TigerHawk links to a Harvard study that seems to indicate diversity training is ineffective.

Heh, imagine that.

But here’s the thing.  Anyone other than an ignorant knuckle dragger already knows that discrimination based on race/sex/age/origin etc. is wrong and counterproductive.  And no amount of training is going to help someone who believes otherwise.

Here’s an example of what I got out of some mandatory diversity training I attended several years ago.  The theme was being sensitive so as not to offend minorities.  I’m down with that, because as a white male, I am, demographically speaking, a minority (in the USA).  Anyway, as an example of insensitivity the instructor solemnly informed us that the visual aid commonly referred to as a “flip chart” was offensive.  Seriously.  You see, “flip” is a derogatory term applied to Filipinos.   And so according to the trainer we should henceforth call the flip chart a rip chart.

To our credit, we didn’t let the trainer get away without asking some clarifying questions.  Like, it is wrong to “flip a coin”?  Is it permissible to “flip through the pages of a book”?  Or how about if someone cuts you off in traffic–can you “flip them the finger”?  Yeah, it’s true.  We were certainly being “flip” about the subject.

Anyway, as far as I am concerned there is only one race that matters and no amount of diversity training is going to shake my deeply held belief about which race is best.

And what race is that you ask?  It should be obvious really.  The human race.

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….because there’s something in the air.

Change we can believe in.  Let’s hope so.

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This week I am happy to present my favorite Sassy Girl, Jeon Ji Hyun.  I’ve actually featured her most famous movie appearance in a blog post, remember?  Here’s a great clip from that film.

She’s a woman of many moods as well…

Elegant Ji Hyun.

Enticing Ji Hyun.

Inviting Ji Hyun.

Innocent Ji Hyun.

Talented as well as she demonstrates in this commercial.

And also naughty, as there is apparently some scandal concerning these (NSFW) photos.

And that’s just about all there is to see here folks.  Move along now.

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News Item:  Cartoon Network beats CNN, MSNBC.

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Or maybe the Hurt Side. 

Gawd, I’m a laugh riot, ain’t I?

Yeah, via the wonders of the Internets I have enjoyed two Oscar winners in the comfort of my home.

The Blind Side starring Best Actress Sandra Bullock was an entertaining film.  Which I guess is why most of us invest the time to watch, right?  I think if not for the fact that it was based on real events it might have been a little too sweet, but sometimes reality has a Hollywood ending I suppose.  I’ve always enjoyed looking at watching Sandra Bullock.  Even as a blonde with a Southern accent.  I give this movie a 4 (out of 5) rating.

The Hurt Locker won this year’s Best Picture in an upset of James Cameron’s Avatar.  That alone made me want to watch this film.  See, I kinda dig our military (big surprise, huh?).  And whatever your politics, you ought to be able appreciate the sacrafice, dedication, and skill of our warfighters.  You know, these young men and women are the best America has to offer.  And if you don’t respect them, I just ain’t got no use for you.  Hate the mission, love the Soldier/Airman/Sailor/Marine.  Get it?  Got it? Good.

Anyway, The Hurt Locker told the tale of a IED disposal team in Iraq.  And while the movie didn’t blow me away, it wasn’t a bomb either.  (Yeah, I know.  I just can’t help myself).  You know, it was a well made picture and I think a fair portrayal of just how f’d up asymetrical warfare really is.  I enjoyed the story and I’m glad it got some recognition from the Academy.  I’ve seen more moving, um, motion pictures, but this one was fine and dandy.  I’ll rate it a solid 4. 

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Just in one of those lulls where there isn’t much of anything worth saying.  Heh, I’m sure that will pass soon enough.

Takin’ the nephew to see Nanta tomorrow night, so there’s that. It’s a great show, here’s a taste.

I asked for and was granted my release from the Rubbies.  So, I’m without a dart team for the first time in a long time.  No controversy or drama, just not enjoying playing when I can’t throw well enough to help the team.  A Division has gotten very cutthroat this year and that has sucked the joy right out of the game for me.

Still not smokin’ and still exercising on a regular basis.  The weight is slowly coming off.  Very slowly.

Got pissed off at work this week for the first time in LONG time.  Some smart ass O-4 yanking my chain.  Well, I should be above takin’ the bait from a field grade, but I had a chat with his boss to make sure we were trackin’, then I gave the Major a call to express my displeasure directly.  He didn’t really back down, I’ll give him that.  I came right up to the edge of acting unprofessionally, then regained control and ended the call on a relatively positive note.  This is Korea, we’ll call it an armistice.

Tom and Yuli were by over the weekend and he walked me through reformatting the iPod.  So, I’m back up to where I was, 17,000+ files.

Finished up season 3 of Dexter and I’m still enjoying the hell out of it.  Highly recommended.

And welcome to Jeff, a new reader here at LTG.  Glad you’re here, but as the regulars could tell you–Prepare to be disappointed!
And I think I will stop here, having proven my point about having nothing of note to say.

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OK, once again I have braved the archives here at LTG looking for some golden nuggets to share as the “best” of the year.  Man, it was a journey through some pretty pathetic drivel, but these two tied for least worst of 2006:

Stupid is as Stupid does  recounts the sad tale of some firsts for me in Korea–my first blackout, my first ambulance ride, and my first stitches.

A Clean Well-Lighted Place  I think nicely captures the quiet desperation of the mundane life I was living as my second year in Korea came to an end.

And this picture from that same time period reflects my emotional state of being.  2007 brought some changes good and bad, but my outlook was definitely more positive.

Finally, I call Greetings Earthlings! the best of my photo-essays from 2006.  Partly because for some reason my server dropped most of the photographs from my posts back then.  Anyway, I have photos of Namdaemun Gate and the marketplace, vintage Dolce Vita shots, pics from a Busan trip, and also the DMZ tour.

Stay tuned for 2007 once I get around to wading through the muck and mire of my so-called life…

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Maybe it’s all a dream…er, nightmare.

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The beautiful Korean woman for this week is singer, model, actress Park Soo Jin.

Not too shabby, eh?

She was a member of the popular K-pop group “Sugar”.  You can watch her perform with Sugar here.

And Ms. Park also does lots of commercials.  I couldn’t decide if I liked this one or this one best.  Heh, it’s all good, right?

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NASA knew climate data was flawed, used it anyway.

Some might call it science, but back in the day I think they called it a circle jerk.  Or cluster fu*k.

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You gotta love those 80’s hairstyles, don’t you?

Well, Kevin was quite a bit younger then.  And as of today, he’s older still.

I’ll give him this, he wasn’t late for the first birthday party.  Came into this world early in the morning (a little after 6 a.m.) on his due date.

I got to be in the delivery room for his arrival and it was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever witnessed.

Of course,  he’s made his daddy proud ever since.

Happy Birthday Kevin!  I love you.

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So it turns out that K-blogger Jacob has a long lost twin brother, none other than Hollywood do-gooder Sean Penn.

They act alike, they think alike, at times they even talk alike, what a crazy pair!  (sorry Patty!)

Evidence?  You want evidence?  I’ll give you evidence: 

Jacob to those who don’t agree that AGW is settled science: “shut the hell up and get out of the way”

Sean Penn to those who call Hugo Chavez a dictator: “there should be a bar by which one goes to prison for these kinds of lies.”

And if anyone has the audacity to challenge these “progessive” thinkers?  Well, let’s hear how caring liberals respond to their critics–

Jacob: “I have zero respect for you people and I hope you all contract cancer and die painful and slow deaths.”

Sean Penn: “Do I hope that those people die screaming of rectal cancer? Yeah. You know, but I’m not going to spend a lot of energy on it.”

But wait, there’s more!  Note the similarities in whom they worship:

Sean Penn with Venezuelan dictator President for life socialist Hugo Chavez.

Jacob with The Messiah one term President socialist Barack Obama.

But the biggest thing they have in common of course is hatred.  Hatred for all those who do not share their world view.  Hatred of the freedoms and values that celebrate a diversity of opinion.  It is a scary thought to imagine a world where the Jacobs and Sean Penns actually held power.

Fortunately, their ignorance is transparent and easily mocked.  But shhhh! They think WE are the rubes.

Oh and one last thing.  I’ll give Sean Penn credit for at least standing behind what he believes with his name.  Jacob is a typical “keyboard warrior” who likes to spout off but has no conviction in his words, at least not enough to put his name to what he writes.  I won’t be a dick and call him a pussy, although an asshole would call him out as a coward.

Hmmm, well it turns out I’m a dick after all.  Go figure.  And what pray tell, are you?

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So, yesterday I take my winter coat to the dry cleaners in preparation for putting it away until next winter.

And of course, I wake up to snowfall this morning.  Appears to be 3+ inches of thick wet snow on the ground and it is still coming down.

Ah well.

Actually,  when I dropped the coat off I wondered when I might ever have the occasion to wear it again.  I don’t expect to have much need for any of my winter clothes there.  Or my suits for that matter…

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…as a dinner meat option here in Korea.  The photo above is a joke of course, but the real photos of dog slaughter are not so pleasant to look at.

Anyway, I don’t eat dog meat.  Some Koreans do and it is culturally acceptable for them to do so.  I would not want a Korean judging me for liking tacos and so I cut them the same slack.  Ask a Korean has a fantastic post up about the whole man eats dog phenomonom here in the Land of the Morning Calm.  Have a read, it is rather fascinating.

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For those of you watching at home, here’s what’s been going on:

I had some dinner guests, Tom and Yuli who you will recall introduced me to Bali.  Tom is also the captain of my dart team.

This is the aftermath of what was my standard grilled rib-eye steak dinner.

The highlight of Tom’s visit was that he set me up with this keen system that allows me to watch content I’ve downloaded from the internet in the comfort of my living room on the big screen TV.  It is really awesome!

“Let’s see, this wire plugs in here, and then…”

So, I’ve been looking for good quality entertainment on the internet (hey, there’s more than porn there, who knew?).  I’ve managed to watch “The Blind Side” (which I found to be quite excellent by the way) and an old favorite “The Prince of Tides”.  But where I’ve really be spending my time is on watching the Showtime series “Dexter”.   Just finished season one and I am hooked.  Great show.

So dear readers, I need your help.  I know how to search for visual entertainment, but I’m not at all sure what to search for.  I mean, Tom suggested I try “Dexter” which I had otherwise never heard of.  So, what else is out there I should be watching.  Leave your suggestions in the comments.  Thank you very much.

Last weekend my blog buddy Jenn of I’ve Got 2 Shoes fame came up from Ulsan for a taste of big city life.  I fear she may have been a little disappointed because other than dinner and a short bar hop on Saturday night, I couldn’t motivate my sorry ass to get out of the house much.  Well, we did the usual base tour.  Anyway, she said she enjoyed chillin’ here at the LTG abode and she’s always welcome to sample the mellow life in Seoul.

Friday night we had the going away dart tourney for Chris Hayes at Dolce Vita.  Yep, I came out of semi-retirement for the event.  And yep, my game is still crap.

Chris is returning to the USA after 12 years in Korea.  He has a new job and is excited about heading home and starting his new life.  He’ll be missed here of course.  Monday nights will be a tad quieter, that’s for sure.

Rex, CH, Ace, and Lucky…

Chris brought a couple of newbies out with him…

Alistair brought his pretty wife Juri and her pink darts.  She’s actually getting to be a pretty good darter.  She and her partner Ace took a second place at the tourney.

Jim an Chris figuring out the brackets…

Ron, Doug and Lonnie talk it over…

My theory is if you aren’t throwing well, drink more!

Juri and Jee Yeun agree that there is nothing more exciting than Friday night darts at Dolce Vita!

Anyway, it was a pretty good night all in all.  When didn’t have many of the boys from the UK with us, I guess because they were resting up for their mate Ciaran’s wedding on Saturday.  I had the honor of attending the event and it was well done.

The understandably happy Ciaran with his lovely bride Eun Jin.

Ciaran is a very nice young lad from Wales and I wish him and Eun Jin much happiness in the future.

So, today I’ve been playing with my iPod (I somehow managed to delete my library and I’m slowly rebuilding).  Got a pot of chili cooking and my nephew Justin will be joining me later this evening.

And that brings y’all right up to the minute in my thrilling life….

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I’m always assuming I should be learning and understanding.  But I’m pretty dense I suppose and sometimes I just don’t get it.

So, they say that winners never quit and quitters never win.  I got that.  But then I think, winning isn’t everything.  So now what?

But really, if something is bad or causing you pain, uncertainty, or otherwise creating unpleasantness it is pretty much a no-brainer–you simply walk away.

Then again, if that something is none of those things, but rather simply something other than what you desire it to be–is that a valid reason to let it go?

And so I suppose it just comes down to what you value most.  Four months or four years, all or nothing or take what you can get?

I think sometimes I get disappointed in others not so much for what they do but from a lack of understanding their motivations.  But truth be told, I’m not even sure I understand mine.

Running is an easy option after all.

So, what’s it all mean Mr. Natural?

“Don’t mean shit”.

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Seriously, it’s time to take a deep breath here folks and assess where things currently stand.  I’ve been thinking for quite some time that you almost need a scorecard to keep up with what is truth and what is fiction.  And now comes this definitive article in The Weekly Standard that sorts out the sordid details of what has led us to this strange brew of science, politics, and religion known Anthropogenic Global Warming.

If this is an issue you care about I highly recommend you read the article.   And you should care.

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Many supporters of government run health care point to the model program in the UK as an example of what we need in the USA.

Be careful what you wish for…

A man of 22 died in agony of dehydration after three days in a leading teaching hospital.

Kane Gorny was so desperate for a drink that he rang police to beg for their help.

They arrived on the ward only to be told by doctors that everything was under control.

The next day his mother Rita Cronin found him delirious and he died within hours.

She said nurses had failed to give him vital drugs which controlled fluid levels in his body. ‘He was totally dependent on the nurses to help him and they totally betrayed him.’

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