Month: March 2008

Thank You, Gim Hyung Tae

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I don’t know whether he’d like or approve of any of my fictional depictions of Korea, but I find Gim Hyung Tae a great inspiration in that area. Whenever I’m writing anything trippy, weird, or odd about this country in my fiction, I turn to his music for inspiration. It’s a strange combination of trance, rock, folk, and 뽕짝 — in proportions that vary from song to song and album to album, but always in proportions that both work, and sound absolutely like Gim Hyung Tae. By the way, if you’re looking for his CDs, you’d be best to ask …

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많이먹어라…

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Sometimes, you just have to wonder what makes people behave the way they do. When I arrived at the professors’ cafeteria this evening for dinner, I noticed this weird-looking guy staring at me constantly as I made my way up the line, adding food to my tray. When I’d finished, I stopped to get a cup of water, and by then he was staring directly at me. I noticed that he had a face like, well, like a slab of tenderized beef… meaning, I think the man had partaken in more than his fair share of fisticuffs. And, of course, …

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Popular Gusts Blow Through Salon

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Matt at Gusts of Popular Feeling was mentioned in today’s installement of the column at Salon called How the World Works. I’ve long considered Matt one of the best bloggers on Korea, period, and would like to take a development history course from him if he were to offer one — I know I’d learn a lot — so if you haven’t checked him out, do so. (The Salon column was okay, too.) Thanks for the unwitting heads-up, Tristan!

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Ajummas Gone Wild

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Via Justino’s Hep Jive, another of those Youtube videos that reveals something about what it’s like to be in Korea. LJers, check the Youtube video here, and pop over to here and login to see my comments following the video. I’m not complaining, whining, griping, but really, seriously, that’s what plenty of older people (of both sexes, but just more often older women) are like in South Korea. Which is something plenty of Koreans have been around all their lives and sort-of accept as “the way it is”… though it annoys younger South Koreans too, believe me I know. I’ve …

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Define “Muslim” (UPDATED)

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UPDATE: See the comments section, particularly Liadnan’s comment and my reply to it. Maybe the news report was even less competent than I thought! Richard Dawkins has been taken to task at times for his assertion that raising a child in one or another religious tradition is a form of child abuse, as it constitutes an abuse of the trust given one with a child. My friend Marvin and I have been discussing the intricacies of this issue over at his LJ (in the comments, but do read the post!) but I ran across an article online that demonstrates how …

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