Delete application Delete application block application block application block friend block friend delete friend delete application NO MORE FRAWKING QUIZZES AND NO I DON'T CARE IF A NEW EPISODE OF BEWITCHED CAME OUT!
Soundtrack: Nouvelle Vague (recommendation from a friend): Dancing With Myself- startlingly, a cover of an old Billy Idol punk song.
Anyway, hit play, and start reading. I really like this song.
First: from Andong (yep, the Andong Writeup seems to have been swallowed in the mists of time... if there's a loud enough outcry I might try to revive it, but Joe Zen and Fatman Seoul both did such good jobs writing it up already. . .)
Here is one great picture of me and my bud Juhee, on the train, in some nice light. Girlfriendoseyo and I found this fantastic little tea room. The raspberry tea tasted like pulling off the road in the Okanagan valley and picking raspberries off a bush somewhere. So good. the owner had a green thumb, too. Girlfriendoseyo was impressed by the foliage. I was mostly just amazed at the perfectly balanced flavours in the teas.
Walked up and down Namsan this weekend. Flowers (jindalae) were blossoming, which have han, I'm told. These trees remind me of Dr. Seuss illustrations: I liked the lines of this step/fence combination.
I saw Gustav Klimt and Youssef Karsh this week. The Seoul National Art Center, by Nambu Bus Terminal, was in fine form.
The two artists were, too. You should go see these shows (find the place) at the Hangaram Art Museum, south of the Han River, but north of Gangnam. You'll know Klimt from these paintings mostly--however, let me remind you that the difference between seeing a JPG of a picture on your computer screen, and seeing the actual thing (especially when it comes to paintings), is kind of like the difference between reading a car's engine specifications in an auto magazine, and being hit by that car on the street. Judith, above, was there. The Kiss (below) was not: convincing Austria to give up The Kiss and send it overseas would be about the equivalent of asking America to send Abe Lincoln's log cabin on a world tour. National treasure, you know? However, the show was quite impressive (though the nude females were...uh...supercharged with...uh...not for children...energy). A recreation of the Beethoven Frieze was also there, and pretty amazing: basically a visual depiction of the Ninth Symphony, in a way. I learned a bunch about Klimt, and saw some amazing art, and was duly impressed. Next up, in the same building, no less, was Youssef Karsh, the ridiculously amazing photographer. Here's a game: think of somebody who was really famous between 1930 and 1970. Now think of their most iconic portrait photo. Odds are about 50-65% that photo was taken by Youssef Karsh.
You may recognize some of his work.
responsible not only for this photo: and this one,but also this one, and a whole host of others. Plus, he's Canadian. (Karsh, not Winston Churchill)
We got to take these pictures, too. the queen and grumposeyo Gimme back my damn cigar!
Then on Saturday I ate at one of my favorite restaurants in downtown seoul Where they cook the food on this great squared gas grill that's all loaded with spilled-over deliciousness.
Watching the lady cook is fun. The food is just amazing: the best dwenjang soup I've had by about a mile.
Took this picture while walking around Bukcheondong with Girlfriendoseyo: missed the Walkabout tour that happened on Sunday, but saw some nice stuff anyway.
Most ironic book in the world (right up there with, for a dollar on the discount rack, all the evangelical apocalyptic milennial Christian books about "50 reasons why the world will end in on New Year's Day, 2000AD, and How To Prepare for Christ's Return"): "The Roaring 2000s: Building the Wealth and Lifestyle You Desire in the Greatest Boom in History" spotted by Danielle. OK folks. that's it for now.
just one American white-guy who loves everything about Korea. . . I’ve never been to Korea, but that just makes me try to learn and understand harder (as Koreans would day, with a heart of passion - 열심).
And he runs this blog called "On My Way To Korea" -- see, he plans to come to Korea, and from here, it seems like he plans to be the most knowledgeable first-year ever to arrive in Korea.
He runs an interesting little blog, where he tries to post every day. The posts are usually short, which makes it easy to peek over and see whats up (unlike certain blogs I love, but don't dare visit unless I have ten minutes free) and Matt's Korean Culture reading list is pretty eclectic: he'll run anything from tips on doing business in Korea, to language mini-lessons or vocab, to whatever movie or music video floated across his radar: it gives the blog a fun "whatever he can get his hands on" feel wherein the song that filled up the Korean radiowaves back in 2002 might show up next to the latest song by Girls' Generation, and sandwiched between a Korean language vocabulary list, an article about negotiating with Koreans, and a brief report on an urban legend making its way through the Korean memeosphere.
At this point, Matt's still just using his blog to study and get to know Korea before he arrives; I hope he keeps working on his site, and look forward to seeing what happens to the blog once he arrives. Go check him out!
Here's that list...with convenient Korean translations of the names. And a lot of dumb names.
Here are some lists I made, back when I taught Kindergarten, and got tired having every darn parent name their kid Sam or Sally, or having kids choose their own names, and having classes go like this:
Me: Red Ranger! Sit down. Sam one: how many bears were there? Sam one: Three bears. Me: Tiger! What was the girl's name? Tiger: Goldilocks. Me: Sam two! Leave Batman alone! Sarah three! What did she do first? Sarah two: Teacher, Red Ranger took Cinderella's pencil. Me: What's the answer, Sarah two? Cinderella: Teacher I am the new name and my name now new name Goldilocks. Pikachu: Goldilocks is a stupid name. WisdomSong: I agree.
List one: overused boys names. Try to avoid choosing these names for boys: they are either too common, so they will be easy to forget, or much, much less common in English than in ESL classrooms. Alex Andy Brian David Eric Harry Jack Jake Jim/Jimmy Joe/Joey John Kevin Michael Ryan Sam Tom Tony
Try to avoid choosing these names for your girls: they are either too common, and will be easy forget, or much, much less common in English than in ESL classrooms. Amy Angie Annie Emily Jane Jennifer Jenny Jessie Jina Julia Julie Lisa Mary Meg Sally Sarah Sunny
If your son's Korean name is Jae-kyun, go ahead and choose the name "Jake", and if your daughter's Korean name is Soo-jin, choose the name "Susan," because similar sounds make a name feel more natural to a student. Otherwise, avoid them.
Here are some names from the top 100 most common names lists, either in England or North America, which are not overused by ESL students, and are also pretty easy for Koreans to say and spell.
Names that are fine both for boys and girls: Addison, Alexis, Ashton, Avery, Bailey, Cameron, Campbell, Carson, Casey, Dakota, Devon, Harley, Hayden, Jaden, Jamie, Jessie, Logan, Morgan, Parker, Payton, Phoenix, Quinn, Reese, Riley, Shea, Taylor, Teagan, Tyler
Names that are good for girls: Alexa Alexandra Alexis Allison Alyssa Amanda Amber Amelia Andrea Angelina Anna Ariana Ashley Audrey Autumn Ava Avery Bailey Bethany Brianna Brooke Caroline Chelsea Chloe Claire Daisy Destiny Diana Eleanor Elisabeth/Lisa/Beth Ella Emma Erin Evelyn Faith Gabriella Gabrielle Gemma Grace Haley Hannah Helen/Helena Isabel Jada Jasmine Jessica Jocelyn Jody Jordan Kaitlyn Katelyn/Kate Katherine Kayla Kaylee Kimberly/Kim Kylie Lauren Leah Leslie Lilian Lily Lydia Mackenzie Madeline Madison Makayla Maria Marissa Maya Megan Melanie/Mel Melissa Mia Michelle Molly Morgan Natalie Nicole Paige Phoebe Rachel Rebecca Rosie Ruby Samantha Savannah Sierra Sofia Sophia Sophie Stephanie Sydney Taylor Trinity Vanessa Victoria Zoe
Names that are good for boys: Aaron Adam Adrian Aidan Alexander (Alex) Andrew/Drew Archie Ashton Austin Benjamin/Ben Blake Bradley/Brad Brandon Caleb Callum Cameron Carter Chad Charles Chase Chris Christian/Chris Cody Cole Colin Connor Daniel Devin Dylan Ethan Evan Ewan Gavin Harrison Hayden Hunter Ian Isaac Isaiah Jackson Jacob James Jason Jayden Jeremiah Jesse Joel Jonathan Jordan Joseph Joshua/Josh Justin Kieran Kyle Landon Liam Logan Lucas Luke Mason Mitchell/Mitch Nathan Nathaniel Nicholas Noah Owen Patrick/Pat Richard/Rich/Rick Robert/Rob/Bert Ross Ryan Samuel Sean Sebastian Seth Steven/Steve Thomas Timothy/Tim Todd Tyler William/Will/Bill Zachary/Zach