Random thoughts: Will November 10, 2019, ever end?

Do you enjoy traveling? Then you might not want to travel with me.

For me, travel is: Going through the immigration process, security, getting to and from the airport, and trying to figure out where in the hell I am going.

And I write this in a good mood because TNKR co-founder Eunkoo Lee and TNKR staff made all of the arrangements.

***

I have arrived in Cambridge. I was off the grid for 14 hours.

* No Internet
* No phone
* No messages
* No computer
* No video games

Remarkably, no homicides.

***

Because of time zones, it seems that November 10, 2019, has been a very long.

South Korea, November 10, 2019
* 5 AM, woke up
* 6:45 AM, arrived at Incheon airport
* 9 AM, plane took off
14 hours of barely sleeping

USA, November 10, 2019
* 10 AM, arrived in Boston
* 1 PM, went to sleep in Cambridge
* 10 PM, woke up in Cambridge, it was still November 10

Can anyone do the math to figure out how long I have been awake and asleep on November 10, 2019? I feel like I have done some time traveling, and wonder if I could bump into myself in another time dimension.

Not only is it "5 o'clock somewhere," but it is November 10, 2019 wherever I am.

**

Yes, I can live without a computer or Instant Messages, so I hope drive-by commentators won't try to come up with deep analysis about this or talk about how people can't survive without mobile devices.

l love to read, write, talk, sing, dance. I can live without checking messages--but can drive-by commentators recognize that the context is different when I am at home with many options compared to when I am squeezed into a seat for 14 hours with few options to do other things? If I could have played the Madden video game for 14 hours, I also would not have slept on the plane, but I would have had a wonderful time and would be posting about how refreshed I feel.

***

The plane landed. I applauded.

It isn't because I spent the last 14 hours squeezed into a seat, unable to check the Internet or messages, having to get the other guy to move when I wanted to go to bathroom, didn't bring a book because anyway others frown with the overhead light on so you can read, etc., but because I still celebrate that humans can fly airplanes. People will celebrate someone dunking a basketball, kicking a soccer ball into a net or posting a puppy video on the Internet.

Humans taking a huge piece of metal thousands of miles in the sky with enough oil to get it done staffed by people who do their best to pretend they like you? Yes, I applaud when we land. So far, in all the years I have applauded when the plane landed, only one person has ever joined me--she was probably eight years old.

Yes, it is a wonderful thing that humans engage in flying across the world--but that doesn't mean I will enjoy every moment. But it is certainly better than taking a boat, although I at least would be to be on the grid and might even be able to play Madden.

***

Immigration is more efficient than in the past. I used to get bothered by immigration, I used to give yes/no answers. Now I realize they are probably bored at their jobs, so I chat them up, even tell them about TNKR. I know they aren't interested, they may ask 100 people or more per day about why they are coming in or about where they are coming from. When I chat them up? They are usually trying to cut me off so they can get to the next person.

***

Baggage claim--my bag looks a bit different from everyone else's bags, so I can usually identify it easily. Still, I am thinking about getting a customized bag, maybe point it gold at the top, purple at the bottom. Even better, have my face on both sides of the bag. So not only would people be unlikely to walk off with my bag, but they'll pointing to me, "Hey, sir, I think that is your bag!"

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

Does a flower turn to the sun?

I tend not to address points raised by people commenting on posts. In the back-and-forth of such discussions, people sometimes say things they don't mean or take extreme positions. In other cases they are just trying to be provocative, especially when they can remain anonymous. But a discussion on Greg Mankiw's blog caught my attention. That's because a couple of the folks suggested that parents don't really have the knowledge to make decisions about the quality of schools. Between 2002-2004 I was actively involved in the fight to get school vouchers for families in DC. I often heard the argument that parents don't know how to choose between good and bad schools and that, anyway, parents had enough choices with the school system's "out-of-boundary" options and charters (that had also been opposed). Without getting too deep into the out-of-boundary program, I'll point out that Woodrow Wilson HS, considered one of the best schools in the city, recei...

2018-09-28 Not everyone at KFC cooks chickens

Most of the people who contact us at TNKR naturally want to tutor North Korean refugees. Many potential volunteers are shocked shocked shock ed to learn that they can volunteer with TNKR in other ways. I tell many of them: "Not everyone at KFC cooks chickens. There are also delivery people, accountants, marketers, personnel, and a host of other positions." Earlier this year, we began developing the TNKR Volunteer Leadership Academy. I'm still waiting for someone to take over that little project. Until then, I will continue with developing it. And be developing it, I mean telling people, "Don't write me a long business plan about what you would like to do. Just start doing it, keep me updated and in the conversations, then let's talk and update." We have had a recent influx of volunteers who want to help TNKR in other ways. Jackie Cole is now running our Instagram. She constantly surprises me with the flyers and videos she posts. I made it clear from the ...

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 ...

Random scenes in Seoul

Yesterday morning I stopped by to buy some kimbab 김밥 at one of the places that sells rolls for 1,000 won (about $.80, depending on how much the Korean or U.S. government have screwed up their respective currencies). I stop by there often so of course the woman there recognizes me. Of course, they probably recognized me from the first time I went there... Yesterday, she asked in Korean if I liked tan mu gi 단무지. I said yes, that I loved it. As I was trying to pay, she hurriedly cut some up right then, then fed it to me, like I was a 6 year old child... I could see everyone in the shop watching... then, I said, "맛있어요!" delicious! I could see everyone smiling. I'm surprised they didn't start applauding. * * * Friendly fights Saw a funny fight the other day. Two guys in a restaurant were wrestling with each other, knocking over at least one table. I watched, not really interested in getting involved. They could be two friends fighting over a woman or for some other reason,...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

Search This Blog