2.27.2009

February 28

Happy Birthday Mom!!!  Love you!  See you in May:)

I am a Drama Queen and I don't care who knows it

I am an idiot.  It's been a long time since I last seriously injured myself in Korea, so apparently I was due.  I must have committed some karmic faux pas in the last few weeks to justify the truly retarded accident that ensued Friday night.  
I will spare you the story, as it's dumb and uneventful.  And I know it's dumb 'cause when I told Mr. ER Doc the story, he gave me the "WTF?" look, translated to his Doogie lookalike, then had a good laugh with the other wackos unlucky enough to find themselves in an ER.  The Korean Andy Warhol sitting next to me had an especially hearty chuckle.  Screw you.  Suffice it so say that Castle Praha will not be welcoming me with open arms, that is if I manage to show my face there again.  Bartenders and servers tend to frown upon gushing open wounds and wretching in front of the other customers, as it tends to make them queasy. 

Anyway, I spent 3 1/2 hours in a downtown Seoul ER (for those of you counting, that's 2 in Korea, 3 total in foreign countries), received countless shots, 4 or 5 stitches, suffered a total of 3 panic attacks and only had 2 Korean Doogie Howsers.  And I'm all right.  Well, really I'm all LEFT, but whatever.  

Mmm, dried blood.  My hand looks like the Goodyear Blimp.

Oh, and I've got some serious newfound respect for Sunny, Erica and Amanda.  The next round (or five) is on me.

2.20.2009

2.18.2009

Too much free time in class

I'm kind of a little bit obsessed with these two videos and have been subjecting my students to them for the past week.  It's really too bad that the music sucks in both.  Check 'em out.






2.04.2009

My master plan is working

Yesterday, out of the blue, one of my students said, "Mindy Teacher, you are mad never." If only you knew, Nick. If only you knew...

2.03.2009

I'm a sucker for Chucks

Multiple posts for multiple topics or one long post?  I never know...  I do know that I hate reading blogs that are huge chunks of word vomit with no pictures. That's why pictures are good.


Anyway, I was contemplating this topic because I read a LOT of blogs and I usually lose interest after the first few posts because 1) the content sucks OR 2) there's no eye candy OR 3) the posts are WAY too long. This last one's a kicker, because even if the content is good and there are a few pictures, my attention span is so short (thanks, internet) that I tend to stop reading pretty quickly.

So maybe that means multiple posts for multiple topics...

That being said, I'd like to confess that I am OBSESSED with Korean B-Boys. B-Boys are boys who dance, but they're actually so much more than that.  What they do is passionate and funny and entertaining and more than a little hot. These guys have got style for days.  The best part of a Friday night dance party is when the B-Boy entourage strides into the bar.  They're cool and confident and, of course, totally aloof.  There's usually one guy with a video camera, so he can record all the dope B-Boy action. These boys usually have a few drinks, then the show begins -- a dance-off!  Yeah, it sounds cheesy, but I often forget myself and become completely entranced by their moves.  They're just so cool. And I love how they totally cop American hip-hop style in a distinctly Korean way...

Korean B-Boys have only really been doing their thang since 2000.  Before that they were virtually off the map.  But like everything else in modern Korean society, its popularity has exploded and now the Koreans are among the best in the world.  This is a really good article charting the rise of breakdancing in Korea.

I've been searching like mad for vids that truly capture Korean B-Boys, but none really do them justice...

My personal favorite.  Note the use of my K-pop favorites, the Wonder Girls.


The music is bad, but the moves are amazing.


A little Japan vs. Korea


Okay, one more. Physicz. This guy is sick.


Also, I think the documentary Planet B-Boy is totally worth checking out. 
http://planetbboy.com/