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!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

SNL hits it out of the park

As many had hoped (and even expected), Tina Fey did a guest appearance on Saturday Night Live, her former haunt. (I would have blogged this earlier, but I have been on the Mainland visiting family until just a couple hours ago, and the NBC.com site was the first chance I had to see the skit.)

Fey and former "Weekend Update" co-anchor (as if it's a real news show) Amy Poehler played Alaska Governor and Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin and former Democratic presidential candidate and still New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

It was brilliant. Tina Fey had the mannerisms down, and the writers did a great job of skewering both the cluelessly ambitious Palin and the ruthlessly ambitious Clinton.

By the way, this is my first attempt at embedding video in a post. Let me know if it isn't working.

This post's Korea-relatedness rating: 0/100 (since Gov Palin can't see Korea from her kitchen).

UPDATE (September 22, 2008):

Apparently Governor Palin liked the skit, calling it "hilarious" and "spot on." Back before she was considerably less famous than the "SNL" and "30 Rock" writer-actor-comedian (and arguably, Gov Palin's now more famous than Ms Fey), the self-described hockey mom "once dressed up as Tina Fey for Halloween."

I'm not so sure the love is mutual. After the Emmys, where ratings-beleaguered "30 Rock" got some well-deserved recognition, Fey said, "I want to be done playing this lady November 5. So, if anyone can help me be done playing this lady, that would be good for me."

In fact, if the McCain-Palin ticket were to prevail in November, it's not so certain that Tina Fey will be the one pulling Palin duty.

By the way, I cannot emphasize too much how brilliant I think Tina Fey is. She's funny and a thoughtful social critic. Her funny film Mean Girls (she wrote the screenplay) is a must-see for people who want to understand the social dynamics of popularity in high school today and the havoc it wreaks on kids in their formative years (I had a stint as a high school educator, so sue me). And "30 Rock" is just plain laugh-out-loud hilarious, thanks largely to the self-deprecating Liz Lemon role played by Fey.

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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.

Monster Island (actually a peninsula)*

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

SNL hits it out of the park

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