Ready to take on the NBA

Some former NBA stars are coming to South Korea. In another decade or two their skills should have deteriorated to the point that I could actually compete with them. They'll be playing on my birthday, Sept 5, so that will give me an excuse not to get out and play with them. I don't care how good Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was back in the day, he is now 62 years old. I think I'm ready to take him on now.

There is one way I could get on the court against any NBA player, whether current or retired. I would just need to be able to change one or two rules.

Rule number 1: I could never be called for a foul.

Rule number 2: The opposing players all must wear high heels.

If the game is still competitive then I would require the opposing players to wear boxing gloves.

In other words, this shit ain't perfect

The Korea Times has a hit piece on TBS eFM, the all-English radio station based in Seoul. To prove their case they talk with two people--a native Korean and a Canadian. Based on such a sample I could prove that no one ever listens to Rush Limbaugh.

* The easiest story for a reporter to write is that something is "overrated" or has fallen short of expectations.

* Has the Korea Times reached expectations?

* I did notice that the Korean national interviewed in the story said he keeps up with the news by reading several publications, including the Korea Times (but not the Korea Herald).

* The reporter commits a cardinal sin of reporting: relying on just one or two sources for extended commentary.

Slow Lane to Free Trade

I mentioned that I had lunch with my buddy Kim Chung-ho a few weeks ago. Today he has an opinion piece in today's Korea Times. In case you can't read the piece, rest assured that he is very much in favor of more free trade.

SHUT UP AND ACT!!!

I really don't know why people pay attention to what celebrities, actors, and athletes have to say. One thing I hate is when I go to a concert and a musician decides to start talking about politics. If they put their thoughts to some good sounding music, fine. But I don't care what you think.

The latest Please Shut Up and sing/act/play request comes via a Korean actress named Kim Min-seon. She just got sued for her comments last year about U.S. beef.

As the Korea Herald reminds us:

In last May Kim, amid nationwide protests over the government's decision to
import U.S. beef, wrote on her mini-homepage that she would "rather eat
potassium cyanide" than see the imports of U.S. beef with bones tainted with mad
cow disease in Korea.

* I do wonder about the intelligence of people who would have stopped buying U.S. meat because of what an actress said.

* I do hope the company successfully sues the skirt off her...

* I suppose she convinced Koreans to buy Australian beef?

* This is nothing against the Korean actress. My favorite singer is Prince. I really don't care what he thinks about politics or American beef.

"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 ...

Michael Breen discussion at 10 Magazine

Yesterday I attended a discussion with writer Michael Breen, hosted by Barry Welsh. Very often, when I attend a speech or discussion about a topic I know a lot about, I often think about ways the speaker/facilitator/discussant could have done better. But I didn't feel that way about Breen, it was one of those times that I really felt like I had a lot to learn and should listen more than talk. He's been in Korea for three decades, working as a reporter, commentator, communications specialist. He reminds me of Andrei Lankov in that his analysis seems to be based on observation of how things work rather than trying to get the world to fit his biases. I don't know him, so his friends may say he is a raging ideologue, but that's not the impression I had yesterday and based on his writings. Michael Breen (L) and Casey Lartigue I first read his book The Koreans about a decade ago. It was a delightful read, that was both warm to Koreans but also critical at times. Yes...

Park Jin welcoming remarks to FSI (and Casey Lartigue)

National Assembly member Park Jin makes the welcoming remarks at FSI's conference featuring North Korean diplomats. Park Jin | Greeting message to FSI and Casey Lartigue mention - YouTube

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...

Get rid of that watermelon!

Part 1: When I was a youngster I used to collect Confederate money, posters and photographs with caricatures of blacks, and "No blacks allowed signs." I loved the money because it was a reminder of how far the sorry Confederacy had fallen. I had one poster of a dark-skinned black boy munching on a watermelon. I would look at that small poster and wonder, "What in the world is wrong with anyone wanting to eat watermelon?" Yes, white people, I'm talking to you. Your parents, grandparents, and other ancestors who thought making fun of blacks for eating watermelon were crazy ! Even people who say that nothing has changed in race relations must acknowledge that the many stereotypes of blacks are no longer prevalent. But then, there are also some ready to remind us of days-gone-by by debunking stuff that doesn't need to be debunked today. According to the Washington Post: The sound you just heard was yet another racial stereotype going kersplat ! Some ...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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