I’m moving to Seoul, Korea. Although the general consensus among family and friends is that I’ve lost my mind (which I don’t necessarily deny), this is something of a calling for me. One of my biggest regrets in life was not serving in the military. My father and two brothers are Army vets. My daughter is currently serving her second tour in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne. I am incredibly proud of her and all our troops who are sacrificing so much to defend our freedom and to bring freedom from tyranny to others. Sitting on the sidelines watching these incredible men and women making a difference in the world has only exacerbated my desire to find some tangible way to make a contribution in support of our military. Of course, at 49 my options are somewhat limited. I have been a federal civilian employee for over 28 years, and so for the past several months I have been applying for civilian jobs with the Department of Defense. I was not selected for a position I applied for in Iraq, but the Army offered me a job in South Korea and I have accepted. I don’t presume to think that doing a civilian gig in Seoul is heroic or particularly self-sacrificing, but if in some small way I can play a part in our national defense, I am proud to do so.
Ok, that’s the altruistic reason for going, such as it is. On a more personal level, I have lived a very comfortable life. Too comfortable perhaps. The chance to live and work overseas in a totally alien culture seems to be an exciting opportunity to get out of my box and experience a new lifestyle. Yes, I am looking forward to the adventure. Of course, the nature of adventure is the not knowing how things will turn out. I know I will miss my family and friends and everything that is familiar and wonderfully American. I have made a two-year commitment to the Army, and if I am miserable and lost and lonely, well I will deal with it and learn what I can from the experience. Going in, I have a positive attitude and believe that I have the power to determine what I gain and how I grow as I live this new life.
So, this blog will serve as a diary of my life in Korea. It will be a place where I share my thoughts on what I am seeing, doing, and learning. And since I am fairly political and opinionated, there will likely be some commentary on my views on world events. I have been a blog reader since I discovered the blogosphere shortly after 9/11. This is my first attempt at writing a blog and that will be part of the adventure I am undertaking.
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Somehow I missed this post, John. It’s an important one. What an incredible thing you’re about to do! Cao.
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A lot of talented actors still have to pay their bills.
I had been approached by a couple of people as far as making movies because of my success in music, but it was always to play the white rapper in Sister Act 2, or something that would just kind of put the final nail into my coffin of my career.
I had had a troubled past, but like most rappers they go out and talk about it to kind of help their career.
I have a lot of real life experience with hustling and doing stupid stuff.
I just realized that the whole point of doing interviews was to promote this movie, so see it three times.
I never make the mistake of arguing with people for whose opinions I have no respect.
I love my H.R.H. character. But I never got it. Why do we pay these people millions of pounds to be better than us?
I used to dress up and impersonate our next-door neighbor, Miss Cox. She wore rubber boots, a wool hat, and her nose always dripped.
I like the idea of making big budget films with a heart. I like graphic novels more than comic books.
I think music is what takes the experience off the screen into your soul, into your head.
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But I think that the most important thing was to really stop drinking.
An artist is a dreamer consenting to dream of the actual world.
I only drink to make other people seem more interesting.
Love is an emotion experienced by the many and enjoyed by the few.
Patriotism is a arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles.
A person who knows how to laugh at himself will never ceased to be amused.
Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends.
The person who knows how to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused.
A policy is a temporary creed liable to be changed, but while it holds good it has got to be pursued with apostolic zeal.
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
I have survived by representing these sufferings of mine in the form of the novel.
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I too am living as a writer with this polarisation imprinted on me like a deep scar.
After the many rumours that we had heard about Hitler and the published criticisms we had read about him, we were pleasantly impressed.
I have always been interested in politics. I was in the student union before, very active.
Do some selfless service for people who are in need. Consider the whole picture, not just our little selves.
I think it was that we were really seasoned musicians. We had serious roots that spanned different cultures, obviously the blues.
For a long time I just did theater and after many years I was ready to make a change.
A lot of poets carry a wee notebook in their pockets to jot down ideas and lines and even a verse or two. I never do that.
I was drunk for the second time in my life on junior high and that was a bad one!
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