Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Introducing Dramafever — Dramabeans

Introducing Dramafever — Dramabeans

Thanks to Korea Beat for the link.

Dramabeans then points to a site (in closed beta) that will stream Korean dramas with English subtitles to American IPs (VPN or proxy needed when outside the states).

Actually, I really don't like Korean dramas (or any dramas for that matter). I watch them with my wife (and my son who loves them like cartoons) and they are simple soap operas. They have similar plots (Koreanized, of course), acting, and staging as American soaps. These are simple trash. HOWEVER......I'd really like to know what's going on without have to get translations from my wife, who would rather not talk (or listen to me) during the soap. Maybe I can get basic back stories here so I can better understand the most recent episodes.

Enjoy (if you can).

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Time to Reboot America

Op-Ed Columnist - Time to Reboot America - NYTimes.com

I don't always agree with Friedman, but I certainly agree with the thrust of this article. Anyone who has gone from Seoul to the States has seen this as well (though there is also lots of counter-evidence). How can you not be stricken by the speed with which new technologies are delivered and how the government promotes (however awkwardly) the city/country as a destination for foreign travel and investment.

In my home city of Chicago, I had always thought of the El (elevated train) as a convenient, expedient way of making my way through the city. After years in Seoul enjoying one of the best subway systems in the world, I was embarrassed by the El on a recent trip home. The trains and stations were filthy, the cars smelled (not uncommon in Seoul), the tickets costly, and the pace was excruciatingly slow. It seems as if I could have walked the journey as fast as the El traveled.

Without a sincere focus on the infrastructure of America, we will experience a fall in prominence in my lifetime that mirrors the rise experienced during my Grandfather's.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Santa, the Feds are gonna get you

Funny post from the Libertarians.

My favorite is,

* But Crooked Claus the Conniving Capitalist harms more than just animals — he’s hurting hard-working American laborers, too. Isn’t Santa’s Workshop really Santa’s Sweatshop, where his non-union employees don’t make minimum wage and get no holiday pay? Add the fact that OSHA has never inspected the place, and you have a Third-World elf-exploitation operation that only Kathy Lee Gifford could love.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Some Long Overdue Restaurant Reviews

I’ve had these restaurant business cards on my desk for a long time (as long as a year—I hope they are still open)

 

CEIA

CEIA is a Brazilian BBQ restaurant in Gangnam.  I only have one other experience with Brazilian BBQ to go from, but it seemed pretty good to me.  The service was good, the food was good, the atmosphere was so-so.

These places keep bringing out the meat all night, as long as you can stuff it down.  If you are feeling the need for a good, old-fashioned meat feast, this is the place for you.  They have beef, pork, lamb, and chicken to choose from.  Some where slightly dry, but most were rather good.

The cost is around W 50,000 (from memory—could be less) and I’d say that it is worth every penny.

Location: Get off at Shinsa station and go out exit 1.  CEIA is on your right side, slighly tucked away in an alley, so keep your eyes peeled.

WWW: http://ceia.cyworld.com

Phone: 02-547-6633

 

Thai Garden

Thai Garden is one of a handful of Thai restaurants in Itaewon (technically Hannam-Dong).  It has certainly been my favorite Thai experience so far in Seoul.  Three things I look forward to at Thai restaurants are coconut milk, cilantro, and lemon grass.  This place doesn’t skimp an any of these.

The price is reasonable (for Seoul standards), the quality is good, and the service isn’t bad.

WWW: http://www.thaigarden.co.kr

Phone: 02-792-8836~7

 

La Seine

La Seine is a buffet at the Lotte Hotel, Seoul.  Like all hotel buffets, this one is rather expensive at W 60,000 for dinner.  Also, like many buffets, this one is just not worth it.  They dabble in a little of everything, which means that there is really no depth in their offerings.  The quality is mediocre, and the dishes dry and/or overcooked. 

You’d be much better off hitting some of the specialty sea food buffets around town at half this price.  I went to one last night, Ari Ari, in Gangnam (Gangnam station, exit 6, roughly 500 meters on your left, can’t miss it).

WWW: http://www.lottehotel.com

Phone: 02-317-7171

 

Sushihiroba (스시히로바)

Sushihiroba is a sushi place in the Lotte department store in Myoung Dong.  The experience was so-so overall.  When we first got there, the selection was terrible, with most being the rolls with vast amounts of mayo and crap on top (feel my disdain?).  We had to ask for mayo-less sushi.  Eventually, they worked into a better selection (by the time we were full).  Otherwise, what we had was pretty good.  The fish wasn’t that frozen crap that you get at the cheaper places, and that is saying a lot.

The price wasn’t terrible.  A little over W 50,000 for my wife and I.  I’m a huge eater, but my wife is not.  That was about 18 plates.

WWW: http://www.sushihiroba.co.kr

Phone: 02-726-4070

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Italian Restaurant Ha Nul Jung Won (하늘정원)

Ha Nul Jung Won is a recently opened Italian restaurant right outside Dongguk University subway station exit #1.  This is the area around the Shilla Hotel and the Sofitel Ambassador Seoul.

Before I start complaining, I better get what I liked out of the way first.  The restaurant is in an old house, though not hanok.  It has a nice patio (not too useful this time of year) and the inside is going for a rustic look.  It is a pretty good atmosphere for a quick lunch and probably good for a long dinner.

I went there for lunch.  Lunch has a fixed menu that changes daily (or at least should).  It was basic, but good.  They had a table with salad and bread that people could serve themselves.  It reminded me of a kimchi table at many restaurants and cafeterias.  Both the salad, with an onion vinegarette, and the bread were good.  We ate a lot of these, though not just because they were good (see problems below).  They served oil/vinegar at the table and a kind of pickled cucumber (standard in Korea).  The main dish was "pasta with cream sauce."  It was a light cream sauce with mushrooms, onions, and green/yellow/red peppers and a mix of pasta types: fettuccini, bowtie, and rigatoni.  I was skeptic, but these were all pretty good.  Lastly, and rather importantly, the meal was only W8,500, which is pretty good for Italian in Seoul.

Now the bad and I'll be quick about it (though they weren't).  Service was terrible.  This was probably due to the fact that the kitchen couldn't get these simple dishes out quickly.  We waited for 30 minutes for the ONE dish that they were making that day.  The serving staff couldn't keep track of who to give the food to when it did come out.  My wife was served then they served a couple other tables around me, then I was served.  As I mentioned before, we tore into the salad and bread as we waited.  However, they ran out of both (or said they did) as we got our meal.  I would have loved some bread with that cream sauce.

That's it.  The good and the bad of this new place.  The price was right and the food was too.  If they get over the lousy service (not easy in Seoul), they will have a killer place.  This is a business area with few western food options, which helps to explain why they were packed for lunch on a Tuesday.

You can probably tell that I'm writing this really fast.  That's mostly what you'll get from me: mistakes, poor style, and all.  I'm going to try to get more of these reviews up from now on in order to add to the greater body of food knowledge here in Seoul/Korea.  I'm not very good at getting pictures (can't get them from my phone), so you'll have to gaze at the words on the page :)

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

See Santa Live from the North Pole! | Santa.com

See Santa Live from the North Pole! | Santa.com

I don't know whether this is cool or scary. A guy at Santa.com streams live every day and answers questions from the chat.


Monday, December 8, 2008

Study Finds Joy To Be Contagious

The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Study Finds Joy To Be Contagious

So, can I sue gloomy people for endangering my health? Just another reason to be happy. Happiness breeds happiness.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

ALAK 2008, Seoul National University

Today was a busy day.  I participated in a rather long CALL Fair and gave a paper presentation.  I think that the CALL Fair went well, but the paper....not so much :)  However, I'll post some of the materials here just in case you'd like to take a look.

CALL Fair

My CALL Fair presentation was titled, "Online social networks for specialized language learning environments."  It was mainly focused on using Ning to quickly and easily set up an online social network and demonstrating the functions built into Ning sites.  I also spent a little time (more with some than others) discussing other options.

Here is the proposal (.doc)

Here is the presentation that I put together, but didn't really use. 

I chose, instead, to take them directly to sites to see for themselves.  I put together a quick and dirty site at ALAK 2008 Test Site that you are free to play with.  I'll leave it up for a least a little while.  I also showed them my class Ning site, which is closed to the public, LiveMocha (a language learning online social network), and Teach the People (Facebook application), as well as a few other sample sites (see notes sheet for collection of sites).

Paper Presentation

I don't think my paper presentation went nearly as well.  In "Changing Learning Theories," I really bit off more than I could chew for this one.  I have an ambitious goal of doing an overview of Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, and Connectivism as well a potential applications of Connectivism to language learning teaching and learning.  Did I mention that I had 20 minutes to do this in?  I had to rush through too much and I didn't explain the newest theory on the block, Connectivism, well enough for the majority who had never heard of it.  I should have just cut out the other learning theories (assuming that the audience had some knowledge of them) and focused on Connectivism and language learning.  Oh well, take a look at the presentation for yourself.  I put quite a bit in the notes, so be sure to check those out.

Paper (.doc)

Learning Theories
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: learningtheory theory)

Feel free to chime in with any comments, suggestions, criticisms, or just to say hi.