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Showing posts from June, 2007

Antonin Rodet Bourgogne A.Rodet 2005

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I'm going to take wine more seriously and I'm going to start taking notes on wines you can find in Seoul, South Korea. I've been in the mood for pinot noir, but in Seoul, American pinots range in the 50 or 60 dollar range. Wine are a premium in Korea and American wines cost double, sometimes triple their stateside prices. Hopefully, the FTA will knock down the prices a bit. Today, I saw a Beringer Pinot Noir going for $45.00! I think Pinot Noirs have a luxurious reputation among Korean wine drinkers, so they pay a premium for it. Today, I'm going to taste a Bourgogne since it's the same grape. This is an Antonin Rodet, 2005 Bourgogne from the Bourgogne region. I bought it at the Shinsege department store at the Express Bus Terminal for about W30,000 Just as I poured, it I could get a strong cherry, tea scent. It's color is glowing rose, and honestly, it's not that dark. As I swirl the wine, I do notice it has some legs and nice viscosity. It has a nic

Got Wine? check out Gary Vaynerchuck

Hey, I'm really into wines as many of you might know already. I've been checking out this guy Gary Vaynerchuck and he's a great resource about learning about wines. Yes, he speaks loud and he's a wee bit caustic- he's from New Jersey, whattcha expect?- but he's very knowledgable about wines. Give the guy a chance and forget about the aggressive self-plugs about comments and friends; the guys gotta pay for the site after all. Here's the link http://tv.winelibrary.com

What do you think would be the ideal prison system?

That's the topic today in my Writing Class. I think the worst punishment would be to send them to Korea and force them to attend class after class after class and then give them lots of homework, no sleep, and tell them they have to pass the Su-nun (the Korean SAT's) or suffer the wrath of a disappointed Korean mother. Yes, it's a run-on, but I like the rambling sense of it all... Here's some research I found on the web: April 28, 2007 "Self-Pay" Luxury Jails posted by Frank Pasquale The tiering of American society has reached one more venerable institution: prisons. California's self-pay jail system is profiled in the NYT today: For roughly $75 to $127 a day, these convicts — who are known in the self-pay parlance as “clients” — get a small cell behind a regular door, distance of some amplitude from violent offenders and, in some cases, the right to bring an iPod or computer on which to compose a novel, or perhaps a song. I'm all for making prisons mo

Why Why Why!

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This is a test. I'm trying to see if Corel Draw won't export to any other format other than Corel draw. So...if you see my horrible drawings, then there is some other reason why. Right now, I'm trying to get my images into Comic Life and it won't let me. Bear with me, alright, and remember: I'm a writer, not an illustrator. Dan

Did my iPod destroy my Shure e2c headphones? Again!!!

I have a iPod, 5th generation video, that has seemingly destroyed two sets of Shure e2c headphones. I was using them normally and with the volume down-because if you play the sound too high on the e2cs, you'll blow out a fricken ear drum. Anyway, like this time and last, the left ear started to crackle and there is intermittent breakup of sound. If I stay in one place, I'm fine- I start moving and then I have problems. Sorry, but the whole point of having headphones is being able to be in motion. Luckily, Shure will fix them, but, I'm wondering if in 2 months if I'm going to have the exact same problem. This is what I found on the net. Over the last few months, we received couple of reports from our readers concerning a problem with some iPods, but it remained a rare event. MacFixit published a news about it, proving that the problem while being real remains exceptional. Some iPods (4G, Nano 1 and 2G, and Shuffle 1G) will suddenly start having problem affecting exc

The funny sentences that my students write

The disdainment of the master is a prerequisite for Sithhood. We have to stymie President Bush from fooling the world by saying the pretexts of the Iraq war. We should stop him from making monkeyish claims! Becoming a herpetologist was not easy at all. He had to endure lots of red bumps on his body. (a herpetologist studies reptiles^^)

Beloved is Gwae Mul

I thought my Korean students and others who might have read the book and seen the Korean movie would enjoy this. "I thought it might be funny to point out the similarities of the two characters: they both like to eat a lot, they are composed out of fish, they were both created out from the reckless actions of white men, and they both imply their return." Dan

All my students have tests for the next 3 weeks

so... I won't be teaching...AZAZAZAZAZA life is good. I'm planning on going to Hainan at the end of the month. I can't wait! Dan

Comparison and Contrast

Today I'm teaching comparison and contrast. Simple enough right? First of all, some definitions. analogy analogy, illustration of an idea by means of a more familiar idea that is similar or parallel to it in some significant features, and thus said to be analogous to it. Analogies are often presented in the form of an extended simile, as in Blake's aphorism: ‘As the caterpillar chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on, so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.’ In literary history, an analogue is another story or plot which is parallel or similar in some way to the story under discussion. aphorism- a way to express a principle or truth. I'm going to go into point by point comparison, subject by subject and a combination comparison and contrast. I think structurally, they'll understand this well. Dan My students seem to have problems with analogies...so I should come up with a bunch of examples. These are from www.brainstorming.co.uk Completed examples

Yes, I'm a teacher

For those who asked, My primary job is teaching English in Seoul, South Korea. I have lots of side interests and I managed my own portfolio. This site is a random collection of my thoughts and research. Dan

Sixo from Morrison's Beloved

"Clever, but schoolteacher beat him anyway to show him that definitions belonged to the definers-not the defined."

Stocks Stocks Stocks

I've decided that I need to get back to managing my portfolio. I'm going to make a couple big purchases. The stocks I'm thinking about right now are: RS Reliance Steel and Aluminum Aggressive Growth – Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) DIS Disney SIL Apex Silver Mines Ltd. IMMU Immunomedics CXW Corrections Corporation of America ECA EnCanda- Canadian Oil company TIF Tiffany's Diamond NBR Nabors Industries LTD SNG Canadian Superior Energy 3.40 they are drilling in Trinidad I'm very interested in Water treatment and resource companies. Here are are few I am looking at H20 A Canadian Company- I think Canada has a lot of clean water... WTS Watts Water Technology CCC Calagon Carbon Corporation Here's some research that I've found. I think SIL is a definite buy...I'll dwell on the rest. Dan NXY Nexen- oil sands and energy company, but...it has dropped 43% in the last 6 months or so..it has an upside...kind of. Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. re

A quiz question for my middle school students

I thought you might get a kick out of this. Part of my job is to research and make questions. Here's one that I had to share with you ;) It's from Nelson Mandela's A Long Walk to Freedom. 3. Why did Mandela feel ashamed after the "ingcibi" cut off his foreskin? A. Because he thought he didn't yell out "Ndiyindoda" quickly enough; he felt he wasn't as brave or as strong as the other boys.

My students are Sooooo!!! Smart

James: Lesson June 7th, 2007 J= James 8 year old D=Dan 2? teacher :) Today we are going to talk about music and piano. J: I love music and playing the piano. I can play Bach's Well Tempered Clavier. It is quiet song. It is moderato. It has a happy tone. It is his "Prelude 1." Now I will play Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. James plays Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier on the piano D: Wow, James, that was great! It has a very bright tone and it sounds like you are walking up a crystal staircase. The music is from the baroque period, right? J: Yes it is. Did you know that Bach wasn't famous until 100 years after he died. And Schubert wasn't famous until 600 years after he died. D: Wow! That's so sad. J: Let's talk about Joseph Haydn. He was called "Papa Joe" because he was a kind, gentle and father-like to his music students. D: That's so nice. Hmmm...How's your teacher? What do you call your music teacher? J: I don't call he

Oh my gosh...TOO FUNNY

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Spiderman Sploog

Wii Party!

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Tim getting his groove on to Rayman while Jenny and Orange watch. Rayman Dancing! It's the greatest party game ever! Aren't they cute? V for venerial disease! AZA! Jason is getting pumped for Rayman. yay. Rabbits don't know what to do with cows. Wii Boxing

A medley of photos

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MacGyver! and some other non-important people. A very mellow, lightly dry, bit fruity Pinotage from South Africa. I'd recommend it! The price was about 45,000 at S.wine in Gangnam. Big Bear is watching you! Roses

More photos from the 80's party

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My costume- I cut this out of green contact paper and put it on a black shirt. I also had a number muncher guy on it. I was an old Apple IIc Daphne "accidently" dropped a hot tamale down her dress and Steve was kind enough to help "him" out while MC Wheatbix looks aghast. 80's Dance Party MC Wheatabix breaks it down!

Photos! Maggie's kickass 80's party

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Maggie and the Hulk She-Ra and Daphne Signage Jukebox and Atari TWISTER!!!!