Departmental Review

Insert Foot In Mouth; Chew Vigorously Dept.:

Rand Paul, the new darling of Tea Baggers and ultra-right conservatives everywhere hit the talk show circuit after handily winning the Kentucky Republica primary. This, of course, is where the wheels fell of the wagon. Paul, in a display of circular logic that will make you dizzy, came out both for and against the 1964 Civil Rights Act. While adamantly opposing segregation in any form, Paul stated that he believes the government should not tell private business owners whom they can and cannot serve. Asked to clarify his statement Paul again asserted his anti-segregation stance but said that under the first amendment rights of free speech, etc., private businesses should be able to refuse service to those people they don't want to serve.

Naturally, civil rights activists of all stripes went ballistic. More telling, however; was the Replican response. First there was a collective, "Huh?" Then there was collective "I-think-he-might-have-the-plague" three steps backwards followed by a dash to the press room to say Rand Paul did not speak for all Republicans because the party is all about inclusiveness and deplores segregation in any form.

My head is spinning!

That's Using Your Head Dept.:

Mark Lerner, owner of the Washington Nationals, apparently enjoys putting on a Nats uniform and going out on the field with the team to shag fly balls during BP before games. It also is apparent why Lerner is the owner of the team and not a player. While chasing down a fly ball the other day, Lerner circled under the ball, put up his glove, and got hit square between the eyes with the ball opening up a cut on his face that required 30 stitches. It's nice to see Mr. Lerner out there takin' one for the team!

Religion Does Have Its Place Dept.:

Buddha's the MAN! Hapy birthday buddy, and thanks for the day off! :-D

Ronnie James Dio - 1942 - 2010

Heavy metal lost one of its greatest voices over the weekend. Ronnie James Dio, who died of cancer this past Sunday, has been defining part of the metal scene since its inception. Whether with Elf, Blackmore's Rainbow, Black Sabbath, or on his own, the diminutive singer's voice reigned supreme. Dio's legendary prickliness with is bandmates was greatly overshadowed by his love and appreciation for the fans, and they in turn loved him back.

I wasn't much of a metalhead when I was younger until I heard Black Sabbath's Heaven & Hell. I'd heard earlier Sabbath with Ozzy, but it didn't really grab hold of me like the Dio era Sabbath. I, of course, went on to listen to Dio's albums with Rainbow and grabbed his solo stuff as soon as it came out. That, in turn, led me to start exploring other metal bands. The rest, as they say, is history!

I was lucky enough to see Dio twice: in San Francisco on the Sacred Heart tour in '86 and again with a reunited Black Sabbath in Maryland in '89 or '90 (it's a bit fuzzy. Gimme a break! I'm old! lol). Both shows simply rocked!

Dio - Holy Diver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqn34CGO-1U&feature=related

Dio w/Black Sabbath - Heaven & Hell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwqe27et28A&feature=related

Dio w/Rainbow - Kill The King
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkSHHK7WlAw&feature=related

My personal favorite:

Last In Line - Ronnie James Dio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy6URlmeUpk&feature=related

We're a ship without a storm
The cold without the warm
Light inside the darkness that it needs, yeah

We're a laugh without a tear
The hope without the fear
We are coming - HOME!

We're off to the witch
We may never never never come home
But the magic that we'll feel
Is worth a lifetime

We're born upon the cross
The throw before the toss
You can release yourself
But the only way is down

We don't come alone
We are fire, we are stone
We're the that writes
Then quickly fades away

We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line
We're the last in line

Two eyes from the east
It's the angel or the beast
And the answer lies between
The good and bad

We search for the truth
We could die upon the tooth
But the thrill of just the chase
Is worth the pain

We'll know for te first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line
We're the last in line

We're off to the witch
We may never never never come home
But the magic that we'll feel
Is worth a lifetime

We're all born upon the cross
The throw before the toss
You can release yourself
But the only way to go is down

We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line
See how we shine

R.I.P. Ronnie! We'll miss you!

A Good Night Out.

A couple of my students took me out for Teacher's Day last night, and it turned out to be a very good time. I've gone out with a lot of students over the years, and there is usually a point in the evening (generally when the meal is wrapping up) where I'm looking at my watch and contemplating escape strategies, but last night was actually quite pleasent.

The students, Eun-sook and Young-koo, attend my early morning (7 am) class and are the only two who consistently show up. They are pleasent folks and chatty, so it makes the class itself enjoyable. Also, they are also close to my age, so I can relate to them a bit better than I can with college age students. Also, while their English is far from perfect, they both possess enough confidence in speaking that you can avoid the sometimes uncomfortable silences that invariably accompany any language barrier.

We met up at 8 pm after my last class and went to an absotlutely FABULOUS Korean restaurant here in Gongju. I don't remember the name of the place, but I definitely remember where it is and will go back again. The food was some of the best I've had in Korea, and that's saying a lot. Everything was really fresh and there were lots of great side dishes to go along with the mok-sal (pork neck). Se we ate a ton of food, drank a few bottles of soju and chatted away.

After dinner we headed over to a place called the J-in "Live" Bar where Young-koo, who is a musician in his spare time, likes to hang out. "Live" bars in Korea are places that have live music usually performed by some hack with a guitar and a drum machine singing cheesy Korean ballads, and J-in was no exception.

We ordered a couple of pitchers and sat back to chat and watch the show. The most entertaining part of the night was watching these two drunk-as-stink ajosshis trying to dance. When they weren't slow dancing with each other (!), they were doing this awkward, stiff, I-have-a-2x4-strapped-to-my-ass solo dance thing all the while clapping so completely off the beat that I had to wonder if they were listening to the same music I was.

The third performer of the night opened up the mic for people to do a little karaoke. Both Young-koo and Eun-sook got up and sang songs, so, keeping with the spirit of things, I got up and sang as well (my version of House of the Rising Sun brought the roof down, lol). After the last performer finished his set, we decided to wrap up the evening ourselves. Eun-sook and Young-koo headed for home, and I went off to meet some of my friends to complete what the soju and beer had started.

All in all, it was a very good night.

Departmental Review

1. The Constitution as Toilet paper Dept.:

After signing the "Brown is Bad, White is Good Immigration Law" and costing her state millions of dollars in tourism revenue, Jan Brewer, Facist in Chief of the State of Arizona is at it again. Brewer signed a law that is designed to prevent people from taking Ethnic studies programs in Arizona schools. It would seem that there are three programs: Mexican-American Studies, Africa-American Studies, and Native American Studies which have offended the sensibilities of Brewer and State Superintendant of Public Instruction, Tom Horne. According to the law written by Horne (who happens to be running for state attorney general), these classes are bad because they:

a) Promote the overthrow of the United States government
b) Promote resentment toward a race or class of people (read white folks)
c) Are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group
d) Advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of students as individuals
**info from this WaPo article**

If you ask me, I think Brewer and her cabal should be required to take these classes in order to get a better understanding of the people who live in their state. Maybe they'd be happy if the schools added a White Anglo-Saxon American Studies class...oh...wait...that's every high school U.S. history class in America. Funny that.

2. From Doormat to Divine Dept.:

HOW 'BOUT THEM NATIONALS!!!! The Washington Nationals are 19-15 and in sole posession of second place in the NL East!!! Timely hitting and some great defense have catapulted last year's 103-loss joke into a serious team. Think about these little tidbits for a moment: last year, the Nats didn't win their 19th game until mid-June. Last year at this time, the Nats were 2-10 in one run games. This year they are 9-2. While their starting pitching this year has been a tad inconsistent (except for Livian Hernandez, he of the 80 mph fastball and the 1.04 ERA), the rest of the team has been playing lights out baseball.

GO NATS!!!

Fantasy Artist Frank Frazetta dies at age 82

Ever since I first read Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Michael Moorcock's Elric series and then started playing Dungeons and Dragons, I've been a fan of Frank Frazetta. His larger than life characters graced the covers of fantasy/sci fi and comic books and rock & roll albums and inspired sword and sorcery freaks around the world. He will be missed.

RIP Frank!

These are just a few of Frank Frazetta's more well known pieces:

Song of the day.

Kansas - Two Cents Worth

Well I been drinkin' again
And I know it's a sin
but I just can't refuse an old friend
Cause Life is gettin' me down
And I've been two times around
And there ain't nothin' but pain 'round the bend
I'm not made for the time
I was born in the wrong century
There's too much craziness here
In twenty-five years I have used all the tears in my eyes

Now this old world is a fright
you know my future ain't bright
And I'd just crawl in a hole if I could
Or maybe live out in space
Or some other far away place
And not come back to this world till it's good
Oh but I'm dreaming again
I know that I'm here till the end (what a long time)
There's too much craziness here
In twenty-five years I have used all the tears in my eyes

Well you might think that I'm wrong
for the things I say in this song
I really wish I could see it your way
But there's a storm rollin' in
And it just might be the end
So I'm praying we'll all get away
Now my cup's running dry
The weight of the world gets me down
There's too much craziness here
In twenty-five years I have used all the tears in my eyes

There's nowhere to turn
So I'll just have to learn not to cry, no more
It's all I can do till I find something new
But I'll get by
You know I'll try
In twenty-five years I have used all the tears in my eyes

It seems that spring has finally sprung!

After weeks of unseasonably cold, wet weather, we've finally had a truly gorgeous weekend. Hopefully, this will continue for a couple of weeks without the sudden jump into summer that often happens. It would be nice to have a week or so where you're not either shivering in the wind or sweating to death.

I celebrated yesterday's fine weather by going to my first baseball game of the season. It was a great time despite the fact that Hanwha lost 8-5. Ian went with me, and I was surprised to find out that, although he's been here almost 12 years, it was his very first baseball game. Hanwha played with a stunning lack of hustle and showed convincingly why they are in 7th place (of 8 teams) in the standings. However, going to games here is less about the baseball than it is about finding a cheap, entertaining way to spend a Saturday evening.

As for the rest of my life these days, well, I can't really complain. I'm working, I have my health (such as it is), and things are rolling along at a steady pace.