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!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Scary post stories

It's already All Saints' Day in Korea, but here in Hawaii it's still the morning of Halloween (yesterday at the local Catholic church, they handed out Halloween candy — something I guess you'd never encounter in a Protestant church).

And although I'm a bit busy these few weeks (perhaps until the end of the semester), I do have time to at least do the blog equivalent of a clip show.

From this past spring we have what I still think was a brilliant example of a public awareness campaign: the CDC's guide to preparing for zombie attacks.

And then there was last year's post-Halloween post, in which I briefly recounted my trip to Waikiki, where the costumed people on parade is Honolulu's equivalent of Mardi Gras (another unholy day preceding a religious day).

This year I'll probably make my way to Waikiki again. "M," "K," and "M3" have all expressed an interest in going, and "M" already has her costume ready: zombie sexy nurse. Be sure to look for me; I'll be dressed as "guy who drove zombie sexy nurse to Waikiki."

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2 comments:

ChangmiTuesday, November 01, 2011 9:18:00 AM
Similar to the CDC zombie page (but funnier in my opinion), the Missouri Dept of Conservation recently put up this informative page:
http://mdc.mo.gov/zombies
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kushiboTuesday, November 08, 2011 5:10:00 PM
Thanks for that link, Changmi.

They're both pretty clever. I'm in the public health field, and the problem is that practitioners can seem so stodgy and serious, so it's nice to see this kind of innovation.
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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.

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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.