south korean cinema

this was on discovery channel asia a couple nights ago:

Chinese New Year Special: Gateway Asia: Cinema Asia: South Korea

Since the late 1990s, South Korea’s film industry has undergone an amazing transformation.

i wrote out a list of some of the korean movies that they mentioned in hopes that someday i'll be able to find atleast a couple of them. i've only seen two of them (oldboy and jsa).
here's the list and the accompanying imdb.com link for each:

shiri - north korean plot to assassinate the prez

sympathy for mr. vengeance / old boy / sympathy for lady vengeance - chan-wook park trilogy

jsa - assasination at the dmz

silmido - president of korea's secret hit squad

the president's last bang - assassination of president by his intelligence leader

two cops - police bribery

memories of murder - serial killer satire

girls' night out - new generation of korean women take the forefront

singles - modern women; Korea's "sex in the city"

a good lawyer's wife - older woman has affair, challenges traditional conventions

green fish - breakdown of family ties

my brother - relationship between mother and two bros who have taken different paths in life

peppermint candy - korean stock market crash in 1997, man kills self

crying fist - koreans down on their luck, two men who seek meaning through boxing

marathon - handicapped autistic youth runs, runs and runs some more

the duelist - low-budget historical martial arts epic

hong kong - day 1

click on the picture and follow along if you feel like it.

1 – left hsing and patrick's apartment (127 caine rd) on top of the hill at around 12:30pm
2 – ate at "the flying pan" – a brunch of a garden omelette with baked beans, grilled tomatoes, orange juice and bottomless coffee ($99HKD = $13CAD)
3 – walked past the old bailey prison and police station / it’s old, big and they’re figuring out what to do with it
4 – botanical gardens and zoo on one side of the street / I saw the government house on the other side of the street and in my guidebook it said it was free admission but the police officer told me otherwise at the gate
5 – went by the u.s. consulate while still walking down the hill but I wasn’t looking to go inside here this time
6 – my second major stop was at st. john’s cathedral / it’s the second oldest building in hong kong (est. 1849) / it was damaged in wwII and the front door was rebuilt with wood from a british warship / a fairly good size on a nice piece of land considering there are skyscrapers everywhere you look up in the sky
7 – took a wack of pictures of different skyscrapers that were all around including the bank of china tower, citibank plaza, the lippos building, murray building, hong kong and shanghai banks
8 – chater gardens / sat around and stretched / walked through a nice little tree garden which listed each species
9 – hong kong planning and infrastructure exhibition gallery / neat little place with tons of models and interactive tv screens explaining hong kong’s railways, roads and logistical networks / quite impressive
10 – edinburgh place which is where city hall is / here I saw a bit of an outdoor art gallery from artists around the world / i scored some good pictures here
11 – walked past the old post office and walked through it
12 – went through the stock exchange / millions of dollars passing hands ever second / scary stuff
13 – turned back north to queens road central / spent a good half hour in H & M / emily would be proud / emily would be disappointed I didn’t buy anything
14 – looked at a camera shop and priced digital cameras / $200 - $300 for a cheap canon or nikon from 6 – 7 megapixels
15 – walked all the way up the hill / got tired and took the escalator for the other half and got back to hsing and patrick’s around 5:30

brent's best of 2007 - awesome!

with it being the end of 2007 and me being a huge nerd by creating folders of my favourite musak of the year, i've decided what better than to share it this time with my friends. feel free to read, download and (hopefully) enjoy. after all, you're only at work and what is work if you can't enjoy it? yeah, i'm right.

01 voxtrot - introduction

voxtrot are from austin, texas even though when i first heard the lead singer's voice he sounded english. i was convinced. they've released some of my favourite poppy love songs over the last year and a bit. a few friends and i saw them at sneaky dee's in toronto back in april for canadian music week and although the place was less than hopping, they still churned out a pretty decent show considering there were maybe only about fifty people in attendance.

02 panda bear - comfy in nautica

panda bear is noah lennox of animal collective who also released "strawberry jam" this year which is on many "best of" lists this year as well. comfy in nautica is minimal with only chanting voices and a consistent drumbeat throughout. on top of that is some white noise and crackling. it's super headphone musak when you're laying in bed trying to fall asleep with the lights off.

03 los campesinos! - you! me! dancing!

are young and welsh and signed a few months ago with arts and crafts in toronto. a few friends and i saw them this summer at the horseshoe for their "new home"-coming" gig. i've listened to this song probably more than any other on this list. they're tons of fun. here's a video of them ending their set from said concert.

04 of montreal - we were born the mutants again with leafling

of montreal are from athens and they're part of the elephant 6 posse (neutral milk hotel, apples in stereo, etc.). kevin barnes is the lead man and he's known for doing crazy things on stage, for example, stripping down naked at shows, etc. here is a video of them covering "crazy" by gnarls barkley.

05 wilco - impossible germany

although i didn't make many shows this year i had to sell my tickets to their show at massey hall to make a cottage weekend. these things happen. i did catch them the year before at the same venue though. jeff tweedy is one of my favourite songwriters. he's an honest, down to earth rock and roll dude and a total family man. i recommend reading reading the interview that chuck klosterman did a few years ago before he went into rehab for painkillers, check it out. impossible germany has some pretty awesome dueling solo guitars later on.

06 the shins - sleeping lessons

i sold my tickets to this show too because emily treated me to my birthday present in montreal. she bought me tickets to the leafs-habs over the st. patrick's day weekend. crazy snow storm in march. anyway, listen to the song.

07 kings of leon - mcfearless

i did see kings of leon this year at the koolhaus. i can thank sam for these tickets. that show was with pete, tina, ivan, sam and i. the leons never missed a note and were solid. this was my favourite song from because of the times although there were many to choose from.

08 the new pornographers - my rights versus yours

the first of three canadian bands on this list, the new pornographers' album "challengers" was probably the one that i listened to most from beginning to end. this is the title track. the melodies make it the perfect little pop song.

09 kanye west - flashing_lights (ft. dwele)

i'll probably get ragged on for throwing in a kanye song but you can't deny he always has pretty good production on his albums even if his lyrics verge on cheesy from time to time. case and point the following: "and the weather's so breezy / man, why can't life always be this easy / she in the mirror dancing so sleazy / i get a call like 'where are you YEEZY?'". the link goes to his blog which is mostly pictures of the latest air force ones and youtube videos of guest appearances he's done with other musicians. bigger ego than hasselhoff.

10 art brut - nag nag nag nag

art brut are another english band on my list. lead dude eddie argos writes songs about being an indie musak nerd, why it's ruined many of his relationships, and why he's accepted his fate. this is a perfect example. he also more or less talks rather than sings but it definitely works.

11 css - alcohol

even if you think you don't know css (cansei de ser sexy) you probably have in an apple commercial or in a video game. they're a really fun new-new wave band from brazil that have had huge success by touring like mad, playing summer festivals and opening for bands like primal scream and ladytron.

12 super furry animals - carbon dating

the furries are also from wales and have been around for a few years. i first listened to them when i went to england in grade 12 but i was more into the album artwork at the time. they're also a fun live band and if you're in toronto, they're playing the mod club on february 20th in the new year.

13 the weakerthans - civil twilight

reunion tour is probably my least favourite of the weakerthans four albums but it's still really good. that's how much i like them i guess. john k. samson and joel plaskett are neck and neck for best canadian songwriter. this song is about a transit bus driver, probably in winnipeg, and what he deals with each shift. this one is dedicated to my brother.

14 rihanna ft. jay-z - umbrella

another one i'll probably get slack for putting on here but i told emily that this is my "my love" song of 2007. it was on constant repeat for a couple days but they should have turned the bass up in the chorus. seriously. link goes to paparazzi shots.

15 klaxons - golden skans

any review you read of the klaxons always includes their musak being bungled into a genre called "nu rave". they're really getting creative these days. they're young, english, fun and experiment just enough to appeal to the masses. they did an awesome little cover of justin timberlake at the bbc radio 1 live lounge that you can find here.

16 jose gonzalez - down the line

introduced to me only about a month ago, jose gonzalez plays haunting acoustic songs on his classical guitar about the darkside of relationships from what i've heard. he reminds me of a more mature hayden but way less of a wuss. whatever happened to him? i saw him buying bread a couple years ago on bloor street but nothing since. how about that, he's touring. good luck buddy. godspeed.

17 the good, the bad & the queen - herculean

members from blur, the verve, the clash and fela kuti. saw them earlier this year too but don't recall that much about it. it was a bland concert but this is a nice little one on their debut album.

18 do make say think - you, you're awesome

i think this little instrumental number is the perfect way to end it. hope you enjoy it.


DOWNLOAD BRENT'S BEST OF 2007

NB: i was inspired by my good buddy ricky to compile this so check out his "best of" too. his will be kanye and rihanna-free though so be warned in advance.

http://www.panicmanual.com/?p=705
http://www.panicmanual.com/?page_id=718

a random act of sweet corn kindness and an early xmas present

perfect example of korean politness:

sometimes us co-op boys have a lonely night in. we have to do laundry and man the boxers. in this case, we go to pizza school across the street and order one up. now, we're all fans of pizza school because it's a semi-decent pizza that fills you up for about the equivalent of $5, the thing is they though put corn on their pizza. that, i am not a fan of so i make sure to tell the teenage korean girl "sweet corn opsoyo" with my arms forming an "X". the last two times i ordered from her though i came home to find it on there. i think she just forgets. so i went there tonight but while i was walking the couple hundred metres back home i was waiting at the stop lights when the owner ran up to me and started speaking korean to me. then he said "sweet corn" and i knew they messed it up again. i didn't want them to have to make me a whole new pizza let alone walk back and wait another ten minutes. but honestly, how nice was it for this man to run all the way down the street in the cold weather and tell me that they put corn on my pizza? that, my friends, is a typical korean and that's why they're awesome people.

i also came home tonight to find a nicely sized box from my lovely mom. hey mom, i'm eating a peanut butter cookie for dessert right now and i also have breakfast for the rest of the week. hope i wasn't supposed to wait for christmas to come.
i already started reading the penguin anthology of canadian humour. the first part of the book is the beginning chapter from dave bidini's tropic of hockey which i read awhile back so that's a nice start because he's a great writer and i kinda like hockey. i'll also bring the calendar of toronto to work tomorrow and i'll show it to my students. i mention it every day so it'd be a good idea to show them pictures of it as well. thanks again mom.

he was giving him the business

i haven't posted in awhile mostly because i'm settled so there's not a whole ton to write about.

here's a good video for football fans:

happy 50th birthday, heart attack in a bowl

from one of my favourite comedies of all time supertroopers:

"where you boys headed?"

"c-c-canada. we're going over the border to canada for some french fries and gravy, sir."

"poutine."

"canada, huh? almost made it."



pronounced poo-tsin in qweebek. tabarnak, tu m'apprenderas pas comment cé qu'y dise poutine, criss. bon anniversaire!

the guy with the enornous head from muhan dojeon (pronounced "moo-han doo-jon" or "the funny")

yesterday, whilst walking home from poker at teacher bjorn's, jason noticed a tall korean fella with a bit of a 'fro standing in front of chungmu art hall. this famous comedian dude named jeong jun-ha, who makes up one fifth of this comedy troupe named muhan dujeon, was standing around talking to some of his friends. he is one of the stars of the hairspray musical here in seoul.
muhan dojeon have their own tv show and are spokesmen for every second company in korea. their tv show translates to "infinite challenge". each episode they go up against one another in some sort of, go figure, challenge and it sometimes involves western celebrities. it always ends up hilarious because they're not the fittest guys in the locker room and they're quirkier than sarah silverman.
plagiarizing from wikipedia, here is some info on jeung jun-ha:

"Due to the extraordinary size of his head (8kg) and huge amount of meals which he eats (in the 50th episode special-S03E50, he had a Challenge where he had to eat 50 plates of noodles in 300 seconds. The plates altogether was about 10-30 kilos. he succeeded, but he had to go straight to the lavatory and sleep at the back of the studio)."

i mean really, how awesome is that? way to entertain and take one for the team. total slugger in my books.

here is a website with two clips of the show and the only ones i've found with english subtitles. but really, it's just as funny, if not funnier, watching without them. the first clip is a freeze game where they have to put on kids clothes without getting caught moving. the second is my favourite and it's with thierry henry, one of the most well known and highest paid soccer players in the world. i also heard that paris hilton was to be on an episode last week. sadly missed that one. koreans are too nice to make fun of others so instead, the muhan dojeon-ers make asses of themselves. what a bunch of hams!
their faces are plastered all over the subway and they're all gazillionaires, or so i'm told. maybe he's the equivalent of adam sandler or even a quirky rick moranis in his hay-day. i showed the picture to my students today and i gained minor celebrity status but i'm still no jeung jun-ha. sigh.