tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142334417883071840.post2200794975510436896..comments2024-03-22T03:18:18.770-04:00Comments on Drinking Coffee All the Time: The 5th Annual MLK Coffee Drinking Party: Civil Rights and Coffee--Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (What a Party it Was!)Nicole Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10634196487350459270noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142334417883071840.post-87205632398229314262014-03-14T14:29:23.533-04:002014-03-14T14:29:23.533-04:00Yes, it's PI Day. Let us rejoice.
Chicken an...<br />Yes, it's PI Day. Let us rejoice. <br /><br />Chicken and beer for everyone!3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142334417883071840.post-28133133298235708832014-03-12T13:19:13.828-04:002014-03-12T13:19:13.828-04:00
2.5 views in China alone???
That would be roughl...<br />2.5 views in China alone???<br /><br />That would be roughly 10% of the entire population watching all 21 episodes. WOW.3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142334417883071840.post-47144637399573240192014-03-12T13:10:37.765-04:002014-03-12T13:10:37.765-04:00Meanwhile in China;
According to the Chosun Ilbo ...<br />Meanwhile in China;<br /><br />According to the Chosun Ilbo newspaper;<br /><br />A bizarre craze in China for a Korean soap opera about a 400-year-old alien has caught the attention of the international press. <br /><br />The Washington Post in a piece published on Friday milks the political and cultural implications of the fad surrounding "My Love from the Star" for all they are worth.<br /><br />"There is no shortage of problems facing China these days: a terrorist attack that recently left 33 people dead and 143 injured, corruption in government, a worrisome slowdown in economic growth," it begins. "So when the country's two highest governing bodies met in Beijing this week, what was the burning issue on the delegates' lips? A South Korean soap opera that has taken the country by storm."<br /><br />The daily tells of a pregnant woman in Jiangsu Province who nearly had a miscarriage after she spent all night binging on episodes, chicken and beer. <br /><br />"To be fair, it's hard to overstate just how popular this show is these days. After the show's female lead mentioned 'beer and fried chicken' in one episode, it became one of the most invoked phrases online. Restaurants cashed in and started selling beer-and-fried-chicken meals," the paper said.<br /><br />Thanks to being available online, "My Love from the Star" has had 2.5 billion views in China. It found an improbable champion in Wang Qishan, the sixth highest-ranking member of the Chinese government and a member of the Politburo, who praised the soap opera in a recent meeting of the National People's Congress. <br /><br />"Its premise may seem bizarre to Western soap watchers: It's about an alien who accidentally arrives on Earth 400 years ago, meets an arrogant female pop star and falls in love," wrote the Washington Post. "Well aware of the craze the drama has created in China, one committee of China's political advisory body (called the CPPCC) spent a whole morning bemoaning why China can't make a show as good and as big of a hit."<br />3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142334417883071840.post-66718681434058818272014-03-04T01:03:11.410-05:002014-03-04T01:03:11.410-05:00Who dreamed that beauty passes like a dream? For t...<br /><br />Who dreamed that beauty passes like a dream? For these red lips, with all their mournful pride, Mournful that no new wonder may betide, Troy passed away in one high funeral gleam, And Usna's children died.<br /><br />We and the labouring world are passing by: Amid men's souls, that waver and give place Like the pale waters in their wintry race, Under the passing stars, foam of the sky, Lives on this lonely face. <br /><br />Bow down, archangels, in your dim abode: Before you were, or any hearts to beat, Weary and kind one lingered by His seat; He made the world to be a grassy road Before her wandering feet.<br /><br />-Yeats3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142334417883071840.post-73659814828234402452014-03-04T00:51:22.184-05:002014-03-04T00:51:22.184-05:00So, why Korean TV? Because we have our choices no...<br />So, why Korean TV? Because we have our choices now. <br /><br />The US and the UK have for years exported culture (such as it is) electronically. This is what Niall Ferguson referred to in his book; "Empire" as "Soft Power," as opposed to the other kind, I guess. Maybe dropping a brick out of a window or Nuking somebody, is Hard Power, who can say (I suppose Niall knows, but he's not telling us).<br /><br /> Anyway, many countries export culture these days. Some don't, either they have no culture (Turkey) or they aren't sharing (Germany), but many do. Now, you can do more than watch movies you can listen to radio stations, read newspapers and go to various websites. <br /><br />Korea is prolific in their popular culture and it hasn't devolved into what the US has, the US media especially TV is all about shocking the audience. It's getting boring don't you think? Tarantino movies are boring now. The point is that good storytelling doesn't have to shock you to get your attention or to compel you to feel something. You don't need to see the sex to understand the love part. In that way, Korean culture is wonderful and refreshing. In these dramas when the guy holds the girls hand, wow, it's like a lifetime commitment has been unleashed. I find that kind of thing enjoyable.<br /><br />Today, you can choose your music, your reading, your movies and TV and your Art, and your Coffee (see I am on-topic, hah!) from anywhere in the world (hey Germans how about sharing), nearly. <br /><br />3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142334417883071840.post-86780851512063626462014-02-27T12:28:07.454-05:002014-02-27T12:28:07.454-05:00OK, so let's say you want to join the 21st cen...<br />OK, so let's say you want to join the 21st century and go with web-based streaming TV. What now? <br /><br />You could go low-end and get the Google Dongle or do what we at the World Headquarters did and get you a Roku Box. <br /><br />Roku allows you to stream web-based channels to your TV in high def. Such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime which are all subscription based, but also allows you to watch Youtube and other things that are free. The user interfaces are very good and this is extremely important and a very much underestimated virtue. Roku costs $100 and is easy to set up. Just go to Amazon and read the reviews. It's awesome.<br /><br />Speaking of reviews, there are now nearly 5000 comments/reviews of the K-drama I mentioned in the previous missive on dramafever.com. Tonight is the final episode (21 1-hour episodes) and the fever at d-fever has reached a peak of unrestrained anxious anticipation and joy.3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2142334417883071840.post-50379247572620527892014-02-27T00:17:16.020-05:002014-02-27T00:17:16.020-05:00I notice a dearth of comments, so let's get th...I notice a dearth of comments, so let's get the ball rolling. <br /><br />Yes, yes, I missed it again. Next year, who knows? I expect to be travelling much of this year and next so maybe several thousand miles of g-trotting will end up with a trip to Nicki-ville, probably on the way to Sundance.<br /><br />There hasn't been much time to comment recently, what with splitting atoms (and hairs) and so forth. Out here at the Global, Inter-Stellar headquarters the work never stops (unless it rains or something). <br /><br />Lately, I've been caught up in K-Dramas. K-Dramas = Korean TV shows, more about that later. Do yourself a favor and get out of the wasteland of U.S. Television and go to dramafever.com and watch the latest show called; My Love from Another Star, preferably as a subscriber in HD with no commercials, try the free trial, trust me on this. Or just read some of the several thousand reviews. <br /><br />Although, starting with this show might leave everything else a let-down. An alternative plan would be to start with the Heirs, (starring the iconic; Lee Min Ho = he da man, 21st Century Cary Grant, Asian style), and then go to The Master's Sun starring; Gong Hyo-Jin = Gong Lovely. Thusly working your way to MLFAS.<br /><br />Just go to dramafever.com, read the reviews, and ask yourself if it is time to leave the Zombies, Serial Killers, Cops, Doctors and Lawyers behind.<br /><br />Cheers from the outskirts of the known world.3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592noreply@blogger.com