Scribblings of the Metropolitician

Aoki Was Awesome!

For those who read FeetManSeoul.com, you know that Steve Aoki -- perhaps the world's most famous DJ -- came to Seoul. If you went to the show, you also might know that he rocked the house.

Also, Cut Chemist, formerly DJ for the Jurassic Five and who really tore up the turntables, was in total effect.

Both the Chemist and Aoki definitely kept the crowd entranced.

I also got snapped by the (in)famous, super-duper party photographer, The Cobrasnake. It's an honor to have been shooting with him, and to make the Cobra Snake party page. He definitely has a Zen style to his shooting, and gets some really fun stuff -- check it out!

Got me!

FMS is getting invited to some cool stuff these days, and I'm having a ball shooting both folks of fame, as well as folks just having fun. It's a salve to get some people actually paying more attention to my pics these days, instead of just continuing to be the ignored street photographer.

And it's a hard job getting the word out there about a new kind of magazine, in a new medium, but we're learning, and building, and having a great time.

Check out the full, ongoing coverage of this and more fun stuff at FeetManSeoul.com.

A Sad Day Has Come

This is the last time I will post here. My time as the "Metropolitician" is up.

I've realized a lot of things over the last week or so, since falling for a certain young lady of a more conservative persuasion, who has quite literally rocked my world. I realize that a lot of the liberal ideas I had formerly and formally adhered to were largely misconstrued notions I had held, distortions of ideological ramifications that simply had no precedence in either established fact, dilapidated fiction, or even (and not either) the demonstrated dialectics of most people's dystopic desires.

In short, a new kind of love has made me into a harder, more turgid man.

No longer will I carry the torch for a a deluded liberalism, nor be the voice for lefty illiberality. What I truly hanker for is a haughty helping of a hunk of cheese that isn't defined in terms of a mere neo-Freudian kitsch, but the kind of cheese one can count on, like money in the bank; indeed, one needs sustenance so solid and reliable one can literally stick it in a pipe and smoke it.

So I can no longer continue to write here, after having fallen for someone like the one who has learned to call me "oppa." Such is an experience I never thought I could have had, either as a black man, or a Star Trek fan, and her highly-developed sense of what I have previously called here mere "fetishized femininity" has caused in me an emotional rise that is quite epic in its tense and torpedo-like tautology. Indeed, they didn't call Moby a "Dick" for nothing, as they say. Unlike the proverbial Ahab, my little lady has actually caught her whale.

When wondering why I have decided to forgo any further forays into formalism and endorse not Barack "Aladdin" Obama, but rather John McCain, the answer becomes perfectly obvious, does it not?

When you ask yourselves these questions, as you struggle for the answers, yet still can't bring yourself to face the truth, realize that Tom Cruise once said, quite poignantly, that the "truth could not be handled" and that in a similar situation, Al Pacino pointed a finger and said that the entire Supreme Court was indeed, very much "out of order."

In the same way, I was once out of love, and was so lost without her, but believe you me -- I now realize that it's hip to be square. Or did not Huey Lewis not give you that news?

So, it is with heavy hands that I make my last entry here, since the Metropolitician that was me has completely and totally ceased to be he.

For Pak Geun-hye's youngest daughter knows how to hit me where it counts, and to not just do that to me once, but likes to hit me, baby one more time, all the time, if you catch my meaning, number one Negaroni! See, I don't shrink away from saying, loudly and proudly, what needs to be said. And if you didn't get it from the passage above, you need a double dose of dis doubletalk. April mothafuckin' fool's, bitches!

Word to your mother, yo!

Umm...Isn't This the Plot to "I Am Legend"?

This is bad news for us, then.

Get your UV lamps ready, because tomorrow's survivors of the Apocalypse are getting ready today!

Umm, if you're part of the lucky .00001% who's naturally resistant, that is.

Booyah! Soyeon's Going to Space!

Muhahahahaha.

[source]

Sometimes I think there is justice in the world. (Here's the link on CNN - thanks, James!)

The news that the Russkies have forced a switch of people going into space just made my week. Regular readers of this blog know that we've always been in Soyeon's camp, ever since she made the final 300 and we decided to do interviews with her.

Soyeon's a friend of a friend who went to Berkeley at the same time I did, and I thought her an impressive human being far before anyone started talking about space. But as the process and our interviews progressed, I got a wee bit sad because I had always felt Soyeon to be far more qualified to go, from the fact that she aced all the physical tests to the obvious fact that she has a sparkling personality and the professional attitude to really REPRESENT in space. Ko San always struck me as sullen and awkward in front of the cameras, as if he didn't want to even be there.

It always perplexed me that he got picked, knowing what seemed obvious to everyone. I always thought that the fact he was a Samsung man (that company being responsible for 17% of the GDP, or so I hear) didn't hurt.

But now, because of "training violations," the Russians have demoted him to backup and Soyeon's going. Apparently, sending back a training manual in one's personal possessions "by mistake" as well as snagging a forbidden pilot's manual – well, that apparently didn't sit too well with the Russian space program handlers. I have a sneaking suspicion that it all wasn't Ko's idea to just "oops!" send back highly-sensitive materials about the Russian space program, but that's beside the point...

[source - photoshopping by me]

Soyeon's going and I believe that the best "man" has finally won.

Booyah! And if you get to know her --just a little bit, even -- through these interviews, you can see why she really deserves to go. I always like rooting for the underdog, but she really should have never been under in the first place.

Part 3, which I planned to do in April, will get upped sooner. I was originally planning it as a bit poignant sendup for Soyeon, since she said some pretty cool things about the possibility of not being picked, but now, I think it makes sense to get that out sooner, rather than later. Because now, it's a party!

Congratulations, Soyeon!

Crap.

[source]

Now's Your Chance to Help Your Fellow Man

I found out about this tragic accident on Facebook, through the group ("Save Bill Kapoun!") created to get funds to help this man out. It's not only a tragic case of an apparently bright, handsome man in the prime of his youth being given a huge heaping of horrible luck, but it highlights the vulnerable situation of a lot of us foreigners living over here, caught between a visa system that's so idiotic that I don't blame most small institutions for not wanting to go through the hoops, and often not having the means or will to get proper health insurance. (Still, HT to Marmot)

This happened at a really curious time for me, since I JUST GOT HEALTH INSURANCE, for the first time since leaving the paltry insurance I had back at grad school in 2002. I've been living uninsured most of this time, jumping from gig to gig. I could get insurance myself, but I would have to pay all the back months from the last time I entered the country.

So I went with a private insurer, set up by one of my cousins, who works at an insurance company. I'm getting older, and getting to the age to start thinking about such things. I was going to post about this once my cousin had figured everything out, since the regulations for foreigners are confusing and intricate.

Also, I believe I am signed up for some kind of accident insurance as a KEB customer, but I don't know much about that. Anyone else have info on that?

Let's keep each other safe, and let's help William pull through. Literally, his life depends on the goodwill of others; and since the foreigner community is as tight in many ways as it is large, I think we should be able to make a difference.

I don't know the guy, but I shouldn't have to – there, but for the grace of God, go we all.

So, let's pitch in and drop at least what would be the equivalent of a round of beers, a couple DVD's, or any other amount of petty cash we often drop without giving nary a thought and do something useful -- literally, help this guy MAKE IT.

From the Facebook page, I've copied and pasted both these pictures and information as to how you can help:

If you wish to donate visit: www.billkapoun.com

Make checks payable to Help Bill Fund and mail them to:

Help Bill Fund
P.O. Box 283
Bloomington, IN 47402

IF IN KOREA - direct transfer into this account
KB Bank
794002 04 03 1635
Warren Franklin-William Fund

Sometime later on, I'll talk about how I got some very decent private insurance (paying $70 a month) that I think would cover something like this, and hopefully I'll more information for you in general about being safe and covered while in Korea.

I Got YouTubed!

Well, YouTube got rolled out today, I got the welcome video done, and got to meet Funtwo, the Pachabel Canon guitar master of the universe, along with the Free Hugs Korea guy, both of whom were very cool.

[source]

I'm still reeling from the fact that they invited me out in the first place – but the guy who picked me out of the bunch did say that he thought this kind of media should be made, something that represents Korea and/or the foreign community in the particular way he thinks is positive, I surmised from our conversation. Surely it wasn't because of my hit counts: Funtwo the guitar master is on 35,000,000, while I was happy to see a SeoulGlow episode go over 10,000.

[source]

And if the authenticity of his guitar playing is even still in question, I saw him play in person and he hit the same notes with ease live, just like in the video. Kid's good.

But back to SeoulGlow – despite my feelings of hit count inadequacy, I was flattered and impressed that someone's paying attention to the work I've been doing, and got some real motivation to get back on the video production track and hook up all these strands of new media I've been experimenting in. Just hard to do alone, you know?

Overall, the YouTube people ran a tight press conference, as did their PR firm, Incomm-Brodeur. There are presently two SeoulGlow episodes on the front page of YouTube Korea, and I hope this will bring the show more to the attention of the Korean market.

Get Ready for the Next iThingie

Or whatever it'll be called. iPad. iTablet. iNote. iScribbler. Whatever. The name's not important.

The upcoming new "sub-notebook" from Apple, rumored to be coming in January's Macworld Expo, will not, I predict, be a super-slim notebook.

It just doesn't make sense, and I've been thinking on this ever since the iPhone and the iPod touch came out; and a little common sense combined with wishful thinking, as well as a bit of like-minded thinkers in the Apple fanboy world, make me really think that we'll be looking at a revolutionary product come January. Here's why:

1) IT WON'T BE A NOTEBOOK.
I just don't see Apple introducing a super-slim, compact notebook. Who cares? I certainly don't. Apple's style is leading the industry with cutting-edge new devices that are increasingly integrating new media, making new platforms for old devices. The iPod wasn't just a souped-up MP3 player, as the iPhone wasn't just a phone with an Apple brand on it, just as Apple TV, for better or worse, isn't just a computer you hook up to your TV. They're all defining new ways of integrating media, of allowing you to get media into different forms. Sub-compact laptops already exist; Apple's not just going to make such a not-fashion-forward, not-platform-forward product.

2) IT WILL BE A 'NEXT-STEP' PRODUCT.
Related to that is the Touch interface. From iPhone to Ipod Touch, there seems to be a logical next step taken to allow Touch computing, meet the needs of the sub-compact buyer who wants an Apple computer that isn't a bulky laptop. And Microsoft already has its cool-ass Surface computer. The future is already here, and the writing's on the...screen.

3) THE TIME HAS COME FOR PRINT MEDIA TO DIE.
Or at least start to wither before eventually dying. And I'm not saying that The New York Times is going anywhere or anything, but just that we won't be killing trees anymore to read it. The new device will meet the needs of the emerging eBook/online publishing market that IS the next area of battle, as we move from primarily paper to primarily screen-based, portable, and vastly more flexible, screen-based reading. It's never been a matter of if, but of when the easy-on-the-eyes nature of reading from paper would be paralleled by a screen that can do the same. And look at Amazon's Kindle, or the ongoing online publishing revolution that is so obvious it might not be so apparent. Yes, I agree that within 5 years, most reading will not be done on paper. Amazon knows this. And so does Apple. And the first killer device that can be comfortable screen reader, as well as computer, as well as PDA, and nice size for watching videos, and can communicate seamlessly with your home computer/iPod/iPhone and detach you from being anchored to any one place in terms of content – that's gonna be killer. Download the NYT, or your local paper, or your blog, or what have you – the technologies are there, from RSS to podcasting to iTunes pay store to whatever else will pop up with a device that can put whatever you want into one place. And who already has the only tried-and-tested, fully-operational paid media delivery system? Apple. Just add more eBooks to the podcasts, movies, TV shows, and songs you can download. As Steve Jobs is surely saying: "Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money!"

4) THE PATENT APPLICATION DRAWING JUST MAKES SENSE.

[Source]

I may be wrong, and Apple has a way of surprising everybody, even if it's just a little bit. But I think that's this has got to be Apple's move, looking at the way online publishing and media are going, the move into new computing interfaces, and the fact that major players are lining up along the lines of a vast new market that hasn't been tamed yet.

To me, it just seems like Apple is going to try to do in the new territory of text-based media what the iPod did for music and then video content, what the iPhone is doing to the mobile phone industry, or what Apple TV hasn't quite done much of yet in the home video realm.

This new device will do it while integrating text with pre-existing text, photo, audio, and video mediums (which a glance at any web-based newspaper, "pro blog", or online magazine will show you has already happened), while also giving you the power of a portable computer, to boot.

If Apple makes a device like that, who ain't gonna buy it? Computer, iPod, PDA, calendar, big-ass screen for watching movies/podcasts/TV on the train, and a place to read a trashy romance novels writ LARGE across the screen, or your favorite blogs, all downloaded in the morning through RSS and sitting for you on the subway ride...

That's the killer move that will focus all of Apple's power as a computer and media company into the true killer device.

Sure, I'm just being hopeful, as anyone making guesses at this stage is, but damn – would that not make a whole lotta sense?

A TRUE notebook that can do - everything. Who isn't going to sell their left kidney for that kind of integration, ease, and load off one's back? I'm sure it'll sport a pop-up keyboard onscreen, but for the diehards, I can see a huge peripherals market for mini-mice and cute keyboards, the usefulness of this device in the education market, where this will become THE new way of taking notes (and surfing the web in class), and could open up whole new doors as a device in the medical field, as a means scratchpad for artists and other creative types, and as a "base unit" of some type for people who already have iPods and iPhones, which could be used to integrate with the new device and offer a new kind of function or increased usability.

Who knows? Possibilties are endless, with a wireless and Bluetooth-enabled super-device that can be anything software can make it be.

I'd buy that for a dollar. Or 2000. Hopes are that it will be priced at somewhere in between, priced to move.

And this way, no matter what you buy it for, Apple is building new users of OS X, more subscribers to and users of the iTunes Store, and many more ways to convince more people to buy Apple stuff.

And if it can run Windoze, too – who's gonna buy a sub-notebook or Tablet PC?

Damn, Apple. Am I going to have to start being scared o' you?

"I See Brown People!"

Sort of reminds me of Sally Strothers' eyes, which would cry into the camera during the 80's. Except that her career was over and she seemed sincere. Unlike the recent habit of getting good PR by hanging out with the brown folks for a few minutes and posing for the camera. (HT to the Marmot, of course.)

[From the 한국경제.]

That shot with Kim Tae-heeis so posed, and this while interaction so contrived and self-interested. Look, brown man! Smile for the camera and for your food. At least Hyori actually WENT to Africa to see brown and black people. The caption on the news story page (linked above) reads "Kim Tae-hee serves food to a foreign laborer." Nice. Usually, when Koreans' faces are shown, especially juxtaposed with such a famous face in the picture, it would read something like, "Middle school student Kim Yu-mi gets a thrill by posing with her favorite star, Kim Tae-hee" or some such. I'll bet dollars for donuts the reporter didn't even take the guy's name. Which, as a photojournalist working for a paper, should be a given, as this is standard practice in the field of journalism. Except if you're brown.

Truly another chapter in what I like to call "the alms race" for PR points.

P.S. I once got my picture taken at an anti-war rally and published by psueudo-news outlet OhMyNews, in which my face was prominently featured adjusting my camera, and the caption read something like "Foreign journalist covers our rally" or something that made it seem like I was being sympathetic to their cause. I don't remember clearly, but I do remember being pretty irritated, since a journalist taking a picture of me as the main focus and attributing to me specific motives or actions should have taken my name and asked me what I was doing. I'd love it is someone could find that picture in the morass of OMN coverage around 2002-2003. My picture'd be pretty obvious.

You've Got to Be Kidding Me – A Real Life 괴물?

Now, anyone who reads this blog regularly must know my deep love for the movie "The Host." Regardless of what you think of the movie, though, you have to be surprised to see it coming true.

Did this fish (whale shark, apparently) really eat people? Holy sheet.

I didn't see human remains in there from the site – but I do see an awfully big piece of fish filet in the final picture. The original site remains skeptical as to whether this guy actually snagged any human food, but...would you want to know that a beast like this was in the water with you? And if it did decide it was hungry and interested in settling some scores for the many of fishkind we've eaten...what are YOU gonna do about it?

Hope you're a fast swimmer.