Forget the fact that I'm listening to the Vince Guaraldi Trio composed soundtrack in January because I believe it transcends the holiday season to just about any day it snows. This soundtrack is so soothing. Somehow how the melancholy of it manages to mix in some warmness and uptempo beats so I don't run off and kill myself.
I recently rediscovered the holiday special as well. After growing through that phase in my life, the one I think we all go through, where we abandon our childhood nostalgia for a momentary time in our lives, I have returned to my roots and have found nothing short of comfort. I have to ask myself, "How could this be a children's program?" because the themes packed into thirty minutes are only those I believe an adult can grasp. I find that for myself, the Christmas special is extremely quotable as well, proving how my thoughts run pretty parallel to the program if I'm wanting to lift quotes from nearly every line.
If you step back and think about it, A Charlie Brown Christmas is a dark piece of work. How it remains so popular and geered for children is lost on me. I, however, now understand why I love it so much.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Thursday, October 30, 2008
studying in asia
after living in asia for two years, it should come to no suprise to me that korea university has asked me to take part in a four hour midterm tomorrow. this comes not even a month after beginning the four-hours-a-day, five-days-a-week course. what does aggravate me, however, is that so far, our preperation for this midterm- longer than any test i've taken in my life save for university admissions tests- has been TWO TEN-MINUTE, TEN-QUESTION QUIZZES. these have hardly been preparation for a grueling four hour midterm which involves, reading, listening, speaking, and writing.
although i find this humorous, i'm hardly worried about this exam. tonight i should be cramming along with everyone else, but i won't. i find korean to be easy (compared to its chinese counterpart!) but i believe my teachers to think otherwise. so what if i need a full three minutes more than everyone else to digest the material? the point is, i understand and tomorrow i will do well answering questions at my own pace instead of that of those students who failed first semester.
although i find this humorous, i'm hardly worried about this exam. tonight i should be cramming along with everyone else, but i won't. i find korean to be easy (compared to its chinese counterpart!) but i believe my teachers to think otherwise. so what if i need a full three minutes more than everyone else to digest the material? the point is, i understand and tomorrow i will do well answering questions at my own pace instead of that of those students who failed first semester.
Monday, September 15, 2008
a century of fakers
This is a quote from Belle & Sebastian and a preview of what I want to write about today.
For the past few years, I've gradually become more and more aware that really, in my opinion, everyone is a just copycat of another. I mean, in a world of 6.7 billion people, there's bound to be repetition and unoriginality. In my pessimistic view of the world, most everything humans do or stay is stolen from another source. Within pop culture alone, how many times have I heard people wittingly use the phrase "Va jay jay" that Grey's Anatomy made famous back in its first season. Or it could be Paris Hilton's "That's hot!" or Tim Gunn's "Make it work!"
I also believe movies, for example, romantic comedies play a huge part in this. How many times have we watched a romantic comedy filled with cliches and then gone home and used them still? There are ways to express "I love you" that aren't pretentious. It doesn't have to be a drawn out, dramatic metaphor.
Even in common conversations, I find we all overuse the same phrases in the same conversations with different people. How dull is that? To a point, I think it's all fake. I mean, how many times can I listen to someone try to participate in a discussion on philosophy without sounding like their full of shit? Half the time, I don't even think people know what their talking about, they just think it sounds intelligent. It all comes down to the same ideas expressed with the same words.
[In this way, I've always identified with Holden Caulfield, which is probably why "The Catcher in the Rye" is one of my favorite books. Sometimes I just can't find the value in life. Everything is the same in my cynical, jaded worldview.]
Whatever it is, I find that many if not most of my language has been affected by external stimuli as well. I can't help but steal quotes from movies, television, and books and try to pass them off as my own. In my attempt at being unique, I also fail. But in the end, there are times that I realize I am unique, even if most of me is not. I can't think of anyone else that does homework or studies at bars over a glass(es) of beer. Nor do I know anyone who after a full-night out of dancing and drinking is wide-awake on the subway at 6 a.m. studying GRE flash cards, while everyone else is completely passed out. And for some reason, caffeine has no effect on me and mosquitoes stay clear of me.
So maybe it's the minute details that polish a person off as being unique. This is my theory: 90% unoriginality, 10% original, this is what makes an individual and we can't escape it. Therefore, it's necessary to search deeper for the points of interest that truly separate us from others.
For the past few years, I've gradually become more and more aware that really, in my opinion, everyone is a just copycat of another. I mean, in a world of 6.7 billion people, there's bound to be repetition and unoriginality. In my pessimistic view of the world, most everything humans do or stay is stolen from another source. Within pop culture alone, how many times have I heard people wittingly use the phrase "Va jay jay" that Grey's Anatomy made famous back in its first season. Or it could be Paris Hilton's "That's hot!" or Tim Gunn's "Make it work!"
I also believe movies, for example, romantic comedies play a huge part in this. How many times have we watched a romantic comedy filled with cliches and then gone home and used them still? There are ways to express "I love you" that aren't pretentious. It doesn't have to be a drawn out, dramatic metaphor.
Even in common conversations, I find we all overuse the same phrases in the same conversations with different people. How dull is that? To a point, I think it's all fake. I mean, how many times can I listen to someone try to participate in a discussion on philosophy without sounding like their full of shit? Half the time, I don't even think people know what their talking about, they just think it sounds intelligent. It all comes down to the same ideas expressed with the same words.
[In this way, I've always identified with Holden Caulfield, which is probably why "The Catcher in the Rye" is one of my favorite books. Sometimes I just can't find the value in life. Everything is the same in my cynical, jaded worldview.]
Whatever it is, I find that many if not most of my language has been affected by external stimuli as well. I can't help but steal quotes from movies, television, and books and try to pass them off as my own. In my attempt at being unique, I also fail. But in the end, there are times that I realize I am unique, even if most of me is not. I can't think of anyone else that does homework or studies at bars over a glass(es) of beer. Nor do I know anyone who after a full-night out of dancing and drinking is wide-awake on the subway at 6 a.m. studying GRE flash cards, while everyone else is completely passed out. And for some reason, caffeine has no effect on me and mosquitoes stay clear of me.
So maybe it's the minute details that polish a person off as being unique. This is my theory: 90% unoriginality, 10% original, this is what makes an individual and we can't escape it. Therefore, it's necessary to search deeper for the points of interest that truly separate us from others.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
the DNC, day three and four
i thought bill clinton did a good job of covering what hillary has missed the day before: that they have rescinded their comments on how barack isn't ready to be president.
i also enjoyed al gore's afternoon speech which primarily focused on his passion, the climate crisis. i also think it was a very good idea for him to refer to what's going on in the world as a climate crisis, which i believe only a certified idiot could dispute, in contrast to global warming, which many people deem as hearsay. but i also think that instead of rattling off so-called facts about the effects of the climate crisis, al could invoke more pathos by simply asking americans rhetorically if we've seen a difference in wheather of the past years. i think the answer would be a collective, unequivocal, "yes." summers are hotter, winter's are colder, fires are raging, hurricanes are swirling, and people are dying because of it all. we hear that on the news nearly every day but to put those realizations into a larger, extended context, is more difficult for some people.
joe biden's speech was effective in introducing himself to american's like me who know nothing about who he is. i think it was a very strategic pick by barack to pick biden, who, on the surface, is everything he's not: old and white. barack's speech on thursday didn't give me chills like hillary's or bill's, but i think that's something that only comes with time. we all have a long history with the clintons and once we have that with the obamas, chills will abound.
what i'm not looking forward to is the RNC this week. i firmly believe they will have the upper hand going second. but what i really hate is mccain's pick for vice-prez, a woman from alaska. if obama's pick for VP was strategic, mccain's pick was downright dirty. i 100% doubt mccain's sincerity. i believe that if he wasn't trying to steal votes from those who would have voted for hillary or try seem like a good guy who wants to run a historically non-traditional ticket, he NEVER would have pick sarah palin from alaska.
i also enjoyed al gore's afternoon speech which primarily focused on his passion, the climate crisis. i also think it was a very good idea for him to refer to what's going on in the world as a climate crisis, which i believe only a certified idiot could dispute, in contrast to global warming, which many people deem as hearsay. but i also think that instead of rattling off so-called facts about the effects of the climate crisis, al could invoke more pathos by simply asking americans rhetorically if we've seen a difference in wheather of the past years. i think the answer would be a collective, unequivocal, "yes." summers are hotter, winter's are colder, fires are raging, hurricanes are swirling, and people are dying because of it all. we hear that on the news nearly every day but to put those realizations into a larger, extended context, is more difficult for some people.
joe biden's speech was effective in introducing himself to american's like me who know nothing about who he is. i think it was a very strategic pick by barack to pick biden, who, on the surface, is everything he's not: old and white. barack's speech on thursday didn't give me chills like hillary's or bill's, but i think that's something that only comes with time. we all have a long history with the clintons and once we have that with the obamas, chills will abound.
what i'm not looking forward to is the RNC this week. i firmly believe they will have the upper hand going second. but what i really hate is mccain's pick for vice-prez, a woman from alaska. if obama's pick for VP was strategic, mccain's pick was downright dirty. i 100% doubt mccain's sincerity. i believe that if he wasn't trying to steal votes from those who would have voted for hillary or try seem like a good guy who wants to run a historically non-traditional ticket, he NEVER would have pick sarah palin from alaska.
alejandro sanz
i discovered this man years ago, thanks to my two guatemalan music sharing friends and brothers. known more in america for his duet with shakira in the song "la tortura," alejandro has been a legend in spain and other spanish speaking countries for over a decade and there's no doubt why: he has one of the sexiest voices i have ever heard. hearing his voice alone during the choruses of "la tortura" is enough to send me into overdrive. nevermind the images of him taking shakira at the chopping board while prepearing dinner. so, it also doesn't hurt that he, himself, is sexy. or that he's from the province of jerez whose principal city is cadiz, the city that captured my heart when i spent three weeks there in 2004. he is a local hero there, even leading the carnival parade, the largest and most popular festival in the city. since then, i've been working on procuring my residence there, with alejandro in his jerez home, as his wife, but i have yet to hear back.
below, alejandro is pictured for his "no es lo mismo" album. of note is his torro (bull) tattoo, which all spainards often arrogantly identify with.
below, alejandro is pictured for his "no es lo mismo" album. of note is his torro (bull) tattoo, which all spainards often arrogantly identify with.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
this still kills me
maybe it's because i'm overseas, but i haven't heard anyone talking about what hillary rodham clinton was wearing for her 2008 DNC speech. personal attire, while not a major factor, does play an important role in the subconcious minds of americans. so with that, i want to ask, what was hillary thinking?
who on earth told her it's okay to wear an all-neon orange pants suit? unless she's going to a rave in which case, she'd be terribly overdressed. here she is, which her much more appropriately dressed daughter.
even if wearing an all-neon orange pants suit is acceptable, only those six feet tall and thin can pull that shiz off. so in a way, this is another good example of why hillary should not have been president. for goodness sake, the world's leaders would show up in washington thinking they were going to a disco party on skates! can you imagine vladmir putin lacing up, playing with glow sticks, and dancing to "Oh! Mickey you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind. Hey Mickey!"? Didn't think so.
who on earth told her it's okay to wear an all-neon orange pants suit? unless she's going to a rave in which case, she'd be terribly overdressed. here she is, which her much more appropriately dressed daughter.
even if wearing an all-neon orange pants suit is acceptable, only those six feet tall and thin can pull that shiz off. so in a way, this is another good example of why hillary should not have been president. for goodness sake, the world's leaders would show up in washington thinking they were going to a disco party on skates! can you imagine vladmir putin lacing up, playing with glow sticks, and dancing to "Oh! Mickey you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind. Hey Mickey!"? Didn't think so.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
the DNC, day one and two
although i like to follow politics, sometimes it gets to be too much and too petty, so i allow myself to tune out for a while. but the democratic national convention is one of those times when i tune back in see how the politics are playing out in the race and to feel inspired. this year is no different and is quite special for a few reasons.
one, it was the 2004 boston DNC that catapulted barack obama onto the national political stage (pun intended), earning rave remarks from political analysts for his speech in support of his predecessor, john kerry. perhaps the only people who had heard the obama name before that were his fellow illinois residents and avid political enthusiasts. and now it's obama headlining the convention as a relatively unknown senator and the first black presidential candidate in america's history. 'tis a mighty proud feat.
two, well-seasoned orators are in abundance. the first night proved that a brain tumor won't keep ted kennedy from delivering a supportive speech to kick-start the convention. and michelle obama showed that she could rise to the occasion, supporting her husband on short notice of his candidacy. speaking to millions of viewers with hope in their hearts for the future, she told the story of her & his families and of their pride for the country that they live in. though this is the most wide-reaching and important platform she has delivered a speech on, she was calm and eloquent in her words.
today, day two, formerly headbutting hillary clinton shined as she gave what could have been a disastrous speech. with an acrimonious nature, she could have claimed the stage for herself instead of passing the spotlight off to obama, but she did not. instead, she gave a powerful speech that had the audience cheering for minutes and impatiently awaiting the day they could cast their ballots for barack. while she failed to address her previous apprehensions about obama's readiness for the chief position, there is no doubt that she can speak flawlessly and with enough conviction to rile up the party. even though she was never my first pick for prez, i've never doubted her force, particularly in the political arena. make no doubt about it, hillary is a bad ass who can run with the rest of 'em.
so here's to hoping that tomorrow bill and biden can build off of this foundation and set barack up to top it all off on thursday.
one, it was the 2004 boston DNC that catapulted barack obama onto the national political stage (pun intended), earning rave remarks from political analysts for his speech in support of his predecessor, john kerry. perhaps the only people who had heard the obama name before that were his fellow illinois residents and avid political enthusiasts. and now it's obama headlining the convention as a relatively unknown senator and the first black presidential candidate in america's history. 'tis a mighty proud feat.
two, well-seasoned orators are in abundance. the first night proved that a brain tumor won't keep ted kennedy from delivering a supportive speech to kick-start the convention. and michelle obama showed that she could rise to the occasion, supporting her husband on short notice of his candidacy. speaking to millions of viewers with hope in their hearts for the future, she told the story of her & his families and of their pride for the country that they live in. though this is the most wide-reaching and important platform she has delivered a speech on, she was calm and eloquent in her words.
today, day two, formerly headbutting hillary clinton shined as she gave what could have been a disastrous speech. with an acrimonious nature, she could have claimed the stage for herself instead of passing the spotlight off to obama, but she did not. instead, she gave a powerful speech that had the audience cheering for minutes and impatiently awaiting the day they could cast their ballots for barack. while she failed to address her previous apprehensions about obama's readiness for the chief position, there is no doubt that she can speak flawlessly and with enough conviction to rile up the party. even though she was never my first pick for prez, i've never doubted her force, particularly in the political arena. make no doubt about it, hillary is a bad ass who can run with the rest of 'em.
so here's to hoping that tomorrow bill and biden can build off of this foundation and set barack up to top it all off on thursday.
the costs of conscience
this morning i capriciously decided to make a trip to the local hospital in hopes of finding closure to many of my plethora of ailments. all in all, i would say it was a satisfactory visit. even though it took nearly 7 hours and cost me around $400 (such is the life of an uninsured deteriorating individual), the hospital offers an international clinic with english speaking volunteers who could accompany to my various locations and appointments. also, i think it says a lot that i was a walk-in this morning around 10:30 and saw !four different doctors, got x-rays, and all the medication i need in just one days' working hours. here is the break down of my body visit:
the number one desire that spurred the visit was my curiosity over the disease ADHD. it may come as a shock, and many people joke that they have it everyday, but i think i might have a very mild form of ADHD. the more research i do about it, the more i think i have it. i'm not very HD but they say that abates into adulthood. i've definitely managed fine over the years but i've always wondered why i work so hard to remember so little, or why i can never look someone in the eye because i'm distracted by everything else, or why i'm so damn impatient. now i don't want to be just fine, i want to be fantastic. well, curiosity killed the cat but i now have a script for concerta and thus, the experiment begins. why now? if it works, i could use the boost for gre prep. hopefully concerta works the same miracles for me as adderall does for others.
number two, my legs haven't been right since i started running again over a month ago. first it was my knees/lower quads and now it's my left leg upper quad/pelvis region that's preventing me from continuing on my exercise regimen. and if i don't continue running, my nerves will flare up again which leads to next reason....
number three, the e.r. doc told me over a month ago that i might need neurosurgery and that was a big woah. when he said it it all made sense, the tingling sensation at two specific points on my back and down my right arm, along with the burning sensation under my right shoulder blade, and prickling feeling on the heels of my feet. today's second opinion repudiates the e.r. doc's claim though and so i've been prescribed with some anti-anxiety pills to loosen me up more. i also have to return in two weeks for the results of the spinal x-rays to see if it's a posture problem or dislocated disk.
number four, i have conjunctivitis, a.k.a. pink eye. i knew that going in this morning as i had already self-diagnosed myself using webmd.com. all i needed was the confirmation and the anti-biotic eye drops.
so these are my costs of conscience, limited only to today and therefore excluding the penalties i pay for it on other days.
the number one desire that spurred the visit was my curiosity over the disease ADHD. it may come as a shock, and many people joke that they have it everyday, but i think i might have a very mild form of ADHD. the more research i do about it, the more i think i have it. i'm not very HD but they say that abates into adulthood. i've definitely managed fine over the years but i've always wondered why i work so hard to remember so little, or why i can never look someone in the eye because i'm distracted by everything else, or why i'm so damn impatient. now i don't want to be just fine, i want to be fantastic. well, curiosity killed the cat but i now have a script for concerta and thus, the experiment begins. why now? if it works, i could use the boost for gre prep. hopefully concerta works the same miracles for me as adderall does for others.
number two, my legs haven't been right since i started running again over a month ago. first it was my knees/lower quads and now it's my left leg upper quad/pelvis region that's preventing me from continuing on my exercise regimen. and if i don't continue running, my nerves will flare up again which leads to next reason....
number three, the e.r. doc told me over a month ago that i might need neurosurgery and that was a big woah. when he said it it all made sense, the tingling sensation at two specific points on my back and down my right arm, along with the burning sensation under my right shoulder blade, and prickling feeling on the heels of my feet. today's second opinion repudiates the e.r. doc's claim though and so i've been prescribed with some anti-anxiety pills to loosen me up more. i also have to return in two weeks for the results of the spinal x-rays to see if it's a posture problem or dislocated disk.
number four, i have conjunctivitis, a.k.a. pink eye. i knew that going in this morning as i had already self-diagnosed myself using webmd.com. all i needed was the confirmation and the anti-biotic eye drops.
so these are my costs of conscience, limited only to today and therefore excluding the penalties i pay for it on other days.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
on war
From my student's textbook:
"Critics warn that any recreation of war is bound to glamorize it, even if the director's intention is to horrify the audience. Film director and critic, Francois Truffaut, felt that the very nature of film made it impossible to show war without making it too attractive, and so did the great director, writer and producer Samuel Fuller who criticized and dismissed most war movies as 'recruiting pictures.' Some young men feel that they are proving their maniless by watching gory simulations of warfare. The films' grueling footage is the closest thing that they have experienced to real combat, so they mislead themselves into believeing they are passing some test merely by watching it."
AGREED.
"Critics warn that any recreation of war is bound to glamorize it, even if the director's intention is to horrify the audience. Film director and critic, Francois Truffaut, felt that the very nature of film made it impossible to show war without making it too attractive, and so did the great director, writer and producer Samuel Fuller who criticized and dismissed most war movies as 'recruiting pictures.' Some young men feel that they are proving their maniless by watching gory simulations of warfare. The films' grueling footage is the closest thing that they have experienced to real combat, so they mislead themselves into believeing they are passing some test merely by watching it."
AGREED.
Monday, August 18, 2008
in the sauna, where i can find pleasure
for some reason or another, no other than the village people came to mind as fitting for my korean sauna post. so, i shall continue by stating that the YMCA is no longer where it's at.
infamous with foreigners in korea as the place where you must drop to your skivvy's and get nekkid, the jjimjilbang is something like heaven and tonight, i can finally agree.
after multiple trips to the 찜질방 and it's japanese/american counterpart throughout my life, i always felt disappointed, usually leaving with a headache. i surmised it was due to my prolonged submersion in the hot bath and/or steam/dry room.
tonight was perfect though. i only stayed for thirty minutes and i realized the trick for me is alternating between the hot and cold bath, the latter i was previously too whimpy to do more than stick my big toe in. the fact is that going from a 100F to a 60F degree bath is exhilarating, causing my heart palpitate and my muscles to tingle all over. i can say with certainty that i'm going to have a wonderful night of sleep and i can thank it all to my life skillz training. you see, every summer i immerse myself in a program of cold water shock therapy in case the communists ever catch me and try to use their torture tactics on me. i never could have guessed this would have more practical benefits in store for me.
and with the 찜질방 costing a mere $6 and offering a variety of baths, rooms, showers with amenities, and other rooms like karaoke, doctor fish (more on this some other time), mini-cinemas, bars, and sleeping quarters, visiting is without a doubt one of the easiest decisions you can make here.
i see my future now, steaming off the hot bath, me basking in it. i should inquire about frequent visitor cards.
infamous with foreigners in korea as the place where you must drop to your skivvy's and get nekkid, the jjimjilbang is something like heaven and tonight, i can finally agree.
after multiple trips to the 찜질방 and it's japanese/american counterpart throughout my life, i always felt disappointed, usually leaving with a headache. i surmised it was due to my prolonged submersion in the hot bath and/or steam/dry room.
tonight was perfect though. i only stayed for thirty minutes and i realized the trick for me is alternating between the hot and cold bath, the latter i was previously too whimpy to do more than stick my big toe in. the fact is that going from a 100F to a 60F degree bath is exhilarating, causing my heart palpitate and my muscles to tingle all over. i can say with certainty that i'm going to have a wonderful night of sleep and i can thank it all to my life skillz training. you see, every summer i immerse myself in a program of cold water shock therapy in case the communists ever catch me and try to use their torture tactics on me. i never could have guessed this would have more practical benefits in store for me.
and with the 찜질방 costing a mere $6 and offering a variety of baths, rooms, showers with amenities, and other rooms like karaoke, doctor fish (more on this some other time), mini-cinemas, bars, and sleeping quarters, visiting is without a doubt one of the easiest decisions you can make here.
i see my future now, steaming off the hot bath, me basking in it. i should inquire about frequent visitor cards.
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