We played that benefit concert tonight. In general, things went very well. When we accompanied HongJae in his “performance art” piece, the music sounded really cool; while I noodled on Nepali flute and make my Tibetan singing bowl sing, Myoung and Thai played percussion(Thai on his Uzbek drum and some Nepali cymbals of Myoung’s, and Myoung Jae on his Janggu drum), John Wendel played my tanpura (and did an excellent job on it, making it far more interesting than anything I would have done on the thing), and a fellow named Tae Sang played the guitar. Our band’s playing was, …
Month: February 2004
Teachers Who Have Availed Me Much
This week Sir Adam of Lipscomb asked: Going through some old papers my parents brought from their house last week, I found several notes to my parents from teachers I’d had growing up. I got to thinking about the legions of teachers I had for the first 21 years of my life, and wondered: Who were the 5 that had the greatest impact on me as a ppererson, for good or ill? Because of the places I grew up, and my education experience, I find that I had many more horrible teachers than good ones. But there were some who …
Ridiculous
Yes, I am home from my work meeting and the many ridiculous things discussed there are sinking in slowly. I will only recount one moment of the discussion, and it should encapsulate a lot of what I think needs to be addressed in the educational (and for that matter the political) arena in Korea if development is to go any farther in those areas… for it is certainly stalled, if not backsliding, at present. Our University is opening an English cafe, a program that even the University’s very President is actually eager about. The Administration is trying to find a …
Another Foreigner in Korea
I like the way this William Beckerson guy tells his stories, I like the art on his site too. It’s worth a look-see. And he’s an alumnus of the Korean hagwon experience, no less.
last poll results
Here are the results for the last poll! Now, please be sure to vote in the new one to the right in the sidebar! What should America do with Saddam? Votes Put him in a cage and fatten him up so George Bush can eat him. 11% 1 Promote him to the head of the secret suppression police in America. 0% 0 Find out if he knows how to build rockets and if he does, house him in Werner von Braun’s old place. 11% 1 Tickle him till he coughs blood. 22% 2 Reinstate him in Iraq sometime in the …
These Days…
These days I find myself quite busy, surprisingly busy in fact, considering school has not begun yet. I’m still working on getting that last twenty-odd pages for my novel written, but I think I may have to wait till Sunday to get that done. I’ve got band rehearsals every night now, because we have a gig Saturday and recording begins again next weekend (and after two months away from the saxophones, it means steady practice to regain some of my tone and my staying power). I shall be making a trip to Seoul on Thursday, and then Friday is another …
Korean Gangsters, Politics, and Self-Mutilation
I am writing the last little bit of my novel left to be written before I set it aside for now. Well, while looking online for background information on the famous Korean folk hero/gangster/freedom-fighter Kim Du-Han, I found a very interesting article at TIMEAsia titled The Way of the Fists. It’s all about Korean gangsters and their folk-heroism, their connections with politicians, and their public shows of nationalism which often involve a very specific form of self-mutilation. Very interesting piece, in my opinion.
Family Expansion
Well, a few days ago my sister informed me that she’s engaged, which means I am going to go to Canada in late June for the wedding. And now, today, my other sister just sent me the following image in an email: You can guess what that means. Seems like the family will be gaining two new members in 2004. Big news! It’s exciting…
Playing Catchup
Well, now I really am back in Korea. Let’s see, what things am I playing catchup on? Well, finding out what’s been going on in my friends’ lives, for one. So many phone calls. I’ve just changed phones, so I’m going to have to look into getting calls forwarded to my new phone number, which is with a different service provider. (I switched mainly because my old phone sucked, and I got the new phone for VERY cheap by signing up for a plan.) By the way, getting a phone plan can be ridiculously complicated in Korea. I had to …
On Returning Home
It’s funny, I was saying in an email last night that I was good to be home, and I realized that this funny little apartment in Jeonju, South Korea, is indeed my home. It’s what I think of when I say the word, it’s how I feel when I get off that shuttle bus. Funny and strange but not at all bad. Having been away for two whole months, that is also strange. Now, one might think that I could have come back like Odysseus, wandering off the ship to find his world gone into a bundle of chaos. But …