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, 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.

12 comments:

SUPER EAGLEFriday, February 05, 2010 5:46:00 AM
hey man. i don't know what your deal is, but whitney rules.
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kushiboFriday, February 05, 2010 6:51:00 AM
I used to love me Whitney Houston. But I just got more and more disgusted with her the longer she went into her tailspin of drugs and denial.

My ribbing of her aside, I really, really, really hope she has gotten cleaned up and she stays clean. I would love to be able to look back at her drug-addled history as just history.

Oh, and I do think it's cool that she's kicking off her tour in Seoul, but I do remember some nasty run-ins with the Korean press when she was obviously on something during the interview and she flew off the handle.
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AnonymousFriday, February 05, 2010 7:50:00 AM
Kushibo... you missed the picture where she's clutching two nervous looking Korean kids wearing hanboks... perfect caption contest that one... ;)
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kushiboFriday, February 05, 2010 8:03:00 AM
Do you have a link?
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AnonymousFriday, February 05, 2010 9:50:00 AM
hehehehe...

http://goldsea.com/Text/index.php?id=3198

It's the picture on the second row down, first column on the left.

Oh, nm... even better link:

http://goldsea.com/Text/images/3834.jpg
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kushiboFriday, February 05, 2010 9:58:00 AM
I promise you, that will appear on a future Daily Kor.
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AnonymousFriday, February 05, 2010 10:10:00 AM
Too late...

http://www.rjkoehler.com/2010/02/05/add-a-caption-2/
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Rodney from PilsenFriday, February 05, 2010 12:14:00 PM
You think she's here on an E-Series visa? Did she pass the drug test?
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kushiboFriday, February 05, 2010 12:24:00 PM
In all seriousness, I believe she would be in Korea on an E6 visa (entertainment visa), which is for lounge singers, people performing in movies, etc.

There may be a super temporary work visa for things like this, or at least a different protocol, but I'm not sure what it is.

And I believe E6 visaholders are subject to a number of tests, including HIV tests.
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Rodney from PilsenFriday, February 05, 2010 2:29:00 PM
I was asking seriously.

I remembered reading that entertainers enter Korea hold the E-series visa. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some kind of temporary double secret visa. Green Day was in Seoul last month. No way those guys can pass a drug test.
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peachybSaturday, February 06, 2010 6:17:00 AM
I'm with Shinbone. She's trying to get her life together and I'm 100% behind her. I LOVE Whitney! If she needs to lean on hanbok-wearing kids for support, then junior Koreans better get in line!
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kushiboSaturday, February 06, 2010 8:08:00 AM
My snarkiness aside, I do wish her well and I hope she can get her life around. I heard a nice piece on her comeback on a PBS podcast a few months ago, and it had me rooting for her. Really.

She does look a bit disheveled and a lot of that might be from the long flight and the jet lag, but I'm just having a little fun with it. A lot of fun, actually.

But really, I do wish her well. At one time she produced some great music, and I believe she has it in her to do it again. We'll all be better off for it if she can stay clean and stay bright.
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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.