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Marmot’s Open Thread #23
This entry was written by Robert Koehler, posted on October 27, 2007 at 9:53 am, filed under Blogging and tagged Open Thread. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
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58 Comments
I just watched “best of the best” today, you know, the 80’s martial arts movie? I’ve never seen Koreans portrayed so menacingly in my life. It cracked me up.
oh, by the way…
first!
Second.
Is it too early to get “Jindal 2016″ T-shirts printed? If he can get elected to statewide in Louisiana, then he could very well be the man to clean that cesspool up. If he can manage that, then I can’t think of anyone who more deserves to be elected president.
Jindal is my newest hero.
I was watching Lou Dobb’s moneyline over dinner, and I thought Hill Clinton can actually have a very poor outcome next November.
She already said she’s taking back the Bush tax cuts and taxing those making over 200k.
first of all, Bush gave a tax cut to everyone.
Thus, everyone’s taxes will increase.
2nd of all, taking those earning over 200k to bankroll national healthcare just doesn’t make any sense to me.
I think they need more money.
Where’s it going to come from?
Everyone who works, duh.
Plus, they’re preaching, we lost, let’s get out of Iraq.
So, to sum it up, you lose the war, pay more taxes, and get Canadian style healthcare, but RETAIN US style litigation, thus eliminating a HUGE source of cost savings. Those ligations ultimately just pass around the cost to everyone else.
Unconfirmed, but neither Canada nor Europe allows medical malpractice suits in the reward amounts parallel to the US.
And, neither party is discussing tort reform.
Only Bush is.
Bush should go ahead and change the constitution and serve 4 terms like FDR.
keep on hopin’ fellas, lol.
Does anyone know if my poor old 1.67Ghz G4 PowerBook can handle Leopard?
Here is a bit of background on the Jindal thing: http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110010785
zzOOzzoo, I believe it can according to Apple. I’m staying with Tiger and Panther for the time being.
HAHAHAHAHAHA hohohoho LOL!!!
Wow… the above statement really show exactly how uneducated in civics and government WJK really is.
Bush should’ve nailed his sidekick(mentor?) Vice when he gave entire Iraq contract to his company.
I mean, man, people are not born yesterday.
After this got out, everything he says is under suspect. Big credibility problem.
People cannot trust him. His rating constantly goes down.
It is similar to that stupid Senator who propositioned a cop in the bathroom.
People cannot trust him any more.
-P.S. I am a supporter of Bush’s Iraq policy. I am a democrat but I like Bush’s policies including vetoing Human Embryo(making humans inside testtube to extract body parts, Yuk!) research. We are not cannibals.
However, he has credibility problem ever since he condoned his pal. (Or, was it him all the way?)
In the name of gratuitous ingratiation, I want my fellow readers from Canada to know that I just caught a sweaty, high-energy, 2-hour Tragically Hip show here in Washington, DC. A nice tour of their fine catalog.
that is “fellow readers who come from Canada” (I do not)
I personally hope your ploy worked and you reap the rewards of Canadian ingratiation, because there can’t be any other valid reason for seeing that concert.
‘Daddy, what’s that clicking/sucking sound?’
‘That’s just another small-minded local sensing the discomfort of his own limitations.
Well, or maybe he just has something stuck in his teeth - they sound really similar.’
Any of you political types have a ready made list of dumbass things our friend Chung Dong-young has said?
We had Bush for 2 terms, let’s go with Colbert next.
I’m with wjk - Bush in ‘08.
Anyway, anybody know some good Korean podcasts out there?
PS: I know that the Metro guy does sound recordings, but the operative word in the last sentence was “good.”
^ Some of KBS radio programs are available as podcasts, so you might want to look into it.
The newest hyped up first-person shooter video game, “Crysis” has a storyline that goes like this:
In the year 2019, North Korea has become a militant super-power (har har). An alien artifact is discovered in the South China sea, archeologists go there to investigate, and North Korea takes the archeologists hostage. You play a Delta Force operative to rescue the hostages, and during your mission, a bunch of aliens show up from the artifact which turned out to be a spaceship. You join forces with the North Koreans to combat the alien menace. Hum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crysis#Story
C’mon, our brilliant Ivy League grad(cough) commenter wjk is a med student, not a law student.
“Hey. it’s a free country.”
Legally, politically, but socially? Even the Kyopos aren’t free…
#19 - Well sure, but you kinda figure that, as much as he seems to enjoy spewing forth his ‘wisdom’ about politics, he would at least know what it takes to amend the Constitution… enough to know that the President has no involvement in the process whatsoever, anyhow.
Yet another reason to be glad you don’t live in the US:
http://www.amazon.com/Stop-Dre.....kank/dp/03
See related “too young, too sexy” video at ABC. Frederick’s of Hollywood style thongs for young kids? Absolutely gross.
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3784353
Tiger, Panther, and Leopard? Does Apple come up with these names by looking at velvet paintings? What’s next? Unicorn and Elvis?
“Tiger, Panther, and Leopard? Does Apple come up with these names by looking at velvet paintings?”
Or are they inspired by German battle tanks?
As someone who went to college in San Antonio and has missed Mexican and Tex-Mex food while in Korea, I’m thrilled by the arrival of On the Border to Sinchon. Yes, it’s a corporatized version of Tex-Mex, dressed up and watered down from the family-run places you find all over Texas. But it’s better than I’ve had at the handful of taco stands around Seoul and far, far better than what passes for quesadillas or fajitas at Bennigan’s and the like.
When you walk in, the staff shouts out “Hola!” and the first thing you see is the stand where they are making fresh tortillas on the spot — thick and hot the way they should be. They have a nice selection of tequilas for margaritas and, for the college women who are a key target for any restaurant in that neighborhood, they’ve got a a bunch of fruit margs that I’d not seen before.
I don’t know how Koreans will take to it. There were no lines and plenty of tables at 6:30 on Saturday night. About half the tables had foreigners, including many families. There were also no obvious nods to Korean taste, such as little side dishes of pickles or jalapenos. Then again, the salsa has more kick than you’ll find most places here. And the big salad that my Korean friend ate came with a jalapeno dressing that instantly made my forehead sweat. So I think many Koreans will like it if they give it a try.
I ordered up a combo plate of my own choosing (a beef enchilada, cheese and onion enchilada and soft taco) and mixed together the rice and beans that came on the side and threw salsa on top. And here’s where I noticed a difference: the rice was sticky as most Korean rice is, not flaky and loose as you usually get with Tex-Mex. Didn’t change the taste, though. I wanted to be rolled out after the chips and guacamole, enchiladas, beans, rice and margs left my stomach overfull and my head swimming.
I’ll still eat more sundobu jigae than enchiladas in Seoul. But it’s great to have On the Border as an option. If only they had Shiner Bock beer…
“There were also no obvious nods to Korean taste, such as little side dishes of pickles or jalapenos. Then again, the salsa has more kick than you’ll find most places here. And the big salad that my Korean friend ate came with a jalapeno dressing that instantly made my forehead sweat. So I think many Koreans will like it if they give it a try.”
Maybe, but opening that sort of restaurant in Korea is a gamble. I’d be ready to bet that that restaurant is a corporate-owned one. Although many Koreans incorrectly believe that all foreigners can’t eat spicy food, in reality Koreans generally don’t or can’t eat as spicy as foreigners who are into that sort of thing. I also think they simply aren’t accustomed to the differences in flavor and affect that you get from eating different varieties of pepper.
Ron Paul supporters:
Nov 5th, is when everyone is pitching in $100. So far we have 10,000 supporters that have signed up for this which is $1,000,000. Let’s support Ron!
He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program, and he returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year. Can any of the other candidates say that? The Congressional pension program is about two-to-three times more generous than the average corporate executive pension plan, according to the National Taxpayers Union. That’s OUR money. Do you think any of the other candidates need that money?
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=920171
You got that right. Any Seoul restaurant with a faithful Tex-Mex menu is not long for this world. One of the things I like about franchising work is the opportunity to get advance notice of the opening of an American restaurant before its original menu is junked and completely changed over to ribs and “rice pilaf” with a side of sweet pickles. So even though this one is not a client, I’m headed over to Shinchon today for a big, heavy meal while there’s still a chance.
“On the Border” is a Brinker International restaurant. Their portfolio includes Chili’s, which has already failed in Korea. Probably this is because the franchisee was thinly-capitalized. This time the operator is “JRW Inc.” — which sounds like a Korean company but could be some US company which Brinker knew in the States. If Brinker is starting out this time with a “best friend”-owned store first, to get the business model perfected before trying to roll out a widespread Korea business, that would seem a smart idea — and it may enable them to avoid a repeat of the Chili’s closure.
I thought for a while now that expats in Korea had the best skills in riling up the populace (well, might not be too difficult with some of the xenophobes in the media), but low and behold, our brethren across the sea have managed to annoy even the laid back Japanese!
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=3014
Sigh, we’re getting upstaged guys… (even though I’ve taught in Japan, my home is here!!). Perhaps it’s time to show how Halloween partying in subway lines is done in Korea? I think it’s time for me to brush up some Korean (perhaps my English as well) and bring…sexy back.
@29 (youtube vidz)
It’s like watching a small stadium packed with 10,000 drunken Steven Seagals. Why that would be obnoxious goes without saying.
I’m hoping the Halloween party train does not make an appearance here–call me a spoilsport. We put on the ass-hat costume, start fuckin’ with public services and delay trains we’re likely to be pounched upon by a gaggle of grannies.
But if must happen please invite Fidel Castro. The video of him in the cop shop pleading for understanding and forgiveness will good for a laugh.
“On the Border” in Shinchon is pretty good. We visited around 6:00 p.m. on Sunday night and the place was full of customers.
(For no other reason than to say “nyah, nyah, nyah.”) Look who’s been charged with DUI.
Anti-Korean backlash imminent.
Wow, the halloween train looks like the most annoying thing imaginable. An already uncomfortable ride made that much worse by people in masks who feel liberated by their annonymity. Wall to wall rudeness on a rail.
The Yamanote Halloween train has been going on since before I was a student there in ‘92. It’s a gaijin institution. The idea of a group of Japanese netizens disrupting it is funny; none of them teenagers would ever leave the safety of their mother’s apron.
Now, I wonder how a #2 line party would work over here.
#32: Where do we find this culinary delight?
It’s basically on the way to the Shinchon Rotary from Ewha University, but about 200m before you get there on the right-hand side of the road. The building is called the “YBM Building” and the “On the Border” signage is in English, white lettering on a purple background. The restaurant is on the second floor.
Don’t let your mind write checks your belly can’t cash (not you, Wedge — I’m talking to others). I over-ordered, and so did the table next to ours. There were a couple of kyopos in the parking area behind the building taking out large-sized doggy bags of food as well.
The lunch menu is actually very reasonably-priced: W9,900 to W13,900, if I recall.
#36: Hey, I resemble that remark.
For those who care — natch — I had fabulous Hunan cuisine in Shenzhen last Thursday, probably the hottest food I ever had east of Calcutta, and dirt cheap; 4 people ate more food than was reasonable, enough leftovers to feed a coupla tables, all for 12 bucks.
I’m so sad and lonely.
Sad and lonely.
I’m sad that The Lion King in Seoul closed without breaking even, despite having set a record as the longest running musical in Korea. I hope it won’t discourage production companies from bringing large, big-budget musicals to Seoul.
Hope that “On the Border” is a success. Taco Bell had a few restaurants in Seoul as well - there was a combined Taco Bell/ Pizza Hut at Ehwa, and it went under too, so hard to say if the Korean palate is ready for Mexican food. Taco Bell is pretty low quality Mexican food, though, too. On the topic of food, just went to a delicious Chinese place in the mall above Yongsan Station today - you can buy plates of many types of dishes for only W3,000 each, like those Japanese restaurants with the conveyor belt. The chefs all spoke Chinese, and the cooking was really Chinese style, not the Korean variety. There’s also an another authentic Chinese place worthy of recommendation - it specializes in Chinese style mandu - about a block or two directly north of Insadong. Supposedly the Chinese Prime Minister ate there during his visit to Korea, or so they say. Quite delicious, and the only Korean the chef seemed to know was on the menu.
Actually, the variety and quality of foreign food in Seoul has really improved during the last ten years. I remember how disappointed I was when I first ate Korean style Chinese food - and the Chachung-myun was nothing like what I expected Chinese food to be. There used to be that and Japanese food, until TGI Fridays - and now they’ve got just about everything. Thai food is still over priced, but things are getting better.
Baseball anyone? Boston Redsox may win the World Series tonight.
The Japanese pitchers and South American hitters are new World Champions.
Unfortunately for my rabid Redsox fan Humanities professor (and students who have to take her class tomorrow), Rockies have won the game four.
oh wait, never mind… misread that article ^^;;;
I think Red Sox just won.
Last year, at about this time, we had a number of excellent 시조 (Korean poems of three lines consisting of 14-16 syllables, with seasonal changes being a common theme) posted here on the Marmot’s Hole.
I propose we do it again this year. Lord knows there is a lot of good material in the news these days.
I offer this for a start:
The autumn breeze blows the lame duck to his home in the south,
Meanwhile two rivals square off to replace him, but one more may run:
Will the vote-splitter join the Hyundai man and the TV man?!
In her fashionable new coat, she hugs herself against the breeze
And, head down, again makes the walk across the parking lot to the Prosecutor’s office and the warm crowd of media men
—
The first day they crossed the border and took some pictures, the next night
he saw a show. He and his wife had a lovely 2 nights
and 3 days vacation. Woah, look at this bill! Not a cheap trip!
An Autumn Haiku for you:
Leaves turn red and breeze turns cool
Coeds put on sweaters and jackets
At last, i can concentrate on my research
for you middle aged folks, you might be interested in knowing that some koreans of the same age and older have decided to take out their old videos filled with clips of korean singers from the 70s and 80s and post them at youtube. just type in ‘kim wan son’ in korean and from there, you can find many other singers like kim chung mi, kim chu ja, kim gon mo, sanullim, ect. man, i thought i’d never see those singers again!
now, if you are an old fart, don’t worry! they also got singers like bae ho, hwang goom shim, hyon in, etc. enjoy!
Hooray for old singers! (But… how the hell do I know all those singers?! They were popular before I was born except Kim Gun Mo…)
Speaking of youtube, what does everyone make of this? http://youtube.com/watch?v=3zvTRQr7ns8
It’s apparently one of the recently popular stuff on youtube, but it caused a lot of controversy because it made fun of rape.
#48,#49 - Not a huge fan of older Korean singers, but some of the retro stuff you hear in certain coffee shops or bars isn’t bad. Definitely better than K-Pop. Anyway, I might check out the youtube vids. That kind of stuff is often pretty interesting.
Maybe those older singers can take a page from Lawrence Welk’s game plan and interpret songs that are high on today’s popularity charts.
Why is it that it wasn’t until after Korea came up with the new slogan, “Korea, Sparkling”, you didn’t see the “Dynamic Korea” but in a few instances. Now that there’s a new slogan I’m seeing the old slogan everywhere.
I just made a blind purchase for the following:
http://www.amazon.com/Unsuk-Ch.....81-3900844
In my thirst for contemporary avant-garde music, I was browsing around Amazon and came upon a few “Best of” lists and was surprised to see among them a Korean composer by the name of Unsuk Chin whom I was unaware of before then. Check out the reviews. She seems to be well esteemed among people into modern classical music and had an opera (”Alice In Wonderland”) debut a few months ago.
I love the sound sample I’m hearing.
http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr.....leid=11828
^ Well ain’t that the funky shiznits. I like the coy, vivid textures and tonality. Reminds me of Schoenberg.
I hope to have the album in my hands within 3 days.
Oh yeah, it’s too frikken bad the Rockies got spanked. But eh it’s just baseball.
In other news, Akiyama Yoshihiro (Chu Seung Hun) paired off against Dennis Kang (of recent happa fame) over the weekend for K-1. Check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....=t&f=b
here’s a link to a youtube clip of two (white) characters from the show ’scrubs’ speaking in korean.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYPUIq9NdmI
A very recent video of one pissed off Korean teacher.