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, October 11, 2010

10-10-10

Today (in Hawaii, at least) is October 10, 2010, making it 10-10-10. This has apparently become a mini-meme of some sort.

"M" says she's heard lots of people have been lining up at marriage bureaus across Japan to get married.

The Belgians had hoped to use Ten-Ten
to rekindle the popularity of Tintin.

3 comments:

John from DaejeonMonday, October 11, 2010 11:20:00 PM
"Today (in Hawaii, at least) is October 10, 2010, making it 10-10-10. This has apparently become a mini-meme of some sort.

"M" says she's heard lots of people have been lining up at marriage bureaus across Japan to get married."

Is Cigar Guy
officiating?

Also, you might want to check out Sunday's Banksy Simpson's intro. It's pretty brutal against South Korea as you can't tell it apart from the North. Or, was he lumping all Asians together with his dolphin jibe at Japan and Panda one at China which of course most people in the West won't get?
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kushiboTuesday, October 12, 2010 2:08:00 AM
John from 大田 wrote:
Is Cigar Guy officiating?

Ha ha. Oh, I think I know what I'll be for Halloween now.

Also, you might want to check out Sunday's Banksy Simpson's intro.

I think it's pretty much lumping all kinds of Asian transgressions (starving population, forced labor, child labor, animal cruelty, abuse of endangered species, and wanton dolphin slaughter), all while taking a dig at Evil Fox.

It was beautiful. (I haven't been catching up with The Simpsons lately due to scheduling difficulties, so thanks.)
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kushiboTuesday, October 12, 2010 3:56:00 AM
John, your Simpsons link has inspired a post of its own, with a hat tip to you.
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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.