Open Thread #265

by robert neff on October 20, 2012

in Open Thread

It looks like a nice day….

{ 70 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Adams-awry October 20, 2012 at 12:51 pm: Tsk.
2 jefferyhodges October 20, 2012 at 1:17 pm: . . . and I have to sit here all day editing articles for Ewha’s Unification Journal.

Jeffery Hodges

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3 Yu Bum Suk October 20, 2012 at 2:26 pm: Must see interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_uSuCkKa3k

What a lovely young man. Wouldn’t it be amazing if some day he were the leader of a unified Korea.
4 WangKon936 October 20, 2012 at 2:35 pm: Yeah, I’ve got some bromance for Kim Han-sol too.

Interviewer Elisabeth Rehn practically wanted to take him home with her (as a grandson).
5 Jakgani October 20, 2012 at 3:39 pm: . . . and I have to sit here all day editing articles for Ewha’s Unification Journal.

and you do all that for free?
6 Jakgani October 20, 2012 at 3:41 pm: p.s. Gerry – I deleted your “http://gerryskoreanmediablog.blogspot.kr/” bookmark from my bookmarks – because you haven’t updated it since July 17th.

I don’t keep looking at blogs when nothing new is added for over 3 months.
7 pawikirogii 石鵝 October 20, 2012 at 5:06 pm: musings on apple vs samsung

1. i don’t know how these things come about but did apple manipulate the system to get a korean amarican judge? did they wager that a KA judge would be less likely to rule in samsung’s favor for fear of being accused of favoring a korean company? judge ko has been very hard on samsung until today. makes me wonder.

2. apple ain’t ever gonna get it’s one billion and it won’t get an injuction against the galaxy 3 or that phablet. judge ko has ruled that apple must turn over data on the profits it make from each device the company sells. in her ruling, she pointed out that apple’s attempt to ban 26 samsung products could bring about quite a bit of harm to the american consumer. good on judge ko for seeing that. what apple wants is a ban on samsung’s current line-up. it ain’t gonna happen.

3. jury foreman vovin was in legal wranglings with a company called seagate somewhere in the 90s. samsung is a major holder of seagate. i find that curious though some might point out that samsung was not a major shareholder in seagate when those legal proceedings occured. not germaine. this is conflict of interest and a clear one at that.

4. a british court has declined apple’s attempt to nullify a prevoius court’s finding that samsung did not copy apple. apple was instructed to publish advertisements in british newspapers saying as much. they will now have to. i can see the samsung pr right now:

‘samsung did not copy apple.’ apple, sun times

5. hahahahahahahahaha

6. can we find a way to send gerry to space?
8 Jakgani October 20, 2012 at 5:29 pm: can we send you to the hospital?

and why does your avatar still look like Brendon Carr ?
9 pawikirogii 石鵝 October 20, 2012 at 5:35 pm: this howard stern poked fun at how korean sounded when he listened to ‘gangnam style’. i found that interesting because i thought the song made korean sound ugly. it’s his inability to sing. 아름다워 and any other word with ‘wo’ on the end sounds nice to the english ear- with the right voice.
10 pawikirogii 石鵝 October 20, 2012 at 5:44 pm: jaknani, my friend just got back from australia and told me that aboriginal cuisine was out of this world! he really liked the baked wombat in larva sauce. is that something you would recommend to somebody else? i’ve never had wombat before. what’s your experience? do you like it? and is larva safe to eat? i know there’s pondegi and all but your people seem to specialize in arachnids and such. my understanding is your people make a larva beverage and sell it in a can. is that true? anyway, i’d be interested in your thoughts.
11 Arghaeri October 20, 2012 at 5:54 pm: Na Castlemaine XXXX just tastes like brewed lava….
12 Jakgani October 20, 2012 at 5:59 pm: jaknani, my friend just got back from australia and told me that aboriginal cuisine was out of this world! he really liked the baked wombat in larva sauce. is that something you would recommend to somebody else? i’ve never had wombat before. what’s your experience?

obviously your friend is bullshitting you – because (as HojuSaram could back-up) it is illegal to “touch” a wombat in Australia for any other reason except “petting”.

#11 – I never drink XXXX – always drink VB

#10 – hate to tell you – but I am only 35% indigenous Australian.

just you you – (being mixed Korean/Russian) – my mother is 35% Inidegenous Australian and 15% British – my father is Hungarian German.

now are you going to make fun of Sourkraut?

p.s. – the Australian government stilled paid for all my education, medical costs and university – just for being 35% Indigenous Australian. Australia rules !! Pawi sucks (balls) !!
13 Jakgani October 20, 2012 at 6:01 pm: yeah yeah – lots of typing mistakes – it’s Saturday – finished another hard weeks work- and almost finished a bottle of Jack Daniels.
14 pawikirogii 石鵝 October 20, 2012 at 6:03 pm: the gravatar is my gravatar of the lawyer. he is wearing the hat of the educated. on it, there is the korean word for money. behind him is the chinese character for law. the lawyer gave me his permision to use his image. i think he looks rather regal.
15 ccmontgom October 20, 2012 at 6:04 pm: Despite all our other disagreements, I think we can all support Jeffery in his tireless efforts to reunify Ewha.

Soldier on, my friend!
16 Jakgani October 20, 2012 at 6:13 pm: as long as the “Ewha” girls aren’t stuck-up “princesses” like I have to deal with at “Seoul Womens University”.
17 Q October 20, 2012 at 6:39 pm: This week, we had ‘a man dumped by a woman‘ vs. ‘a woman dumped by a man‘ stories on the news.
18 gbnhj October 20, 2012 at 6:57 pm: Congrats to Songdo – chosen as the new home for the UN’s Green Climate Fund. The GCF will bring about 500 employees to Songdo, along with their dependents, and its presence here is expected to provide an annual economic benefit of USD 344 million.
19 Arghaeri October 20, 2012 at 9:17 pm: Jak, if your mother’s 35% indiginous, 15% british and 50% unstated, and your father hungarian german, how do you get to be 35% indigineous?
20 CactusMcHarris October 20, 2012 at 11:03 pm: It snowed here for the first time this fall – girls and boys, would you have a bowl of sollungtang and full panchan for ol’ Jefe to vicariously warm him up in the proper Han manner?
21 Charles Tilly October 21, 2012 at 3:01 am: More Asian Immigrants Are Finding Ballots in Their Native Tongue

Bitch away fuckers.
22 jefferyhodges October 21, 2012 at 9:11 am: “Jak, if your mother’s 35% indiginous, 15% british and 50% unstated, and your father hungarian german, how do you get to be 35% indigineous?”

He borrowed an algorithm from Romney and Ryan’s budget calculations — or maybe from Obama’s health care plan. I forget which, but it’s the same algorithm anyway . . .

Jeffery Hodges

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23 KrZ October 21, 2012 at 9:56 am: I’ve taken to reading Rodong 신문. They mentioned something about hypersonic space based nuclear weapons, which at first sounds like some sort of insane science fiction, but when you look in to it is entirely plausible, especially given the direction DARPA has been taking.
24 Arghaeri October 21, 2012 at 12:39 pm: It must be pornographic it comes up with. KCSC warning here in korea
25 Jakgani October 21, 2012 at 12:50 pm: Jak, if your mother’s 35% indiginous, 15% british and 50% unstated, and your father hungarian german, how do you get to be 35% indigineous?

Yeah.. (too much whiskey) – I meant 85% for her.

She spent her whole childhood picking potatoes and tomatoes instead of going to school.

35% Indigenous for me – still the Australian government pays for all my education, medical, legal fees etc.

Being 50% German/Hungarian (from my father)- pawi should really lay off teasing me – I am more caucasion that I am Indigenous Australian.

Lucky by the 70′s and 80′s – the British had stopped using Indigenous children for slave child labor in Australia and I luckily went to school.
26 DLBarch October 21, 2012 at 2:21 pm: I’m probably late this this party, so mea culpa if someone has already posted this, but it looks like the U.S. Ambassador to Korea is getting in on TK’s “Ask a Korea” schtick:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sasv01J4T3M&feature=youtu.be

There’s something slightly undignified if not downright humiliating about this ill-considered experiment in public diplomacy, but, hell, we live in a vulgar age, so I guess this was just a matter of time.

DLB
27 jefferyhodges October 21, 2012 at 2:36 pm: Concerning “TK’s ‘Ask a Korea’ schtick,” TK can apparently say — along with Whitman — “I am large, I contain multitudes . . .”

Jeffery Hodges

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28 Arghaeri October 21, 2012 at 3:20 pm: Lucky by the 70′s and 80′s – the British had stopped using Indigenous children for slave child labor in Australia and I luckily went to school.

Statements like these make me wonder whether your even australian let alone aborigine. And if you mother is 85% surelt that would make you 42%.
29 Jakgani October 21, 2012 at 3:35 pm: You don’t know much about Australian history.

Up until the 70″s Aboriginal children were taken from their parents and used as slaves.

Up until the 70′s Australia still had “shoot a nigger” day.
It was one day a year, when anybody was allowed to shoot and aboriginal.
30 Jakgani October 21, 2012 at 3:47 pm: in case you want a source – http://www.kooriweb.org/gst/genocide/tatz.html
31 Arghaeri October 21, 2012 at 7:23 pm: I don’t need a source I am fully aware of the issue, it’s your blaming the Brits in the 70′s when Australia had been essentially independant since the turn of the century.

It’s that claim which makes me doubt you’re Australian.

Australian’s have to take responsibilty for their own fuckups.
32 Arghaeri October 21, 2012 at 7:27 pm: If you want a source check the UK government sites where you will find slavery outlawed in approx 1812 by statute.

If you check further you will find out it was already against the law under common law even before the statutes passed in the UK.
33 SomeguyinKorea October 21, 2012 at 9:20 pm: “i thought the song made korean sound ugly. it’s his inability to sing. 아름다워 and any other word with ‘wo’ on the end sounds nice to the english ear- with the right voice.”

Ah! Anyone with a good grasp of Korean would recognize that Psy’s playing the role of a guy who’s a bit drunk in that song just by his pronunciation. Are you sure you’re Korean?
34 Arghaeri October 21, 2012 at 10:48 pm: Up until the 70′s Australia still had “shoot a nigger” day. It was one day a year, when anybody was allowed to shoot and aboriginal.

You got a source for that too!!!!
35 CactusMcHarris October 22, 2012 at 12:47 am: #29,

You’re completely wrong, so I hope you put that up there to stir the pot up. Otherwise, I’d take you for one of North Korea’s finest brainwashed exports.
36 Jakgani October 22, 2012 at 5:22 am: Would you pay 150,000 won ~ 3,430,000 won just to see Psy sing “Gangnam style” on stage ONCE ?

Australians did – http://dok.do/5Vt7nO
37 Arghaeri October 22, 2012 at 8:35 am: Cactus, not completely, aboriginal children were still being taken from their parents in the 70′s although this mostly stopped in the 60′s. The slavery part in that generation though is highly suspect, and the other just ridiculous.

Yes he did it to get a reaction!
38 robert neff October 22, 2012 at 10:48 am: I thought the Psy hype had finally died down and we would have an open thread without a link but Jakgani ruined that. I like the song “Gangnam Style” but never liked Psy. Many of us remember him trying to avoid military service and getting caught and some of us remember his anti-American performance in 2002 -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSU5Eekh1pM

For those looking for the lyrics –

“Torture them slowly
Those GIs who tortured captured Iraquis
Torture them, kill them slowly
Those GIs who fuck she-dogs and he-dogs
Torture them, kill them slowly
And their daughters, moms, pas and daughter-in-laws
Torture them, kill them slowly
To the fatal consummation of their fucking pain

Found at this blog
http://traciebarrett.blogspot.kr/
39 jefferyhodges October 22, 2012 at 10:53 am: In 2002? He gets points anyway for prescience since we invaded a year later . . . or was he speaking of the Gulf War?

Jeffery Hodges

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40 Q October 22, 2012 at 11:34 am: He did drug too. 10 years ago.
41 Q October 22, 2012 at 12:40 pm: The song seems to be published in 2004 (신해철 The Return of N.E.X.T Part 3: 개한민국) right after Kim Sun-Il’s slow painful death:

http://www.rjkoehler.com/2004/06/23/south-korean-beheaded/

The ferocious lyric seems being overlapped with Kim Sun-Il’s beheading.
42 robert neff October 22, 2012 at 1:08 pm: Q-
You probably know better than I do – but near the end of the video I think it says 2002. Not sure though.
43 Q October 22, 2012 at 1:29 pm: I did not know psy sang the song. So I cannot say that I know better than you. But somehow I searched the information. You are right that at the end of the video, it says “Killer”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfuoO1DLHUk

And here is the lyric:

http://www.jetlyrics.com/viewlyrics.php?id=307947

I could not find anti-Americanism in the verse, though his performance seems to intend to express anger and frustration about the tragic accident of two Korean girls flattened by tank.

Then, where is the “torture” lyric come from? It is part of “Dear America” which was published in 2004 when Iraq War broke out, SK sent troops, and Kim Sun-Il was beheaded:

http://jetlyrics.com/viewlyrics.php?id=622727
44 Q October 22, 2012 at 1:30 pm: CORRECTION: You are right that at the end of the video, it says “2002″ and it also gives the title of the song, “Killer”
45 robert neff October 22, 2012 at 1:56 pm: Q-
Thanks for the corrections. I couldn’t understand a single word Psy was singing(?) and thought I was losing my ability to understand Korean.
46 Q October 22, 2012 at 2:07 pm: No problem, Sir (I think you are older than I). I probably could not understand > 70% of what he was singing about until I actually read the lyric because he was rapping.
47 Jakgani October 22, 2012 at 9:50 pm: I can’t find out how heavy Psy is – nor his height.

any info would be appreciated.
48 DLBarch October 25, 2012 at 1:58 am: Just in case anyone still gave a damn, here is yet another update on the utterly predictable “benefits” of the KORUS FTA…at least for one side.

http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=137964&code=Ne4&category=3

Surprise, surprise.

DLB
49 JW October 25, 2012 at 6:52 am: Isn’t the criminal law banning insider trading the most absurd thing you ever saw? Who does it hurt exactly and how? And why hasn’t a free speech case been submitted for it?
50 Anonymous_Joe October 25, 2012 at 7:26 am: Birtherism redux, bro.

Trump’s new charity drive
CNN’s Ashley Killough and Gregory Wallace
(CNN) – In a much-hyped announcement, real estate mogul and reality television star Donald Trump pulled yet another flashy move on Wednesday offering a monetary incentive in exchange for private information from President Barack Obama’s past.

Trump, in a stunt designed to draw media attention and set afire the conservative blogosphere, said he would donate $5 million to charity if the president released his college records and passport applications.

…In an interview set to air Wednesday night on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight,” Trump argued his offer wasn’t a publicity stunt and further challenged the president.

…This isn’t the first time Trump has called for Obama to make public such records. The conservative, who flirted with a presidential bid last year, has long been at the steering wheel for the so-called birther movement, questioning the president’s place of birth.

Last year, Obama released his long-form birth certificate from Hawaii to quell speculation that he was not a U.S. citizen and may be constitutionally ineligible to serve as president. He has previously released a certification of live birth during the 2008 campaign. Both documents show that he was born in a Hawaii hospital on August 4, 1961. Contemporaneously published newspaper announcements also noted the birth in the Aloha State.

In his announcement, Trump took credit for last year’s release of the certificate.

“I am very honored to have gotten him to release his long form birth certificate, or whatever it may be,” he said.

Trump has said before he wants to see Obama’s college records, saying the documents contain students’ place of birth.

“I’d like to see what he said. It would be very interesting. I don’t care what his marks were. I don’t care if he had good marks, I’d just like to see ‘place of birth’,” Trump said in June at the North Carolina state Republican convention.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer held Trump to account on “The Situation Room” in a May interview, as Trump continued to maintain that “a lot of people do not think” the live-birth certificate was “authentic” a year after the document was released. Trump also declined to offer names of experts in agreement with him.

The millionaire maintained in the interview that Obama’s birthplace is a matter of opinion, rather than fact.

“Everybody’s entitled to your opinion,” he said. “You know my opinion and you know his opinion and that’s fine. We’re entitled – as he said yesterday in the airplane – we’re all entitled to our opinions and he’s entitled to have his opinion. I don’t happen to share that opinion, it’s wonderful.”

Confronted with 1961 newspaper announcements of Obama’s birth, Trump accused Blitzer of defending Obama. Trump then alleged that the practice of filing U.S. birth announcements for an overseas birth was commonplace and done for “the benefits of being so-called born in this country,” though he offered no evidence.

Which leads me to believe that in terms of any real evidence that the birthers say they have, particularly regarding his birth certificate, the birthers, particularly Trump, got nothin’, bro.
51 DLBarch October 25, 2012 at 7:39 am: A_J @ 50,

Yup. As someone who speaks fluent Republican, let me confirm for those who haven’t yet broken the code that this request for President Obama’s college records has nothing to do with any genuine search for truth or meaning and has everything to do with suggesting — without an iota of evidence — that the man finagled his way into law school because he was black.

It’s right up their with birtherism and that whole bizarre wing-nut TelePromTer meme that is designed and orchestrated for one purpose and one purpose only: to undermine the standing of the man who is, after all, America’s Commander-in-Chief.

Trump and his ilk are bigots, pure and simple. Theirs is an ugly strain of racism that all good Americans — whatever one’s political preferences — should call out every time it rears its ugly head.

DLB
52 jefferyhodges October 25, 2012 at 8:16 am: “It’s right up their with birtherism . . .”

Fluent Republican is a difficult dialect to master, DLB, but I’m inferring that “right up their” is Republican idiom for “right up their a**” — Republicans being too high-toned to actually articulate that vulgarism.

As for me, I speak fluent Democratics, stemming as I do from a long line of hillbilly Democrats . . . though I consider myself independent these days. I just voted by absentee ballot, and in the local elections of my Ozark hometown, I voted Democrat because all of those running were my friends, who are — of course — Democrats.

For the Presidential election, I voted . . . I say not for whom, since either way, for Obama or Romney, I’d lose friends if they knew . . .

Jeffery Hodges

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53 DLBarch October 25, 2012 at 8:30 am: JH,

Half my friends are voting for Romney. Unlike Trump and the entire Teabagger movement, none are bigots. I, however, remain a confirmed Obamacon.

As for “their” versus “there,” dammit, man, this is the comments section of an obscure blog…you can’t expect me to proof-read everything I right, can ewe?

Now, as for my old Korean tudor….

DLB
54 Q October 25, 2012 at 8:58 am: Expats experience ‘menbung’ (멘탈 붕괴: mental breakdown) at Konglish road signs, reported Joongang Ilbo:

http://news.nate.com/view/20121025n00657?mid=n0404
55 jefferyhodges October 25, 2012 at 9:09 am: You know me, DLB, I’m never sheepish about correcting people’s English. It’s like my own private Dokdo . . .

Jeffery Hodges

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56 jefferyhodges October 25, 2012 at 9:12 am: Q, I seem to recall a sign in Japan that warned expats against “loitering, littering, or uproaring.” Not quite a traffic sign, but intriguing to consider . . .

Jeffery Hodges

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57 gbnhj October 25, 2012 at 9:49 am: No one should fear condom nation about spelling or grammar errors.
58 Q October 25, 2012 at 10:31 am: @ Prof. Hodges,

As for “littering”, Flushing, NY has this sign:

http://www.engrish.com/2008/05/standing-tall/

@ gbnhj,

That’s so corny! Then, what should people fear ‘obamination’ about? (I’m sorry I made it worse )
59 jefferyhodges October 25, 2012 at 10:41 am: Not to mention the hagwon directors who would write “Class Cancered” when too few students showed up. Must’ve been an epidemic . . .

Jeffery Hodges

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60 gbnhj October 25, 2012 at 3:02 pm: @58,
I’m not sure – let me romneyte on that.
61 Q October 25, 2012 at 3:13 pm: Oh no, Harvard academics published a research that more than three slices of cheese or a glass of full-fat milk might make your sperm quality bad:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2222199/Can-cheese-harm-man-s-fertility-Young-men-eat-slices-day-damage-chances-father.html

Now I can see why Mr. Wallace lives alone with Gromit.
62 jefferyhodges October 25, 2012 at 3:36 pm: Q, is that connected to the condom nation that gbnhj was a-lewding to?

Jeffery Hodges

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63 Brendon Carr October 25, 2012 at 3:59 pm: Oh no, Harvard academics published a research that more than three slices of cheese or a glass of full-fat milk might make your sperm quality bad[.]

This explains why I have only two children. Dang.
64 Brendon Carr October 25, 2012 at 4:13 pm: Half my friends are voting for Romney. Unlike Trump and the entire Teabagger movement, none are bigots.

The only color I’ve ever noted being discussed at a teabagger function (I’ve attended three), or in teabagger forums, is red. Red ink, and red ideology. How are you so sure we’re all bigots?

Presumably many of us knew Barack Obama was black in 2008, when he got 53% of the vote and 365 electoral votes. When he draws 46% this time is it going to be your position that all of those voters going for Romney are racist? Absolute nonsense.
65 Avaast October 25, 2012 at 4:20 pm: @54

I need more friends with names like Felix Jiggler (I really, really wish it comes out like that in German…somehow doubt it).
66 iheartblueballs October 25, 2012 at 4:55 pm: When he draws 46% this time is it going to be your position that all of those voters going for Romney are racist? Absolute nonsense.

Brendon, can you point me in the general direction of any other predictions you’ve made regarding the upcoming election? I assume there are numerous other statements out there in which you desperately try to top Dick Morris as the most laughably delusional prognosticator on the planet, but I’ve been away a while and am too lazy to search myself.

Perhaps you can provide a quick summary so I can get up to speed on whether you plan to be wrong, ridiculously wrong, or embarrassingly wrong this time. Given your track record, the smart money is on option #3.
67 Arghaeri October 25, 2012 at 7:39 pm: Q, whats the issue, those signs alll look OK to me?
68 Brendon Carr October 26, 2012 at 12:06 am: Mark my words: We are witnessing the unfolding of a massive “preference cascade” where Americans are being faced with four more years of President Shit Sandwich and his misguided Red policies, and will choose Mitt Romney instead once they’re in private. Also, the St. Louis Cardinals will win the World Series in five games.
69 DLBarch October 26, 2012 at 12:32 am: On Leno last night, President Obama hinted that he was favoring Detroit over my beloved SF Giants.

What a DICK!

DLB

P.S. Four more years, though!
70 paulhewson October 26, 2012 at 1:24 am: Kang Nam Stein!

Happy Halloween!

http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s16e12-a-nightmare-on-face-time