I’m sure many Obama voters share the sentiments expressed in this comment regarding the Scott Brown Senate victory:

I’m so happy voters are starting to show some sense. I voted for Obama because I was disgusted with the arrogance of Bush-Cheney, and have long hoped for a change in the way politics is played out in Washington. Yes, I was duped. I voted for a more slickly packaged product of the same old Chicago machine. Obama has cynically broken all his promises, thinking his coalition of bleeding hearts, border jumpers, reverse-racists and crooked politicians could sustain the illusions of his agenda. Perhaps we will yet see some change; if not, then a one-term presidency seems likely.  

Comments (0) | Permalink

Well, I heard it all the way in Korea at least.  Yes, the Bay State has a new Republican senator!

Comments are open for any of my liberal friends who want to argue that this election was not a repudiation of Obama’s leftist agenda.  I really like to hear them.  Virginia, New Jersey and now bluer than blue Massachussets. 

Meet the new Senator, Scott Brown:

And the Democrat’s reaction to his election:

Ah, ain’t life grand?

Comments (7) | Permalink

…and I’m not going to take this anymore.”

The original middle aged angry white guy.

Comments (0) | Permalink

Pretty amazing satellite image of Bondi Beach in Australia.  As you zoom in you can actually see some of those notorious Great White sharks.  Check it out!

Comments (2) | Permalink

Blue Bulls put a hurtin’ on the Rubbies tonight 24-13.  Nothing to say other than I pretty much suck these days.  Buried within my pathetic performance I threw a ton-80, but I would have gladly traded that for winning some of the legs I frittered away.

Oh well.  It’s gotta get better.

Comments (11) | Permalink

I’m quite the fan of Korean cinema these days.  On occasion some folks ask me for recommendations but I tend to not remember the titles as much as I do the stories.

So, here are a couple of lists of top ten movies from Korea made in the first decade of the 21st century.  I’ve seen about half of these myself and will be getting the rest into my Netflix queue today.  Enjoy–I think you’ll find most of these better than the crap Hollywood is putting out these days.

ROKDrop’s Top Ten

Korean Pop Wars Top Ten

Comments (2) | Permalink

I posted yesterday about the close race for the Kennedy Senate seat in Massachusetts between Martha Coakley and her Republican opponent Scott Brown.

Well, the gloves have really come off now.  In a bold move Coakley accused Brown supporter Curt Schilling of being a “Yankees fan“.  I’m not sure there is any lower blow than that in a state renowned for it’s crazed Red Sox fans.  And Schilling is not taking the insult lying down:

Mr. Schilling, who helped Senator John McCain win the New Hampshire primary in 2008 by campaigning with him there, and who has been supporting Mr. Brown, fired back on his own blog. “I’ve been called a lot of things,’’ he wrote, “but never, and I mean never, could anyone ever make the mistake of calling me a Yankee fan. Well, check that, if you didn’t know what the hell is going on in your own state maybe you could….”

When will the politics of personal destruction end?   I mean, Schilling is the man who put the “red” in Red Sox:

Frankly, I don’t think Coakley’s low blow even dignifies a response from Schilling.  But I’ll suggest one anyway:

“Hey Coakley! You can kiss my Red Sox ass!”

UPDATE: Check this ad out!

Comments (0) | Permalink

Well, speaking as a “middle aged angry white man” I am truly thankful that these folks are not my friends.

Comments (0) | Permalink

Believe it or not, I’ve been keeping an eye on the Senate race in Massachusetts (did I spell that right?*).  In what should have been a slam dunk for the dems to replace Ted Kennedy with one of their own, Republican Scott Brown is giving Martha Coakley a very competitive race**.   In fact, in the bluest of the blue states, he is leading in several polls.  Will he win on Tuesday?  Maybe, maybe not.  But the fact that the race is even in question shows that more and more voters have had just about enough of the crap being peddled in Washington.

So, just what kind of person is this Coakley?  Well, the Wall Street Journal has a fascinating story about her role in one of the most infamous prosecutions in American history.   That she still defends her actions today reveals much about her character (or lack thereof).  Hmmm, maybe that makes her well-suited to replace the Senator from Chappaquiddick.

*Coakley  misspelled “Massachusetts” in one of her campaign ads.

** As Scott Brown famously stated during a campaign debate “With all due respect, it’s not the Kennedy’s seat and it’s not the Democrats’ seat, it’s the people’s seat.”

Comments (0) | Permalink

A snowy Friday morning may make driving difficult but it doesn’t affect my ability to search the internet for this week’s yoja.

Say good morning to Ms. Song Hye Kyo.  More images of this Korean beauty can be found here.

Comments (1) | Permalink

Well this could actually be a good thing.  Presumably the NORKs think American tourism will create a more positive image for their beleaguered nation.  Although I think it more likely that exposure to Yanks in greater numbers might reveal to the populace the lie of propaganda regarding the American devils.

I’ve always (well since moving to the peninsula) had a perverse desire to see North Korea for myself.  It’s off limits for me of course, but after retirement, perhaps.  The problem I have is providing financial support to a corrupt, murderous and evil regime.  And that I might fail to refrain from calling it a corrupt, murderous and evil regime while visiting.

So maybe not.

Comments (1) | Permalink

Well, let’s hope that’s the case.  Still smoke free for 2010 and I was sorely tested during Monday’s darts fiasco.  And I’m trying to eat better.  No, I am eating better–lots of fruits and veggies and next to no sweets (even forgoing ice cream!).  And thus far I’ve managed to spend time on the treadmill four or five days a week.

Can I keep it up?  Hell if I know.  I don’t expect to give in on the cigarettes.  And I’m kinda liking what I’ve been eating.  The exercise? well that’s a chore.  It’s a means to an end–namely, the end of a goodly portion of this belly I’ve been lugging around. That’s the goal anyway.
Something about pending retirement is a great motivator.  Meaning, I’d like to live long enough to draw my pension and soak up the sun for a good long time.

Wish me luck!

Comments (5) | Permalink

Well the first dart match of 2010 is history.  Shooters from Blue Frog inflicted a 26-11 spanking on our Rubbie hides.

We played better than the score.  Really, we did.

I was 4-8 on the night.  12 marks, including a 9-mark.  So, maybe I can take some encouragement from that.

I really just want to focus on having fun again.  Because to be honest, I didn’t feel much joy last season.

We’ll do better in the weeks ahead….

Comments (2) | Permalink

I’m getting plenty sick and tired of the blatant racism recently on display back in the land of the free and home of the brave.  Especially from angry white men.

I mean, only a racist would say this about our President:

“A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.”

And of course, who would have thought that such words as these would be uttered in the enlightened 21st century:

calling Obama — a “light-skinned” African American “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one” 

And then what kind of person would think it appropriate to post picture like this on the internet:

You know, someone needs to call out these Tea Party bigots once and for all.

Huh?  What’s that?  Bill Clinton? Harry Reid?  A dem operative from Colorado?

Oh, never mind then.  Nothing to see here, move along.

(for those who are sarcasm challenged, no I don’t think the folks mentioned above are racist.  But lord knows the shitstorm we would see if anyone making the same statements happened to be Republican.  I’ve been called racist here for merely disagreeing with the policies of The One.  And you know, I’d just say look at that log in your eye before casting stones.  And yes, that was an intentional mix of Biblical metaphors.)

Comments (4) | Permalink

And now a public service announcement from our friends at the TSA.

And in other news there is this:

They are the first line of defense in airport security but two troubling incidents involving TSA agents at LAX are raising concerns.

A TSA agent was arrested on January 3rd in Terminal One at LAX, a source told NBCLA. He had just gotten off duty and was behaving erratically, saying, “I am god, I’m in charge.”

Meanwhile, a TSA Internal Affairs investigation turned up evidence of LAX TSA agents using drugs at an after-hours party.

TSA officials say a videotape of the party was of poor quality and the employees were not in uniform, but 4 employees were tentatively identified.

Well.  Just wait until they are unionized.

Suggested TSA slogan: Airport security–something we Totally Suck At.

Hmm, and this is the government that wants to run health care.

Wake me when the nightmare is over.

Comments (0) | Permalink

So, one of my work projects involves the conversion from the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) back to the legacy General Schedule (GS) system.  The wise mean in Congress deemed that the multi-millions of dollars invested in a pay-for-performance program for government workers employed by DoD was nothing but a Bush-era boondoggle and pulled the plug.  Well, Congress acted at the behest of their union overlords, but hey, who am I to complain?

Comments (3) | Permalink

I’m thinking Hwang Mi Hee could keep you warm on cold Korean night…

Comments (1) | Permalink

I encourage you to listen to what these folks have to say.  Once fooled perhaps, but the fools ignore them at their peril….

Comments (1) | Permalink

Former expat and K-blogger Kevin Kim reports the passing of his mother today.  For those who follow the Kevin’s Walk blog, you will have shared the heartbreaking story of his mom’s struggle against brain cancer through Kevin’s daily reports.  I respect the courage and strength it must have required to so honestly document the last chapter of his mother’s life.

I doubt that any words exist that can bring comfort in such a time of loss.  But I recall something Kevin wrote for Easter in 2005 that I found particularly moving:

Since I and a few people I know are all going through a painful period, each of us for various reasons, I thought it might be good to write about “putting it down.”

In Zen Buddhism, the maxim is “don’t make anything.” Your mind is so often the source of your troubles. You choose to face the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune either negatively or positively. Often, at the beginning of a troublesome period in your life, it is difficult to realize how responsible you are for your own choices. It’s easier to shift blame to your surroundings. But ultimately, the healthiest route out of the forest of troubles is to start by looking in a mirror. Behold what’s actually there; don’t needlessly manufacture problems for yourself and others.

I’m not a scriptural literalist, so I don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead. But the story of the passion and resurrection nevertheless holds power for me, because it’s a story about a man who put everything down, including his own life, for the sake of love. How many of us can claim to be ready and willing to do something like that? Not many, I suspect.

Most of us, like little children, cling desperately to our cherished notions, preconceptions, and delusions, unwilling to countenance truth and change. We face the world with fear, and create clever rationales for our spiritual cowardice. In a crisis period, this instinct intensifies. The ego swells to enormous size– everything is about getting hurt, everything is about me, me, me. The world doesn’t understand my pain, and only I am in pain!

I’ve felt like that before. I’ve looked out at a street full of people and wondered why they didn’t see my agony, which was plain as day to me. The world kept right on turning, resisting my egocentric interpretation of it.

And there’s a lesson in that. Life is change, ceaseless change. All we have is this moment. If we try to keep the past with us, we merely create more suffering for ourselves. If we try to hold on to our anger, or our hurt, or whatever it is we’re feeling, we poison ourselves.

It’s better simply to put it all down.

People need time to do this. It can’t be done immediately. If, for example, you’ve just experienced a family tragedy, you can’t be expected to act like the Taoist writer Chuang-tzu, banging on pots and celebrating your wife’s death. No; most of us need time to mourn, grieve, recover. But after that period, we should be ready and willing to move on with our lives, to follow the constant flow of the river.

You can’t see the new life of Easter if you’re always looking backward. Easter points simultaneously to the present and to the future, to hope and happiness and fulfillment. Think positively. Embrace goodness where you find it. Actively seek the good, don’t wait passively for it.

Kevin, wishing you and your family peace, comfort, understanding and acceptance during this time of loss.

Comments (1) | Permalink

When his lips are moving.

Comments (0) | Permalink