I’m in Melbourne, now, and will be till next Monday morning. I have a presentation to do at the Utopias 4 conference as well as a presentation and some panels to participate in at WorldCon later in the week, along with some catching up with friends and so on. I also have to get some video lectures recorded and uploaded for my students for Thursday and Friday classes I’ll be missing, so it’s time I got up and got some of that done. I’ll post my WorldCon schedule as soon as I get a chance to check it!
Month: August 2010
Immortality?
The Maverick Philosopher discusses the fact that Christopher Hitchens, who is not doing so well, also has not recanted his atheism. Valicella writes: The contemplation of death must be horrifying for those who pin all on the frail reed of the ego. The dimming of the light, the loss of control, the feeling of helplessly and hopelessly slipping away into an abyss of nonbeing. And all of this without the trust of the child who ceases his struggling to be borne by Another. “Unless you become as little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.” But this of course …
The Fleeting, Fragile Spirit of these Creatures Clinging to this Rock
I have a story in my mind, about time travel and moral yearnings and hope and the complete annihilation of everything you hold dear. It feels like this song: … and I don’t know if I can write it so it comes out that way. But it’s a good song, isn’t it? And yeah, I first heard it on Weeds, and couldn’t get it out of my head then.
If Only I Were Part Robot…
I’d have time to post constantly. But since I’m not: Here’s some vintage Korean SF action… well, for a broad definition of SF: Apparently the show is now retro-hip enough for indie rockers Go Go Star to do a musical (and cosplay) tribute: Another version of the song, with better video: As for me, I’ll be off to Melbourne for the Utopias 4 conference hosted at Monash University and WorldCon — I’m presenting (different) papers at each. I’ll post my schedule as soon as it’s finalized, in case anyone wants to meet up.
What The Zen Cowboy Said
Caveat: I know zilch about horses. But I think this says something worth saying, just the same. Been a long time in coming, too. # You wonder, how could a cowboy be so much like the zen monk in that strange book your auntie from San Francisco sent you? He rides up as the sun is coming up, serene on his old stallion, a faint half-smile on his face, and dismounts. Hoisting the saddle off the horse’s back, he rubs the horse down and smiles at you. It’s the only greeting he ever gives anyone, but friendly enough. You ask …
Recommended Books on Korea
So, I was recently asked for a list of my top ten books about Korean history/politics, for someone who is living here and would like to know more about the country. Of course, asking me such a question is dangerous. Dangerous in two ways, mind: I sometimes have some pretty idiosyncratic views about books, and about historical issues that are worthwhile, and I haven’t read many, many books in the subject, so I may overlook some gems as well as recommending some books that have become dated but were important for me when I read them. So anyway, I figured …
“Hakwon Teachers”
In a recent post, I made a disparaging comment about being talked to like some hakwon teacher: And it’s even worse when it’s nine at night and a couple of people come in wanting to sample the beer, just see what it’s like, and they’ve clearly just eaten dinner and tell you so, and you say, with the smarmiest look possible, “Well, I don’t sell draft beer without anju,” as if you’re talking to some hakwon teacher or something, and to top it all off, the anju on your menu is a ridiculously overpriced joke — even moreso than the …
Two Three Annoying Things
The two girls who politely excused their way to the head of the line at the taxi stand tonight — past a bunch of us who were waiting, and assumed they were just walking through the stand but not going to catch a taxi someone else had waited for the right to take, when… yeah, they turned and slowly got into a cab. Everyone was staring, but nobody said a word till I shouted, “What? What the f*ck?” Then a few people mumbled and so on — about the crazy girls, not me. The second girl didn’t mind, as she …
TMI
Usually, we use that acronym — Too Much Information, TMI — to respond when someone is disclosing information about herself or himself that strays beyond the boundaries of what we’re willing to listen to: the quality of recent bowel movements, what it feels like to have a colonoscopy, why vomiting this food is grosser than vomiting that food, weird sexual proclivities, and so on. However in this case, I’m referring to the kind of information requested by a major Korean company that shall remain nameless and the questions in their application form. Now, I must repeat, the company must remain …
Anju? No Review…
Look, I am willing to adapt to a different culture, I really am. I understand that in Korean drinking establishments — especially the kinds of places where soju is available and sold for a pittance — it is traditional to expect customers to order some food, and it’s considered unusual for someone to order drinks and no food. I get that. If little hole-in-the-wall places didn’t make people buy food, they’d go out of business in no time, plus given the local genetics (in terms of capacity for alcohol metabolization), it makes sense to insist people consume something that will …