Alright, not going to lie to you internet. I've been super busy with life and I've been a bad blogger. On one hand, I've been busy doing small things here and there to prepare to go back to my native USA. On another hand, after working most nights I haven't felt much like blogging. In the grasp of another hand, I'm better at making short, crappy video blogs than typing. On the palm of a fourth hand here are some of those videos:
Awhile back, my coworker and DJ extraordinaire did a lil' Drum and Bass shin-dig in Itaewon, Seoul.
Some moons or possibly fortnights ago, I partied it up in Hongdae, Seoul to welcome back a friend to Korea and also went and saw the national museum in Seoul.
Why, on that same weekend, I even made an instructional video on how I like my nachos.
Way back for summer break, I spent some time in the town I started my time in Korea at. Mokpo.
And why just today I went for a lil' hike up Bukhansan.
Stay tuned for another barrage of these short videos. Also, stay classy, internet.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Blog Fortress author likes to draw pt. 1
Alright, I think I mentioned roughly after the blog colosseum I'd put up some drawings/sketches I've done. Well, here it comes!
Now to answer a long question that's plagued mankind for ages:
Who's in the house?
Lock your doors at night!
Oh, the horror!
Now to answer a long question that's plagued mankind for ages:
Who's in the house?
Lock your doors at night!
Oh, the horror!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
My time in Korea, Past, Present and Future. Part 1
When I came to Korea many years ago, (It’s nearly been three years, wow,) I brought with me a digital camera. I used it to take photos of everything I could see while I was exploring Mokpo, and other cities in Korea.
During a trip to Busan, I was foolish and walked along the beach. A big wave came and broke the camera for good.
This collection of photos that I’ve recently uploaded to flickr come from my first year in Korea. They were all taken while I was still living in Mokpo. I should probably have blogged about this ages ago, but better late than never, right?
The first photo is some of my friends from when I made my first trek up to Seoul. We rented a minivan and packed as many as we could into it and drove up north. It’s weird to look at these photos now that I’m nearing the end of this adventure in Korea; a couple of years later. From left to right, Bob, Luke, (I can’t remember her name, but Luke does), Roger, Susan and John.
I haven’t seen or heard from Bob in over a year. He was fun to play cards with.
From time to time, I still run into Luke here in Korea. We hang out and catch up.
Roger and Susan haven’t been together for a long time. A lot has changed between them and with our friendships since the taking of this photo, but this isn’t the place to discuss that.
I hear from John once in a blue moon. I enjoyed being friends while he was still in Mokpo. I’m under the impression he’s on to bigger and better things than the ESL racket.
When I lived in Mokpo, all of them were my close friends. When you’re living in a town with a small community of English speakers, you get to know each other fairly well. Overseas, you get tight with people because you’re all each other’s got. At least that’s how it was in Mokpo when I was there. I’ve found when I moved to the big city, people tend to be clique-ier and making friends requires more effort than simply seeing another foreigner on the street and then going for a drink.
Here is a photo of the Hard Rock Café in Itaewon, Seoul while it was still open. The café hadn’t been open in months, so I’ve been told.
My father came out to Korea, and this is us at a park in Daegu, South Korea.
While my father was in town, we had rented a car and drove around to find a lighthouse near Mokpo. One thing we saw was a massive ship-building crane. This photograph doesn’t do scale any justice. It was bigger than a factory.
En route to the lighthouse, we found an abandoned bunker by the side of the road and chose to check it out.
My father and I at the lighthouse. I was considering shaving my beard off, but then I saw this less than picturesque photo of me clean shaven but unkempt from napping in a car.
I’ve decided to go with a goatee…
Moving along, well after my father left Korea, I went on a day trip to the city of Wando, near Mokpo, for a “Slow Walking Festival”. Just in time for the flowers to bloom.
We didn’t have nearly enough time before our tour group shuffled us around and back home, but at least the whole day was free to us and paid by the Wando tourism board or something like that.
Much later, the crew and I went on a trip to Busan. This is where my first camera dies. From left to right, Yours Truly, John, Reha, Susan and Roger.
We couldn’t find a motel that had enough rooms for all of us near a beach, so we broke down and got a hotel, right on Gwangalli beach, one of the two big beaches in Busan.
We went into a bar with a live singer, and my friend Roger decided to show off his singing skills.
Aye, the sea is a merciless mistress. This is the last shot before my ol’ camera took a drink in the Ocean.
I’ve since upgraded to a waterproof camera. Not as good of a zoom, but it’s a good point and shoot.
Here are some more photos from before my camera died, do note that I intend on adding more photos as I find them. Photos
This really feels like the cliff's notes of a cliff's notes of my first year in Korea. The follow-up post will have more details and photos.
I've left out a ton of things, like the people who initially got me to Korea, Mia and Dylan. I left out a lot of photos of Mokpo. I plan on doing another post about my time in Mokpo soon!
Here are some more photos from before my camera died, do note that I intend on adding more photos as I find them. Photos
This really feels like the cliff's notes of a cliff's notes of my first year in Korea. The follow-up post will have more details and photos.
I've left out a ton of things, like the people who initially got me to Korea, Mia and Dylan. I left out a lot of photos of Mokpo. I plan on doing another post about my time in Mokpo soon!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
rainy day links.
Hello there internet, it's been a long time since I've posted anything. What can I say? IRL things have kept me fairly busy these past few weeks and weekends.
Here, have a few links that I've accumulated to share on a rainy day.
Odd staged photos of Kim Jong Il.
Photos which illustrate the tragedy that is hover hands.
How I came to work at the Wendy's.
Here, have a few links that I've accumulated to share on a rainy day.
Odd staged photos of Kim Jong Il.
Photos which illustrate the tragedy that is hover hands.
How I came to work at the Wendy's.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Murdoc came to Korea
Well there internetland, my friend Murdoc came out from home to visit me for a little over a week.
I made sure to keep him busy. Especially and when he woke me up on Saturday earlier than I had been expecting him.
We went to Insadong, a nice little artsy/touristy neighborhood in Seoul.
I showed him one of my favorite tea houses, and a Buddhist temple.
Then we walked to Gyeongbeokgong, an old palace in Korea. From there, we followed Jongno Daero until we made our way to Cheonggyecheong, which is a massive man-made river park in the middle of Seoul. We even walked up to a spot where a piece of the original Berlin Wall now stands. From there, I asked him if he knew Namsan Tower, and he asked me, Where is Namsan Tower?
It's not far from the truth to say that became his favorite song during the trip, and he noted that it sounded very much like this gem:
After going up Namsan Tower, we went to Itaewon and I showed him a few of the local watering holes. Finally, jetlag overcame him after his third drink, and I nearly had to carry him home. Thankfully, a taxi and subway train helped for the bulk of the journey.
On Sunday, we were hellbent on checking out some of Incheon, the downtown of which is closer than the bustling South Korean capital. We decided to check out Chinatown, and as luck would have it one of my friends out here, Cece, had planned to meet up with her Korean friends who knew the area well. We arrived in Chinatown and proceeded to eat a feast of Jajjangmyeon and Mapa Dubu. Our Korean friends then walked us around Chinatown and around Jayu Park where an impressive statue of General MacArthur now stands commemorating his efforts during the Korean War. We even stumbled upon an art gallery, and a street fair before going to a theater to see the recently released "Source Code." After that, we went to an arcade and had dakgalbi, one of my favorite Korean dishes. Ol' Murdoc got his first taste of the delicious Korean liquor, soju as well. We headed back to my apartment and made plans for the rest of the week.
Unfortunately, I'd be working in the afternoon to evenings at my private after-school academy. So I wouldn't be able to join in on all the Korean adventures with Murdoc. Knowing this, Murdoc was equipped with a metro card which works on bus, cab and subway train; a spare key to my place; a phrasebook; and a pre-paid cell phone.
During the week while I was away he went back to Insadong, tried his luck at the Yongsan electronics market at the station and even watched one of those Starcraft matches that gets put on tv 'round here. He made a pilgrimage to the DMZ as well. Murdoc also went to a tattoo convention near Gangnam.
On Monday night, we shared a few brews and spent a great deal of time catching up, now that there was no sightseeing to be taken care of. We went to an arcade and then back home.
Much of the weeknights were spent in this fashion. Murdoc would see the sights during the day and return to my place before I returned from work. He found winning a Rillakuma bear from a crane game deceptively hard, and wasn't able to be the victor in many matches against a local machine.
We went to a pub quiz together on Thursday night, and even had some Japanese rice wine afterwards with a few bites of Buldak.
Friday night, we met up at Sindorim, at the Techno Mart (electronics mall, not a rave center, sadly) to see the trick art exhibit where we were encouraged to take photos of ourselves in several hilarious poses.We met up with some other friends, Wade and Maresha, who're also from my area.
Shortly after the art gallery closed, we jumped on a train to the coveted Hongdae, a college neighborhood renowned among expats and locals alike for its' vibrant club scene. Now, dear reader, when I say that we partied all night, I mean that we were dancing and carrying on from the moment we got off the cab until the first subway train in the morning brought us back home. There is no bastardly last call in Korea. If you want to keep partying, there's no puritanical law holding you back from having an amazing time and arbitrarily telling you to stop your fun. Of course, you're also not protected from getting hardly any sleep and paying more for it the next day. Gotta take the bad with the good, deal with it or just stay home, I say.
When we got up in the early afternoon Saturday from Friday night's fun, we were determined to make the most of our last day together. Murdoc had suggested that we return to Insadong, where he had gone before during the week and found a great traditional restaurant that he'd read about in a guidebook. Our friend Cece joined us again on this leg of the adventure. We also made sure to find him some pajeon, or Korean pancake. A little Dongdongju to wash it down didn't hurt either.
At the traditional restaurant, where we were served a delicious variety of kimchis and other vegetarian dishes, there were traditional dances performed.
When we left Insadong, we headed back to Bupyeong for a few quick rounds of Starcraft. I got devastated by Murdoc's tactics in both games. Perhaps he picked up some skills when he went to Yongsan during the week to watch a match that would later be televised on Korean national broadcasts.
We tried to win a rillakuma bear one more time, but then Murdoc settled for a cell phone charm from a nearby store.
With that, we walked back to my apartment and set alarms for the morning.
When morning came, too soon I might add, we said our farewells and Murdoc made the slow trek to his home. Subway to airport railroad, to airport, to airport to home.
I look forward to returning to the US in the Fall and seeing my friends and family again on US soil, but I also plan on enjoying the Summer I've got inbetween now and then.
Photatoes here!
Blogger's Note: When I'm less tired I might go over this post and embed photos throughout the writing, but I'm happy with this as it is.
I made sure to keep him busy. Especially and when he woke me up on Saturday earlier than I had been expecting him.
We went to Insadong, a nice little artsy/touristy neighborhood in Seoul.
I showed him one of my favorite tea houses, and a Buddhist temple.
Then we walked to Gyeongbeokgong, an old palace in Korea. From there, we followed Jongno Daero until we made our way to Cheonggyecheong, which is a massive man-made river park in the middle of Seoul. We even walked up to a spot where a piece of the original Berlin Wall now stands. From there, I asked him if he knew Namsan Tower, and he asked me, Where is Namsan Tower?
It's not far from the truth to say that became his favorite song during the trip, and he noted that it sounded very much like this gem:
After going up Namsan Tower, we went to Itaewon and I showed him a few of the local watering holes. Finally, jetlag overcame him after his third drink, and I nearly had to carry him home. Thankfully, a taxi and subway train helped for the bulk of the journey.
On Sunday, we were hellbent on checking out some of Incheon, the downtown of which is closer than the bustling South Korean capital. We decided to check out Chinatown, and as luck would have it one of my friends out here, Cece, had planned to meet up with her Korean friends who knew the area well. We arrived in Chinatown and proceeded to eat a feast of Jajjangmyeon and Mapa Dubu. Our Korean friends then walked us around Chinatown and around Jayu Park where an impressive statue of General MacArthur now stands commemorating his efforts during the Korean War. We even stumbled upon an art gallery, and a street fair before going to a theater to see the recently released "Source Code." After that, we went to an arcade and had dakgalbi, one of my favorite Korean dishes. Ol' Murdoc got his first taste of the delicious Korean liquor, soju as well. We headed back to my apartment and made plans for the rest of the week.
Unfortunately, I'd be working in the afternoon to evenings at my private after-school academy. So I wouldn't be able to join in on all the Korean adventures with Murdoc. Knowing this, Murdoc was equipped with a metro card which works on bus, cab and subway train; a spare key to my place; a phrasebook; and a pre-paid cell phone.
During the week while I was away he went back to Insadong, tried his luck at the Yongsan electronics market at the station and even watched one of those Starcraft matches that gets put on tv 'round here. He made a pilgrimage to the DMZ as well. Murdoc also went to a tattoo convention near Gangnam.
On Monday night, we shared a few brews and spent a great deal of time catching up, now that there was no sightseeing to be taken care of. We went to an arcade and then back home.
Much of the weeknights were spent in this fashion. Murdoc would see the sights during the day and return to my place before I returned from work. He found winning a Rillakuma bear from a crane game deceptively hard, and wasn't able to be the victor in many matches against a local machine.
We went to a pub quiz together on Thursday night, and even had some Japanese rice wine afterwards with a few bites of Buldak.
Friday night, we met up at Sindorim, at the Techno Mart (electronics mall, not a rave center, sadly) to see the trick art exhibit where we were encouraged to take photos of ourselves in several hilarious poses.We met up with some other friends, Wade and Maresha, who're also from my area.
Shortly after the art gallery closed, we jumped on a train to the coveted Hongdae, a college neighborhood renowned among expats and locals alike for its' vibrant club scene. Now, dear reader, when I say that we partied all night, I mean that we were dancing and carrying on from the moment we got off the cab until the first subway train in the morning brought us back home. There is no bastardly last call in Korea. If you want to keep partying, there's no puritanical law holding you back from having an amazing time and arbitrarily telling you to stop your fun. Of course, you're also not protected from getting hardly any sleep and paying more for it the next day. Gotta take the bad with the good, deal with it or just stay home, I say.
When we got up in the early afternoon Saturday from Friday night's fun, we were determined to make the most of our last day together. Murdoc had suggested that we return to Insadong, where he had gone before during the week and found a great traditional restaurant that he'd read about in a guidebook. Our friend Cece joined us again on this leg of the adventure. We also made sure to find him some pajeon, or Korean pancake. A little Dongdongju to wash it down didn't hurt either.
At the traditional restaurant, where we were served a delicious variety of kimchis and other vegetarian dishes, there were traditional dances performed.
When we left Insadong, we headed back to Bupyeong for a few quick rounds of Starcraft. I got devastated by Murdoc's tactics in both games. Perhaps he picked up some skills when he went to Yongsan during the week to watch a match that would later be televised on Korean national broadcasts.
We tried to win a rillakuma bear one more time, but then Murdoc settled for a cell phone charm from a nearby store.
With that, we walked back to my apartment and set alarms for the morning.
When morning came, too soon I might add, we said our farewells and Murdoc made the slow trek to his home. Subway to airport railroad, to airport, to airport to home.
I look forward to returning to the US in the Fall and seeing my friends and family again on US soil, but I also plan on enjoying the Summer I've got inbetween now and then.
Photatoes here!
Blogger's Note: When I'm less tired I might go over this post and embed photos throughout the writing, but I'm happy with this as it is.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Juuuuuuurrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssiiiiiiiiccccc Ppppaaaaaarrrrrkk
I've got a friend in Korea from back home visiting. While I slowly upload photos to my flickr account of old and new, I thought it was time for an important update.
Step 1:
Allow this sucker to buffer.
Jurassic Park Theme (1000% Slower) by birdfeeder
Step 2:
Make sure you have no other distractions, no conversations, nothing else but listening to this track. Hide the phone, mute the TV, get rid of the pets and children.
Step 3:
Press play and bow down to whatever deities you subscribe to. Enjoy the EPIC ambient tune.
It's going to be fifty minutes of the universe proclaiming a heavenly, YES!!!!
Step 1:
Allow this sucker to buffer.
Jurassic Park Theme (1000% Slower) by birdfeeder
Step 2:
Make sure you have no other distractions, no conversations, nothing else but listening to this track. Hide the phone, mute the TV, get rid of the pets and children.
Step 3:
Press play and bow down to whatever deities you subscribe to. Enjoy the EPIC ambient tune.
It's going to be fifty minutes of the universe proclaiming a heavenly, YES!!!!
Recap of Blog Collosseum
Well fellow netizens, followers, and other interested parties: it’s been awhile since the ol’ blog fortress walls were glistening with a brand new post.
Just a quick re-cap:
I really liked doing the blog collosseum posts. It was an ungodly amount of fun to make and draw the pictures, and put them up. Getting feedback from friends through facebook or skype, and even comments in real life really encouraged me to keep it up.
Were I to do Blog collosseum again I think I’d have to draw the sketches further in advance than the day of the posting so that I could really show off my “skills.” I’m thinking I’d like to spend more than two-to-five minutes on a frame.
The story with the Tiger man really just came to me and I just rolled with it for the sake of keeping things from becoming too serious.
I’ve always had problems drawing realistic people and animals, so I strived to combine a cartoonish aesthetic with the dark, grim world of the blog collosseum.
Seriously though, when I did Blog Collosseum, it opened up my eyes to what I had probably ought to do with my blog. Turn it into an art blog and post my artwork. I like drawing and I make silly cartoon animals on whiteboards all day long at work when I’m trying to explain words to my ESL students. Why not roll with it?
I’m regretting not going for it and taking more drawing/sketching classes while in High School / College. I’m trying to learn how to shade with pen. I’ve been fascinated by seeing many sketches drawn in ink which use closer strokes of the pen to show darkness and less frequent strokes to denote lighter subjects. It’s my goal to pick that ability up.
Well, until next time.
Just a quick re-cap:
I really liked doing the blog collosseum posts. It was an ungodly amount of fun to make and draw the pictures, and put them up. Getting feedback from friends through facebook or skype, and even comments in real life really encouraged me to keep it up.
Were I to do Blog collosseum again I think I’d have to draw the sketches further in advance than the day of the posting so that I could really show off my “skills.” I’m thinking I’d like to spend more than two-to-five minutes on a frame.
The story with the Tiger man really just came to me and I just rolled with it for the sake of keeping things from becoming too serious.
I’ve always had problems drawing realistic people and animals, so I strived to combine a cartoonish aesthetic with the dark, grim world of the blog collosseum.
Seriously though, when I did Blog Collosseum, it opened up my eyes to what I had probably ought to do with my blog. Turn it into an art blog and post my artwork. I like drawing and I make silly cartoon animals on whiteboards all day long at work when I’m trying to explain words to my ESL students. Why not roll with it?
I’m regretting not going for it and taking more drawing/sketching classes while in High School / College. I’m trying to learn how to shade with pen. I’ve been fascinated by seeing many sketches drawn in ink which use closer strokes of the pen to show darkness and less frequent strokes to denote lighter subjects. It’s my goal to pick that ability up.
Well, until next time.
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