On Hand-Phones, as we call them in Korea…

Cell Phone Don’t have it yet, but I will soon. Quite the thing, getting one as a foreigner. It’s very involved. Dabang’s Website … is still coming soon. But this time I think it’s actually coming. Seong Hwan is calling the server people tomorrow to have them fix the bloody mess, as all the files are in the right place, but nothing points at that place when you type in www.dabangband.com. Hopefully soon I can edit that and make it a real link. Speaking of Links … cutting and pasting links is a mindless job, but it’s done. Now if …

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More Rambling About Life

Life in General I was up late last night copying links for my sidebar. Ungh. Now I must go attempt to teach, and then it’s a lunch date with some old friends, writing up report cards (I had to peel your boy off the wall last week. Please feed him less sugar. or Your child is destined to become an evil genius. Whatever you do, do NOT let him start hanging out with Jedi Knights. If he does, it’s all gonna be downhill from there.), marking notebooks, and then going home for a quick bite and meeting my friend Young …

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My Korean Studies

Studying Korean. It’s hard. But fun, at least. Yes, really. These days, I am working on things like: – being able to say things in the imperative, like “Stop the car over there please,” or “Give me a phone card, please,” or “You have a nice day, now, y’hear?” – being able to do negations with the greatest of ease in all forms of address, from the most informal to the most formal. There are lots of ways to do this. Too many. Imagine in English being able to say, “Don’t do that!” or “Do that don’t!” or “Not do!” …

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The Big Sleep

These days, since my novel has taken the turn into somehow morphing into a kind of futuristic potboiler, I’ve taken it upon myself to read some mystery novels. During a trip to Seoul I managed to pick up an old, abused hardcover copy of Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep. I’m precisely halfway through it and in awe of the plotting and style. The story is just getting more and more convoluted and I’m finding it harder and harder to put down. Another thing that’s exceptionally well-done is the treatment of the culture… the underground P.I. culture, the local culture, the …

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New President in Korea Knows His Fish…

I just had lunch with a co-worker, Thai, and we watched the (?) inauguration of the new South Korean President, Noh Mu Hyun. He looks pretty young, and fairly happy about his new job. I myself would be terrified, but then maybe his confidence is warranted. I hope so, considering the way things are going with Pyongyang. It seems his last gig was as the minister of fisheries, which is kind of interesting, innit? (That page might be updated soon, I don’t know. But it does contain bunches of lists of who’s in major government positions in every country in …

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