tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112660662009-02-21T15:02:21.951+09:00<b>korea-related musings</b>... you can't spell <i>ignorant</i> without <i>n-o-r-a</i>. but that's never stopped nora park from mouthing off about issues affecting korea, east asia, asian americans, and the world, or from talking about herself in the third person. if you've got time to kill and would like to read the rants of a moderate log cabin republican from california now living in exile in korea thanks to neocons who have usurped the g.o.p., then give <b>nora knows nada?</b> a look-see.nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.comBlogger168125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1151549388804078942006-06-29T11:41:00.000+09:002006-06-29T11:49:48.883+09:00

This story infuriates me. It fills me with rage. And sadness. A profound sadness. Then rage again.This poor kid was kidnapped, the Norks treat it like it is nothing, like he belongs there...and the idiots in the Blue House just go along with it. Where is the effort to get him back? How about all the others like him? This is definitely a case where Japan has the right idea and Korea should follow

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1149075762082802472006-05-31T18:36:00.000+09:002006-05-31T20:44:20.203+09:00

Okay, we all knew that Robin was gay and Batman was some sort of chicken hawk. Not to mention the sexual tension between the make-up wearing Joker and that dandy the Penguin.Well, just to drive home the idea of alternative lifestyles at DC Comics, Batwoman is going to be reworked as a "lipstick lesbian," that mythical creature that so many straight men fantasize want to actually have sex with

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1149075369026720342006-05-31T18:31:00.000+09:002006-05-31T20:36:09.056+09:00

In the free-wheeling Netherlands, Dutch pedophiles are launching a political party to push for a cut in the legal age for sexual relations from 16 to 12 (and get rid of it altogether eventually), and the legalization of child pornography and sex with animals.One of the party's founders says the ban "just makes children curious," and said the party wants to make pedophilia the subject of

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1148896479718251462006-05-29T18:49:00.000+09:002006-05-29T21:35:13.893+09:00

On this Memorial Day, I want to give a heart-felt thank-you to all those who have risked their lives and especially those who have given their lives so that I have the freedom to live my life the way I see fit, vote for whom I think is fit for office, and to blog when, where, and what I want. God bless you and all your loved ones. What I and all Americans owe you is something that we can never

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1148557245762139202006-05-25T20:39:00.000+09:002006-05-25T20:40:45.763+09:00

... go out to Plunge and his family. I pray things turn for the positive.

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1148556949970610772006-05-25T20:32:00.000+09:002006-05-25T20:36:35.593+09:00

The Economist reports that chimpanzees and humans may have interbred.Hmm...I thought the Mark Wahlberg and Helena Bonham Carter characters were getting a little too close in Planet of the Apes.

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1144986160332031632006-04-14T12:22:00.000+09:002006-04-14T12:44:25.320+09:00

I'm tanned and rested, and back in Korea, ready to challenge the status quo with wit, wisdom, and the occasional bawdy comment. Plus maybe a few fart jokes.That means I should resume more frequent blogging, at least until life returns to normal and I end up under a pile of work again.

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1144410649280689322006-04-07T20:45:00.000+09:002006-04-07T20:57:54.480+09:00

In a nutshell, this video snippet from Marmot's Hole represents all that is wrong with driving in Korea's cities: a general sense of me-first lawlessness because no one is there to punish them. Except God, who is fond of enforcing the laws of physics. (Discussion here)

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1144408987806669362006-04-07T20:21:00.000+09:002006-04-19T16:05:34.606+09:00

Don't you know you're not supposed to drink coffee when you're fake pregnant with not-Tom-Cruise's baby?!(And speaking of Mr. Risky Business, it's totally unfair that he's gay and gets to marry a woman, but when I'm gay I don't get to marry a woman at all! Stupid double standards for celebrities!)UPDATE:Katie reportedly had her baby. And it's not a TomKat, it's a TomKitty.The child, named Suri,

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1143947261788346582006-04-02T12:04:00.000+09:002006-04-02T12:10:21.470+09:00

In honor of the first Sunday after April Fool's Day, it's Jesus Dress Up!I promise more blogging later. Serious stuff been going down.

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1140572964814993722006-02-22T10:45:00.000+09:002006-02-22T10:50:11.843+09:00

"Yes, Mr. President, I promise never to shoot anyone in the face again."

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1139894459985395322006-02-14T14:11:00.000+09:002006-02-14T17:02:21.973+09:00

Controversial Australian cartoonist Michael Leunig is denying that he submitted two entries to a contest by top-five Iranian newspaper Hamshahri calling for Holocaust-related cartoons. The Hamshahri contest is a tit-for-tat exercise in offensiveness denied to show the Danes and the Norwegians (who seem to get blamed for stuff they didn't do; it's that Viking legacy) what it's like to have your

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1139111369509854862006-02-05T11:47:00.000+09:002006-02-05T12:59:45.240+09:00

The world is a dangerous place. Countries ready to go to war over maritime outcroppings, people raring to kill over drawings of religious figures, embattled leaders seeking weapons of mass destruction. What's a leader of the free world to do to make our planet a better place? For George W. Bush, the answer is to reach out to one's enemies.Iran and Cuba, along with a few other countries, have been

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1138894887052413792006-02-03T12:36:00.000+09:002006-02-03T07:51:00.646+09:00

As my mother always told me growing up, if you're gonna have photos taken of yourself eating a cherry in a provocative way, don't be surprised when the pictures end up in the ad for a Chinese massage parlor. Words to live by. What I'm curious about is whether the people who decided to use this photo of Korean star Song Hyego knew she was a star and believed some prospective patrons might actually

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1138700046296966972006-01-31T18:27:00.000+09:002006-01-31T18:39:57.516+09:00

I am related to too many problem gamblers for this to not hit home with me. And the story in the beginning is just heart-breaking. But that's the problem with compulsive gamblers: they are so focused on the gambling that they don't recognize their family and work situations crumbling around them. Ironically, the L.A. Times ad that came with this story came when I read it was for Trump

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1134266760625906932005-12-11T12:55:00.000+09:002005-12-17T19:14:26.903+09:00

All people born on American soil have automatically been United States citizens since the inception of the nation. Now, out of fears of illegal immigrants of the wrong color, some on the far right want to take this away. I can understand tighter border security or other such measures, but stripping away a basic right that defines American citizenship is going too far. Fortunately, the Senate

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1131798768663137322005-11-24T13:34:00.000+09:002005-11-24T13:49:47.296+09:00

This link popped up in my Korean news search, and it had two headlines smashed together:When `Animals Predict Disaster;' Uncovering Korea's Ugly UnderbellyWith limited time on the 'Net, I glance over things too quickly, sometimes to my own detriment. When I saw this paragraph...Another striking documentary shows that the world's bravest filmmakers may be the dissidents in North Korea exporting

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1131321863254999182005-11-07T12:37:00.000+09:002005-11-24T13:26:04.240+09:00

Mark Twain said that. Many people have quoted him. I'm now one of them.Where I am now, there is no Internet connection. This is by design (by design that I'm in such a place; the lack of Internet itself is due to an utter lack of design and planning).For Internet connections, I must rely on randomly placed terminals in shopping malls that allow you to get into site's other than the terminal

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1126971394828108422005-09-18T00:29:00.000+09:002005-09-18T00:36:34.830+09:00

Bruce Lee fans are trying to get the HK government to pay for an 8-foot, 2-inch bronze statue to mark the martial arts legend's 65th birthday (he died in 1973 at age 32). The plan is to use a pose from his 1972 movie, "Fist of Fury."I'm not sure about the pose, but if they're trying to do this on the cheap, I hear there's a statue in Korea that may be available soon.

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1126969928968300462005-09-18T00:10:00.000+09:002005-09-18T00:15:26.546+09:00

Bow down before the fruit gods!Fear their sweet, juicy wrath!(Happy Chusok, everyone, wherever you may be. Have a songpyon on me.)

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1126969634806520842005-09-18T00:05:00.000+09:002005-09-18T00:20:19.010+09:00

I know it's crazy, but pictures like this (from Newport Beach) really make me want to learn to surf. I could be a surfer chick! Really!

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1126967342989396002005-09-17T23:14:00.000+09:002005-09-17T23:29:07.053+09:00

The worst-kept secret in California is now official: the Gubernator has told a town hall meeting in San Diego that he's going for another four years. The theme is follow-through.His popularity is only at 36%, but now that his re-election campaign is official, he might be able to pick up support, not only for his own re-election next year but also for the three initiatives he's pushing in the

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1126265487796482682005-09-17T20:31:00.000+09:002005-09-17T23:13:17.426+09:00

I've been out of commission for a while, but this is something on my list...A 2001 memo by FEMA predicted three most likely catastrophes to hit the United States. One was a terror attack on New York City, second was a super-strength hurricane hitting New Orleans. The third was a major earthquake on the San Andreas fault.That doesn't seem promising for Southern California, which may not be ready.

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1126265454473363302005-09-13T20:29:00.000+09:002005-09-17T23:46:18.066+09:00

A lot of Westerners in the Korea blogosphere frequently chide Koreans for their overly prudish ways, but similar stuff in the U.S. and other Western countries goes unnoticed.In Garden Grove, a major Orange County city, a lesbian high school student named Charlene is suing the Garden Grove School District because she was allegedly disciplined unfairly for hugging and kissing her girlfriend on

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11266066.post-1123071833036331862005-08-03T21:21:00.000+09:002005-08-03T21:23:53.036+09:00

I have been catching up on a lot of California-related news lately, but I promise, promise, promise to get back to the regularly scheduled Korea-related snarkiness soon.

nora sumi parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16340619167548727318noreply@blogger.com5