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  • Diary of romance, part 11: Goodbye

    I finally said goodbye to Miho tonight. She is leaving for Japan tomorrow. I decided against going with her to the airport for obvious reasons. It would be too drawn-out and unnecessarily painful for both of us. We came back from a holiday in Spain on Friday and have been making the most of our time together.

    I managed not to cry but Miho definitely shed a few tears. I felt more sad in the hours before rather than when I actually said goodbye. It was very hard and emotional watching her go. We said goodbye and she left my flat, but I waited outside my balcony to make sure that she caught the bus. I’m not sure what’s going to happen next but I’m confident we’ll see each other again.

    The last seven months have been great with her by my side and I’m grateful for everything she has done for me, and I’m she feels the same for me too. I left her with a present and a card with some hastily written words. She gave me a card too but I haven’t opened it yet. It can wait a few hours anyway. They say love hurts and I’m beginning to see why…..

  • Korean Englishman – what’s the big deal?

    If you’re Korean, you’ll almost certainly have heard of Korean Englishman, a young priest who has made dozens of  massively popular Youtube videos. When I say popular, I’m talking in the 100,000s of views for videos such as 처음 써보는 한국 어플 “스노우”에 푹 빠진 영국 친구들!!

    In Korea, it seems there is a fascination when it comes to foreigners (particularly from England) who can speak Korean. Make that any Korean. To some people, this could be a little patronising. Yes, Korean is a difficult language to learn but it’s not impossible. Of course, it helps if you attended a Korean school since 11, as Josh Carrott, one of the presenters did.

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    Love him or hate him, (and I find myself in the latter category) you can’t deny the success of these videos in promoting Korean culture and in providing a link between UK and Korea. They may be the reason why so many young Koreans are interested in England.

    It’s possible that these videos could help English people learn Korean, but it depends on your level of tolerance for endless joking around, fast edits and pop-up captions every five seconds. Maybe I’m jealous because, however hard I try, I will never reach the same level of mastery of the Korean language.

    What do you think?

    Drop me a comment in the box below.

     

  • Is the Korean wave over?

    In response to the THAAD defence shield, China retaliated by cancelling a concert in Shanghai for the K-Pop Idol group Exo.

    Now people are worried that it could lead to further restrictions on other K-pop performers, or TV programmes. The ban is particularly worrying as China is perhaps the biggest exporter of Korean music and TV programmes, all part of the movement known as Hallyu or Korean Wave. Shares have already fallen in Korean stocks after the news.

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    The demise of Hallyu has been reported many times. A backlash from other countries, who resent Korea’s dominance on the airwaves has led to restrictions on the amount of Korean songs played on the radio in Cambodia, and China and Japan have tried to limit the number of Korean dramas shown on the airwaves.

    The main markets for Korean entertainment has been in other Asian countries but as they develop their own entertainment (or simply improve the ones they already have) there will be less dominance by Korean culture. This is particularly true of Japan and China who have often been fiercely nationalistic.

    Sadly, the conglomerates which manufacture Korean groups and singers have simply been churning out too many of the same looking and sounding groups. No-wonder the public are losing interest. Internationally, there hasn’t been a song anything like as popular as Gingham Style, which was nearly 4 years ago.

    No-one can doubt the popularity of K-Pop. SNSD’s Gee has ranked a phenomenal 166,417,458 youtube views, but the group haven’t been able to match the super hit (the departure of lead singer Jessica has really hurt the group’s chances).

    It’s well-known that the government of Korea have interested in TV and music production as part of promoting the Spirit of Korea overseas. But nearly all of it been on pop-culture which has meant that traditional aspects of Korean culture have lost out. It could be time for a change of tack. Changes in music and TV come about thick and fast but people will (I think) always love Korean food, the people and the history of Korea.

  • Which is better; Korea or Japan?

    Of course, in an ideal world, there would be just one country, a combination of the two called “Japorea” or “Korpan”. There is so much these great countries have in common. They have similar environments and climate. They like similar music and films. Let’s put it to the test.

    Starting with:

    Language

    Japansese is a beautiful language to listen to  but very difficult to read and write. On the other hand, the Korean alphabet Hanguel is very easy to read and write and is phonetic too. Korean is a very difficult language to learn but there are many opportunities to speak it because Koreans travel so much.

    Winner: Korea.

    Food

    Would you rather have sushi or Kimbab? Most Korean dishes can be done in a similar style by Japanese restaurants. Most of Japanese cuisine looks incredibly beautiful ob the plate whereas Korean has a tendency to be served in a straightforward, unpretentious way. Apart from seafood and rice, the patisserie in Japan is second to none. Therefore, Japan has this one.

    Winner: Japan.

    Alcohol

    South Korea has the world’s number one liquor, Soju. At only an average of 20% alcohol, its light enough to be slammed in shot glasses and still packs a punch too. You can’t do the same with Sake. Japan has several delicious beers (Sapporo, Asahi) but Korea has makgeoli, a sweet, slightly sparkling wine that goes so well with fried chicken. It’s tough, but I think South Korea has a better selection of alcohol.

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    Winner: South Korea

    Cinema

    Ozu, Mizocuhi, Kurosawa. These are some of the most famous Japanese directors that have made well-known films. I’m not going to mention more recent Japanese works, but think about Studio Ghibli. On the other hand, Korea made some great films between  2002-2005, but they haven’t been nearly as successful recently. Many Korean directors are now working with American studios or even for Netflix, with the example of Bong Joon-ho. Japan’s film industry is far-better established for Korea to compete.

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    Winner: Japan.

    Pop music

    K-pop has sold the image of Korea all around the world. Big Bang, Girls Generation  and Super Junior sell out in China and Japan. When was the last time you heard of a Japanese pop group doing the same? PSY still has the most watched Youtube video of all time.

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    Winner: South Korea

    Women

    Some of the world’s most beautiful of women come from Korea. Ordinary Korean women are super amazing too. Not only are they beautiful but they are very smart too. A further plus is that most young Korean women speak English. It’s not the same with Japanese women, who don’t travel as much outside their country. Personality-wise, Korean women tend to be very outgoing and confident. Contrast Japanese girls who are much shyer and prefer staying at home.

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    Advantage to Korea on this one.

    Literature

    Since Yukio Mishima won the Pullitzer prize, western readers have known about Japanese writers. Haruki Murakami has sold millions of books which have been translated into 5o languages. Japan’s thriller writers like Keigo Higashino enjoy huge success. Korean novels are only starting to be translated into English. Korean writer Han Kang recently won the Man Booker Prize for The Vegetarian. Literary accolades aside, it’s not a novel people are going to enjoy reading.

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    Japan can have this one.

    Politics and History

    Japan’s history dates back thousands of years. So does Korea’s, but less is known about it. Korea has had a very difficult past century of conflicts that weren’t its fault. Japan came out of the Second World War to become one of the world’s largest economies. Korea’s economic turnaround has been no less impressive. I can’t stop reading about Korea, on the other hand, I am also fascinated by the history of Japan.

    Draw.

    TV soaps

    Most people have watched at least one Korean drama. Truth is, they are really not something I can recommend. Japan’s dramas are not something I have watched but I’d like to think they are better than crappy TV series such as My Love from the Stars.

    Winner: Japan

    Culture

    Visit to Japan and you can be entertained by a Geisha. Or visit a Buddhist temple. Perhaps a visit to a bath house, or a tea ceremony? Most visitors to Seoul go shopping, drink and eat and go to nightclubs in Seoul. There is probably a wider variety of cultural events in Japan.

    Real Geisha posing before a cherry blossom tree in the Geisha quarter of Gion in Kyoto, Japan, Asia
    Real Geisha posing before a cherry blossom tree in the Geisha quarter of Gion in Kyoto, Japan, Asia

    Winner: Japan.

    Korea: 4

    Japan: 5

  • The Bright Courtyard

    The Bright Courtyard

    The Bright Courtyard, London W1

    What’s the most romantic cuisine you can think of?

    It used to be French cuisine. All those rich dishes and so-called aphrodisiacs like oysters. Or maybe Italian? Ever since the cute couple in The Lady and The Trump slurped on a spaghetti strand there has been an allure about Italian food.

    For me, the most mysterious and romantic cuisine is Chinese. Every time I visit a Chinese restaurant I struck by a wonderful feeling of exoticism and mystery. Usually there is different music playing and a man speaking in a strange accent. Or there used to be. Nowadays the second generation of Chinese people speak English better than most people born here.

    The Bright Courtyard might not have the traditional red and gold design of High Street Chinese. It’s a very modern, a mostly white dining room, with black wooden structures separating the room into different areas.

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    Its situated across the road from Royal China Club, an admittedly more famous Chinese restaurant. I figured they already have more than enough support and they don’t need my custom.

    The occasion was Miho’s birthday so I needed somewhere sufficiently impressive.  The Bright Courtyard did the job. Thanks to Harden’s Restaurant Guide (the only one I would trust) I’ve  only just become aware of it. It’s been reviewed favourably by Giles Coren and Jay Rayner.

    We ordered mainly from the Dim Sum menu. What could be sexier than tiered bamboo steamers containing miniature delicacies, all brought to your table on a silver trolley?  They were all mostly excellent. We ordered several a large rice bowl for 2. It came in a large, smooth stone bowl like a Korean Dolsot. Vegetables were diced finely with pieces of chicken and egg. It was more than enough and we ended up it taking most of it home.

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    Beancurd rolls with prawns tasted like sweet pancakes. They were pleasant but not too memorable. Far better were the Venison puffs. Each one topped with black sesame seeds, showing the care that goes into the presentation on every level. Even better were the Short rib puffs. If the steamed dumplings were delicate, healthy, these were gloriously rich and unctuous. The golden pastry, a million miles away from leaded shortcrust, flaked apart in the mouth. I was full but ate two more anyway.

    We also ate scallop and pork dumplings, shimmeringly translucent and soft-textured.

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    Shi Mai Dumplings
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    Venison puffs with pea shoots

    We had a mango pudding, a creamy bowl of chilled milky mango. As it was a birthday the restaurant the restaurant served us a delicious fruit plate, and even sang happy birthday.

    Now I think of it, a restaurant can serve the best cooking in the world but it means nothing if the service is bad. After years of famously bad service in Chinese restaurants, the restaurant shows that you can manage to provide great food and great service. Which, after all, is something people remember as much as the food.

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    Our waitress Chui Ling, who served us so charmingly and professionally

     

    Score:

    Food: 4.5/5

    Ambience: 4

    Service: 5/5

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    The total bill was less than I expected, thanks to a 10% discount for Miho’s birthday.

  • The Joy Luck Club

    When Wayne Wang was brought out to direct the film of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, it must have seemed like a dream come true for fans of Asian cinema. With Oliver Stone as producer and several of the hottest Asian actresses in tow this looked like a surefire hit.

    Unfortunately, it really missed the mark. Instead of being the moving epic that they were clearly going for, the film is a terrible and incoherent mess.

    Let’s see: there are four daughters of four mothers, who are all members of the titular club. They moved to America it seems at different times and have made a point of bringing up their children as American rather than Chinese.

    So the film had my interest but the flashbacks are totally intrusive and serve to prevent any sense of time and place. Now, like most American /Chinese productions, the characters speaking English. Not that this is a problem, as the daughters were brought up to speak English. Would adult Chinese women speak English alone with their friends? No, of course they wouldn’t.

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    Now, in the flashbacks, the characters only speak Chinese. This is fine. These scenes are terribly melodramatic though. We are supposed to be shocked by the barbarity of Chinese culture and the way that women were treated. Each mother is given a flashback scene in which some awful event from the past is revealed, I lost interest after a while.

    Then, the film takes us back to nineties New York, where their daughters live life of unabashed privilege, complete with yuppie boyfriends. These scenes feel like a Woody Allen film without the wit.

    The Joy Luck Club does not deliver any emotional payoff. Each scene unfolds with the predictability of a thousand soap opera cliches.

    Director Wang was never given the same budget to work with again. Vivian Wu appeared in Peter Greenaway’s The Pillow book, whilst  Lauren Tom played the role of Ross’s girlfriend in Friends. Fans of American-Chinese films would have to wait until Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon for their next piece of Chinese cinema.

     

  • Film Review

    The Last Emperor Dir Bernardo Bertolluci

    Hong Kong/GB/ 1987

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    He was three years old when he ascended the throne and made history. Yet, his life was controlled by others and he was a puppet for the 6 years of his reign.

    The Last Emperor is an incredible story. First off, when did any other film attempt, let alone succeed in trying to depict some of the most turbulent years of Chinese history?

    As well as being a historical epic, the film is intimate, full of lovely touches and gentle humour. Bertolluci’s direction is masterful. Witness the key scene in the ballroom where the Emperor (newly made the ruler of Japanese state Manchuko) is watched from the sidelines by his embittered wife the second consort Wen Hsui, who in a scene of increasing tension, sits stuffing flower petals into her mouth. As we watch, the camera swoops, glides and moves along with the rhythms of the Emperor Waltz.

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    From left: Joan Chen, Vivian Wu, John Lone

    As the film moves on to the next phase of Pu Yi’s life, we see him in prison as the country of Manchuria is controlled by Russia after there Second World War. As the film ends, Pu Yi is freed from prison, just as the Red Guards are bringing in a new phase of Chinese rule.

    The final scene is full of irony. The Forbidden Palace, where the Emperor spent the first years of his life in splendid isolation is now a tourist site. A small boy frees himself from the group and climbs on to one of the thrones. Pu Yi watches him and hands him a a container. Curious, the young boy opens it. Out climbs a grasshopper, presumably the same that the Emperor was given when he was crowned. Chinese politics will always change, but the soul of the country – as shown by the grasshopper- will endure.

  • Restaurant review Jin Go Gae

    With over 20 restaurants serving Korean food in New Malden, finding the right one can be difficult. Following the crowds leads you to Jin Go Gae, which is away from the hight street along an unprepossessing road off the A3 fly-over.

    Don’t let the destination fool you – this is a great restaurant.

    We started with an incredible kimchi pancake which combined delicate pieces of cabbage with the lightest of batters. each slice was dipped into a bowl vinegar and soy sauce condiment. The pancake was luscious, and so light.

    Jin

    Three bowls of banchan were brought out. We had seasoned bean sprouts, a dish of sliced kimchi and a terrific potato salad with chunks of potato and cucumber in a sweet mayonnaise sauce.

    I wasn’t sure we would have much room for barbecue but somehow we did. The kalbi was sliced long-ways and laid down carefully on the hot metal grill under which hot charcoals were laid in a cauldron laid into the table.

    We ordered squid too, which cam unwarranted. We dipped it into samjjang sauce and then we wrapped it up in lettuce leaves.

    If you come here regularly the waitresses will start to recognise you and remember you as though an old friend.

    Groups of contented Korean families sat eating happily opposite us and smaller tables were to the back of the restaurant. As we finished, there was a queue of people already waiting outside. At the front of the restaurant a group of young adults were celebrating someone’s birthday. It was busy but not somehow not noisy. This place is perfect for a friendly meal, and at other times during the week this would be an ideal date spot.

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    Food 4.5/5

    Service 4/5

    Ambience 4/5

     

     

  • On Yellow Fever

    These days you can’t get anywhere with out someone being called out for having yellow fever. Lets talk about what it means honestly, without resorting to ugly name-calling that usually comes out of discussions around this subject.

    The term’s been around for a while and is similar to the derisory term Jungle Fever to describe white women who are attracted to black men. That term has largely disappeared but the term Yellow Fever has really sunk in and become a well-known term not used exclusively by Asian women, although most of them are no doubt aware of the phenomenon.

    Let’s be 100% clear on one thing: the Inter-racial Asian/Caucasian couples which are so frequent these days are the total opposite of the cliche of the THAI bride (typically married to an older western man, usually unattractive and with limited options),since the women are from the same backgrounds, similarly educated, etc. Unfortunately, people still have the idea that western men are exploiting so-called submissive Asian women?

    Unfortunately the submissive Asian woman is largely a result of Confucian culture in which women are raised to respect men and follow orders from them. No doubt there are some men who will find this behaviour attractive and this may be the reason why they are more taken by Asian women.

    It must be admitted here that many men find American society to be incredibly rights based and libertarian. you can’t say or do anything without someone being offended. This has truly had a terrible effect on relationships, with 1 in 3 marriages ending in divorce.

    I’d be prepared to bet that most women in modern inter-racial relationships are more intelligent and better-educated than their western male partners. Far from being submissive, most Asian women are very assertive, they simply have a different approach to dealing with say, their frustration and anger than most other women do. I don’t now how effective shouting is but most kinds of women still feel that this is the way to deal with relationship problems.

    I’ve been spending time with Asian women for the last few years. I guess success breeds success because I’m making more and more friends with girls who happen to be Asian women. The thing is I know what I’m dealing with and it’s all very reassuring for me. I find that these women enjoy the same things I do and we are culturally similar in spite of being from very different countries I did some internet research on ‘yellow fever’ and it seems most people using it are some women who feel that men shouldn’t be attracted to them. And yet, what is a man supposed to do? When I was younger, I was attracted by blonde women who had large breasts (because this was what society held up as a beauty ideal). So I went after these women, even though I was disappointed when I found out that they weren’t what I had expected.  In life, you must go after what you want in order to be happy. Being around these women makes me happy and I’m in no mind to stop, despite what some people would no doubt put down to an unnatural fixation.

    According to an article on the Harvard Crimson, ‘There is nothing wrong with being a white man who is attracted to Asian women. Many times, it is a subconscious desire that you can’t really control anyway.’

    And the article was written by an Asian women, Nian Hu,

    So there you have it.

  • Diary of a romance, part 10

    Its been 6 months since I’ve been going out with Miho and I’m very happy that we’ve made it this far.

    Unfortunately Miho is going back to Japan next month because her visa runs out. August is flashing before me like a red light. I can’t believe I’m going to say goodbye to this lovely woman I’ve been spending so much time with.

    I’m not normally an emotional person but lately I’ve been tearing up at the thought of Miho leaving. I try to avoid talking about this with Miho but it’s becoming harder and harder.

    The only possible option I can see for us is that I go to Japan and possibly work out there whilst living with Miho. I’ve got no problem with living abroad. I think England is going downhill so fast these days, and I don’t feel any great reason to stay here.

    Of course there is the option of marriage, but I’m not ready for that level of commitment right now. I’ve always thought of marriage as something you do when you’re older and I’m still trying to figure out who I am right now.

    We’re very alike, so much so that I’m surprised our sameness doesn’t cancel itself out.  We’re both born in Summer, we like black coffee and tend to find the same movies enjoyable. If I hate a movie it’s likely to be the same for Miho, so that’s the problem of choosing something to watch avoided. We like the same music and we both like pancakes for breakfast. Miho talks in her sleep and I occasionally sleep walk (although I haven’t done so for years). We far more similar than our cultural differences would suggest. I guess we’re soulmates.

    She is totally human in a way that none of my other girlfriends have been. If she is sad she cries. If she is unhappy (although seldom the case) it registers subtly. If something is funny she shows that it is funny by laughing. She feels all the human emotions but with no of the falseness and obscuration. Maybe she is the one……..

     

  • My thoughts on Margaret Cho and Ali Wong

    My thoughts on Margaret Cho and Ali Wong

    Recently I have watched two live stand up comic shows by well known American female comediennes who both have Asian ethnicities. I don;t normally enjoy watching   full-length stand-up acts. I find them to be very self-indulgent. However, being a lover of anything Asian, I felt I had to give them a try.

    Ali Wong is known for being the main writer on the show Fresh off The Boat (which I personally really enjoy watching). The show is notable for being a  American  to be centred around Asian people. The crossover between Ali and Margaret is that Cho was the very first Asian actress to have had starring role in an American sitcom about the clash of Western and Asian civilisations. (All American Girl ran for one year in 1994).

    Ali’s one-hour show was filmed last year for Netflix and released this year as “Baby Cobra.” I started watching and at first I worried that it was going to be deliberately offensive. However I have rewatched it and I found Ali to be a very likeable character who spent much of the show making fun of herself and her ethnicity. There are several jokes at the expensive of her ‘jungle-Asian heritage’ -she is half Chinese and half Vietnamese. She also joked that she has to listen to self-help tapes to stop the endless anxious thoughts that flood her brain.

    What makes this performance totally unique is that she gave it while she was 5-months pregnant. It was very physical performance and at one point Wong lay on the floor with her legs in the air as part of a gag about retaining her husband’s semen. Both Ali and Margaret make continual references to their bodies so if you find this offensive you probably won’t enjoy either of their performances.

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    Ali Wong in the Netflix Special Baby Cobra

    Maybe people are used to hearing graphic content from male stand-ups but not aren’t so comfortable hearing it from women. Ali was remarkably candid and went in to detail about the ageing process and her difficulties becoming pregnant. Persistent myths were debunked. For example, the idea that couples have sex constantly when they are trying to become pregnant was demolished. In fact, Ali told us that she demanded that her husband save up his sperm for days so that they would be pent up and more likely to procreate.

    Common to both Ali and Margaret Cho’s performaces were references between interracial dating between Asian women and White men. Ali mentioned that a previous boyfriend had refused to have anal sex with her and this lead to the punchline “if I advertised on Craigslist as a tiny asian female seeking anal sex the Internet would crash.” the joke was funny because there was so much truth to it.

    This idea was mentioned again when Cho said that Asian women were like blondes “except no-one thinks we’re dumb.” One of Cho’s funniest lines was referring to very beautiful Asian women who have very unnatractive partners (‘Come on, I know your eyes aren’t that small’. Exaggeration perhaps, but no-one could say they were unfamiliar with what she was talking about. Cho’s show went on for too long and contained too much celebrity name-dropping (Joan Rivers, Robin Williams) at times.

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    It was another highly personal show in which she as well talked about her body, in one scene she revealed a chest-covered in tattoos, and explained how shocking these are to Koreans who associate body-art with organised crime. Still, her character came through strongly and the audience truly loved her.

    Ali Wong is continuing as a writer on FOTB, and also as a voice artist in several films. Margaret Cho continues to perform, touring as well as acting. She was most recently seen in Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

     

  • Va piano – Berlin

    They seem to have a thing about Italian food in Germany. For example,  the biggest manufacturer of frozen pizzas is Dr Oetker.

    Not only is pasta everywhere but pizza is so popular you could be mistaken for thinking that you were in Naples.

    On a recent visit to Berlin with my girlfriend, we happened upon this place.

    Upon arrival we were presented with a card and instructed to swipe it every time we ordered something.

    It struck me straight away as a gimmick and instantly turned me off the place. Then we were led to the seating area. There were several stations where you could order risotto, pasta and pizza.

    the emphasis is on freshly prepared food cooked in front of you.

    It’s a lovely idea but it fell apart straight away. The chef couldn’t hear us because of the din. People were waiting for half an hour for their food. Cooking each dish individually means that the chef can only prepare one dish at a time.

    Standing around waiting doesn’t feel like you are in a restaurant, more like McDonalds.

    There’s a very good reason why most restaurants don’t have open kitchens: most (nearly all) chefs are ugly with terrible anger-management problems.

    There’s also nothing remotely interesting about watching an overworked Polish immigrant cooking the 100th bowl of pasta.

    My bowl of spaghetti Carbanora tasted tougher than my shoelaces.No doubt it was not properly cooked because of the throng of people waiting at the counter. I sent it back and the second bowl was scarcely any better.

    Shareholders love this idea, and you can see why. Getting the customers to place their order and wait for it means they can do away with waiting staff. Hell, you don’t even need a kitchen, you have the chefs prepare everything in the dining room.

    I was so taken aback by the concept that I investigated the company. It turns out that they have restaurants in London too with a big one near the Thames at Bankside. If this is the future of restaurants, count me out.

    Va Piano, Alexander Platz

  • My thoughts on the EU referendum.

    You’ve now heard the results: Britain has decided to leave the European Union after a 40-year alliance setting back years of progress and integration.

    The majority of voters in London voted to leave Europe, in stark contrast to voters in Scotland, who voted by a majority of 68% to remain in…

    What does this mean for the future of the United Kingdom? Right now, we don’t have a new government to lead a post EU-break-up Britain. After the result was confirmed on Friday, David Cameron swiftly announced his resignation as Prime Minister, as many suggested he would.

    Why did so many people vote to leave, in spite of all the warnings from politicians, economists and lawyers? Here’s what I take away from this referendum: people felt sick of being told how to think, how there was only one way they should vote in the referendum. All the arguments were negative, in that they warned of the dangers of leaving the EU, rather than emphasising all of the positives that come from membership.

    A far more significant reason for the result has been the 3.5 million EU residents living in the UK. That’s the highest number of foreign residents at any time. As a small country, there is a sense that we can only take in a certain numbers of immigrants before things are unbearably stretched. You only have to look at London, with its transport system bursting at the seams , overcrowded schools and NHS waiting lists. It might not be fair to blame the migrants directly.

    Of course there have been many benefits from migration,  but if you’re a business man, you gain much more from cheap labour than a UK worker who sees stagnant wages and little chance of ever earning a decent living.

    For me the tipping point was when the EU relaxed laws of free movement from former communist countries Romania and Bulgaria. We saw thousands coming in to the UK in a short space of time. These were people with no skills to offer, yet they were coming into England with exactly the same rights as UK citizens.

    For immigration to work, there has to be a benefit both for local people and the immigrants. For example, I live in an area which has the largest community of Koreans in Europe. You can see the benefits straight away. Not only are the Koreans who have moved here incredibly hardworking, but they have a real sense of civic pride in the local area. They are quick to learn English and cause few social problems. They just get on with their lives quietly.

    Contrast this with people from India, the Middle East and Pakistan, who move here with large families and require bigger council houses and more social support. They have less desire to integrate and seem reluctant take on local customs.

    Most intelligent people ought to consider the head covering worn by muslim women despicable yet because of the large numbers of women wearing it we have become accepting of it. Once a group of people in society begin to act noticeably different form the majority they become a very marked ‘other’. No wonder people are uncomfortable around Muslim people, for this reason.

    We’ve always felt isolated from mainland Europe. We have a suspicion of anything ‘foreign,’ only accepting them when they are made acceptable to our English taste (see Indian curries, which are nothing like authentic curries in India.

    I’ve been trying to think of a recent comparison to this decision, yet anything falls short. Perhaps you have to look to Henry VIII’s break from Rome to find anything remotely comparable. These are exciting times to be British, make no mistake.

     

     

  • Does South Korea have a problem with women?

    The recent news coming out of Korea has not been good. Aside from the prospect of Kim Jong-Un’s nuclear weapons build-up, there has been the continuing controversy of the government’s response to the Sewol ferry.

    In the last two weeks there have been two articles from Western publications which have highighted the limits which women face in the workplace.

    Korea has one of the lowest scores of a developed country when it comes to gender equality, being ranked 115th out of 145 countries. This means that most women face almost insurmountable barriers when it comes to working. For example, women are not employed if bosses feel they will become pregnant.

    As well as the problems of employment, women have it hard at home, where they do nearly all of the housework. They also face immense scrutiny when it comes to their appearance (the amount of plastic surgery centres in Seoul shows how far theuy are prepared to go for perfection).

    It seems that in a culture as seeming modern as South Korea, the old Confucian values die hard. I don’t believe that all Koreans hate women. I think that there are a number of men (as there are in this country) who resent women who show any signs of wanting to avoid a traditional path.

    The article in the NY Times referred to a recent murder of a woman by a man who said he killed the woman because he felt that he had been ignored by women his whole life. The comments in the web pages that were set up for the victim were hijacked by men who left comments such as “you’re as helpless as you let yourself be.”

    These comments are unpleasant but I doubt that they represent all of Korean men. One thing that will make life easier for women in South Korea is for the government to pass the anti-discrimination bill which would help reduce discrimination, create legal protections and compensation. The women of south Korea deserve much better than what they are currently given to them from their government.

  • Dotori, Stroud Green Road

    How many Londoners are aware that only 20 minutes from central London there is a cosy enclave of 20-or so Korean restaurants? Not too many, if this highly popular restaurant is anything to go by.

    It’s Korean/Japanese which means that sushi is served alongside bowls of bibimbap and Japchae.

    It’s on the corner of Stroud Green Road, an unwelcoming part of north London just across from Finsbury Park tube.

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    So what’s it like? Well, its tiny. Inside capacity looks like it can seat 24 diners. Waiters hurry up and down delivering food on tables no bigger than a chessboard.

    The small size won’t be a problem, however, if you are Asian-sized, but some people are going to have difficulties. Last Monday two Australian women looked awkward as they moved, crablike, into their seats.

    On our first visit we tried a tempura bento box and bulgogi bento. Ingredients were good and the tempura was deliciously crisp.

    There were no offerings of kimchi but we were given a bowl of iceberg lettuce before our food came.

    On Saturday we went back to try something Korean. We ordered Saewoo Dolsot. It was a hefty sized bowl but lacked some of the vegetables you would normally find, such as beansprouts. The prawns benefitted from the gochugang sauce which we stirred liberally into the rice. It was good but by the time we had finished the restaurants was feeling incredibly claustrophobic. In true Asian style, we dined and dashed, but not before paying the bill (a not unreasonable £11.95, for the Dolsot and a glass of Ice GreenTea).

    Dotori, 3 Stroud Green Rd, London N4 2DQ

    Food: 3/5

    Service: 3/5

    Atmosphere: 2/5

    Who goes there? Cool kids with money to spend and groups of middle-aged locals.

     

  • Remembering Sewol

    Two years ago a passenger ferry carrying 476 people sank off the coast of Jeju Island, South Korea. 304 lives were lost, including 250 high school students who were en route to Jeju Island for a school trip.

    To this day, no government body or official has accepted responsibility for the event or given any form of official apology.
    The group “Remembering Sewol UK” was set up on after several silent protests on behalf of the people who died in this terrible tragedy.

    I spoke to Debbie Kim – who works for the organisation – to see if she could explain why after two years the families of the victims are still looking for answers

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    “The Truth Shall Not Sink”

    Firstly, in spite of its technological advances, South Korea is not a hugely safety-conscious society. The boat that the students were travelling on was not in good enough order to make the journey. This, along with the fact that it was heavily overloaded, means that the disaster was in some ways foreseeable.

    Whilst the boat was sinking, TV crews filmed the event which was broadcast live on TV news. The lifeboats that were dispatched rescued all of the crew first. Yet, there were no lifeboats sent out to rescue the passengers, and in such an emergency situation why did the coastguard not respond quicker?

    For one thing, the coastguard refused offers of assistance from Japan, from fishing boats and the US navy. It seems that those in charge were negligent, or they didn’t respond quickly enough. It might have been possible, if the coastgurard had acted sooner, to rescue the passengers.

    Two years on, the families of the nine victims whose bodies have not been recovered, (who include children, a teacher and a member of the public) are still waiting for the ship to be retrieved.

    There has been a permanent tent set up in the main square near the Blue House, the official residence of the President of South Korea.

    Some believe that the media set out to deliberately smear the family. They got their compensation, they should move on. The story, which was front page news is in danger of being forgotten by a public addicted to instant news and the next interesting story.

    One positive outcome is that the students who witnessed the disaster are becoming more aware of the flaws of their government. Many have had enough of what they see as the corrupt establishment, which has in its president a relation of the dictator who crushed the student regime in 1980.

    Some are so sickened by what they term “hell Choson” that they are leaving to work abroad in countries like New Zealand and Australia. It was perhaps inevitable that a country which has some of the highest working hours recorded of any country would see a backlash.

    Rememebering Sewol has supporters throughout the world and has recently established a link with victims of the Paris attacks through a Remembering Sewol group there.

    There have been screenings of the dcoumentary “Upside Down” and the parents have recently travelled to the UK to meet with parents of the Hillsborough survivors.

    For more information contact: 416network@gmail.com, http://www.facebook.com/solidarityforsewol

  • Diary of a romance, part 9

    Most straight men only socialise with other straight men. if you ask me, they’re missing out. So this post is about why you should make the effort to get to know your partner’s friends.

    Yesterday I met two of Miho’s friends. This wasn’t the first time I have met people she knows. I suggested that I would go and meet them and Miho agreed. It was good. I was a little nervous that they wouldn’t like me at first but it was all good.

    Maybe it’s because I grew up with women and a father who wasn’t at home much, I don’t know. But I’ve always preferred the company of women. Since nearly forever. And you’d have to go back a very long time (to elementary school) when I didn’t have a special lady in my life.

    It may be due to the fact that I’m bored by typical male interests such as sport and cars, or whatever it is men talk about when they’re with other men (see, I’m so out of the loop I don’t even know what they discuss).

    So, if you’re a man and you don’t want to spend time with your girlfriend’s friends, my advice is, stop being such a loser. Being around other women feels sexy and you will feel good. You might even learn something.

  • Book review: KOREATOWN A COOKBOOK

    Book review: KOREATOWN A COOKBOOK

    Koreatown_book_cover
    Koreatown A Cookbook captures the flavours, the people and the atmosphere of Korean food

    Authors: Deuki Hong & Matt Robbard Clarkson Potter New York 2016

    If you’ve never eaten Korean food, try to imagine a less-refined, spicier Japanese cuisine, or rather, Chinese food with less MSG.

    The profile of Korean food (Hansik) has risen immeasurably in the past few years. It’s now possible to eat Korean food in many Western cities. London boasts several venues where you can eat authentic cuisine and to do so in a korean style.

    What about the cook who wants to eat Korean food at home? If you live in an Asian neighbourhood, you can find all the ingredients you need. Furthermore, there are several blogs that contain useful recipes.

    However, this is the first book that I have read to really capture Korean food in all its messy, earthy glory. Combing the heat of red chillies, the saltiness of soy sauce and the richness of sesame oil, Korean food is seriously addictive. For example, Kimchi (the ubiquitous ingredient found in the majority of stews) is fermented; meaning its made the same way as beer. Once you start eating it becomes difficult to stop.

    What are the key dishes in this book?

    It’s divided in to three main sections. First, kimchi and banchan. These are the small plates which arrive at the start of a Korean meal. For example, Kongnamul Muchim (crunchy sesame bean sprouts) and Dubu Jorim (soy braised tofu).

    My favourite is Kimchi Jeon, which the book suggests is made with pancake mix rather than flour.

    Rice, noodles & Dumplings includes Japchae (glass noodles with julienned vegetables) and Ddeokbokki (Korean rice cakes, which are  similar in texture to gnocchi).

    Nothing is missing from this book. You like instant ramen? This book contains a recipe for the perfect al dente packet noodles. They recommend that you fan the noodles with a paper fan to slow down the cooking process and make them more chewy. Or perhaps you want to make Hodduk (delicious hotcakes filled with nuts and brown sugar). Or you might want to learn how to make something wicked with Soju like the Watermelon punch listed here.

    There are stories, reflections on nearly every page. It must have been a real labour of love for the authors. One chapter tells us “how to cook Korean food without pissing off your neighbours” ( although in my case it would be flatmates). Another highlights the important role of the Emo, the woman who looks after diners, gives them mints and stirs bowls of steaming Bibimbap.

    There are several barbecue recipes (a key part of the cuisine is grilled meat); bulgogi, pork belly and kalbi,  marinated short ribs.

    There is a list featuring the foods to eat whilst drinking (Pojangmacha). The word means “covered wagon,” which in Seoul is a tented places serving food in styrofoam boxes. Recipes in this chapter include Dakgangjeong (fried chicken) and Jokbal (soy-braised pig’s feet).

    The writers of the book spent three years travelling to all the different Korean restaurants in America, hence the book is named Koreatown.

    The book’s design is stunning.  As well as following a logical order of dishes, the colour photos and texts make it the kind of book you can easily follow whilst cooking at the same time ( I’m seriously thinking of buying a spare copy for night-time reading).

    More than just a book, this is a celebration of everything which makes Korean food such an extraordinary, life-affirming celebration.Koreatown_book_cover

    What others are saying:

    “Eating Korean food is the best legal high in the world and KOREATOWN is the gateway drug you need!”
    — Gary Shteyngart, author

    “Koreatown is not a place. It’s an energy, an attitude, a painstaking stew of spice and frugality and brutally honest flavors. For the first time, here’s a book that captures all of its electricity and mystery in a voice that is both vibrant and respectful.”
    — Edward Lee, chef and author of “Smoke and Pickles”

  • Diary of a romance, part 9

    It looks like this is not the last of these posts as I have responded to the high level of interest in this topic.

    I have found that one downside to spending your time with someone is that people assume that you just want to be alone with them. Friends stop calling; the invitations dry up.

    We’re doing just fine. I’ve booked a holiday in Berlin next month so that will be great. I’ve arranged to meet my friend Max who has promised to be our personal tour guide for the trip.

    We watched a travel program showing us some of the amazing sights (such as the zoo with Panda Bear ‘Bao Bao’ and a Polar Bear called Cnut). Plus they have special tours of the Eastern part of the city in Trabant cars. Sadly, I’ve just read that both of these bears died a few years ago. I must start watching more up-to-date travel guides.

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    Bao Bao was the oldest Panda Bear to have been raised in captivity. Sadly, he died a few years ago.

    What else? It’s nearly 100 days since we started seeing each other so that calls for some kind of celebration.  Suggestions welcome please!

  • Have white girls become undateable?

    It struck me recently that I haven’t been on a date, had a sexual encounter or initiated anything romantic with a white woman for well over two years.

    By white, I mean British, but I guess I’m referring to really any women from Western countries (think North America, the UK and Scandinavia).

    I’m English, yet I can’t get an English girlfriend. A quick Internet search revealed that I’m not isolated in my situation. Yet, I look around me and I see white guys with women from Asian countries all the time.  And although I’m not personally interested, I hear positive things about women from former Eastern bloc countries like Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary.

    It got me thinking; if there was no mass immigration from international countries, I daresay I’d be alone, or I’d be stuck getting nowhere with English girls.

    It’s no secret that there are many white guys who are intimidated (or just plain turned off) by a certain kind of white woman. The huge migration of women from China, Japan and South Korea to the UK (and US) has meant it’s never been easier for a white guy to find himself a beautiful Asian woman. And a lot of these guys find that that they do pretty well with girls form these countries whereas they wouldn’t have any play with native girls. Seriously, some of the guys who are merely average looking can find themselves with some stunning girls.

    It hasn’t always been this way. At university the competition for most semi-decent women was fierce, and in any case most women weren’t interested in men who came their way. You guessed it, it was an English university and overwhelmingly populated by British students.

    I’ve heard dismissive comments from some corners that men prefer Asian women because they are more submissive than western women. I’ll save this contentious issue for another day, another blog post.

    But it’s true that you can be a lot more comfortable being a man among Asian women. And I’ve never met a single Asian woman who actively hates men.

    It’s been said too, on Internet forums,  that Western women are impossible to please. You know what I’m talking about: women who are never satisfied because the guy doesn’t earn at least $100,000 and drive a Porsche. I’m exaggerating, but only by a little.

    A look at the Guardian Soulmates dating column – in which a typical male Guardian reader (check-shirt, beard) is paired up with typical female Guardian reader (works in PR or marketing and has an asymmetrical haircut) reveals what the problem is. The date always go wrong, because the woman complains that there wasn’t any chemistry, there was no spark, the guy wasn’t funny enough. Exactly how funny a complete stranger is expected to be on a first date is not given much thought.

    And so it goes….

    It’s tough for everyone in the world of sex and relationships. But matters aren’t helped when you bring game-playing, flakiness and sky-high expectations into play. Something which isn’t a problem with girls from other countries who will give you their number if they are interested and then meet you straight away, with none of the

    I want the last word to come from the Social Network, that classic of male computer geeks unleashing their inner yellow fever.

    A group of Harvard students, including Mark Zuckerberg, are at Jewish mixer which is playing Caribbean music. Opposite them stands a cluster of dancing Asian women.

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    Here Brenda Song plays the role of Eduardo Saverin’s girlfriend Christy in The Social Network.

    “There’s an algorithm for the connection between Jewish guys and Asian girls,” one of Zuckerberg’s friends says wryly. “They’re hot, smart, not Jewish and can dance.”

     

  • Famous Asian models

    Famous Asian models

    Liu Wen

    China

    Ms Wen is one of Asia’s brightest fashion stars, named by the New York Times as “China’s first bona fide supermodel.” She has garnered a long line of firsts, including the first Asian supermodel in a Victoria’s Secret show.

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    Megbaby

    Japan

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    A Japanese model with 754, 000 Instagram followers, Megbaby is a Moschino devotee, as evidenced by her one-shouldered ‘Caution’ gown.

    Kim Hyo-jin

    South Korea

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    The South Korean actress is known for taking on adventurous roles and being featured in  fashion shoots for the country’s editions of glossy magazines such as Marie Claire. She and her husband, the actor Yoo Ji-Tae are regular celebrity tabloid fodder in South Korea, which has one of the fastest growing luxury markets in the world.

    Zhang Yuqi

    China

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    At the first show of Milan fashion week, the 29 year old actress, also known as Kitty Zhang, wore a Gucci raincoat printed with the brand’s signature G logo. She is the star of “The Mermaid,” which smashed records as China’s highest-grossing films.

    Crystal Mu

    Taiwan

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    With more than a million followers on Weibo and a booming fashion blog,  the socialite is considered a key Asian influencer by Italian fashion businesses such as the Florence cult concept store Luisa Via Roma.

     

     

  • Diary of a romance Part 8

    This is probably the last post I will write about xxxx.

    No, we’re not breaking up. We’re getting on really well and things are going from strength to strength. I simply don’t feel the need to broadcast all the details onto the internet. A few people commented that it might not be the best idea to post anything overly sexual that the public might be able to read.

    But my overall message is that although meeting people can feel really hard in a city such as London, you will never get anywhere unless you go out and meet people. I’m always saying that you can meet people anywhere you go. Look up and smile at the person near you. Don’t wait around for the perfect opportunity. It may not be obvious, but sometimes the person sitting near you actually wants you to come over and talk to them. Yes, it takes some courage to go over and approach a stranger.

    You can try to do things the old-fashioned way by arranging meetings through dating sites. However this can to easily lead to disappointment and rejection.

    I met xxxx in a Starbucks coffeeshop. If I hadn’t made the effort to talk to her, I might still be on my own. So there you go. Put down your phone. Turn off tinder. Go and make a handsome stranger’s day. Remember: loneliness sucks big time.

  • Adventures in Koreatown

    Adventures in Koreatown

    After having lived in New Malden for over two years, I’ve become a total Korean connoisseur and a little bit obsessive about everything 한국어. I started blogging about New Malden in 2014, specifically relating to the Korean establishments.

    New Malden has changed a lot since then, with the arrival of Pizza Express and Nando’s, not to mention Foxton’s Estate Agents – a sure sign that the area is quickly moving upmarket.

    It still holds the claim of being home to the largest Korean population outside of Korea. Here are my favourite places to eat and drink in and around the area of New Malden….

     

    (left to right: Flat White and green tea cookie (The Place); Meeyoung at K-Mart; Blue House cocktail and Bazooka Joe cocktail at Sing Sing Bar & Karaoke)

    The Place Cafe

    They make the best flat white here. I rate their snacks and cakes highly too. A slice of carrot cake with your coffee will do you no harm at all.

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    Yami

    This place is so popular that they have to make extra room for customers at the back by the freezer compartments. It doesn’t really need my help as it’s already doing extremely well. Try the naengmyeon (cold chewy noodles with chilli sauce) or galbitang (rib of beef soup).

    69 High St, New Malden KT3 4BT

    Sing Sing Bar and Karaoke

    Run by the exceptionally friendly and welcoming JC Choi, this is like a Korean dive bar. It’s as popular with local  students as it is with Koreans. Last year they introduced a bar menu which includes such classic ‘anju’ fare like ramen and dried squid.

    Bingsoo

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    There’s no ‘Bingsoo’ in this picture, I just thought it would be nice to show some Koreans at play

    This is the newest place on my list (it opened in March 2016). It’s difficult to think of a better way to end a Korean meal than a bowl of shaved ice with green tea or coffee ice cream. Besides a slice of orange or pear given at the end of your meal, you will have trouble finding any dessert items in Korean restaurants. This bright, airy and spacious cafe looks great and is already a hit with Korean locals.

    Note: if you want red beans, you must order Pat Bingsoo, rather than ordinary Bingsoo, which translates as shaved ice, and looks like a bowl of snow with a scoop of ice-cream on top.

    39 High St, New Malden KT3 4BY

    Kangnam

    Named after the upmarket location made so famous by Psy, it opened last year, and in my opinion (admittedly not worth much) it is the best option for Korean food on the high street. Prices are cheap and they make you feel right at home. Halfway through a recent dinner the waitress removed the empty banchan dishes and refilled them without even being asked. This sort of thing makes eating in Korean restaurants such an enjoyable experience.

     

    19 High St, New Malden KT3 4BY

    Hyun’s bakery

    Korean baking is a strange and wonderful experience. It’s certainly not as sweet as American doughnuts or even French patisserie. Try a very soft bun filled with red bean paste or custard.

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    94 Burlington Rd, New Malden KT3 4NT

    K-Mart

    Every inch of this store is crammed full of every culinary item you could possibly need to make delicious Korean soups and rice dishes. Have a chat to the friendly staff and practice Korean with one of the women who work there.

    71-73 High St, New Malden KT3 4BT

    New Malden Korean Food Festival, The Fountain Pub

    Once a year, during the second Saturday of July, the beer garden of this grotty local pub is transformed into a giant outdoor barbecue cooking every kind of meat imaginable. Alongside all the eating there are performances and a celebration of Korean music and culture.

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    Held on the second Saturday of July in the garden of the Fountain pub

     

  • Diary of a romance part 7

    I’ve been single and I’ve been in a relationship.

    I’m a different person when I’m with Miho.

    For example: If I watch a film by myself and I don’t like it after the first 15 minutes, I tend to stop watching. But when we watch films together, we tend to watch them right through to the end, because it feels like we’ve made a commitment to watch a film together – so there is a feeling that we’re investing more of our time in it.

    TEKKON
    we watched this film together. If I had watched it alone, I’d have switched off after 10 minutes.

    Another thing is I’m more tempted to go out places and possibly socialise than when I was alone. For example, last weekend we went to Wimbledon to watch stock car racing. (for those who don’t know what this is, its when cars which are written off are raced around a track, often smashing into each other, its the opposite of Formula 1, in other words). I don’t think I would have gone by myself. In fact if I had done, it would have been terrible. But Miho and I had a great time together, precisely because we were experiencing it together, so our enjoyment was heightened.

    I’m sure that I’ve said it before  – but its worth repeating, -it’s a world made for two…

  • People aren’t as friendly as you think they are

    And here’s why….

    They say that they’re your friend but they’re never there in an emergency or when you really need them.

    They are constantly asking for favours but are never able to return the favour

    If you try to meet them somewhere they expect you to go along with whatever they have got planned and they expect you to like it, never worrying if it is interesting to you or not. Yet when you arrange something for them to do you make sure that it is of interest for them and go to great pains to ensure that they enjoy themselves.

    They forget things that you have told them, even important things, and they get snappy when you remind them about this.

    They don’t make any effort to ask you questions about yourself but they spend the whole time they are with you talking to you about their problems.

  • K-Pop review: Ailee + Vivid

    K-Pop review: Ailee + Vivid

    Let’s start with the packaging: all Korean CDs come packaged in lavish cardboard folders that are closer to hard back books than the standard plastic jewel cases used by Western manufacturers.

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    This one is no exception: the cd comes in a hard book with several glossy photos of Ailee looking very seductive. The CD itself is housed in a rubber inlay.

    So what about the music?

    Track 1 starts with a saxophone blast over which the singer repeats the word Crash several times. It’s a strong song to begin with and bodes well for the rest of the album.

    Track 2, Insane, reminds us that the singer can do a good English accent. It sounds like modern, mid-tempo R+B. Could potentially be a big hit.

    Track 3 roughly translates as Love My Love and it’s a middling track that goes nowhere fast. Skip!

    Track 4, Second Chance, is a bit better but by this point I was expecting more from this album. So far, nothing has come close to the energy of her most famous song Don’t Touch Me.

    Track 5 is more unimpressive R+B .

    Track 6, Come on Man (thanks Google Translate) plods along without doing very much.

    Letting Go sounds like a potential single. It has a good hook and some nice backing vocals from Embassy.

    Lastly, after a few more middling tracks, is an Emile Sande sounding ballad.

    Final verdict: a few good tracks, but nothing to get very excited about. You don’t really need this album unless you are a die-hard fan.

    Score: C-

  • Journey to Conversational fluency: e-book review

    The founder of the blog Dedicated Polyglot has published an ebook in which she explains how using non-traditional methods of language learning can be more effective than textbooks and formal lessons.

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    Her book starts with the idea that learning a language is more about experiencing a country’s culture than simply learning grammar and sentence structure.

    Most textbooks are a waste of time; it can take a lot of patience to wade through all the selections on the market. Classroom learning also gets the thumbs down because you only move as fast as the slowest learner. It can also be very expensive.

    So what are language enthusiasts supposed to do? They can start by finding a language exchange partner through a website. It’s amazingly easy to do this and its an effective way for each party to improve their language ability. Plus, you may also gain a friend too. In my experience, keeping in touch through email or Skype has improved my fluency very well and has only been helped by careful use of google translate.

    Most people give up on learning a language but if you experience an emotional response through another language this book argues that you will be more likely to persevere and stay the course.

    One of Maria’s languages is Korean (and it just so happens that I am currently learning it myself) and she states that it has been through immersion in Korean media (cartoons and music) that she has managed to learn Korean. So called K-dramas, in particular, have enabled her to absorb much more korean. As she points out, once you have watched a few episodes of a particular drama, you will be familiar with some key vocabulary, since most of these shows emphasise strong feelings such as love and sadness.

    It’s great that there are new perspectives on language learning. Through the blog and now this ebook I have realised my love of language learning, and particularly, learning Korean. Most surprisingly, it seems that learning a new language can actually cause a person to think differently. For example, when speaking English, Maria is more open-minded; whereas when she speaks Korean she feels more in tune with her emotions.

    It’s a helpful book because it shows that there is more than one way to learn a new language. I’ll continue to learn Korean and I’ll continue to follow anything this language guru recommends in future.

    Download Maria’s e-book from Amazon.

    You can also read her blog at dedicated polyglot.com.

     

  • Five great Girl’s Generation songs

    If you’re not already loving this great 8-piece girl group from Korea then you damn well should be. For the uninitiated, here are five great songs to start off with:

    ‘Gee’

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    The one that got things going in a really big way. If you sing just a few bars of this song to anyone from Korea they will instantly recognise it. Check out the video for some great choreography.

    ‘Genie’

    From the same time period as Gee, the song’s video showed a more mature look than the innocent outfits of their previous songs. Listening to Tiffany sing ‘DJ, put it back on’ is one of the great moments of K-pop.

    ‘Oh!’

    Cover

    Another great song and video which showcased some great dancing and costumes.

    ‘The Boys’

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    “The Girls Bring the boys out” they sing on this Teddy Riley produced number and you know they’re not lying. It’s the first song they recorded in English and there’s even a mix which has Snoop Dogg rapping on it.

    ‘I Got A Boy’

    cover

    This dazzling five minute pop symphony has been compared to Bohemian Rhapsody by Pitchfork. It blends five different genres of music and is simply the best song they have recorded so far in their career.

  • Diary of a romance part 7

    Miho asked if she could see me tomorrow. It’s a big deal for me (I’ll explain why later). We met each other yesterday and she stayed the night. Normally I work on Friday’s, but I didn’t feel like going in today. I have been feeling groggy all week and knowing that Miho would have some time to see me (*Friday is her day off) gave me the impetus to call work and tell them that I wouldn’t be coming in today.

    So instead of waking up bleary eyed, running around frantically trying to get ready, as per most mornings) I stayed in bed for an extra two hours more, having sex with Miho, and then eating eggs on toast with cheese slices and almond croissants. Well, how am I supposed to get better if I don’t do the things I enjoy?

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    Mihi knows that I love K-Pop, so she asked her mum to mail me this CD all the way from Japan,

    Back to what I was saying earlier, the matter of Miho asking to see me tomorrow is a very big deal for the following reasons: Miho asked me if she could see me – showing that it was her idea) and two, it showed that she considered the time spent time with me a higher priority than any of the other things she could be doing with her weekend That for me is dedication. In fact, it may encourage me to start taking monogamy seriously…

  • Diary of a romance part 6

    It’s been almost a week since I last saw Miho and I am actually missing her a bit.

    We met on Monday but just to watch a film. I’ve been so busy with work that I haven’t been able to spend much time meeting up.

    We re meeting tomorrow at the Royal Academy for the Monet exhibition with my mum.

    Maybe the quality of the meeting is as important as how often we meet. I’ve picked what I think to be a good restaurant for lunch and its one that I think both my mum that my mum and Miho will enjoy equally.

    But before all of that we’re meeting tonight for some Korean food and then, well, let’s just leave it there…..

  • Diary of a Romance Part 5

    I used to be alone but now I’m not. That has been the single biggest change in my life since meeting Miho. It’s surprising that people don’t talk about loneliness much. Being alone doesn’t necessarily mean you are lonely.

    There are times when I enjoy being by myself and times when I need to have company. But one thing is for sure: the world is more geared up for couples than single people.

    I think it’s the right thing to do to spend time by yourself  sometimes but the way some people see it, it’s like a fate worse than death. It’s sad but people look at you differently if you go out by yourself. Either they assume that you’re by yourself because you want to be by yourself and they don’t talk to you for this very reason. I suppose this view is understandable but a little presumptuous.

    But much worse are the people who look down on you and deliberately avoid you when you are out in a public place such as a restaurant or bar by yourself. It’s sad that people feel they need to act this way. We’re all alone at times and we all need friends and want to meet people so where on earth does this stigma come from?

    Luckily I have Miho now and she’s around to keep me company. If I’m going somewhere I’ll ask Miho to come along. For one thing, I really enjoy having her around. And maybe I want to share my life with her and I have no reason to exclude her from anything, especially when it’s something she might enjoy.

    That’s all for now. There’s so much to be happy about and I have no reason to focus on anything negative.

  • Diary of a Romance, part 4

    Diary of a Romance, part 4

    I’ve decided that there’s no better time to be with someone than during Winter. If you’re alone during this time it can be really terrible. Not only do you have to face Christmas by yourself but a few weeks later you have Valentine’s Day too.

    During the cold months, you want to spend your time snuggling under blankets and staying in, but this isn’t much fun if you’re alone.

    I think it’s ok to be single in the summer. There are more opportunities to go out and meet people. People are keen to go out and meet people.

    I’ve been staying in with Miho much more than I thought I would. It’s easy to think that when you start seeing someone you need to go out and spend a lot of money in expensive places. The problem with that is that you aren’t able to properly get to know someone if you are surrounded by distractions.

    This morning Miho got up around 9 and I cooked breakfast. (I used the last of the Hotteok cakes from the freezer). I also used up a stale 1 day old croissant and cooked it in the oven with some cheese and ham.

    Now we could have easily gone somewhere to eat breakfast. However this would have involved several decions, the first being where to go, and then what to eat, where to sit, how long to spend there, before eventually leaving and returning home.

    Now, the beauty of staying in is that you already are at home and you don’t have to make countless small decisions.

    I’m pretty sure Miho enjoys the breakfasts I make. There is washing up to be done after but this is a small price to pay.

    We’ve been eating a lot of chocolate lately. Miho loves it (and so do I). It can only mean that it’s nearly Valentine’s day.

    I surprised Miho by giving her chocolate early. Last week I ordered some Anthon Berg chocolates from Amazon. I’ve never had them before but they look different and they aren’t sold much here.

    We also went to our favorite cafe together again (see photo)

    20160212_142054 (1)

    For the first time, I haven’t made plans for Saturday with Miho. The reason for this is that I want to give myself some free time. Plus, we don’t need to spend all our time together.

    I have so far been very impressed with how much time Miho has been willing to spend with me and I feel she has been very generous with her time.

     

    I spend a lot of time when I’m with Miho thinking about the next time that I will see her next but I would like to be able to just focus on the time spent in the here and now.

     

  • Diary of a Romance Part 3

    Diary of a Romance Part 3

    Its amazing how many things you start to be come aware of when you start seeing someone. Like the cleanliness of your bedroom. If its just gonna be me in there, I don’t bother keeping it clean. I let clothes pile up in messy piles; books and paper clutter themselves on the floor. I get used to things staying in this way because its only me and I don’t think I deserve any better. Its a bit like Teri Hatcher’s Burnt Toast idea (you know how when you burn a piece of toast, but you eat it anyway because you don’t think you deserve a new piece).

    When I knew that Miho would be coming over often, I started to think about my room and spend time cleaning it. Firstly, I made an effort to pick up all my worn clothes and keep them in one place. Its a habit I’ve gotten into and its taking real effort to change. Next are papers and books. I have far too many and I don’t have enough shelves, so inevitably, they aren’t properly arranged. What to do with cosmetics? I seem to accumulate moisturisers and shampoo. I have really dry skin so moisturising is important. I currently have a tub of body butter (which I don’t use by the way) anti-aging moisturiser, Nivea cream….. All scattered about. They all need to go somewhere.

    So here’s what I’ve got planned for date weekend no 3:

    I’m meeting Miho in Wimbledon in the afternoon. There is a Uniqlo store there that we like. I’m such a fan of their clothes. They change their stock regularly so there’s always something new. So we’ll try and find some good outfits.

    Then, I need to get her back home quickly.

    Sunday 7 February

    We went to Uniqlo. Miho helped me pick out a shirt and a belt. We bought some groceries at the Morrison’s store for the morning.

    The train from Wimbledon to New Malden takes five minutes but can’t get there fast enough as far as I’m concerned. There’s two more stops to make before we’re home.

    The Place cafe (I’ve mentioned it on here before) is the best coffee shop around. So we go there and I order a Macchiato and carrot cake with an Americano for Miho. Man, the carrot cake is good. Lastly, we make a quick detour to discount supermarket Lidl, which has a good wine selection. I select a Bordeaux.

    It’s just before 4pm and I’ve taken Miho upstairs. I don’t make a drink or anything. I ask her if she thinks that my room is cleaner and she says she can’t see any change (she’s lying, it is cleaner and there aren’t so many piles of crap everywhere).

    I ordered some massage oil from Amazon in the week. It’s a bit strong like they overdid the essential oils but it’s fun squeezing oil on to Miho’s body.

    I think I will try a softer, sweeter smell next time. Another weird thing about oil (I’ve never really used it) is it actually applies another layer to your skin). after sex Miho puts some of the oil on me, for an hour I can still feel the oil on my skin. Unpleasant.

    I’ve got the movie sorted. It’s the South Korean film Always. always

    I’ve watched it before but it’s nice to watch it again with Miho. You always see more on the second viewing.

    Then it’s dinner. 9 times out of 10, it’s never a good idea to eat in restaurants when they’re busy. Not only are the staff feeling stressed, the food isn’t at it’s best. (I guess it’s because the head chef is probably off on Saturday night). Even worse, we have to wait 15 minutes for a table to be ready.

    Sometimes, in spite of convenience, restaurants aren’t any better than eating at home. It does depend on the restaurant of course. It’s Valentine’s Day next week. I’m considering two venues. There’s Sakura, which would be great because it’s Japanese. But expensive. I think Pizza east would it be a great choice. It’s in Notting Hill and has a great vibe. But it’s no big deal. In Japan it’s the women who buy chocolates for men. Nothing like our crappy Valentine’s Day here.

     

  • Diary of a Romance Part 2

    Diary of a Romance Part 2

    Saturday 30th January

    Miho came to meet me as planned yesterday. We met inside McDonalds again, its a convenient meeting point as its near my flat. As we had already planned to cook something together, we went to a Korean supermarket to buy some ingredients for our lunch. I explained to Miho that I already had the basics like rice and vegetables but I didn’t have any meat or anything special. Miho selected some ready sliced pork ribs and I got some tofu too. We also bought some tokkbokki (Korean rice cakes) and some spicy sauce to go with them. The total amount for this food came to 6 pounds.

    That shows that you don’t need to spend much to enjoy a good meal. It helps if you know how to cook.

    We went back to mine and I checked that the Kitchen was empty. then I made sure that all the surfaces were wiped and ready for cooking. Its important to have clean surfaces if you are going to cook something. I showed Miho some pans that she could use and we got started. We boiled water for the tokkboki and in  another pan I fired the pieces of pork in oil. While we waited for it to cook I opened a bag of shimp which Miho had selected earlier in the store.

    We needed rice so I asked Miho to prepare a serving which she did very ably. normally  whenever I cook rice It turns out either to soggy or too light but Miho made sure it was light and fluffy. We were nearly ready to eat when my flatmate came down to use the Kitchen. I was a little apprehensive about this and I was worried that he would get in the way. In the end, Miho gave him all of the tokkbokki to eat, inspite of the fact that it was supposed to be an appetiser for ourselves before the rest of our food.

    Luckily he didn’t stick around to eat it but took it upstairs to his room. we got sat down to eat at last. The pork rib soup that I had made tasted delicious and iho really enjoyed it. We were joined by antother flatmate who came down to make something.

    I wasn’t actually annoyed by this and it was a pleasant diversion too. By the time we finished eating I was ready to move on with the plans. I told Miho that we would watch a film together and I that I had chosen an old one. father of the Bride is a 1948 black and white comedy directed by Vincent Minelli. the humour stands up pretty well despite its age and Spencer Tracy is really funny in it.

    When the movie was over we started kissing again and things got very hot and heavy. Although i wanted to have sex with Miho, a part of me wanted to wait a little longer. It was hard to communicate this feeling. However, we ended up going upstairs and we did have sex. I left the light on and I saw Miho’s naked body for the first time. She has lovely brown skin and dark brown nipples. Her hips jut out and her arms are very slender.

    as usually happens after sex I felt very tired so we slumbered in bed together. I don’t heat the room very often so it felt very cold. Miho wrapped herself around me and I felt very warm. This was about 7pm. Eventually we fell asleep.

    Sunday morning

    I have a routine every Sunday that I always try and stick to. I make breakfast and coffee and then watch the Andrew Marr tv show at 9am. Then I go swimming in the local pool for up to an hour. Of course, it was different with Miho there. I got out of bed and made some coffee.

    I think its nice to have something special prepared when you are making someone breakfast. I didn’t have time to make anything from scratch. Luckily, I had made some pancakes the previous Sunday and I froze them. I took them out of the freexr and fried up several of them,  serving them with maple syrup. I think breakfast should ideally be something warm and sweet (in this respect, pancakes are perfect, especially if you have a sweet tooth). I also cut some avocado and toasted some wholemeal bread. When it was finished Miho asked if I was going swimming. I hadn’t thought about it but Miho said it would be ok. So whilst I went swimming Moho washed the dishes and washed tv. It was a great situation for me. I normally forget about my washing up and annoy my flatmates but Miho made sure this wasn’t a problem. So I got to have my swim anyway.

    Sunday afternoon

    We took the train up to London Waterloo en route to the Tate Modern. We missed one train so waited 10 minutes for the next one. We had some time to kill at the station so we browsed through some recipe books in Foyles together. Then we walked over to the Gallery. Its 15 minutes from the station. but instead of rushing like I normally do I purposely walked slowly and pointed out some sights along the way, like Shakespeare’s Globe and the Oxo Tower.

    We met my Dad and walked to the Calder exhibition. I don’t find meeting my Dad particularly comfortable but Miho took the heat off the situation just by being there and answering some of the questions that would normally be directed towards me.

    we walked to lunch in Borough High Street. There’s a Turkish restaurant called Tas that my father goes to whenever he is London. It’s not my taste but to be honest I knew that there was no point trying to suggest anywhere different, my Dad already had his mind made up. So it was Tas that we went to. I had actually suggested another restaurant in the area that I wanted to go to, alas, my Dad told me that it was closed. I have since checked online and the restaurant was actually open. This is proof that my Dad doesn’t know what he is talking about.

    There is nothing particularly bad about Tas but nothing outstanding either. You usually order sharing plates rather than main courses. This means that you get several plates of things you aren’t really keen on and then one or two dishes that you like, but you can’t have much of them because you are sharing. We ate several of these plates and ordered some coffee. It was time to go home. I had a typical Sunday feeling as we waited for the train. I thought I would be saying goodbye to Miho that day and that I wouldn’t be seeing her for a while.

    So to banish these gloomy feelings I asked Miho to come back with me. We had started watching a Japanese film called the Girl Who Leapt Through Time, so we finished watching that. When the film was over I kissed Miho, but I didn’t  take her upstairs straightaway. Instead I poured some wine and we sat and drank it together.

    girl

    For some reason, I am drinking a lot of Italian red wine at the moment, so whenever I am with Miho we drink it. I put the radio on in the backgroynd. Miho talked freely and easily and I listened. Then I asked Miho to come upstairs and she did so. It was some good sex. I didn’t want Miho to fall asleep, so I turned the light back on and asked her to gave me a massage. It went very well as Miho is a trained masseuse. She spent half an hour massing my shoulders, back and legs. I have very tight hamstrings so Miho paid particular attention to them. I felt completely renewed afterwards, better than I had felt in a long time.

    It was time for Miho to catch the bus to go home. I expected to feel sad to say goodbye but I felt very hopeful an happy. It had been a wonderful weekend and I knew that we would be seeing each other again very soon.

  • Diary of a romance

    I first saw Miho at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon inside a Starbucks cafe. She was sitting alone on one of the high tables reading on a kindle. I glanced over at the text and I noticed that it was in Japanese. I asked her if she was Japanese and she replied that she was. We spoke a bit about various things and I found it very easy to talk to her and I felt that she was a very warm person.

    A half hour later I asked if she would like to have a drink with me. I was expecting her to say no but she agreed to go somewhere there and then. I bought her two glasses of cider and we sat down across each other at a table. After more talking I felt that I already liked her so I asked if she would like to eat something. We went to a restaurant a few doors down. The restaurant was called Lime and Thyme. Milo ordered Margherita pizza which impressed me because its my favourite pizza topping too. I ordered two glasses of wine, making sure not to order the cheapest but to get wine that might actually taste of something.

    I also ordered tiramusu which we shared, and two double espressos which we drank black. Miho excused herself to use the bathroom, at which point I asked the waiter for the bill. Normally I don’t like paying the cheque all by myself but I was so happy to be spending time with Miho that I didn’t mind. I also wanted to make things as easy as possible.

    I took Miho’s number down in my phone when we were outside the restaurant because I knew that I wanted to see her again. We texted each other the same night and I had a good feeling about things. Throughout the week we texted each other almost daily. I made a plan for Miho to come to my flat to watch some Korean soap operas, which Miho had already told me she was keen on.

    Miho met me on Friday just after 8, just after I finished work. I met her in McDonalds where she was sitting at a table, reading the same text on her Kindle. We went to a Korean supermarket because I was hungry. Miho paid for the ramen and a pack of choco-pies.

    Miho cooked the ramen and I watched her as she carefully cooked the long thin strands of noodles and dissolved the spice powder. Miho’s long hair was tied back and she was wearing black jeans and a denim shirt. I opened a bottle of Italian wine and gave her a glass. We watched two back to back episodes of The Heirs, a Korean soap about sons of rich families living in America. I enjoyed sitting close to Miho and I casually touched her arm occasionally.

    I felt quite tired around 1o pm so I suggested we finsih for the evening. Miho walked with me to the station but there was a 20 minute wait for a train. So in the end we had a drink and Miho took the bus home. I was actually a little disappointed that we hadn’t kissed at this stage. I asked if she wanted to meet again on Saturday and she agreed. This time, rather than staying in, we would watch a film at the cinema.

    Saturday 22 January

    I met Miho outside a Starbucks cafe but we didn’t drink in. It was very noisy and there was nowhere to sit.. I was feeling a bit nervous as we waited for the film to start. I was thinking a lot about kissing Miho. I was thinking about how I would kiss her and where it would happen. We watched the film and held hands throughout but no more. I had actually had a minor crisis earlier in deciding which film to watch. The choice was between Hateful 8 and an indie film called Room. In the end, I went with Room, because it was about a child and I knew that Miho, as a Nursery school teacher, would find it interesting.

    Even though the film was depressing and not super exciting, Miho enjoyed it. I took Miho to one of my favourite restaurants in my town. I’ve been there several times, but often on my own. It was great to go there with Miho. We ordered three dishesand shared them together. Miho ordered chewy chilli noodles which were super tasty.

    Miho came back to my flat again. We watched episode 18 of the Heirs. I poured her more wine. Half way through the episode I felt a sudden urge to take hold of Miho and kiss her. I pulled her towards me and kissed her on the lips but no tongues. I waited until the programme had ended. This time Miho kissed me back and it was full on kissing. My body relaxed and I felt intense feelings of relief and happiness spread over me. Miho kissed me for a long time as we sat silently on the sofa. She actually seemed to be pulling me closer and her mouth felt very hot. Miho kissed my neck and caressed me.

    I didn’t want to say goodbye to Miho because I knew I would be sad to see her go. Instead I asked her if she would like to stay over and go back to her flat in the morning. Miho agreed and I led her to my bedroom, which was semi clean, although not as much as I would have liked. Miho kept her clothes on in bed but we continued kissing as passionately as before. Miho was wearing a soft long sleeve t-shirt, dark green. I shifted it with my hand and felt the indentations of her delicate rib cage.

    We didn’t sleep too well because we could hear the traffic moving outside. Miho kissed me more and I pulled her close to me. I could make out her face in the dark  and her lovely silky hair; she looked different than how she looked in the daylight, more erotic and sensual.

    I realised that I had misjudged Miho when I first saw her.  I thought she was very shy and conservative, not the kind of girl to kiss this way. Miho is actually a much better kisser than most of the more overtly sexy girls I have been with.

    I got up early to make Miho breakfast and so that she could continue aleeping. By the time i had it all ready, Miho was sitting on the bed, fully dressed and combing her hair. We drank green tea and avocado on toast which I had managed to stretch out from half an avocado! I had some plans that day, as it had been my nephew’s birthday in the week. So I had to say goodbye to Miho after we had taken the bus together to Raynes Park.

    Miho showed me where she lived.  I said goodbye and went to the train station.

    That day, I thought a lot about Miho a lot. She appeared in my mind several times as though I was thinking about her without really trying to thinking about her. My sister asked me what I had done that morning and I replied (truthfully for once) that I had spent the morning with Miho and had just said goodbye to her in the morning. My sister asked wherever Miho was my girlfriend and I replied possibly, meaning that she wasn’t at that moment, but I hoped that one day she would be.

    Monday 25/01/16

    I spoke to Miho several times on various matters, such as her work, what she had been doing and so on. Miho asked me about my day in turn and what I had been doing, whether my day had been hard or not.

    Wednesday 27th

    I discussed the possibility of Miho coming over to my flat to cook something with me. This would give us an opportunity to relax and share the enjoyment of cooking together. I have cooked for girls on some occasions, but not actually cooked a while meal with a woman. The idea appeals a lot to me. Miho has agreed to come over!

    Thursday 28th

    I  have asked my father if Miho would be able to come with us to the Tate Modern on Sunday for an exhibition. Although I had planned on meeting my Dad alone, I thought it would be good idea for my dad to meet Miho on this occasion, since it would give my Dad time to get to know her. To this date, my dad had only met with one of my girlfriends. I Mention it to Miho, specifically pointing out that my Dad would be there too, but would she like to come with me? I did feel slightly unsure about the whole parent thing at this stage but Miho said she would like to come and that she liked the Tate Modern.

    I reminded her that the plan for Saturday was still on the table so to speak. I didn’t want her to feel that it had been overturned. I also explained that I would be too tired for karaoke on Friday (we had made a tentative plan earlier on in the week to go to Karaoke, even though I hate Karaoke).

    Friday 29th

    I wanted to talk about Miho so I brought her up with one of the part time teachers at work. I didn’t feel in any way comfortable talking to any of the female staff. It felt good to talk about her and I explained briefly how we had met each other.

    Friday 29th evening

    I texted Miho to find out what time she would be able to meet me on Saturday. Miho teaches Japanese school on Saturdays. Miho told me that she had the day off so I texted her to ask her what time she would be able to meet me.  I didn’t want to feel I was pressuring her to commit to a particular time. I actually regretted sending the text, it probably would have been easier to have asked her in the morning what time she would be able to meet me. Casual is always the best way. I’m a very organised person so timings and structure are important to me. I like to know exactly when things are going to happen so I can prepare properly.

    I thought about which foods to cook with Miho. I thought about fish, because she is Japanese. It has the advantage of being easy to cook and very cook, but then again it can dry out quickly. We mentioned Shabu Shabu, which I’ve never tried before.. Its actually very easy to cook but I’vec never made it before. So maybe we will make that together. There’s a Korean supermarket next to my house which sells it ready sliced. If its Shabu Shabu that we are making I will need to have everything ready in advance.

    Friday 29th evening (update)

    Miho has texted saying she has plans in the morning but she is free after that. I shouldn’t put questions in a text. It makes me feel nervous waiting for an answer and when I don’t get one straight away I assume that something has gone wrong. Stupid I know, however this is how most people think. Although I hate the uncertainty of waiting for a text response, I frequently make other people wait.

    We are now meeting at 1 o’clock (in New Malden). It’s good for me. We will go shopping for the ingredients together. I have the essentials at home but not enough for a particularly elaborate meal.

    On a side note, I haven’t heard from my father anything about whether he mindsif Miho comes along. He’s very slow at responding to any of my texts.

    I’ve arranged for one of my friends to come over to see me tomorrow as well. He must have some questions in his head and I know that a meeting with Miho is going to put them to rest. Plus, I do enjoy seeing others see me with her and I want to see them seeing her with me (if that makes sense).

    Saturday

     

  • Some nice Korean snacks

    Some nice Korean snacks

    Here are some tasty Korean snacks I have tried recently. Most are made by the giant conglomerate Lotte, one of Korea’s biggest companies. It was named after the heroine of Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther.

    Choco-Pie

    choco

    Kind of like a Wagon Wheel, the Choco-Pie has a chocolate coating with a marshmallow and biscuit middle. These have are so famous that they have been featured in films such as Joint Security Area, where North Koreans reconsider their allegiance after tasting one of these delicious cookies.

    Pepero

    pepero

    These long sticks are so popular that there is even a special day for them on November 11th. according to wikipedia, they are involved in a controversy with Japanese snack Pocky.

    Margaret cake

    KOREA-Snack-Lotte-confectionery-Margaret-Biscuit-228

    These taste slightly sweet, with a nutty filling. A little bit like a peanut butter cookie, they are very soft in the middle.

    Strawberry Pie

    strawberry pie

    Eating one of these is like being transported to the streets of Paris. Well, not exactly. The flaky pastry broke off everywhere and the strawberry jam tasted a bit unnatural. I also got annoyed by the effort to unwrap each tiny piece of pastry and the amount of plastic is very wasteful. Still, the novelty of these is fun.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Those ‘crazy’ North Koreans?

    Here much of the press haven’t been sure how to respond to the recent news that North Korea has detonated another hydrogen bomb. On the one hand, the view that North Korea is a failed state, with a leader with a ridiculous hairstyle has been very successful and seems to be related to making as much fun of him as possible. Yet in actual fact, the President seems to have played his hand very well recently and its becoming harder and harder to see him as someone ill-prepared for leadership.

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    The reports coming from the country show a people very different to the that depicted of them as oppressed and unable to show any independent views. According to a recent New York Times op-ed page, we don’t take them seriously enough. Far from being cocooned in the hermit kingdom and cut off from the outside world, many North Koreans are well-versed in global politics. They are well aware of of their national interests and are dedicated to safeguarding them, a dedication that is based on a keen understanding of the outside world.

    For example, a North Korean official asked the journalist about Hilary Clinton’s book “It takes a Village,” which the journalist had not read.

    The press seems unsure over whether North Korea has even got a bomb, however, according to Wit’s article, North Koreans are in this for the long haul. They feel that their country and their government’s survival is at stake.

    It shouldn’t be surprising that North Koreans are realists. for decades, Americans saw Mao Zedong as an unstable realist, yet he was prepared to talk with President Nixon and Henry Kissinger after his relationships with Moscow deteriorated. Whilst no member of America’s current administration under President Obama has visited Mr Kim, its not unthinkable that the regime will look to building some relationship  with the US if they don’t get what they want from China.

  • The trouble with men

    Recently I went out drinking to celebrate Christmas Eve.

    It was a scene most of you will be all too familiar with. However, just in case any of you are unfamiliar with the delights of the British pub, I will describe what I saw.

    Groups of men, mostly young, were standing around, drinking heavily. At the bar, there was a queue of people about four deep. Most were standing, and it looked like they had been waiting a while.  There was the odd woman amongst them, but men were very much in the majority. If you are a women in these places lucky enough to have a drink bought and paid for by somebody else, you miss out on the annoyance of queuing.

    Still, the men waiting to be served didn’t seem to mind. As soon as it came to be their time to be served, they would shout out their order to the server and wait to receive their drinks.

    Suddenly it became clear what a funny situation I was observing. Most of these men were clearly  out to enjoy themselves. They had made some effort to dress well, yet it was hard to see who they might have attracted. Most were slowly getting drunk or already drunk.

    Now I enjoy drinking and I have done a fair amount of it. But drinking in a pub with no female company seems to be missing the point.

    If you’re one of the few sober people in these places, you’re going to have to make yourself separate from all the pissed up boozers. Most women don’t actually mind being approached by men in these places, but no one likes being leered at by a dirty old man.

    What I’m slowly coming to realise is that its not the women who make it hard to meet girls, but other men. In other words, if all the idiots stayed at home, their would be enough nice guys (the kind women complain that they never meet) to go around. Just a thought.

  • How learning Korean saved my life

    A few years ago I felt as though my life was stuck in a rut, that nothing was exciting to me any more. I had had this feeling for a long time.

    I was in a pattern of repetiveness. you could say that I was feeling bored with life and it didn’t give me any excitement. It didn’t matter what I did, things were the same. My life was the equivalent of broken record.

    Things got steadily worse but they began to improve when I moved away from living in the centre of London to the suburbs.

    By this point things were getting better again. I had started studying law and my life felt like it had a sense of purpose again.

    images
    Korean flag

    More interestingly, I was realising that where I was living was home to a large Korean population and that it would be a good idea to think about learning a few phrases to use in some of the Korean-run bars and restaurants.

    new malden
    New Malden , where I moved in 2013. You don’t get a sense of the Korean community from this photo.

    I can trace my interest in Korean culture to 2005, which was the year when I started to watch Korean films such as Bad Guy, Spring Summer, Autumn Winter and Spring and the like.

    spring
    Where it all began.
    3iron
    3Iron was another Korean film I watched and loved.

    I could feel a whole new world opening up to me. Although I felt this interest keenly, it didn’t go any where at the time. It lay dormant. I knew very little about Korea. I knew about the war and the DMZ of course. I was aware of the stereotypes that Korean people eat dogs. One unfavourable phrase in the James Bond book Goldfinger said that they were ‘the most violent people on earth.’ Perhaps I wasn’t quite ready to fall in love completely with Korea.

    In 2006 my father went to Korea to work. Not being able to go out with him, I sent hime with a list of DVDs which I hoped that he would be able to buy while he was out there.  I was still only interested in the films until two years ago when it became clear that I liked Korean food and music too. In fact, I like nearly everything about Korea.

    In some ways I prefer Korean things and ways of doing things to English ways. I never felt particularly proud about being English and I have never strongly identified myself as such. At school we were led to believe that England was great. However, it’s hard to like your country when you can see so much that is wrong with it. But I have had to face up to the realisation that the things I dislike about my country (the weather, the deterioration of culture and civilised values, the people).

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    Korean flag

    The best thing about learning this language has been the fact that it’s given me opportunities that I simply wouldn’t have had otherwise. I can have conversations with Korean native speakers that I wouldn’t have been able to do if I only spoke English.

    Learning someone’s language is an excellent way to get to know someone and I’d like to think that learning Korean has made me lots of new friends and acquaintances.

    I’ve always wanted to learn a second language but the ones they taught us at school were no good –   you don’t need to learn European languages because most Europeans already speak English.

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    I think that Korean girls are the best in the world. Not only are they very funny and intelligent, but they are really cute too, in a way that English girls aren’t. This is another great reason for learning Korean.

    So; my conclusion would be that everyone needs a passion, a strong interest in something separate from their own culture. It’s easy to be interested in things you can see around you, but at the same time it’s very easy to become bored by the everyday things. 

    We all need something new in our lives to keep us interested and curious. Learning another country’s culture is a great way of doing this.  My ‘thing’ is learning Korean. What’s yours?

     

     

  • How Kakao Talk founder became a billionaire

    How Kakao Talk founder became a billionaire

    Self-made billionaires are unusual in South Korea, even more so when they exist outside of family business or chaebols.

    The founder of popular chat app Kakao Talk has invented an app that is used by three quarters of South Korea’s 50 million population.

    He chairs Kakao, the operator of KakaoTalk, and has become one of the country’s most popular super-rich businessmen – with a fortume of more than $2bn- thanks to his rags to riches tale, which contrasts sharply with the easier rise of most chaebols.

    Growing up, his family were so poor that they had to share one bedroom in a poor neighbourhood of Seoul where many IT companies are clustered. “A great degree of autonomy was given to us, which also taught me a sense of responsibility.”

    At Kakao, employees call him by his English nickname, Brian. In return, he calls them by their English nicknames. This is his way of dismantling the country’s hierarchical corporate culture, in which employees are expected to address senior colleagues only by title and never by name.

    It was whilst he was working oin California for new ideas that he started uisng the iPhone, which immediately mesmerised him.

    In 2o1o, he launced the app which is used by three quarters of the population. Last year, he launched Daum Communications, Naver’s competitor, providing a larger balance sheet with which to move into new business lines such as mobile banking and taxi hailing.

    This year, he surprised the industry by appointing Jimmy Rim, one of the country’s youngest CEOs, to control Kakao’s daily operations.

    Of late, Mr Kim has been devoting more time to his personal ambition of developing more than 100 start-ups. He has already invested in more than 70 start-ups through his two venture capital firms to cultivate the country’s tech scene.

    Although South Korea can boast global manufacturers with vast international operations, expansion across the world has been a painful process for its IT service providers. Kakao has struggled to expand its user base beyond the home market, with limited overseas success.

    As well as challenges overseas, Kakao has to cope with regulation at home. Last year Kakao came under the spotlight for a public stand-off with the government, whose heightened surveillance of digital communication has sparked fears for online freedom. The compant eventually ended up bowing to pressure, saying it would comply with prosecutors’ requests to monitor criminal suspects’ messages.

    Along with government interference, the country’s rigid education system is also widely seen as as a barrier to the development of the so-called creative economy.

    Mr Kim is one of the growing ranks of the South Korean elite that send their children abroad. His son is studying at a US university while his daughter had four years of home schooling.

    “The current education is just focused on the university entrance exam, which does not require any creative thinking,” he mourns, “Many people confine themselves to existing frames. But, for the next generation… you need to think outside the box.”

    Source: Financial Times, Monday 28 December 2015.

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    Kakao talk founder Kim Beom-su, pictured with a KakaoTalk character

     

     

     

  • My films of the year

    My films of the year

    Becuase of the mad rush that is the pre-awards season, most of the best films are now released between November and early January to maximise awards potential.

    Still, by all accounts it’s been a great year for films. Here are some of the best:

    Ex Machina

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    Alex Garland’s elegant sci-fi thriller was structured like a novel and made a massive star out of Alice Vikander. The robot who may have human feelings and thoughts is the most intriguing movie cyborg yet.

    Inside Out

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    Pixar continued their excellent run of hits with this incredible insight into a child’s mind. Riley’s emotions play out as she struggles to cope with a move away from home and a new school. The film delighted more adults than children and made this reviewer feel wonderfully happy.

    Carol

    carol-film

    Todd Haynes subtle understated love story was delicate and restrained like the costumes of its stars Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett. Yes, the film may not have been as dramatic as one might have hoped. But could the performances have been improved on? No chance.

    Brooklyn

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    Many critics loved this one. Saorsie Ronan lit up the screen as a young Irish woman faced with the decision to move out of her home in Ireland to New York. The girl is Ellis  Lacey and thinking about this character brings up a lump in my throat. Credit must also go to Nick Hornby for adapting Colm Tobin’s novel so skilfully for the screen.

    Steve Jobs

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    Amidst the massive franchise hits such as Star Wars and James Bond, this one was almost overlooked (perhaps this will be rectified come January). Michael Fassbender gave a startling performance as the head of Apple. Special mention to Kate Winslet as his put upon assistant and the very underused Kate Waterston as his mistreated wife.

    And yet there are more to come, including The Hateful Eight (Tarantino); Joy (David O Russell) and Spotlight. Truly a great year at the movies.

  • A Christmas Story

    A Christmas Story

    There are some Christmases he can remember clearly and others which he has forgotten. The ones where nothing much happened, or nothing of note anyway. Those years where there were no big disappointments, but no great surprises or joys either.

    The Christmas I want to tell you about happened some years ago when things were simpler and less complicated.

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    December 2001.

    The leaves have fallen from the trees and the nights come early, often at 4 in the afternoon. Its not a big town where he lives. Population 20,000 at the most. Its a nice town. The lights are switched on early December every year. He is 19 and still living at home. The shops are full of food that he enjoys and what a treat it is to enjoy all of it! He can spend his afternoons buying food and his evenings cooking it.

    He fills himself up on mince pies and ginger bread. The countdown begins in December so that by the 24th he is in a frenzy of anticipation and excitement. That his day when the Christmas tree goes up. His mother is a traditionalist and won’t think of the tree being put in the house a day earlier. Some of the decorations are very old and are hung on the tree with great care. He will spend an hour positioning these Christmas ornaments so that the heavy ones hang on the lower branches and the lighter ones up higher. They are made of wood and cut glass. His mother bakes gingerbread cookies that are cut in star and heart shapes and decorated with hard sugar frosting. These are hung from lights and over the fireplace from red ribbons.

    They never get the biggest tree but it looks magnificent in the corner of the room perched on top of an old wooden box. Sometimes he will sit watching it alone in the living room with the lights out, the Christmas tree lights twinkling and illuminating everything in the room. Even cosier is when the fire is burning and flickering and sending sparks flying in the living room.

    For the ultimate Christmas feeling he will put on Christmas music by Frank Sinatra or Nat King Cole. Then he will pour himself a glass of wine and settle back in a chair reading stories by Dickens or – for something more modern -perhaps Bret Easton Ellis. There is a description of a glorious Christmas party in American Psycho where glamorous women drape themselves over be-suited Wall Street Traders and dwarfs dressed up as Christmas elves serve trays of Champagne. He has never tasted Champagne and the closest he has got to glamorous women is in Playboy. The December edition of that magazine features the centerfold for December who is normally dressed in some Christmas attire, though not for very long. The red and white costume worn by Miss December makes him feel both sentimental and horny at the same time.

    The magazine contains, amongst other things, topical parodies of Christmas carols, an interview with a well known personality, and, along with the playmate of the month, a semi-famous celebrity who has gone nude for the magazine.

    On Christmas Eve he will get up early and eat breakfast cooked by his mother. The tv stations show old films from 11 onwards. One he has watched for many years is Home Alone. The main character Kevin was about the same age he was when he first watched it. The film is something of a Christmas ritual.  The main character is accidentally left at home at Christmas when his family go away on holiday and leave him behind. One scene in the film has always struck him as unusual and that is the scene where Kevin goes through his ablutions. No child he knows would spend so much time washing himself if his parents were out of the country. Most probably the producers of the film felt it would be cute to show a young boy applying aftershave and then touching his cheeks in pain at the burning feeling. The film is nevertheless highly enjoyable for all its improbabilities and his Christmas would not be the same without watching it.

    His mother becomes stressed as the day wears on and the demands of Christmas began to get too much. He spends time in his bedroom listening to Christmas music. The radio stations play the same naff songs but he is aware that there are much better, more authentic Christmas songs out there. His favourite is the Christmas album by Phil Spector called a Christmas Gift For You. It goes at a fair old pace and contains some of his most cherished songs, among them Frosty the Snowman and the Dance of the Wooden Soldiers.

    And although he sang the Christmas carols as a boy, they seem so solemn and gloomy now. How much more cheerful are these American songs of reindeer and snowmen!

    It got dark around 4pm. This was when winters were really cold. He bundles up in coats and scarf and gloves to make short journeys outside. But if its cold he keeps moving, striding forwards.

    How much warmer it feels when he’s back inside. There is a good fire going and it feels toasty sat in front of it.

    It’s just him sat in front of the fire. He looks at the fire and the presents under the tree and suddenly he doesn’t feel so alone in the world.

  • Social media: The good and the bad

    I’m sure that you have your own opinion on whether you use social media. I’ve been using it for 6 years now.

    here’s what I’ve found:

    Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are often the first sites I go to in the morning after checking my emails. I then spend several times a day checking back to see what new things have been posted. I guess one of the features of these sites is that people are constantly faced with the need to update information about themselves which leads to the feeling that you must stay logged in in case you miss something.

    Secondly, pretty much everyone I know or have had dealings with is a ‘friend’ on facebook. In other words, people who I barely know in the real world now know an awful lot of personal information about me, and vice versa.

    Unfortunately, I’m in the same position as a lot of people where I don’t feel I have a choice: because, if I’m not on social media, I will some how miss out on something. Yet, whenever I do log on to facebook, all I tend to see are long status updates and annoying memes that are only funny to the people who posted them.

    I have heard lots of people say they don’t enjoy facebook but they prefer instagram. This is mainly due to the fact that people tend to post pictures which have something interesting to offer people. I would say that of all the social media sites, Instagram is the one with the least cluttered interface.

    So for now, I’ll be spending my online social interaction on Instagram.

  • Working it all out

    Does it ever feel like everyone else has the perfect job except you?

    Many times I’ve wondered what the key to having a good job must be.

    Although I’ve been told that I’m a people person, I find that most jobs involving lots of interactions with people tend to cause problems with me.

    On the other hand, some of my most satisfying work experiences have been when I have been working by myself, but as part of a team. I’m thinking of when I worked as a chef. you have your own station so you are responsible for your own work. Yet if you make a mistake everyone is affected by it. I have found that in most working environments people don’t own up to their mistakes or even worse they blame others.

    But in a kitchen you can’t do this. Working as a chef is very stressful and the hours are long but you have the chance to make something which people are prepared to pay a lot of money for. (It’s true that most chefs will never get to see the responses of patrons enjoying their creations).

    Now, contrast this with working in an office. You read emails and answer calls. Occasionally you will have a meeting. But you never actually produce anything that will have a direct influence on people.

    I have tried and mostly failed to work in offices. I’m not prepared to have my intellect challenged by some of the banal conversations I would be forced to hear.

    Part of why I have found it hard to find good work is because I don’t think I was ever prepared properly for a life of work at school.

    Yes, there was the occasional career talk but little that was going to be really helpful to me. In any case, when you’re in education up to the age of 18, you feel as though the world of work is a long way off.

    When I was 11 I was desperate to become an actor, but that wasn’t going to happen. Perhaps if I’d been to auditions instead of school?

    Then I had the idea of being a journalist, but you need top grades and the willingness to work for free for a long time until you start earning any money.

    At university I studied film but there was never a clear idea of how I might make a career out of it. I tried and gave up very shortly after finishing my degree (perhaps I gave up too soon).

    Now I’m a teacher. It’s not a vocation for me and sometimes I wonder why I do it. People say that you should do what you’re good at but unfortunately for some people that won’t always be what you will enjoy doing.

    I also studied law and although I found it interesting but I know I’ll never be able to be a lawyer.

    So for now I will continue to teach for as long as I can and continue the blogging until I find something I really want to do.

  • On Growing Older

    There’s no doubt about it, I’m getting older.

    I’ve been thinking about the subject of getting older for quite a few years.

    In my mind I feel quite young but I feel that there’s a big difference between my chronological age and the age I feel myself to be.

    We have a strange attitude towards aging. As children, we are expected to celebrate each passing year. The 18th birthday is supposed to represent coming into adulthood.

    Yet, most 18 year holds are hardly ready for the adult world. We make children wait for so long before we allow them to experience freedom.

    Much of our childhood years and early adulthood are spent in education (perhaps too much).

    I remember being depressed when I reached 30. I didn’t feel I had achieved all of the things that society expected of me.

    Unfortunately, we are very future focused. As children, we think about what we will be when we are older, rather than what we will do right now in the present. And how many children who decide what they want to do as kids go on to do it as adults?

    nautical-ship-sand-timer-250x250I am definitely at the age I was when as I child I thought of as an adult. I am effectively living my future in the present. This means I no longer have the luxury of saying to myself that things will be different in the future (which is just a way of putting off making decisions).

    Now I live in the present, rather than thinking of life as something that happens when you are older.

    I guess time has always been running out from birth onwards. There’s less sand in the hour glass, but there’s still sand left to come out.

  • 10 Great Korean films

    1. Oldboy

    The one that really got the ball rolling for korean cinema was this Palme D’or winner by Chan Park Wook.

    After being imprisoned for 15 years, a man has 10 days to learn why and to take revenge on the perpetrators.

    There are so many awesome moments in this film, from the scene where he asks the sushi waitress to bring him something live, and then eats an octopus raw, to the bit where he takes on 15 security guards single handedly in a stairwell.

    The  plot is borrowed form the Count of Monte Cristo and the music is stunning. Oh Dae-Su’s quest for vengeance becomes complicated when he falls in love with the waitress (Kang Hye-jung).

    2.Chi-hwa-seon/Painted Fire

    An absolutely visually beautiful film which also stars Min Sik. A painter grows up in poverty to become a court painter but spends most of his time drinking and sleeping with women. If your knowledge of period set films is  based on Merchant and Ivory, you really need to see this.

    Spring Summer Autumn Winter and Spring

    The film that started it all for me. Although most of the director’s works take place in depressed urban environments, this one is a quietly meditative study of Buddhism.

    It is one of the quietest films ever made, with minimal sound and dialogue.

    It follows the seasons over many years, tracing the life of an apprentice monk. The monk lives on a floating temple so the film showcases the beauty of the locations.

    Memories of Murder

    Some say that this is the best Korean film ever made.

    Set in the eighties, a police officer tries to solve a series of murders with limited resources and corrupt methods, it’s funny at first but becomes increasingly tragic, as the chances of solving the murders becomes steadily more unlikely.Boon Jong Ho went on to direct the Host and Snowpiercer.

    A Tale of Two Sisters

    South Korea has made some great horrors and this is one of the most famous. It blurs the line between reality and fantasy as the characters become more unsteady and react to family tragedy.

     

     

     

  • Girls Generation Dear Santa album review

    Wow, I didn’t have any expectations on this album as Christmas release can be a bit of a novelty but I was more than pleasantly surprised.

    A still from the music video for ‘Dear Santa’

    The first track Dear Santa starts off with slow, ballad singing before launching into a bouncy Christmas jingle at the one-minute mark. Vocals are mainly in Korean with some words (‘Christmas’) in English. It reminds me strongly of some of the great old Christmas songs like the ones on the Phil Spector Christmas album. 

    They sing an English language version as well, which I’m not alone in thinking is actually better than the Korean language one.

    There are more traditional ballads (‘Winter Story’ and ‘First Snow’) before another funky-poppy number ‘First Snow’, but its the title song I enjoyed the most. It may be a bit sugary for some but seriously what is Christmas if not for sugar and sweetness?

     

  • Ten great Korean dishes

    Ten great Korean dishes

    Here are some of my favourite Korean dishes that I have tried so far…

    Bibimbap

    This is a hot-stone bowl with julienned carrots, courgette, seasoned beef and other namul. Its served in a hot stone bowl so the rice is still cooking, and comes with a fried egg on top. Stirring it all together prevents the rice from sticking to the sides of the bowl.

    BIB
    Bibimbap is a perfectly harmonious dish which contains several vegetables and meat.

    Dukkboggi

    This is a dish made from rice sticks with a sweeet spicy sauce. The texture of these rice sticks is a little like pasta – they tend to be very chewy. It’s commonly served as a snack or as a side dish to go with main meals. They taste great with grated cheeese and slices of boiled egg.

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    It took a long time to find a decent picture of this dish, it definitely tastes better than it looks.

    Bulgogi

    This is one of the most famous korean foods. The beef is sliced very thin and marinaded in a soy sauce and ginger mix. It’s served with rice. Less common but also very tasty is pork bulgogoi, usually slices of pork belly cooked in sesame oil.

    Hotteok cakes

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    Hotteok Pancakes, picture from Korean chef Judy Joo

    These require more effort than typical pancakes because they are made with yeast. You let the dough rise, then cut in to discs, placing a mixture of brown sugar, peanuts and cinammon inside and then pressing them together. Frying them melts the sugar mixture so that you have a deliciously nutty caramel filling. They taste completely amazing.

    Galbitang

    This is an excellent choice for people who don’t want anything too spicy. Short ribs are simmered with daikon for 5 hours until the meat falls off the bone.

    Kimchi Chige

    This is another one-pot meal. You put kimchi (spiced pickled cabbage) into a pot with either water or beef stock. Add pieces of tofu and tuna and you’ve got yourself a delicious meal that’s ready in minutes. You can vary the heat by choosing how much chili to add. It’s great to eat the following morning for breakfast if you have leftovers.

    Jap chae

    This is a famous mainly vegetable dish that is served with sweet potato noodles (or glass noodles). Mushrooms, courgettes and carrots are julienned and stir fried with slithers of beef and then added to the noodles. The only difficulty is in slicing the vegetables the correct thickness.

     

     

  • The Korean War: what’s the beef?

    Essentially, the conflict began after the Second world war.

    The Japanese had occupied the country until 1945, when the Soviet Union declared war. The North was given over to the Russians and the area south of the 38th parallel was occupied by U.S. forces.

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    Map showing the 28th parallel, the DMZ

    The country of Korea has been invaded so many times in its 1000 year history. When the north of the country was taken over by the communists from China, the Americans were terrified that communism would spread to the south as well. Ever since the end of the Second World War, South Korea has been ruled by a right wing government and the North has been in the hands of a Communist leader.

    A dividing line was established at the 38th parallel (so called because that is the latitude at which it was established). In 1950, only five years after the Second world war ended, the Communist north, led by Kim Il-sung and backed by the Chinese and the Russians, began an invasion in the South.

    The war lasted for three years and saw some of the most heroic fighting of any war. In many ways it was fought by outside interests and the Koreans were merely a pawn in the game of the Americans and the Russians. There is a saying that when you are a shrimp amongst whales you will soon be crushed. Korea has the misfortune of being situated next to three larger countries (Japan, China and Japan) which have all sought to establish dominance through the countries’ history.

    When the war was ended in 1953, all Koreans living in the north of the 38th Parallel were cut off from the south. Even family members were included. There is a bridge in the DMZ; those who walked into the North of the country must have known that they would never be able to return.

    One thing that strikes people as interesting is why the United States did not simply occupy all of North Korea and rejoin the the two regions to form a united Korea, thus saving many ordonary North Koreans a life of extremely bitter hardship and suffering. Unfortunatley, doing so would have caused an even greater loss of life and perhaps could only have come about through the use of an atomic bomb.

    The situation today is effectively a military stalemate. The demilitarized zone is heavily guarded by soldiers from the north and south. There are 16,000 American soldiers stationed in the area. It’s said if the Americans would ever leave, the North Koreans would launch another invasion.

    Earlier this year there were rocket strikes launced on South Korea in retaliation to what the North saw as attempts to broadcast propaganda over loudspeakers.

    Whilst relations between the two countries have been continually hostile, there have been recent attempts made by high profile politicians to reach out to the North Korean regime.

    Will the two countries ever be reunited? It seems absurd that two countries with the same language and the same ethnicity should be in such a state of hostility. Unfortunately, the North Korean regime exerts such a stranglehold that they barely have any chance to see what life is like outside the regime.

    It is said what will reunite the two countries will not be any diplomatic efforts but will result from widepsread exposure to South Korean television dramas and films. Already, reports are surfacing of ordinary North Koreans gaining an idea of what life is like South of the border. The spread of films will utltimately undermine the leadership of the Kims. Whether it happens in 10, 20 or 100 years, the corrupt leadership will surely one day fall.

  • What its like dating Asian women

    Before I realised I had what is perjoratively known to some people as Asian fever, my attempts at dating were haphazard. They were fraught with anxiety and awkwardness. I had been raised to expect certain things from women and it was a continual disappointment when I saw that things didn’t go according to plan.

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    I didn’t really think too much about it until I started going out with women from Asian countries. Now, I am not some one who could be called a player by any mean

    The process by which men have typically approached women have come across as sleazy to me. So one night stands have never appealed to me and I don’t like nightclubs.

    I am essentially a very romantic person. For me, the toughest thing has been finding a woman who feels the same way.

    Happily, I’ve managed to meet some women who share my feelings. So, what’s it like with Asian girls, and aren’t women all pretty much the same?

    I’d have to say no. Whilst globalisation has meant that we all eat McDonalds and wear McDonalds, there are still very clear differences in attitude between western and oriental women.

    First things first. Western women will put their needs first. This is immediately clear from browsing through any dating profile on Okcupid or similar sites. A typical profile will contain any number of requirements that a man must have should he consider contacting her. These will range from wanting someone who has a good job to having certain cultural interests that match hers. In all of these requirements, there is no mention of anything that the women are going to offer the man. In fact, he should be lucky if he ever gets the opportunity to spend time with her.

    I think I failed on most of the dates I went on was because the women I went out with seemed to have acutally zero interest in learning about me. Rather, they saw the date as an opportunity to vent about everything from how much they hated their jobs to what an asshole their previous boyfriends. It never occured to them to wonder if I would find this interesting or if I would be attracted to them for sharing this information.

    N0w when I’ve been out with women from South Korea, China, and other Pacific Rim countries, they have all been genuinely interested in what I have to say. Dates are a pleasure because the conversations are not one-sided.  Conversations flow easily because with Asian girls they are actually interested in what you think and they want to learn more about you.

    A real problem I have with western girls is their absolute negativity towards most things. We can all have days when we feel that life is against us but surely a date is not such a time to start ranting?

    When it’s time to pay the bill, it’s typical for western women to expect men to pay the bill. In fact, in spite of wanting absolute equality in almost every aspect of their lives, western women will resent any guy who, god forbid, asks her to contribute her share of the bill. Yet, most Asian girls will immediately offer to pay when the cheque lands on the table. The funny thing is that whenever I go out with Asian women I nearly always pay beacause I will have had a great time and its my pleasure to do so in such cases.

    When it comes to dressing up, Asian women will invariably go to some effort when they meet you. Maybe they will wear their hair a certain way. If they wear make-up it will be tastefully and carefully applied. Perhaps they will wear a nice skirt with a jacket. Every detail will be taken care of. Now, most western women will most likely not bother making any kind of effort at all.

    Asian women are more attentive. For example, if you spill mayonnaise on your trousers, don’t expect them to watch it sink in and stain. A South Korean lady was immediately dabbing on my jeans when this happened to me recently.

    Asian women will order drinks, put food on your plate, and help you carry things.

    When the date is over and it’s time to say good-night, the Asian woman will say goodbye and thank you for a wonderful evening. You will say thank you and it will be entirely honest. Then when you get home you will find a thoughtful text message saying how much they enjoyed it and saying they would like to see you again.

    To be honest, I wouldn’t expect anything like this from western women. I’d be surprised if they would even remember the date later on that evening.

    Sometimes I wonder if women in these countries really actually want anything from men? Do they resent men who show interest in them or make an effort to get to know them?

    I’ve now been dating ORiental women exclusively for the last year. It’s been a total pleasure and I’ve not looked back.

     

     

     

     

  • Book review: A Kim Jong Il Production

    Book review: A Kim Jong Il Production

    A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Incredible True Story of North Korea and the Most Audacious Kidnapping in History 

    By Paul Fischer

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    Anyone under the impression that the North Korean regime under the Kims is anti-cinema should consider the fact that kim-Jong Sil amassed an incredible library of films, some 20,000, including the Friday the 13th series and James Bond, which were his favourites.

    The movie mad dictator was so enthralled with cinema that he made sure his citizens went to state-sanctioned productions once a week.

    At the heart of this terrifying portrait of a madman is the scarcely believable kidnapping of the most famous South Korean actress and Director, both of whom were forced against their will to come to the North and make propaganda films for the Supreme Leader. Once in North Korea, the pair were given funding by Kim and made some of the most famous films of their career including Pulgasari.

    Actress Choi Eun-Hee was held hostage and forced to act in Kim Jon-Il's propaganda films.
    Actress Choi Eun-Hee was held hostage and forced to act in Kim Jong-Il’s propaganda films.

    Any hard facts about the notorious regime are few and far between as the country has allowed few foreign visitors, however Paul Fischer has amassed some truly astounding facts about the Kim era dictatorship.

    For example, the legendary account of the great leader’s birth in the sacred mountain known as ‘Paektu’, is revealed to be an outrageous work of fiction foisted on the North Korean people. Jong-Il was not born in Korea and his birth name was Yura. In fact, he only became Kim-Jong-Il in his twenties.

    Tales of the regime’s criminal behaviour have led the family to be compared to the Corleones, and Kim Jong-Il to Tony Soprano.

    Kidnappings of foreign nationals were all too common in North Korea. However the most outrageous is surely the capture of Choi Eun Hee, then the most famous actress, and her husband, Sang-ok Shin.

    The success of these South Korean films must have been known to Kim Jong-Il. Most of the North Korean productions came with heavy political messages and were highly complimentary to the government. In fact the films were only a part of the relentless propaganda fed to its citizens, who have been led to believe that they live in a promised land. School children were made to destroy dolls of American soldiers, who they referred to as Yankee dogs. South Korea was known as ‘American’s Whore’. The television news reported news of riots and savage fighting in South Korea. It was said that the Chinese were starving due to having given up socialism.

    Sometimes these appalling statistics can get in the way of the human drama of the captive film maker and actress.

    Yet the book makes us fully aware of what living under this government must have been like. All the myths go to show the extent to which Kim went to cultivate personality cult, with himself as a self-appointed Divine Leader.

    As well as being a massive movie buff with an archive collection of every South Korean film to that date) Jong-Il had written his own film text book called On the Art of Cinema, which contained such instructions as “a masterwork should be monumental not in size but in content” and he encouraged his writers and directors to favour character over plot, emphasizing “the different fates and psychology of persons … rather than the events themselves.”

    In an interview with the Great leader, a microphone was secretly placed in the handbag of Choi-Eun Hee. Jong-Il discussed the sort of films they would produce, and Jong-Il stunned them by offering them $2 million US a year for a budget, clearly with the aim of gaining prestige for North Korean films at international film festivals.

    It’s not spoiling the book by revealing that the couple eventually find freedom. It’s whilst on a promotional tour in Austria that they manage to break away from the regime’s clutches. What’s sad is that many in South Korea believed that the kidnapping was staged, an attempt by the director and his wife to revive their diminishing careers. Perhaps because of this, they were never entirely accepted in South Korea.

    Although the book is as much about the Supreme Leader as it is about the kidnapping, it’s a powerful love story as any in the movies. The couple divorced in 1975 but reunited after the kidnapping. In many ways it was the kidnapping that brought them back together.

    Shin Ok made no more films after 1986, but he made the Cannes Jury in 1994, ushering in a new era for cinema by granting the grand jury prize to Quentin Tarantino for Pulp Fiction. As for Choi Eun Hee, she received the best actress award in 1985 at the 14th Moscow Film Awards for her part in the film Sogum. 

  • Academics gather for third World Congress of Hallyu, Dubai

    sistar -pic

    K-pop group Sistar

    It seems that as well as being a pop-cultural phenomenon that saw Gangnam Style become the most watched video on Youtube, K-Pop is now leading academics to write scholarly papers on the “symbiosis and parasitism” of attempts by fans to mimic idol groups’ dancing.

    There has been resistance from the establishment who worry that erudite work on subjects like neo-Confucianism is being overtaken by papers about squeaky-clean Korean boy bands.

    Clark Sorensen, a Korean studies professor at the University of Washington, says that while he understands the appeal of K-Pop for younger academics, “I myself have not chosen to do that kind of research, and I don’t care about that kind of research.”

    Despite the ivory tower resistance, K-pop scholars may be winning the argument as K-pop’s scholarly appeal spreads within the academic community.

    Last year, Uwe Reinhardt, a Princeton Economics professor, uploaded a fake course online for “Introductory Korean Drama” to Princeton’s website.

    After watching Korean soap operas every day for six years, he deconstructed the cliches at the heart of these programs’ appeal.

    Among the ironclad rules, he argues: ‘No Korean daughter in-law can  make kimchi, or cook rice, or prepare muddy fish as well as does her mother-in-law.”

  • A history of Porn

    A history of Porn

    The article on not watching porn has generated a lot of interest so naturally I thought I would revisit it.

    I have used pornography on and off through most of my adult life. I’m sure I’m not alone in this. What started as occasional purchases of top-shelf magazines such as Club International and Mayfair moved to hardcore pornography when I had broadband internet in the year 2003.

    It was a brave new world in terms of sexual imagery and expression. The porn clips I downloaded and saved on to my computer were far stronger than anything legally available in magazines at the time. All of a sudden I was able to watch acts I could scarcely imagine before the internet.

    Its been commented that before the web, porn was not so readily available. There were always dirty magazines for sale at the newsagents, but you had to have nerves of steel to go in there and buy them face to face. Sex shops sold pornographic videos, but the quality was extremely poor and so mostly I looked at magazines.

    When I saw the content available on line, much of it for free, I jumped at the chance to watch it. Online porn had one massive advantage over the printed variety in that it was much easier to hide it from parents and sisters. I’ve lost count of the number of times I would go looking for a particular favourite magazine, only to find the magazine suspiciously missing after one of my mother’s tidying up sessions.

    Much of the porn I viewed came in 20 minute clips. It was mainly downloaded illegally through file-sharing sites such as kazaa or limewire. I would leave the computer running overnight and return to to find all manner of porn had appeared on my computer. It was possible to download all kinds of porn, more than I really needed. Once it was downloaded, it was saved on my hardrive. Although I downloaded the clips more than 10 years ago, I’ve recently tracked down several on the internet. This is proof that you’ll never be able to hide from a porn video. I can imagine there will be old grannies in nursing homes fifty years from now who will make a point of bringing up their dirty pasts.

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    By the year 2006, my porn use was raising fears that I was addicted. At the time, I would spend a good a hour most days looking for the hard content, before having a big wanking session for an hour. But I still wasn’t satisfied and I would have to look for more extreme content. Which led to more wanking of course.

    I’m not exactly proud of this. I didn’t want to watch so much porn. I convinced myself it was ok. I didn’t have a girlfriend so the porn seemed like the easiest way of releasing my sexual tension.

    Recently I’ve come to realise that all that porn wasn’t such a great idea. Porn taught me that sex should be a certain way, one that is purely focused on male sexual pleasure. The sex I have had with women has never been like the sex I have viewed in porn.

    Porn isn’t something I actively seek out anymore. I actually find it totally boring. If I want to masturbate, I will think about women I’ve been with. Or I will fantasize about the women I know. I have really surprised myself over this. After using porn for so long, I had conditioned myself to become aroused only by watching graphic clips of people having sex. The orgasms I achieve through fantasy are much more satisfying, partly becuase they are as a result of my own thoughts.

    I’m not anti-porn. There may be a valid place for porn within a relationship. Perhaps that is the best place to watch it, where it can be shared so that each partner can derive pleasure from it. But for now, my life is porn free and it’s never been better.

  • A Girl at My Door

    girlatmtdoor

    Director: July Jung

    Doona Bae, Sae-ron Kim, Sae-byeok Song

    There is a reason why all films have long credit seequences. The list of personnel involved in making a film is invariably long and most end titles for even a modest film like this are at least 3 minutes of the film’s duration. It could also be a useful device to allow the audience to reflect on what they have seen. It may be that the only way to process something very emotional such as this film is to spend three minutes staring at a black screen before returning to the world outside.

    Korean filmmakers have already proved themselves some of the best in the world such as Park Chan Wook and Kim KI-Duk. Now from first time director July Jung comes this small, perfectly judged mini-masterpiece.

    Police officer Yeong-nam has been relocated from the big city to a tiny rural backwater where the locals ride tractors along a highway and spend what little free time they have in the village’s beauty salon or in the karaoke bars. It’s a small scale environment that Yeong-nam does not adjust to well. Soon she is pouring alcohol into water bottles – the only way that she can find peace and sleep at night.

    Into her closed off existence comes a young girl who seems to be the town’s whipping girl. Arriving at Nam’s door, the gir reveals a history pf physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather. A bond forms between them and before long they become increasingly close: shopping for clothes together, sharing meals and even sharing baths.

    For a scene which shows the  opening up of the police officer, look no further than that at the half-hour mark. In this scene, we learn all we need to know about the characters’ feelings towards each other. Nam has finished cooking dinner, and we know  from her expression that the girl has not received such an act of kindness for a very long time. The TV has been on in the background and the young girl performs a K-pop style dance, revealing her childish innocence and sweetness. The camera cuts back to Nam’s reaction: a perfect expression of amusement and acceptance. Its a look that suggests she is not going to judge the girl in any way but give her the freedom to express herself in any way she can.

    The performance from Bae Doona could scarcely be better. There’s not a hint of overracting in her acting, just emotional realism. Think Marion Cottillard in Six days and Seven Nights and you get an idea of the kind of pure cinema I am talking about. The young girl from Ajusshi (Jae-Ron Kim), is now a teenager, all grown up. It’s a difficult part to play when you’re only 14 yourself but somehow she comes across believably.

    I was genuinely moved by the ending. Admirers of pure cinema, natural performances will surely find much to love about the film. From now on I am watching anything Doona Bae does with serious interest. And if you’re new to the world of Han cinema, what are you waiting for?

  • K-film review: Phone

    Phone (2002), starring Ha Ji-won and Eun Seo-woo, directed by Ahn Byeong-ki

    phone

    Coming after the internationally successful Asian horrors Ring and The Grudge, Phone is another film that finds supernatural horror in objects that are all around us.

    Ceverly, the film makes use of the ringtone as a motif for the film’s scary moments. The familiar sound that we’re all used to is made to seem full of foreboding and dread. I was intrigued when I heard about the film. I wasn’t sure how the film would manage to make a satisfying horror and my initial feelings were that it would be too gimmicky. After all, in real life, if you are faced with a heavy-breathing stalker making nuisance phonecalls, you’d change your number wouldn’t you? That would make for a frustratingly short film of course. In a sense the phone aspect is actually a bit of let down and the film uses it as a MacGuffin element that allows a connection to be made between the past and the present.

    Here’s a breakdown of the plot:

    A female journalist has published a series of articles revealing the names of several high-profile men who have been found to have carried out sexual offences on underage girls. She receives several disturbing calls before deciding to change her number. A second plot strand involves her close friend who, after having been found infertile, had asked her friend to be a womb donor.

    The child born through artificial insemination is now five years old, and as in all classic horror films from the Exorcist to the Shining, we know that child actors mean we should prepare for some truly freaky shit to unfold. So it proves. After answering the phone, the girl’s face scrunches up and her eyes swivel to the side in a classic demonic pose. It should be pointed out that even before this moment, the child was already looking particularly unattractive.

    Finally, there is another plot strand, which involves a school girl the woman’s wife was having an affair with. It was this emothionally charged elememt of the film that I found the most compelling. The girl was a piano student and one of the pieces she learns to play is the Moonlight Sonata. I’m a sucker for any piece of classical music in films and the film uses this haunting piece brilliantly.

    Phone was made in 2002, so several years before we all started using smartphones. The flip-lid phones the characters use made me feel nostalgic. Another highlight was the cinematography which bathes every scene in an unervingly bright light.

    Finally, there was a subtletly to the two female performances that made it light years ahead of most American talk-and-slash horrors. Fans of Asian horrors will find this film right up their street. For others, it’s slightly confusing and is slow to start, but delivers a satisfying conclusion.

  • Online dating: it’s not for me

    Online dating: it’s not for me

    Recently I’ve been thinking about internet dating and how common it has become.

    Sites such as Ok Cupid and Plenty of Fish are popular becuase they are free to use (although both offer premium rates for added services). As well as these online websites (which offer a traditional approach to dating where if you like someone’s profile page you will send them a message and arrange to meet in person) there is Tinder, which offers a much more direct approach where you simply choose someone on the basis of looks (I wonder what could go wrong with that approach)?

    After trying these three sites I can give you my informed conclusion that the world of online dating is not a world I want to be part of.

    Firstly, online dating is a numbers game. Being man puts you at an instant disadvantage becuase of the sheer number of weirdos out there. I talked to women about their experiences of onine dating and they told me that most of the messages they were sent  were deleted because they were either overtly sexual or just very inappropriate. It seems that any girl on on a dating website is going to be bombarded with messages. When I signed up with Ok Cupid I found myself reading dozens of profiles of different women, I felt as though I suddenly had access to all kinds of great women and they were all single like me.

    However the downside to all this is that you could spend all your time looking for the perfect woman whilst ignoring those who don’t fit your profile of what an ideal woman should be.

    I went on a total of eight dates (by date I’m talking about a pre-arranged meeting at a mutually agreed time and place). I found them on the whole to be frustrating, dull and a little bit sad. The women all made at least some effort to be appear interesting, but the conversation was often strained.  If I’m being honest, it didn’t help that I chose very typical standard dating venues, ie, pub/restaurant/bar. On these occasions I felt as though I was on a job interview where I was allowed to drink alcolhol. On most dates, you need to be prepared to talk about yourself a lot. If you’re not comfortable with that you’re going to be sitting squirming in your seat, helplessly holding on to the plastic spoon in your drink. The women I went out with seemed to have a list of questions in their head that they wanted to ask me and it felt as though I was taking part in a boyfriend suitability test.

    Tinder was the most annoying of the sites.  Being able to use your phone’s GPS signal means that you should be able to track down the closest women to you by area. It should be perfect. But instead of cutting through the bullshit that I got caught up in on the other websites (sending messages, waiting days for a reply) I found Tinder to be just as bad. Because you can’t send someone a message until they have ‘liked’ you (the mutual interest rule), it wasn’t possible for me to contact any of the women in my local area whom I would have had the best chances with.

    A recent book by the actor and comedian Aziz Ansari explores the world of online dating. In it, Aziz comes to the conclusion that if you only go on boring standard date venues like bars and retaurants you will have boring standard dates. It would be better to take someone somewhere completely unexpected. (in the book, a couple bonded by visiting car rallies, partly becuase they were both fascinated by the strange characters who attended them). I never got the opportunity to go on any random dates, sadly. But I would have liked a diversion, perhaps to an amusement park, an open air concert or even a museum.

    American comedian Aziz Ansari has written the first great book about the effects of online dating on relationships amongst heterosexual people
    American comedian Aziz Ansari has written the first great book about the effects of online dating on relationships amongst heterosexual people

    Another encounter Ansari describes is of meeting a young man in a small American town.

    He told Ansari that he was confident that he woud meet a nice woman eventually. He said that no matter how much a person bugs you, once you get to them you realise that they’re not so bad. A person may not clip their toenails regularly or change their socks but these things you can get used to. Maybe we’re all judging people too quickly. I wonder if anyone is truly at the best on a first date anyway? Perhaps my dating forays would have been more successful if I’d gone for a second or third date, rather than looking for a new woman straight away after a disappointing date.

    But I do know that it’s much nicer meeting people offline. And seriously, if a person is happy with someone not changing their socks or clipping their toenails they need to think about raising their standards.

  • Loneliness

    Loneliness

    Recently a friend moved out from the area I live in and I don’t spend as much time with him as I used to. It’s been really difficult to adjust as I’m used to us doing everything together. It got me thinking about being lonely and what can be done about it.

    I’ve moved around a lot in my life and the hardest thing about it has been making new friends. I’d say I’m very outgoing and friendly but even so it’s been slow going trying to meet new people. It definitely gets much harder to make friends when you move outside of an educational establishment where you share a common bond with people. I’d say that for many people they reach a stage where they decide they have enough friends and don’t want any more.

    One of the biggest social stigmas around going out alone is that people won’t talk to you because they think there must be something wrong with you if you are out by yourself. I go to restaurants. cinemas and concerts on my own when I don’t know anyone who would like to come with me. I would say that most of the time I go out alone people ignore me or avoid any kind of communication. What’s sad about this is that everyone must necessarily be alone at some stage. We are born alone and we will probably die alone. And of course, we can’t have company every second of the day.

    A few years ago I was intrigued by the phenomenon of the Pick-Up artist. The idea is more well know in America but I’m sure that people have adopted the techniques here. One guy spoke about how he would often go out to a college bar on a Saturday night dressed in a fancy dress costume. He would arrive  alone and would then wait around for his ‘friends’ to arrive. In the meantime he woud invariably attract attention from people who would ask him why he was dressed up as a pirate or cowboy or whatever.Pretty soon he would have a party of interested people around him. Of course, you can probably guess that his friends never showed up because it was all done for show and he had no party to go to because there wasn’t one.

    I’m not sure what we can learn from this tale. Going to such lengths to meet people might be seen as desperate. But the sad thing is it shows the effort people will go to in order to find company and human interaction. I’m not sure if the guy would have attracted any attention at all if he had gone to the bar in normal clothing. And that’s a shame.

    When you look at films and books, you can see a whole loneliness genre. The films of Wong Kar Wai are usually about lonely people (Fallen Angels and Chungking Express). The Japanese novelist Haruki Muraki has made a career of mining the depths of his characters’ feelings of isolation and alienation.

    Murakami's novels are usually about lonely characters
    Murakami’s novels are usually about lonely characters

    Yet, it’s almost impossible to tell people that you feel lonely, because people are expected to be constanty enjoying spending time with all their friends. Who knows, maybe one day this will all change.

  • Why I am learning Korean

    Why I am learning Korean

    how-to-learn-koreanHere’s how I began my journey into learning Korean.

    I’d always considered myself a poor language student. At school I learnt French from the age of 8 until 13. I barely got past the stage of being able to order an ice-cream. The languages on offer when I took my GCSEs were French, German and Spanish. I had no natural affinity for any of them. Inexplicably I chose to learn German. I never went to Germany, or had any German friends. It was useless. Since then, aside from picking up key phrases from the lonely planet guides of various Eastern European countries (more…)

  • A new A-list star rises in the East

    In the recently published ranking of the world’s highest paid actress one name stood out among the usual supsects of Jennifer Lawrence (no.1), Scarlett Johnannson (no.2) and Angelina Jolie (no.7).

    fan

    Chinese actress Fan Bingbing was confirmed as being the only non-American in the Forbes list. Its a sign of the increasing earning power (think endorsements of luxury brands) of Chinese stars. Whilst she is most famous in China, Fan was recently seen alongside Lawrence in one of the X-Men films, and had a role in Iron Man 3.

    Chinese actresses have been able to use their fame and status to market luxury goods in the past but none so much as Fan Bing Bing. Her ability to to tap into the market has seen Chopard sign her up and she has been an ambassador for L’Oreal. Louis Vuitton made her the first Asian actress to have her own custom-made red carpet gown.

    She has signed a contract for four more X-Men films, so we can look forward to seeing much more of her on our screens.

  • why its ok not to be cool. or I’m a loser but its ok

    I’m a loser, but its ok. Lets all embrace our inner loser. First of all, stop trying desperately to impress other people (who by the way, probably couldn’t care less regarding what clothes you are wearing). Once you stop worrying what others think of you, your life is going to become immeasurably more enjoyable. Below I have listed the main categories which I think apply to most of our ideas of how we should behave. In most cases we are following some social convention or formality. Or we are desperate for others to approve of ourselves.

    Going on holiday

    Most people will spend a fortune going away somewhere on holiday, with all the other people who have decided to go to the same places. The problem is that the popular places tend to be the most crowded. Aside from the deleterious environmental affects of getting on a plane, air plane travel hasn’t been sexy or cool since the Frank Sinatra album ‘Come Fly with Me.’ So if you don’t care going to the latest ‘hot’ destination, stay at home. Explore your own country. leave the airports and the beaches to the kind of sad people who need a holiday because their lives are so boring and sad.

    Buying clothes

    There is nothing wrong with buying clothes. But step inside any high street shop and you will soon realise that the shops are changing the clothes every few months to suit what ever trend is currently in. So currently there might be a lot of stripes on men’s clothes. At the moment men’s jackets have narrower lapels, rather than the wider cut of a few years. The problem with buying the latest clothes is that they will go out of fashion very quickly. Just buy the clothes you like, wear them till they fall apart.  charity shops used to be perfect places for people not bothered with keeping up with the latest trends. but its getting much harder now that most shops have paid staff who are required to get the most for their goods. For a shop that is almost the opposite of cool, try Marks & Spencer. They do actually have some half decent collections. ANyway, nearly all clothes on the high street are made in the same factories, so it probably doesn’t matter where you buy your clothes from.

    Going Out

    We all have to go out occasionally, but there is nothing worse than going to one of the supposedly cool places as recommended by say, the Evening standard. Its a fact that you will probably meet nice enough people wherever you go. But if you only go to the trendy places you be still stressed trying to fit in that you won’t be able to enjoy yourself. what I’m dsaying is, avoid Camden, Brixton, or anywhere near Shoreditch. Instead why not try going out in one of London’s neglected boroughs, such as Richmond, Acton, Ealing, etc.

    Coffee

    Damn it, coffee has now become the latest fashionable trend, on the same level as eating out has become. So there are now countless overpriced coffee shops with names like Workshop and Kaffeine. Yes they might serve decent coffee, but you’ll be served by an angry hipster with overdone facial hair. They do a pretty good coffee in Starbucks by the way.

    Restaurants

    Again, many popular restaurants fall victim to all the top ten lists. Even very good restaurants can fall to the strain of trying to satisfy people’s expectations. As soon as somewhere gets an award or accolade, its probably going to be downhill from there. You can eat out well as long as you find a cuisine that people aren’t raving about. A few years ago we were all supposed to be eating Scandinavian cuisine (noma, Faviken, etc). Then it was Peru that was the cuisine of choice. The fact that people need to have a constant array of choices shows how ridiculous things are getting. You can eat welll if you follow the really traditional cuisines such as Japanese or Country french cooking – where most of the recipes haven’t changed for hundreds of years.

    TV

    It really is the worst when everyone is going on about the latest tv show that you absolutely have to watch. then when you get round to watching it its the biggest piece of junk since the terrible Friends spin-off. A few modern tv shows such as Mad Men are rightly hailed as classics. Most are just considered to be great because they fit in with popular social views or fit into a grand narrative. I normally wait a while before watching a tv show that everyone is raving about. This may explain why I only started watching Twin Peaks last year.

    Music

    Probably music is the most cursed by the vagaries of coolness than all the other categories. Pop music has always been about novelty. people are more interested in a song that came out last week than say, an album that was realised a few years ago but didn’t do well because the singer or the band didn’t have the right image. Now some would say that classical music is the opposite of pop, becuase the composers are mostly dead. Yes, classical music has a sometimes unfair reputation for being dull. yet if you ever watch Glen Gould or Alison Balsom, you will be anything but bored. Sometimes its more boring to listen to what everyone else is listening to. The internet should be of some help here. Sadly it looks as though everyone is watching Beyonce and Gangnam Stlyle on Youtube.

    Birthdays

    Lets get one thing clear: birthdays suck. yet for some reason people persist in celebrating them year in year out, in a desperate attempt to show the world how popular they are. Now naturally birthdays shouldn’t be an issue if you’re not cool, because you won’t need to impress your cool friends. The other thing you will avoid is the nightmarish one-upmanship that befalls most people when their birthday rolls around for another year, becuase they already had the most amazing birthday last year. So anything less than a night at a Michelin Star restuarant (tasting menu, of course) followed by a bar on the top floor of a 5 star hotel followed by a two week stay in St Barts is not going to cut it.

    Naturally everyone wants to have fun on their birthdays. But when everyone else is seemingly having fun because they invited 12 of their ‘friends’ to a restaurant, it can suck if you have to spend your birthday by yourself. So here’s what you can do if you find yourself celebrating a birthday alone. Go to a social place where it is easy to meet and talk to other people. Make a point of telling as many people as possible that its your birthday. Now normally most people are wary of talking to strangers but I guarantee that when you tell them its your birthday they will start treating you like a friend. They will feel comfortable around you and feel like they know you well. Pretty soon, you’ll have built up a decent gathering around you. You can even ask people to join you to help celebrate your birthday. You’ll be amazed at how keen people are to help. Before you know it, you’ll have amassed a gathering of your own, with people who aren’t there out of duress but actually want to help you celebrate. Now isn’t that better than the Crappy birthdays most normal people enjoy?

    Dating websites

    Yes I have been on several online dating websites. I find them to be an unnecessary evil. Of course, the big problem is that women are looking for a partner whereas men want to get laid. The other downside is that its hard to imagine why any half decent woman would need to be on there in the first place. My advice is to steer well clear. this way you will avoid all those tragic people attempting to sound interesting, fun and cool, when they are none of these things.

    So there you go. I really don’t think it matters whether people think that you are cool or not, and being popular is overrated too. When the majority of people are idiots, why would you want to be popular?

  • Where to meet Asian girls

    Where to meet Asian girls

    London’s full of some really hot Asian girls right now and there’s never been a better opportunity to get to know them.

    Scan_20150120

    My tips would be to try some unconventional locations and don’t stick to bars and clubs. Yes, you can meet some nice girls in those places and I certainly have done. But any decent looking girl in a bar or a club is going to be fending off dozens of guys. Plus I honestly don’t think clubs are the best places to look for Asian girls. They can’t dance (remember the scene in the Social Network?) but neither can I. Maybe that’s why I get on with them so much.

    Your odds are better if you hit some of the following places. Ready? Let me reveal my top locations for Asian women.

    1. Uniqlo

    Asian girls love to shop so one of the best locations to meet them must be Japan’s premier clothing store. I would actually rate shopping as a better way to meet women than a bar or a club. You can have a proper conversation for a start. Plus the big stores are constantly flushed with a fresh source of women. You can ask them about clothes and what you should buy. Any girl is going to be flattered that you’re asking for her advice on fashion, which let’s face it, is something most girls are going to be more than happy to voice an opinon on.

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    The Victoria & Albert Museum

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    Bear with me here. Although museums can be full of foreign students and children on school trips, they can also be excellent meeting places. Make that x2 if you go to the V&A late on a Friday, where they have a DJ and cocktails. Asian girls love anything design related and this museum is always full of girls from Taiwan, China and Japan when I go there. I’m sure it’s the same in the National History museum, not that I go there. Dinosaurs aren’t my thing.

    Shake Shack, Covent Garden

    shake

    This place is extremely popular with Koreans, a friend has reliably informed me. I’ve not been there but I’m sure he’s right.

    A university

    Basically go to any London or university in a major UK town and you are going to find Asian girls. So get to the library quick. I’m sure the security in most universities isn’t going to prevent you from wandering around.

    A London bus

    This is not as bad a place to talk to girls as you might think. You can usually strike up a conversation quite naturally, either whilst waiting for the bus, or when in transit. I find generally buses are sociable places and people talk to each other more than they do on the tube. Go on a late night bus and you will find girls travelling on their own. Most journeys are at least half an hour so that’s a good amount of time to get to know somebody and hopefully strike up a connection.
    So these are my top choices to meet Asian girls. And I don’t suggest using any dating apps becuase I genuinely think you can get a much better sense of whether you like someone by meeting them in person. If you can do it when they are feeling relaxed comfortable, and not hassled, so much the better.

  • Why I stopped watching porn

    It became harder and harder to get it up with a real woman. My porn-fueled fantasies were invading my sex life. I have witnessed the damage that porn can do.

    What really got to me was reading about Alina Li, the Chinese born adult actress, who retired from the industry, seemingly as suddenly as she had entered it. From 2013 to June last year, Li starred in dozens of films. Taken together, they add up to 44 gigabytes of memory on my hard drive.

    Some of them are straight forward, male-female scenes. Many involve fellatio. I guess my interest in her films was down to how fresh-faced and inncocent she comes across on camera.

    Sadly, it seems that Li got burned out by the industry and decided toalina-li-quits

    quit altogether. It was after filming a particularly brutal scene for the S&M website Kink that she announced her retirement. Speaking about the scene, she said:

    ‘The kink scene really pushed me out of the line and I told myself “that’s it, what’s the point of it? I am sick of this.” I do not blame the people at kink, they were doing their job. It was me that stopped enjoying it and loving it. I don’t believe I will make an return back to the business because I can’t look at it the same as I did when I first started it.’

    I guess reading that made me question my own use of porn. I find it hard to justify watching it when I know that the performers aren’t necessarily enjoying it. It saddens me that there are sites out there that would do this to a lovely young woman. I suppose such sentiments are incompatible with the industry at large.

    As for the effect that watching porn has on people, we’re still early on in terms of how much we know about the damage it can cause. But watching hours of close ups of things being in genitals can’t be healthy. When I wasn’t watching porn I was thinking about it. Sometimes I would fantasize when with a woman if I wasn’t very aroused.

    Giving up porn won’t be easy, and there’s bound to be an occasional relapse. However, if Li managed to turn her back on the industry, then it can’t be too hard for me to do the same.

  • Movie review: Kundo: The Age of the Rampant

    An historical epic directed by Jong-bin Yun

    Korea, 1862; In the time of the Joseon Dynasty

    The country is ruled by corrupt and oppressive leaders. The people are ground down by plague and famine. Then along comes Doksul to lead the people and overthrow Lord Jo.

    The title sequence of the main characters in freeze frame is pure Sergio Leone and the plot is as pared down as all of the best Westerns. The film uses some rapid zoom-ins and a lot of CGI, inspite of men in topknots and pointy hats the film feels much more modern than its time period.

    Even if there are two many characters introduced at the beginning, bald headed Doksul is a great character, a bit like a Korean Robin Hood. There are some awesome duels, including the final battle in a forest.  The film took me several goes to finish, but by the end it was worth it. The twangy guitar-led score fits the epic vistas and horses running across plains perfectly .

    Kundo premiered at the London Korean Fim Festival last November, and broke Box Office records when it was released in South Korea.

  • North Korean Defector says Soap Opera encouraged him to break for freedom

    North Korean Defector says Soap Opera encouraged him to break for freedom

    Whilst South Korean soap operas have long drawn a wide fan base for their excellent production values and superb acting, not too mention beautiful actors, no one watching them could guess that they might one day foment the overthrow of a government.

    There’s a saying that the Revolution will be televised. But in the case of Jan Se-Gul, it was watching the 2008 K-Drama “Scent of a Man” that led him to leave North Korea and defect to non-communist South Korea.a

    Se-Gul led a relatively prosperous life in the country. As a university professor he could sit in a different seats in restaurants and trains. But he couldn’t resist watching the illicit TV episodes, even though to watch such material carries harsh penalties. Mr Jang and five other professors watched the show until dawn. They were careful to pull the curtains to escape the watching eyes of neighbours who are trained to catch their fellow citizens. But they were caught anyway and demoted to work in a labour camp.

    It was watching the drama that made Mr Jang aware of the comforts of life in South Korea, and he decided to defect. He is now head of a defectors group that sends soap operas to the North to empower people to bring an end to the authoritarian rule of the Kim Dynasty.

    Jang Se-yul risked his career to watch Korean soap operas. He now sends dvds from across the border to encourage North Koreans to bring down the regime.
    Jang Se-yul risked his career to watch Korean soap operas. He now sends DVDs from across the border to encourage North Koreans to bring down the regime.

    The leader has issued increasingly strong warnings and there has been a severe crackdown on smugglers. Even so, the infiltration of South Korean culture, its music, TV and films is clearly having an effect north of the border. Its harder and harder for Kim Jong-un to rail against capitalism when life as shown on soaps is so much more civilised.

    For some North Koreans, the emotional power of watching the soaps has been powerful enough to change their lives, forever.

    Kim Seung-hee is one. She watched her first drama “Stairway to the Heaven” after soldiers who asked to use her home for warching, and was hooked immediately. She felt that Korean men as depicted in the dramas were much kinder and considerate towards women. It made her yearn for South Korea, dreaming of meeting such a man.

    It’s testament to the oft-quoted Korean wave that has been sweeping the world and another example of soft power, that allows states to influence other nations through their culture rather than using other, often aggressive, means of demonstrating their nationality.

    Source: International New York Times.

  • The Sun Journalist trial

    As the jury reach their verdict, it’s worth reflecting on the trial so far.

    The six men on trial for conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office worked under the editorship of Rebekah Wade.

    It was during this period that The Sun and the News of the World was hacking into the voicemail messages of celebrities and most notoriously the phone of murdered teenager Milly Dowling.

    The sordid business of phone hacking was dealt with in a long trial that saw Brooks being let off without charge (an astonishing result) and  Andy Coulson, who had been editor of the News of the World was sent to prison after he was found guilty of conspiracy to intercept voicemails.

    The trial garnered lengthy press coverage as would be expected, and involved everyone in the upper echelons. To his embarrassment, many personal emails that were sent between Brooks and David Cameron were read out in court, and questions were asked about the PM’s lack of knowledge as to Coulson’s suitability for post as communications.

    The trial of the Sun journalists concerns a similar time frame to the period of the phone hacking. A key story was the Soham murders. A backhander was paid to a police officer in the county where the girl’s were murdered.

    When the journalists were giving evidence in court, they returned time and time again to the understanding that what they were doing was in the public interest. Much of what they printed was true, and whether they got their stories from legitimate sources or from public officials was not important.

    The trial has not been widely reported, although occasional reports surfaced from time to time in the Guardian. The press Gazette have covered the trial widely.

    As to the journalists, two have already been found not guilty. Photo editor John Edwards and local reporter walked free from Kingston Crown Court on Friday afternoon, the jury having spent a week deliberating. That left Chris Pharo, Jamie Pyatt, Ben O’Driscoll and Graham Dudman waiting until Monday to hear whether they were guilty or not.

    You can  be sure I will be writing more when the verdict drops.

  • Not all Chinese women have plastic surgery…..

    It appears that some people were offended by my earlier article which seemed to give a very one-sided view of Chinese women seeking plastic surgery.

    The following is a list of some very beautiful and successful Chinese ladies who definitely don’t require surgical enhancements to improve their natural good looks.

    Gong Li. Her IMDB bio lists 30 credits. among them are classics of fifth generation cinema such as Raise the Red Lantern and Red Sorgum.
    Gong Li. Her IMDB bio lists 30 credits. Among them are classics of Fifth Generation cinema such as Raise the Red Lantern and Red Sorgum.
    Maggie Cheung has featured in several Hing Kong classics such as In The Mood For Love and 2046.
    Maggie Cheung has featured in several Hong Kong classics such as In The Mood For Love and 2046.
    Yuja Wang is the female counterpart to Yang Yang. Her piano work is technically astonishing and contains an incredible depth of feeling.
    Yuja Wang is the female counterpart to Lang Lang. Her piano work is technically astonishing and contains an incredible depth of feeling.
  • Wealthy Chinese tourists travel to South Korea for more than a holiday

    Wealthy Chinese tourists travel to South Korea for more than a holiday

    A recent report in the International New York Times explored the increase in Chinese tourists who are taking vacations to Seoul and undergoing extensive plastic surgery. It seems that for many wealthy Chinese visitors to the Korean capital, no visit is complete without expensive designer handbags and a nip and tuck from a plastic surgery clinic.

    In the article, Liu Liping wanted to have her jaw broken and restructured to get a V-shaped face. The doctor removed several millimetres of bone from her chin and cheekbones.

    It seems that many Chinese women are so self-conscious about their faces that they are prepared to undergo such drastic operations to get more Western style faces. The traditional image of Chinese beauty is the wide face with large cheekbones, a much rounder face than what is considered beautiful in western countries.

    Cosmetic surgery, pervasive in South Korea, is now the must-do activity for many Chinese visitors.

    Seizing the opportunity to tap in to the growing demand for plastic surgery, South Korea’s government is promoting the country as a place to shop, eat, stay and perhaps undergo plastic surgery.

    Some of the facial modifications undergone by Chinese women are relatively minor, such as double-eyelid surgery. The procedure is so common in South Korea that parents often give it to their children in return for getting good marks in high school exams.

    The South Korean government is setting aside as much as $4 million a year to help promote the medical tourism industry, which is dominated by plastic surgeons.

    Tour operators sell travel deals that include shopping, sightseeing and plastic surgery.

    While prices for plastic surgery vary, a basic double eyelid surgery can cost more than $900.

    Popular culture has had an influence. South Korean television shows and movies are wildly successful in China. Patients often bring magazine photos with them to their consultations.

    During her trip, Ms Liu planned to see the sights featured in her favourite Korean television show, “My Love from the Star.” She bought clothes like those worn by the show’s female star, Jeon Ji-Hyun.

    The popular South Korean actress Jun Ji Hyun is the inspiration for many young Chinese women seeking surgery.
    The popular South Korean actress Jun Ji Hyun is the inspiration for many young Chinese women seeking surgery.

    South Korea has the highest rate of cosmetic surgery per capita of any country in the world. Seoul Touchup, a government-approved medical agency, states in its marketing materials that “Korean women are arguably more objectified than their male counterparts than any other women in the world.”

    Some Korean doctors are starting to voice concern. The demand has spawned unlicensed hospitals, brokers and unqualified doctors, said Dr Cha of the association .

    The procedures that many Chinese tourists undergo come with the highest rate of complications. One recent patient booked a series of surgeries – double jaw, facial contour, nose job, double eyelid, liposuction and a fat graft.

    One of the most popular procedures is facial contouring, which involves altering the shape of the face by shaving and removing bone from the cheeks, jaw and chin.

    Personally, I think that Chinese women who pursue this surgery have gone way overboard. Such cosmetic operations remove the facial distinctiveness that separate a characteristically Chinese face from say, a Korean one. It seems that the Chinese woman in the article see things differently:

    “Many of my friends have gone under the knife,” she added. “Since my friends have become more beautiful, I think I should become more beautiful.”

  • Agassi Hair in New Malden

    Agassi Hair in New Malden

    I used to find that having my hair cut was a bit of a nightmare.

    That was until I started going to Agassi in New Malden, and everything changed.

    I used to try and get the cheapest haircut possible. I would estimate I have probably had about 200 different haircuts.

    Typically they would be in the kind of barber shops where some old bloke starts hacking away at you with a pair of clippers, takes ten minutes to do so, then asks you for £15. I suppose those places are where most men would get their hair done without thinking too much. And I would agree that you can get a serviceable haircut. But you don’t get anything more.

    Personally I like to have my hair washed before it’s cut. I feel like its not really clean until someone has thoroughly shampooed it. I love to have my hair washed in this way and I find it very relaxing. If I ever get the money I will install one of those sinks which you tilt your head back into so that I can get my hair washed in this way all the time.

    They like to wash your hair twice at Agassi. The first time they did this I said I didn’t need my hair washed twice but the stylist was insistent. They do it towards the end of cutting your hair so that your hair is squeaky clean by the time you leave. They also give you a head massage that is very invigorating and feels as though your skin is being lifted from your scalp. You lean your head back and let the shampooist’s hand take the weight of your head in your hands.

    241309-agassi-hair

    Another very good thing about Agassi is that nearly all the stylists are Korean. So you won’t need to make any annoying small talk. The amount of banal rubbish you hear in most hair salons! Its particularly awkward when you step in to a salon for the first time becuase you feel that you should ingratiate yourself to the stylist by talking to them on their level. Often this is a case of thinking about what they might be interested and tailoring your conversation accordingly. So in most salons that would mean talking about TOWIE, Celebrity Big Brother or whatever annoying shit people watch these days.

    But at Agassi tehre’s no need to do this because unless you’re Korean the stylist won’t speak any English anyway. SO you can relax, sip coffee and read the newspaper whilst she delicately snips away.

    I should say that its not cheap, with a men’s cut costing £25. But most good things aren’t cheap. I would strongly urge anyone in New Malden to try Agassi for their next cut or style.

    Agassi Hair, 61 High St, New Malden

  • 2014 in review

    The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

    Here’s an excerpt:

    A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 6,800 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.

    Click here to see the complete report.

  • Report from the trial of The Sun journalists from Kingston Crown Court

    Six Sun journalists have been charged with conspiracy in a public office. The sting of the charge is that cash payments were paid to public officials,  including a nurse at the Broadmoor asylum, in exchange for stories.

    Arguing for the Defence, Oliver Blunt QC said that his client Mr Dudman had questioned why certain members of the police in the Soham investigation were given money for information.

    File photo of Sun Managing Editor Dudman arriving at the High Court in Manchester

    However there were no cash payments made without editor Rebekah Wade’s approval.

    Mr Dudman has denied three charges of conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office.

    The trial continues.

  • The Place – New Malden

    The Place – New Malden

    Rob in Japan's avatarWatch this and Chill

    I thought that I would give you some more information on one of my favourite places in New Malden.

    The Place is the nicest coffee shop in New Malden to relax and chill in. Aside from here there is a Costa a little further down the road.

    Recently I had the sweet potato cake (pictured below) and a vanilla latte.

    IMG_0530[1]

    I asked the manager who made the cakes for the shop and she told me that a Japanese lady makes the cakes but she wouldn’t tell me her name. I guess you have to protect your sources and such information needs to be closely guarded. Whoever it is, the cake I had was absolutely delicious. The sweet potato makes for a very light cake ingredient and the cake tasted sweet but not cloying. I would describe it as being closer to what might be called gateaux, with very light sponge…

    View original post 225 more words

  • The Place – New Malden

    The Place – New Malden

    I thought that I would give you some more information on one of my favourite places in New Malden.

    The Place is the nicest coffee shop in New Malden to relax and chill in. Aside from here there is a Costa a little further down the road.

    Recently I had the sweet potato cake (pictured below) and a vanilla latte.

    IMG_0530[1]

    I asked the manager who made the cakes for the shop and she told me that a Japanese lady makes the cakes but she wouldn’t tell me her name. I guess you have to protect your sources and such information needs to be closely guarded. Whoever it is, the cake I had was absolutely delicious. The sweet potato makes for a very light cake ingredient and the cake tasted sweet but not cloying. I would describe it as being closer to what might be called gateaux, with very light sponge and a very fine biscuit crumb topping. The quality is very high for a cafe, or anywhere else for that matter.

    I have tried the Green tea cake before, but wanted to show the picture below because I couldn’t resist the holly decorations. It’s really nice to see the Christmas symbols being used so inventively.

    IMG_0522

    I went back recently to try the Chestnut cake and whilst it was an exceptional sponge cake interwoven with layers of cream, it didn’t have a very strong taste.

    chestnut

    The manager suggested that I try the vanilla latte, which I did. Its normally made with two shots but customers can ask for one if that is too strong for them. I don’t think they charge extra for any additional shots like in some places.

    The attention to detail is very impressive and nothing has been overlooked. The logo is particularly impressive and looks classy on the takeaway cups. I would love to see some slightly more interesting cups and mugs being used for the coffee but that is my only real quibble with the Place. I really like the use of wood on the shop front, the counter and behind the entrance. Even the clock incorporates a similar feel.

    I would describe the all-Korean staff as exceptionally pleasant and efficient.

    The Place is open Monday to Saturday from 8:30 to 18:00.

  • The Dramatic moment the hostages escaped from the Sydney Lindt Cafe

    The Dramatic moment the hostages escaped from the Sydney Lindt Cafe

    sydney_79729502_025124032-1These photos show the moment when two terrified cafe workers managed to escape from the cafe where they had been held hostage for several hours by a lone Islamic fundamentalist.

    Hostage takings are sadly all too common and almost impossible to resolve with out endangering life in the process. The police who eventually entered the cafe managed to release most of the terrified hostages who were still held but tragically two were killed in the gunfire and the hostage taker was also killed. He was named as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee who was known to the police in relation to dozens of sexual assault charges. It is not yet known who shot who and whether the hostages were killed by police bullets or were fired at by the gunman. There is a sense of relief that the loss of life was not greater however. The siege is a sad reminder of how deadly and unexpected acts of terrorism can be.

  • Censorship problems delay premiere of Chinese film

    Censorship problems delay premiere of Chinese film

    The world premiere of Jiang Wen’s gangster film “Gone With The Bullets”  has been postponed due to censorship problems, according to a statement published on the official WeChat social media account of the film’s Chinese producers.

    Gone With The Bullets

    Reportedly, there have already been some adjustments made, such as changing some prostitute characters into less morally suspect dancing girls, and altering some words related to social issues of the time.

    The film is a follow-up, though not exactly a sequel, to the phenomenally successful Let the Bullets Fly. The film stars actresses Shu Qi and Zhou Yun, as well as actor Ge You.

  • Rob’s guide to New Malden Part Two

    Rob’s guide to New Malden Part Two

    Here I will discuss a few of my favourite places to buy food and drink in the town.

    Head to K-Mart (71-73 High St) first for a well stocked selection of Korean goods. Stock up on big bags of rice and buy some pre-packaged noodles which are very cheap and tasty. Also get your sliced beef for barbecued bulgogi and sliced pork belly from the chiller cabinets. Whilst here purchase some Soju, the drink that Koreans drink at dinner, on nights out and when they want to get drunk. I also like the Ghana chocolate which is smooth and very creamy.

    Bottles of soju and sake at K-Mart
    Bottles of soju and sake at K-Mart

    Near to K-Mart is Jin Mi which sells sushi and has a buffet where you can purchase hot food to take away.

    Seoul Plaza has a large site on the high street and another by the Fountain roundabout. Purchase portions of bibimbap ingredients (2.50) and freshly made pickled vegetables, as well as fish cakes and marinated squid.

    Seoul Plaza on the high street. A smaller branch is open until 11pm daily.
    Seoul Plaza on the high street. A smaller branch is open until 11pm daily.

    IMG_0501 IMG_0502 IMG_0503 IMG_0504 IMG_0505 IMG_0506 IMG_0507 IMG_0508 IMG_0509

    Above, a selection of products available in the K-mart stores. The meat and fish are always packaged and presented very cleanly and neatly. Oxtail may not be popular on British dinner tables but is eaten a lot by Koreans along with brisket (feather steak).

    And note the many varieties of canned cold coffee on sale.

    Thanks to the kind people of K-mart who allowed me to take photographs of the shop displays.

  • The Rob Ruckus guide to New Malden – Part 1

    Take a tour with Rob Ruckus as he shows you some of his favourite sites in the heart of London’s Little Seoul.

    I have been living in New Malden for over a year now and I never get bored of trying out the many local Korean businesses that line the high street. You can get to New Malden by train from London Waterloo in twenty minutes and all of the places listed below are within 5 minutes of the train station.

    IMG_0477

    First stop is The Place coffee shop. They serve excellent Monmouth coffee here. Price £1.95 for an Americano. They also do home made cakes and cookies. My favourite is the Green Tea cake. When you pay for your coffee they give you a remote control device like a pager which beeps when your coffee’s ready so you don’t have to wait at the counter. I always find it very friendly and welcoming here.

    IMG_0476The green tea cake is incredibly light and delicate, like the cake at the Monocle cafe. Price: £2.90 per slice.

    The Place, New Malden High Street.

    Yami Restaurant

    My favourite high street Korean restaurant.  Go at lunch and you can order a filling meal for £5 with tea and complimentary bowls of appetisers called Banyan, which the waiters bring before your main dish comes out.  The waiters are usually happy to refill the bowls at least once. Recommended: Bibimbap (steamed rice with a variety of vegetables in a stone pot) and the rib of beef soup.  Most weekends the restaurant has a queue waiting outside for lunch and dinner.

    banyan Some of the food at Yami, including the beef soup, served in the traditional earthenware dolsot bowls; the complimentary dishes of banyan; and the Tteokkbokki (rice sticks and fishcakes in spicy tomato sauce).

    Yami Restaurant, 69 High Street, New Malden. 

    Sing Sing – Young Star Karaoke Bar

    I couldn’t leave out somewhere to go for the evening. There are two options for karaoke in New Malden; Sing Sing and Han over the road. I chose this place because it has a more authentic Korean atmosphere and a younger and livelier crowd. Its accessed through a narrow alley just passed the station. The front bar has a few seats and a pool table and doesn’t look very inviting. In the main room its a lot bigger and there are several private rooms for karaoke.

    Buy a bottle of Soju, officially the world’s most popular spirit after Psy’s endorsement of the brand. The barman told me that Koreans drink it all the time as they don’t have a wine drinking culture. Its usually either 19% or 21% in volume but will get you drunk fast if you shoot it. Or you can pour it into your beer, as I did. Whatever, it’s a nice drink and feels very warming. Gan bei!

    IMG_0493

    Sing Sing Karaoke Bar, 5A Coombe Rd New Malden KT3 4PX.

    Next time, I will show you some places to buy groceries, eat barbecue and get your haircut.

  • A year of magazine covers

    Vogue Italia Photographed by Stephen Meisel
    Vogue Italia
    Photographed by Stephen Meisel
    I'm not a fan of the show but I like the cover image. Vanity Fair have always done great ensemble covers.
    I’m not a fan of the show but I like the cover image. Vanity Fair have always done great ensemble covers.
    They have always been about more than music. In the past they have had covers of Obama and the Chechnyan terrorist of the Boston Marathon bombing.
    They have always been about more than music. In the past they have had covers of Obama and the Chechnyan terrorist of the Boston Marathon bombing.
    GQ featured a lot of men on their covers this year. But Jessica Alba probably shifts more copies than almost anybody.
    GQ featured a lot of men on their covers this year. But Jessica Alba probably shifts more copies than almost anybody.
    A charming illustrated New Yorker cover by Sempe. Timeless elegance.
    A charming illustrated New Yorker cover by Sempe. Timeless elegance.
    The best places to live in the world. According to Monocle. Tyler Brule's magazine is printed using 8 different paper stocks making it a treat for the hands as well as a feast for the eyes.
    The best places to live in the world. According to Monocle. Tyler Brule’s magazine is printed using 8 different paper stocks making it a treat for the hands as well as a feast for the eyes.
    Style Issue Natalia Vodianova
    Style Issue
    What amazing eyes! I remember staring at this image for several minutes when I saw it on the magazine rack.
    Hollywood's New Wave Shailene Woodley
    Hollywood’s New Wave
    Shailene Woodley
    "Ready for his Closeup"
    “Ready for his Closeup”

    Jon Hamm

    Effortless Style Sofia Coppola
    Effortless Style
    Sofia Coppola

  • Book Review: The Birth of Korean Cool – Euny Kong

    korea

    Some countries are already deemed to be cool. I would argue that most people would consider countries such as say, Sweden, with its great design and socially progressive policies to be cool. This book argues that in the recent years the republic of South Korea has become famous the world over for its cuisine, technology and its music scene.

    It hadn’t always been this way. In the Eighties Hong and her family left the Korean district of Gangnam to move to the US. There was nothing special or enviable about coming from Korea. To most westerners, Korea was just a poor country which had fought an unpopular war and was famous, if for anything at all, for making cheap electronics.

    It’s quite remarkable that Korea has moved from the 115th  to the 15th largest economy in forty years. But the book’s position is that this has been down to the Soft power, or the idea that a county may build its status through its culture rather than through its military industrial complex. This idea is known as Hallyu, and the book gives plenty of examples of the way governments have used it to increase Korea’s global influence.

    A great example is K-Pop. Now, no-one would  ever have thought of Korea as a country that would become famous for pop music. But if you think about it, music is a great way to get your ideas out there. To get an idea of how seriously the business of making music is taken, consider that K-pop artists spend years practising their craft before releasing a single record. It’s an example of the 10,000 hours theory used by Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers, that anyone can become skilled at something if they practice for long enough.

    K-pop is serious business. It doesn’t really matter that most Korean songs aren’t sung in English. It didn’t make any difference to the popularity of Psy’s Gangnam Style – officially the most video on YouTube. Largely this was due to the comedy of the song, it was essentially satirizing the wealth of the district – and a sure sign of a confident country is one that understands irony and can recognise it when it is about itself.

    Another example is movies. After the government relaxed the censorship laws considerably, there was an entire movement of Korean cinema, that represented something of a new wave of Asian Cinema like the cinema of Japan led by Kurosawa. All of a sudden there were new directors emerging, making entirely distinctive works of art, such as Park Chung Wook’s Oldboy, winner of the Golden Palm at Cannes, and the more recent Pieta. Again, language is no barrier to these film’s success, since they are popular in countries such as France, where there is already a great love of subtitled cinema. Korean films tend to be made on lower budgets, and there are fewer big names, certainly none who are known internationally. Whilst such films as Oldboy, and the other film in teh director’s Vengeance trilogy have tended to explore extremes of violence and torture, the most popular films in Korea have been romantic comedies or historical epics. And last year saw the release of the very stylish and creepy Stoker, the first English language feature from Chan Wook.

    There is much in the book about food. For most people, eating out has meant a lot of Chinese and Japanese restaurants, but fewer Korean options. Again, this is changing and fast. Korean dishes such as Bibimbap, a rice and vegetable dish cooked in a stone pot, could soon be as ubiquitous as burgers and tacos.

    The author is sometimes mocking of her countries traditions. For example, in Korea it’s considered discourteous to eat in the company of someone else who is not eating. To outsiders, the country’s focus on work and study can be off-putting. And there is the statistic that the suicide rate in Korea is the highest of any country in the world. The country is in many ways very traditional, in spite of its technological developments. Another fact (the book is full of them) – Seoul has the fastest internet connection anywhere. Then there is the Samsung Galaxy, apparently the world’s most popular phone. These things make the country hard to dislike. In fact most people’s understanding is that it is a remarkably successful nation based on the hard work of its people and the government’s enthusiastic support of art and culture.

    Music, film and food, a great combination for non-military world domination.

  • Calls for plain packaging to be introduced for tobacco products

    In Australia, which has some of the strictest tobacco legislation in the world, a law was passed two years ago that requires all cigarettes to be sold in the same plain packaging, with the name of the brand in the same font on every box. there seems to be no difference between say, a pack of Marlboros and a pack of Lucky Strike.

    At present, tobacco products sold in this country must carry a government health warning, and most also carry a graphic photograph of diseased lungs to illustrate the dangers of smoking.

    Anti tobacco group argue that these warnings do not do enough to deter people smoking or prevent young people taking up the habit. They argue that the distinctive branding which tobacco companies use to market their products are responsible for enticing new smokers. For example, a pack of Benson and Hedges is sold in shiny silver packaging, a cigarette brand called Vogue uses the name of a well known fashion magazine appealing to women, etc.
    With cigarette advertising banned, the only option available for companies to market their products is through the packaging.
    Until last year, the government appeared to oppose any requirement for plain cigarette packaging.
    But Jane Ellison , the under secretary for public health, said that she was inclined to proceed with laws to standardize cigarette packaging and told ministers that if the rate of smoking by children was reduced even by 2 %, 4,000 fewer children would take up the habit.
    New restrictions across Europe will increase the size of mandatory health warnings on cigarette packages. In February, the European parliament approved regulations to permit picture and text health warnings that would cover 65 per cent of the front and the back of the packs, and 50 percent of the sides.

  • Anti-spam law creates headaches in Canada

    ImageCanadians have been bombarded in recent weeks by emails with subject lines like “urgent action required.” The body of the messages encourages them to click on a link.

    Although the messages strongly resemble spam, they are actually the opposite. The flow of emails is a result of a change in the law that require companies, people and social media postings to first seek the recipient’s consent.

     

    The rules have generally been welcomed by consumer advocates, but some lawyers and others argue that while spam regulation is necessary, it is incredibly complex. They say that they will hamper the ability of Canadian companies and charities to promote their products and services and that they will do little to stem the inbox arrivals of true spam operations.

    Under the new law, sending a single commercial email without permission could result in fines of as much as 1 million Canadian dollars.

    Mr Hains, never imagined the changes would effect a newsletter which he sent to volunteers of an annual bicycle race in the village of Terra Cotta, Toronto.

    Less than a week before  the law came into effect, just 147 people of the 1,2000 agreed to stay on, after he sent out a pleading email asking for their consent.

    Mr Hains’ low success rate is typical. Antoine Alywin, a lawyer specialising in privacy law at Fasken Martineau Du Moulin in Montreal, says only about 20% of people are likely to agree to continue to receiving emails, potentially eroding the value of email lists as marketing assets.

    Some companies are offering prizes to encourage people to opt in, such as wireless cameras from D-link to a Mustang offered by the Ford motor company of Canada.

    In the EU, spam cost companies 2.4 billion in lost productivity last year, by some estimates. Spam is often used for sinister purposes such as Trojan horses, financial cons and delivering worms and viruses. It seems that the chance of successful legal harmonisation even in respect of, what may be labelled ‘morally neutral’ regulatory agendas are rather slim. 

    In 2005, spam still accounted for two-thirds of all emails: UK office of Fair trading, 2005.

     

  • The battle over digital privacy and the removal of unwanted online ads

    You know those annoying ads that you get when you’re browsing the net? Wouldn’t it be great if you could opt out, so that your internet experience was unencumbered by interruptions? Unfortunately, most internet browsers make it deliberately difficult to do so.

    Here is an example of what happens when you try to make use of the option to opt out of receiving unsolicited adverts.  

    Consider this experience from December 2011. You visit a Yahoo! sports page and see an

    ad from Target stores that has the advertising option icon on its top right corner. You might

    not notice the icon: on Yahoo!, for example, it is a tiny gray drawing next to the word

    “AdChoices,” also in gray. But say you do, and you click to learn more. Clicking on the icon

    next to an ad promoting “One Odd Trick to Stay Asleep at Night” in late 2011 leads to a page

    served by Yahoo! (not Evidon or TrustE, in this case) that, confusingly, has nothing to do

    with the ad. It is a Yahoo! Privacy page titled “AdChoices: Learn More About This Ad”

    (Yahoo! 2011). The page is divided into two parts, one “for consumers” and the other “for

    advertisers and publishers.” The consumer-oriented part presents a preamble about how

    “The Web sites you visit work with online advertising companies to provide you with advertising

    that is as relevant and useful as possible.” It then has three major bullets: who placed this ad?

    (The answer: Yahoo!) Where can I learn more about how Yahoo! selects ads? (The answer:

    a link to a page about Yahoo!’s “privacy and advertising practices.”) What choices do I

    have—about interest-based advertising from Yahoo!? (The answer: a link to see the “interestbased

    categories” Yahoo! uses to serve you ads as well as to add to the list or opt out.) Click

    on the link to the choices, and you may see that Yahoo! has tagged you in a few, or several,

    from among hundreds of interest categories.

    Yahoo! is following the rules, and the rules say that it does not have to give detailed explanations

    about data mining or tracking right after you click on the icon. What Yahoo! actually

    says may sounds quite innocuous, so a person might not find it worth the time to take additional

    action. Let us assume, though, that you decide to opt out of the company tracking you.

    You find a lot of language on the page and successive links that try to dissuade you. A prominent

    “Learn More!” notice on the AdChoices web page exhorts you to follow a link to “Find

    out how online advertising supports the free content, products, and services you use online.”

    Another link takes you to the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), which tells visitors at

    the top that allowing cookies is “a way to support the websites and products you care about.”

    Say you still want to stop Yahoo! from tracking you. As it turns out, you cannot do it. The

    only thing that you can do is link to a part of the NAI site, where you can tell that company

    and others that you do not want to receive their online behavioral ads. The company can still

    track you with a cookie so that it can use what it learns about you in statistical analyses of web

    users. The rules do not allow you to tell it to stop doing that. In fact, when you go to the

    opt-out area (NAI 2011), the site cautions you that your action to stop the firm’s targeted ads

    will not enable you to stop receiving advertising; it will simply result in ads that are not

    relevant to your interests. In view of the limitations—that you will be continue to be tracked

    and have irrelevant ads sent to you—why would many people click to opt out?

    That, of course, is exactly what the Internet advertising industry hopes will happen. Advocacy

    groups voiced indignation that an individual’s opting out via the icon meant only opting out

    from being served “relevant” ads, not from being tracked and having data stored about them. The

    FTC responded with a report in early 2012 that exhorted the industry to work toward genuine

    options such as providing do-not-track instructions in browsers as well as through websites (Vega

    and Wyatt 2012). As of late April 2012, though, the Alliance had not accepted browser technologies

    that would allow do-not-track. Moreover, a click on an advertising icon next to a Ford ad

    on Yahoo!’s website led to an Evidon site with the same disclaimers seen in December 2011.

    (Extracted from Self regulation and the construction of media harms – Joseph Turow)

     

     

     

     

     

  • Stack and Dowden and the general rule of common intention constructive trusts (CICTs)

    The house of Lords disapproved of the ‘fairness’ principle from Oxley v Hiscock and held that the general rule should be that ‘equity should follow the law’ so in most cases where the legal title is jointly owned the beneficial interests should be split equally unless there were exceptional circumstances.

    What were the exceptional circumstances in Stack and Dowden? The facts of the case are as follows:

    Stack and Dowden were an unmarried couple who had been together for 25 years, with four children in a family home which was joint-owned by the couple. Normally where ownership of a family home is registered in 1 name, such as Lloyds Bank v Rosset, it will be difficult for the unregistered party to claim a share where they are not registered in the deeds and did not contribute to the purchase money. There will often be evidence that the unregistered party went to some reliance on the belief that they had a share in the property. But the judges in equity are usually reluctant to consider that this means they have a legal or beneficial interest in the property. So in Eves v Eves [1975] Lord Denning held that there was a constructive trust, based on Mrs Eve’s redecorating and breaking up a patio with a 14Ib sledgehammer. She was awarded a quarter share in the property, as such work manifested a common intention to share in the home’s equity. That was a favourable decision. But in Lloyds Bank v Rosset, the wife did not have share, although she had contributed to the renovation of the property and claimed a share in equity. She could not prove that there was a common intention to share the property.  

    When Stack and Dowden bought their first house it was funded and purchased by Ms Dowden. However the property in question was partly funded by Mr Stack who contributed 35 % funding whilst Ms Dowden provided the rest. What makes this case so exceptional is that the courts did not split the interest equally 50/50. The judgement was the right one because throughout their relationship the couple kept their finances separate, so their equitable interest was shared 65%/35%.

    Lady Hale’s judgement in the case was that ‘….cases in which the joint legal owners are to be taken to have intended that their beneficial interest should be different from their legal interests will be very unusal…’

    Unusual indeed, which is what makes it such a fascinating case.                     

  • Ruckus on law: R V Brown

    There are two elements to consent: whether the victim consented, and whether the defendant believes the victim has consented. The prosecution must prove that the victim did not consent and that the defendant did not believe in his consent: R v Donovan [1934]

    The general rule is that consent can only be available as a defence to assault and battery, AG’s Reference (No 6 of 1980), where two boys fighting saw one sustaining cuts and bruises. The other was guilty of s47 Offences against the person Act 1861, assault occasioning ABH.

    Essentially fighting will always be an illegal act whether it takes place in the home or in private (Lord Lane CJ). But the rule was confirmed by the House of Lords in R v Brown, a case involving some really twisted individuals who caused each other injuries for sexual pleasure. They were charged with assault occasioning GBH under S47 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861, a frankly hopelessly outdated piece of legislation which mandates that ‘whosoever shall be convicted upon indictment for a common assault shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years.

    No doubt that when the case  came to the public attention there was a great degree of interest in some of the more prurient sections of the media. As indeed there had been when the case was heard in the commons. The activity in R v Brown was not deemed to  be a suitable exception to acts which would be consensual, such as sporting events. Lord Templeman argued that cases involving the defence of consent  for sadomasochistic encounters came down to public policy.

    if it is to be decided that such activities as the nailing by A of B’s foreskin or scrotum to a board or the insertion of hot wax into C’s urethra are injurious neither to A or B nor to the public interest then it is for parliament to declare them to be unlawful.

    But the vast majority of the public are not sadomasochists, one suspects, and such judgements will always seem illiberal. They show the state’s interference in private affairs between consenting adults.

    A similar judgement was reached in Emmet, where a husband tied a plastic bag over his fiance’s head in order to increase her sexual pleasure. Nothing illegal about that, although certainly risky. But then he poured lighter fluid on her breasts and set fire to it. The court saw this as violent conduct which moved beyond what could be consented to. It’s hard  to see what pleasure could be taken to setting fire to someone’s breasts and in this case the courts came to the right conclusion.

    But compare and contrast with R v Wilson, where a man (and it’s always a man) used a hot knife to brand his initials onto his wife’s buttocks, at her request. The court held that there was no difference between this type of branding, tatooing and similar personal adornments which are lawful activity, strange then, that they came to such a different conclusion in Brown.

    These cases can be reconciled when you consider the type of acts that the law considers to be consensual and the ones that can’t be consented too. Emmet was successfully appealed because the relationship between the defendant and victim was a close one and the argument of consent was more compelling, whereas in Brown the parties were a club of homosexuals who met for the purposes of carrying out some sick activities, which the Lords were concerned would lead to the proselystization of the corruption of young men. Even if the acts were consensual, they were hardly those that any decent person would want to uphold.

    Lastly, the decision in Slingsby led to the defendant being acquitted. The facts are similar to R v Boyea, in which the defendant inserted his fist into the victim’s vagina during sex. The defendant claimed that it was done for the purpose of sexual gratification. Held: violent conduct.

    This was not the outcome of R v Slingsby, on the face of it the events were the same but for the fact that the defendant’s ring caused the injury and later death from septicaemia caused by the injury. There was no intention to cause harm, although it sounds painful in the extreme, but the courts acquitted him of unlawful act manslaughter on the grounds that he lacked the mens rea for assault or battery, i.e. the injury was caused accidentally during consensual sexual activity.

    Conclusion

    If you’re having sex and you decide to fist your partner’s vagina, you’ll probably be able to use consent as a defence, but  if you’re a sadomasochistic homosexual engaging in mild torture you’ll find yourself on the wrong side of the law. What about drug addicts and alcoholics who abuse themselves, or athletes who put their bodies through years of agony? Marianne Giles calls the judgement in Brown “paternalism of an unelected, unrepresentive group who use but fail to recognise that power.” 

    It does appear to show heteronormative bias and one wonders whether the same judgement would have been reached if they had been heterosexual men.

     

  • Films made during World War 2

    What happened to films made in  Hollywood when America joined the war? Which actors were conscripted? How did America’s participation in the war affect relations with Germany? Read on to find out.

    1941

    After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour in 1941, the U.S.A were involved in the war against Germany, and soon directors made films explicitly relating to the conflict. Amongst the most well known was Alfred Hitchcock’s Sabotage. The speech at the end was a way of getting a public who were against the idea of another war to see what they were fighting against. Quentin Reynolds narrates London Can Take It, 1941, encouraging the USA to take up arms. 

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    Michael Powells’ The Forty Ninth Parallel stars Eric Portman as a German trying to escape from Canada to the US.

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     Humphrey Jennings directs Listen To Britain, about the effects of the war.

    1942

    Michael Curtiz overcomes severe production problems to make what is arguably the most famous film set during the second world war, Casablanca. Ernest Lubitsch pokes fun at the Nazis in To Be or Not to Be. Much later Mel Brooks remakes the film. David Lean and Noel Coward direct In Which We Serve, the archetypal War film. Went The Day Well, directed by Alberto Cavalcanti from a script by Graham Greene, shows  German paratroopers invading an English village.

     

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    Robert Donat as Young Mr Pitt provides more wartime propagnda.

    1943

    David MacDonald’s Desert Victory is a classic war documentary.

    Leslie Howard dies when his plane is shot down by Nazis.

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    1944

    Laurence Olivier makes Henry V into a rousing patriotic boost to wartime spirits.

    1945

    The documentary True Glory provides an uplifting account of the last years of the war.

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    Anthony Asquith’s The Way to the Stairs successfully recreates the wartime mood.

    Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City electrifies audiences with its amateur approach, made mostly with amateur actors. 

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  • Films made during World War 2

    What happened to films made in  Hollywood when America joined the war? Which actors were conscripted? How did America’s participation in the war affect relations with Germany? Read on to find out.

    1941

    After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour in 1941, the U.S.A were involved in the war against Germany, and soon directors made films explicitly relating to the conflict. Amongst the most well known was Alfred Hitchcock’s Sabotage. The speech at the end was a way of getting a public who were against the idea of another war to see what they were fighting against. Quentin Reynolds narrates London Can Take It, 1941, encouraging the USA to take up arms. 

    Image

    Michael Powells’ The Forty Ninth Parallel stars Eric Portman as a German trying to escape from Canada to the US.

    Image

     

     Humphrey Jennings directs Listen To Britain, about the effects of the war.

    1942

    Michael Curtiz overcomes severe production problems to make what is arguably the most famous film set during the second world war, Casablanca. Ernest Lubitsch pokes fun at the Nazis in To Be or Not to Be. Much later Mel Brooks remakes the film. David Lean and Noel Coward direct In Which We Serve, the archetypal War film. Went The Day Well, directed by Alberto Cavalcanti from a script by Graham Greene, shows  German paratroopers invading an English village.

     

    Image

    Robert Donat as Young Mr Pitt provides more wartime propagnda.

    1943

    David MacDonald’s Desert Victory is a classic war documentary.

    Leslie Howard dies when his plane is shot down by Nazis.

    Image

    1944

    Laurence Olivier makes Henry V into a rousing patriotic boost to wartime spirits.

    1945

    The documentary True Glory provides an uplifting account of the last years of the war.

    Image

    Anthony Asquith’s The Way to the Stairs successfully recreates the wartime mood.

    Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City electrifies audiences with its amateur approach, made mostly with amateur actors. 

    Image

     

  • Alone

    Harry walked in to the bar in and asked for a drink. The day was hot and he was glad to be in here rather than out there. It was a small, empty town on the border of the Czech republic that Harry had found himself in. God knows how he had ended up there or what he was going to do. He had been trying to cross the border in to Poland the next day but the bus he had been travelling had broken down.

    Well, so what if I don’tr make it? he thought. He had been travelling on strict deadlines for the last two weeks  –  keeping track of train and bus times to various towns in Eastern Europe. He wanted to see the real life out here, not the cities of Prague or Kracow, although he had enjoyed those very much.

    There was tall young woman working on the bar and Harry recognised her dark features as Slavic immediately.

    Vot would you like?

    Harry looked around the bar. There were various beers of Eastern European origin that Harry had never heard of, with hard to pronounce names such as Okocim and Zubr.

    ‘One of these please,’ asked Harry, pointing at a gleaming beer tap. The woman took a glass off the shelf and fixed her eyes on the pump, tilting her head so that the beer poured right up to the brim.

    Harry took the glass up to his lips and took a big sip.

    he smiled at her but she was too shy to return it.

    ‘How much?’

    Er, twenty-five crowns.

    Here, said Harry, pulling out a note which was in one of several currencies he carried with him.

    She put the note into an old register and took out some gleaming coins which she emptied into his palm.

    Harry decided she probably wouldn’t have much to talk about so he went and sat down in the corner. He took out a pack of cigarettes that he’d bought in Prague and lit one with his metal lighter. He was thirsty and he’d almost drunk his beer. He put his cigarette out in a long wooden ashtray, crushing the cigarette and laying it down like a body in a coffin.

    Harry thought about all the places he’d visited on his travels. He had shot machine guns in an army field in Slovakia, drunk vintage wines on the hills of Buda in Hungary and kayaked outside Prague.

    All the time he’d had people around him. Harry met other travelers and they’d share their stories and experiences. He enjoyed listening to them talk even if he didn’t find what they had to say particularly interesting.

    The woman came out from the counter and picked up his empty glass.

    She pointed to it and Harry nodded. Another one, why not? Harry was finally completely alone.

  • The right to privacy: an introduction

    The right to privacy and to be protected from commercial exploitation has a precedent in Prosser, who saw it as a right to value, which the claimant could exploit by selling licenses. Evidence of its proprietary nature could be seen from the exclusive licensee had a right of publicity which entitled him to prevent the the use of the name or likeness by a third person.Most right to privacy cases deal with the economic aspects and do not cover the mental stress aspect. Other tort specialists such as Harper and James were more aware of the distinction, and recognised that the two unrelated ideas of emotional stress and purely financial loss produced a legal grey area which did not make for clarity of thought.

    In most cases the issue of financial loss is not separate but is related to the emotional stress of the exploitation of personality.

    According to Bloustein the name or likeness which was used had no commercial value, which could not justify legal action. The only way a right to privacy could exist was if society placed a value on the image itself and on the idea of a right to privacy. ‘every man had a right to privacy not because of its commercial worth but because it would be demeaning to human dignity to fail to enforce such a right.

    The core of the right to privacy protects against: peeping toms, the collection and dissemination of personal data, watching and photographing individuals, intruding into public places, eavesdropping and wiretapping. It does not include harassment, unsolicited mail, nuisance phone calls, neither does it include commercial exploitation.

    When applied to celebrity the law does not deny the celebrity in question the right to privacy, rather it prevents the unlicensed use of their image. Their celebrity is not inconsistent with their right to privacy. If a famous athlete finds his image is used without his permission, he is entitled to compensation, but the concern is with his public reputation rather than his private life.  

    If a non-celebrity has their image widely used in an advertisement, the claimant’s anonymity would not be an issue since they would be subject to unwanted attention, unless there was damage to their dignitary interests, which might be protected at law either as  part of a general right to privacy or by a tort of appropriation of personality which might provide redress for either or both economic or dignitary interests.

    The principle of privacy

    English courts see privacy as a value that underlies the existence of a rule of law, but this does not define the specific rules to be deduced and applied. In America where celebrities have complained over invasion of privacy over unauthorised use of images, the courts refused to accept they had suffered loss of dignity since they were willingly licensing their images to advertise or endorse products. By virtue of their celebrity, some claimants were considered to have waived their right to privacy.

    Separate but related is the right to publicity. The first case was Halean Laboratories v. Topps Chewing gum Inc, the parties were rival chewing gum makers. With knowledge of the claimant’s contracts with particular baseball players the defendant deliberately induced the players to enter into a contracts authorising the defendant to use their image with their own chewing gum. The right of privacy was a personal and non-assignable right and the contracts did not give the claimant any property right or other legal interest to sue. The court rejected the claimant’s defense that the contracts created no more than a release of liability and that a claimant would have no other interest in the publication of his picture. Independently of the right to privacy, a person had a right in the publicity value of his photograph and the right to grant the exclusive right to publication of his photograph. If they suffered no moral damage, they felt the loss of financial reward keenly.The right of privacy was born and with it the right to grant exclusive rights of exploitation, which could potentially be enforced by a licensee. 

  • my life in smoking

    The first cigarettes I smoked were Dunhill King Size. They came in a dark red box with gold edges. They were strong, at least 10mg of tar. I liked the fact that they had the signature of Alfred Dunhill on the back, the same Dunhill who founded the Dunhill fashion brand. a pack of twenty retailed at £4.89. That was usually enough for a week’s worth.

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    Occasionally I went for a box of Dunhill lights. Funnily enough they were cheaper as they were so unpopular they never put the price up. The box was beautifully designed, with clean white packaging and bevelled sides. I used to love holding the box whilst smoking or leaving the box on pub tables next to my glasses of beer. I think they had a kind of crest on the front which always made the cigarette I was smoking an extra special kind of event.

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    Finally I sometimes opted for Dunhill Internationals, the same as the ones Robert De Niro smokes in Casino.

    Even though I was loyal to Dunhills, I made my way through pretty much every brand of tobacco I could find. Between 2001 and 2005, the years of my heaviest smoking I smoked:

    Peter Stuyvescent 100s (as advertised in old magazines I looked at from the seventies showing people sailing or lounging by the pool)

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    Camel lights and camel regulars (I always felt that the packaging of these was cheap and somewhat shoddy. The box never stood up well and got misshapen in the pocket. These cigarettes are mentioned by Bukowski in Ham on Rye, so I guess they will always have some cultish appeal.

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    Park Drive – these came in an art deco box with stylish old fashioned logo. I only ever bought one pack of these.

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    Gitanes: smoked a few of these. i learnt that they were made with dark Turkish tobacco, which explained why they tasted like petrol.

    Gauloises: with an Asterisk helmet. popular all over the continent. Again, the packaging was too flimsy for me.

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    Lucky Strike: these were advertised with the meaningless but effective slogan ‘its toasted’, seen on Mad Men.

    Benson and Hedges Special: these have always been smoked by a particular kind of smoker. I still remember the advertising of these on giant billboards. 

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    Lambert & Butler: horrible packaging, ok fags.

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    Marlboro reds/ Marlboro lights: according to someone in the pub, these are the most popular cigarettes. Or at least they were when it was still legal to smoke in pubs. I once bought a pack of Marlboro Reds in the Almeida restaurant. They were presented on a saucer by the waiter. What glorious times!

    Petra/Sparta: I smoked these in Prague, 2004. They were at least 10 krowns cheaper than more famous brands.

    Drum tobacco; when I couldn’t afford tabs, I opted for tobacco. I rolled Drum consistently through my second year at uni.

    Golden Virginia: what everybody else smoked at the student union.

    Craven A: another old cigarette brand, smoked a lot in France but oddly not in England where they originated from.

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  • After daring heist, art masterpieces go up in flames

    Take a look at these pictures. It may be the last time you ever see them.

    After the theft of several priceless artworks from the Kunsthal museum, investigators have announced that the paintings may have been burnt by the suspect’s mother to prevent her son being found with the paintings in his possession. From the International Herald Tribune: forensic scientists at Romania’s National History  museum appeared on the verge of confirming the art world’s worst fears: that Ms Daguru’s tale may be true.

    Here are the seven paintings which were stolen and are feared destroyed:

    Monet: Waterloo Bridge, London, 1901

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    Gaugain: Girl in front of Open Window, 1898

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    Picasso: Harlequin head, 1971

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    Mayer de Haan: self portrait

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    Matisse: reading girl in white and yellow

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    Lucian Freud: Woman with eyes closed

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    Monet: Charing Cross bridge, London

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  • ‘An Alan Smithee film’

    Some films which have been directed by ‘Alan Smithee’ (ie, those which the director asked his name to be removed from).

    Death of a Gunfighter  (Don Siegel, Robert Totten) 67

    Fade In (d Jud Taylor) 68.

    City in Fear (d Jud Taylor)

    Fun and Games (Paul Bogart)

    Moonlight (d Jackie Cooper, Rod Holcomb).

    Stitches  (d Rod Holcomb)

    Appointment with Fear 

    Let’s Get Harry (d Stuart Rosenberg)

    Morgan Stewart’s Coming Home (directed Terry Windsor)

    Ghost Fever (d Lee Madden)

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    I Love NY

    Catchfire/Backtrack (directed Dennis Hopper)

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    Boyfriend from Hell /The Shrimp on the Barbie (Martin Gottlieb)

    Imageactually looks ok

    Starfire 

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    Call of the Wild

    Imagea very below-par White Fang

    The Birds II: Land’s End

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    Raging Angels

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    Hellraiser: Bloodline 

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    It is possible that Smithee is now dead: when Walter Hill had his name removed from the credits of Supernova, the film was credited to Thomas Lee.

  • Juno Temple

    You only need to know two things about Juno Temple.

    Number 1: she’s really hot.

    Number 2: she does nude scenes in virtually every film she’s in.

    See below for the proof…

    Imagean

    topless in Kaboom (Greg Araki)

    ImageI love this photo of her

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  • Lea

    Lea

    When you’ve lost someone you love, what is there to do but cry?

  • Corey Monteith (1982 -2013)

    No! That was Mark Salling’s tweet on hearing of the passing of his co-star and friend of Glee.

    I think everybody had a similar reaction. Although it was reported that Monteith had missed the last three episodes of season 4 due to going into rehab, there was every hope that he would recover and rejoin the series for the fifth season. Now it seems our dreams are shattered. It looks as though he died of a drug overdose, a none too rare occurrence among actors. He always seemed so likeable and down to earth on the show, and it sounds as though he was like that in real life too. He was the same age as me (31). and he was due to marry Lea Michele (Rachel in Glee) in two weeks time. Our worst fears are seldom realised. Sadly, today they have been. 

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  • Edward Snowden: a man without a country trapped in a bureaucratic no-man’s land

    The latest turn in the increasingly kafka-esque saga of NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden is that he is hidden somewhere in Moscow’s Sheremotyo’s Terminal E, according to the Financial Times: 

    ‘With a design style reminiscent of the Startship Enterprise crossed with  dentist’s waiting room, the hotel offers clean towel and a standard shower to long-haul travellers who do not want to spend their time shopping for Swarovski crystals and designer cologne.’

    In short, this is the only place it is possible for Snowden to be hiding. He is now effectively a man without a country, and every where he goes there is an increasingly likelihood that he will be extradited to the US for espionage charges, sharing a similar fate to similar whistle-blowers Bradley Manning and Julian Assange. He may be living like the man who inspired the film the Terminal, based on the story of Alfred Mehran Karimi Nasseri. Due to a complex mix-up with papers he was forced to spend 20 years in an airport, living in a limbo because he had nowhere else to go. In short, his home was the airport, because legally he was not able to pass the immigration to leave the terminal. He was forced to sleep on a concrete bench and had to scrounge food from the bins of the business lounge and broke into the showers at night. Yet life was better for him inside the airport where he became a celebrity than it would have been outside.

    It is unlikely that Snowden will ever enjoy the sort of anonymity he has been used to. If he goes to the US he will likely spend time in little more than a eight by 6ft room cell, similar to wear he is staying currently. The choice that is also facing Assange, whether to face justice or spend time living in an ever decreasing room akin to a walk-in closet with a shower may not be a pleasant one but is the only one he has.

    To some he is a hero, yet his supporters will never be able to provide the kind of privacy and anonymity he needs. For the sake of our freedom he has sacrificed his own. No doubt he will be spending his time wondering whether it has all been worth it.

  • Laura Marling – The Grand Eagle Hotel Ball

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    Recently there has been a wave of immersive theatre in London, led by Punchdrunk , Felix Barrett’s innovative audience-interactive dramas,. Now Secret Cinema have got in on the act with this extraordinary blend of theatre, live music and promenade. 

    Audience members are given strict instructions to bring with them gifts for a stranger, flowers for Mrs Undine, proprietress of the hotel (a converted school in Hackney) and to wear their best clothes. They are met on arrival by chambermaids and bellboys, all dressed in period costumes. The setting of the evening is 1927. Guests are politely asked to leave their mobile phones and cameras at the door. Once inside, they are free to wander the rooms of the hotel. In one room, birds are bizarrely kept behind netting, recalling the theme of Laura’s album. In another, a woman lies Ophelia like in a bath, covered in flowers. A psychiatrist sees patients for a group therapy session. And an erotic pas de deux unfolds on the stairway between a crazed woman in a red dress and her partner in a Sherlock Holmes deerstalker. Then on the upper landing Marling sings a slowed down duet with Eddie Berman of Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark. It’s spine tingling and not a word of the song is wasted. And then suddenly they are gone again. 

    Then at eight o’clock guests are requested to go to the ballroom for the evening’s performance, which takes place in what would have been the school’s gymnasium, although it’s been immaculately styled with full-length red velvet curtains. 

    when Laura Marling appears its as though the spell has been broken somewhat, because her voice belongs to no age but this one. Nevertheless, the concert is mesmerizing and the audience are captivated, listening intently to songs mostly from Once I was an Eagle. Marling is accompanied by guitar, double bass and cello for the first song, after which she is all by herself. Her voice is delicate, wry, sometimes bitter, it follows the twisting chords she picks out on her guitar. It’s fiery and passionate music. Sample lyric: ‘dark before the dawn is the darkest I can go’ from Breathe. She forgot the words on Sunday night, but a woman from the audience rescued her, calling out the forgotten words.

    Even after the concert, guests are welcome to stay and linger, watching actors playing croquet on the lawn. There were no more than 400 guests on the night I was there, for a musician of Marling’s stature it’s a tiny number, bearing in mind that she could fill a venue like the Brixton Academy (4000 capacity) several nights running.

    Neil McCormack of the Telegraph has called this the most extraordinary gig he has ever seen. I don’t go to enough gigs to say whether this statement is justified. But I will say this: for audience’s for whom the cost of a theatre ticket is nothing more than a very expensive sleeping pill (to quote the New York Times) this may be just what they are looking for. Yes, its expensive (tickets £35), but it’s all so immaculately conceived, with everyone responsible maintaining the theme of an old hotel that looks like Jay Gatsby’s mansion after the money’s gone. 

    As for Punchdrunk, they will soon begin a massive staging of The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable. With 50,000 extra tickets available, it looks like most people who want to go will get the chance.  

  • Marlon Brando: The magic and the madness

    The magic: by the end of the fifties Brando had already made several films that defined the art of screen acting. A Streetcar Named Desire (51), inventing the screen rebel (The Wild One), and giving the screen’s most famous improvised dialogue performance in On The Waterfront: ‘I coulda been a contender. I coulda had class.’

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    In the sixties he directed his only film, One Eyed Jacks and acted in films which didn’t quite match  with his method techniques.

    Then came The Godfather, 1972, and one of the most mesmerising of screen performances. The difficult gestation of The Godfather is one of the most interesting film productions. Nobody at Paramount thought the film would be a hit. Nobody wanted Brando in it. Yet the film became the high most successful of all time, and is surely the finest gangster film. Brando’s Vito Corleone died at the halfway line, showing how to die quietly, not in a hail of bullets but drinking wine in an olive grove and playacting with his grandchild (that scene was improvised).

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    Until Marlon Brando filled his cheeks with cotton wool, no actor showed such unconventional methods, and none went so far to create their character. The same year he was also in The Last Tango In Paris, going further in screen eroticism than  anyone else. When Brando won the Academy Award for The Godfather, he sent an American Indian woman in his place to collect the award. 

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    A sure sign of his contempt for film acting, yet there was more: the disastrous Missouri Breaks (76), Superman (78), and Apocalypse Now. And then what? By this point in time, the movie brats had taken over. It was the age of Star Wars and Indiana Jones. These were really kid’s films, nothing wrong in that at all but who was making adult masterpieces like Apocalypse Now or The Godfather? No-one, at least not on that scale, although Woody Allen made several small scale human comedies in the over the top eighties.

    The Madness:

    Brando’s weight. He looked like an athlete, muscle toned and powerfully masculine in Streetcar, or in motorcycle leathers in the Wild One. Vito Corleone was the most cultivated gangster, sinewy, as though the years of crime had hollowed him out from the inside. Seven years later he was being filmed from the waist up to hide his rapidly expanding bulk. He hadn’t gone as far as Orson Welles, in weight-gain, but it was still shocking.

    The women: Brando was the prototype of the primitive modern male in his films. He didn’t do much better in real life. He married actresses Anna Kashfi, Movita and Tarita Tarripaia. His relationships with his children seemed to involve either abandonment or over-possessiveness. He fought bitterly with Kashfi over the custody of their son Christian. He was tried for the killing of his half sister Cheyenne Brando’s boyfriend, but died of pneumonia in 1998. After years of mental instability she hanged herself in 1995.

    Brando was close friends with Michael Jackson, and appears in the thirteen minute video of You rock My world. The day after September the 11th, Brando and Jackson decided to flee New York State, along with Elizabeth Taylor. Disguised in sunglasses and hats, they borrowed a car and managed to travel unrecognised across the state, stopping for KFC along the way, the sheer implausibilty is hard to believe.

    He spoke of his disdain for acting: –

    “Acting is an empty and useless profession.”

    “Acting is the expression of a neurotic impulse. Quitting acting is the sigh of maturity.”

    “I’ve never had any respect for Hollywood. It stands for bad taste, but you work for three months, then you can do as you please.”

    Others have paid tribute: 

    He was deeply rebellious against the bourgeois spirit, the over-ordering of life. – Elia Kazan.

    An angel as a man, a monster as an actor. – Bernardo Bertolucci 

     

  • Patti Lu Pone – Leicester Square Theatre

    Patti Lu Pone

    Leicester Square Theatre

    Sunday 16 – Sunday 23rd June

    Patti Lu Pone is a big star. She has won two Tony Awards and an Olivier and was Fantine in the original Royal Shakespeare  Production of Les Miserables. As a musical theatre star they don’t come much bigger. The audience was full of men, mostly gay, who simply couldn’t get enough of her.

    Starting the night off was Seth Rudetsky, himself a very funny, camp performer. He got things off to a great start by treating the audience to some hilarious video footage of The Osmonds performing a disco version of “If I were a rich Man” and Shirley Bassey singing on an oil rig. The audience laughed hysterically but you would have to be off a certain age or persuasion to find a lot of it very funny. Eventually Patti Lu Pone came on and the show got started, with Rudetsky accompanying Lu Pone on piano and singing along to some of the songs.

    Lu Pone belted out two songs from Evita,- ‘Rainbow High’ and ‘Buenos Aires’-  with Rudetsky gamely playing along. Between songs he interviewed her about some of her experiences working as a serious actor and moving into musical theatre. Lu Pone came across as slightly self-effacing, as though she was afraid to show her diva side which is clearly something which has made her so successful. The songs where she took centre stage were the best, where she was illuminated by a spotlight and watched by a hushed audience. ‘I regret everything’ was a new song written by the writer of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Lu Pone sang it as though it was the flipside to Edith Piaf’s ‘Je Non Regrette Rien.’ Otherwise things sagged a little during the non-musical numbers, and it would have been nice to have heard more songs. 

    She sang ‘Fine Life’ from Oliver, which your reviewer was delighted to join in with, going on to ‘As Long as he needs me’. She did her worst cockney accent, screwing up her face and looking like a stroke victim.  The sound quality was first rate and Lu Pone’s showcased some fine singing, even if she found it hard to reach the high notes on Rainbow High.

    Luckily there were two encores. The audience leapt to their feet to give a standing ovation, giving us time to hear Lu Pone preview a song from an upcoming musical of Woman on The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Lu Pone looked like she could convincingly play Pepa, the woman left by her husband who puts her into a mental hospital. As for Rudetsky, it’s nice to see that as well as supporting Lu Pone he has his own show at the same theatre later this month, Deconstructing Broadway. It sounds great, seriously.

    Three stars. 

  • Blood Wedding, Waterloo East Theatre

    Review of Blood Wedding (Bodas de Sangre) by Frederico Gardcia Lorca

    Directed by Zoe Ford

    Waterloo East theatre – June 12th to July 7th

    In the 1930s Lorca wrote a group of plays that were later known as the “rural trilogy”, together with Yerma and The House of Bernardo Alba. Blood Wedding has a gripping storyline: the ties of family versus the bonds that we form with others outside the family circle.

    The wedding of the title is between a young woman and a man whose mother is concerned that her son’s bride should be clean and virginal. Her obsession with virginity leads her to discover that her daughter in law is not so pure: she was betrothed for three years before she broke off her engagement to Leonardo, a member of the Felix family. He is now married to somebody else, but unhappily so, and his horse is seen by the bride’s window at night.

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    Above, maids tie a garland of orange blossom around the bride ahead of her wedding.  (Maya Thomas, Carolina Main, Jo Mifsud, Abigail Unwin-Smith, Catherine Nicole, Jennifer Shakesby)

    The bridegroom’s mother pins all her hopes on her son’s marriage to bring her grandchildren. She has an interest that is uncomfortably close to incest: caressing and kissing him, because her husband died long ago and her son provides her with her sole affection in her life. It’s an environment where most of the men have died or been killed in deadly fights. Women are at the centre of the play. The men are mostly weakened by their sexual urges: for example, Leonardo is unhappily married and is prepared to risk everything to be with the bride, and will stop at nothing to do so.

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    Above, Maya Thomas as the Bride and Leonardo (Giorgio Spiegelfeld), the man  to whom she was previously engaged.  

    The stage is set for a conflagration, a spark that will set off a live wire of human tragedy, but Mark Forrester in the role of the bride’s father provides much needed comic relief as the good-natured old man who wants only happiness for his daughter and future son-in-law, and how very movingly this is conveyed by Forrester playing a man who resists hatred and refuses to let his heart be blackened by bitterness.

    It’s a dark and atmospheric production that feels like walking in the forest at night, full of mysterious noises and shadowy presences which jump out at you. In fact it’s not dissimilar from the cauldron scene of the witches from Macbeth the maids in act one sing a lullaby that warns of the tragic events to come:

    ‘Horsey’s hooves are red with blood, horsey’s hooves are broken. Deep inside his staring eyes, a silver dagger broken.’

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    Carolina Main, Jo Misfud, Cat White. All photos by Adam Trigg

    After the interval the play becomes increasingly symbolic and abstract, with characters representing death and moon. The last act becomes one long lament in which the mother grieves for her lost son and turns against the bride and her family. They knit with blood red wool and death comes in the figure of a stripped-bare woman with a grotesquely twisted outstretched hand. There is violence, but we don’t see it, a deliberate decision by director Zoe Ford to move away from the stage descriptions, and present her take on it. The play makes us wonder whether it’s better to leave old longings in the past or risk entering a world of pain and torment. What a stunning production it is and all credit to the cast and crew of Hiraeth for bringing the unsparingly dark vision of Lorca to the London stage.

    Five stars

  • Blind Date

    Blind Date, Sarah Northan.

    Charing Cross Theatre

    May 30th 2013

     

    I used to love dating shows. Blind Date was my favourite TV dating programme. I watched it, glued to the television every Saturday evening from 1991 to approximately 1996. Unfortunately this new play by Sarah Northan has nothing in common with Cilla Black except for having the same title.

    In fact it’s stretching things to call this a play, since the blind date of the title doesn’t turn up, and Mimi chooses a likely candidate from the audience (in actual fact this person has been carefully selected beforehand). That’s one of many drawbacks to a format like this. For it to be successful, the play depends very much on the man chosen to be her date. He needs to be charismatic, confident, with a voice strong enough to be heard through the audience. On the opening night, Mimi chose the improbably named Barty as her replacement date for the evening. He gamely went along with all of her wild ideas, whilst his real – life girlfriend kept watch in the audience. She was given the option of being able to call ‘bullshit’ whenever Barty was telling a lie, a privilege which she never took advantage. She also had the chance to call timeout, meaning that Barty and Mimi would then step out of the date scenario into a corner of the stage.

    Mimi came out with a few good one-liners. When fashion designer Barty told her he created ‘interactive windows’ her response was “That would be a door no?” There were jokes about his height (he was fully grown as a 12 year old). Later, a scene change  took the play to the bedroom, the conclusion of the date. She was briefly vulnerable, revealing that she used to be called budgerigar eyes by her school mates. It was a shame the play didn’t go further down this road, sharing the many anxieties andhang-ups men and women feel about themselves. It was all very frothy, with some moments of pure farce, such as an incident where she was caught driving erratically by police and hides her wineglass between her legs.

    Sarah Northan is a talented comedienne, delivering her lines with a heavy French accent, and wearing a red nose to look like a clown. She did physical comedy too, driving along to Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy and giving birth. It would be worth seeing more than once  to see if Mimi can carry this off with a less willing participant and one with less to say.

    Three stars

      

     

  • Femen: Ukraine’s feminist shock troops

    Either the Ukrainian feminist group are blazing a trail for feminism or they are setting the clocks back to the pre-Germaine Greer early days of the women’s movement.

    One thing I know for sure is that it will be impossible for any of their detractors to describe them as hair-legged man-haters or any other hateful descriptions. All of their activists are noticeably young, early 20s at most. That’s roughly the same age as Germaine Greer when she wrote The Female Eunuch in 1969. And they appear to be well groomed and carefully presented at their demonstrations. At first they appeared scantily clad but began to appear in topless in 2009.

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    Their founding member is one Anna Hutsol, from Ukraine. At 25, the movement she created already has members in four continents across nine countries. It describes its tactics as ‘sextremism’, and its hundreds of volunteer members stand against sexual exploitation, organised religion and dictatorship. 

    Their guerilla tactics have demonstrated against the pope (releasing red smoke to represent the harm done by the church over the centuries); at the Berlin Festival to decry female genital mutilation; at the Davos world economic forum where they decried income inequality.

    Most famously they have been stripping off in support of Tunisian activist Amina Sboui, who had faced death threats after posting a topless picture of herself on the web. (when you consider how much porn available online this action becomes meaningless). She was arrested for carrying pepper spray and remains in prison as the authorities consider additional charges.

    Whilst Ukraine is undoubtedly behind most of western Europe in terms of gender inequality, I wouldn’t be surprised if the group start to make waves over here, too. After all, how can women have the same rights as men when a man can be bare – chested freely but a woman topless in public can be considered obscene? The group’s topless protests could be used to combat the pernicious ‘lad’s mags’ culture. Everyone wants to look at women, so the group goes topless because they know that it is the best way to get media coverage. 

    Some have criticized them for going naked in very religious countries and exposing themselves to danger and violent attacks. Yet they continue to protest, and make the police   who arrest them appear ridiculous for manhandling semi-naked young women. 

    The group’s main activist Sasha Schevchenko said it may take a revolution, perhaps with some bloodshed, to improve the lives of women oppressed by Islam or dictators, or who are pressured into prostitution. Their most valuable service will be in educating the next generation to take up the fight themselves.