Comments Posted By Kevin Kim
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Yeah, I was hoping you’d watch the music video I linked to because it specifically shows the song’s lyrics, allowing you to see the connection to the “I’m a crepe” poster.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 27/November/2023 @ 11:52 am
It takes some big cajones to sail by yourself.
You’re close: cojones. No “a.”
I guess the guy never saw “All Is Lost.”
The Treasure Island selfie
Still with the puffed-out lips as if you were blowing a fart out through your mouth! Or have you been practicing pursed-lips breathing all these years? (And an Images search reveals that everyone has a different idea what the phrase “pursed lips” means.)
That’s the best I could find for today.
I assume you know the Radiohead song.
Improving health, a good date with your lady… keep playing the long game. It’s all gonna work out.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 26/November/2023 @ 8:57 pm
Looks to have been a much better day. Good for you! May the recovery continue. Very nice shots of the trail. That joke is missing a final closed quotation mark.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 25/November/2023 @ 5:59 pm
Nice pic of the Thanksgiving meal. Did you seek, further on, for some good pie somewhere?
As for the Psalm 129 joke, I recall the last time you put the joke up, which was last year (and a search for “Psalm 129” on your blog shows you used the joke in 2005 as well!). Just FYI, the quote is bullshit. The actual psalm:
1 “They have greatly oppressed me from my youth,”
let Israel say;
2 “they have greatly oppressed me from my youth,
but they have not gained the victory over me.
3 Plowmen have plowed my back
and made their furrows long.
4 But the Lord is righteous;
he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.”5 May all who hate Zion
be turned back in shame.
6 May they be like grass on the roof,
which withers before it can grow;
7 a reaper cannot fill his hands with it,
nor one who gathers fill his arms.
8 May those who pass by not say to them,
“The blessing of the Lord be on you;
we bless you in the name of the Lord.”I found someone’s old blog post from 2008 that goes into this apparently famous, nonexistent Bible quote. Some comments appended to the post provide constructive suggestions pointing to existent quotes, and one commenter even offered an improved version of the joke with actual Bible verses from Luke and Proverbs (and to be sure, I looked those suggested verses up: they’re legit).
As an aside: fundamentalist Protestants, a high percentage of whom are very Bible-literate, often joke that Catholics don’t know the Bible that well. In my experience at Catholic U., I found that to be true more of the laity than of the clergy. The priests I met and studied under could easily quote chapter and verse at need.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 24/November/2023 @ 7:33 pm
As usual, when I took my seat last night, both Nerissa and Alma sat down on either side. I made some smartass remarks along the lines of, “Ah, now that the big spender isn’t here, you like me again.”
I guess things are returning to normal when we’re back to manufactured drama, however minor, arising from artificial relationships based on money. Sorry to keep harping on this, but I simply fail to see the charm in something so utterly fake. I’d rather read a book by myself than sit with a rent-a-friend.
On the brighter side, the food looks good, and it seems the news from the ultrasound isn’t horrible. Continued good luck as you keep recovering from this bout of whatever-it-is. And I hope to see pics of the Thanksgiving feast!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 23/November/2023 @ 2:32 pm
expect when it comes to making people happy
One of my signature typos: “expect” instead of “except.”
Other signature typos:
“experiement” instead of “experiment”
“parapgraph” instead of “paragraph”
etc.» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/November/2023 @ 6:15 pm
I’ll be curious to hear what Dr. Jo has to say about the ultrasound. I’ll also be curious to find out whether your disparate symptoms all end up being connected somehow: the coughing, the lethargy, the trouble breathing, the side pain, the insomnia, etc. An interconnected complex of symptoms is called a “syndrome.” Here’s hoping you don’t have that.
re: Riker meme
Surely, I’ve mentioned that I once encountered Jonathan Frakes’s dad. James Frakes was, when I saw him, an English prof at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. I say “encountered” and “saw” because I didn’t actually meet him. I was waiting for my buddy Steve to finish something in the English Department’s main office when the old prof walked in with an elfin grin on his face and an impish demeanor about him. He smilingly spoke with some young lady who was behind the counter; he and I never greeted each other, and Steve later told he who he was, which allowed me to realize that there was indeed a resemblance between the old prof and Commander Riker: the swept-back hair, the uniquely shaped nose.
Frakes struck me as one of those hoary pedagogues who was technically too old to teach but loved the classroom too much to quit—the kind of geezer who cheerfully gives all of his students “A”s because he doesn’t give a fuck anymore, expect when it comes to making people happy.
I had a prof like that in grad school: a Father Sloyan. At the time, he was well into his eighties, but quite spry. His office was on the fourth floor of the Religious Studies building, and he always went up the stairs, two steps at a time, never once taking the creaky old elevator. Sloyan, in his younger days, was central in the putting-together of the New American Bible, a Bible specifically for Catholics. He had an amazing intellect that included a mastery of several ancient biblical languages ranging from the standard Hebrew, Greek, and Church Latin to languages like Aramaic and Syriac. I guess when sex is no longer on the agenda, you devote your creative energies to other things, right? Sloyan was a Gospel of John expert; I took his class on the subject and read his book (well, one of his books). Of course, I got an “A,” as did everyone else. Gotta love the old profs who don’t care.
I imagine Sloyan is long gone by now. He was in his 80s back in 2002. Professor Frakes died in 2001, so my memory of seeing him goes back a couple decades. All the old figures from my past are dying or dead. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop for Clint Eastwood.
Sorry for the free-associating comment, triggered by the image of Jonathan Frakes as Riker. Anyway, I’m well within the “six degrees of separation” sphere when it comes to the Frakes family.
Looking forward, with morbid curiosity, to what Dr. Jo has to say. Hopefully, there’ll be some good news hidden among the bad news.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/November/2023 @ 5:19 pm
It might not have been the Hash route, but you at least walked something.
re: “Breathless”
Yikes, what a name for a funeral parlor.
I enjoyed the sunset picture.
Cheaper trike—what’s not to like?
It’s been entertaining so far, but that is a big commitment of time to wade the entire series. We’ll see if it can hold my attention in the long run.
Just consume it in small bites, and you’ll be fine.
re: pain while coughing
A quick search reveals that… you should definitely see the doc and get checked out. There are too many possibilities for a non-expert to sift among them and arrive at an informal diagnosis—everything from appendicitis to respiratory infection to straining of the intercostal (between-the-ribs) muscles to smoking and asthma. You’re right to see the doc.
As always, good luck. I seem to be saying that a lot these days. Let’s get to a point where I say it less frequently.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/November/2023 @ 8:00 pm
I guess I’ll give a cautious thumbs-up as your condition seemingly improves. I hope there’ll be clearer signs of improvement soon. Like the ability to walk up a hill.
When I lived in Front Royal, Virginia, that was technically out in the sticks, and it’s where I learned that country folk can be good, decent people despite all the Hollywood horror-movie propaganda about inbred, Bible-thumping rapist-cannibals (see a hilarious subversion of that stereotype in the horror-comedy “Tucker and Dale versus Evil”). But I’m still not a fan of most country music. Fuck all that “honky-tonkin’.”
McQueen died young. Ever see his movie “The Sand Pebbles”?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 20/November/2023 @ 5:07 pm
I was going to say that, if there’s no beer in heaven, you may have to check downstairs.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 20/November/2023 @ 1:31 pm
I can only hope there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and not a heavenly light. I doubt they serve beer in heaven, the prudes.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 19/November/2023 @ 4:47 pm
Dammit. I wrote:
During my long walks, if I ever have a bad night of sleeping,
Should be:
During my long walks, if I ever had a bad night of sleeping,
As I said, we aren’t getting any younger. I often wish your comments box had an “edit” feature, but mine on Blogger doesn’t either.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/November/2023 @ 9:57 pm
So, what’s next? Honestly, sometimes it feels as if I’m knocking on heaven’s door. I know that is melodramatic, but I don’t recall ever feeling this vulnerable [health-wise] in the past. I’m not sure how much the lack of sleep is exacerbating those feelings, but it can’t be helping my recovery.
Some solutions are staring you right in the face. The question is whether you’ll adopt them. Anyway, it’s good you went on that walk.
Sorry to hear about more bureaucratic runarounds with the hospital, but they’re at least clear you’re not getting surgery until the lungs get better.
I managed a two-hour nap this afternoon, which also seems to have helped clear my head.
During my long walks, if I ever have a bad night of sleeping, I knew that I could make up for lost sleep by taking naps at intervals during the following day’s walk. As a policy, this seems to have worked out thus far, and I don’t mentally punish myself for taking siestas instead of powering through the day’s route. None of us is getting any younger.
And I purchased a second oxygen tank (7500 pesos) today. I was concerned I’d run out of air when I needed it most, so now I have a backup in place.
Are you giving back the other oxygen tank? I assume it was meant to be a loaner, but was it actually a gift?
re: “The men I please is none of your business.”
I’m pretty sure that’s supposed to be, “The men… ARE none of your business.” But maybe the writer of the sentence was thinking of things like distance, time, and volume, which you can talk about uncountably despite countable units of measure. Examples:
Fifteen miles is a long distance to walk.
Ten weeks is a long time to wait.
Two gallons of milk is a lot to shove up your ass.But sometimes, countable is just countable:
The past three hours on the toilet have been hell. (not “has”)
That final photo of the clouds and sky was nice. You get a lot of that where you are, I gather. Beautiful.
Did you hear the latest news that the PI is separating itself from a Belt-and-Road deal with China? I’m glad to hear it.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/November/2023 @ 9:52 pm
Are we basically looking at pneumonia here? Pneumonia comes in at least three flavors: bacterial, viral, and fungal. The symptoms/effects are roughly the same: inflammation of the lungs’ alveoli, which also fill with fluid, making it hard to breathe and hard for blood to oxygenate (it’s in the alveoli that oxygenation occurs). Antibiotics work only against bacterial pneumonia, not against viral or fungal. With the PI’s tropical climate, fungal is a big possibility.
I watched the preview trailers for “Keep Breathing” and “Beef.” “Keep Breathing” looks as if it has some potential, but “Beef” turned me off right away: neither main character strikes me as likable. And if I want to see East Asians fighting each other, all I need to do is take a walk down the street. Koreans love conflict; if they can’t find it, they’ll manufacture it.
I hope your docs know what they’re doing regarding your lungs. I’m beginning to think that the timing of all this sucks, and you’re not going to get clearance for your nasal surgery until the pulmonary thing resolves itself (which is probably for the best).
But I see you’re well enough to be baking brownies.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 17/November/2023 @ 5:00 pm
Has there been any talk about the possibility/prospect of infection in the lungs as a result of all that mucus just sitting there? Sorry, but I can’t remember whether you’re also taking antibiotics.
A quote from Alan Watts! The guy was a philandering shit and an inveterate druggie who dropped acid at Buddhist temples, but he was an articulate exponent of Zen Buddhism and the Eastern mindset, not to mention a fantastic writer. You can find videos with Watts’s recorded lectures on YouTube.
Here’s a good, short one.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 16/November/2023 @ 5:50 pm
Why do I think you’re incurious? We can start with the lack of interest in foreign foods, especially as evinced during your recent trip to Thailand. Despite talking often about traveling, it rarely seems to happen except once in a blue moon. On a more personal note, you’ve said that you read back 24 hours on my blog to make sure you’ve missed nothing, but the lack of reaction to two of the movie reviews I’d schedule-published during my walk (here and here) seems to indicate you couldn’t be bothered to check back for them.* I’m not incensed about that or anything; it’s just that you normally react right away to movie reviews, so it’s noticeable when you don’t, and at a guess, it’s because you missed they were even there. (Thanks for the latest reaction, by the way.)
But as I said, I think these thoughts are falling on deaf ears. You’ve got your default routine, and that’s enough.
Your commenter Goldberg suggested Kabbalah study. That would require a massive retooling of your truncated attention span, but it would be amazing to behold if you did actually embark on such an effort.
__________
*I’ll give you a pass for missing my “The Equalizer 3” review because you were writing about severe breathing problems at the time. Your lungs obviously come first.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 16/November/2023 @ 1:23 pm
What happens when I’m unconscious on my back with a tube down my throat?
With a tube down your throat, at least your airway won’t be blocked! That said, your breathing and lethargy issues are concerning, and those things need to be brought up at your next consultation, whenever that might be.
My view upon boarding the raft
Beautiful shot.
I’ve got lots of time to think and plenty to think about.
Dude, you’re a good fella, but you’re one of the most incurious people I know (unless you’re wondering what’s under a twenty-something’s dress). Why not create projects and set goals for yourself? Are there classes you can take & new things to learn? Of course there are. Are there places to visit, with new things to see and eat? You’re in the Philippines, for God’s sakes, so there’s got to be a million things you could be doing. Satisfaction and contentment can be covers for sheer laziness and inertia—the acceptance that one is in a rut, with no inclination of ever getting out of it. That’s how you end up in bed and dead.
I know you’re going through a rough patch with breathing & energy problems right now, but maybe use this down time to formulate some “When I get back on my feet” plans. There’s a whole life to be lived, and it’s not just goddamn bars. The longer you remain inert, the more likely it is, later on, that you’ll have regrets of the “I could’ve done this” or “I could’ve seen that” sort. I’ve long respected your choice to be a Hasher—I think routine walking is an excellent activity that gets you out and about. But that other half of your life just seems to be about drinking your life away, and while there’s nothing inherently wrong with downing a cold one (or several) and socializing with friends (paid or unpaid), you’re racking up a huge opportunity cost full of would’ves, could’ves, and should’ves.
I realize this all probably falls on deaf ears. If you’ve trained yourself to be incurious over the years, it’s probably too late to overcome that conditioning.
My brothers went to the same high school I did. Unlike me, they both studied music. There was a music teacher there at the time named Miss Kervick (spelling?). She was a big advocate for not being a mere parasite, a mere consumer of culture. Be a producer of culture, she’d say in her speeches to the audience before an orchestral performance. “Be a producer” can be interpreted in different ways, but she was essentially telling us not merely to be passive, but to be active, curious, and working toward self-fulfillment. Don’t just listen to music: make music. To your credit, you’ve got this blog, which is one way to produce and not merely consume. But what else can you be doing to continue to learn and grow? Take up painting? Plan and execute a long hike or a food tour? Become a video content creator? Write a book based on the insights you gained while working in HR?
The sky’s the limit.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 15/November/2023 @ 5:13 pm
Memento mori, eh?
It’s sad to hear you’re down to such a low capacity. A friend of mine in the States is around 80 and is suffering from congestive heart failure. Has been for years. He measures his (indoor) walks in mere yards. Going from the living room to the kitchen is an adventure. At least you’re not quite there yet.
One of the things I like about staircase training (as much as I hate the training itself) is that it strengthens the heart. When I was in the hospital for my stroke, the docs did an ultrasound of my chest and determined I had a weak heart—another reason to engage in cardio/aerobic activity. Intensity matters because it means deeper breathing and a harder-working heart. It’s also a way to lower blood sugar (and thus insulin spikes).
Did Dr. Jo say anything to you about COPD? Inquiring minds want to know.
Anyway, if you see yourself on a road to recovery, well, that’s a good thing. Take it slow, keep at it, and get back into fighting shape.
I imagine it’s nice to no longer be the possessor of the Hashit.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 14/November/2023 @ 5:34 pm
Sorry about the comma stutter. I was typing on my phone, and for whatever reason, the cursor wasn’t showing up in your comment window, making it hard for me to figure out where to type (I have to add HTML to do italics & stuff, which means skipping around the text to place HTML tags; it’s hard to skip around with no cursor to see where you’re at).
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 13/November/2023 @ 6:28 pm
From breathing to lethargy. Out of the frying pan…
Get well soon, keep practicing the pursed-lip breathing, and maybe try some aerobic work to get you breathing more deeply.
As Morrie says in Tuesdays with Morrie,, “When you’re in bed, you’re dead.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 13/November/2023 @ 4:02 pm
Scary stuff. I hope you arrive at a resolution soon. I imagine that, for a lot of us, drowning or suffocating is one of the ultimate nightmares. A quick search on increasing lung capacity for COPD patients shows many recommendations for aerobic exercise. So: not just walking but intense walking, preferably up hills. Got any tall towers or buildings where you can do some staircase work?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/November/2023 @ 4:58 pm
“Where can I grab a beer in Barretto?”
Nice tour of all the bars I’ll have no desire ever to visit. I assume some blog reader will appreciate the information, though, so hats off for the public service.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/November/2023 @ 1:49 am
No, I’m sure Lucky is trainable. Those (and other) videos show some hard-case dogs, and they all eventually respond to training. I think that, if you’re going to keep him, you need to train him. That, or dispose of him—however you choose to interpret “dispose.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 11/November/2023 @ 10:57 am
I decided to give Lucky another chance, and he has now blown it.
To me, “now blown it” means “his ass is gone.” I’m surprised you’re keeping Lucky at all. Are you sure you won’t consider doing some of the obedience training from the videos I’d recommended? The current solution feels like kicking the can down the road, not a real solution. I say either train him right so he really knows who’s boss (he obviously doesn’t know) or give him to a shelter. How’d he end up on your bed, anyway? That’s a privileged spot for a dog who’s supposedly in the dog house.
The continuing breathing problems are worrisome. I hope you see the docs and get that sorted out soon, especially with a possible operation in the works. In response to something you wrote in a different comment thread: yes, I remember being there in the Itaewon area when that hill winded you. But you really improved after that, and you improved even more once you moved to the PI. I do hope it’s not COPD; I’ve mentioned before how scary it was to find out about Leonard Nimoy’s having succumbed to it a full twenty years after he’d quit smoking. That shit just sits and bides its time.
That clock showing the days of the week can’t show you when it’s beer o’clock, alas. I guess you need a second clock for that.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 10/November/2023 @ 6:31 pm
Breathing problems are scary. While my bout with COVID was mostly okay, there was one night where, every time I started falling asleep, I seemed to stop breathing. The fear of suffocating while in that state of semiconsciousness kept me awake the whole night. Luckily, that was the only night where that happened. All of which is to say: I can relate. I hope I don’t come off sounding like Biden comforting Hawaiians by talking about a minor kitchen fire.
I had to look up what Zumba dancing was. And now I know.
Continued good luck with your diet (cut way down on the beer!), and good luck as you deal with those pulmonary issues.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 09/November/2023 @ 6:50 pm
Well, if you insist on having those paid, superficial, artificial transactions with the bar ladies, yeah, something awkward like that can happen, and instead of artificial consequences, you can enjoy real consequences for your trouble.
You won’t learn until you learn, I guess. I keep hoping you’ll step out of the bar bubble and into real life. But habits are hard to break, and fantasy worlds are seductive. Ask any gamer.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 08/November/2023 @ 7:47 pm
Naughty or not, breffus looks good.
So how does one score a high-end room at the Orchid? To avoid future quality issues, I mean.
I look forward to your two-fer.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 08/November/2023 @ 5:54 am
Sorry to hear about the pulmonary issues. I hope that clears up before you undergo surgery. The timing isn’t exactly great.
I like the new shirt. Is that a carabao done up in German clothing?
Swan’s friend looks almost as if she could pass for Korean.
Hope the second Hash went well.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 06/November/2023 @ 10:29 pm
I was born in the City of Angels
re: Avogadro pun
Google “Avogadro’s number,” and you will have your answer.
re: cell phones at dinner
I’m on my phone when I’m eating alone (like right now), but when there’s company, I never do that. Tacky.
re: coughing/wheezing
Yikes. You gonna be okay Hashing like that? Anyway, good luck with that. May the trail be to your liking.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/November/2023 @ 6:09 pm
«« Back To Stats PageGoldberg,
John’s had no trouble in the getting-laid department. If anything, his conjugal success has led some of us commenters (well, me, anyway) to question his priorities. But for the past several months, John has been working on a project: an exclusive and hopefully deep relationship. So this new commitment has meant no poonie on the side (so far as we know). Trouble is, the object of John’s affection is turning out to be a bit of a cold cucumber, hence the passage about drinking and singing sad songs while the ladies watch TV in the next room. John’s been hoping that the cold-cucumber thing will lift like a fog after his funny little honey is through with a year of mourning for her previous love, but we’ll see whether the fog actually lifts.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 04/November/2023 @ 9:42 pm