"Indy 4": the quick review

I had a chance to see my buddy Mike and his family again today; Mike drove me down to [undisclosed location] and I ate lunch with him, his lovely wife, and their three kids. A good time was had by all. Mike and I then went to "relive our childhoods," as Mike put it: we caught the 3:45PM showing of the newest Indiana Jones flick, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"-- a mouthful of a title.

While I can't say the movie was great, it definitely hit the right tone for the old-time Saturday matinees that both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have long claimed to love. For me, as someone who grew up with Indiana Jones, the movie was more of a sentimental tribute to past Indy films (it also had references to other Spielberg and Lucas flicks) than a genre-busting innovation. It was, in short, cute.

I was happy to see Karen Allen again in the role of Marion Ravenwood, though Mike remarked afterward that her role seemed largely "ornamental," an observation with which I agreed. One of the best moments in the film involves a blowgun, and the film goes over the top with cartoonish vehicle-related stunts. Spielberg also takes time out to show members of the animal kingdom both staring bemusedly at the antics of those wacky humans and occasionally getting in on the action themselves.

Would I recommend the film? While I doubt I could be prodded to see it a second time in the theaters (it's not exactly a movie that makes you think, nor is it one that blows you away with its witty plot twists or dialogue, nor is it particularly suspenseful), I'd still recommend it as a good way to kill an afternoon.


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front page of the local Joongang Ilbo!

I did a 40-minute interview with Park Jin-keol of the Washington Joongang Ilbo yesterday morning (about 10:20AM to 11AM). The very polite Mr. Park, who is roughly half my size, proved to be more knowledgeable than me about many religion-related topics (not surprising, given my boundless ignorance about most matters); maybe he should do this walk! He was a good sport about my taking his picture; we had a good time both reviewing the salient aspects of my upcoming walk and talking about Korean religion. Our interview was mostly in English, which Mr. Park speaks excellently; I don't trust myself to speak technically about religion with my broken Korean.

I found out today that the article is already out, and I'm apparently on the front page! This would be much more exciting if I actually had a copy of the Joongang in front of me, but I'll obtain one by the end of the day.

Big thanks to my mother, who has many connections within the DC-Metro Korean community, for arranging this interview. It's definitely a leg up, and if it leads some Korean Buddhist temples to open their doors for me, that'll be fantastic. And again, many thanks to Mr. Park for taking the time out to interview someone who hasn't even started his walk yet! Not many media outlets put their faith in mere promises.






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thanks, Jelly!

In the comments to one post, friend and blogger Jelly provided the link to this site, A Journey for 9/11, which describes a New York-to-Los Angeles walk being done by former NY Giants star George Martin on behalf of the fire and rescue crews who worked at Ground Zero on 9/11. His goal is to raise at least 10 million dollars on behalf of the Ground Zero workers. It's a great cause.

I wonder if all this walking amounts to some sort of movement (if you'll pardon the inadvertent-- and lame-- pun). If only "a few hundred" people have walked across the United States since the country began, we must be seeing a real wave of long-distance walkers these days; they seem to be all over the news. I can't count myself as one of them until I actually start my own walk, of course, but I find the current teleambulatory phenomenon strange and exciting.

In a non-sexual way, of course.


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another walk of note

Reader and blogger Daeguowl (i.e., the owl in Daegu, as he's not from Daegu) sent an email linking to this article about a kid in the UK who's on a 6000-mile sponsored walk of repentance to make up for a misdeed that cost the UK public 20,000 pounds. Per the article:

Seb Green, 18, was 15 when he and a friend stole a rigid inflatable boat from a harbour. They rowed out to sea but became grounded in a lagoon and when they clambered out they got stuck in deep mud.

A passer-by heard their calls for help and two helicopters, two land-based coastguard teams and two lifeboats, comprising dozens of rescuers, went to their aid.

The boy was prosecuted and he was sentenced to a supervision order but Seb decided to go further and raise £20,000 to "pay back the community".

He decided to spend nearly a year walking 5,821 miles (9,367km) around Britain with his border collie Flash.

He has now covered 1,000 miles but said wryly: "I've realised the country is bigger than it looks."

It's a great story (despite the article's inconsistent US/UK punctuation), and I wish Seb and Flash the best as they continue their journey.

Of particular interest to me is the meta-issue of media coverage. I've noted it before, but it bears repeating here: most of these treks don't get much coverage at all until the trekkers have gone a significant distance. Note that Seb's case didn't reach the international news until after he had already gone a thousand miles. I expect much the same to be true for me, just as it was true for Steve Vaught (see The Fat Man Walking, on the sidebar), and was true for Curan Wright, who's been cycling backward across the US for various humanitarian causes (thanks, Tom, for alerting me to him).

I suppose this only makes sense: a person who promises to do something won't always follow through with his promise. Americans believe the proof of the pudding is in the eating thereof, so it makes more sense to cover the story of a dude who's already a thousand miles into his trip as opposed to covering a dude who merely proposes something grandiose, then falls flat on his face at the get-go.


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mad cow madness in South Korea

I really hope some of my Current Events English students take a look at this article about South Korean hysteria re: American beef. The main reason for this hysteria is, in my opinion, a strong current of anti-FTA sentiment in the general population as certain Korean producers fear market penetration by foreign competition. Competition would, of course, reduce prices (why are peaches over $3 apiece in Korea?) and allow the average consumer a better menu of options.

Deeper than the anti-FTA sentiment, however, is an entrenched ambivalence about America itself-- its power and its influence. Many Koreans resent the omnipresence of American culture in their country (even while embracing Coke, jeans, and hip-hop), and the sight of US troops on Korean soil is, nowadays, a bitter reminder that South Korea isn't free of its past. Personally, I agree with Korean resentment at the presence of foreign troops: how would I feel if French soldiers were patrolling the streets of DC? But some Korean negativity is based on irrational thinking, and the Korean press (along with the Netizenry) often takes advantage of irrationality to spread the sort of hysteria we're currently seeing.*

A little more calm and objectivity would be nice. Imagine if Americans began boycotting Korean products en masse (electronics, cars, food, etc.) for flimsy, ad hoc political reasons. How would this look from the Korean perspective? Ridiculously immature? Of course it would.

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*I'm not saying all Koreans are irrational. On the contrary, many are more rational than Americans! But Koreans have a reputation, somewhat justified, as a passionate, emotional people who don't always view situations with sang froid.


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hooray!

I'm all for nanotech and can't understand people who have religious objections to it. Instapundit just linked to this KurzweilAI article about nanoworms, a new approach to treating cancer. I hope this is vigorously pursued.

Come to think of it, a nanotech solution to city and suburban plumbing problems would be nice. Imagine the ultimate Liquid Plumr! It'd operate on many of the same principles as the cancer-fighting nanoworms, I think, but instead of traveling through blood vessels, the vermiform nanobots would be crawling through pipes.


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thoughts on "Iron Man"

My buddy Charles writes an insightful review of the new Robert Downey vehicle.


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