What's This Thing, hee hee hee

The camera was struggling to focus and so was I! 

Pinotage

Does Pinotage mean potent? The wine knocked me out 6 love after about half an hour.

I'm sheepy shnow show I hash shoo show mome.  

Winos

Sora (which means ocean)has her own website, and it has the same sort of classy feel as the Wine Bar. Black background and but lit up very tastefully. You can see in the gallery section she's a very talented photographer.

All the pictures posted on her website are her own. Browse around www.kimsora.com., or click the title for this post, which will link you directly and you can see Sora's portfolio of photographs for yourself. 

Camera Club

Sora is the Founder and Leader of a big Camera Club in Ilsan. It has about 20 members, judging from the pictures I've seen.

Sora sometimes works in a flower shop that belongs to her mother. I asked her if she likes flowers, as South Africa has some beauties, proteas among others. But it's a case of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I guess, working in a flower factory makes one a bit allergic to the stuff.

I tuahgt Sora for half of one term, one month, in 2002, and she was this young girl between a lot of older ajumahs and adjussis, and I had to pretend that they were all on the same level. Sora went to school in Australia so her English is good.

She's into Snowboarding, Calvin Klein and Cameras.
This is one of the members of Sora's Club. She lives near my house, but in three years I haven't seen her. She works in a jewellery store.

The Wine is situated under the Nice Gym, and has a nice, mellow atmosphere. 

Hungry or Thirsty?

I was a bit irritated for the first 5 minutes, when I met Sora. It wasn't her fault. I was just really hungry, and the Wine Bar, though very classy and comfortable, didn't serve food. I didn't really want to go somewhere else and come back, but how to eat?

Sora knows the owner so she arranged a pumkin pie and sandwiches. It wasn't enough but it was better than nothing. The wine went straight to my head though, and we finished a bottle between the three of us.

Whash thdo few shinksh of Shoush Afrisha? 

1 x Bike, 2 x Wheels

Uh oh. That's what I think the airlines (Cathay and SAA) are going to say when they see this. I'm concerned that it is going to be seen as jincha excess baggage and cost me a bundle too.

Fingers crossed, but I also need to find out before I get to the airport what the deal is. I could take the Zipps out and carry them on as hand luggage. 

Living in a Box

I'm stunned by how much stuff I have. Because my apartment is about the size of a shoebopx, it's easy to assume that all I own is a pair of shoes. I seem to be living an existence where inside a box is another box, and inside that box is another box, and on and on and on. 

Dismantling Everything

The next thing to go into boxes will be my computer, but I'm saving the best for last.

I'm going to miss this box of tricks when I am in South Africa. But, in a way, it will also be good to be out in the fresh air and sunshine.

Counterstrike will have to be put on hold indefinitely. Terrorists Win! 

Week 8 Day 2

Swim: 41 minutes
Distance: 2.05km

0.5km: 07:53
1km: 16:13
2km: 37:26

250m - 3:29
250m - 3:26

Weight: 79.2kg
I had a Kraze burger just before coming to swim. It really was crazy - W12000 for a burger and fries. I was starving and had just dropped off my TREK at Corneli's apartment, and needed to eat quickly before going back to school.

My right leg hurt a lot today. I don't mean my foot, I mean high up in the muscle. Today I was at that point where you are about to limp. Maybe I slept on the muscle or, when I was the floor unscrewing the handlebars, I twisted it slightly. Crazy!

Eun Ji greeted me while I was walking to the pool's reception area. When I left, I gave her friend this website address to give to her. She probably won't be able to understand anything, but the pictures may give her some idea what it's about.

 

Edward Would Go Too...

Ed Harris has appeared in some of my favorite movies, and some very interesting ones. He's 1.75 m (I'm 1.77) and striking. I like him because he is a strong, secure and intelligent character, as are those he portrays.

A Beautiful Mind is one of my favorites.
But he's also been in Pollock (about the famous artist, which he also directed), The Abyss, Enemy at the Gates, Apollo 13 and The Rock.

In The Rock he played a flawed general, but to his credit, one who admitted he'd overplayed his plan.
Captain Frye: You changed the coordinates, didn't you, General?
General Hummel: That's affirmative, Captain.

General Hummel: You made a terrible mistake, and more of our brothers have died in vain. Damn you for forcing me into this position.

General Hummel: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson.
John Mason: "Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious," according to Oscar Wilde.
[Hummel strikes him and Mason falls to his knees]
John Mason: Thank you for making my point.

This movie was, bottomline, Ed Harris vs Sean Connery.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117500/quotes
 

The Hours

Here's Ed Harris looking and feeling a lot like I do on a day as cold as today is.

Clarissa Vaughn: Alright Richard, do me one, simple favor: Come. Come sit...
Richard Brown: I don't think I can make it to the party, Clarissa.
Clarissa Vaughn: Uh... You don't have to go to the party, you don't have to go to the ceremony, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. You can do as you like.
Richard Brown: But I still have to face the hours, don't I? I mean, the hours after the party, and the hours after that...
Clarissa Vaughn: You do have good days still... You know you do.
Richard Brown: Not really... I mean, it's kind of you to say so, but it's not really true.

Richard Brown: Who is this party for?
Clarissa Vaughan: What are you asking, what are you trying to say?
Richard Brown: I'm not trying to say anything. I think I'm staying alive just to satisfy you.

Richard Brown: Ah, Mrs. Dalloway... always giving parties to cover the silence.

Clarissa Vaughn: Why is everything wrong?

Virginia Woolf: Someone has to die Leonard, in order that the rest of us should value life more.

Laura Brown: It's a terrible thing, to outlive your entire family.

Uplifting, isn't it!
 

-7°C

Today is even icier than yesterday. Is Korea trying to freeze me out?

The picture above is from the Sutherland Observatory site, which is commonly known as the coldest place in South Africa.

It's still nowhere near as cold as it is here now! Eeecccch. 

End of Side 3 Soundtrack

I've been playing a lot of Green Day in these, and the last three days before lift off.

3 years in Korea, 3 months in South Africa, 3 days to go, 3 sports to pursue...

Here are the lyrics from 3 Green Day songs from their album, American Idiot
1.The Subversive:

"American Idiot"

Don't wanna be an American idiot.
Don't want a nation under the new mania.
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mind fuck America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alienation.
Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.

Well maybe I'm the faggot America.
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda.
Now everybody do the propaganda.
And sing along in the age of paranoia.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alienation.
Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.

Don't wanna be an American idiot.
One nation controlled by the media.
Information age of hysteria.
It's calling out to idiot America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alienation.
Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.

2. The Semi-Appropriate

"Holiday"

Hear the sound of the falling rain
Coming down like an Armageddon flame (Hey!)
The shame
The ones who died without a name

Hear the dogs howling out of key
To a hymn called "Faith and Misery" (Hey!)
And bleed, the company lost the war today

I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On holiday

Hear the drum pounding out of time
Another protestor has crossed the line (Hey!)
To find, the money's on the other side

Can I get another Amen? (Amen!)
There's a flag wrapped around the score of men (Hey!)
A gag, A plastic bag on a monument

I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On holiday

"The representative from California has the floor"

Sieg Heil to the president gasman
Bombs away is your punishment
Pulverize the Eiffel towers
Who criticize your government
Bang bang goes the broken glass and
Kill all the fags that don't agree
Trials by fire, setting fire
Is not a way that's meant for me
Just cause, just cause, because we're outlaws yeah!

I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives

This is our lives on holiday

3. For the Sleep Deprived...

"Wake Me Up When September Ends"

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

like my fathers come to pass
seven years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends

summer has come and passed
the innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

ring out the bells again
like we did when spring began
wake me up when september ends

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

like my father's come to pass
twenty years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends


http://www.azlyrics.com/
 

Bram Cohen Owns The Internet

This guy created innovative online file-sharing software called BitTorrent.
This year BitTorrent has grown rapidly. Cachelogic, a research company reports that BitTorrents now account for more than a third of all traffic on the Internet. That's big.

Yahoo News:
The program owes its popularity in part to its immunity to industry attempts to confound it with bogus decoy files, which have swamped some other networks. BitTorrent also allows for efficient and speedy downloads.

BitToorent has become has grown into a piracy problem the film industry is struggling to handle.

Bram, you're my hero.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?
tmpl=story&cid=562&ncid=738&e=11&u=/ap/20041220/
ap_on_hi_te/movie_downloading_lawsuits
 

Suprnova.org Has Shut Down

No, it's not Supernova, it's Suprnova. If you've never heard of it, here's what all the ruckus is all about.
Associated Press:

Because of its speed and effectiveness, BitTorrent steadily gained in popularity after the recording industry began cracking down last year on users of Kazaa, Morpheus, Grokster and other established file-sharing software. (AP Graphic)

BitTorrent became a popular mechanism to download anything from movies, to books, to music to computer games. Because whole movies (very big files) could be downloaded rapidly, and the source files become available before the products themselves are available for purchase an unconscionable thing has happened. Some media meguls lost a lot of money.

For some, the Honeymoon is over, and the lawsuits are just starting. For others, it's time to look in the mirror. 

A Life in Boxes

I am now well and truly inside a healthy sleep pattern. I was in Snoreland before midnight, and I woke up clear and present at 6am.

It's so cold outside the milk and water in my window are chalky and glassy blocks of ice. I'm still waiting for the milk to thaw (at 10:19am) so I can have some breakfast. Maybe I'll just call Eric at 12:00 and have brunch with him.

My Cannondale is in a box. It's stressful putting this powerful, but somewhat delicate machine in a box. While it has survived some very deep potholes and carried me beyond the jaws of certain death, the sensitive cables especially around the derallieur don't enjoy confined spaces, or having heavy objects loaded onto them.

It's going to be a relief to have it unpacked, the bars, wheels and saddle bolted back together and riding again.
On Friday, when I arrive in South Africa at 7am, while the sun begins to climb clear of the horizon, I'll be just about ready for bed. 

-6°C

The maximum today is meant to be 1 degree, and the minimum -3. Yahoo shows that currently it's a lot colder. It's -6. Ouch.

This mo-mor-morning the air is l-l-like a Great White Shark: just a big mouth filled with razor sharp white teeth. Gnash gash brrrr...

http://weather.yahoo.com/
forecast/KSXX0037_c.html?force_units=1 

Week 8 Day 1

Swim: 44 minutes
Distance: 2.25km

1 km: 15:53
2 km: 37:50
Some kicking and warming down.
Best 250m = 3:33

Felt heavy, and expected to break the 80kg barrier, but alas:
Weight: 78.8kg.
I ate two HUGE meals this weekend, so I am not sure how my body managed to maintain its mass in the meantime.

One of the girls at reception was sitting on a bench talking on her handphone. She gave me a long look as I left. Is something happening? 

Kandinsky

From: http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/
people_n2/art_n2/kandinski.html

Kandinski went to Germany at the age of 30 and became one of the first creators of pure abstraction in modern painting. After successful avant-garde exhibitions, he founded the influential Munich group 'Der Blaue Reiter' (The Blue Rider) and began completely abstract painting.

Until about 1920, he used bright, pure colors and free, spontaneous line and form. Later he began to paint carefully calculated compositions of geometric shapes. He maintained that the observer of his paintings ought to look at them as representation of mood rather than objects.
 

News From My Refrigerator

I seem to never eat at home (other than breakfast). I've unplugged my refrigerator because it doesn't seem worth turning the whole machine on just to heat up a pint of milk and a few gulps of juice.

But what about the few things I do need to keep cool?
This is it, here's my new refrigerator: Milk and juice in the bathroom window. Believe me, the air outside keeps this stuff chilled.