Pavement Lite

Tweety

It looks as if truthy master of He-Man journalism Chris Matthews might run for the Senate in Pennsylvania against Arlen Specter.

And what’s truly shocking?  That he’s a registered Democrat.

This is a guy who can’t help but spout effusive praise for Ann Coulter.

It truly is Hollywood for ugly people.

White Devils

This morning (Saturday) we went in to hagwon (the school) for an open house for prospective parents and students.  All well and good, as I’m happy to make a very minor sacrifice if it means we get off to a healthy start as an English academy.  (The Korean school year officially starts in March, so parents are making their decisions right now.)

My boss gave a power point presentation and played our company’s promotional video.  (Yes, I now appear in a promotional video.  And no, I’ll never mention which outfit I work for.  Suffice it to say, it’s me and my co-workers doing our jobs with adorable kids, and it was fairly well done.)  A few of the parents came up to speak with us in nearly perfect English, and this alone was indicative of their goals for their kindergarten and pre-K age kids.

Dinner

Food stall near Insadong, Seoul.

Sickening

Horrible news from Mumbai.  Here’s a live feed of an Indian news network (in English, possibly too graphic for some).  Over 100 hostages being held, presumably of American, British, and Israeli origin.

Nobody knows for certain what’s going on, but it’s confirmed that some higher-ups in the Indian security network are dead.  (Inside job?)  It sounds like a highly organized, well coordinated attack.  Sad and terrible.

DMZ Tour: Panmunjeom, Joint Security Area Part I

Last Saturday I took the U.S.O. DMZ tour to Panmunjeom and the Joint Secruity Area of the South Korean-North Korean border.  There are quite a few tour operators in South Korea, but the U.S.O. is considered to be the one that offers the most access, as well as being the cheapest (44 USD).  The men here in green are South Korean soldiers (Republic of Korea, or ROK) gazing stonily to the North and Panmungak, the North Korean (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK) base of operations for the JSA.  At the top of the step of Panmungak is a DPRK guard who was quick to whip out some binoculars when our rather large tour group stepped out into what has to be one of the smallest and strangest pieces of real estate in the entire world.

DPRK soldier standing in his home country, about 100 yards or so from us Imperialist Invaders standing in the South.

Usury

Via mefi, a post on how credit card issuers are the next banks that might (should) collapse and the taxpayer-funded bailout they’ll be getting.

It’s insane.  For years these companies offered lines of credit to people who they knew couldn’t afford to pay up (just ask any current or former college student).  These are the last institutions that deserve a bailout.

At some point the Fed simply has to let some of these banks fail.  Rapacious credit card issuers would be a good start.

Month Three

I’ve been in Korea for three months now.  It feels longer.  Last week I had four kids in my morning kindergarten class (Giraffes, baby!), and starting this Monday I’ll have ten.  It’s great, actually.  Four felt too small.  Ten seems just about right, and it’s the maximum class size at my hagwon.

We gave our monthly assessment tests on Monday, and I stayed late tonight grading them and writing reports for parents.  Assessing six year-olds isn’t easy, but I’ve been happy to see and hear gradual improvement in their English.

After lunch we did timed obstacle courses for P.E.  The kids and I call it “Beijing Olympics,” just because.  I only witnessed one student cry today, which is a little better than average.  The weather has warmed up just a touch.  And I won a the equivalent of a hundred bucks playing poker at a local ex-pat bar that’s about to shut down for new management.  Bittersweet, but mostly sweet.

Comfort Food

Seoul Eats offers a take on the best hamburgers in Seoul.

A few weekends ago I was definitely craving one, so I went with some friends to (of course) Itaewon.  Gecko’s Terrace offered a decent cheeseburger for about 10,000 won, and it came in at third place on this list.  Pints of Cass are a mere 3,000 won (Jang!).  Good luck finding a table though.

I’ve heard good things about the food at Wolfhound (rated number one here) but awful things about the service.  I’m in no hurry to check it out.

My only gripe would be the easy dismissal of fast food burgers here in Seoul.  I had a McDonald’s bulgogi burger a few weeks back that was absolutely delicious.  I guess you could describe it as a teriyaki burger, and the price was recession-friendly.  Besides, Korean McDonald’s restaurants deliver, which is kind of neat.

Excess

Presenting the Turbaconducken.  I’d hit it.

Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday in Korea, but Christmas is.  (They had Chuseok a few months ago, which is kind of an equivalent harvest festival).  Some ex-pat bars are offering turkey dinners, but I think I’ll miss watching live American football more than anything.  The ‘Skins have a pretty light schedule to wrap up the season, so hopefully they’ll pick up their game a notch and make a wildcard spot.  Then again, I’d be happy to cheer for the Giants again if things don’t work out for Zorn and company.