Some discussion of types of superheroes and superpowers over at Stephanie Denise Brown’s LJ led to a pretty fascinating exchange in the comments section, finally (for me) culminating in a discussion of gaming with one of the original writers of what remains my most fondly-remembered RPG system, Wraith: The Oblivion. My Wraith books were, along with nearly all my other White Wolf RPG books, lost in shipment to my parents’ home when I left for Korea. It’s been eight years, but the loss still stings a little. I had almost everything that had come out in the Wraith line, as …
Tag: PERSONAL
Happy Birthday to… me.
This year is the year of the tiger, which is my sign in the Asian zodiac. That means, of course, my age is a multiple of 12 — in fact, 36. This isn’t quite midway for average male life expectancy in the developed world, but on the other hand, for the men in my family, this might well be the average of halfway, or even farther along. So I guess I should be reflecting on where I’ve been, and where I want to go. Except, well, I did that a lot last year, and I feel like I’m on track, …
Other Good Movies I’ve Seen Lately
I should add — some non-SF films I’ve seen lately were: Nixon. Well, I haven’t finished it, yet, but I enjoyed what I saw. Anthony Hopkins, damn, that man can act. New York, I Love You. A fine omnibus of shorts, this was like a collection of flash fiction set in what seems like a realer New York than most depictions of the city. Haeundae. Well, actually, I guess this Korean movie was an SF film — no less than Japan sinks — based on the idea that something as bad as the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia could hit …
More on Beer-Making
Note, the title of this post could also be read as, “Moron Beer Making”… This weekend, I’ve already moved my wheat beer into secondary fermentation, but I’m also going to start primary fermentation for a second batch, which is — da-da-da-Daaaaaaaaaaa! — Coffee Stout! That is, a nice dark rich Stout with a hint of coffee flavoring. Just, you know, a hint. This is not the bizarre concoction I had one night out with a bunch of people organized by Roboseyo, at some little restaurant, where they made “coffee beer” by putting coffee into a glass of beer. That was …
Without Beautiful, Perfect | Wings Upon their Backs
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/sWpERZAIy3E” width=”425″ height=”344″ allowfullscreen=”true” fvars=”fs=1″ /] I wrote this today: Why is it that our kind are our kind born without beautiful, perfect wings upon our backs? Yes, you know something is up when Gord starts writing verse again, though of course that is only one stanza. But only one poem today. Poetry is hard work. Have my final class this afternoon — just getting together with some students to look at a few projects that need to get class approval, and to wish them luck on their finals. Then I will finish preparing for my Korean lesson — …
Party Last Night
I am not going to talk about the party I was at last night, except that it was nice to see Sanghoon and Rira again, and good to meet several new people including Dr. Kim Kyu-hyun, and a few others. I wish I’d known they were likely to leave early-ish, so I could have talked to them more… especially since I have a funny vague feeling I was intended to talk to someone I didn’t (much). One of the “few others” I met was a guy I recognized, but couldn’t place where I recognized him from until someone mentioned Youtube. …
I Want to See You in Jakarta
If you’d told me in 1999 that a decade hence someone would be hugging me in an Indian restaurant in a suburb of Seoul, and then saying that sentence to me, “Please try… I want to see you in Jakarta…” I’d have laughed in your face and said, “What?!?” Well, ona good day I would have laughed. Isn’t life just wonderfully bizarre? And so it goes… another ex-student of mine (since turned friend) ventures out into the world, and I dare to nurture some small but bright nugget of faith in her ability to change it in some small but …
On Roh’s Death, Steve Reich, and the Tao of Imagining Sisyphus Happy
I’ve been saddened by what happened recently in regard to ex-President Roh’s suicide. Not the suicide itself, or all of the political wrangling related to it.I’m saddened because I fear suicides will worsen here, for the next while. Korea has a serious suicide problem. It’s the number one killer of people in their twenties, as many blogs are eager to state. It’s the kind of thing many people think about in their youth, of course. But suicide is tragically common here, and in recent days a number of people have talked about it with me. Korean people, I mean. Young …
마력
Okay, universe. I got the message, loud and clear. I believe in magic again. Also, in Jpop. I was telling someone how my experience of Japanese pop culture media is something like what I’d expect a group of alien children might make if they were trying to fake their way through American pop culture production.Which, no, is not to call the Japanese children. It’s just that there’s a funny kind of sweetness, even innocence, in some of it that really surprises me. And which I find refreshing, as in this example (though sorry for the audio problems): [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/-WHkiaXE4ao” width=”425″ …
Seoul International Book Fair 2009, and Mike’s Visit
So my friend Mike was in town this weekend, and after he arrived (and I arrived at CoEx Mall pathetically late), our first stop (after food) was the Seoul International Book Fair. From the website, I thought it might be a little more trade/professional than it was, but we had a good time wandering, chatting with people occasionally, and checking out some of the art and books that were on display. I got some posters by a photographer named Choi Young Jin — stupid me, I should have gotten him to sign them — and Mike had a good chat …