2019-11-23 Busy Saturday

I planned on taking the day off today, playing video games, catching up on messages, blogging about recent activities I haven't gotten to because of new activities.

I agreed to one meeting. Then another. Then another.

There went my Saturday!

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Developing TNKR

Emily stopped by at 11 AM to talk about academic planning!

She has been part of our Academic Team helping to collect teaching materials. She also donated two books. Yes, we are open to donations of books, teaching supplies, and other items, although we do have limited space.

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Tutoring

The heart of TNKR is 1:1 Flexible Tutoring. We aren't rich enough to have space for classrooms, so most tutoring sessions are at business centers and study rooms.

We are delighted when refugees and their tutors come to the office to study together.

Michael and Minhee stopped by today for a tutoring session. Michael joined us a few months ago, incredibly enthusiastic about being part of TNKR. He then challenged the country of Canada to support TNKR!

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Her Hero!

One of my friends I met before I started TNKR along with Eunkoo Lee dropped by today to talk. We first met back in 2012, and would occasionally meet to talk about things. She later joined TNKR as a student. Because of her feedback, we were able to develop some parts of TNKR.

She says I am her hero!

She is now in graduate school, she may return to TNKR soon. When I was talking to her, I realized that even though I have known her for seven years, I don't know her escape story. As is one of TNKR's approaches: "Look forward, not backward."

Tomorrow should be busy too!

1) Orientation for tutors, from 2-4 pm https://lovetnkr.org/event/orientation-november-2019/
2) Planning meeting for December 8th's rally at Imjingak. https://www.facebook.com/events/813556019074439/

Support TNKR: www.lovetnkr.org/donate

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

2019-12-19 Interview with Japanese reporter

"The interview is the honeymoon, publication is the divorce." --Shinae Chun I had a GREAT and FUN interview today with a reporter from Japan. Let's hope publication will also be great! www.lovetnkr.og

Back in America, 4 days and counting

I got back a few days ago, I'm still unpacking... Some of the highlights so far: * Friday morning I was in the audience for a CNN/The Root discussion about being Young and Black in America . As a veteran of so many of these Washington talking events I am less than enthusiastic about them these days. Still, I bumped into a few friends, some of whom are neither young nor black. The discussion seemed so 1980s, with the panelists trying to figure out how to politically empower young black people. I guess it was appropriate then that the head of the NAACP was there. His most irrelevant concern was about hate talk radio...or I guess Rush Limbaugh being on the air all these years explains the high level of black-on-black crime. 20 years later, how is the Stop the Violence movement working out? The highlight of this particular panel was running into old friend David Plotz, who is now editor of Salon Magazine. I don't think I've seen him since college but he recognized me. I forgot...

Michael Vick ain't got nuthin on me!!!

After football player Michael Vick admitted that he had been running a dog-fighting business I wrote that he was an idiot. If he was going to engage in such activity he should have gone to Indonesia or somewhere else. He certainly had the money to do so at that time. If he knew then what he knows now then he would have spent $10 million to run his dogfighting ring in Manila. Today I did something that probably not even Michael Vick ever did: I ate dog meat. I never expected that I would do so. It is a bit scandalous because Koreans don't just kill the dogs and eat them. Rather, they will beat them to death while they are still alive. That allegedly is to get the adrenaline flowing which allegedly makes the meat more tender which allegedly improves a man's stamina. I had told a friend that I wanted to give it a try. But as we sat down to eat I said: "I want to try this but don't give me any details until after we are finished eating." It just looked like regular me...

How not to get your ass beat by the police

The black president of the United States stupidly commented on the arrest of a black Harvard professor in his own home by a white police officer. Some random thoughts and memories: * I'm sure most people are still trying to figure out who Prof. Gates is. As G.K. Chesterton once wrote: "Journalism consists largely in saying 'Lord Jones is dead' to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive." * Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said Gates' arrest was "every black man's nightmare." Perhaps. But having a criminal in my house is even more of a nightmare. Also, having the president of the United States talk off the cuff about me about something he doesn't know is pretty bad. And getting shot by a cop after I escalated a situation would also be worse than getting arrested. Anyway, I have had my own dealings with the police over the years: * Back when I was a college student many many moons ago, one of my brothers and I got stopped by police in Bro...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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