The Week We View: January 4th

-The Chinese government is cracking down on pornography. Government agencies will work on a campaign to "purify the Internet's cultural environment and protect the healthy development of minors." Does this really make sense in a country with that many people? If they can really manage to stamp out pornography, look for China's population to triple over the next 50 porn-less years.

-In honor of the passing of George W's presidency, AP News released a list of the top "Bushisms" from the past 8-years. My favorite, from 2004: ""Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." I, for one, will miss you, Georgy Boy. Thanks for your service.

In fairness to Bush Boy, Democrat Caroline Kennedy is not much better with the English language. How about this lovely piece of prose from the daughter of JFK: "You know, I think, really, um, this is sort of a unique moment, both in our, you know, in our country's history and in, you know, my own life, and, um, you know, we are facing, you know, unbelievable challenges." She said, "you know" 30 times in a two and a half minute speech. You know?

-Looks like Al Franken is going to get the seat in Minneapolis. This after a grueling recount showing that of the 3 million or so ballots cast, 225 of them liked Al Franken better --or simply marked the ballot wrong. Democracy in action, baby.

-Sad to see that Apple's Steve Jobs is suffering from health problems. Few men have had more influence on our lives when it comes to technology. This could be the final showdown between Bill Gates and Jobs as one of them goes to find out whether god uses Mac or PC.

-Scientist at the University of Arkansas will begin testing a breast cancer vaccine. Nice to see such promising developments coming out of Arkansas; a state whose motto is: "Well, at least we're not Mississippi!"

-Geez... you gotta feel for John Travolta. His 16-year-old son, Jett --who has a history of seizures-- had one over New Year's and died when he fell and cracked his head on the bathtub. Tragic way to start year.

-For the first time in several months a noted but little known blogger took a few days off over the new year. Why this is news I am not sure, but there it is.

-The U.S. Army announced it will relax weight restrictions on new recruits. Upon hearing the news there was a mad rush by high school boys to Taco Bell looking to ensure they exceeded the new requirement.

-Former president and father of the future former president, George H.W. Bush is pushing for his other son, Jeb Bush, to be the next president. While I think Jeb would do much better than his brother, doesn't George Sr. seem a tad greedy? One son is well above the quota, I'd say. The elder Bush had a great line during the interview, "Just because you're an old guy, you don't need to sit around sucking your thumb drooling in the corner." Who gave him that idea?

-A bit more controversy leading into the inaguration as to whether Rick Warren will invoke the name of Jesus Christ during the prayer. There was criticism and even a law suit when the name was invoked during the 2001 swearing in of George W. While I certainly do not want to hear it at the swearing in, I do expect to hear the name from Barrack Obama when he realizes what a mess he is inheriting.

-And finally, a woman in London gave birth on the subway. Though the baby can't speak yet, I was hoping to get her take on the state of economic affairs. Did she in fact see any light at the end of the tunnel?

Day 2: The world is still here

I am happy to report that the world is still here. While you are there, I am here and everyone is wherever, at least we can safely say that we are all somewhere on the second day of 2009.

The doomsayers, will have to wait a few more days, months, years or at least until I have exceeded my credit limit.

I am on vacation now in California visiting my family, and will head to Florida next week for 10 days of the same. Haven't been in the states for 2 years after having been in Asia, writing, teaching and spending way too much time blogging.

Things are a bit different than when I left. My father lives in Cupertino, which is in the center of Silicon Valley. The most noticeable change here is that there are many more Chinese in the neighborhood than before. My brother says they are about 50% of the total population now. They come to Cupertino for the good schools and engineering jobs.

The place is much quieter and much cleaner than I remember. Talking to some of my old friends (mostly white folks and Mexicans) I can hear a bit of disdain in their voices for the Chinese "occupation." I laugh and say, "Well, this place was run down before. You should be thankful the Chinese have come in and cleaned the place up!"

A look of despondence washes over their face at the truth of the statement.

In the 60's many American urban areas experienced what was known as "White Flight." White folks uncomfortable with the increasingly diverse cities, fled --along with their money-- to the outskirts of town. Now they are leaving because they can't afford to stay, as the influx of foreign money has driven the housing prices up.

And the Chinese want nothing to do with the native white folks. They have their own stores, their own places of worship, and their own little world in which they feel little need to associate with the natives.

Ahhh, the sweet irony. Seems so similar to the Europeans going west, pushing out the Native Americans. What was then going around is now coming around.

To those of you who made it through the year and to those of you who didn't wherever you are...

Happy New Year~

Doonesbury takes a nice shot at Fox News on Iraq

Garry Trudeau, the creator of Doonesbury, has been picking on everybody who is anybody for 38 years. He is like mainstream punk --just barely tolerated-- in the hundreds of major papers that run him daily. Remember when he offered $10,000 to anyone who could prove that George W. served in the military?

Trudeau apparently follow's Dorothy Parker's words on leaving no turn un-stoned.

This week, he takes brilliantly veiled shots at Fox News for their Conservative-slant towards the Iraq War. Credit must be given to Fox, though. Whereas CNN skirts around the fact that they are Liberal, Fox throws it right in your face. You gotta respect that.



If you haven't read Doonesbury with its cast of 24 recurring characters, then start. It is like a history lesson from the days of Nixon until now. Here is a great one on Sarah Palin and the Republicans. And this Sunday strip a while back on Creationist is one of my all-time favs.

While Doonesbury surely leans left, he generally spares no one. Obama is up next-- this is gonna be real good.

Tuesday Flashback: Stevie Wonder 1972

The first time I heard Stevie Wonder I was a 10-year-old ripping through my dad's old record collection. The album was Talking Book. A monumental piece of artistry that featured, "Superstition," "You and I," and my personal favorite, "Big Brother" -- a spooky, Orwellian tune that floats between criticism of the governmental power structure and criticism of those who drop to their knees to genuflect to that power out of sheer awe. Deep stuff for 1972.

The album crossed my mind recently after watching High Fidelity, with John Cusack and Jack Black, which, like Talking Book, ends with the song "I Believe."

I believe I will leave it at that. Try the links and let them speak to you themselves. Here is a cool clip to get you started: Stevie Wonder live on Sesame Street doing a full-length, live version of "Superstition."

Check out the 18-year old, Ray Parker Jr. plucking away on the red Gibson. Legend has it Stevie called Ray when he was an up and coming studio musician to personally ask him to play on Talking Book. Ray didn't believe it was Stevie and hung up the phone. Only after Stevie called back and sang for him did Ray realize what a huge mistake he almost made.

Then again, had he not taken the call, he might have never written that terrible "Ghostbusters" song. But wait, we can place blame on Huey Lewis as well, since Ray lifted the main riff off of "I Wanna New Drug."

Bush to sign foolish pact with Georgia before leaving office

In a move that defies all logic, the United States and Georgia will sign a strategic partnership agreement on January 4th in Washington.

If the Charlie Daniels Band was wrong, and the Devil really went to the country of Georgia and not the state, then we are inking a deal with him now. As the American government remains hell bent on provoking Russia with continuing military expansion at her borders.

The Russian response to the pact bordered on comical. They see the Georgians as what they are: pawns in the American oil strategy, and they literally think the Georgians are insane to even risk such an alliance.

"We suspected that our Georgian colleague had problems in his brains," said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, when speaking of his Georgian counterpart, President Mikheil Saakashvili. "But we did not realize that it would be as serious as that."

The mental stability of American strategist is certainly up for debate as well. Why are they so determined to pick this fight? They know how sensitive an issue this is with Russia. What other reaction should be expected from a country that has for centuries suffered devastating invasions through its eastern border?

Even the Europeans are backing away from Washington on the recent pact with the Ukraine and now with Georgia, and are attempting to re-engage Russia directly through more positive channels.

Who knows? Perhaps this is part a grand scheme of such diabolical genius that only strategic planners at the Pentagon can comprehend its depths. But as far as I can tell, this whole creep towards the Russian border is little different than pissing on the place mat of your neighbor's front door.

Like the Russians or not, they are there and will be for a long time. Let's hope Obama knows how to be a better neighbor.

The Week We View: Dec. 27

-Chip Saltsman, a candidate to chair the Republican National Committee, is in a bit of a mess after sending out CD's of the parody song, “Barack the Magic Negro" as Christmas presents. The song, which was aired on the Rush Limbaugh show during the campaign, pushes the limits of good taste, but is actually quite funny. I am thinking of penning one of my own called, "Chip of Fools."

-Oahu, Hawaii had a power failure that cut electricity to the island's population on Saturday --including President-elect Barack Obama. While reporters debated the political correctness of calling it a "blackout" or not, they were shocked when Obama emerged from the darkness with a halo glowing over his head.

-Santa Clause came and went and still I didn't get the top item from my list: Guess I have to wait until inauguration day until Georgy Boy is gone from office.

-Pastor Rick Warren was spotted shopping in a West Hollywood book store famous for its support of several gay causes. While the Warren people say he was simply reaching out to the gay community, others (such as myself) see it as simply a cheap publicity stunt. I wonder what books Warren bought. Perhaps something researching why Jesus was hanging out with those 12 other long haired guys all the time and insisting they kneel to pray?

-Oscar nomination ballots are in the mail. I haven't received mine yet so I will just make my nomination here: Heath Ledger best supporting actor, hands down.

-Facebook has banned photos of mothers breastfeeding their babies. A group has been started, called, Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene! There is an online petition if you want to sign it or post a photo of breastfeeding. Nearly 3,000 photos have already been posted. I too submitted my own photo, but it was rejected because the woman wasn't my mother and I am not a baby.

-The last major distributor of VHS tapes has gone out of business, marking the end of an era that began back in the late 1970's. Just for the record: I have outlived 8-Track, Vinyl, Beta, Cassette, and now VHS. I rule!

-The 46-year-old Evander Holyfield failed in his attempt at another boxing title this week. Good thing. Like the VHS tapes, it was long past time for him to go. Yet, unlike VHS tapes, as hard as he may try, Evander can't rewind.

-CIA agents are offering Viagra along with other gifts to win over Afghan warlords in the war against Taliban insurgents. One warlord was so quoted as saying, "This is great. Sometimes after a little too much opium, I find it difficult to give my goat the loving she needs."

-Five Church of England bishops blamed the government for the financial crisis, accusing it of being "morally corrupt." Do I really need a punchline here?

-Great Britain's Prince Edward is being accused by animal rights groups of using a large stick to beat a dog. This lead to speculation that a trip to South Korea was in the offing for the royal son.

-Warner Bros. is holding back release of the Dark Knight DVD in China due to "cultural sensitivities to some elements of the film." Apparently the studio is worried that the the scene with Batman going to Hong Kong to capture a Chinese criminal would upset Chinese movie goers as well as Chinese sensors. This move has been applauded by Chinese bootleggers who have had the DVD on sale in the streets for the past several months.

-And finally, a reigning Mexican beauty queen was arrested with suspected gang members in a truck filled with guns and ammunition in Mexico this week. Gives new meaning to the term "sex bomb," eh?

The decline of western civilization

I was checking out Yahoo!'s top ten search requests for 2008 and found myself a bit disappointed in Americans and what they consider important. The list goes like this:

1. Britney Spears
2. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
3. Barack Obama
4. Miley Cryrus
5. RuneScape
6. Jessica Alba
7. Naruto
8. Lindsey Lohan
9. Angelina Jolie
10. American Idol

It is a list of has-beens, wannabes, online games and, Barack. One out of four ain't bad, I suppose.

While looking over the list it got me ruminating on a story I heard several years ago about the development of the California Community College system. One of the hopes when they were putting it together in the 1960's was that in the future (now) Americans would have an abundance of free time in their developed economy and would want to pursue intellectual pleasures such as philosophy, the arts and other such mind expanding endeavors. Geez, what were those folks smoking?

And here we are: Britney Spears and morons "wrestling" in their underwear are what we as a society consider to be the paramount pursuits of our free time.

Happy F******* New Year. ^^

South Korea: The Year in Review

This is reprinted from my article in The Korea Herald.

It has been an eventful year in "Sparkling" Korea. Here is a light-hearted look back at the highs, the lows and all else in between.

Korea kicked off 2008 with a new president. Lee Myung-bak was inaugurated on Feb. 25, pledging to boost the Korean economy from the 13th largest in the world to 7th, to raise the average yearly salary to $40,000 a year, and achieve 7 percent annual growth. He nicknamed his economic plan, "747" -similar to Boeing's famous airliner of the same name. In retrospect it was perhaps not the best analogy, considering that the Korean economy - and nearly every other economy in the world - has crashed.

In February, a tragic fire burnt down the wooden structure atop the historic Namdaemun gate in Seoul. Fire starter, Chae Jong-ki, 69, was convicted of violating the "Cultural Properties Protection Law" and sentenced to 10 years in prison. For centuries it has been the Japanese who thoughtlessly burned down Korea's cultural treasures. Now Koreans enjoy the freedom to do so themselves. My, how far the world has come.

In March, South Korea held its first-ever trial by jury as part of several reform measures aimed at increasing public confidence in the judicial system. For Korea's first "trial" trial, a nine-member jury in Daegu heard the case of a 27-year-old man accused of assaulting a 70-year-old woman while burgling her home.

The jury's "guilty" decision was non-binding, though, as the traditional three-judge panel had the final say. Apparently, the government has judged that the people are still not ready to judge, although some might say this shows a lack of judgment by the government.

In April, Koreans cheered as a Russian space capsule carried Korea's first astronaut, Lee So-yun, into space. It was also a month that saw health officials dispatch 200 soldiers to chicken farms across the country to slaughter more than 100,000 chickens following the outbreak of bird flu. It was a monumental month when Koreans expanded their reach to the stars while at the same time taking a stand against chickens.

In June, a puzzled world looked on as tens of thousands of South Koreans demonstrated against the government's decision to import U.S. beef. A health scare ensued, based on wild claims that American beef contained the "Mad Cow" virus.

The at times violent protests continued for well over a month, reaching a peak of 700,000 people gathering in Seoul. On the bright side, social scientists now have a new phenomenon to study: "Mad People Disease." The symptoms include irrational reasoning, ignorance of scientific fact and an unyielding desire to gather in the streets for no apparent reason. Oh, something for you trivia buffs: The historical tally of people dying from American beef worldwide? Zero.

July gets off to a bad start when a North Korean soldier fatally shoots a South Korean tourist at a mountain resort in the North. The tourist, Park Wang-ja, had gone for a stroll from her hotel at 4:30 a.m., somehow wandering 1 kilometer into an off-limits military area.

It was there that she was shot twice in the back as she fled from a North Korean soldier. Surely, there must have been something in the travel brochure about not trying to feed the North Koreans.

Also in July, arguments with Japan over the disputed Dokdo islands reached a low-point.

Korean government officials retaliated against Japanese claims by removing Japanese condom advertisements from subway stations in Seoul. Following the incident, I scanned the paper for several days longing for a Korean government official saying something to the effect of, "Screw Japan and their condoms!" Or from the Japanese saying, "Much like Dokdo, the Koreans will no longer be adequately protected."

In August, Korean athletes brought home a spectacular 31 medals from the Olympic Games in Beijing. The most heralded of those medals was the gold in baseball, where the scrappy Korean team went undefeated in eight games against the world's best amateurs. After clinching the gold against Cuba in game seven, the team didn't let up - tromping baseball powerhouse the Netherlands 10-0 in the final game. Take that, Hiddink!

September played host to this year's celebration of the Korean Thanksgiving Day, Chuseok. According to a survey by the Korea Transport Institute, 53.4 percent of Koreans traveled to their hometowns to commemorate the occasion.

The estimated 46 million trips caused massive congestion on Korea's roadways leading me to speculate that people were most thankful this year for actually reaching their destination before the holiday was over.

The month of October witnessed a bizarre innovation in the method of murder.

A 31-year-old man, identified only by his surname Jeong, killed six people by first setting fire to his apartment in southern Seoul, and then stabbing residents with a sashimi knife as they fled the building. While Jeong told police he went on the rampage because "everybody looks down on me," some nationalists placed the bulk of the blame on the Japanese for inventing the sashimi knife.

As the weather turned cold in November, an even deeper chill spread across the economy.

Exports dropped 18.3 percent from the same time the previous year, and the won hit an 11-year low of 1,513 against the dollar. The Bank of Korea also released estimates that the economy would grow by only 2 percent in 2009. No word from the Lee administration on a new "18-1,500-2" economic plan.

Also in November, North Korea announced it would seal its borders with the south. To counter this, South Koreans increased the practice of sending balloons carrying anti-Kim Jong-il pamphlets over the border. Should there be a shortage of balloons, people can always inflate Japanese-brand condoms to further enrage the North Korean leadership.

In December, South Korean actress Ok So-ri fought in vain to overturn a ban on adultery. After admitting in court to having an affair, Ok was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. Her lover also received a six-month suspended sentence.

Lastly, in December the government announced ambitious economic plans. They are aimed at creating 190,000 new jobs in a 4-year, $10.35 billion bid to improve the country's four main rivers and their adjacent areas.

While I applaud this measure, I can't imagine it taking only four years. South Korea's labor force has one of the highest university graduation rates in the world. How many people with a bachelor's degree are willing to rebuild rivers for a living?

Happy New Year everyone.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Ho Ho Ho and all that stuff.

Going to take a few days off and enjoy some serious eggnog, good food and all that goes with it. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and forget everything in the world, except all that is special in your little part of it.

Obama makes appeal to the 'desperate housewives'

Well, it was only a matter of time before Barack "Beefcake" Obama made an appeal to every demographic in the political spectrum. It was inevitable that he would make his case before that most special of all: The desperate housewives.

For comparison, I threw in this file photo of Bill Clinton.












Whose your daddy now Bill? I just hope Idle Wordship doesn't get flagged for indecent content.

Bush goes light on drug offenses in latest round of pardons

Glad to see that Georgy-boy is pardoning a fair number of drug offenders. The fact that he is doing so speaks to the insane nature of a legal system where you can drink a fifth of Jack Daniels, do something moronic in public and spend just a night in jail. But, if you take a hit off a joint and consume mass amounts of Cheetos in the comfort of your home you can get a couple months behind bars.

There was a wide assortment of other pardons ranging from the American who illegally helped arm the Israelis during their fight to establish a Jewish state over 60 years ago, to a series of embezzlers, counterfeiters, frauds and conspirators.

Tis' the season for giving to those who had some of their lives taken away. And in the case of drug offenders, for no good reason at all.

Obama tries to get the press drunk. Well, sort of.

Taking a break from his golf game while vacationing in his birthplace, Hawaii, Barack Obama suggested that the photo-pool stop taking pictures, relax and enjoy a cold one -- on his tab.

While none of them took him up on the offer, it is sure to inflame Republicans even further. There is no shortage of criticism of how the press treated Obama so kindly during the election, and now he is offering them free alcohol, too. Gives new meaning to the term "drunk with power." Or rather, getting drunk with power.

There is an interesting article in today's International Herald Tribune about Obama being an elusive target for the Republicans to criticize. His cabinet picks have been so bi-partisan that pinning him down ideologically seems an impossible task. And an ill-fated effort by the Republican National Committee to link Obama to the scandal with Governor Rod Blagojevich was even dismissed by his formal rival, Senator John McCain.

Could this be an answer to the question I posed in a recent post as to whether Obama would have Reagan's Teflon-like qualities where nothing negative seems to stick? While far too early to tell, the guy is certainly doing everything right. Is it possible for a honeymoon to last for 4 years? Very unlikely, but it certainly doesn't hurt to start it off in Hawaii, rather than the cold climes of D.C. Along with a little casual bribery to endear himself to the media.

One thing we are finding out about the man post election. He is exactly what he campaigned on. There have been so surprises. During the campaign it was easy to dismiss him as another "bridge-builder" (not of the Sarah Palin sort) seeking to garner votes with dreamy promises of bringing us all together as one. So far, we are getting exactly what we voted for. Well, at least 52.9% of us.

Tuesday Flashback: Ronald Reagan

Whether you respect his policies or not, Ronald Reagan was one of the most likable presidents to serve office. It is fun to joke about his age, but he was the kind of guy you wished was your grandfather. And for a country on the tail-end of 40 years standing toe-to-toe with the Soviets, he stepped in at just the right time --with the wit to make you laugh one moment, and the sternness to go down the street and kick the neighborhood bully's ass the next.

Check out this short clip of Reagan's take on the age issue from a presidential debate against Walter Mondale.

Here's a nice tribute to the man who, long before Obama, was also the president of "Hope."

Sarah Palin worries she didn't do enough interviews. Is she joking?