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, December 28, 2009

Daily Kor no more

Well, for a few days at least. I'm traveling through a part of America where wifi is not available, and trawling for news using this iPhone would take five times as long.

So pretend you're in North Korea, where the absence of a comprehensive source of reliable news would be normal.

Things will be back to normal in a few days, or next week at the latest.

This succinct email was sent from my iPhone.

4 comments:

dokebiMonday, December 28, 2009 11:54:00 PM
so that means u can't delete this inappropriate comment!

@$@#@#!#!$
ReplyDelete
Replies
kushiboTuesday, December 29, 2009 12:23:00 AM
Oh, I could remove it. But it's harder to do with the iPhone and it would just tick me off more.

Putting together the daily news roundup is something I do for fun (I'm a news junkie), to force myself to comprehensively look at the news every day (I'm a Koreans Studies academic, after all), and to add something of substance and usefulness to my blog on a regular basis, but the fact is that it takes some time, even if I've got the process down to an art.

It already takes thirty minutes to an hour to do if I'm on one of my Macs, but on an iPhone (or any smart phone), it would be quite difficult -- and extremely time-consuming -- with all the cutting and pasting.

But just like this, I can leave as long a comment as I'm willing to type out with one finger.
ReplyDelete
Replies
UnknownTuesday, December 29, 2009 9:14:00 AM
As my parents would say... Does the iPhone put food on the table too?.. ;)
ReplyDelete
Replies
kushiboTuesday, December 29, 2009 1:01:00 PM
It hasn't put food on the table — yet. But it has put coffee in my hand.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Share your thoughts, but please be kind and respectful. My mom reads this blog.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

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.