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Kimchibilly Night 7

Please pardon the lateness of this post… I was being lazy :(

The Kimchibilly Night series of concerts at Club Drug/DGBD have been a growing success with audiences becoming larger and more enthusiastic each month. On Saturday the 28th, the 7th Kimchibilly night was held featuring Rusty Belle, The Gentle Slicks, Snakes (from Japan) and of course the Rocktigers. This one was held at 8 PM instead of midnight, so we had a different crowd, but still it was enthusiastically received and well worth the heat of the room. DGBD gets right humid in the summer…

One of my favourite moments was “Ace of Spades” as performed by the Snakes. Here is a good moment from the Rocktigers too, a song from the new (as yet unreleased) album: “Zombie Night” by the Rocktigers. Good stuff!

The next Kimchibilly night will be Sat. Aug. 1st and I hope you can make it out… should be fun!

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By Lorne – July 10, 2009

Global Warming Skeptics

h/t to ROK Drop for this bit of information:

Sceptics Handbook cover“The Skeptic’s Handbook” can be found here at JoanneNova.au.com and it is worth the read. I, like many others, watched Al Gore’s wonderful presentation about how we are all going to die within the next hundred years and that it is all our own fault, first with a jaw-dropping, mind-has-been-boggled-with-bullshit, knee-jerk reaction that it was time to get our shit together, ducks in a row, and Go Green!™ before it was too late. Then I started to think about it a bit more, read a bit more, and decided that AFAIAC the global climate complex is much, much too well evolved to be destroyed by us so easily, so quickly, and so thoroughly. Clearly there has to be more going on than just this. I am no scientist and my opinion in this matter counts for slightly less than diddlysquat so I really had nothing to contribute to it. Personally, I think it is more of a government scare tactic to encourage the spending of money on lobbyist-approved items than anything else, but I am also a fairly devout cynic.

This particular .pdf is a good, short read; sixteen pages in all, with nice big happy text and pictures too. It is easy to digest and the gist of it is this: increased carbon (or more correctly carbon-dioxide) does not seem to be the cause of global warming, if indeed, the globe is warming. It is explained much better by those who have the knowledge and vocabulary to explain it in the .pdf so do yourself a favour and give it a read. It is always good to learn more about science.

Posted in personal, skepticism.

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By Lorne – July 10, 2009

Gone fishin’

And I am back, too. Safe and sound in one piece. My buddy Kukjin decided he wanted to go fishing near Chungju and at the last minute we were joined by Kyungrok of Crying Nut for what was sure to be a rousing adventure. Tuesday afternoon found us heading out of the city, loaded with beer, soju and Chivas Regal (Kyungrok’s idea) as well as copious amounts of samgyupsal off to do some manly things like fishing. We arrived at the site and were driven by boat to our floating palace:

The Floating PalaceThere were a couple of chairs and space for sleeping, should such occur. Then the boat tore off and we were left to our own devices until the next morning.

abandonedWe had a lovely view of the lake and we were the only ones there at all. It was refreshingly quiet and peaceful.

sunsetThe Kukjin broke out the gear and I got to see how Korean-style fishing is done. Naturally, it was not the way I expected it to be. The rods are quite long and very flexible, with a pair of hooks and a small thingamabob that let you know when the rolled balls of bait (a mixture of dried/powdered squid, rice, and other things, that smelled almost like actual food…) was being nibbled on. Casting was an underhand toss (with help from the rod as it snapped back out) and a flip of the wrist holding the rod to fling the hook and bait out as far as it could go. (As it turned out, I was particularly inept at getting the cast right.) Then the waiting began. Hangin' wi' da boyzOnce darkness settled in, we decided to take a break after having only caught one “fish” thus far:

You call that a fish?We decided that it was time for the samgyupsal and soju. However, it turned out that someone (**coughKyungrokcough**) had left the meat to cook itself in the trunk of Kukjin’s car that was far away in the parking lot of the now-closed-for-the-night establishment. We settled for our breakfast of ramyeon and debated the wisdom of cooking up the samgyupsal in the morning when the ajossi was back and could drop it off. Despite the “man’s night out” concept, there was discussion with wives via the wonders of cell phones about this situation and Kukjin was told directly that if his wife found out he had eaten that “nasty” meat from the trunk, he was not going fishing ever again. Well, enough of that.

By 10:30 Kyungrok was comfortably asleep after the (surprising good combination of ) Chivas Regal and ramyeon, so Kukjin and I settled in as the full moon rose to light the night. Around midnight, still with nothing to show for our efforts, we decided to give it one more hour and then pack it in, when suddenly Kyungrok awoke and decided it was time to do some serious fishing, especially since this was his first time to ever attempt such a thing. While he chattered away on the phone to various fans (undoubtedly hot young girls because, well, he IS a rock star after all) he caught a fish. Then another one. And another. It started to get annoying. Then Kukjin caught one. Kyungrok another, and Kukjin. I threatened to start throwing people in the water if this continued. It did, and I didn’t. By 8 AM the tally was:

Kyungrok: 9
Kukjin: 5
Lorne: squat, zip, zero, zilch, nada, bupkiss, kwang

That was when they decided to go to sleep. I was determined to catch a goddam fish no matter what, and bolstered by my share of the seven bottles of soju we had, I re-baited everyone’s line and waited in what was becoming a rather warm morning. By 9 I was asleep in my chair and that was the end of that.

Noon found us up and heading home. A quick manly stop at  SpaPlus in Icheon, with manly nakedness and bonding (the manly kind of course), to wash off the scent of fish food and sweat (not to mention soju /Chivas Regal / ramyeon) and we returned to the big city, all the better for our experience. Good times… good times.

Posted in Korea, Life in general, personal.

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By Lorne – July 9, 2009

My favourite soundbyte of the day

“I’m a Catholic. We’re taught that sex is a dirty, vile, disgusting act that you save for the one you truly love.”

Paul Begalia, (Political Analyst, CNN) as a panelist on Bill Maher’s “Real Time” which originally aired on June, 19th, 2009

Ha, ha, ha… great line.

Posted in atheism, personal.

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By Lorne – July 7, 2009

In case there is any confusion…

… this should go a long way to clearing things up. Please pass this along to friends and family back home who might find the entire thing overwhelming in its complexity:

There... that explains it.

There... that explains it.

Taken from Craig Ferguson (June 9th, 2009) show.

Wish I knew who that girl is though… and did anyone notice Ulleung-do (and probably the Liancort Rocks) to the east? How politically correct of them. No Jeju-do though… and frankly, who misses it?

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By Lorne – July 6, 2009

Happy Birthday Canada

Let’s see, this is the (my age + 99 years) 142nd birthday of Canada… nifty. I wonder what I will do to celebrate. The long-gone days of the embassy “Canada Day” party are past and nearly forgotten. That used to be such a good time. Back in the days when there were only a few of us here, the embassy party was the big party. Most people knew everyone at least by face, American buddies were invited, lots of games, beer, and silliness. Then things changed and it got to the point where you couldn’t swing a cat without hitting another Canadian and thus was born the first stereotype of Canadians in Korea – the drunk Canadian. Not a particular pillar of pride, is it? Oh well. I certainly have contributed to that image in my time — “here is Corea” — and in Korea one learns the social value of drinking, and its consequences. The quaint little party turned into a big affair, with sponsors and things, and became no fun at all over the years. One might argue it is a better reflection of life in Canada now anyway, or at least a more realistic one – too much government, American sponsorship, too  many rules, a thin veneer of fun over a seething mass of back-stabbing and bitchiness. Happy Birthday Canada!

But I should not speak ill of the birthday-boy (or girl… is Canada a “motherland” or a “fatherland”?). There is always the herb superb to keep people complacent. If July 1st is Canada’s birthday, then 4:20 was the time.

Posted in home, personal.

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By Lorne – July 1, 2009

And that put an end to Flannigan’s Ball…

Yesterday I told the dean that I was resigning. I explained how frustrated I have been with the lack of communication and respect within our department, which he denied existed but I gave him some clear evidence. He made it clear he did not want me to quit and to give him time to change my mind. I said my mind was made up now. Then he went on to explain how things are going to change around here — they are going to hire 15 new foreign teachers, there is going to be a coordinator, a head teacher, and so on, and he wants me to do that job. I will certainly be involved in things then. What finally brought the discussion to a close was when I said that I had done that job before and would not be doing it again. I want some professional growth, not to just teach 상활영어 (”Everyday English”) to bored first-year students anymore; I want to be in a department where I teach a couple of different things, and have students from first to fourth year. I then told him clearly that the direction the new English program is going is will create a “uniwon” — a university hagwon (hey if Koreans have “Konglish” then non-Koreans can have “Engrean” right?) — and that even if I were completely satisfied with my position at this school, I would still be handing in my resignation. He said, “But wait, this is a period of transition!” And I said, “Exactly, and that is why this is best time for me to leave. It is certainly better than leaving at the end of next semester, isn’t it?” He agreed, we shook hands and I left.

I also went up to the International Office to hand in my letters. The office manager up there has always been nice to us, understanding and sympathetic. He understood my reasons right away and even said, “If a faculty position in another department were to come available, would you apply?” I mentioned the impending retirement of Dr. Dr. and he smiled and said he hopes I do apply for that. So, that it seems is still an option.

Oh, and apparently my two NSET colleagues also quit – although I seem to be the only one to have done it properly. They just handed in letters to the secretary and walked away. Methinks there is going to be some serious problems in the General Education Department come September. Heads are gonna roll… While I feel bad for the dean because he is likely to bear the brunt of it, and he is new in our department anyway, having just inherited this shit-sandwich, he has always been nice to me and more-or-less respectful. He probably had a bad night last night.

[Post title was taken from The Dropkick Murphys' song "Flannigan's Ball"...  DKM!!!!!!]

Posted in Korea, personal, school.

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By Lorne – July 1, 2009

Korean meds rock

Sometime in the wee hours of Sunday morning whilst lifting an unconsciously drunk Japanese guitar player off the sidewalk where he was merrily sleeping off the effects of 폭탄주 (poktanju - a deadly soju-beer drink favoured by the raging drunks of Korea) after the 7th Kimchbilly night at Club Drug,  I managed to lightly sprain my left wrist. I didn’t realize this until later that day when it began to hurt. By Monday morning it was incredibly sore and could bear no weight or pressure at all. Slightly swollen, I wrapped it in a tensor bandage left over from when Su sprained her ankle a couple of months back on the subway stairs. That didn’t much help and so I decided to take some of her leftover meds from that situation. She had been put in a cast and given a week’s worth of anti-inflammatory meds — a weeks worth! She made a miraculous recovery and we removed the annoying cast after only a day. So on Monday I took the meds after breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and today, Tuesday, as I type this there is not even a twinge of pain. Dunno what was in that stuff, but boy-oh-boy does it work. Some things are great here.

Posted in Korea, personal.

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By Lorne – June 30, 2009

Kim Jr.

I was watching Craig Ferguson today (via torrents) and he was riffin on KJI and the Norks which I always enjoy. In fact, on several occasions he showed this “picture” of Kim Jong-un, the supposed heir to the North’s power.

Kim Jong-un -- according to Craig Ferguson

I am not sure why but I thought this was funny and figured I should share.

One thing did occur to me though: why is it that there is no recent picture of this guy? Didn’t he attend the best schools in Europe? Surely some intrepid journalist can find out what name he studied under and at least get us some frat-party shots… I mean come on!

Posted in Korea, politics.

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By Lorne – June 30, 2009

More on morons

I have had some time to think about this situation and while I am not at all far from a decision to leave my school, I may have over-reacted to the Korean staff’s views of us. This comes in light of the following examples in the past few years at my school:

  1. A religious zealot who demanded his students accepted Rev. Moon’s teachings to get an ‘A’;
  2. A teacher who proudly proclaimed, “If you want to know more about me, Google me!” The results of which pointed to the transcript of his disbarment hearing for fraud;
  3. A teacher who used his position on the university English news magazine to get a manifesto of hatred and intolerance published;
  4. A teacher who had fake master’s and doctoral degrees (and possibly even a fake bachelor’s but that is only a rumour), was working at a second university and re-arranging classes to suit his schedule, as well as being complicit in dealings with the next example;
  5. A teacher who believed he had a real PhD but it was unaccredited and nothing but his abstract seems available (and that is unintelligible), who was scamming students with a 56,000 won CD as a “textbook” that (if it worked at all) contained a 100 or so pages of a Kafka novel;
  6. A teacher (still employed) who uses spelling tests for a significant portion of students’ grades, gives out final grades of 100% regularly, uses language lab exercises with such dubious contents as filling in the blanks of Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild” with wildly incorrect lyrics and interesting word choices like “I wanna dye.”

I guess, given these shining examples of the foreign teaching community here, it is no wonder we are not taken seriously at my school.

Posted in school.

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By Lorne – June 26, 2009