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!

Showing posts with label Whitney Houston. Show all posts

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Whitney Houston passes

That video is how I prefer to remember Whitney Houston. She was a bright, smart, and beautiful woman with an amazing voice who got the notice of this young person, back when I was a young person who easily got whipped into a frenzy by the likes of Whitney Houston, Lisa Bonet, Claudia Wells, and Diane Franklin.

Whitney Houston's death has come as quite a shock, and I feel bad about the ribbing I gave her when she visited Seoul two years ago to kick off her comeback tour. Back then I had hoped she had gotten her life together and, despite my unfunny snark, I really had hoped she had put her troubled past behind her. But one wonders what kind of health toll the years of drugs and smoking took on her, though I had no idea it was life endangering.

Requiescat in pace, Whitney Houston.

...

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Daily Kor for February 6, 2010: The truth lie you tell your torturers that they later use for propaganda shall set you free!

Daily Kor is back, suckas! At least for today. I'll try to get back into the swing of things this week. Robert Park was mentioned in yesterday's Loose Change, but it is such a big story that it's lighting up the switchboard at Daily Kor. Well, everywhere except the Los Angeles Times, which will probably carry the story in May or June, about a week after the piece about how Koreans feel about Kim Yuna's performance in Vancouver.

I think the backstory to Mr Park's release is that the Norks were tired of his sanctimonious preaching, but they knew they couldn't release him (good move on his part publicizing his trip ahead of time), so they just let him go. It will be interesting to hear what Mr Park has to say about the KCNA reports that he is "repentant"

North Korea says it will release "repentant" Korean-American missionary Robert Park, who entered country demanding to meet Kim Jong-il in order to get him to end human rights abuses (NYT, WaPo, BBC, WSJ, Bloomberg, Yonhap, Korea Times, Joongang Daily, Chosun Ilbo)
Senior Chinese envoy visiting Pyongyang to persuade Kim Jong-il to return to six-party nuclear disarmament talks (Reuters via WaPo, AP via WaPo, Yonhap, Korea Times, Korea Herald)
South Korea will deploy 250 peacekeeping troops to Haiti starting next week (Korea Times, Korea Herald, Joongang Daily)
ROK Prime Minister says Japanese Emperor Akihito should express regret over Japan's past wrongdoings if he visits South Korea (Korea Herald, People's Daily)
South Korean won weakens against the US dollar on news of European debt fears (Yonhap)
Ministry of Knowledge Economy says ROK government will invest one trillion won in software industry to help make South Korea a software powerhouse (Yonhap)
Alliance of South Korean women's groups blasts recent crackdown on abortion (Yonhap)
ROK and US forces may hold drill to prepare for contingencies in North Korea (Korea Herald)
United Nations agency which oversees trafficking in endangered species recommends ban on bluefin tuna exports (AP via WaPo)
Two North Koreans will participate in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver (Yonhap)

Both skaters reportedly received their training in the cash-strapped country by repeatedly escaping across the frozen Tumen River

South Korea and Ecuador national teams will hold friendly in May, one month before World Cup (Yonhap)
Kangwon-do government says the number of foreign visitors to area ski resorts from November to January has jumped 18.3% over last year to 168,000 (Yonhap)
White House reaffirms commitment to FTAs with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama (Korea Herald)
A drug-addled Whitney Houston, mistaking two Korean children for Haitian Creole orphans, spirits them off to the Dominican Republic (UPI)

Friday, February 5, 2010

Whitney Claws Is Coming To Town

Pop diva Whitney Houston has arrived in Seoul to kick off her Nothing But Love* world tour this Saturday at Olympic Park. Exhibit A why mandatory drug testing should be required of all E6 visa holders.

And in honor of her visit, I'm starting a caption contest for this photo. I'll start: "A frazzled Whitney Houston tries to get the attention of her "mood specialist" at the end of her airport press conference." I'm sure the rest of you can do better.

* I'd check if "love" is a new street term for some sort of controlled substance.

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Ask Kushibo.

My Google/Blogspot data shows that a lot of the 2 million people who have landed on my site (yes, that's the real number) are looking for cultural information on Korea (e.g., “When did Syngman Rhee die?” “What did the Indians bring to the first Chusŏk?’ etc., etc.), as well as practical or historical stuff.

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.

So if there’s something you’d like to know from a “contrarian scourge,” click on ASK KUSHIBO and just ask a succinct question in the comments section below.

Oh, and play nice. Please don’t make me regret this.

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.