Owner: Where the Hell Am I? URL:http://expatjane.blogspot.com Join Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2006 09:33:17 -0500 Rating:1 Site Description: The views of an American expatriate from sunny California now living in Seoul, South Korea. There is social and political commentary, music and entertainment, and general silliness. Site statistics:Click here
The US - ROK Alliance: Healthy Debate or Partisan ... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Protestors pack the square in front of Seoul City Hall on Saturday, urging the government to halt plans to take over wartime operational control of Korean troops and revise controversial private school laws. (photo and caption taken from the Digital Chosunilbo website).
In 200,000 Protest in Seoul Against Ruling Government GI Korea writes about the recent protest against the Roh Moo-hyun Read more:Alliance
, Debate
, Partisan
Bear Suits - John Mayer and The Chad 1970-01-01 00:59:59 People are just silly. That's good because laughing is fun.
You see, Mayer
.htm">John Mayer
has a wicked sense of humor. On his short-lived show on VH1 aptly named "John Mayer Has a TV Show" there is a piece that shows him wandering around the parking lot dressed in a bear suit harassing his fans waiting to see his show. It's hilarious.
What's funny is The Chad didn't know about this. His producers Read more:Suits
EU Resolution on North Korean Refugees in Thailand... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 A total of 45 NorthKorean
refugees climb a metal ladder outside the wall of the Canadian Embassy in Chaoyang, Beijing, China on Wednesday. Some of them are disguised as construction laborers. (photo and caption taken from the Digital Choson Ilbo.)
It looks like I'm not the only person whose feathers got ruffled by the report that Thailand
arrested, fined and jailed North Korean
s who were found Read more:Refugees
, Resolution
Five Years Later: 9/11 From the Perspective of an ... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Like Pearl Harbor for the WWII generation and the day John F. Kennedy was assinated for my parents, September 11, 2001 will be a "this is where I was" day for my generation. I was living in South Korea at the time. Five years later during the evening and at about the same time I heard about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center, I'm still living in South Korea.
The thing is 9/11 Read more:Five Years
, Perspective
, Years
Japanese Women Seeking Korean Men - The Korean Wav... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 겨울연가, Gyeoul yeonga: Bae Yong-yoon (right) and Choi Ji-woo (left) in an advertisement for the TV series.
I've mentioned the Korean
Wave or 한류 before when I wrote about Jeong-hyun Lim, Youtube's neoclassical guitar sensation.
I think the Korean Wave is absolutely one of the greatest things South Korea has going. The United States is a great example of the reach and impact of exporting culture. Read more:Japanese
, Seeking
, Women
Lord Vader and Bloggers Wandering the Streets of S... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 While running around the Myeong-dong shopping district* armed with a new pair of pink and grey Nike athletic shoes, the new Keane "Under the Iron Sea" CD, (because with my new workout routine I've played their "Hopes and Fears" CD out), my new Economic Development textbook and other school supplies, I ran into the Metropolitician who was armed with his camera. Just in case you don't know who he Read more:Vader
, Wandering
Seoul Sexpo is Now Just an Expo 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Models pose for a photo to promote the first 2006 Seoul
Sex Education Expo at the Millennium Seoul Hilton in Seoul on Tuesday. (Photo and caption taken from the Digital Chosun-Ilbo website).
This is funny to me because I'm from San Francisco where sex, sexuality and whatever might float your boat is fine. However, in Korea, as I've noted before, there is a vibrant underground sex industry here.
Pack of Wolves Update: My Pen is Like New! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 For those of you who tuned in a couple of weeks ago, you know I got quite upset when some ill-mannered cow busted my fountain pen.
I bought a new one and sent the old one in for a repair.
I got it back a few days ago and then took myself on a department store run in Shinsaegae Department Store. I know, bad, but I'd just been traumatized by the dumbest phone call in history. Shopping IS therapy. Read more:Update
, Wolves
Older South Koreans Support the USA - ROK Alliance... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I'm a few days behind on this story, but I have a good excuse which I won't share here as it's really doesn't matter. The issue is still brewing here in South
Korea (Republic of Korea - ROK). Plus, as both work and school are starting for me next week, this won't be the last story that catches a bit of dust before I get to it.
However, I was clicking around looking for something to read and Read more:Alliance
, Koreans
, Support
Youtube Neoclassical Guitarist Revealed 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Okay, I've been updating and my latest John Mayer post constantly just because new stuff and new gossip keeps coming up. The new gossip is, nightmare inducing, but nonetheless hilarious.
However, it's taken my focus off of South Korea which is unfortunate because Westerners, the bulk of my audience it seems, really need to learn more about the rest of the world. Since I'm here, I'll try to help Read more:Guitarist
Youtube's "Most Devoted Uploader" 1970-01-01 00:59:59 This is the second post in a row which has been inspired by The Marmot's Hole. What I'm discovering is there is a mad symbiotic relationship here in the blogosphere. You write something and somehow someone else sees it either by following a link or tripping over it in some way. They like it, or they hate it. They comment or leave a link to what they've created. They tell their friends how cool or
The Doodle-whats? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I'm ridiculously busy these days, so I'm posting less frequently due the fact that I've chosen to be both a student and an instructor. I'll be kicking or killing myself very soon. When I get the urge to write something on this blog I see it as a blessing even if it's not centered on Korea or an international issue.
Clearly, something has inspired me. There is an interesting and funny post from Read more:Doodle
White and Nerdy 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Hahahahahaha!
I've had this song on my MySpace page for a few days. I've been waiting for the video to come out so I could link it here.
It's hilarious. Basically it's Weird Al's spoof on Chamillionaire's Ridin' rap.
Enjoy! Read more:Nerdy
, White
UN Security Council Sanctions North Korea 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Nothing much to say on this except that it feels like the same old tepid response from the UN which will not change the situation. As it takes all of the permanent members (P5) to approve a resolution, at least the fact that both China and Russia signed on to it shows some unity among the P5. China and Russia are the closest allies NorthKorea
has right now, but even they can't (or won't) lay the Read more:Council
, Sanctions
Dave Chappelle: Two Funny Clips 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I'm up late finishing up a midterm paper. I decided to take a break, so I wandered over to YouTube to find Dave Chappelle
's "Black Bush" skit because my paper deals with Bush and the Iraq War. Anytime I watch it, I just fall out laughing because it's so funny.
I then doubled back for more Chappelle laughs for break number two. This one is a game show called "I Know Black People."
Enjoy! Read more:Clips
, Dave Chappelle
, Funny
Thailand's Prime Minister Tossed in Military Coup 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Prime Minister
Thaksin declares state of emergency as tanks surround Government House. (Reuters) from Washingtonpost.com
I woke up this morning ready to ignore the news and hop on my exercise bike, but then I saw the headlines that Thailand
's Prime Minister
, Thaksin Shinawatra, has been ousted in a military coup. It turns out that he was in New York to address the UN (irony of ironies) and had Read more:Military
Wanna Freak Out the Wagukin (외êµì¸)? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Me a long, long time ago.
I was at the store today and told the lady that I had a craving for the high-fat, processed, canned food product that I was buying. Anyway, she said "아기?" or "baby?"
I thought that was code and she was asking me if I was pregnant.
Now I'm a huge commitmentphobe. That's not because of divorce or something tramatic, actually because of a fear of a divorce-induced Read more:Freak
Blogging Chicks 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I've joined the BloggingChicks
blogroll which I've added to my blog.
I was reading articles about blogging and gender. Unfortunately, it seems that women bloggers don't get linked to as frequently as men. Here is one from The Washington Monthly on the issue. Just run a search for "female bloggers" or "women bloggers" and you'll find tons of stuff. There are many theories as to why, but knowing
Chad Vader - Episode 4 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Okay, the fourth Vader
.htm">Chad Vader
episode is out.
Okay, I'm totally underwhelmed because the first episode is the funniest.
Okay, I'm posting it simply because I should be consistent and put the whole series up.
Okay, um...here it is.
Here is a post with links to the first three episodes so you can see how the story has progressed so far. Read more:Episode
South Korean Ban Ki-moon is the Next UN Secretary ... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary
-General shakes hand with Ban Ki-moon, Foreign Minister of South
Korea at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Wednesday, October 11, 2006. (photo and caption shamelessly lifted from the WashingtonPost.com.)
Nothing much needs to be said except for congratulations to Ban Ki-moon and South Korea on Mr. Ban's appointment as the next Secretary General of the Read more:Korean
, South Korean
A Short Hiatus 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Photo: clocks (shamelessly lifted from PBS.com)
I've been in a state of writing paralysis because I have tons of projects coming up for school. I've refused to write anything for this blog until I did some work; the irony is that paralyzed me completely.
So now I'm taking another route. I'm going to write and hope that it loosens me up enough that I can get over this block and actually get some Read more:Hiatus
, Short
"God's just a Baby and her Diaper's Wet" 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I got to read this on a forum that I go to sometimes. It's from Saul Williams and it was sent out as a bulletin to people who are his MySpace.com friends.
In spite of the dire need for paragraph breaks, it touched me because it's how I feel about so many things concerning the country that has given me so much. How is it that the citizens of the US can be so powerful as a group, yet feel that Read more:Diaper
North Korea's Nukes and Ban Ki-moon 1970-01-01 00:59:59 A South Korea
n military police walks past a signboard showing the distance to the North
Korean capital Pyongyang from Imjingang Station, of the incomplete inter-Korea railway, near the demilitarized zone which separates the two Koreas, about 55 km (34 miles) north of Seoul, October 6, 2006. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (photo and caption taken from Reuters.com)
You know, when I heard about North Korea Read more:Nukes
MyHeritage.com - I look like who?! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I swear I'm not writing this because John Mayer wrote about this a few days ago. Honestly, I had no idea because I've been simultaneously swamped with both work and school.
I only just discovered he wrote about it too a day or so ago when I went to his MySpace page. I think what's happening is a lot of MySpace users are converging on the MyHeritage.com site and uploading their pictures to
Reinforcement 1970-01-01 00:59:59 The Road Less Travelled by Linda Paul - www.lindapaul.com
You know when you're famous, you can say stuff that others say and think, but when you say it people will sit up and notice. It's an interesting result of fame.
Case in point, the latest post on my boy's blog. Granted, the scene is quite dramatic, and, considering the current horrible news, it's bad timing. I've never needed such a Read more:Reinforcement
Ugly Americans, Young White Men, Korea and Me 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Oh this is funny…
Well, yet again in my time here I've managed to butt heads with another white guy.
Now there is no way I can avoid coming off as fair or balanced here, so I'll acknowledge that fact right from the go.
With that said, a bit of background is probably needed. Living and working here in Korea
has been interesting to say the least. I came here I realize very sheltered believing Read more:Americans
, White
In Spite of the Expense, Tokyo is One Fun City 1970-01-01 00:59:59 This is my second trip to Tokyo
and my sixth or seventh one to Japan. I flew over yesterday to see John Mayer in concert at Yebisu Garden Hall. And, yes, in spite of the expense, it was worth it. I went to a good show, met some fun people and am on a well-needed weekend vacation.
My boy looked tired, but it was the last night of a tour that he's been on since August. He played and performed well Read more:Expense
, Spite
John Mayer on Oprah 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I'm posting this for those of you who don't live in the States and can't watch Oprah
. Of course, it will also come in handy for those of you who missed it wherever you might be or for those of you who have an unstable obsession with Mayer
.htm">John Mayer
.
He was on her show today and his industrious fans have already managed to get it uploaded to the net. I'm lucky as the show does air here, so I got
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