How the LPGA is like my classroom: No Speaking Korean!

An ESPN columnist writes about the LPGA's recent decision to require all woman golfers to speak servicable English, after discovering that Korean women were suddenly taking over the sport.

Choice quote: "And American college graduates get huge salaries to spend a year in Seoul, teaching the language. "

Why did I spend all this money if I can't park my penis, I mean car, anywhere I want?

The Hyundai Genesis is the new most expensive domestic car/status symbol in Korea, meaning that, short of buying a Mercedes or BMW, effectually saying, "I'm so successful, I don't even CARE that I'm not supporting my country's economy anymore!", the Genesis is the biggest freudian compensation kit status symbol you can drive around Korea.

The sign says, according to Girlfriendoseyo, "Don't park here.  If you park here again, we'll let the air out of your tires." 

Not only is he parking where he shouldn't, but he's done it often enough to be threatened.

I'm told by students who work in the service industry that the most obnoxious customers aren't the really rich, but the upper-middle class people -- the ones who go into debt to buy the mercedes, because their neighbours have one.  The ones knocking on the door, but not quite in the club yet.  There's an old Korean saying that translates, "An empty can makes the most noise," which might apply.

Meh.

Preach it, Kyung-Hee!

HT to Gord Sellar.

in case you haven't already had the conversation about the bad effects cram schools and private institutions have on Korean kids a hundred times, or want to hear about it, or just like reading a succinct summary of a conversation many English teachers in Korea have stretched out over hours on end. . . here.

I talked about this in my "Five Things I'd Change About Korea" post, but Kyung-Hee used fewer words.

P.S.: Camper Van Beethoven is making me very happy these days.

By the Way: A Poem in need of Parsing.

If you're a lover of literature, you might want to check out an accidental poem that blogger Schwim, of Sink of Schwim received from a student. I took a crack at unpacking its vivid imagery and fascinating progression of symbols, and some of you might want to take a shot at it, too. If not, just read that thing: it truly is a work of art.

Science is cool again. Nerds are, too.

In case you were wondering about what Dark Matter is, and what the Large Hadron Collider built under France and Switzerland actually does, but can't read the science-ese in science quarterlies. . .



It's cool to be nerdy again.