Hey all. Don't forget to clear your calendar on Saturday afternoon for the second monthly 2S2 meetup.
For more explanation on what 2S2 is, and where to meet see this link.
For a write-up of the last 2S2, go here.
I'm hoping this one will have a bit bigger turnout than last month's, and if you're coming, bring a deck of cards or, even better, a set of gostop cards. The activity of the afternoon will be learning how to play/ playing Gostop. If you want to be extra-prepared, read the rules here.
So clear your calendars. More about it later, when I dont' have to prepare for a class.
Roboseyo
one expat's life in Korea
Monday, November 09, 2009
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Friday, November 06, 2009
All Hail Tom Coyner!
Tom Coyner is one of the snazziest commentators on Korean culture. His webpage, Tom Coyner, is cool, but I especially like what he writes for Korean papers.
This time, he argues that at the same time as Korea tries so hard to build its brand, Korea continues bulldozing the kinds of neighborhoods and landmarks that would do the most for Korea's ACTUAL brand, rather than just the manufactured one. Yet again, the gap between what Korea IS, and how Korea wants to be seen, reveals itself in sharp relief. Give it a read. I totally agree... sure, some of these neighbourhoods ARE decrepit and DO need revitalization... but another rectangular class and concrete eyesore is the LAST thing Seoul needs these days to become a unique, interesting city with neighbourhoods that each leave strong, and different, impressions on visitors.
This time, he argues that at the same time as Korea tries so hard to build its brand, Korea continues bulldozing the kinds of neighborhoods and landmarks that would do the most for Korea's ACTUAL brand, rather than just the manufactured one. Yet again, the gap between what Korea IS, and how Korea wants to be seen, reveals itself in sharp relief. Give it a read. I totally agree... sure, some of these neighbourhoods ARE decrepit and DO need revitalization... but another rectangular class and concrete eyesore is the LAST thing Seoul needs these days to become a unique, interesting city with neighbourhoods that each leave strong, and different, impressions on visitors.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Few Links...
1. The musical version of "naturally blonde" oops I mean Legally Blonde, is coming to Korea. Just in case we didn't have enough fake-blonde Koreans already.
2. In really, really, really bad news: it is now officially legal to watch TV while you drive. Are you effing kidding me? I mean, seriously? Can Korea's justice system just call a mulligan on some of its judge appointments and bring in some new people who don't have their heads up their butts?
3. This guy thinks Korea's music industry is working on a business model that's all wrong, and in fact, threatening to lead to the downfall of the Korean wave! Personally, I agree: if you ask me, the boy/girl band, trained by a production company, business model just isn't going to lead to a growth of the kind of creativity and originality that will ultimately help the Korean wave flourish.
2. In really, really, really bad news: it is now officially legal to watch TV while you drive. Are you effing kidding me? I mean, seriously? Can Korea's justice system just call a mulligan on some of its judge appointments and bring in some new people who don't have their heads up their butts?
3. This guy thinks Korea's music industry is working on a business model that's all wrong, and in fact, threatening to lead to the downfall of the Korean wave! Personally, I agree: if you ask me, the boy/girl band, trained by a production company, business model just isn't going to lead to a growth of the kind of creativity and originality that will ultimately help the Korean wave flourish.
Morning Calm Garden, Day Trip in South Korea
Not sure if I've posted this yet, but I wanted to make sure I shared this picture with you:
I love the random appearance of soldiers in Korea, doing random things, like holding their girlfriends' purses at shopping centers, or goofing off on a subway platform, during their weekends of leave. This is my all-time favorite, though:
Next: Girlfriendoseyo took me to a place called "Morning Calm Garden" the very weekend after reading A Geek In Korea's glowing review of it. I took a ton of pictures, and here are the best ones for you. This was one of the prettiest botanical gardens I've ever seen (and I've seen a few). It's only 15 years old, and I'm sure as the trees mature, it'll only get better, but this was the absolute optimum day for fall colors -- both because of the date (everything was rich red) and because of the weather -- the grayish sky meant I never had to worry about backlighting while taking most of my photos, and then right near the end of our trip, suddenly the sun came out and I got a few blazing glory shots, too.
In a garden, open spaces are crucial for balance.
in the sun, those white spray-thingys look really great. I'm bad with remembering plant names, but in the same way not knowing musical theory doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good symphony, not knowing plant names hasn't impeded my aesthetic appreciation of them.
In the gift shop: this is what happens to a Korean kid if they wet the bed. They have to walk around the neighborhood knocking on doors and asking for salt. I imagine the public shaming might be a good disincentive.. then again, the fear of shaming might lead to bed-wetting level anxiety.
A mother rubbing her sick baby's belly. Girlfriendoseyo asked if I knew what was happening, and I helpfully informed her that Korean moms are not the only ones who rub their sick children's bellies. (snarky comment goes here.. but I'm trying to be less snarky)
I like wacky, crooked "1960s batman" angles when I take pictures.
A waterfally stream.
here's another picture of the stream.
green and red.
I love variegated colors like this, fading from one shade to the other.
stream bed
This tree had the most awesome colour fade I've seen in a while. Look how it pretty much hits every color on the fall spectrum, from its tips to its center.
from the lookout point, I played with setting the light filter lower, so that the brighter colours showed up more brightly in contrast.
lighter filter setting. Learning what my camera can do has been a fun process.
The rock-pile garden was fascinating. One guy had a pile so tall it was above his head! (you can see it poking up, a bit left of the center)
Kids were playing. They made me happy.
I also like pictures of backlit leaves.
The sunken garden.
More leaf fades.
Just to prove I was actually there:
Girlfriendoseyo likes to frame her subject on the sides of photos.
as you can see.
the pavillion lake.
had a continuous string of people using these benches to pose.
these reminded me of the Pines of British Columbia
Maybe my favorite picture of the whole lot:
a great people-watching moment I caught:
as usual with Korean sites, crowds were de rigeur... but the scenery was so nice, I didn't mind a bit.
Yeah. so that was nice.
I love the random appearance of soldiers in Korea, doing random things, like holding their girlfriends' purses at shopping centers, or goofing off on a subway platform, during their weekends of leave. This is my all-time favorite, though:
Next: Girlfriendoseyo took me to a place called "Morning Calm Garden" the very weekend after reading A Geek In Korea's glowing review of it. I took a ton of pictures, and here are the best ones for you. This was one of the prettiest botanical gardens I've ever seen (and I've seen a few). It's only 15 years old, and I'm sure as the trees mature, it'll only get better, but this was the absolute optimum day for fall colors -- both because of the date (everything was rich red) and because of the weather -- the grayish sky meant I never had to worry about backlighting while taking most of my photos, and then right near the end of our trip, suddenly the sun came out and I got a few blazing glory shots, too.
In a garden, open spaces are crucial for balance.
in the sun, those white spray-thingys look really great. I'm bad with remembering plant names, but in the same way not knowing musical theory doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good symphony, not knowing plant names hasn't impeded my aesthetic appreciation of them.
In the gift shop: this is what happens to a Korean kid if they wet the bed. They have to walk around the neighborhood knocking on doors and asking for salt. I imagine the public shaming might be a good disincentive.. then again, the fear of shaming might lead to bed-wetting level anxiety.
A mother rubbing her sick baby's belly. Girlfriendoseyo asked if I knew what was happening, and I helpfully informed her that Korean moms are not the only ones who rub their sick children's bellies. (snarky comment goes here.. but I'm trying to be less snarky)
I like wacky, crooked "1960s batman" angles when I take pictures.
A waterfally stream.
here's another picture of the stream.
green and red.
I love variegated colors like this, fading from one shade to the other.
stream bed
This tree had the most awesome colour fade I've seen in a while. Look how it pretty much hits every color on the fall spectrum, from its tips to its center.
from the lookout point, I played with setting the light filter lower, so that the brighter colours showed up more brightly in contrast.
lighter filter setting. Learning what my camera can do has been a fun process.
The rock-pile garden was fascinating. One guy had a pile so tall it was above his head! (you can see it poking up, a bit left of the center)
Kids were playing. They made me happy.
I also like pictures of backlit leaves.
The sunken garden.
More leaf fades.
Just to prove I was actually there:
Girlfriendoseyo likes to frame her subject on the sides of photos.
as you can see.
the pavillion lake.
had a continuous string of people using these benches to pose.
these reminded me of the Pines of British Columbia
Maybe my favorite picture of the whole lot:
a great people-watching moment I caught:
as usual with Korean sites, crowds were de rigeur... but the scenery was so nice, I didn't mind a bit.
Yeah. so that was nice.
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