Chinese Democracy: Simon Cowell style

In February I returned home for one week. A most needed of breaks and very positive. One thing was a bit of a downer and that was UK television. Never before has UK TV been so poor. Filled with game shows that are little more than visual scratch cards with heart stopper moments for the gullible who phone in at peak rates. That perhaps is the bottom of the barrel but the barrel is also filled with appalling reality shows and talent shows. These talent shows are perhaps not as fixed as I would at first think but the producers certainly influence the way people vote with partial editing.

You would think that in Korea I would not be subject to this kind of television. and you'd be half right. On the Korean cable channels that I have there are talent shows but there is no voting involved. There is no chance for the public to fall for the latest sob story and phone thus wasting their own money. But on some of the (limited) English speaking channels these kind of shows span the length of their schedules. From Top Model to Hells Kitchen to America's Got Talent etc etc, whatever America throws out onto the networks, they usually crop up here in Korea. Hey I don't have to watch them do I? No I sure don't and I often don't but when faced with a Nicholas Cage or Steven Segal choice of films, or Beauty and the Geek...well damn, it's a tough one. I may just have to watch that TV show because sometimes you just need to hear English speaking voices.

Whilst I am busy at work in Korea, it would seem that the sheep who eagerly lap up this fare are loving Britain's Got Talent. I know little of this apart from what I read on the BBC and what has been shown on CNN regarding some of the more high profile contestants. I read this article today. Skipping to the end of the story there is a staggering quote from Simon Cowell. Make of it what you will as perhaps it is more than a little flippant but it is full of self importance and arrogance.

Simon Cowell on TV talent shows "It gives the underdog a shot, and I think it's brilliant. The fact that we're allowing the public to make the decisions most of the time is a really good thing. The great thing about it is when you start seeing it in places like China and Afghanistan. It's democracy. We've kinda given democracy back to the world."

The power of TV making rich people even richer. Another reason not to watch junk like this. I must reassess my viewing habits and read even more.

#19 Dream

As we speak the English Premier League season is drawing to a close, just two games left for Liverpool, three for Utd. After what has been in some respects a good season for LFC, the title is almost certainly staying at Old Trafford. The long wait for number 19 continues. Progress has undeniably been made but have we blown our best chance in years? Will we have to wait much longer?

In Korea I am lucky enough to be able to watch many of the big games live on cable TV. I've seen enough of the so called 'Big 4' to know that Utd perhaps deserve to win this years title, but only just. The title was certainly there for the taking. Utd went to Japan for the World Club Cup perhaps expecting to be a few points behind the leaders but came back without any pressure being put on them.

Many people are citing Liverpool's home draws as the reason for costing us this year and there is a degree of truth in that. People will also look at the signing of Robbie Keane, then selling him without bringing in a replacement and there is no doubt our squad is light upfront. But a turning point this season for me was away to Spurs in November. We wiped the floor with then hitting the woodwork three times if my memory serves me rightly, yet still unfathomably, Spurs managed a last minute winner in a 2-1 defeat. This was the first game we had lost in the league and some momentum was lost. If we had won or perhaps even drawn that one then maybe those pesky home draws may not be costing us so much now. That's my theory for what it's worth. Next year may be different. It may be more difficult but like all Liverpool fans I'll keep on dreaming.

Wednesday art class

My Wednesday schedule alternates from being the worst day of the week to the most entertaining depending on what my boss decides. At it's worst it is both a waste of time for myself and the students. It is based on either speaking classes with some TOFEL thrown in sometimes. They usually don't want to be there and put in only the bare minimum effort. At it's best, I can't get a word in because the kids are so talkative. Right now, Wednesdays are a lot of fun. One class refuses to take things seriously and mocks me throughout. Which I'm OK with because it's largely in English and to be honest is done in a very funny way. They love singing and dancing and just having fun. They especially love drawing pictures on the whiteboard before class - at least they get my name right. Here is some more student art.

A different point of view

A couple of weekends ago whilst pouring over the Sunday papers on-line I read an interesting interview that brought up a viewpoint that I had never thought of before. I forget who the interviewee was but the person in the article was someone who had suffered from depression at one time in their life. During the piece the woman in the story said something like "It got to the stage where I would think, 'Why wash my clothes? They are only going to get dirty and I will have to clean them again.'" That's a line of thought that I have never had and a perspective that I thought was the most interesting that I had heard of for a long time. Life must be tough if you get to that point, eh. Here in Korea, ESL teachers have so much free time on their hands that it for some people it must cause problems. If you don't have something to occupy your time then you can become depressed or have just waste your time to a ridiculous degree. Right now my life is a little monotonous. The same thing pretty much throughout the week. A routine that stays roughly the same making me feel older than my years. Isn't life like this for most people though?

Star Trek chair

Just back from hapkido. This time with something other than sweat dripping off me. The master had a chair outside his office that looked ready for the scrapheap. I asked if he was throwing it out and if so could I have it. My luck was in as I got a free chair and as well as a lift home from the guy I train with. I'm sitting in it now and it's a big improvement. Boring this may sound but my older chair squealed like a pig when I sat in it and one arm was missing. It was also very heavy. This chair now is the kind you see in the PC Rooms that are on nearly every corner here in Korea. That means it looks a bit space age, like something off Star Trek.

Paris in summer

Another couple of days pass by and more daydreaming. More planning ahead, looking to the future. It's one way that I can stay sane here especially in Summer aka Crazy season. From week to week my future plans change. The core idea stays resolutely the same, but the plans of the weeks around my proposed exit fluctuate wildly. My exit strategy is being mapped out and it's a case of waiting, saving, staying positive and trying to enjoy the time I have left here - seems like an eternity but also goes by so quickly. It seems like I am always planning and never doing. My latest idea is to go home for a week in July 2010 with my girlfriend. This via a few days in the sunshine of Paris. Wishful thinking? The future at times seems so far away but by daydreaming and planning I can cross off the days until I leave Korea.

Getting better

My latest trip to the doctor regarding my feet was very positive. Although he kept changing his mind on what treatment he thought I should have, the prognosis looks good. The problems are still their but shrinking. Ultimately he decided to continue with my tablets for one more month and see how things then visit him again one month later. I was mentally prepared to have injections in both feet which would be painful but would speed up the recovery process. No injections means I can fully prepare for my hapkido test at the end of the month and also means I don't have to spend my time hobbling around the streets of Daegu.

Sense of perspective (Life for a Korean can be tough)

Today's first class was pretty uneventful. They took the test and then we went ahead with the lesson as usual. Nothing new, same old jokes from both me and the students. Just before the end of class the Re-test teacher (as they do on Thursdays and Fridays) enters the room and tells the kids who has failed the test and has to stay behind for a while. Then the bells rings and class is over. One boy who passed the test says to me "Maybe my Mum won't hit me now".

Crikey. His emphasis was on maybe! Life in Korea for students is very different from life in the Western world.