Disqus - Latest Comments for thejd

Re: So long… and thanks for all the fish

thejd — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 06:56:47 -0000

For any real sense of closure, we need to hear from Shelton Bumgarner one last time.

Re: So long… and thanks for all the fish

thejd — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 06:26:59 -0000

Thank you, Robert. Your hard work created a really interesting and valuable space. I wish you good luck with your future projects.

I loved this blog. It was a great cheat sheet for Korea.

Re: Safety At All Costs?

thejd — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 00:45:28 -0000

What hurts worst is thinking of how good this blog used to be.

Re: Safety At All Costs?

thejd — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 00:42:33 -0000

These days at The Hole the only posts that get lots of comments are the ones where the author writes such impossible silliness. So long, Marmot's Hole. It was fun while it lasted.

Re: BREAKING: Would the nice wackjob PLEASE stop attacking ambassadors. Thank you very much.

thejd — Fri, 06 Mar 2015 05:06:29 -0000

I wish him a full and speedy recovery.

Strange to think that all the "fortress-ification" of their embassy was undone with a breakfast invitation and the promise of free pancakes.

Re: The bad Korean used in the movie The Interview

thejd — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 22:53:02 -0000

It's all part of method acting. See, the characters don't know anything about Korea, and so neither can any of the actors nor the writers and crew.

Re: A Discussion on Political Satire

thejd — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 11:14:08 -0000

Weird. My comment is not appearing below the comment I wanted to comment on, but below the comment that comments on the original (intended) comment.

What I mean to say is that my "You are obviously correct" was for OutisShmoutis.

Re: A Discussion on Political Satire

thejd — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 11:05:04 -0000

You are obviously correct. It does not matter. The fact that you have to point that out to the author of the original post is maddening insanity.

(Maddening Insanity is an awesome band name, and my gift to the world of fusion jazz.)

The best thing for everyone is for this thread to be locked.

There's nothing more than can be added or learned here.

Re: A Discussion on Political Satire

thejd — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 01:27:06 -0000

She has the right to voice her opinions and then suffer the consequences, in this case: people attacking her ideas.

Re: A Discussion on Political Satire

thejd — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 01:25:42 -0000

You are not the only one left on the planet.

Considering he's the star of one of the BBC's most popular shows, I'm going to venture a guess that he is in fact rather popular. The large number of highly rated books on Amazon suggest the same.

So, if liking Clarkson is your "street cred" when it comes to not being offended by jokes, that's pretty weak sauce.

Next you'll be telling us about your obscure musical tastes; for example Taylor Swift and Kate Perry.

In the end, James May is better anyway.

Re: A Discussion on Political Satire

thejd — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 01:15:55 -0000

Generally, nope.

Now, if you allow that James May is, in fact, The Stig, which is something I've suspected for a while now, there might be some common ground in sight after all.

Re: A Discussion on Political Satire

thejd — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 01:08:19 -0000

Is it really complicated, though?

Yuna brings up all kinds of "ideas" and "disclaimers" and "Jeremy Clarksons," and yet for all that she manages only to show that the issue resists her attempts to ask questions and introduce nuance.

What happened in Paris is shocking and terrible. Why it is terrible is clear and easily understood. It's not complicated.

Re: A Discussion on Political Satire

thejd — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 00:51:34 -0000

That article is the most intelligent thing I've read so far on the issue.

Re: A Discussion on Political Satire

thejd — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 00:50:06 -0000

I always begin any serious discussion with an "I actually prefer James May" disclaimer.

(Can we all just admit that he's the most interesting guy on the show?)

Re: A Discussion on Political Satire

thejd — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 00:44:43 -0000

I am going to spend the rest of the afternoon signing up for new Discus accounts so that I can "like" this comment, over and over again.

Re: Pardon moi? (redux)

thejd — Sun, 28 Dec 2014 22:34:56 -0000

The Korean system sends the guy to prison and then pardons him once a big holiday rolls around.

The American system never sends the guy to prison in the first place.

It's so much more efficient.

Re: Yes, Seoul can defend itself and the U.S. should probably pull out. But to be fair…

thejd — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 21:19:48 -0000

Excellent post. Thank you.

Re: The Sony Hack – North Korea Is Not Guilty?

thejd — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 08:37:55 -0000

I take that back. It's not white privilege. It's common sense.

Re: The Sony Hack – North Korea Is Not Guilty?

thejd — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 08:35:33 -0000

You take the time to mention Jews run Hollywood and also that Hollywood is the number one tool of the elite to brainwash the masses. So, I'm arguing with someone who thinks Jews rule the world? Honestly, I am ashamed of myself.

Here's my last wasted five minutes.

The jokes you complained about are not racist. When you look at a joke, you have to ask yourself, "Who is the butt of this joke?" The answer determines if the joke is racist or not.

When the Dave character confuses Koreans and Japanese, everyone cringes, not just you and one other Korean-American woman. We cringe because his character is an idiot. That's the whole bloody setup of the movie. Two idiots trying to accomplish something very serious. The joke is how dumb Dave is. And here's the kicker. The joke actually works because most of the audience (not just Koreans or Japanese) know that he's wrong.

Same thing with the scene where Aaron jokes about the name of the city sounding funny. The joke is that he's an idiot. There was a similar ongoing gag in Beavis and Butthead. No matter how serious the situation or what's being explained to them, they can only hear the sex words. It's funny because they're such idiots.

The smart people in the movie who actually get things done are the female CIA agent and the North Korean woman who is in charge of the broadcast. At the end of the movie, she appears to have been elected North Korea's new leader. For that, I'll forgive the movie a brief scene with hot girls.

Here's the best part of my white privilege: I get to now just ignore whatever else you post.

Re: The Sony Hack – North Korea Is Not Guilty?

thejd — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 07:00:19 -0000

And the movie is racist and sexist how and when? I've seen the movie, so feel free to refer to specific scenes and bits of dialogue. I'll be able to follow along.

Re: The Sony Hack – North Korea Is Not Guilty?

thejd — Thu, 25 Dec 2014 19:33:24 -0000

What is, then, a "laughing matter"?

You mentioned Jews, and I would encourage you to look at the fine history of Jewish humour and how it is a direct result of the hardships Jews have faced. And it's not just the Jews. Gallows humour is pretty universal.

People make jokes about things that scare them as a way of approaching and dealing with the horrors of life. It is a coping mechanism that's been around forever, and frankly it works fairly well.

This means that when people are making fun of something, they are not saying it is not important. They are actually saying the opposite.

If you want to attack the quality of the jokes, that's fine. But you can't attack someone for making jokes.

Re: New Blog Theme

thejd — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 10:48:25 -0000

It's nice. It even goes really well with my avatar picture of Einstein on his bike.

Re: Seoul’s war on Uber intensifies

thejd — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 03:28:40 -0000

Gypsy cabs is not a new business model. Undercutting prices by operating illegally on the edge of a regulated market is not a new way of doing business.

Re: Seoul’s war on Uber intensifies

thejd — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 02:03:26 -0000

Yes. But "they're no worse than what we have now" is not a reason to embrace Uber, is it?

Re: Seoul’s war on Uber intensifies

thejd — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 01:36:17 -0000

It's not their own version, really, because it does not require a large number of un- and underemployed people willing to undercut one another for the privilege of assuming all the risks and costs of being a taxi company without also receiving all the profits. The kakao system would connect riders to existing companies.