
Thursday, February 25, 2010
"All the World is but a Stage" Performative Theory and its Actors.

Monday, February 22, 2010
Malala on Malema

Malala on Malema
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Into Great Silence at the 광주 극장 (Gwangju Cinema)


Into Great Silence at the 광주 극장 (Gwangju Cinema)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
If you think Global Warming is bad...

If you think Global Warming is bad...
Snapshots of Korean History and Culture

Snapshots of Korean History and Culture
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tempering Korean Nationalism

Tempering Korean Nationalism
Thinking about homosexuality
Mr. Cohen has been ridiculed and shunned by professional psychiatric associations and of course by most homosexuals. Certainly he seems like a bit of a weirdo. In particular his “tennis racket” therapy is odd. But the vehement attacks on him by many homosexuals have been unseemly and overblown. Mr. Cohen, at least in his interview with Ms. Maddow, was certainly not your typical Christian fundamentalist homophobic bigot (although the statistics he cites, and then disavows, in the interview don’t help him any). He doesn’t say that homosexuality is immoral. Rather, if the feelings are unwanted, he treats it as psychological disorder. In the nature vs. nuture debate over the origins of homosexuality he is firmly in the later camp. Because of the historical and continuing prejudice against homosexuality it is understandable why homosexuals would be offended by Mr. Cohen’s beliefs. But I think that much of the offensive has more to do with that history of prejudice than with Mr. Cohen. I say this because I can’t imagine being offended if someone were to tell me that my heterosexuality was a psychological disorder. I would think that person was weird, uninformed, or just your average nutball, but he would hardly make me angry.
In any case, the interview prompted me to do a little browsing about the scientific consensus on the nature of homosexuality and it appears as if the jury is still largely out. Although most homosexuals believe instinctually that their sexual orientation is not a choice, attempts to find a “gay gene” have failed. Nevertheless much scientific research does seem to indicate that one’s sexual orientation is determined early on, possibly in the womb. Others like Alfred Kinsey believe that there is a continuum of sexual orientations which are influenced by a range of nature and nurture factors. Others still, who are usually but not always critical of homosexuality, think it is entirely a matter of nurturing. For a great review article of this stuff see here.
For me Kinsey’s suggestion matches my own anecdotal experiences best. The idea that everyone exists on a sexuality continuum, and that their place on that continuum is dependent upon a large number of biological and environmental factors, has a lot of explanatory power. I have met too many bisexuals of varying degrees and of both genders, to believe that everyone is either straight or gay. I have also witnessed people going through phases of being homosexual and of being heterosexual, so the idea that environmental and even psychological factors, play no role doesn’t seem credible.
What do you think?

Thinking about homosexuality
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Battlestar Galactica

As usual I am late to discover any worthwhile media related production. So for most of you this will be old news. However for those hibernating sci-fi fans like myself Battlestar Galactica is my latest find and one that you should definitely check out. Apparently there was a much older tv series by the same name but the Battlestar to which I am referring aired for 4 seasons from 2004 (2003 including the mini-series) until 2008. I'm currently finishing up season 2.
The best part of this series is the level of character development and the fairly successful balance that the writers have managed between presenting us with an array of deeply flawed characters while still maintaining the audience's sympathy for them and the hope that everything will be alright in the end.

Battlestar Galactica
Monday, February 15, 2010
Culture Matters

Culture Matters
From Coordination to Integration to Centralization, a slippery slope?
The only problem is that one of ICM's central tenants is that centralization doesn't work.
So the question is, after 25 years has ICM managed to really change the methods and principles by which we manage the coasts or has it simply given traditional coastal management methods a terminological makeover?

From Coordination to Integration to Centralization, a slippery slope?
It's not the filibuster.

It's not the filibuster.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The First Marine Biologist



The First Marine Biologist
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Pentagon wants Spidermen


Pentagon wants Spidermen
Head of Canada's health care system goes to America for heart surgery.

Head of Canada's health care system goes to America for heart surgery.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Christopher Hitchens on North Korea


Christopher Hitchens on North Korea
Silmido

Silmido, released in 2003, quickly became the most watched Korean movie in Korea's history, although it has since been surpassed. The film tells the true story of Unit 684, a secret, elite, 31-man, Korean fighting force that was tasked with assassinating North Korea's president Kim Jung Il in 1968. The formation of the Unit was prompted by a similiar North Korean Unit's attempt to assassinate South Korea's then president, Park Chung Hee. However, without giving away to much of the story, things did not go as planned. The standard dramatic licenses were taken in this film that are taken in most war films but the basic plot line is factual.
It is definitely recommended.

Silmido
Monday, February 1, 2010
The Korean New Year; to bow or not to bow, that is the question.
When I first met the matriarch of my girlfriend's family, her grandmother, I was asked to, and did, bow to her in this manner as a gesture of cultural understanding. However since that time I have questioned the wisdom of that decision and whether or not I should bow again at the upcoming Korean New Year family get together. Besides a personal distaste for bowing to anyone, I fear that by doing so I am sending a message to my girlfriend's grandmother that I do not actually agree with. Bowing, to my mind, indicates to her that I assent to being part of, and controlled by, the strict hierarchal family structure of which she is the head. However I do not assent to such a relationship and do not wish to send that message Therefore I am inclined not to bow.
Nevertheless my girlfriend, under pressure from her family, but also equipped with an interesting argument that has been corroborated by numerous other Koreans, believes that I should bow. Her reasoning is as follows. In a similar vein to my previous post on the orthopraxis, as opposed to the orthodoxy, of Korean culture, Koreans often do not see an important contradiction between acting in accordance with socially expected norms while at same time disagreeing with those norms on a personal level.

The Korean New Year; to bow or not to bow, that is the question.