So much to the amazement of my friends as the cinema was booming with action, I managed to fall asleep for the first twenty minutes of the film. I woke up right in the middle of the loud sound effects feeling I'd missed most of the plot lines, but soon realised that I hadn't actually missed much that I couldn't catch up on. Granted it's a James Bond -- it's not supposed to have the most complex of storylines -- but to sum up there was: a lot of action, Bond going off the rails, a distinct lack of Bond girl action, oh, and more action. I'm not saying there wasn't a storyline, there was just a whole lot more shooting and not a whole lot of dialogue for my liking.
Also, against usual Bond film norm, this was a sequel to the previous -- much better -- movie, with many references that would be lost on you if you'd not seen it, and apparently (I'm not astute enough to have really noticed) storylines have been left over for the inevitable trequel. This isn't necessarily a criticism, but it's recommended to have seen the previous one first before heading out to catch all the nuances of this one.
Still, it was well-acted with a great cast, and it's a good job they kept Daniel Craig on to keep the attentions of the bang-bang-tired such as myself. The continuation of this 007 was certainly a highlight for me. But despite my feelings, I know some of my friends thoroughly enjoyed it. Each to her own I guess.
Spent most of this weekend sick which was a tad bit annoying. Haven't thrown up from non-alcohol related reasons like that in years. Not so pleasant, but I still managed to whoop Brian's ass at Guitar Hero...
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Monday, November 17, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Autumn leaves
단풍 [dan-poong]: 【잎】 tinged autumnal leaves; red [crimson-tinted, scarlet-tinged] leaves; crimson foliage; 단풍이 들다 turn red{[yellow]}; be tinged with red; put on autumnal tints
I learnt this word last night, and today was the perfect opportunity to try it out. After a reasonably disappointing exhibition at the Seoul National Science Museum about light, the whole school went next door to Changgyeonggung to frolic in the reds, oranges, yellows and greens that the leaves have turned.
I learnt this word last night, and today was the perfect opportunity to try it out. After a reasonably disappointing exhibition at the Seoul National Science Museum about light, the whole school went next door to Changgyeonggung to frolic in the reds, oranges, yellows and greens that the leaves have turned.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Bachata with Jorge Elizondo
It's been another epic weekend. This weekend at You Can Dance studios we were graced with the presence of Jorge Elizondo who put on a three day bachata workshop. I love this dance. When I first started going to salsa bars, I found it a bit sexy to be doing with people I didn't know, or indeed with people I did know. However, the more I learn about this dance, I can't get enough of it. Not to mention that the music is beautiful. Here's a sample of Jorge's dancing:
So for three hours of Friday night I was going back to basics with hip action and the basic steps of bachata. Followed by a late dinner and chatting with Jaideep half the night, we then got up Saturday morning to meet the crew at Jenny's place for lunch. She cooked us Korean food and it was delicious. We then rushed off to the second day of workshop where we took on some bachata sequences, took an hour for dinner, went back for salsa class, and on to Caliente for a hardcore night of sexying up our new moves. Including dinner (who doesn't dance over dinner?) from 3pm to 3am that was 12 hours solid of dancing. No wonder my feet hurt the next day.
But it doesn't stop there - I met David for brunch at the All American Diner on Sunday (check it out for huge ass American portions), followed by a well needed coffee, on to the third and final day of bachata where we continued to learn more moves, try and remember everything from the previous two days, put it all together and not forget to move those hips. To recharge we fit 17 of us into a small Indian restaurant, chucked all the tables together in the Coffee Bean for 17 of us to have coffee, and finally those hardcore enough went on to dance more salsa. As it was hitting 10pm, I went home and thankfully accidently set my alarm an hour late this morning. If I hadn't, I may well have been hiding in a corner from hyper active children all day.
But bachata. It's an easy dance to learn, and it's heaps of fun. Big fan.
So for three hours of Friday night I was going back to basics with hip action and the basic steps of bachata. Followed by a late dinner and chatting with Jaideep half the night, we then got up Saturday morning to meet the crew at Jenny's place for lunch. She cooked us Korean food and it was delicious. We then rushed off to the second day of workshop where we took on some bachata sequences, took an hour for dinner, went back for salsa class, and on to Caliente for a hardcore night of sexying up our new moves. Including dinner (who doesn't dance over dinner?) from 3pm to 3am that was 12 hours solid of dancing. No wonder my feet hurt the next day.
But it doesn't stop there - I met David for brunch at the All American Diner on Sunday (check it out for huge ass American portions), followed by a well needed coffee, on to the third and final day of bachata where we continued to learn more moves, try and remember everything from the previous two days, put it all together and not forget to move those hips. To recharge we fit 17 of us into a small Indian restaurant, chucked all the tables together in the Coffee Bean for 17 of us to have coffee, and finally those hardcore enough went on to dance more salsa. As it was hitting 10pm, I went home and thankfully accidently set my alarm an hour late this morning. If I hadn't, I may well have been hiding in a corner from hyper active children all day.
But bachata. It's an easy dance to learn, and it's heaps of fun. Big fan.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
A gripe at grammar
We have Bill Bryson to blame for this post, and indirectly, Simon, who gave me the book. The book being, that is, Mother Tongue, by Bill Bryson.
Being one for rules and that, I like the idea that one can learn grammar. I'm learning otherwise. It's not sitting very well with me.
I mean, if traditionally unapproved structures are adopted by society (e.g. "I'm well hungry"), or even to an extent, if you can make yourself unambiguously understood without employing perfect grammar (e.g. "Me go market now"), what's to say that these are 'wrong'?
I like to write using unfamiliar syntax, justified by the idea that it is 'idiomatic', or something, and yet I'll still strive to be grammatically correct. But what does that even mean? Who decides whether or not we can split an infinitive? When did it become acceptable to say, "I'm going, aren't I?" and yet we can't say, "I'm going, are I not?" It does concern me that I will find myself on a slippery slope if I continue to think about these things - it's one thing to edit every comma that gets published on a personal blog; another to debate the validity of every word that hits the page.
As far as written conventions are concerned I'll refuse to substitute cant for can't and dont for don't, yet I'm not about to write piano', 'phone or Hallowe'en. At what point can we accept change in our language? When will we agree that we can say, "Ten items or less", "To boldly go", or "I'm well hungry"? Or have we already done so?
Being one for rules and that, I like the idea that one can learn grammar. I'm learning otherwise. It's not sitting very well with me.
I mean, if traditionally unapproved structures are adopted by society (e.g. "I'm well hungry"), or even to an extent, if you can make yourself unambiguously understood without employing perfect grammar (e.g. "Me go market now"), what's to say that these are 'wrong'?
I like to write using unfamiliar syntax, justified by the idea that it is 'idiomatic', or something, and yet I'll still strive to be grammatically correct. But what does that even mean? Who decides whether or not we can split an infinitive? When did it become acceptable to say, "I'm going, aren't I?" and yet we can't say, "I'm going, are I not?" It does concern me that I will find myself on a slippery slope if I continue to think about these things - it's one thing to edit every comma that gets published on a personal blog; another to debate the validity of every word that hits the page.
As far as written conventions are concerned I'll refuse to substitute cant for can't and dont for don't, yet I'm not about to write piano', 'phone or Hallowe'en. At what point can we accept change in our language? When will we agree that we can say, "Ten items or less", "To boldly go", or "I'm well hungry"? Or have we already done so?
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Turn and Widen: an exhibition
Today's field trip was to the Seoul Museum of Art. I knew we were going to an art gallery; I just didn't know which one. I was probably more excited than the kids when we pulled up in the big yellow bus.
This exhibition, Turn and Widen, is a modern display focussing on contemporary ways of portraying art through the media of unnatural light, communication methods, and the concept of time. It was disappointing not to have more time to take in the exhibits as (as always) we were on a schedule, largely dictated by the childrens' attention span. But still, it was a very cool exhibition. Unfortunately today is its last day in Seoul, as the free entry would definitely have inspired me to go again.
This exhibition, Turn and Widen, is a modern display focussing on contemporary ways of portraying art through the media of unnatural light, communication methods, and the concept of time. It was disappointing not to have more time to take in the exhibits as (as always) we were on a schedule, largely dictated by the childrens' attention span. But still, it was a very cool exhibition. Unfortunately today is its last day in Seoul, as the free entry would definitely have inspired me to go again.Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Reflections
Sometimes I think I'm just a little *too* scathing on this blog. Don't get me wrong, I like my life in Korea; I'm over the mid-contract I-hate-Korea phase that so many foreigners seem to go through, and heaven forbid I should ever say it, I even quite like my job. Eight months down the line and the kids are really coming on well, communicating in English a lot better, and I'll defo miss (some of) them when we all head off on different paths (elementary school, university, whatever).
I guess I only write about school when I have something to rant about, which isn't always an accurate representation of how I feel about it. I am highly cynical about Korea's love affair with learning English, and I suppose that comes out more than I necessarily mean for it to, but that doesn't necessarily mean I don't like being a part of it.
This is all I wanted to say -- for the record.
I guess I only write about school when I have something to rant about, which isn't always an accurate representation of how I feel about it. I am highly cynical about Korea's love affair with learning English, and I suppose that comes out more than I necessarily mean for it to, but that doesn't necessarily mean I don't like being a part of it.
This is all I wanted to say -- for the record.
Halloween Festival
Well it was a busy October making an unnecessarily large amount of Halloween decorations to hang up in my classroom in preparation for the kindergarten festival. With over-zealous English enthusiasm this year, comes an English Saturday for the kids to show off their abilities to memorise dialogues. That's where I took Simon last Saturday, then, for a genuine Korean school experience.
Unfortunately I was not involved in the face painting/bobbing for apples/pin the tail on the black cat. Instead, I had to read a story about a frog. Yep, a frog. A frog who eats a fly for lunch. We made frog/fly crafts. Then we roleplayed the story. The highlight was in the party blower, and ensured that the classroom wasn't filled with an embarassing silence. Simon got stuck "selling" juice in the sandwich making room. Don't think his day was any more thrilling.
Still, I heard that the face painting/bobbing for apples/pin the tail on the black cat was fun, and apparently the kids actually enjoyed my frog craft. So woo for the day. What's more, is that Simon "volunteering to come in and help" resulted in a nice unexpected pay packet. That funded our day-of-doing-absolutely-nothing-on-Sunday. We possibly overate on the icecream and fried chicken.
I tell you what though, I was disappointed not to have my camera on Monday morning when the pumpkins were moulded through and dripping pumpkin juice on my piano. I'm glad they've been disposed of now, and I can stop my classroom looking quite so black and orange. Today Simon is just hanging out in my apartment today waiting for an appropriate time to go to the airport...
Unfortunately I was not involved in the face painting/bobbing for apples/pin the tail on the black cat. Instead, I had to read a story about a frog. Yep, a frog. A frog who eats a fly for lunch. We made frog/fly crafts. Then we roleplayed the story. The highlight was in the party blower, and ensured that the classroom wasn't filled with an embarassing silence. Simon got stuck "selling" juice in the sandwich making room. Don't think his day was any more thrilling.Still, I heard that the face painting/bobbing for apples/pin the tail on the black cat was fun, and apparently the kids actually enjoyed my frog craft. So woo for the day. What's more, is that Simon "volunteering to come in and help" resulted in a nice unexpected pay packet. That funded our day-of-doing-absolutely-nothing-on-Sunday. We possibly overate on the icecream and fried chicken.
I tell you what though, I was disappointed not to have my camera on Monday morning when the pumpkins were moulded through and dripping pumpkin juice on my piano. I'm glad they've been disposed of now, and I can stop my classroom looking quite so black and orange. Today Simon is just hanging out in my apartment today waiting for an appropriate time to go to the airport...
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