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, October 9, 2009

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize; Kushibo goes 'Huh?'

[above: Barack makes his Obama face]

Not that I dislike President Barack Hussein Obama or anything, but what has he done so far to deserve this? It's the Nobel Peace Prize, not the sorry-your-city-didn't-win-the-2016-Summer-Olympics consolation prize.

Check again, Norwegians. When it's written kinda sloppy, "Bill Clinton" can look like "Barack Obama."

4 comments:

Rodney from PilsenFriday, October 09, 2009 8:11:00 PM
I heard this while running at the gym today. I almost fell off the treadmill.

I would love *LOVE* to have anyone tell me exactly what he did to deserve this.

Is this where the stimulus money really went?
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UnknownFriday, October 09, 2009 10:31:00 PM
I almost fell out of bed reading this (not nearly as dangerous as falling off a treadmill but, you know...)!

Apparently it's for "offering the world hope and striving for nuclear disarmament..."

I'm a fan of Obama but WTF?!

The prize is supposed to go "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."

Well, OK. I think Obama is making some progress towards that but, really, isn't it a little early in the game to be awarding him something as prestigious as the Nobel Peace Prize?

Kind of makes a mockery of the prize.
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SUPER EAGLESaturday, October 10, 2009 1:04:00 AM
i think this is specifically intended to piss off american conservatives. which it will, which is awesome, and the only reason i am able to endorse this.
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LastnameKimSaturday, October 10, 2009 2:17:00 AM
Actually, let's not be too hard on the U.S. President. Although I was a bit surprised to hear this too, it could also very well be that the field of candidates was limited. Despite all of the economic troubles at home, Obama DID do some PR'ing overseas for nuclear disarmament and to maintain good peaceful relations. I mean, it's not like they pulled his name out of a hat. It's always a shame when I see Americans so critical of their own leaders. Come on, it's his moment..let's not all be Kanyes about this. Like the media is saying, this award was to serve as a call to action for him to keep building that trust overseas (in contrast to the tone the last administration set).
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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.