all been good times so far.
So if you're up for some good food, you're welcome to join the Seoul Eats Meetup, like I will, and if a bit of social time, a card game and a book exchange sounds fun, join in for 2S2, too. The Seoul Eats folks are invited to bring a book they're finished with, and meet the rest of the 2S2 people at 2pm. I was thinking of climbing a mountain... but it's still hella cold. I'll bring my pack of gostop cards for anyone who wants... to either play, or learn how, as well.
Please note: I'm hoping not to stay too long at Twosome place this time, and to fairly quickly move on to the next place, so please try to be there promptly at 2. See you there!
also: I am very, very interested in getting 2S2 pockets set up in other locations, rather than just in Seoul. If you're living outside of Seoul, or even in a suburb that's pretty far from Insadong, don't complain that 2S2 is a good idea, but too far away: start your own pocket! Get in touch with me at roboseyo at gmail dot com, or send me a message on facebook, and I'll be thrilled to promote your meetup on the 2S2 community blog as well.
It's dismaying how often I come across a really cool blog...just as they publish their "I'm beginning my countdown to going home" post. Here's a great "goodbye busan" video from the apparently defunct K-blog "Annyeong"
And I'm not putting this on its own post... but T-Ara did their pop song "Bo-Peep" with a Korean orchestra backing them up, moving awkwardly in an attempt at sexy hanbok, for their new year's day performance. I really don't know what to say.
This song is 2010's first number one song in Korea.
I'm working on a few looks back at 2009: hang on, and I'll soon come up with 1. Top ten K-blog moments of 2009 2. (in the Korea Herald) Top ten expat stories of 2009 3. Top ten blogoseyo posts of the year 4. Ten things I learned this year. I didn't do an advent post this year... frankly, it's been a tough year for me personally in a lot of ways. There was one super-duper high point, and then a whole bunch of rough stuff. So that's all coming up. Now go back up and watch that video.
Even though I don't have a TV, and I only ever see TV peripherally or incidentally, passing a screen in a shop, sitting under one in a restaurant, or having it on in the background at girlfriendoseyo's house, I'm still sick of these commercials.
My monthly flickr allowance just topped out, so I can't put up too many pictures, but here's one I like:
It's been a pretty good Christmas, all told: I'll describe some of it in more detail later, but for now, suffice it to say Christmas dinner rocked, and the trip to Jeollanamdo was an adventure punctuated with moments of fantasticousity in the middle of mud, and a lunch encounter with Jeollanamdo's most famous K-blogger was one of the nicest couple hours of my winter so far.
Plus, Joy got this sweet hat! And it came with a free ice cream cake!
Met my friend Cecilia yesterday, and she introduced her boyfriend to me.
You may remember her from here:
Well, her boyfriend a a seriously stellar guy. I like him a lot... and I'm fussy about who dates my surrogate sisters and brothers... but he's a class act, really supportive, and really sweet. Awesome.
too cute.
Took pictures of the Gwanghwamun area, and also some video. I'd also taken a bus down to Kangnam to see what it had to offer, but Kangnam was pants compared to Jongno/Gwanghwamun/City Hall/Chunggyecheon. (Pants is UK slang for "garbage") - somebody told me Kangnam was way cooler these days that it had been the last time I went down there, so I've even refrained from slamming Kangnam at every chance I get, on the off chance it actually WAS cooler... no such luck. Still too crowded, still shiny but with no feeling, still a poor man's Shinjuku. Sorry, Kangnam. You're going to have to try harder, and I don't mean installing more LCD screens.
I gave Cecilia the camera and she got these candid shots of me.
Video Turtle Boat in front of Admiral Lee in Gwanghwamun Plaza.
Gwanghwamun Plaza
Jongno, on the other hand, was in fine form.
Myeongdong
Every Christmas, there's a competition between the department stores to put on the nicest Christmas light display.
Lotte Department Store and Lotte Hotel were unusually weak this year... Namdaemun's Shinsegye spanked Lotte all over the place.
The CitiBank christmas tree in Chunggyecheon plaza was almost as big as the red-blue poo, and it changed color, so it's best seen on the video (see above). It was really nice, though.
Lotte Young Plaza also beat out Lotte Department Store/Lotte Hotel.
Lotte Dept store was meh.
City Hall's Christmas tree was nowhere near this nice; the rest of City Hall Plaza was mostly weak sauce, too.
Outside the Press Building between Gwanghwamun and City Hall
Also along that stretch: the Haechi made his first Christmas appearance. In Seoul, the Haechi comes at night to give good children Christmas gifts like ice cream cakes and stupid hats, and he give bad children's parents municipal tax notices, and arrests them for demonstrating in public spaces.
Chunggyecheon rocked, though.
I also went around that area with my handsome buddy Evan, two nights earlier, so these pictures are from two separate nights. He's a great guy, and he has a message for you.
I already linked Brian's post about dumb Korean Christmas music and stupid hats... the comments to that post are a veritable bloodbath that boils down to a few people saying we have to respect the ways other cultures observe holidays, and if Korea wants to create a commercial monstrosity with stupid hats, that's their prerogative, and the other side saying, "it's all well and good to be a cultural relativist, but it's still jarring and maybe sad to see Christmas observed in a way that is so distant from the warm family holiday we remember from our childhood" (or even from the Christmas we see in movies like A Christmas Story, It's A Wonderful Life, and Love Actually... which is huge in Korea, maybe partly because it reinforces that Christmas is a couple holiday to Koreans.
What I'll say is this: I was never a big fan of commercial Christmas anywhere (put me in the Charlie Brown camp -- ever notice how preachy "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is?), but the fact that Christmas is not only mostly divorced from the old religious roots (didn't see a single nativity scene in two nights of walking around, haven't heard more than a few sacred carols on the Christmas music playlists in Korean shops), but ALSO divorced from the Christmas we remember from back home -- as far and away the number one family holiday of the year -- is jarring, and it sharpens the twinge of homesickness, or the sting of culture shock, for most of the month of December, for many of us. I always miss my family more at Christmas, and my students and Korean friends don't get that unless I ask how they'd feel spending Chuseok away from home, where nobody knows what shikke or songpyun is. The only way I can explain the importance of Christmas to Westerners is to say "Imagine Chusok, Sollal, and Children's Day, all in one day. That's Christmas to me."
Being critical of Christmas cakes and silly hats is a legitimate response to that cognitive dissonance -- "It looks like Christmas... but it isn't Christmas like I remember/long for it..." and frankly, I sympathize. It wouldn't much surprise me if the people attacking Brian in the comments are simply exhibiting their OWN way of coping with the far-from-home culture shock, assuming they ARE far from home, by biding no negativity, or reacting to it so defensively.
And after all that preachifying, here's the best picture of the night:
Saw reflection of blue christmas lights in metal sign. favorite hidden treasure. Whoever can find where I took this, and send me a similar picture, or post it on their blog, wins a cookie.
Tom Jones and Cerys - hilarious "Baby it's Cold Outside" - Tom Jones was born to sing the sexual aggressor in this, the greatest date-rape-themed song ever.
The five bands that would make friggin' AWESOME Christmas Albums
-I've said before that one problem with Christmas music is that the artists who SHOULD make it, usually don't, and the artists who SHOULDN'T, usually do. I'm talking to you, Hanson.-
Of course, if an artist actually HAS made a Christmas album, he/she/they are disqualified from the list, so here's a moment to recognize that sometimes, the artists who should make Christmas music actually do: Emmylou Harris, thank you. Sufjan Stevens: THANK YOU. Diana Krall: Thank you. Frank Sinatra/Rat Pack: Thank you. Whitney Houston: Thanks.
So here are the top five artists I'd love to hear make a Christmas album, and a track of theirs that makes me think they'd make a good one...
but first, to have some fun, and take some cheap shots, the three groups that would make the world's three worst Christmas Albums. Each name includes a link to a song that makes my case:
In third place: Billy Corgan - the guy from Smashing Pumpkins. This Christmas album would make me want to kill myself. I can't imagine him writing a single song happier than something titled "It's Christmas and I'm Alone"
In second place: They do what they do, and they do it well, but Guns'n'Roses just wouldn't be able to sell me a Christmas album. The band responsible for Paradise City might make songs that help me get out of bed, might write songs that help me get in the mood to slaughter the turkey, but won't get me in the mood to drink egg nog with my family.
Before first place: imagine the acid-trip of a Christmas album Jimi Hendrix would have made. How about a Silent Night improv.
In first place: Nickelback. I don't even feel like I need to explain this. At least Guns'n'Roses was a good band in their heyday, and had enough integrity to never make a Christmas album... Nickelback might even actually try one. Imagine an album of Christmas songs that all sound the same, and all sound like this.
OK then. Yikes.
And now: the five bands that really need to make a Christmas album: last time I talked about this, Brian in JND suggested Richard Hawley. That's a good choice, but here are my top five (plus a bonus artist)
Fifth: tie between Regina Spektor and Neko Case. Regina Spektor first: I often compare Regina with Feist, and Feist would make a good Christmas album, too, one that's fun and listenable, but Regina Spektor would bring a little more sincere emotion, as well as a bit more wit and humor, and a comparable pop sensibility. She could break your heart with longing in the Advent songs... and then charm you with some original tunes that were catchy but warm.
And she'd write a few songs that were genuinely funny, not in that "Walking Round in Women's Underwear" way -- novelty Christmas songs are like The Onion: read the title or headline, and that's pretty much all the humor in the whole thing.
Also fifth: Neko Case - I want to hear her miraculous voice singing the most beautiful Christmas songs ever. She'd break your heart, twice, she'd lift you up, she'd reassure you, she'd make you feel like the only person in the world, she'd blow your Christmas wide open, however she wanted.
She's already made one Christmas song: see later in the post for her cover of Tom Waits' "Christmas Card from A Hooker in Minneapolis"
Fourth: Jack White should produce a Christmas album. What the hell? Jack White, from The White Stripes? Yeah. The White Stripes shouldn't make a Christmas album, but Jack White should. Outside the noisy, jubilant stuff from The White Stripes, Jack White's actually done some interesting stuff rooted in folk and rootsy blues in his solo career, including interesting productions of some traditional tunes. But I want Jack White to make a Christmas album as a producer/collaborator, not as the sole voice of the project. He's a really good collaborator, so he'd call in some cool musicians, get right down to the roots of some classic Christmas songs, dig up some obscure old ones, and write some tunes that fit in, tone-wise, with the traditional ones. Then he'd find just the right vocalist or musician to bring the song over the top, with a production that was fresh and vital - full of life - and never ever ever cheesy.
Portland Oregon - Loretta Lynn, produced by Jack White
Third: Alicia Keys. She could bring it slow for O Come Emmanuel, and then she could bring it high and give us all chills for Joy to the World. She'd hit a Christmas album out of the park. She also rates as, other than Nickelback, the artist mentioned in this post most likely to actually make a Christmas album.
Second Place: The Flaming Lips. An odd seeming choice at first, but here's the thing about The Flaming Lips: they are odd and interesting, and they'd make a Christmas album that sounds like nothing you've ever heard. The sweet parts would be an entire wall of sweet... yet somehow they pull that off... the fun parts would be giddy and goofy and noisy as a drunken Christmas Party... the serene moments would be otherworldly - they have a full, complex sound that creates a whole landscape, and for a holiday as loaded and cluttered with traditions, foods, symbols, clothes, slogans, ads, and frantic people, The Flaming Lips "Christmas On Another Planet" would be the perfect balm. Their latest album demonstrates a sound that is fully realized -- they're creating soundspaces more complete than ever, and balancing spare with complex beautifully - and isn't that exactly what Christmas does? Even more than that: they're fun! Flaming lips are always so loaded with good energy, you KNOW they'd make an awesome Christmas album.
They already made one Christmas song: come on. You want to hear more, don't you?
Even better, one of the great things about Tom Waits' songwriting: his songs lend themselves really well to being covered by other artists, which means that if Tom Waits made a Christmas album, we'd get a dozen or so awesome new Christmas songs for artists to cover, instead of having to sit through quite so many crap songs every December.
Tom Waits already wrote "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis" (nope, his Christmas album wouldn't quite be for kids)... and Neko Case made it into one of the loveliest covers I've ever heard. Wouldn't you love there to be ten more Christmas songs this good?
Listen to Martha: doesn't this already sound like a Christmas song? Sure it does.
