C-I-L-L my landlord

So the building manager/landlord went into my room twice yesterday. I guess I should feel thankful.

1) The manager/landlord and one of my managers at work went into my room to receive the delivery of my washing machine. It was very nice of them to stay there while it was installed!

Very nice, indeed! I just wish I had known....especially after being told that no one could get into my room...

2) Then, later, the manager/landlord went into my room to leave a package sent from Mongolia. To the best of my recollection I don't know a single person from Mongolia and haven't been in my new room long enough to have told anyone my address. Of course, the package wasn't for me, probably for the previous resident.

I'm expecting my manager/landlord to go back into my room today to retreive the package...

Images by Tyrone Greene ... (Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live)

Dark and lonely on the summer night.
Kill my landlord, kill my landlord.
Watchdog barking - Do he bite?
Kill my landlord, kill my landlord.
Slip in his window,Break his neck!
Then his houseI start to wreck!
Got no reason --What the heck!
Kill my landlord, kill my landlord.
C-I-L-L ...My land - lord ...Def!

{Thanks to a colleague of mine who found this on the Internet for me.}

* * *

Bad news!

When I saw the papers this morning I thought I would be able to c-i-l-l my landlord. According to the Korea Herald: [S Korean president] Lee prepares to pardon 1.5 million.

That would have been good news because I could c-i-l-l my landlord, then get pardoned for it. Unfortunately, he is only pardoning people convicted of economic crimes.

* * *

Sweet food

I love sweets. Sweet food. Sweet women. Sweet drinks.

Based on the recommendation of a friend I tried 고구마 돈가스 (go gu ma ton ga suh). It is sweet potato pork cutlet. Love it. Only problem is that the place I went in Myeongdong served it with cheese sewed in.

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

To be a good volunteer, use your brain (Korea Times, December 5, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. There is probably an unwritten rule that a celebrity offering to do volunteer work for a good cause should immediately be embraced. Well, that’s not what happened to Jeong So-dam, the glamorous Korean cable TV announcer when our paths crossed on Nov. 29. Ms. Jeong was the MC of an event about American political philosophy hosted by the Association for Economic Evolution. During my speech about American libertarianism since 1940, I discussed my volunteer work for North Korean refugees. After the speech, Jeong approached me, asking how she could help. I gave her the same tough love I give to potential volunteers by asking: “Who are you?” After all, if you are Bill Gates, then open your wallet. If you speak four languages, then help with translation work. So I first stress to potential volunteers: Use your brain. Tell us about your skills and interests so together we can figure out your initial role. Jeong was good-natured about it, rather than c...

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."

Last weekend: Suicide, Kim Young Ha, NK

Credit: Joanne Cho Event 1: Friday night I went to a talk given by Fulbright junior researcher Joanne Cho. She did a great job putting together statistics about some of the most commonly cited reasons that so many Koreans commit suicide. Probably the most provocative tidbit: Cho watched 86 dramas from the spring of 2012 to now, she says that 63 had "scenes depicting or discussing suicide" in a favorable light (as a way to solve problems, that troubled people can be forgiven for their sins and are even seen as sympathetic). Another interesting tidbit: While it is often cited that Korea is number one in the world in suicide (among countries reporting reliable statistics), what I had not realized or had forgotten is that Korean men are number 8 in the world compared to men in other countries with reliable statistics, Korean women are #1 in the world when compared to women in other countries. My questions for the speaker: 1) What was a finding in your research th...

Common Sense on North Korea (Korea Times, April 2, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. As interesting as Kookmin University professor Andrei Lankov’s writings are, there is nothing quite like attending one of his lectures. He can barely restrain himself behind the podium, often pointing and waving his arms. I also enjoy his unscripted speeches, but his answers in Q&A sessions are like the difference between watching Michael Jordan shoot baskets in warm-ups and an actual game. I have finally discovered the secret behind Lankov’s consistently solid analysis about North Korea: Use common sense. At an Asan Institute conference last summer, he argued that North Korea watchers should try to understand North Korea from its perspective. Don’t most people know that you must understand the mindset of others you are dealing with? Yet, common sense in theory gets ignored politically. From the North Korean perspective, nuclear weapons are the best thing they’ve got going. They will NOT give them up easily, even if President Obama ...

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