Arnold Schwarzenegger, for an accent elimination spray.
Warning: bad words
one expat's life in Korea
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Hey Remember Before You Got Jaded About Korea?
It's good to be reminded.
from Dave's, HT to Brian
These folks have put together a flippin' awesome trio of videos that pretty much upstages everything the Korean Tourism Organization has done in the last year.
Watch them. They catch the variety and fun of life here.
(this one includes a bit of footage from Tokyo though)
Dang! It makes me want to travel!
from Dave's, HT to Brian
These folks have put together a flippin' awesome trio of videos that pretty much upstages everything the Korean Tourism Organization has done in the last year.
Watch them. They catch the variety and fun of life here.
(this one includes a bit of footage from Tokyo though)
Dang! It makes me want to travel!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Attention GI Korea: (plus other stuff)
I'm still going through the mad stash of photos I took while in Canada, and I missed Tim Hortons' Boston Creme donuts for the first time today. And I'm renewing my visa today. And while I wait in line I'll do some writing.
But here's something ... has anybody else had trouble accessing ROK Drop? Being shut out of one of my top three favorite K-blogs is a bummer. Hope it gets fixed soon...it's happened before.
Until then, I'll entertain myself with David Bowie's tight pants and Jim Henson's genius. Pretty good combo if you ask me.
and OK: here're three pictures I took before I left for Canada. Rain on glass in a coffee shop window.
And, how's this for creepy: at the Prada store in Shinsegye department store, Namdaemun... see those two mannequins to the left? They are, for the record, the first anorexic mannequins I've seen.
seriously, though: look at those protruding ribs and collar-bones. Scary, is all. Just gross.
Either those mannequins' torsos were made out of some old, discarded xylophones, or Prada's got some serious self-reflection to do on their contribution to the hyper-thin anorexic body ideal that's still going around these days. I'd be happy if stuff like this never happens again.
But here's something ... has anybody else had trouble accessing ROK Drop? Being shut out of one of my top three favorite K-blogs is a bummer. Hope it gets fixed soon...it's happened before.
Until then, I'll entertain myself with David Bowie's tight pants and Jim Henson's genius. Pretty good combo if you ask me.
and OK: here're three pictures I took before I left for Canada. Rain on glass in a coffee shop window.
And, how's this for creepy: at the Prada store in Shinsegye department store, Namdaemun... see those two mannequins to the left? They are, for the record, the first anorexic mannequins I've seen.
seriously, though: look at those protruding ribs and collar-bones. Scary, is all. Just gross.
Either those mannequins' torsos were made out of some old, discarded xylophones, or Prada's got some serious self-reflection to do on their contribution to the hyper-thin anorexic body ideal that's still going around these days. I'd be happy if stuff like this never happens again.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Prince and Back in Korea
So...
my buddy told me about a great website called Transfer Big Files, which will allow you to send files to your friends that are bigger than the usual gmail limitations. It's useful when you need to send somebody your "Park TaeHwan Gold Medal Swim Translation" video (still one of my proudest blog moments this year) or somesuch like that.
and...
the day before I flew back from Canada, I heard on the news that a Torontonian (someone from Toronto) caught a version of the H1N1 virus that was resistant to drugs, just before I got on a plane headed to Narita airport, the site where the other English teachers contracted the Swine Flu virus earlier this year. Fortunately, the entire flight wasn't herded immediately into quarantine facilities, and I got home OK. If I caught something, though, I probably gave it to girlfriendoseyo when she met me at the airport. Sure was happy to see her, though.
and...
It's funny, because Spin Magazine had a special feature on the 25th anniversary of Prince's "Purple Rain" movie/album that came out in 1984, the week after Michael Jackson died. It was a pretty good feature on the album that finally converted me from a hater of '80s music, to one willing to at least give it a listen. (Still hate synth keyboards, though. Sorry, Duran Duran and '80s Leonard Cohen and Frankie Goes to Hollywood). Along with the write-up, Spin Magazine had a tribute album put together of current indie-ish artists doing covers of all the songs on the original Purple Rain album, and I'm happy to tell you that each of the covers is interesting, and maybe even very good. In my opinion, that's the final test of a good songwriter: can another artist cover it, in their own style, and have it still be a good song? Each of the songs holds up.
You can download it here if you're a fan of Purple Rain (and if you get the same question as I did, the answer is Keyboardist).
Anyway, it's just funny that once again, Prince got totally overshadowed by Michael Jackson, and nobody really noticed that the 25th anniversary of one of the great albums of modern times got shuffled aside.
Do you want to hear more about what I think about Michael Jackson? You have to ask. (in the comments will do).
Got my schedule for the new semester. Have to extend my visa.
BTW: The best way to become OK with being back in Korea after almost a month in gorgeous Canada is: 1. to eat breakfast at the best samgyetang restaurant in Korea on the first morning, and 2. to follow that up by walking around a very, very populated area, and look around at the people. People watching in Korea is the best. I saw a girl with the exact same bung-eye as Lee Myung-bak has... she was really pretty, but one eye just didn't quite open as much as the other. That made me smile inside. Then I drank a tasty beverage.
Tasty beverages are good.
later.
my buddy told me about a great website called Transfer Big Files, which will allow you to send files to your friends that are bigger than the usual gmail limitations. It's useful when you need to send somebody your "Park TaeHwan Gold Medal Swim Translation" video (still one of my proudest blog moments this year) or somesuch like that.
and...
the day before I flew back from Canada, I heard on the news that a Torontonian (someone from Toronto) caught a version of the H1N1 virus that was resistant to drugs, just before I got on a plane headed to Narita airport, the site where the other English teachers contracted the Swine Flu virus earlier this year. Fortunately, the entire flight wasn't herded immediately into quarantine facilities, and I got home OK. If I caught something, though, I probably gave it to girlfriendoseyo when she met me at the airport. Sure was happy to see her, though.
and...
It's funny, because Spin Magazine had a special feature on the 25th anniversary of Prince's "Purple Rain" movie/album that came out in 1984, the week after Michael Jackson died. It was a pretty good feature on the album that finally converted me from a hater of '80s music, to one willing to at least give it a listen. (Still hate synth keyboards, though. Sorry, Duran Duran and '80s Leonard Cohen and Frankie Goes to Hollywood). Along with the write-up, Spin Magazine had a tribute album put together of current indie-ish artists doing covers of all the songs on the original Purple Rain album, and I'm happy to tell you that each of the covers is interesting, and maybe even very good. In my opinion, that's the final test of a good songwriter: can another artist cover it, in their own style, and have it still be a good song? Each of the songs holds up.
You can download it here if you're a fan of Purple Rain (and if you get the same question as I did, the answer is Keyboardist).
Anyway, it's just funny that once again, Prince got totally overshadowed by Michael Jackson, and nobody really noticed that the 25th anniversary of one of the great albums of modern times got shuffled aside.
Do you want to hear more about what I think about Michael Jackson? You have to ask. (in the comments will do).
Got my schedule for the new semester. Have to extend my visa.
BTW: The best way to become OK with being back in Korea after almost a month in gorgeous Canada is: 1. to eat breakfast at the best samgyetang restaurant in Korea on the first morning, and 2. to follow that up by walking around a very, very populated area, and look around at the people. People watching in Korea is the best. I saw a girl with the exact same bung-eye as Lee Myung-bak has... she was really pretty, but one eye just didn't quite open as much as the other. That made me smile inside. Then I drank a tasty beverage.
Tasty beverages are good.
later.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Back in Korea!
Hey there all. You missed your chance to loot my apartment: I'm back in Korea, after a pretty epic trip. The plane from Toronto to Tokyo hit a snag: the incoming flight was late, so they turned over the cabin a little too quickly, and forgot to drain the sewage tanks. By about halfway through the flight, half the toilets in the cabin weren't flushing, and by the end of the flight, only two or three were, and poop-smell started filling the cabin.
Meanwhile, I managed to stock up on all the items I really needed, including three nice pairs of pants that fit my butt properly, as pants made for Canadian butts do.
Plus, in keeping with my zombie theme all through June, I found a great new title at Wendel's bookstore in Fort Langley: Pride and Prejudice...And Zombies!
It's hilarious, because the comedy of manners remains just as mannered as ever, but the art of being a refined and accomplished person of taste now suddenly encompasses the proper, ladylike manner of holding a killing sword, and the art of musketry carries as much weight as being well-versed in the modern languages.
I'll be cluttering up these pages with a few reflections of some of the interesting posts I've been unable, or uninclined to comment on during my vacation, and also a lot of pictures, so stay tuned. I'm back.
And, coming soon: my Bollywood kick!
Rob
Meanwhile, I managed to stock up on all the items I really needed, including three nice pairs of pants that fit my butt properly, as pants made for Canadian butts do.
Plus, in keeping with my zombie theme all through June, I found a great new title at Wendel's bookstore in Fort Langley: Pride and Prejudice...And Zombies!
It's hilarious, because the comedy of manners remains just as mannered as ever, but the art of being a refined and accomplished person of taste now suddenly encompasses the proper, ladylike manner of holding a killing sword, and the art of musketry carries as much weight as being well-versed in the modern languages.I'll be cluttering up these pages with a few reflections of some of the interesting posts I've been unable, or uninclined to comment on during my vacation, and also a lot of pictures, so stay tuned. I'm back.
And, coming soon: my Bollywood kick!
Rob
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