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!

Monday, July 20, 2009

A total partial eclipse of the heart Hub

Arvinsign complains that all the icky weather on the peninsula lately may mean that he'll miss the partial solar eclipse that is to arrive on Friday evening at 7:18 p.m. The eclipse will be at its maximum at 7:37, three minutes before sunset, when 27% of the sun will be blocked.

Look on the bright side, Arv: Looking at solar eclipses is one of two things that can make you go blind if you do it too often.

[above: Every few years, ancient peoples in the Japanese archipelago, lacking a full understanding of astronomy, were terrified to witness the deity Pakkuman crossing the sky. To stave off the horror, they would try to throw fruit in its path, lest it come down to earth and devour the virgins or the town, or at least the least skanky of the villagers. Giant gold balls positioned in front of him were thought to give the celestial being the power to vanquish ghosts that had been plaguing the town. Millennia later, men from Ōta, Japan, would harness this legend, developing a popular video game. Okay, I frankly don't know where the hell I'm going with this, so I'll just stop now.]

3 comments:

AnonymousMonday, July 20, 2009 4:50:00 PM
I really dont want to miss it Kushibo. If i had means, ill probably travel to Wuhan, China where most of my fellow astronomy enthusiasts are going. As a matter of fact, i even bought an NDX filter for my camera just to get a shot :(

I dont have my scopes here in Korea, and i dont know anyone who has. But there's always a way :)

Don't worry, im aware of the basic eye safety when taking shots of the sun, be it sunspots or eclipses.

Rain, rain go away....

WORD verification: skieslis
- is this a coincidence?
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AnonymousMonday, July 20, 2009 4:55:00 PM
btw we have 2 different informations regarding the time

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/07/03/2009070300626.html

i'll check this out
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kushiboMonday, July 20, 2009 5:34:00 PM
Maybe the first one's a dress rehearsal.

What I would do, if I were you, is get yourself to a high mountain in Inchon so you have an obstructed view out to the west.
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Ask Kushibo.

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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.