Which, Obviously - Of Course! - Is Korean For "Good Morning"
Yes yes yes, this all has to do with the Sork drama "Taxi Driver" which Your Humble Scribe has been binge-watching over the past few days. Thankfully it's the sub-titled version, not some ghastly dubbed version where they all speak in a mid-Atlantic accent. Art!
It seems that Korean names are not necessarily pronounced as we see transilterated into English script. The main protagonist, Kim Do-Gi, has his name pronounced as it's written, whereas others such as Gu Seok-tae definitely do not. This may be due to the vagaries of screen text translation or it may be a subtlety to the Korean language. There are also triple-vowel words in Korean that make whatever's being said sound like a question, even when it's not. Art!
Ah. Putting on his gloves. Bad hair day for someone
Here's Kim. He's not especially muscly, being rather lean and rangy, however he is made out of neutronium and whipcord, so he can take a beating, as he does occasionally. Not-A-Superman helps make a character more believable; he even deigns to use a crowbar as a weapon in the latest punch-fest (though he was outnumbered about thirty to one).
As is befitting for a series that uses taxis, there are excellent car stunts; enough to keep it interesting, not so many that it strays into South Canadian silliness. Art!
Of course there are none on the internet and I didn't think to take a photo. I shall have to get the scenes where the big posh taxi above goes into action with a triple-prong battering ram attached.
The Chief Prosecutor, who looks as if he was carved from tender forgiving teak, also has a very strange office-exercise device I've never seen before. Dunno if I can find a picture or not - Art?
You put the head-band on and then practice boxing the tennis ball away from you, punching as it comes back on the elastic. Conrad unaware if the actor insisted on adding in this behaviour or it was in the script; whichever, he's pretty nifty with it.
Then, we have food and drink. South Koreans, especially the men, seem to like their alcohol a lot. This is apparently one of the aspects about macho Sork culture. I shall have to keep an eye open for Sork beer when shopping. Art!
Now, having briefly covered alcohol, we come to FOOD. A major motivator in Your Humble Scribe's view of the world. I have picked up the term "jeotgal", which is seafood specially prepared, and "kamponng", which seems to be the transliteration for "kkanpunggi" or spicy garlic fried chicken. Art!
I have also looked up the recipes for "Kimchi", a vegetable dish with lots of vegetables, including Chinese Cabbage. Art!
What's Chinese Cabbage? Exactly! Art?
One of these
Needs radishes, too. We definitely don't have any in stock in The Mansion, nor fresh ginger root.
Then there is "Bibimbap", which Darling Daughter and I shared in a Korean restaurant in Gomorrah-in-the-Irwell many years ago. It's rice-based, with steak and fried egg - Conrad definitely remembers the fried egg. Art!
Dog Buns! Now I'm hungry!
One factor seemingly absent in Korean cooking is the absence of dairy products. Not sure why that is; not big on cows?
You'll Be A-Maced
No, we are not talking about the anti-personnel spray. Keep it in mind, though.
Let us, for a moment, go off on an Aside. Since the late Fifties, it has become popular in South Canada to hold what they dub "Renaissance Fairs", which are variously supposed to adhere in terms of retail to the Medieval era of European history, because the South Canadians don't have any. Retailers are supposed to stay in character, including accent, which doubtless amuses any visiting folks from This Sceptred Isle. A person from the Bronx essaying an English accent from Kent would be awesome to behold.
ANYWAY there are normally re-enactors at these events, who dress in period costume and armour and put on displays of dancing or jousting. Art!
On Quora one police officer responded to the question "Did you ever see a case of 'You picked on the wrong person'?" by pondering the identity of the lady in question. She called 911 to report that she'd taken on a burglar with a mace.
The police response was to get out of the house, a simple spray like that wouldn't stop a determined burglar.
"No, you misunderstand," she replied. "I hit him with A mace. His brains are all over the floor."
The police officer narrating the story said that he suspected he knew who it was: a lady who did historical re-enactments in full armour. Including a mace. Art!
"The Sea Of Sand"
The Doctor and a detachment of bio-vores have returned to their Homeworld, to a very hostile reception. Given that it's been 5,000 years since they left, perhaps not unsurprising.
When they came to the Doctor, the guards muttered back and forwards between each other, referring to a superior. They looked him over from head to toes, gestured to each other and shooed him away with the other arrivals.
They were moved to a giant sled, drawn by several dozen other aliens, also wearing the punishment pouch. Once the whole party were aboard, the sled moved off, travelling on a well-worn path over barren sands.
Typically, the Doctor spent his journey looking round. A complex of buildings lay around the trans-mat platform, gradually thinning out into long, low buildings of a plain and utilitarian design. The path lay near a shoreline, which became clearly visible when they left the buildings behind. Acres of slimy weed covered the foreshore, continuing out into the shallows - in fact as far as the Doctor could see. There were aliens in the waters just off the beach, busily working. In the hinterland, obscured by haze, great artificial bunkers of immense proportions lay, obscured by desert sands.
Sitting back down, the Doctor chewed his thumb and worked at what he had witnessed. Looking to either side of the sled, he confirmed a first impression: none of those plantations shown on that virtual globe existed here any longer. No greenery at all, apart from the vast slicks of - algae? - out on the shores.
Welcome to 'Wasteworld', Doctor.
I Found The Photography Exhibition Page!
You know, the one that the BBC cunningly hid from me after teasing with a temporary display. Well, here we are. Art!
Courtesy of Ben Thouard
This is a picture of a surfer tackling a wave off the coast of Tahiti, for which explanation I am grateful, since it looks very abstract. Conrad cannot even tell from what angle this was taken. Hmmmm and it won the competition for 'Ocean Photographer Of The Year'.
That Dog Buns! Crossword Again
When I place the evidence before your eyes you will understand why I gave up on this crossword. Bless her, Ol' Dot had a mean eye for a story but next to none on how to create a SOLVABLE crossword. Here's another: "O'er land and sea, passing on deadly wings; Pain to the strong, to weaklings death it brings (3)"
And the solution? "FLU"
I think the first part refers to how the solution is pronounced - "FLEW".
Conrad's knowledge of epidemiology and pandemics is scarce, admittedly, yet I don't think that's quite how influenza works. Art!
Finally -
We're done, hun.
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