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I just finished "Into the Wild" today, the book by Jon Krakauer which motivated the recent movie of the same title. I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone, purely as an in-depth study of a truly unusual and extraordinary character who happens to be real; for some readers it will be much more. Next on the docket is Tolstoy's "War and Peace." It's certainly a large book, with over 500 characters according to the editors notes. Just 15 pages in, I've discovered that my vocabulary with respect to character traits is terrible. This is certainly on account of the relatively small qualtity of fiction I've read, in exchange for a lot of non-fiction. I've been taking pause as I read to write down words whose meanings I'm not sure of. The below words are all ones I've heard, but couldn't actually define or explain adequately if asked, until now: Affected Languid Self-Abnegation Impetuousity Pensive Vexatious Gaily Magnanimous Ingrat...

A new moral maxim came to me in the shower this morning: "Treat others as though you are at their funeral."

In light of recent political events in the USA, I decided to copy/paste my entry from April 17th of this year, for your reading pleasure. I think I've been just about smack on thus far with the predictions, though the evangelical conservative McCain picked as his running mate wasn't the one I expected. I still stand by the rest of the entry though... it'll all happen I swear!: ----------- I wouldn't be faithful to the spirit of internet blogging if I didn't do at least one entry predicting who I think will win the presidency come november in the USA. I am absolutely positive the democratic nominee will be Obama. He will beat Hillary without any trouble; he simply is too far ahead with the delegates, and has too much money and influential support. I suspect the lady will bow out after the next batch of primaries. Hillary will not be his vice president pick. She's in the race, I can only presume, because she wants to stay prominent for some reason other than getti...

I thought this evening I'd share a few thoughts on why people in Korea differ in size and health so noticably from people in North America. The reasons are in my opinion rather complex and fascinating: 1. More food variety: each meal has multiple dishes, and every meal includes at least one or two vegetable dishes. Interestingly, Koreans don't eat a low fat diet most of the time, and nor do they eat a low-carbohydrate diet. Most pork and beef dishes leave the fat on in layers! But variety is key. 2. More water: Korean food is very watery, compared to normal western food. Most meals include soups, stews, and so forth. Most notably, water is the accompanying drink for virtually every meal (other than alcohol). People don't really drink pop or juice or other sugary things during meals. These factors make for people who can feel full on fewer calories. 3. Communitarian eating habits: Meals are always shared, often without even individual plates. People will simply have at a mai...

Koreans are really mad about China right now with this whole Melamine crisis. None of the stuff has made its way to Korea just yet, but most people I talk to seem to think either it's already here and undiscovered, or it will be soon. Originally, I thought the anger was misplaced as I thought the whole milk contamination thing was accidental, but apparently it wasn't: milk suppliers in China (and Vietnam) found out it was more profitable to water down their milk and add some poison (Melamine fools protein level verification tests) than to simply supply real milk. Anyway it's the hot topic here right now. Coming in at a close second is the suicide of a famous Korean TV star, a story that even reached CNN's front webpage yesterday. The Melamine has benefitted me in a small way; stores are having a hell of a time selling off their made-in-china milk products, most specifically ice cream bars and other tasty frozen goodies. So, I am taking gratuitous advantage of the 30...

I watched the vice-presidential debate today. Or, rather, it was more a speech exchange. I wish so dearly that high-level politicians would agree to a cross-examination style debate, trading both speeches as well as lines of questioning to each other. While the moderator's questions weren't known specifically by the candidates, there are really only 50 or 100 possible questions to be asked, if that. Every answer was well-prepared and practiced. But, even then, Palin's transparency was blatant. Watch closely, and you can figure out much of what her advisors told her to say and how to act. "Emphasize the word 'maverick, Sarah", "Portray yourself as an untarnished outsider, Sarah," and so on. Biden, to his credit, sounded like he really knew what he was saying; by this I mean I sensed a depth of knowledge behind his beliefs that if meaningfully challened (which they weren't), he could respond in a nuanced and original way. Palin's depth of knowl...