Borderline Meh

So, #GameofThrones -- was a bag of Doritos and a pint of Ben and Jerry's.

Definite fat / sugar rush / high, but beyond the facade kind of a poorly written episode w/ unsatisfying ending.

— James of Thrones (@wetcasements) April 30, 2019

Buddha In Your Belly

Is Korean Temple Food, in all of its simple, vegetarian, locally sourced glory, going to be the next "wave" of Hallyu?  Maybe!  Here's an interview with a monk who teaches how to make the stuff:

Q:  "What do people, who are not monks, say is the most delicious dish?"

A:  "We say that we do things a certain way to make it tastier or even prettier. But frankly speaking, that’s contradicting Buddha’s teachings. The teachings say never to be greedy for anything, but looking for a good taste is desiring food.

So, talking about whether a particular food is tasty doesn’t make sense. However, that doesn’t mean that food doesn’t need to be made in a delicious way, as food should be something ordinary to help monks meditate and study. If a monk is distracted after having some bad food, that’s an inadequate way to cook food."

So, in a fascinating paradox, a truly Buddhist food experience can't, by definition, serve anything "delicious" that would inflame the desires of taste.

That's punk as fuck, if you ask me.

Avengers: Endgame Thoughts With Spoilers!

I think it's an excellent film, and probably the best installment of the MCU to date.  Some thoughts:

1)  Fat Drunk Thor.

2)  Ms. Marvel is hardly in it.  (There's even a very forced moment where she literally says "I'll be away for a while.")  And that's fine but she does nothing essential but for showing up at the end with literally hundreds of other heroes who could probably manage to do what she does.  And I liked Captain Marvel but is there any reason she's been created other than the boot up for the Kamala Khan version?

3)  Tony gets the hero's ending he deserves but wow, Captain America's wrap-up is truly superb, even calling into question whether the whole "Life of a Superhero" is worth it.  Tony is no doubt the center of the Avengers and he will be missed, but damn if Steve Rogers doesn't manage to remind us why it's nice to believe there are good guys and gals out there willing to fight for us.

4)  It didn't feel like it was three hours long, which is a Very Good Thing.

5)  I don't think anyone will be completely satisfied with choices as to who gets serious screen time.  I like Nebula in all her B-list glory, but here she's essential to the plot in ways that might disappoint those wondering why Spiderman, or Black Panther, or Doctor Strange, or Peter Quill don't get more love from the camera.

6)  Jeremy Renner is serviceable, at best, as always.  (Yes, I am officially a Hawkeye Hater.)  I think it's a minor slip to show him willing to commit suicide for being such a bad, terrible man.  But, as a bad, terrible man he's killing Mexican drug dealers and Japanese mobsters.  I didn't buy it.

7)  It's impossible not to speculate as to the next generation of Avengers.  Tony's daughter?  Check.  Hawkeye's daughter?  Most definitely.  After that, it gets a bit iffy.  Maybe the final Guardians of the Galaxy will bring someone to the table?

8)  Speaking of which, the lack of a credits sequence seemed fitting but -- the show is over for the heart and soul of the team.  But that was definitely the sound of a hammer hitting an anvil a few times at the end, no?

9)  A (Fat Drunk) Thor and Rocket buddy film?  Make it happen!

Gratuitous Korean Hip-Hop Track Just Because

Garion ft. Nuck, "영순위"

Being fairly productive in my grading and believe me, that's just as shocking to me as it may be to you.

Also, I've always liked to think of myself as Samwell Tarly in the streets, and Arya Stark in the sheets.

Just Thinking Out Loud

very strong #GameofThrones episode 2 but damn, you'd think the incest thing would bother Daenarys just a bit more than having a challenge to her queenhood...

— James of Thrones (@wetcasements) April 22, 2019

Delightin' and Instructin'

It's the eighth week of the semester already (!), which means mid-terms.  So I don't have college classes this week, but I just finished looking over a huge stack of projects.  (Specifically, one page introduction letters from each student.)

Tomorrow I can pick up their tests and begin digging into those.

I've always hated grading but at least I'm at the point where I know I just have to sit down with the tests / papers / projects and start going through them as quickly as possible.

And oh hey, I'll reward myself if I can finish all the grading this week with Avengers on Thursday (opening early here in Korea) and maybe another ballgame that evening.

Free Solo

Free Solo trailer

I finally saw Free Solo this past weekend and absolutely loved it.  It has to be one of the three greatest documentaries I've ever seen.

So much so that for today's adult advanced class we watched the trailer, an interview, and read an article about Honnold's achievement.

If the film only focused on the preparation and climb itself it would be impressive enough.  But the fact is that the real film happens when Alex's friends and girlfriend confess to how fucking worried they are about him.

Astounding.

The Best Time of Year

I made it to my first Samsung ballgame of the new season last Saturday.  Alas, we lost to the dastardly kt Whiz of Suwon on a grand slam.  Still, the weather was perfect and this is one of the best things about Daegu in spring and summer.

I'm more of a beer-drinking contest guy myself, but Kiss Time is also fun.

Them's The Breaks

Trump is a crook and literally a Russian asset.

But impeachment would be, tactically, a waste of resources as long as there aren't 66 Dem senators.

(Hint: There will never be 66 Dem senators.)

— James. Just James. (@wetcasements) April 19, 2019

Scratch a Republican, a Coward Bleeds

There's not a lot to smile about these days, but this story about Kentucky Republicans being afraid of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez visiting their state is good:

"So now Barr is demanding that Ocasio-Cortez apologize to Crenshaw if she wants to accept his invitation, writing in a letter to her office that her comments 'demonstrate a lack of civility that is becoming far too common in the U.S. House of Representatives.' An apology's not likely to happen, though. Corbin Trent, a spokesman for Ocasio-Cortez, told The Courier-Journal, 'Luckily, we still have open borders with Kentucky. We don’t need Congressman Barr to meet with coal miners and have a town hall, though we’d love his participation if we do.'

Uninviting Ocasio-Cortez is probably a smart move on Barr's part in the long run. For one thing, there aren't any active coal mines in Barr's district. And James Comer, another Republican representative from Kentucky, told local news that he didn't 'see any upside' to having her come to Kentucky. 'I think a lot of Republicans are making a mistake picking on her. I think we need to be very prepared when we debate her on issues that we're having a hard time with.'"

Obviously when she has the time she should visit on her own.  And knowing her and her guts (something in woefully low supply among members of my political party) she will.

Who Gets To Be "Lucky"?

What's in a name?  For a few newly opened Chinese restaurants run by non-Chinese chefs, a fair amount of drama, if not outright problematic thinking:

"However, by the mid-20th century, changing conditions in both countries saw a shift. When Mao Zedong and his People’s Republic of China party took power in 1949, the country was declared an atheist state; as part of the Cultural Revolution he led, social values were upended, ancient religions were banned, and traditional Chinese pictographic characters were simplified to fewer strokes. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Jung writes that 'as non-Chinese customers became better acquainted with Chinese names and more tolerant toward Chinese culture, it became fashionable after 1950 to return to Chinese names.'

That leaves the 'lucky' name with a smack of old-timeyness, but there are still plenty of them — American-Chinese restaurants often don’t change names when a new owner takes over, for consistency’s sake. In other cases, restaurant owners might lean in on the 'lucky' name to intentionally create a sense of nostalgia; many of the new restaurants from non-Chinese owners employ it alongside a cheeky, retro feel to their decor and branding. Think old-fashioned poster art or cigarette labels with women in Mandarin dresses, old Chinese newspapers, or Tiki bar aesthetics. Nostalgia is a big ticket in U.S. restaurants today: It’s the secret sauce in everything from dishes to decor to cocktails at such esteemed restaurants as the Grill and Rocco Dispirito’s new Standard Grill, both in New York."

I've always like Andrew Zimmern on T.V., so I was bummed that he was such a dick-head regarding his new (and apparently not very good) Asian restaurant.