I bet you didn't know I was fluent in 한국어??
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Staying Sharp
Some of you may be wondering how it that I am keeping myself sharp after exiting college 19 months ago and I can say that this is how I spend just about all my free time when I am not working or sleeping:
1. I am taking full advantage of the lack of any sort of copyright laws here and working my way through all the TV and movies ever made. Not quite but I am getting pretty close. So far I am up to number 38 on the AFI (American Film Institute for those not in the know) top 100 films. I was worried that my limited attention span (blame internet and all that other evil stuff) wouldn't be able to handle the slow pace at which most of these old films unfold but I have become quite adjusted the the pace and almost never have to check how much time has passed now! Real achievement right there. But really it turns out all those movies that were made before I was born actually are quite good. Who would have thought anything would be able to top Clueless. As you can see I am learning every day. Now not to become too cultural I am also keeping up on current TV. In fact I spent approximately 9 hours watching all of the available episodes of a new show on the CW, Revenge. Its pretty much a soap opera set in the Hamptons and it made my annual Jan. 1st "headache" feel much better.
2. I am also breaking down new barriers in my illegal downloading with books for my Kindle. I have fully mastered and taken advantage of endless free music, TV and movies but free books is a new frontier. I still have a few ethical concerns...with music I can justify it because I do spend money on going to concerts, and with TV and movies I just don't care (I know that no actor, actress or movie maker is living paycheck to paycheck and these days everyone involved in the movies I'm watching is dead so whatever). But books I feel a bit of a tinge of guilt because I'm not going to pay to see this person read, nor will I eventually buy the book and I am pretty attached to the idea of books remaining in print. So we'll see where this one goes. But anyway, moral dilemmas aside, I have been reading quite a bit. Lots of free fiction that was printed pre-1923 (can't go wrong with Dickens) and then trying to find and read books on Southeast Asia so I can be a little prepared for my travels. I just finished a book titled "Cambodia's Curse: The Modern History of a Troubled Land" by Joel Brinkley. I had no idea how fucked up Cambodia still is. Sort of wish I still didn't. But what can I do, I just have an eternal thirst for knowledge. Anyway, I am hoping to find a good book on Ho Chi Minh cause word on the street is he was a pretty big deal in Vietnam (joke, I am well versed in the Vietnam war: I have seen Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Deer Hunter, and many others). So if anyone has any suggestions let me know (or just have it sent to Claire Sheldon's Kindle- I always accept gifts).
Does it seem like anything is missing? Like maybe exploring Korea? Yeah, I'm pretty much over that. Once you've seen one temple/palace you've seen them all. Also I am never that blown away by these old palaces because they have all burned down and been rebuilt so its not like any of it is actually old. Totally bogus. Mostly its just cold here and I am working and ton and I am pretty much sick of work and people and everything and I am ready to go. Thank god I got my movies and books!
1. I am taking full advantage of the lack of any sort of copyright laws here and working my way through all the TV and movies ever made. Not quite but I am getting pretty close. So far I am up to number 38 on the AFI (American Film Institute for those not in the know) top 100 films. I was worried that my limited attention span (blame internet and all that other evil stuff) wouldn't be able to handle the slow pace at which most of these old films unfold but I have become quite adjusted the the pace and almost never have to check how much time has passed now! Real achievement right there. But really it turns out all those movies that were made before I was born actually are quite good. Who would have thought anything would be able to top Clueless. As you can see I am learning every day. Now not to become too cultural I am also keeping up on current TV. In fact I spent approximately 9 hours watching all of the available episodes of a new show on the CW, Revenge. Its pretty much a soap opera set in the Hamptons and it made my annual Jan. 1st "headache" feel much better.
2. I am also breaking down new barriers in my illegal downloading with books for my Kindle. I have fully mastered and taken advantage of endless free music, TV and movies but free books is a new frontier. I still have a few ethical concerns...with music I can justify it because I do spend money on going to concerts, and with TV and movies I just don't care (I know that no actor, actress or movie maker is living paycheck to paycheck and these days everyone involved in the movies I'm watching is dead so whatever). But books I feel a bit of a tinge of guilt because I'm not going to pay to see this person read, nor will I eventually buy the book and I am pretty attached to the idea of books remaining in print. So we'll see where this one goes. But anyway, moral dilemmas aside, I have been reading quite a bit. Lots of free fiction that was printed pre-1923 (can't go wrong with Dickens) and then trying to find and read books on Southeast Asia so I can be a little prepared for my travels. I just finished a book titled "Cambodia's Curse: The Modern History of a Troubled Land" by Joel Brinkley. I had no idea how fucked up Cambodia still is. Sort of wish I still didn't. But what can I do, I just have an eternal thirst for knowledge. Anyway, I am hoping to find a good book on Ho Chi Minh cause word on the street is he was a pretty big deal in Vietnam (joke, I am well versed in the Vietnam war: I have seen Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Deer Hunter, and many others). So if anyone has any suggestions let me know (or just have it sent to Claire Sheldon's Kindle- I always accept gifts).
Does it seem like anything is missing? Like maybe exploring Korea? Yeah, I'm pretty much over that. Once you've seen one temple/palace you've seen them all. Also I am never that blown away by these old palaces because they have all burned down and been rebuilt so its not like any of it is actually old. Totally bogus. Mostly its just cold here and I am working and ton and I am pretty much sick of work and people and everything and I am ready to go. Thank god I got my movies and books!
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