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Posted in Uncategorized June 13, 2008
[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/dMH0bHeiRNg" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
YouTube is one of the most popular sites in the world. According to Alexa’s 500 Most Popular websites in the world, YouTube is the 3rd most visited site in the world, only behind Yahoo (1) and Google (2). That’s amazing. There’re probably hundreds of millions, if not billions, of Internet users in the world. And if YouTube is the 3rd most visited… yes, you can imagine.
And what video is the most popular in the 3rd most popular website in the world? It is called The Evolution of Dance and currently has over 86 million views!
How could a Inspirational Comedian doing some silly dances to some music garner 86 million views and be the most visited video in all of YouTube for all time?!?
This shows that people, no matter how stressed, and busy they are, want to just laugh and watch a stupid video. In the midst of all the issues we have in the world today such as poverty, war, and global warming, people just want to laugh. They say that laughter is the best medicine.
And this video proves just that.
Posted in Uncategorized May 24, 2008
(Choi Seung-Hee, killer of 32 before taking his own life in the Virginia Tech Massacre)
It’s been approximately 404 days since the Virginia Tech Massacre. On this sad day, 32 people were massacred by a man named Choi Seung-Hee. This sparked national outrage and it was deemed as a tragedy as the largest mass murder in American history. It also prompted people to hold ceremonies, and moments of silences in sporting events, and whatnot.
Now I’m going to say this without any euphemisms…
But sometimes, Americans are some of the most ignorant people on Earth. I mean, 32 people died. So what? Thousands of people die in other countries. Did America do all those ceremonies for the people that died in the Iraq War? According to www.iraqbodycount.org, about 85,000-90,000 civilians have been killed since 2003 in the Iraq War. So in theory, if the Virginia Tech Massacre Incident happened everyday in Iraq, it would equal to about 2,700 days straight with the same number of people dying each day – 33.
Now that’s a lot of ceremonies and moments of silences.
If you add that many civilians were massacred as a result of bombs from the Americans themselves or from suicide bombs, then the way that the Iraqi civilians died, and the way that the Virginia Tech Massacre victims’ death was the same.
Yes, I am flaming. Yes, I am being perhaps overreacting. Hundreds of people in America die every day. They die for the same reasons as the people in Virginia Tech did. Yes, other Americans get murdered. But for some strange reason, their deaths are insignificant to the ones in Virginia Tech, though they are also living sentient humans.
I don’t really have anything against Virginia Tech.
The bottom line is: how are their deaths more important than the deaths of the people around the globe?
Posted in Uncategorized May 24, 2008
War. It’s a horrible thing. Yet, most people don’t realize, that in war, the physical effects are miniscule compared to the mental effects that war have. A lot of people that survive wars live in reclusion, and live an ascetic live due to the psychological side effects of war.
An example of the effects of war that were effectively and realistically shown was in a book series that I used to read called the Animorphs, which was about 5 kids an alien’s attempts to stop a covert alien invasion of Earth. The aliens that were invading Earth in this particular story was called the Yeerks. Yeerks are a type of slug, that evolved so that they can become parasites. And as a parasite, they go crawl into other organisms’ brains through the ear canal to take complete control over a host, including total control over the host’s memories and physical actions.
The Animorphs were given the ability to turn into any animal they touched to fight the aliens (Hence, the name Animorphs). As they fought the secret guerilla war, they unsurprisingly went through a myriad of changes. First, they needed to kill other Yeerks. But because Yeerks used mainly humans as hosts, they needed to kill the human to effectively kill the Yeerks.
As the Animorphs fought their way through each battle, they were subjected to moral obligations. For example, in the last book of the Animorphs series, the leader of the Animorphs and the Earth resistance against the Animorphs, Jake Berensen, must make choices to win the war. As a result of his choices, he kills about 17,000 Yeerks over a course of a few seconds, and secretly orders his cousin, Rachel, to kill his brother Tom, who is a host body for a Yeerk. Rachel also ends up dying, which create more mental problems after the war.
As a result of Jake’s actions, Jake saves Earth from the Yeerks. The Animorphs become instant celebrities, as they led the resistance that got rid of the alien invaders. But Jake’s elaborate planning required that he the sacrifice the lives of his cousin to kill his brother. In the end, was it worth it? After all, if you look at it that way, he sacrificed 2 humans close to him to save billions worldwide from imminent doom and probable death. 2 vs. 6,000,000. On paper, it seems ludicrous to actually not take that deal, and sacrifice, but after the war, the guilt took its toll on Jake. He became an introvert, though he could’ve been the richest and most powerful person on Earth. After all, he was the leader of Earth while the people of Earth fought the Yeerks.
The other part of Jake’s guilt sprang up from the fact that he killed 17,000 Yeerks while in their natural state. Every 3 days, Yeerks must go out from their natural form to a slug while going inside a pool, called a Yeerk Pool, and soak up the nutrition, called Kandrona, from the rays emitted by the Kandrona. Would it have been possible to win the war without killing those Yeerks? After all, Yeerks were sentient life beings – they were capable of thinking and feeling just like humans. And known from the Yeerk Peace Movement, not all Yeerks were evil.
Though some of the other Animorphs, such as Jake’s best friend Marco, become celebrities after the war, Jake lives in constant guilt in the fact that it was his fault that he killed Rachel – and that he could’ve maybe saved his brother and his cousin. The main reason that he fought the war was to save his family. Winning the war was only a secondary reason to fight, kind of like a bonus. But in the end, he won the war, but couldn’t save his family.
He slid into deep depression, and really couldn’t shake out of it, until a new mission came out that included flying into another galaxy.
When people envision wars, they imagine being a famous and popular hero. They play video games where they kill and destroy other sentient beings. But the thing is, it’s so much more different in real life.
Picture Citations:
http://fc03.deviantart.com/fs4/i/2004/213/0/b/Animorphs_ID_2.jpg
Posted in Uncategorized May 24, 2008
Communism: A supposedly flawed system that criticizes the economic disparity between the rich and the poor. According to Wikipedia, Communism is defined as the evolution of Socialism that “has developed sufficiently so that the central role of the State has ‘withered away’ and is no longer necessary…” and that society is “classless and equal” as well as the need to no longer have currency.
Though in capitalist countries that I have lived in, such as USA and Korea, associate Communism with a negative connotation, when I think about it sometimes, Communism would be the ideal economic system for a consummate world. People sharing around the same amount of money and people having about the same things, would epitomize the statement “all men are created equal.”
(Karl Marx, the writer of the Communist Manifesto, the document that basically started communism)
A problem in today’s society is that the economic disparity between the poor people and the rich people is rising, but almost never falling. When I go around places, and I see poor people, I feel sorry for them, because they have no money for food, and no money for shelter or just basically anything. And when I see other rich people, that just thoughtlessly spend their money, I see that our society is flawed. The money that they use for their luxuries could help save other peoples’ lives.
The bottom line is basically luck and genetics. Why are some people, born richer than others? Why are some people born smarter than others? Why are some people more successful and luckier than I am? It’s not fair.
And this is where Capitalism kicks in. Capitalism, as stated in part of its name, is a main economic system for people that capitalize by a free market that is all about creating the gap between rich and poor and trying to gain more wealth than other people.
It is where the genes and inheritance kicks off. The people born smarter and with a better mind tend to get richer than people who aren’t born as necessarily as smart. And even people that are born smart, but have poor parents, can’t deserve to have the same education people with richer parents.
Sometimes I see people working extremely hard to just barely earn money to feed their families, pay the rent and bills, etc. But other people, are born with 10 houses, that they sell and just hang around for their whole lives, not doing much, except buying more houses when the house prices go down, and selling them when they go up. Communism could prevent this by giving everyone relatively equal footing, and shortening the economic discrepancy between the rich and the poor.
We can sum all this up with this analogy: would you rather have everyone drive and own an average car, such as a Honda or Ford, with some people driving above average cars like Lexus? Or would you rather have some people drive Mercedes Benzes, Porsches, or Audis, while other people drive broken down cars, or don’t have any cars at all? Ideally, communism is the way to go, and I wish that everyone could live equally.
Problem is, we don’t live in an ideal world.
Picture citations:
http://www.altgn.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/communism-5705.jpg
http://www.freewebs.com/socialistcommonwealth/bralds_marx-s%20(2).jpg
Posted in philosophy May 24, 2008
Photo Credits to Jeong Joo
Last Saturday, I went to a concert by a club called Project Global Cooling (PGC). Under the guidance of Clay Burell, its advisor, PGC is a global club held in 6 other countries around the world. The PGC concert was not only held in Korea, but in other countries, all dedicated to stopping global warming, and encourage “global cooling” (Hence, the name). It was held at a place called The Spot in a place near Hongik University in central Seoul. The lineup consisted of Rated-E, Jeong Joo, Poppa Midnight, Kong 151, E.X.Plosive, Dog Soup, and ABC Analysis.
Photo credits to Annie Park
Though there were many students and people that attended the crowd, the crowd was seemed mainly indifferent most of the concert, as the concert attendance was mainly supplied by the incentive of extra credit, instead of passion and fervor for music.
To start it off, Rated-E by Sarah Jang started it off. They surprised me, as the band consisted of Sarah Jang (10th grade) and 2 middle schoolers (one of which was Sarah’s younger brother) and an elementary school student playing the bass. Though I didn’t expect much, the performance exceeded my expectations and was an excellent way to start off the concert.
Then, because Poppa Midnight was late, Jeong Joo went second and played a variety of songs by artists such Radiohead, Jimmy Eat World, The Postal Service, and ironically, the only environmentally friendly song, Fall On Me, by R.E.M., Joo’s favorite band. As he was giving out extra credit points for all students in his class attending his concert, the power of the extra credit points was once against shown as there were loud cheers as he went up on stage. But because he was a one man show with only an acoustic guitar, the crowd seemed to quickly lose interest, especially because the club was in such a place where you would expect louder music.
After about a 30 minute break following Joo’s performance, Poppa Midnight went up on stage, featuring Campbell (guitar/vocal), Bushnell (bass/vocal), and Brightman (drums). Though they played music that was unknown to most of the younger people in the crowd, they made up for this generation gap by good performances with excellent solos done by each member. The guitar solos by Campbell seemed to stir up the usually indifferent crowd thats KIS affiliated events usually harbor.
After about 5 songs by Poppa Midnight, Kong 151, an SIS band, took the stage. Though they didn’t seem to captivate the crowd (they failed to get the crowd to raise their arms several times), they had the most individual band in the PGC lineup to me, as all of their songs were not just covers, but their own individual songs. With 2 vocals, they formed a Metal Rock band, probably inspired by Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit. My favorite part of their performance was the guitar solo of the song “Spin” performed by William Jun, a friend that actually used to attend KIS in his 8th grade.
E.X.Plosive, featuring Members Alex Lee (keyboard), Daniel Chung (guitar), Jaime Lee (cello), and Keonwoo Kim (drums), took the stage after about 3 songs. They exhibited creativity out of all the KIS bands, as their band includes a unique lineup which includes a guitar, drums, and electric cello. As a classical crossover band, they blended classical music with rock in performances such as Canon. As the title of “the official KIS rock band” soon goes to them with the leave of ABC Analysis, I expect E.X.Plosive to work hard in the summer to hone their skills, and come up with some new songs.
Next, featured Dog Soup, which is another one of Bushnell’s bands. At this point, I couldn’t really listen to music properly, as the members in the PGC club were limited, so I went to the back of the club to help the other members of the undermanned PGC club. Patrick Nam looked especially tired. But from what I heard, Dog Soup exhibited the same style of music as Poppa Midnight, with some extra members included. The generation gap was sealed again by Bushnell, and the night’s surprise came when Clay Burell (advisor of PGC) came up to the stage to sing the last song himself. Though not the type to sing any song at all, Burell surprised everyone in the whole club with his surprising singing skills, and his appearance really fired up the crowd. In terms of musical technicality and talent, Poppa Midnight and Dog Soup probably comes out on top, as they get paid to perform in clubs in Itaewon during weekends.
At this point, the concert had been going on for over 3 hours, most people seemed to be tired. But as KIS’s unofficial rock band, ABC Analysis, came out to perform, the crowd seemed pumped up. ABC Analysis, featuring members Junghee Lee (guitar), Hweemin Cho (keyboard), Ted Kim (bass), Stephen Kim (drums), and Daniel Oh (vocals). They performed a few songs which I don’t know the titles of, as I was working to fix a water spill int he back of the club. What I do know is that Junghee Lee performed an acoustic guitar solo in the middle, which was pleasing for the ears, as most people had been listening to excessively loud rock music for most of the night. They finished off strong, with “Stacey’s Mom” by Fountains of Wayne, which was the loudest I heard the crowd all night, even with a few people leaving to go home.
All in all, the concert was much better organized than I ever dreamed it to be. When I originally heard about this concert last year, I thought it would be near impossible to organize everything, but in doing it, they also inspired me to join their club next year. It seems to be as if this will be a traditional event that will be held by KIS for the years to come.
Posted in concert ,music May 21, 2008
These days, we listen to the same old music over and over again. We always listen to the same artists, with the same feeling to each song. And if you’re a rock fan, then you can always hear the guitars screaming, and the the drums booming, and sometimes it can get a bit too boring and sometimes sound like a cacophony of screaming voices and instruments blending together (which actually some people like).
But when I occasionally get bored of the never ending rock music, and want something quieter, with the rock still in it, I like to listen to the King’s Singers. They are an a capella group that is classified under Classical Music in iTunes.
The King’s Singers is a group of 6 guys. They sing a lot of songs that were written by other artists, as their album The New Day, or the album The Beatles Connection, which sings exclusively Beatles hits.
The voices of the King’s Singers match with each other and have good chemistry. I honestly think that some of their remakes were actually better than the Beatles’ versions of their songs (no offense Beatles). Their pristine voices, untainted from the lack of instruments, gives their music a more fresh feeling.
It also gives you a perspective on how their interpretations of the Beatles’ songs, in a fresh new point of view.
If you want to listen to something else different, and still have that same feeling that you essentially need in your music, listen to the King’s Singers.
You can listen to song samples of their album The Beatles Connection here.
Posted in music May 6, 2008
The Brain Workers’ Handbook by Dr. Kurt Kauffmann.
A boring book cover with an equally boring book title.
Would you really want to read this book?
Most people would say no…
“Don’t judge a book by the cover.”
I’ve been hearing this statement for my whole life.
This adage doesn’t just apply to a book; it’s a metaphor that applies to everything in life – people, things, food, etc.
The scary things is: even if we hear this quote, and try not to live with it, we still continuously prejudge things, whether it be through looks, feelings, or gossip.
How many times have you seen a book and thought, “Man, that book’s boring.”
Or look at the food and think, “Dang, that looks disgusting.”
Or see that new kid, wearing something unique, and think, “That kid’s weird, and I’m not gonna be friends with that kid.”
No matter how hard we try, it’s basically impossible to have preconceived feelings for something or someone, before we actually get to know that thing or person.
This is human nature.
We can’t stop it.
It’s our instinct, and unless we evolve into something else, can’t be stopped. Limited, but never completely stopped.
But we can also suck it up, and try to get to know that someone or something.
We should always TRY.
How are you going to know how if it’s good or bad, if you don’t try?
Posted in life May 4, 2008
Every now and then, we yearn for those good old days when you were a carefree child.
Well, that time for me is now.
With APs next week, SAT IIs to take, and finals in a month, I wish that I could just quit school and relax for a month and do absolutely nothing, as I used to do when I was a child. I remember the days when we didn’t have to do anything all day, and it wouldn’t really matter.
When we’re kids, our parents tell us to sleep early, but we sleep late. Now, we’d give anything to have a good night of sleep.
I wish those days would just come back.
But those days are over.
And I want to quit.
Yet, this is only the beginning.
The hardest part is yet to come.
Posted in Uncategorized May 4, 2008
Lim Yo Hwan is not the average 25 year old dude. He works for the top cellular mobile phone company in Korea, SK Telecom, and earns a yearly salary of somewhere in between 400,000 to 500,000 USD. Yet, his job: kill other aliens and humans in a real time strategy computer game?
In Korea, Starcraft players are like sex symbols. They are idolized in every way, and are celebrities, garnering popularity that rivals or exceeds movie stars and singers. For example, the top Starcraft player of Korea, Yo-Hwan Lim, AKA Slayers_Boxer, has a fan club that exceeds 600,000 members. However, the top female singer in Korea, BoA, has only 500,000 members in her fan club. This shows how popular gamers are in Korea, and how much attention they receive.
Lim has been one of the most influential gamers of all time, being a main reason why the game of Starcraft has been so popular in Korea. He is idolized. Another top gamer, Jae-Yoon Ma, says that everytime he goes outside, he has to wear a hat, or else “he would be surrounded by fans.”
Also, another difference that sets Korea apart from the rest of the world, is that gaming is looked down from most countries. But in Korea, it gives you an idolic status, even from the girls. In America and most other countries, the cool kids wouldn’t want to be caught in an Internet Cafe. But in Korea, it is totally normal to see couples, and all the cool kids in the PC Bang. In fact, it’s weird to see only teens in there.
When you turn on the TV to watch a game, or you go watch a game at the studio, you can hear girls screaming continuously during the game. Starcraft has as many female fans in Korea as well as male fans. Many female fans skip school and after school activities, and go to the stadium to watch their favorite gamers play. They always hold posters up, which professes their love for the gamer that is currently playing. Sometimes, they go to the stadium the day before a game, and sleep in the stadium, so that they could get good seats for the game. Many cry when their favorite gamer loses. It only gets weirder. One example was in the Finals of Proleague, 120,000 people came out to watch it, with millions more watching at home – about 10% of the whole population of Korea watched it. The same day, there was an All-Star game for the KBO (Korea Baseball Organization). Only 15,000 people showed up.
In a growing industry of 50 million dollars, I have a feeling that it’ll only get bigger, but with the release of Starcraft II looming, we don’t know what future lies for Starcraft, arguably the greatest game created ever.
Posted in games May 1, 2008
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