Monster Island (actually a peninsula)*

Pearls of witticism from 'Bo the Blogger: Kushibo's Korea blog... Kushibo-e Kibun... Now with Less kimchi, more nunchi. Random thoughts and commentary (and indiscernibly opaque humor) about selected social, political, economic, and health-related issues of the day affecting "foreans," Koreans, Korea and East Asia, along with the US, especially Hawaii, Orange County and the rest of California, plus anything else that is deemed worthy of discussion. Forza Corea!

Friday, September 11, 2009

hot pockets

The father of the late Steve Irwin is urging China not to import Australia's national icon to use for food.

Just how much meat can you get from Crocodile Dundee, you ask? No, no. Not that national icon. I'm talking about kangaroos.

Apparently after Russia barred kangaroo kogi, Australia's kangaroo ranchers (I have no idea what they'd be called) have been courting the Chinese.

Said the father of the Crocodile Hunter: "We wouldn't eat your pandas, so please don't eat our kangaroos. Come and see them."

[above: The potential to disastrously deplete kangaroo stocks is not the only reason for opposition to exporting them to China for food. Kangaroos are highly intelligent creatures capable of forming emotional attachments, exhibiting complex social behaviors, and performing interpretive dance.]

4 comments:

AnonymousFriday, September 11, 2009 10:26:00 AM
Roo meat is good.

If it can move and it's not toxic... go ahead and try to eat it.

Dolphin tastes like tuna!.. >:)
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kushiboFriday, September 11, 2009 11:12:00 AM
Let me guess, growing up you thought "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" belonged on the Food Channel?
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AnonymousSaturday, September 12, 2009 3:32:00 PM
Mutual of Omaha? I barely remember that! How old ARE you???

;)
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kushiboSunday, September 13, 2009 5:14:00 AM
Hey, now. MoOWC ran until 1988! And throughout the 1980s I think it was in reruns or something (it seemed to be on every day and my older brother loved that program).

I'm a Gen-Xer, born when Ronald Reagan was in office (in Sacramento, that is).
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That got me thinking that, hey, I have a master’s degree in Korean studies and a minor in Japanese studies, I’ve lived in Seoul far longer than most foreans my age (whether they're kyopo or non-kyopo), I teach introductory courses on Korea and its cultural trappings and history, so why not offer a free service where I attempt to answer people’s questions, point them in the direction of where they can get them answered, and/or offer my regulars (that’s you!) a chance to take a stab at some of this stuff, too.

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九十五大怪獣란? 쿠시보의 몬스터 아일랜드란?

Pearls of witticism from 'Bo the Blogger: Kushibo's Korea blog... Kushibo-e Kibun...
Now with Less kimchi, more nunchi. Random thoughts and commentary (and indiscernibly opaque humor) about selected social, political, economic, and health-related issues of the day affecting "foreans" ("foreigners" in Korea be they kyopo or non-kyopo), Koreans, Korea and East Asia, along with the US, especially Hawaii, Orange County, and the rest of California, plus anything else that is deemed worthy of discussion. Forza Corea!

* Monster Island (actually a peninsula)

The name of this blog comes from a line in "Lisa on Ice," a beloved episode of The Simpsons, perhaps my all-time favorite television show (even though for several seasons there, it really did suck). Lisa is imagining being sworn in as president, but at the last minute, it is discovered that she failed P.E. (physical education) and she is thus "sentenced to a lifetime of horror" on Monster Island. "Don't worry," the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court confides in her, "It's just a name."

Fast forward to Lisa and other prisoners running in panic through a tropical jungle, chased by Godzilla-like creatures, including a monster turtle and a monster firefly.

"He said it was just a name!" Lisa screams to the man next to her. While he, too, runs for his life, the unidentified man calmly says, "What he meant is that Monster Island is actually a peninsula."

Anyway, I thought in some ways that punchline summed up modern-day Korea in a nutshell. For many people—foreigners and Koreans—the ups and downs and everyday travails of the Republic of Korea make it as precarious as a Monster Island would be (and with the DMZ being the only land border, it really is like an island). But it actually is a peninsula. Okay, it made sense in my head.

So as you can see, despite the hits I get from people looking for Japanese tentacle porn, it has nothing to do with anything salacious as that.