Jay Leno reminds us that there's truth in comedy:
Thanks Everything is Terrible!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Bad Americans: John Yoo
Story and Links on PERRspectives.
Many stereotypes, myths, rumors, et al. about Korean men out there and John Yoo's disgraceful behavior as a US Attorney and lawyer for the President of the US is bound to linger. His name is likely to become a phrase. I can only imagine how many Koreans and Korean-Americans already cringe when "John Yoo" is uttered.
Presently, Yoo refers to his legal opinions that helped the Bush Administration justify using torture as "a gift to the Obama Presidency". Apparently, he thinks he's an American Hero.
Maybe Neo-Conservatives and torture-loving scum will agree with his self-evaluation, but most Americans and most legal professionals and scholars think he's more likely perverted Law and American conceptions of Justice and Humanity, The Constitution, than anything else.
The fact is that Yoo's a loyal sycophant, more than willing to defend his right to have helped the Bush Administration find a legal means to torture suspects for whatever reasons the Bush Administration deemed necessary. He has said as much and wonders how it is that any good American would claim to act otherwise. And now it wasn't just for Bush that he acted, but on behalf of all future Administrations. Talk about a lasting legacy.
Post Hoc, Yoo has claimed that it would be permissible for the President to permit an interrogator to crush a suspect's child's testicles in front of the suspect in order to get info. The point is, John Yoo has principles and he's willing to crush your gonads to protect them. He'll stick to his guns, even if it means helping a renegade President bomb a city of hundreds of thousands because he or she thinks it might help save American lives, he's willing to find a way to get 'er done. Here is an American Conservative valuing life and cultivating A Culture of Life.
John Yoo is a bad American, a bad Korean, a bad human. Facts are facts, though, no matter how The National Review spins the story. Yoo barely survived disbarment. His colleagues at Berkeley want him fired. He's widely hated in professional and scholarly legal circles. He repeatedly sticks his feet in his mouth during interviews.
He is a joke, like most public Conservatives he has had to resort to standing on principle because the reality of his discourse is not pretty: principles that most people fear because they are based in isolationism, hate, pain, immobility, ideology, and death.
Many stereotypes, myths, rumors, et al. about Korean men out there and John Yoo's disgraceful behavior as a US Attorney and lawyer for the President of the US is bound to linger. His name is likely to become a phrase. I can only imagine how many Koreans and Korean-Americans already cringe when "John Yoo" is uttered.
Presently, Yoo refers to his legal opinions that helped the Bush Administration justify using torture as "a gift to the Obama Presidency". Apparently, he thinks he's an American Hero.
Maybe Neo-Conservatives and torture-loving scum will agree with his self-evaluation, but most Americans and most legal professionals and scholars think he's more likely perverted Law and American conceptions of Justice and Humanity, The Constitution, than anything else.
The fact is that Yoo's a loyal sycophant, more than willing to defend his right to have helped the Bush Administration find a legal means to torture suspects for whatever reasons the Bush Administration deemed necessary. He has said as much and wonders how it is that any good American would claim to act otherwise. And now it wasn't just for Bush that he acted, but on behalf of all future Administrations. Talk about a lasting legacy.
Post Hoc, Yoo has claimed that it would be permissible for the President to permit an interrogator to crush a suspect's child's testicles in front of the suspect in order to get info. The point is, John Yoo has principles and he's willing to crush your gonads to protect them. He'll stick to his guns, even if it means helping a renegade President bomb a city of hundreds of thousands because he or she thinks it might help save American lives, he's willing to find a way to get 'er done. Here is an American Conservative valuing life and cultivating A Culture of Life.
John Yoo is a bad American, a bad Korean, a bad human. Facts are facts, though, no matter how The National Review spins the story. Yoo barely survived disbarment. His colleagues at Berkeley want him fired. He's widely hated in professional and scholarly legal circles. He repeatedly sticks his feet in his mouth during interviews.
He is a joke, like most public Conservatives he has had to resort to standing on principle because the reality of his discourse is not pretty: principles that most people fear because they are based in isolationism, hate, pain, immobility, ideology, and death.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
South Korea opens prison for foreign convicts
from the BBC:
The number of foreigners in South Korean jails has more than doubled in the past four years to about 1,500.Ok, so what's this "Korean Dream" Kim Pyeong Gun is talking about. It's the first I've heard about it.The prison's director said the inmates would still be able to pursue the "Korean dream" that had led them to the country in the first place.
The prison is about 100km (62 miles) south of the capital, Seoul, in Cheonan.
Inmates are given classes in Korean culture but can also view satellite TV from around the world and eat non-Korean meals. A number of the guards are fluent in English, Russian or Chinese.
***
The government has said the facility aims to respect the inmates' human rights and treat them in a humanitarian manner regardless of their language, culture or religion.
"We will operate this facility for the inmates to recognise that their 'Korean dream' was not a failure," said the prison's director, Kim Pyung-gun. "We will give them a message of hope."
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
서울시장: What are your favorite markets?
서울시장 (seoul shijang): Seoul Market
I love market strolling and so I'm wondering about your favorites? Write about the markets you visit in the comments. And if you live outside of Seoul, tell us where we should go when we visit your town.
The Catholic Church and its Culture of Life (Nicaragua)
Christian "Culture of Life" rhetoric and Pro-Life zealots produce some very flawed legislation worldwide, but here is an upsetting story about strict legislation aimed at saving the life of a fetus at all costs.
Pregnant Nicaraguan Woman Denied Treatment for Metastatic Cancer
When Christians legislate we get pain, death, fear, immobility, and moral ambiguity.
We must continue to struggle to keep Church and State separate. Always.
Pregnant Nicaraguan Woman Denied Treatment for Metastatic Cancer
When Christians legislate we get pain, death, fear, immobility, and moral ambiguity.
We must continue to struggle to keep Church and State separate. Always.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Did you know that hating homosexuals is now considered expressing your freedom?
Well, like this bigot's weird argument about natural rights and reproductive responsibilities, it's a load of conservative horseshit.
GOPride? That's pretty hilarious, too.
This is how American conservatives talk politics when they get together and celebrate their values. Actually, this self-righteous American dude is a member of a conservative youth group. A popular one on college and university campuses across the US. Conservatives like to encourage young men and women to hate with a rather high level of energy. Young Americans for Freedom is, among other things, a Glee Club for Hate. Where bros and their girlfriends can get together and talk conspiracy and white power and learn how to use rhetoric to tie it all in to the American Tradition. So, when they get older they can be more like Karl Rove or Dick Cheney than Barrack Obama.
I expect nothing less from the Young Americans for Freedom, but the weird conservative getting up at the end of the clip stating "freedom of opinion, freedom of opinion" over and over is truly grotesque. CPAC is a place for all the bigots to call home.
GOP politicians and the conservatives who end up voting for them each election cycle like to claim that they are into "big tent" politics, meaning that they are a diverse group. And the argument insists that they are a more diverse group than liberals. Well, yes, they are. If you include all the far right bigots in the US in your tent, then you are a big tent. You win. Good for you and your rotten values. I still would argue that your tent is pretty fucking white.
(Oh and do listen to Ann Coulter, who is looking pretty gaunt and tired these days. Listen to her clip about the diff between wars of convenience and necessity. Like always, she supposedly has a point.)
GOPride? That's pretty hilarious, too.
This is how American conservatives talk politics when they get together and celebrate their values. Actually, this self-righteous American dude is a member of a conservative youth group. A popular one on college and university campuses across the US. Conservatives like to encourage young men and women to hate with a rather high level of energy. Young Americans for Freedom is, among other things, a Glee Club for Hate. Where bros and their girlfriends can get together and talk conspiracy and white power and learn how to use rhetoric to tie it all in to the American Tradition. So, when they get older they can be more like Karl Rove or Dick Cheney than Barrack Obama.
I expect nothing less from the Young Americans for Freedom, but the weird conservative getting up at the end of the clip stating "freedom of opinion, freedom of opinion" over and over is truly grotesque. CPAC is a place for all the bigots to call home.
GOP politicians and the conservatives who end up voting for them each election cycle like to claim that they are into "big tent" politics, meaning that they are a diverse group. And the argument insists that they are a more diverse group than liberals. Well, yes, they are. If you include all the far right bigots in the US in your tent, then you are a big tent. You win. Good for you and your rotten values. I still would argue that your tent is pretty fucking white.
(Oh and do listen to Ann Coulter, who is looking pretty gaunt and tired these days. Listen to her clip about the diff between wars of convenience and necessity. Like always, she supposedly has a point.)
Friday, February 19, 2010
dagConfessions: Power & The Right To Peacefully Assemble
A US citizen visiting Korea for more than a year might have a hard time understanding Korean Democracy without doing a little homework. My wording might seem a little odd, but I think I could have been here for three months and not have come away with the desire to write this post (other than to share the story.)
The longer I live in Korea, the more I learn about the way the government and police operate. What disturbs me isn't the fact that I know about oppression and now I can see it happening outside my window. I'm not precious. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I haven't ever experienced a difference in how citizens think about Law. I guess I'm experiencing a kind of alienation for the first time that I could easily permit to become anger and frustration directed at Koreans and about Korean culture. But I want to resist that temptation because I think it's power I'm experiencing. Power, that as a white guy from the US, I have never confronted. I've read about it, sure. But this is different.
Koreans and Americans do not have the same experience and understanding of Law. A little knowledge of history explains the experiential aspect of the difference between our cultures. It's our, Korean and American, understanding of Law I want to quickly focus on before sharing a story from The Hankyoreh to illustrate my feelings. Feel free to comment if you disagree or want me to flesh this out. I'm more than willing to.
Many Americans, I'm ashamed to admit, don't really know that the reason we think and act like we do, as Americans do, has a lot to do with Laws. In the US, we have a Constitution and system of Laws that protects rights and punishes crimes. Americans like to talk about Rights all the time. We like to insist our Rights are Natural, even that we are born with them. We even have much of Continental Philosophy (See, Kant et al.) to back-up our notions that democratic life within a capitalist market is part of Nature's unknowable plan to guide us to ever more control of ourselves and toward overall Liberty. Nevertheless, we forget that without our enforceable social contract, all our Rights would simply be wishful and hopeful thinking. Yes, I'm saying that Americans take it for granted. I think we all know this is true.
Koreans have Laws with a big "L", too; it is, after all, the Republic of Korea. But Korean citizens don't think about their Republic as a Republic of Laws in the same manner Americans do. Laws in Korea are tools used by the police and the government to enforce the government's will, which is more appropriately stated as enforce the majority Party's will.
Koreans simply cannot freely speak in public in opposition to their government's ruling Party without worrying about punishment. Nor do they have the ability to freely assemble to protest and/or to organize in dissent without worrying about punishment. And when they do assemble in groups in active dissent, punishment does occur. A tourist passing through Seoul on a summer weekend would have to be blind not to notice the massive police presence in the streets.
I'm trying to come to terms with the visible and sometimes abject oppression many Koreans and immigrants struggle with here. The only thing that keeps me from running back to the US in disgust is that I'm well aware that, though Americans like to pretend it's otherwise, we have abject oppression in the US that is quite comparable while less widespread. In Seoul, it's easy for me to see it. I'm not from here. At home, I have to look for it. But it's there.
What I'm trying to come to terms with is understanding the middle-ground Korea occupies right now between the totalitarianism of the recent past and a more free Democracy of the sometime in the future. And I want to understand why Koreans don't have the feeling that it's their right. That's for another post, though. (And I should say that all the liberal and leftist Koreans I have met would say that it is their right. I'm generalizing here, of course, and I hope not too much.)
Below is a link to a story from a recent edition of The Hankyoreh. Korea's versions of Conservative Republicans are members of the Grand National Party (GNP). The American GOP and the Korean GNP have a lot in common. At this moment in time, both parties' membership likes to claim that they know better than everybody else how to legislate. In addition, they are the parties of old, well-off men and their sons and their wives. GNP visions of Korean daily life remind me of the white power structure that guides the GOP through its decision-making back home.
Currently, The GNP is attempting to enact a law that would make it illegal for people to assemble in groups between 10pm and 6am. The dissenting members of government insist that this could be handled by instituting a permit process, that an outright ban would be too extreme.
The law isn't the problem here; the warrant the GNP uses to argue in support of it is the problem. The GNP's reason is that somebody might break a law or a late assembly might turn violent. It's a real problem, this logic. A US citizen would say without too much pushing: Hey, a person has to commit a crime before being charged with one. We don't use laws to prohibit people from choosing to break laws. People choose to participate in our social contract. If a person breaks a law, then we punish that person. And so on.
In Korea, the social contract is an idea and law is a tool used to enforce participation. For the most part, Koreans accept this enforcement. Rather than shaping legislation that encourages peaceful participation in free discourse, laws that suggest what a true disturbance is, a law is suggested that prohibits all assembly. Most foreign historians and essayists on Korea like to argue that the existence of this general acceptance of oppression is a hangover from the bad days when dictators ran daily life in Korea. Well, I think that's a shitty excuse for a real problem that needs real reform to ever change. In addition, I think it's terribly patronizing to listen to white intellectuals talk about Korea's hangovers. It's a shitty, demeaning, and anti-intellectual means to addressing a complex cultural construct.
GNP introduces bill to completely ban nighttime outdoor assemblies
Here are two paragraphs from the article. They highlight the problem I address above:
The longer I live in Korea, the more I learn about the way the government and police operate. What disturbs me isn't the fact that I know about oppression and now I can see it happening outside my window. I'm not precious. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I haven't ever experienced a difference in how citizens think about Law. I guess I'm experiencing a kind of alienation for the first time that I could easily permit to become anger and frustration directed at Koreans and about Korean culture. But I want to resist that temptation because I think it's power I'm experiencing. Power, that as a white guy from the US, I have never confronted. I've read about it, sure. But this is different.
Koreans and Americans do not have the same experience and understanding of Law. A little knowledge of history explains the experiential aspect of the difference between our cultures. It's our, Korean and American, understanding of Law I want to quickly focus on before sharing a story from The Hankyoreh to illustrate my feelings. Feel free to comment if you disagree or want me to flesh this out. I'm more than willing to.
Many Americans, I'm ashamed to admit, don't really know that the reason we think and act like we do, as Americans do, has a lot to do with Laws. In the US, we have a Constitution and system of Laws that protects rights and punishes crimes. Americans like to talk about Rights all the time. We like to insist our Rights are Natural, even that we are born with them. We even have much of Continental Philosophy (See, Kant et al.) to back-up our notions that democratic life within a capitalist market is part of Nature's unknowable plan to guide us to ever more control of ourselves and toward overall Liberty. Nevertheless, we forget that without our enforceable social contract, all our Rights would simply be wishful and hopeful thinking. Yes, I'm saying that Americans take it for granted. I think we all know this is true.
Koreans have Laws with a big "L", too; it is, after all, the Republic of Korea. But Korean citizens don't think about their Republic as a Republic of Laws in the same manner Americans do. Laws in Korea are tools used by the police and the government to enforce the government's will, which is more appropriately stated as enforce the majority Party's will.
Koreans simply cannot freely speak in public in opposition to their government's ruling Party without worrying about punishment. Nor do they have the ability to freely assemble to protest and/or to organize in dissent without worrying about punishment. And when they do assemble in groups in active dissent, punishment does occur. A tourist passing through Seoul on a summer weekend would have to be blind not to notice the massive police presence in the streets.
I'm trying to come to terms with the visible and sometimes abject oppression many Koreans and immigrants struggle with here. The only thing that keeps me from running back to the US in disgust is that I'm well aware that, though Americans like to pretend it's otherwise, we have abject oppression in the US that is quite comparable while less widespread. In Seoul, it's easy for me to see it. I'm not from here. At home, I have to look for it. But it's there.
What I'm trying to come to terms with is understanding the middle-ground Korea occupies right now between the totalitarianism of the recent past and a more free Democracy of the sometime in the future. And I want to understand why Koreans don't have the feeling that it's their right. That's for another post, though. (And I should say that all the liberal and leftist Koreans I have met would say that it is their right. I'm generalizing here, of course, and I hope not too much.)
Below is a link to a story from a recent edition of The Hankyoreh. Korea's versions of Conservative Republicans are members of the Grand National Party (GNP). The American GOP and the Korean GNP have a lot in common. At this moment in time, both parties' membership likes to claim that they know better than everybody else how to legislate. In addition, they are the parties of old, well-off men and their sons and their wives. GNP visions of Korean daily life remind me of the white power structure that guides the GOP through its decision-making back home.
Currently, The GNP is attempting to enact a law that would make it illegal for people to assemble in groups between 10pm and 6am. The dissenting members of government insist that this could be handled by instituting a permit process, that an outright ban would be too extreme.
The law isn't the problem here; the warrant the GNP uses to argue in support of it is the problem. The GNP's reason is that somebody might break a law or a late assembly might turn violent. It's a real problem, this logic. A US citizen would say without too much pushing: Hey, a person has to commit a crime before being charged with one. We don't use laws to prohibit people from choosing to break laws. People choose to participate in our social contract. If a person breaks a law, then we punish that person. And so on.
In Korea, the social contract is an idea and law is a tool used to enforce participation. For the most part, Koreans accept this enforcement. Rather than shaping legislation that encourages peaceful participation in free discourse, laws that suggest what a true disturbance is, a law is suggested that prohibits all assembly. Most foreign historians and essayists on Korea like to argue that the existence of this general acceptance of oppression is a hangover from the bad days when dictators ran daily life in Korea. Well, I think that's a shitty excuse for a real problem that needs real reform to ever change. In addition, I think it's terribly patronizing to listen to white intellectuals talk about Korea's hangovers. It's a shitty, demeaning, and anti-intellectual means to addressing a complex cultural construct.
GNP introduces bill to completely ban nighttime outdoor assemblies
Here are two paragraphs from the article. They highlight the problem I address above:
The GNP lawmakers at the committee meeting, including Cho, called for the bill to be passed during the February extraordinary assembly after the bill had been handed over to a subcommittee for legal deliberation. GNP Lawmaker Kim Tae-won said concerns over the destruction of evidence or escape were great regarding nighttime assemblies, and they could very likely turn into violent demonstrations. Thus, he added that until a peaceful demonstration culture takes root in South Korea, a time restriction would have to be placed on outdoor demonstrations.
Democratic Party Lawmakers Kang Gi-jung and Kim Yoo-jung, however, protested the bill, saying that since it excessively restricts the people’s Constitutionally-guaranteed basic rights, it would be better to place limits on noise or venues rather than time. They called on the GNP to drop discussion of amending the Assembly Law and instead hold hearings to gather public opinion. A bill proposed by Democratic Party Lawmaker Chun Jung-bae and Democratic Labor Party Lawmaker Lee Jung-hee, currently stuck in committee, would in principle permit nighttime outdoor assemblies under the condition that participants maintain law and order.
dagTunes: Song of the Week
It's a horrifying and shitty world out there, friends, and it can seem like we're everyone us doing our thing on our own, very much alone.
Yeah, Yeah, We all know this, right, but most songs about being together, friendship, and helping each other out SUCK. "That's what friends are for..." kind of stuff makes me puke into my mouth, if you want to know the truth.
But this week's song is fabulous stuff: Cock Sparrer's "We're Coming Back" from their 1982 album, Shock Troops. Listen to it at least once a week. And it's a great Friday Song: one to bop around to and sing while getting ready to spend some time out in the street, scooting around raising hell, or in the pub with your friends.
It's a rather rare track from Sparrer, one that you don't hear too often. But it's my favorite. Well, "Taken for a Ride" is tops, too.
Enjoy it.
The lyrics for "We're Coming Back"
We're coming back, we're coming back
We're coming back to you
We're never gonna go away again
Hold on a little longer, try a little harder
'Til we're arm in arm together to the end
[Chorus]
So remember, out there somewhere
You've got a friend, and you'll never walk alone again
Don't get worried, don't get scared
We're fighting to get there
Never doubt we're gonna get through
We're gonna run, we're gonna crawl, kick down every wall
It won't be long we're coming back to you
[Chorus]
We're coming back, we're coming back
We're coming back to you
We're never gonna go away again
Hold on a little longer, try a little harder
'Til we're arm in arm together to the end
[Chorus]
Yeah, Yeah, We all know this, right, but most songs about being together, friendship, and helping each other out SUCK. "That's what friends are for..." kind of stuff makes me puke into my mouth, if you want to know the truth.
But this week's song is fabulous stuff: Cock Sparrer's "We're Coming Back" from their 1982 album, Shock Troops. Listen to it at least once a week. And it's a great Friday Song: one to bop around to and sing while getting ready to spend some time out in the street, scooting around raising hell, or in the pub with your friends.
It's a rather rare track from Sparrer, one that you don't hear too often. But it's my favorite. Well, "Taken for a Ride" is tops, too.
Enjoy it.
The lyrics for "We're Coming Back"
We're coming back, we're coming back
We're coming back to you
We're never gonna go away again
Hold on a little longer, try a little harder
'Til we're arm in arm together to the end
[Chorus]
So remember, out there somewhere
You've got a friend, and you'll never walk alone again
Don't get worried, don't get scared
We're fighting to get there
Never doubt we're gonna get through
We're gonna run, we're gonna crawl, kick down every wall
It won't be long we're coming back to you
[Chorus]
We're coming back, we're coming back
We're coming back to you
We're never gonna go away again
Hold on a little longer, try a little harder
'Til we're arm in arm together to the end
[Chorus]
Catholic Charities is now a Political Action Group no longer a Charity
Citing same-sex marriage bill, Washington Archdiocese ends foster-care program - washingtonpost.com
Well, so much for charities providing charity.
Good on Washington DC citizens and politicians refusing to cave to this nonsense. Another charity organization has stepped up to care for the 35 families Catholic Charities was servicing with the foster-care program.
The local government should investigate whether or not Catholic Charities has a right to receive $20 million a year in grants from the city. I doubt they have a right to such public funds as a result of their discriminatory practices.
Catholics are full of excuses for their Church's institutionalized bigotry. Catholic progressives better get with it. The last few years have shown the church regressing and solidifying its conservative cred. It's incredibly stupid, in my opinion. More interested in protecting the human institution than anything else.
I'm happy to see an American city telling them to get bent.
Well, so much for charities providing charity.
Good on Washington DC citizens and politicians refusing to cave to this nonsense. Another charity organization has stepped up to care for the 35 families Catholic Charities was servicing with the foster-care program.
The local government should investigate whether or not Catholic Charities has a right to receive $20 million a year in grants from the city. I doubt they have a right to such public funds as a result of their discriminatory practices.
Catholics are full of excuses for their Church's institutionalized bigotry. Catholic progressives better get with it. The last few years have shown the church regressing and solidifying its conservative cred. It's incredibly stupid, in my opinion. More interested in protecting the human institution than anything else.
I'm happy to see an American city telling them to get bent.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The latest stupid thing Kathleen Hannah has said about something she doesn't seem to care about
I grew up loving Kathleen Hannah and everything she did. Total fanboy for the riotgrrrls and zine stars of my generation. Then she retired from doing the things she did to being interviewed about the things she used to do and what she thinks about stuff happening now like politics and blogging and how diff everything thing is.
and boy she sucks at it. Please go back to doing what you did: you know, leading by example and kicking ass.
Here's the latest stupid thing Kathleen Hannah has said about something she doesn't seem to care about:
But then she addresses something she cares about and goes right back to awesome again. On Post-Feminism, Hannah says:
Yet there is something not-awesome in this claim. A lingering implicature. I don't know if I think that there aren't interesting feminist leaders around. Hannah implies that there aren't. Let's hope she doesn't think the 90s were some boom for feminists that we all let bust. I suppose she could be fully embracing her ego ideal here. I dunno.
This goes to the point of my post. When icons get old, they lose touch. Hannah's 90s rhetoric doesn't apply right now. I mean, telling young women (and men) that there aren't any interesting feminist leaders is ridiculous. There are leaders out there: young leaders. And they keep blogs, not zines. And they are fierce activists. Well, actually, many of them do publish zines. Anyway, I read them and I admire them. The more I think about it (while revising this post several times,) the more I feel she's hopelessly out of touch and doesn't know IT (what she's talking about) anymore. Either that, or she is a shitty pundit. I want to believe the latter not the former. I wish she'd stop doing these appearances. The nostalgia tour sucks and smells like death.
Anyway, when she talks about the zine culture and its history and music in the 90s, she is in her element and very engrossing. A Total Icon. When she talks like a pundit, she becomes a pundit: a boring spectacle of worn out celebrity who, apparently, would rather be dancing in some underground scene somewhere in her hipper than you old lady fashion.
Watch and fear her glasses:
and boy she sucks at it. Please go back to doing what you did: you know, leading by example and kicking ass.
Here's the latest stupid thing Kathleen Hannah has said about something she doesn't seem to care about:
The thing that's different between blogging and zines is that zines were supposed to be historical ... [zines] existed in this one specific time period. And the thing I sometimes don't like about blogs is that they are can seem really ahistorical ... I like the objectness.In other words, Kathleen Hannah likes things she can hold, like a book or a zine, because she can hold them. YAWN. All that shit about "ahistorical" this and "objectness" that, well that's nonsense, really.
But then she addresses something she cares about and goes right back to awesome again. On Post-Feminism, Hannah says:
I'm so sick of the post-feminism thing. It's ridiculous. I want more interesting leaders. I think it is really hard for feminist women who are also interested in challenging all kinds of oppression is that we're freaked out about leadership, so there's not more interesting leaders. A lot of times we kill off our leaders, I mean not just because we're women, but we're in a culture where we create products and we destroy those productsShe's absolutely spot on. We kill our (potential) leaders. We grind them into nothing and waste them. Especially our leaders who happen to be women. We take them and with all our society's zeal for sexism, we drag them through the dirt. We create and destroy products.
Yet there is something not-awesome in this claim. A lingering implicature. I don't know if I think that there aren't interesting feminist leaders around. Hannah implies that there aren't. Let's hope she doesn't think the 90s were some boom for feminists that we all let bust. I suppose she could be fully embracing her ego ideal here. I dunno.
This goes to the point of my post. When icons get old, they lose touch. Hannah's 90s rhetoric doesn't apply right now. I mean, telling young women (and men) that there aren't any interesting feminist leaders is ridiculous. There are leaders out there: young leaders. And they keep blogs, not zines. And they are fierce activists. Well, actually, many of them do publish zines. Anyway, I read them and I admire them. The more I think about it (while revising this post several times,) the more I feel she's hopelessly out of touch and doesn't know IT (what she's talking about) anymore. Either that, or she is a shitty pundit. I want to believe the latter not the former. I wish she'd stop doing these appearances. The nostalgia tour sucks and smells like death.
Anyway, when she talks about the zine culture and its history and music in the 90s, she is in her element and very engrossing. A Total Icon. When she talks like a pundit, she becomes a pundit: a boring spectacle of worn out celebrity who, apparently, would rather be dancing in some underground scene somewhere in her hipper than you old lady fashion.
Watch and fear her glasses:
dagTunes: Do Make Say Think in Seoul (V-Hall, Sunday, 2/21/10)
Do Make Say Think will be in Seoul this weekend. I'll be there, too. 비둘기우유 (Vidulgi Ooyoo) is opening up for them. Two great live bands! And, from what I've read, all 9 members of DMST will make the trip to Seoul.
I'm excited about this show because it's a change of pace for me. I'm usually all about the ska/early reggae & hardcore shows and clubs. Seoul actually has a diverse live scene.
It's just that it's so tempting to stay with What I Know and Where I Go. Know what I mean?
It's a little expensive, but I want to support the effort to bring good acts here. Here's link to the Korea Gig Guide calendar for the weekend.
Save money and visit the supercolorsuper web site to learn how to buy tickets in advance to save 10,000Won.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Banks, ATMs, Check Cards & Lunar New Year in Korea
Many foreigners with Korean bank accounts find themselves financially strapped and, in some cases, stranded on the two biggest holiday weekends of the year: Chuseok and Lunar New Year.
On holiday weekends, the safest way to travel around Korea is with cash or your non-Korean credit card. Banks shut down access to funds--in other words, completely shut down--at odd times during the holidays. Even if an ATM is open, you won't be able to access funds. And if you're in a bar, cafe, convenience store, airport, hostel, et al., during these closures, your check card will not work. You might find yourself stranded and cashless for several hours. Or, like many foreigners last year whose bank closed for the entire holiday weekend, you may be broke for four days and looking for help to eat.
To give you two examples:
Kookmin Bank (KB) will be down from 10am-1045am on Saturday, 2/13, and from 1201am-8pm Monday, 2/15;
Woori Bank will be down from 4am-7am on Saturday, 2/13, and on 11pm, Monday 2/15, to 2am, Tuesday 2/16.
Most banks' Internet Banking is likely to be down until Tuesday morning. You should make sure you know when your check cards won't work. As you can see from above, it's different for each bank. Woori Bank customers are not likely to be inconvenienced; on the other hand, Kookmin customers have an entire 24 hour period without bank access.
Korea4expats is a decent website for getting general information about daily life in Korea, but it (like most sites about living in Korea) offers no information about holiday closures. Hagwons and Public Schools do not inform their employees. Your Korean friends are not likely to know. Go into your bank and insist they give you the times. Or, if you can read hangukmal, visit the Korean language site for your bank and get the information. I can tell you that for Woori Bank, its English language site does not contain the closure info.
Please be sure to check with your banks before leaving tonight or tomorrow morning for your holiday excursions. I suggest calling them. The web sites can be confusing and just because you don't find information about closures, doesn't mean they aren't scheduled.
Good Luck^^
On holiday weekends, the safest way to travel around Korea is with cash or your non-Korean credit card. Banks shut down access to funds--in other words, completely shut down--at odd times during the holidays. Even if an ATM is open, you won't be able to access funds. And if you're in a bar, cafe, convenience store, airport, hostel, et al., during these closures, your check card will not work. You might find yourself stranded and cashless for several hours. Or, like many foreigners last year whose bank closed for the entire holiday weekend, you may be broke for four days and looking for help to eat.
To give you two examples:
Kookmin Bank (KB) will be down from 10am-1045am on Saturday, 2/13, and from 1201am-8pm Monday, 2/15;
Woori Bank will be down from 4am-7am on Saturday, 2/13, and on 11pm, Monday 2/15, to 2am, Tuesday 2/16.
Most banks' Internet Banking is likely to be down until Tuesday morning. You should make sure you know when your check cards won't work. As you can see from above, it's different for each bank. Woori Bank customers are not likely to be inconvenienced; on the other hand, Kookmin customers have an entire 24 hour period without bank access.
Korea4expats is a decent website for getting general information about daily life in Korea, but it (like most sites about living in Korea) offers no information about holiday closures. Hagwons and Public Schools do not inform their employees. Your Korean friends are not likely to know. Go into your bank and insist they give you the times. Or, if you can read hangukmal, visit the Korean language site for your bank and get the information. I can tell you that for Woori Bank, its English language site does not contain the closure info.
Please be sure to check with your banks before leaving tonight or tomorrow morning for your holiday excursions. I suggest calling them. The web sites can be confusing and just because you don't find information about closures, doesn't mean they aren't scheduled.
Good Luck^^
Thursday, February 11, 2010
dagTunes: Shin Jung Hyeon, again
Yesterday, I wrote about Shin Jung Hyeon, godfather of ROK'n'roll. This morning I came across some of his music.
Here's "Happy Go Go", a 15 minute psychedelic jam from the Shin Jung Hyeon Sound lp, Golden Grapes, 1972.
Happy Go Go
일제 강점기: Forced Mobilization
일제 강점기 is the hangukmal phrase Koreans often use to refer to Japanese occupation from August 1910 until 1945. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Japan's forced annexation of Korea. Here is a little Wiki background and the map to the left represents Korea in the Japanese Empire in 1939. (Click on the map to enlarge it.)
My favorite Korean history book, at the moment, is Bruce Cumings' Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History. I recommend it: easy to find, engrossing and provocative. Anyway, it's difficult to find good modern histories for Korea. The Wikipedia page, understandably, needs a little editing. Overall, it's a fair overview of dates and events.
Japan has never wanted to be transparent about occupying Korea and continues to do whatever it can to hinder honest research into Japanese exploitation of Korea and Koreans. This is something I knew a little about before coming to Korea. Very little. Well, to be honest, I knew that Japan had occupied Korea until 1945. And this explains, I think, the detail most educated Americans know about Korea. Dates and names. Nothing more.
It's a shame because Korea and the United States are much more dependent on one another in many more ways than Americans would like to admit. Koreans don't like to admit it either as they have struggled throughout their history for self-determination.
I can't say that it's easy to learn. Much of the literature in English at Korean bookstores is outright crap seemingly authorized by government-friendly publishers and written by expat "journalists" and "historians" who must enjoy a little celebrity for kissing middle-class Korean ass. It's also more than a little patronizing to cast modern Korea as a classic, capitalist success story: placing Koreans in the role of a Horatio Alger hero who's rough, dirty, scrappy but works so hard that we all know he's going to win by the end of the story. I HATE THAT SHIT.
Sorry about the frank language, but some of the books are truly embarrassing and intellectual trifles. I don't want to get into historiography and dialectics here. I did want to share with you, on the other hand, three engaging articles from a Korean newspaper I enjoy reading, The Hankyoreh. The link is to the English language, online edition.
Yesterday, The Hankyoreh published the third in a three-part series of articles in observance of the 100th anniversary of Korea's annexation by Japan. The series is called "Traces of Forced Mobilization". The articles handle a particularly nasty part of Japanese occupation, the National Mobilization Law. After 1939 and until the end of occupation at the beginning of World War II, Japan mobilized (conscripted) over 5,000,000 Koreans as laborers in Japan and Korea, and elsewhere. Over 600,000 Koreans were taken to Japan. An accurate number will never be possible, but between 200,000 and 800,000 Koreans died as a result of forced mobilization. After the occupation, tens of thousands of Koreans were left as stateless refugees in what used to be the outlying ares of the Japanese Empire. (Again, an accurate number will be hard to learn.)
The Japanese attempted what many scholars now refer to as "cultural genocide"; the occupiers purposefully, brutally and crassly supressed Korean culture. It's aspects of occupation and war over the last 120 years that directly led to the revival of Korean Nationalism that so many foreigners complain about confronting while they live or visit Korea.
In the comments section, feel free to offer any stories you may have about family & friends; or, if you're learning about Korea, anything you'd like to discuss about the anniversary and topic.
Part One: Aso Group denies golf course sits atop burial grounds of conscripted Korean laborers
Part Two: Remains of unidentified Korean conscripted laborers remain at Takashima Island
Part Three: Korean former conscripted laborers live out last days on Russia’s Sakhalin Island
Added on 2/21, Part Four: “Peace” museum glorifies young conscripted Korean Kamikaze pilots
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
dagTunes: 산울림 "나어떡해"
This is one of my favorite Korean songs; possibly, thee fave. And that's incredible because the three brothers in 산울림 played some very cheesey almost-power-pop over the years.
산울림 (San-ul-lim) means 'mountain echo'. The official English title for 나어떡해 (Na-eo-ddeok-hae) is "What Shall I do?" Alhtough, 나어떡해 is a Korean expression that means "What am I going to do now?" "What shall I do?" sounds a bit 19th Century Victorian English to me and carries none of the folksy quality that the pop song embodies.
I'm putting this up because another version of the song by a popular band, Sandpebbles, receives a lot of attention on You Tube. The original is, as many Koreans will correctly argue, the better version.
Read about 산울림 in English:
산울림 (San-ul-lim) means 'mountain echo'. The official English title for 나어떡해 (Na-eo-ddeok-hae) is "What Shall I do?" Alhtough, 나어떡해 is a Korean expression that means "What am I going to do now?" "What shall I do?" sounds a bit 19th Century Victorian English to me and carries none of the folksy quality that the pop song embodies.
한글moment: The song's title provides a good illustration of the daily difficulties I experience learning the Korean language. A student might think he sees "떡", which means 'rice cake', which would take him down a path towards "rice cake does", which makes no sense at all. And then the student would ask a Korean. And then bang his head on his desk.나어떡해 has the right amounts of pop and melancholy mixed together with great, muted drumming. I've been looking for the lyrics and never have found them. If you know them or can find them, in English, or can translate, I'd love to know more about it than I already do.
I'm putting this up because another version of the song by a popular band, Sandpebbles, receives a lot of attention on You Tube. The original is, as many Koreans will correctly argue, the better version.
Read about 산울림 in English:
Wikipedia
dagTunes: 신중현 (Shin Jung Hyeon) Godfather of ROK'n'Roll
Shin Jung Hyeon's songs are thrilling mixtures of garage, psychedelic, and folk rock. He began his career playing on US military bases in the late 50s. While his reputation as a guitarist grew, he entertained military personnel as Jackie Shin. (Don't get me started. Anyway....) Shin claims Korean rock was born in military clubs: explains the varied American influences I hear when listening to Korean rock, certainly, but does not explain the genius things Korean musicians did with the music.
The first song below is "Beautiful Rivers and Mountains". It represents the pinnacle of his work during 1970s, the song is from '75, and quite possibly of his career. It's a wonderful, near ten minute, psychedelic track. Shin was widely revered for his knack at psychedelic rock and folk. A finer example of his genius doesn't exist. It's Korean Psychedelic Folk Rock at its best.
Well, some might argue with me because his cover of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is legendary. But I prefer this tune, quite frankly, and the backstory makes it the lead in my post.
In 1972, Park Chung Hee--the totalitarian who ran Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979--asked Shin to record a song praising him and his work. Shin declined and is said to have written this song "아름다운강산" instead ("ah-leum da-un jang-san"= "Beautiful Rivers and Mountains"). Imagine if President Bush had asked Bruce Springsteen to write a song about The Bush Presidency. That's about the only way I can think of putting this request in perspective. But imagine Bush had the power to make you disappear without anybody asking questions.
I love it:
I'm sure denying the dictator the privilege of his talents was one of the reasons that around the time of the above recording, Shin came under criticism for loud and vulgar music and was arrested for smoking pot. He was banned from public performances until Park's assasination.
Here's a clip from the 1975 film, 미인 (mee-in, "beautiful woman"). It's not the complete song, but it helps illustrate the popular fashion and style with groups like Shin Jung Hyeon & The Yup Juns:
Eleven years earlier, in 1964, Shin fronted The Add4, a garage and surf act. The next song, "늦은면 큰일나요" (If You're late, You're in Big Trouble), is a good example of the garage & surf rock popular in the late fifties and early sixties before Korean rock musicians submerged themselves in psychedelic & progressive rock and acid folk. Here's 늦은면 큰일나요 from the album 빗속의 (In the Beat--tell me if I have that title wrong, but I think it's right.)
English language links for 신중현:
The first song below is "Beautiful Rivers and Mountains". It represents the pinnacle of his work during 1970s, the song is from '75, and quite possibly of his career. It's a wonderful, near ten minute, psychedelic track. Shin was widely revered for his knack at psychedelic rock and folk. A finer example of his genius doesn't exist. It's Korean Psychedelic Folk Rock at its best.
Well, some might argue with me because his cover of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is legendary. But I prefer this tune, quite frankly, and the backstory makes it the lead in my post.
In 1972, Park Chung Hee--the totalitarian who ran Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979--asked Shin to record a song praising him and his work. Shin declined and is said to have written this song "아름다운강산" instead ("ah-leum da-un jang-san"= "Beautiful Rivers and Mountains"). Imagine if President Bush had asked Bruce Springsteen to write a song about The Bush Presidency. That's about the only way I can think of putting this request in perspective. But imagine Bush had the power to make you disappear without anybody asking questions.
I love it:
I'm sure denying the dictator the privilege of his talents was one of the reasons that around the time of the above recording, Shin came under criticism for loud and vulgar music and was arrested for smoking pot. He was banned from public performances until Park's assasination.
Here's a clip from the 1975 film, 미인 (mee-in, "beautiful woman"). It's not the complete song, but it helps illustrate the popular fashion and style with groups like Shin Jung Hyeon & The Yup Juns:
Eleven years earlier, in 1964, Shin fronted The Add4, a garage and surf act. The next song, "늦은면 큰일나요" (If You're late, You're in Big Trouble), is a good example of the garage & surf rock popular in the late fifties and early sixties before Korean rock musicians submerged themselves in psychedelic & progressive rock and acid folk. Here's 늦은면 큰일나요 from the album 빗속의 (In the Beat--tell me if I have that title wrong, but I think it's right.)
English language links for 신중현:
Wikipedia
Korean Rock dot com
Korean Psyche & Acid Folk
dagTunes: 펄 시스터즈 (The Pearl Sisters)
I'm a little obsessed with traditional Korea pop. One of my favorite vocal groups is The Pearl Sisters, featuring sisters Bae In Soon and Bae In Sook. I can't find much about them in English. From what I can tell, their mother originally encouraged them to sing as "The Kim Sisters". Lee Nanyong was an actress and singer during the Korean War and it sounds like she got her daughters involved in 노래 (norae, song) contests held on the military bases. The girls like performing and soon were recording. They became popular with the backing of Korea's godfather of rock'n'roll, Shin Jung Hyeon, the subject of my next post.
Anyway, if you know more about the sisters, leave a comment.
Contemporary K-Pop is such weak, fashion-oriented, easily-consumed and forgettable junk that researching the 50s, 60s, and 70s Korean Pop, Folk, and Rock scenes has been a real joy. Korea has a wealth of musical treasures. You just have to dig a little to find them.
I can't wait to hit the used record stores in 남대문시장 (Namdaemun Market) and attempt to find some of the music I've grown to love.
Much of the late-sixties to mid-seventies pop & rock music is garage and folk influenced. There is plenty of progressive and hard rock around but the best is the psychedelic tinged folk and folk pop and songs like The Pearls Sisters' garage pop.
"Shadows of the Two" and "I'll Wait" (During the first song there's a little pause in the audio that lasts about 3-4secs.)
The next one is called "커피 한잔" and is probably the best song about "a cup of coffee" I've ever heard:
I like "I Can Not" quite a bit. It's a nice garage pop number:
Anyway, if you know more about the sisters, leave a comment.
Contemporary K-Pop is such weak, fashion-oriented, easily-consumed and forgettable junk that researching the 50s, 60s, and 70s Korean Pop, Folk, and Rock scenes has been a real joy. Korea has a wealth of musical treasures. You just have to dig a little to find them.
I can't wait to hit the used record stores in 남대문시장 (Namdaemun Market) and attempt to find some of the music I've grown to love.
Much of the late-sixties to mid-seventies pop & rock music is garage and folk influenced. There is plenty of progressive and hard rock around but the best is the psychedelic tinged folk and folk pop and songs like The Pearls Sisters' garage pop.
"Shadows of the Two" and "I'll Wait" (During the first song there's a little pause in the audio that lasts about 3-4secs.)
The next one is called "커피 한잔" and is probably the best song about "a cup of coffee" I've ever heard:
I like "I Can Not" quite a bit. It's a nice garage pop number:
Stating the Obvious: Sarah Palin is a Fucking Retard
From the Colbert Report:
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Sarah Palin Uses a Hand-O-Prompter | ||||
| ||||
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
A Poem
From Free Space Comix, a blog I've been following for many years, comes this great post. Hope he doesn't mind me posting it here.
Tea Bagging: The Poem
Tea Bagging: The Poem
Energy.Budgetcuts.
Tax.
Lift American Spirits.
Tea Party: The Party of White Power
If you thought that Tea Party populism is about change in America, you're right. It's about turning the clocks back to Reconstruction Era culture. Separatism, White Power, selective immigration, Theocracy, et al. Tom Tancredo's opening speech is enough to make me puke.
Tell me that Tancredo's speech is not brought to you by the people who can't believe we elected a black man. He tries to hide his well-known bigotry by mentioning John McCain (after all, Conservatives love to hate on that guy anyway,) but this is all repressed hatred and fear of a black planet nonsense. Don't stop listening after he calls for literacy tests; the best is yet to come when he calls for all non-Christians to leave the US.
Remember, Tancredo is the guy who believes "we should bomb Mecca." He needs the Tea Party and has been waiting for this moment. It's like a Coming Out Party.
Imagine, relevance for Nationalist White Power sentiments in the US!
Tell me that Tancredo's speech is not brought to you by the people who can't believe we elected a black man. He tries to hide his well-known bigotry by mentioning John McCain (after all, Conservatives love to hate on that guy anyway,) but this is all repressed hatred and fear of a black planet nonsense. Don't stop listening after he calls for literacy tests; the best is yet to come when he calls for all non-Christians to leave the US.
Remember, Tancredo is the guy who believes "we should bomb Mecca." He needs the Tea Party and has been waiting for this moment. It's like a Coming Out Party.
Imagine, relevance for Nationalist White Power sentiments in the US!
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