I got an e-mail a little while ago about this video, and forgot about it until rechecking the Hub Of Sparkle e-mail account.
This nine-minute film gives a brief sketch of the young people who have escaped from North Korea, some of whom left their parents behind.
The more you know about North Korea, and the more you know about how North Koreans live in South Korea, the more tragic this story is... for one, the faces of all the students in the video except two, are blurred out, for fear that somebody will recognize their faces and their relatives still in North Korea will be punished.
Give it a watch.
one expat's life in Korea
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Short but sweet: When a Mommy and a Daddy Love Each Other Very Much...
Yay the internet.
I don't think this is how Dad explained it to me back when I was a kid, but if the internet says this is how to make a baby, it must be true.
Hope your weekend was good.
I don't think this is how Dad explained it to me back when I was a kid, but if the internet says this is how to make a baby, it must be true.
Hope your weekend was good.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Just funny... Self-Evident Truths in Writing Class
In one of my Writing classes, I just gave a test, and one of the questions was "Identify the problem with this thesis statement" -- we'd spent a lot of time talking about Thesis Statements.
Some of the problems in the thesis statements were things like:
"not specific enough"
"support does not use grammatically parallel form"
"not controversial" (for example: "Exercise is good for you" is not a good thesis statement, because most people would read it and say, "DUH")
"does not take a clear position on the topic"
"uses absolute language, making the thesis difficult to prove"
The thesis statement was:
"There are three reasons all Americans love hamburgers: they are cheap, convenient, and tasty."
The correct answer was
"This thesis statement makes an absolute claim that cannot be proven" - that is, the word "all" makes the claim indefensible, and should be replaced with a word like "some" or "many" or even "most" -- leaving room for exceptions to the assertion.
About a third of my students thought the problem with the thesis statement was
"This statement is not controversial"
Turns out "All Americans love hamburgers" is a self-evident truth. They're Americans, after all.
And all you can do is smile.
Some of the problems in the thesis statements were things like:
"not specific enough"
"support does not use grammatically parallel form"
"not controversial" (for example: "Exercise is good for you" is not a good thesis statement, because most people would read it and say, "DUH")
"does not take a clear position on the topic"
"uses absolute language, making the thesis difficult to prove"
The thesis statement was:
"There are three reasons all Americans love hamburgers: they are cheap, convenient, and tasty."
The correct answer was
"This thesis statement makes an absolute claim that cannot be proven" - that is, the word "all" makes the claim indefensible, and should be replaced with a word like "some" or "many" or even "most" -- leaving room for exceptions to the assertion.
About a third of my students thought the problem with the thesis statement was
"This statement is not controversial"
Turns out "All Americans love hamburgers" is a self-evident truth. They're Americans, after all.
And all you can do is smile.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Bum Economy Got You Down? SNSD, Kim Yu-na and Samsung are here to help
All K-Pop reports:
Kim Yuna, SNSD (Girls' Generation in English) have teamed up to cheer up Korea with...the Ha Ha Song. According to All K-pop,
Now, The Ha Ha Song was a pop song that came out a few years ago, which is really fun in the noraebang. Here's the original: I like the ska tinge.
Samsung previously had the ridiculously popular Kim Yuna do it (singing her own vocals, I bet. Crossover, here we come!) and the nearly as popular, dorky DongBangShinKi (I have a story about them) do the Ha Ha Song too, but as of the 14th, the indistinguishable Girls' Generation get the next crack. They also changed the song a bit, and gave it their own style, 'cause Girls' Generation, they wanna have fun.
And indeed, there's even a separate short video for every single member of SNSD. See if THAT helps you tell them apart.
All the Ha Ha's remind me of this:
Update: Found it!
Looks like South isn't the only Korea that knows the importance of laughter (if it is North Korean as advertised):
after a while this one reminds me a little of the creepy game-show from Requiem for a Dream.
In other news, Hite Stout has another way for you to release some stress: by pummeling an inflatable beer flute with a wooden stick while some cleavage looks on. As with any situation involving cleavage, the always-classy Chosun Ilbo's photographers were there to document it. HT to Brian
There's a joke to be made here, but I'll leave it for someone else to make.
Speaking of Yuna Kim, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it can also be the lamest.
Kim Yuna, SNSD (Girls' Generation in English) have teamed up to cheer up Korea with...the Ha Ha Song. According to All K-pop,
The Ha Ha Ha Campaign is an online cultural encouragement campaign in Korea to spread hope and cheerfulness.
Now, The Ha Ha Song was a pop song that came out a few years ago, which is really fun in the noraebang. Here's the original: I like the ska tinge.
Samsung previously had the ridiculously popular Kim Yuna do it (singing her own vocals, I bet. Crossover, here we come!) and the nearly as popular, dorky DongBangShinKi (I have a story about them) do the Ha Ha Song too, but as of the 14th, the indistinguishable Girls' Generation get the next crack. They also changed the song a bit, and gave it their own style, 'cause Girls' Generation, they wanna have fun.
And indeed, there's even a separate short video for every single member of SNSD. See if THAT helps you tell them apart.
All the Ha Ha's remind me of this:
Update: Found it!
Looks like South isn't the only Korea that knows the importance of laughter (if it is North Korean as advertised):
after a while this one reminds me a little of the creepy game-show from Requiem for a Dream.
In other news, Hite Stout has another way for you to release some stress: by pummeling an inflatable beer flute with a wooden stick while some cleavage looks on. As with any situation involving cleavage, the always-classy Chosun Ilbo's photographers were there to document it. HT to Brian
There's a joke to be made here, but I'll leave it for someone else to make.
Speaking of Yuna Kim, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it can also be the lamest.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)