Something About Ceramics

This past Saturday I went to The 3rd World Ceramic Biennial in Icheon and The 8th Royal Ceramics Festival in Gwanju. Some friends from church and I tagged along with another English church in Daejeon. It was a good time but freaking hot. If you can wait for a good three and a half minutes the video on the right side of the page should start up. Venus had the best time of all. Before I left my apartment I put on a new role of toilet paper. When I got home I thought I had been robbed: my entire apartment was covered in toilet paper. Venus was sleeping in a big pile of it in the middle of the kitchen. I emptied two squirt guns on her that night. I put the pictures from the festival at this address: http://www.mikepeacock.com/ceramic_festival/

Something About Answers

I eagerly awaited the season finale to "Lost" this week to see if any of my questions about the shows plot could be answered. While some were answered I'm actually left with even more.

Question #1: Who and what are "The Other's"?

Answer: While we do get to actually see the other's we still don't know why they are on the island or what their intentions are. We had originally thought they were after Clair's baby but find out that they are actually after Walt. We also find out they are humans. Many people (including myself) thought they might be ghosts. The fact that they had to drive a motor boat out to the raft to get Walt shows the unlikelihood of the ghost theory. I'm pretty sure a ghost would just float out to the raft or "appear" out of nowhere to get Walt. The fact that they are in human form can lead us to believe that Ethan was one of their members. Considering the survivors killed Ethan I think it's unlikely he was a ghost (how do you kill a ghost with a gun?). Also, when the survivors on the raft turned on the radar, the ship that was approaching seemed to loose track of the raft and started heading away. After the survivors shot a flare the others then came to the raft. If a ghost is chasing you it's not going to loose you. These people aren't ghosts. That said, there is definitely SOMETHING supernatural on the island. Jack and Kate saw a black "blob" race by them. Everyone has heard the whispers in the forest. And what on earth was that thing that grabbed Locke and tried to drag him down that hole?

Question #2: What is in the hatch?

Answer: A ladder. New Question: Where does the ladder go?

Question #3: What do the numbers on the hatch mean?

Answer: Not given, but at least Hurly recognized them and tried to stop Jack and Locke from blowing it open.

While at least one of my questions was answered I'm left with even more after the finale.

New Question #1: How will the people who were on the raft get back to the island? The Others blew up the raft and took a shot at Sawyer. My estimates are that they were at sea for about 1 day. Given they had a decent rudder and sail I can guess they were traveling at a good pace. If it took a day to get there by boat it will take at least a day of swimming to get back to the island, which seems impossible.

New Question #2: Why do the others want Walt? We know he brings bad luck (as do most of the survivors) but why do they want him so bad?

New Question #3: Jack's idea of hiding in the hatch was short term; he expected the people on the raft to find help. Now that the raft is destroyed, it seems unlikely help will come. How will everyone live in the hatch? There doesn't seem to be any air supply or any supplies for that matter.

As you can see, this show has many questions that were and are still unanswered. The result is that pretty much every viewer has their own idea as to what is going on with the island. The best theory I've herd so far is that the island is a kind of Purgatory for the survivors. My guess is that over the next months there will be more and more theories to consider.

In other news, I'm going to watch Star Wars Episode III this afternoon. Hopefully my questions with this movie will actually be answered.

Something About The Weather

For the last few days in Nonsan the temperature has been an average 25 C. In Korea the temperature always feels hotter than the highs for the day. For example, if the weather man says it will be a high of 25 C you can almost guarantee it will feel like 33 C. The forecast for the next 5 days (according to Yahoo! Weather) shows highs of 28 C each day. Keep in mind this is still May! This morning Yahoo says it is 25 C in Daejeon but I am sure it is hotter. I am working up a sweat just typing this. In other news, I now have a priest in my Adult class. That means my adult class now consists of a Dentist, Psychiatrist, Psychiatric Nurse, Music Teacher and a Priest. They don't always make it to class but, when they do, what a party!

Something About Newsweek

I came across this posting on a blog today. As Newsweek retracted it's story about Koran abuses by the US military, Bush blamed Newsweek for giving America a bad image. The following post was in response to that comment:

"Once in power, NEWSWEEK failed to pick up on the intelligence that warned of the 9-11 attacks. Subsequent to 9-11, NEWSWEEK cooked the intelligence on Iraq that linked it to 9-11 and falsely verified its active weapons of mass destruction."NEWSWEEK ignored the advice of senior military advisers who warned that more troops would be needed to curb a post-hostilities insurgency, and denied that an major insurgency was in progress when it was clear that one already was."NEWSWEEK was singularly responsible for the lack of sufficient body and vehicle armor in the Iraq war, and for the pathetically slow response in supplying it once the shortfall was identified."NEWSWEEK wrote the Justice Department memorandums that led to the prisoner abuses at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, and led to the practice of "extraordinary rendition.""Exhibiting shameless hubris throughout its tenure, NEWSWEEK claimed that it never made a mistake because God was telling it what to do."

Something About Belinda Stronach

My entire apartment building heard a very loud, very English "What?????????" come from my apartment this morning. I had just read that Belinda Stronach, a lead Conservative representing Newmarket-Aurora, had defected to the Liberals. I have a few questions for Ms. Stronach.

1. Who made the decision for you to change sides? Your constituents elected you, a Conservative, to represent them. It is not your decision to make, it's the decision of your constituents. If you made this choice soley on your own on then you've made a mistake.

2. Why, when you decided privately to defect late last week, did you attend a secret Conservative election war meeting on the weekend? That is just plane malicious.

3. It is public knowledge that you are dating Peter McKay, Stephen Harper's right hand man in the Conservative party. Don't you think this might put a strain on your relationship?

4. Just what is it that Paul Martin promised you if you changed sides?

I really think Stronach's decision has set her up for an early retirement from politics. That's okay, Belinda. You can just go back to daddies billion dollar business when your finished.

Something About Fox

I always find it funny that The Simpson's, a liberal leaning television show, is owned and shown on Fox, a self admitted conservative (if not neo-conservative) television network. Sunday's episode (S16E21) showed just how different the show and the network are. On learning that Bart has just been suspended from school, Homer gives it to him straight:

"If you get kicked out of that one (new school) you go straight into the army, where you'll be sent straight to America's latest military quagmire. Where will it be? North Korea? Iran? Anything's possible with Commander Koo-Koo Banana's in charge."

Funny stuff and, with The Simpson's, it's about time. I find the writers are running out of good plots, what with it being their 16th season and all.

Something About NBC

Throughout my life I have had a love affair with NBC. This television network first entertained me with The A-Team on Tuesday nights (right after AWANA club). My next experience with NBC came with Punky Brewster. The late 80's brought a tremendous Thursday night line up that I can still remember today: 8:00- The Cosby Show; 8:30- Family Ties; 9:00- Cheers; 9:30- my bedtime, but I could always hear the music to Night Court in the living room. Great shows. The cancellation of Family Ties brought Cosby spin-0ff A different World. NBC kept this Thursday night alive in the 90's as well. 8:00- Mad About You; 8:30- Friends; 9:00- Seinfeld; 9:30-Fraiser. Great T.V. ! My question is, what happened NBC? I was reading that NBC's biggest comedy this year was Joey. Really? Joey? Never before have I watched such a lame show that writes itself. When you know what will happen next and what the joke will be, it just isn't funny or entertaining. I was really excited when I watched NBC's new show "Committed" but, alas, they cancelled it before the season even ended (what happened to "Clown"?) If you're going to cancel a show you should at least give the characters some closure before doing so. I think NBC's dominance over television comedies has come to end. So, what are your favorite NBC comedies?

Something About Hand Phones

I do not know one Korean over the age of 14 who does not own a hand phone (cell phone). All of my middle school and high school students have one. Two of my Kindergarten students have one. Roughly 10 of my elementary students have one. They are everywhere. The Kindergarten phones are really cute. They are blue and in the shape of a teddy bear. It has three buttons on the face but no numbers. The child simply pushes one of the buttons to dial a pre-programmed number. I think it's a good idea. I read today that Korea has now introduced "dog phone" technology. The dog owner would type in a phone number and enter the dog's breed and age, after which they hold the phone to the dogs mouth. After the dog barks the owner is sent a text message giving one of six feelings the dog could be expressing. If no feeling can be found it simply says "I love you." I can just picture a dog wearing a hand phone around it's neck (really, I can!). Koreans love "lap dogs" and usually end up dying everything from their ears to their tales. I was sitting beside a young Korean couple at the train station a few weeks ago. Both of them were flipping what at first I thought were small teddy bears up in the air. They turned out to be small dogs. Speaking of hand phones, I bought a new one a couple of weeks ago. The price was $500 but I was able to buy it for $120. The discount was available only if I changed phone companies. I later learned these incentives are illegal for the phone companies to offer but not illegal for the consumer to take advantage of. My new hand phone has a 1.3 digital camera, MP3 player and dictionary. It also comes with a very addictive golf game that let's me pass the time while on the train.

Something About History Repeating Itself

Does history really repeat itself? If indeed it does surely we must take advantage of the situation and learn from our past experiences. In late 2002 Bush stepped up his accusations of nuclear weapons in Iraq. Then, in early 2003, he whipped out his satellite pictures. The pictures showed what he said were weapons labs set up around Iraq. The pictures also showed "mobile labs" that Bush said were being driven around Iraq to avoid detection. Bush has surely stepped up his criticism of North Korea in recent months. And, sure enough, last week he whipped out the satellite pictures. Bush says there is a massive amount of land in the north-eastern area of North Korea that appears to have been dug up and then re-filled. He claims it is the North's preparation for a nuclear weapons test. History repeating itself. What did we learn from 2002-2003? The satellite pictures Colin Powell showed of Iraq were more than 10 years old, some even pre-dated the first Gulf War. Nuclear inspectors in Iraq now say there is no evidence of any nuclear research within the country. If the U.S. does take military action (which I am almost certain it won't) let's just hope the intelligence is legite. History has shown that U.S. intelligence is crap. South Korea has said the recent satellite pictures released by the U.S. prove absolutely nothing. A poll released 2 weeks ago showed that South Koreans have a greater fear of Japan than North Korea. Food for thought.

Something About Children's Day

Happy Children's Day!!

Something About An Early Christmas

Thanks for the early Christmas present, Miami! I was ecstatic to hear that The Heat swept The Nets in the first round of NBA playoffs. To top it off, The Jays won their series against The Yankees this weekend. Woo hoo! Both presents were nice but seeing a defeated Vince Carter was the best of all.

Something About Fathers

I read an interesting article in an English Korean Newspaper on the weekend:

Ministry stereotyping miffs fathers
April 30, 2005 ㅡ An attempt by the Gender Equality Ministry to educate children about discrimination against women in the home drew sharp criticism yesterday from people ― largely males ― who accused the ministry of mocking fathers. The uproar caused the ministry to apologize and delete Internet postings that described how mothers were discriminated against by fathers who use "low forms of speech when talking to their wives."The ministry apologized. "The postings were used as examples to help children understand the drawbacks of a patriarchal society," a ministry Web statement said yesterday. "They were habitual cases found in homes, but we agree that they could cause misunderstandings, so we are deleting the postings."The ministry said it had been devising ways since March to inform children about gender inequality.The result? The ministry posted 19 examples of how mothers were mistreated in their homes on its children's bulletin board.Some of the examples that the ministry cited included fathers always being praised by their mother-in-laws, while mothers tend to get criticized by their mother-in-laws.Another example was fathers never saying sorry when arriving late from work, while mothers had to apologize for not being home early enough.The list continued, talking about how fathers feel free to spend money, but mothers have to ask fathers for permission to use cash. "These postings are just mocking fathers," read one of the hundreds of postings that protested against the ministry's idea."Fathers are treated like ATMs at home after they come back from work, where they suffer at the hands of their bosses," a man, using the I.D. "Father," wrote in a posted message. "The ministry cannot blame fathers like this."