Everybody Has One

PJ Harvey’s new album with John Parish is the best thing she’s done since Is This Desire?

And since lots of her fans couldn’t stand Is This Desire?, nor her first collaboration with Parish, I wonder if this album will get the attention it deserves.

Avarice

Matt Taibbi on the AIG bonus fiasco:

Also, there’s this: let’s just say, Jake [DeSantis, who just quit from AIG], that you’re telling the truth, that you don’t know anything about this toxic portfolio. If that’s the case, then why the fuck does anyone need to retain you at an exorbitant salary to help unwind that very portfolio? If these transactions aren’t and never were your expertise, then where the hell is your value here?

When I spoke to Christine Pretto, the AIG spokeswoman, and asked about those bonuses, she said that AIG needed to retain people like you in order to take advantage of your “knowledge of these transactions.” So if you don’t have knowledge of these transactions, what are you being paid for? Your winning attitude?

Of course, the whole thing is worth reading.

City Lights

Hannamdae Bridge, Seoul.

Koreans are rightfully proud of the modernity of Seoul, with its exceptional public transit and its high level of internet “wiredness.” You don’t hear so much bragging when it comes to its beauty, however.  As it rose from the literal ashes of the Korean War in 1953, the emphasis was on efficiency and utility rather than aesthetics.  The ubiquitous rows of high-rise apartments are colored from a palette that seems to consist only of brown, beige, and taupe.

Nighttime is a different and much more interesting story.

Wild Kingdom

The two most overfed turtles in all of Korea.

Loot

As the month ends, it was time to celebrate March birthdays at my hagwon.  They were a pretty big deal at my last school, but this being Apgujong I wasn’t really prepared for the orgy of conspicuous consumption that ensued.

It was cute and all, and I think the birthday boys and girls were appreciative (Korean parents are big on their children being taught etiquette), but seeing a six year-old (Korean age seven) struggling with two huge Emporio Armani bags filled with presents from the school and his fellow classmates while waiting for his bus was very Apgujong to say the least.

Seodaemun Prison, Seoul

Seodaemun Prison in north central Seoul was opened by the Japanese in 1908 to detain Korean anti-imperial activists and others found undesirable by the occupying Japanese forces.  (Japanese control of Korea was underway by this time, but the official occupation began in 1910 and ended with the fall of Imperial Japan in 1945 at the end of World War II.)

About half of the original structures still stand today as they undergo heavy restoration.  Above is one of the common cells.

Outside the main gate and watchtower.

Four More Years

Much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments here in the land of the morning calm as dreaded Japan beats Korea for the World Baseball Classic.

It was a fun run, but as others have mentioned, there’s no way two teams should play each other five times during the same tournament.  I was kind of hoping the US would make it into the finals to face Korea, but congrats to Japan anyways.

Coated in Skronk

Wavves‘ “So Bored.”  I love any band that can pull off warm and menacing at the same time.  And gratuitous Japanese television footage?  All win.

Rollin’

Honestly, I thought Korea might have some trouble with heavy-hitting Venezuela.  But it was nice of them to commit five errors early on.

Now they get ready for either the U.S. or (for the fifth time in the series) Japan.  If the W.B.C. wants to stay in business they’re going to have to work on their tournament rotation.

Mother of All Fails

Matt Taibbi delivers the goods on the American financial meltdown:

“So it’s time to admit it: We’re fools, protagonists in a kind of gruesome comedy about the marriage of greed and stupidity. And the worst part about it is that we’re still in denial — we still think this is some kind of unfortunate accident, not something that was created by the group of psychopaths on Wall Street whom we allowed to gang-rape the American Dream.”