“and they are not going to call me racist”.
I’m loving the fact that people like this are stepping up. It gives me Hope for Change.
A tale of two men
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What, me worry?
So, as you may or may not have heard, tensions are rising to a seemingly fever pitch here on the Korean peninsula. I don’t have any real insights into where this might go, although I obviously am hoping that the heated rhetoric doesn’t morph into artillery rounds raining down on my balding head.
The sinking of the Cheonan in South Korean waters was a bit more than the usual provocation we’ve come to expect from the idiots up North. And the ROKs are blessed with an impressive leader in President Lee who isn’t going to let this act of war go unpunished. But other than the sanctions and further isolation of Kim Jung Il and his cohorts, there’s nothing else short of war to be done. And war would of course be disastrous.
So, Obama has told our military to be ready for any contingency. Thanks for that advice Mr. President. It’s kinda sorta what we do here on a daily basis anyway.
North Korea has responded by severing all ties to South. An act akin to cutting the proverbial nose from your face. Or more literally, biting the hand that feeds you.
So we shall see where this goes. I’ve got 97 days left. Here’s hoping I live that long.
Feeling stupid?
Take comfort in the fact that you are not this guy.
I think this video is from Holland and the guy sounds like he might be an American tourist. Truth be told Holland made me do some stupid stuff too. Although not that stupid.
Photographs and memories
So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my vacation photos had not in fact been lost when I put the memory card in my new camera…
Southbound from Virginia I received a hearty welcome from NC and a place to answer nature’s call.
I was rollin’ down the highway in this fine example of American steel–a retro Chrysler 300.
A fine ride indeed!
Although she did drink the fuel…thankfully Pedro was waiting for me just South of the Border in SC…
Picked my son up from work at the radio network and headed out for dinner in Columbia’s upscale Congaree (river) Vista neighborhood.
Granddaughter Gracyn kept me company at my parent’s house…
The next morning mom and dad and me and Gracie headed out to the ol’ Cracker Barrel for an American-style breakfast.
There’s a knack to doing one of those self portraits…one I obviously lack…
Kevin with the newest addition to the clan, Alexander. Just turned one year old!
Proof that Kevin was born lucky–sweetheart Lauren…
Lauren, mom and Renee…
Nephew Joshua…
Me and the kids (proof that I’m lucky too!)
Lauren and Renee enjoying Sunday brunch at California Dreaming…
That’s a LG from Korea!
Ain’t he sweet?
I really enjoyed the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum at Dulles…
Ah, give me the days when airlines cared about service…and legroom!
The long trip across the Pacific makes you wish supersonic transport was still available…if not affordable.
That reminds me, I still need to post my photos from Pearl Harbor…
Blackbird singin’ in the dead of night…
The space shuttle Enterprise never left Earth’s atmosphere, but still impressive…
It was really great to see old friends Duke and Dave again and to throw some darts like old times. Duke’s lovely wife Ji Young seems to have put on a little weight though…
In fact, I do believe she’s even bigger than me these days. I understand she will be losing the weight in dramatic fashion next week…
Congrats to Duke and Ji Young on the impending birth of their daughter Kyla Kim.
Looking forward to their visit to Korea in August…
100 days
I’m back in Korea after a long exhausting trip. Physically and emotionally.
Back for the last 100 days of my life in the Land of the Morning Calm. And my last hundred days as a working man.
Suffice to say it is all getting real. Very real. I don’t think I’m scared, but I’m definitely starting to freak out.
Ah well. Time marches on.
And now a word from GM
Actually, some refreshing honesty at Government Motors.
Were it only real.
Every picture tells a story…
…but I have no pictures.
Sorry about the lack of posts. I had several written in my head to go along with the photos I took en route and while I was in South Carolina with the family. Then my camera crashed. I bought a new one yesterday, but when I installed the memory card from the old camera it erased all my pictures. I’m beyond irked about that and too irritated to put thoughts to pixels without the accompanying photos.
I will say I had a too short but wonderful visit with the folks, kids and grandkids. Everyone seems to be doing as well as can be expected. There seems to be a theme to this trip but I’m going to let those thoughts perculate a little more before I try to articulate them.
Back in NoVA now. Threw some darts last night with Duke and Dave New. Always great to see old friends from Korea adapting well to their new environs.
Pardon my heart
It is inevitable that the pursuit of new dreams requires letting old dreams go. I’ve come to realize that does not come without a price.
Slip slidin’ away
So, I have completed the official business portion of my trip. Nothing worthy of note took place at the meetings. In fact, it occurred to me as I sat through what will be my last gathering of this type just how little things had changed in 30 years of this type meeting. The same tired issues, the same failed solutions, the same talking heads with all the answers. Government in action.
Highlight of the week was that the last day was held inside the Pentagon. That was a first for me and I’m glad I got to experience it. Quite the building.
And to be completely honest, notwithstanding the pointlessness of most government meetings, with each new “last” I feel an odd sense of loss and sadness. It is what I have known and done these many years. Feels almost like losing an old friend somehow.
What he said
Man, this is the kind of straight talk from a politician I could really get used to.
Long days journey into night…
and back to day again…
The trip across the wide Pacific was 24 hours door-to-door. The Seoul/Narita/Chicago/DC iteniary was as miserable as it sounds.
United Airlines is a big step down from my preferred Korean Airlines is every aspect imaginable. The equipment (747s without seatback entertainment systems), food, service, and flight attendent attractiveness were all disappointments on this trip. Worse, United is extremely chintzy with leg room in coach. When I sat down my knees were already bumping the seatback in front of me. When the SOB in front of me reclined his seat, well, it was like being captured in a spider’s web (there was a big size guy in the middle seat next to me spilling over into my space exacerbating my claustrophobic conditions). It was pretty much a tortuous journey but it is over and I can only look forward to the return trip next week with dismay.
(this is the first of a series of catch-up posts. I’ve been too busy and too jetlagged to have regularly updated the blog. For which I apologize and hereby begin the process of making amends.)
I’ll fly away
Heading back to the USA this morning. Have a meeting in DC next week, then I’ll take care of some personal business, spend a few days visiting family in South Carolina, and fly back home to Korea on the 21st.
Adding to my list of “lasts”, this will be my final TDY in the service of my Uncle Sam. I’m happy about that for a variety of reasons, but I am really pissed about the way this trip is going down. The trip is about 17 hours in the air. In a cramped couch seat. And that make me grouchy anyway. But check out this itinerary:
Seoul to Narita (Japan) to Chicago to Washington (and the reverse coming back). That adds 5+ hours to the trip assuming everything goes right. It used to be you could catch a direct from Seoul to Dulles or in the alternative a direct to Atlanta with a short hop on to DC. I hate the layover in Japan and I dislike flying on United (Korean Air has spoiled me).
Oh well, I guess the old saw about the man who was upset with his flight schedule until he met a man with no wings should give me some perspective.
Nah, it still sucks.
See y’all on the other side.
To all you mothers out there
Especially mine:
Happy Mother’s Day!
Do your job Mr. President.
A logical inference?
Two news items caught my eye this morning:
And:
Not saying there is correlation between the items, but folks are beginning to notice…
via: PowerLine
Sold down the proverbial river
Meanwhile in the Middle East, Obama continues to undermine Israel. Supporting a resolution in the UN for “a nuclear-free” Middle East while doing nothing to impede the efforts of Iran in acquiring nuclear weapons. Nothing good can come of this of course. I suspect Israel will do what she must for self-preservation and it will likely get ugly.
I think the growing anti-Semitic sentiment among the Left generally and in Washington in particular is also pretty scary. I mean there is fairly recent history that should raise some red flags when folks start talking about “good Jews and bad Jews”. And no, I’m not referring to Nazi Germany.
hat tip: Lileks
Cashin’ In
Kim Yu-na makes the Olympic Gold pay off. Pour a little sugar on it!
Bizzaro world
Well, it seems I woke up today in an alternative universe. Specifically, Bizzaro World.
You see, on Bizzaro world everything is basically the opposite of what it would be on a normal, rational planet.
I guess you get the idea. Now, how did I figure out I’d somehow been transported through some kind of time-space continuum to wake up on this bizarre planet? Here’s some evidence:
In California, a group of high school students were sent home under threat of discipline for the crime of wearing t-shirts depicting, wait for it, the American flag! I know it is shameful behavior for these kids to wear such a hateful symbol in a public school. But it gets worse! They had the audacity to wear the flag on Cinco de Mayo! Of course, the Chicano students were wearing their Mexican flags but the in your face intrusion of Old Glory was so culturally insensitive. Hard to believe this outrage happened in the good ol’ USA.
Meanwhile, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the specter of racial segregation in a public school raised it’s ugly head. It seems a group of white children went on a field trip and the black kids were not allowed to participate. Or something like that. I’m colorblind, so maybe I got it backwards. But still.
Of course, we are all happy that the would-be Times Square bomber was captured. In an odd twist, it turns out he was an Islamic fanatic from Pakistan. Because as we all must surely know by now, it is Tea Party adherents who pose the real threat of terrorism.
Speaking of terrorism, there has been some concern that maybe the boys from TSA let their guard down. But no worries, our airport security is the capable hands of true professionals like these. They have a BIG job to do, so let’s not be DICKS about it, ok?
Hmm, I do so miss planet Earth.
Yoja of the week
Another Friday, another yoja. Allow me to introduce Ms. Lee Chae Yeon.
And here she is performing her hit single “Two of Us” .
And they wonder why no one reads the newspaper anymore…
Spin like this is a “news” story makes you wonder.
Bottom line, more than 7 in 10 Americans do not see the Tea Party as racist. But that’s not a story, is it?