Korea Fighting!

Years ago I read an article about a man who kept a detailed diary about his life. I think it was 70 years of diaries. Nothing was too insignificant for him to mention.

I remember reading it and wondering, "Yeah, but will anyone ever read those boxes of diaries about him going to the bathroom?"

I guess he often wrote about himself writing...

These days I'm having the opposite problem...

I'm living it up so much that I don't have time to write...

Can you really enjoy life and record it all?

If I had time I would blog about...

* going swing dancing
* getting treated at the Kkunnori restaurant in Jamsil by two friends who insist I'm the luckiest man alive because I know them.
* then getting treated to an hour or two at the Luxury noraebang near Kkunnori.
* the "call" button in Korean restaurants
* Koreans ordering too much food whenever they eat together
* Meeting with Gong Byeong Ho (공병호) for the first time in 10 years.
* how damn energetic Seoul is
* how much fun it is drinking here. I'm sure you can have fun here without drinking, but it would be like going to Vegas without gambling.
* myself being too cheap to buy a real camera.
* and being too cheap to buy myself a new computer (the good thing is that I'm out cruising Seoul instead of cruising the Internet)
* and being too cheap to even buy a new iPOD.....noticing a pattern here?
* drinking Strawberry soju last night--wasn't much soju in it and/or I'm getting used to the taste of soju
* the centers in subways where you can recharge your phone for free (as long as they can find the rechargers)

From today's newspapers

* the hilarious brawls Korean politicians are having--over legislation. If the nation's security were at risk then I could understand the brawls.
* The government is looking for a new slogan. My latest suggestion: Korea Fighting! As in, Korea fighting Japan, Korea fighting history, Korea fighting for its image, S Korea fighting N Korea, Korea fighting itself...
* the South Korean president told the national assembly he won't

intervene in the legislation. I guess he doesn't want to rassle with anyone.
* The hilarious fight I saw yesterday between two Korean friends inside a restaurant.
* Seoul inviting Korean war veterans--a gesture I support, but that goes against those in tourism who don't want Korea to be pictured as a war-torn country
* the smoking rate increasing among Korean men--I wonder if it is really increasing or because the government crackdown has slowed that more are willing to admit it again
* yesterday's solar eclipse...an alert friend sent me a text telling me it was about to happen, my co-workers all risked going blind....
* Koreans are trying to polish their image...but advertising on CNN for a week is a mistake, they should go with Fox News or a different channel that people actually watch.
* the 34th annual forum hosted by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry...is a 35th really necessary?
* Non-Koreans often complain about some signs not being in English, but Koreans and the Korean government go out of their way to accommodate English speakers
* The Korean government is determined to get Koreans out of their cars and onto bicycles...not sure how the chicks who always insist on wearing high heels will adapt. Plus, the monsoon season might not be the best time to promote such a policy.
* I actually agree with criticism from a Chinese newspaper that the NBA season is too long--the NBA should stop acting like this is the 1950s with teams stopping in different cities different nights, instead have teams stop in different cities for 3 or 4 games a week in one city like baseball.

But then, if I blogged about all of those things then who would read them all?

CJL

Manufactured cases

My former Cato Institute colleague Bob Levy is profiled by the Associated Press for his role in the challenge to the DC gun ban. One great thing about Levy is that he tells it like it is. As the article quotes: And Levy freely admits the case is manufactured, not one that bubbled up by chance from the district's steady flow of criminal cases involving guns. He wanted presentable plaintiffs to make a case for gun rights, not criminals. "We didn't want crack heads and bank robbers to be poster boys for the Second Amendment," he said. Is there a problem with this case being manufactured? I heard a talking head on the radio complaining a while ago that this case wasn't from real DC residents, that it was from outsiders. What's wrong with that? There may be some times that it takes an outsider to challenge an injustice or bad law. Did DC residents claim that Martin Luther King Jr. was an outsider who should have minded his own business? And about the case being ...

Rich talking back

The rich are talked about very often in negative terms, but how often do the rich respond in kind? Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart, who inherited most of her money but apparently has also done very well with it, recently railed against class warfare and had some advice for the non-rich : "There is no monopoly on becoming a millionaire," she writes. "If you're jealous of those with more money, don't just sit there and complain. Do something to make more money yourself - spend less time drinking, or smoking and socializing and more time working." She complained about politicians raising taxes, regulations that slow investment, and other anti-business policies that harm the poor. "If you want to help the poor and our next generation, make investment, reinvenstment and businesses welcome."

"Yoegi Anjuseyo!"

* I have a short reflection in today's Korea Times about an encounter with an unfriendly looking Korean man on the subway. It was a reminder not to be too quick in judging people in Korea. 09-13-2011 16:47 'Yeogi Anjeuseyo!' By Casey Lartigue Jr. The recent incident in which an American English teacher bullied an elderly Korean man and other passengers on the bus reminded me of a more pleasing incident from years ago. I was on the subway, taking the train outside of Seoul for a work assignment. I have the habit of standing on the subway to strategically position myself near the doors in case my stop magically appears. On that particular day, there was a Korean man STARING at me. Not just looking at me, but intensely staring at me. He had an incredible frown on his face. Not just for one stop, but for several stops the guy just kept staring at me. If I had known more Korean then I would have been able to curse him ...

2014-02-14 Yeon-Mi Park`s debut

Yeonmi Park, February 14, 2014, making her debut! Yesterday I was one of the speakers at a special session on North Korean refugees at the Canadian Maple International School. Wow, it was a wonderful time! * Yeon-Mi Park delivered her first major speech in English. She was wonderful! She told her story (35 minute speech without notes), discussed different aspects of North Korea, and then handled questions from students for more than an hour. She did seem to be nervous at the beginning-she took a deep breath just as she started, looked at me, then told her story from her heart. * Returning from the speech, I told Yeonmi that she had star potential. She told me that she didn't believe it, but I told her that the way she handled Q&A and told her story, I would be lucky to have her still returning my phone calls within a year. * The students had many questions. They have been learning about North Korea. They are now reading "Escape from Camp 14" featuring Shin Dong-h...

2020-11-26 My basketball story

This photo was uploaded today by my aunt Annette. This was back in the day, when 1) I had a head full of hair and 2) played basketball a lot. That first year of playing organized basketball, I focused on playing defense. It seemed that everyone wanted to shoot the ball, so I passed the ball and played defense. I probably led the league in steals, rebounds and blocked shots. I enjoyed taking on the best player from the other team, I felt like I would get better, quickly. The second year, I was a different player. I will never forget the first game that second year--we lost 29 to 26, I scored 18 points. I probably led the universe in scoring that second year, although we didn't win much. One thing I learned from that experience is that one great player 9 (at least in his own mind) can't beat a team. An eye injury ended my pro career before it began, to this day I still have floaters in my eyes because of the injury. I started wearing glasses, but the problem never went away. On t...

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