“Our Next Door Neighbors Are Foreign Countries!”

Via Andrew Sullivan, Couric v. Palin.

This whole Palin thing is a ridonculous practical joke being played on me by someone, right?  Like, they staged some jokey clips of an actress playing this insane creationist woman from Alaska who the Republican party thinks should be vice president?  And now that I’m living abroad and have somewhat limited US media access, someone’s trying to convince me that she’s actually running for vice president?  And she hunts moose and lives across a “narrow maritime border” from Russia, so this makes her a foreign policy genius?  Oh, oh, oh, and I almost forgot — it wasn’t that long ago that she went to the meetings of a political party that wanted to secede from the US (and her husband was actually a member)?

Wow, awesome joke guys.  You really had me going there for a bit.

Kanye

From Namdaemun market.

Carb Porn

I finally tried one of these fry-coated dogs.  Actually, it’s a fry-coated corndog and it was pretty good.  Concept is a definite A+, execution was about a B (too much fry and batter between me and the hot dog).  The ketchup was just right.  Purchased at Dongdaemun market for 1,500 won (buck fitty).

“Insanity”

Via Radley Balko, links on the sudden Stalinization of the American economy (i.e., a 700 billion dollar hand-out with no oversight, potentially).

Jim Manzi has a good re-cap.  A bailout means it’ll all happen again down the road, but the US and its people will be more broke and more in debt when it does.

Can you imagine what would’ve gone down if Clinton had done this?  Or Obama suggested it?

Fresh and Clean

Koreans love their toilet paper.  So much so that this was the smallest pack I could find.  It takes up some serious real estate in the local supermarket near my apartment.

In a country that prizes cleanliness and meticulous attention to personal appearance, it’s kind of refreshing to see so many people, myself included, hauling huge bundles of the stuff back home.  Granted, Koreans will use a piece of tissue paper where most Americans would use three paper towels to clean up a spill on the dinner table.

Short of speaking fluent Korean, walking home with a sack of groceries and a mountain of t.p. is a pretty native thing to do, along with drinking soju and eating ramyeon outside of a local convenience store.  A foreigner using chopsticks semi-proficienly also draws a few approving comments.

Update: Yeesh, I’m an idiot.  These actually are paper towels.  I’m learning Korean, albeit slowly, so bear with me!

Bedtime Stories

A co-worker recommended a great series to me.  At five bucks per, The Portable Library of Korean Literature is a great introduction to contemporary Korean lit.

The photo doesn’t really do them justice, but they’re small, bright volumes with an elegant, clean design.  On the right are Kim Young-ha’s Photo Shop Murder and Lee Dong-ha’s A Toy City, along with one of my language books.

They remind me a bit of the City Lights Pocket Poets Series.  Is there an equivalent for contemporary Korean poetry?

Call The Doctor

Nighttime in Apgujeong, the “Beverly Hills” of Korea.  Did some royal palaces yesterday, then went dancing.  Any ex-pat in Seoul should check out Seoul Station bookstore, right across from Gyeongbokgung Palace (the really big one with its own subway stop).  It’s in a basement, but the owners are really wonderful folks who are a great resource for both books and current info (can’t find a website for their store, which is a shame).

From Cheer To Joy, From Joy To All

Did my whites last week.  A teacher at school was kind enough to label my washing machine in English for me, and for that I’m grateful.  (No dryer.)

More From Insadong

Insadong is the center of tourism for Seoul, and while it tends to be very crowded, it’s quite lovely in its own hectic way:

It’s the place to go for all things Korean, as in addition to the souvenir vendors there are some pretty high-end book and print dealers as well.  Of course, there’s also tons of marvelous food to be had.  Here’s a calligraphy store:

Like When Hitler Wrote A Concerned Letter To B’nai Brith

Via Oliver Willis, I see that Rush Limbaugh has written a piece for the WSJ decrying the “racism” of Obama in playing actual clips from his radio show in ads aimed at hispanic Americans.

This is a joke, right?  The guy who got fired from ESPN because he couldn’t control his personal bigot eruptions is telling us that Obama is a racist?

Sorry Republicans, but you kept this loser around when things were good for your party.  Now, like a millstone, he’s going to help drag you all the way down to the bottom.