Great Story

I don't usually just reblog stuff, but I found this story to be really cool. As a longtime school athletic supporter (joke goes here) and coach, I have often seen the power of the group athletic endeavor to have a positive impact on young people. But here is a middle school team that learns--and teaches--an extraordinary lesson:

Local Bazaar

Attentive readers will have gleaned that I moved recently. My new place is a large complex called e-Starville in the middle of Mokdong. Two large apartment buildings, lots of shops and restaurants and some churches, all surrounding a central 마당 or courtyard. This weekend, the courtyard has been occupied by a large number of tents, and filled with all kinds of vendors. Health herbs, clothing, food of many kinds. Herewith, photos:

School Flea Market 2013

Yeah, so I did this exact same post last year. If you don't mind, I'll truncate it a bit. The school market is essentially a junk swap, where families trade their unwanted stuff, with a handling/transaction fee going to the school, presumably to improve the school program.

Some pics:

Please, buy a pencil.  Please.

What I'm Reading

I guess I haven't posted a list in a while! Here goes:

• The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith - This is the ninth in the No 1 Ladies' Detective series set in a charming and delightful version of Botswana. Those familiar with these books recognize they aren't exactly edge-of-your-chair whodunits. Which probably is more closely attuned to the real life of detectives anyway. In this entry, Mma Ramotswe helps an adopted woman find her birth relatives. She also deals with some threatening letters sent to the agency, and Mr J. L. B. Matekoni's pursuit of an expensive miracle cure for their foster daughter Motholeli.
• The Last Van Gogh by Alyson Richman - I recently read a book called The Lost Van Gogh, so I thought this would make a good book-end. The earlier read concerned a painting from van Gogh's time in the hospital at Saint-Remy in 1889, but this one is about his time in Auvers-sur-Oise at the end of his life (it is, after all, the last van Gogh). Van Gogh was being looked after by a Dr Gachet, an amateur artist, and a depressive like himself. Gachet has a beautiful but sheltered young daughter, Marguerite, who catches the artist's eye as a subject for both his art and his infatuation. Well-researched, charming, but slow-moving like the time it was set in.
• What Doesn't Kill You by Iris Johansen - What doesn't kill you ... puts you to sleep. This is the first Iris Johansen book I've read, and it was the stupidest. Catherine Ling is an indestructible yet voluptuous ex-CIA operative who has a young son and an inscrutable Chinese herbalist/martial arts master named Hu Chang as a mentor and best friend. Hu Chang has created a special poison that everyone in the dark trades wants to get their hands on, and ... oh, who cares! The characters are unlikeable, the plot is unbelievable, and the writing ordinary.
• The Colonel's Mistake by Dan Mayland - Retired CIA station chief Mark Sava rescues operative Dara Buckingham from a prison in Azerbaijan, only to find himself in the middle of complex plot between the US, China, Iran and various terrorist groups centered on oil. This is a first novel, and it has some problems, like the open space between characters the plot holes, or the uneven jumps between locales (speaking of which, I don't think I've read another book set largely in Azerbaijan--though the story also carries Sava to Dubai, Iran, Washington, DC, and somewhere in France). Still, it's good enough to give the next installment in the Mark Sava series a look.
• On the Trail of the Assassins by Jim Garrison - Almost exactly fifty years ago, events in Dallas, Texas occurred that changed the world in ways large and small--the killing of John F Kennedy. I don't remember where I was that day, but I have heard and read repeatedly of the conspiracy theories, the eyewitnesses, the magic bullet, the reversed film frames, etc. Never mind the incredible public dispatch of the only suspect. I even saw the Oliver Stone film (ha!) Nothing has given me anything like the clarity and perspective of this book, authored by the New Orleans DA of the period, who used his office to investigate the assassination's NOLA connections. Garrison seems as solid and rational as they come, and indeed the book puts us on the trail of the assassins, but doesn't lead us to them--or even attempt to burnish any particular conspiracy theory, though he does insist there was a conspiracy--a point bolstered by the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978. Anyway, good read.
• CyberStorm by Matthew Mather - This is a ripping good electronic Armageddon story set during the holiday season in Manhattan. Suppose the Iranians, or the Chinese, or the Russians launched a cyber attack that shut down key power stations. At the same time, the East Coast is ravaged by powerful snowstorms. You would expect that within a few days, the authorities would get the power going, the streets ploughed, and everything back to normal. But what if they couldn't? What if the attack crippled the whole country--or at least east of the Mississippi? The internet goes down: no trains, no planes, even your apartment building can't perform essential functions anymore. Soon, the stores are empty, the TV and radio stations shut down. You huddle together with friends to conserve warmth, you forage in co-operative groups; in just a week or so everyone you see on the streets is a competitor for resources: an enemy. This is the situation young IT pro Mike Mitchell and his small family find themselves in a hundred pages into CyberStorm. And it's bound to get considerably darker before the dawn.
• Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson - Genius is a word much bandied about thesee days, and when we describe Steve Jobs as a genius, we should be clear what we mean by that term. I think it's more along the lines of "a person who is very good at something" than "a person endowed with transcendent mental superiority". Isaacson isn't really strong about this distinction, and as a result he creates a portrait that isn't a hagiography, but that isn't as unbiased as you might expect if you interviewed over one hundred people. Jobs was really good at something, of that there is no doubt: Apple products are almost always a pleasure to use, and that is due entirely to his ability to control every aspect of their design. But, Jobs was not, let's be clear, a designer himself. He was not an electrical engineer. He was not a filmmaker. Based on the book, he typically had an intuitive idea of what he wanted a product to be like, but he wasn't good at articulating it: usually, a design was "shit" until it was "the best thing ever". Unlike most successful businesspeople, he wasn't very "good at" people: he was cruel when he didn't have to be, and created unnecessary enmities along the way; he created what many co-workers dubbed a "reality distortion field" in which his view of events, let's say the timetable for rolling out a new product, was so strong and convincing, people nearby were convinced that it could happen. Many times it did, but sometimes Apple could be two years behind the announced delivery of a new widget. This also caused problems when he convinced the board to back-date some stock options--a questionable but not downright illegal gambit that the book mentions in less than one paragraph. What makes him interesting, though, as a CEO, is his unlikely combination of "visionary", big picture man (we need to create our own stores to sell our brand, not commoditize the Mac between the Compaq and the Asus on Circuit City shelves) and detail man (we must get our limestone tiles from the same quarry in Italy that Venice got theirs). In sum, I probably wouldn't have liked the guy, but I think he was a genius.

Fall Sports Day 2013

Our new principal inaugurated Fall Sports Day (Spring Sports Day is a long-standing tradition) on a crisp early autumn Friday that couldn't have been more suitable.

There was dancing ...


... and racing ...


... and more dancing ...


... and mugging for the camera:


A good time. And we got to leave early, perhaps an indication that the new administration is a bit more relaxed than the old one.

Some Korean Expressions on QI

This season's QI (Quite Interesting) is devoted to the letter K. We had only to wait for episode three for Korea to come up. It's all about idiomatic expressions. The fun begins at the 4:53 mark:


I only knew one of these, which I learned as "Too many captains send the boat to the hilltop". I was able to find another, "The other man's rice cake always looks bigger," in the book, "How Koreans Talk" by Sang-Hun Choe and Christopher Torchia, previously mentioned here.

My New Digs

I moved last Saturday (August 24), because the officetel I lived in went into tax arrears, never having paid taxes in its eight years of operation. It was a long, busy afternoon packing and moving all the stuff I've accumulated in five years, plus several pieces of furniture belonging to the school, like the desk, bed, TV, etc.


Finally, the new place is taking shape, the blind man came today--but had measured wrong initially, which I would have told him if I knew how, the washing machine repairman fixed the leak, the cable/internet guy hooked me up last week, and I've added or taken from storage boxes some accent pieces. Now that I'm used to it, I have to say it's the nicest apatuh I've had here, better appointed, brighter, and even roomier, despite the fact there's no loft.

The location is a place called e-Starville in Mokdong, a complex with two eighteen floor residential towers, about fifty restaurants, a greengrocer, a butcher and bakery right outside the entrance. There is a 7-Eleven, Buy the Way and a GS25 all within sight of each other. The best thing about the location is that it's a seven minute walk to school. The worst thing about the location is that it's a fifteen minute walk to the nearest subway station. And that station is Yangcheon-gu Office, in the middle of the line 2 west spur, convenient to absolutely nothing. Still, I walk to school five days a week, I take the subway once or twice.

Anyway, the guided tour. First, the view of the exterior wall, you can see by the desk where the blinds come up short. The view is nothing spectacular--the roof of the next building, mainly--but it lets in a lot of light.


Here's one wall, where I have hung these enormous Korean masks. The cable guy came back the next day to install a box on the TV which gives me a crystal-clear image of 120 channels of crap. The AC unit is directly over the bed.


The kitchen next, with more storage space than the old places, and this pullout table that is an excellent feature. The washing machine has a dryer function, which most people only dream of. You can't see it, but on the left side of the hallway is a huge (comparatively) fridge and about twelve running feet of clothes/general storage.


The bathroom. Main feature: enormous, separate shower stall. It's also got a quite large medicine cabinet.


So there you have it. This, together with my Thailand vacation, from which I returned mere hours before I had to show up for the first day of the new semester at school, the new semester itself, and a variety of other draws on my time, will explain to your satisfaction, I hope, Dear Reader, the dearth of posts here in the Patch. More to come.

Read A Book!

Well, I'm off for a week in the sun and surf of Samui. Read a book!

• The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz - Izzy Spellman has been a private investigator since age 14, working in her family's detective agency; a good detective agency, one gathers from the story, but extremely disfunctional family. The mom and dad split their time between working cases and following Izzy around. Older brother David was a model of perfection growing up, and is now a high-price corporate lawyer, who happens to be dating Izzy's best friend behind her back. Uncle Ray has survived cancer gotten from a lifetime of clean living and has decided to live it up, and so part of Izzy's work is trying locate him after he disappears on one of his periodic, debauched "lost weekends". And fourteen-year-old sister Rae has a detecting compulsion that leads her sneak out at night and shadow random people. Somewhere in there, Izzy is working a cold case about the disappearance of a teenager from camping trip twenty years ago.
• The Secret of the Stones by Ernest Dempsey - I don't mind a story that stretches credulity, but this one exceeds the snapping point by quite a margin. On the other hand, it's set almost entirely in Georgia, so I liked the "local" flavor. An artifact has been found which may unlock the secret treasure of the Cherokee Indians and their link to the ancient Egyptians. Our hero is in a race to solve the mystery in time to save his archaeologist friend who's been kidnapped by minions of "The Prophet. To do so, he must decipher long-misunderstood clues at locations like Etowah Indian Mounds (I took eighth graders there for years) and Rock Eagle (4H camp locale). Still, it's just too unbelievable for me.
• The Martian by Andy Weir - Imagine being left for dead by your team when exploring a remote location: little food and water, few supplies, no communication. Now imagine that you're on Mars, and the next manned mission is years away. Fortunately, you're a botanist and a mechanical engineer. What are your priorities, what are your longer-term goals? Read how astronaut Mark Watney answers those questions in this well-researched page-turner, reminiscent of Ray Bradbury--it hasn't got Bradbury's lyrical qualities, but it makes up for it with technical exactitude and creative problem-solving.
• Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal by Ben Macintyre - The story of Eddie Chapman has all the earmarks of a Hollywood tall tale--in fact, there have been a few fictionalizations of his life, but none as good as the real thing. Chapman, a career criminal in his late twenties, volunteered to work for the German Abwehr intelligence agency in order to get out of a Jersey prison. When he made his way to England to sabotage an airplane factory, he turned himself in to MI5 and became the most effective British double agent of the War. In his four journeys across the channel, he bedded women, charmed men, and did untold damage to the Axis war effort in Europe. Bravo to him, and to this well-told, well-researched book about him.
• Hidden Genius: Frank Mann, the Black Engineer Behind Howard Hughes by HT Bryer - Thanks to my friend Chris for this tip (and many others), or I would never have heard of this remarkable guy. Even serious engineering types have never heard of Frank Mann, even though he designed cars for the Big Three, solved mechanical engineering problems for Howard Hughes, became an honorary member of "Doolittle's Raiders", piloted airplanes for Southwest Airways, created the coupling system for NASA that attached the Shuttle to the 747, and even sat aboard the famous 'Spruce Goose' in its only flight. He was also a singer, dancer, and MC at Huston's Eldorado Club, and hung out with movie stars like Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart and John Barrymore. Big life--slim book, only 109 pages. The book came about because the author's brother Paul befriended Mann in the eighties, got to know him and his remarkable story, was given the "rights" by Frank to his life story, but backed out of a Hollywood miniseries when he learned they planned to sensationalize it with his penchant for the ladies and the celebrity scene. It is based almost completely on Frank's conversations with Paul, his supply of memorabilia, and interviews with people still around from his days at the rather secretive Hughes Corporation. Fascinating, and a great role model no matter what your skin color.

Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu: Food & Drink

The most popular "local" brew in Kota Kinabalu is Skol, manufactured under auspices of Carlsberg, and created by a consortium of brewers as a global mega-brand in the 1960s, so Wikipedia tells me. My hang-out downtown, sharing roof-space with the Rainforest Lodge, sold it in an ice bucket at 3 for 13 RM, or USD 1.50, with tax, during "happy hour", which being from 11 AM to 9 PM was more like "happy day."

The Sugarbun Cafe next door offered one of Malaysia's specialties, the "claypot" meal, a stew that could range from bland to fairly spicy. Here's the chicken one:


BBs Cafe and Beer Garden also ran a teppan grill at night, offering good grub at good prices, like this salmon for 20 RM:


I picked up these snacks somewhere and thought to take a picture before digging in. The dried red plums are the original sour candy, albeit with a pip inside.


Other typical fare at the dozens of coffeehouse/cafe establishments that fill out the city center area include this breakfast of a pork-filled bun, a pastry and a great cup of strong yet sweetened coffee, for 4.40 RM:


I knew it was Ramadan when I went to Malaysia, and I knew it was a majority Muslim country (though the constitution ensures religious freedom), and I somehow worried a bit that it would complicate my meal plans a bit. Well, restaurants weren't closed, beer was readily available, and after sundown the Ramadan food markets were in full flow. I even read in the newspaper surprising statistics about the number of people admitted to hospital with severe gastric distress after gorging themselves.

One night, I made my way toward the waterfront restaurant area, but was instead diverted by the Ramadan food tent area. I set out for some red snapper (dedicated readers will know this already), and I was not disappointed. I had it grilled, added a trio of enormous shrimp, and a tasty repast for about 40 RM. On the downside, no alcohol.


Here are a few other shots of the tent city:


Needless to say, I went back for more the next night.

I mentioned that this was a night-time function, but there was, right next to my hotel, a daytime edition, rather smaller, but also quite delicious. It seemed to run from 2 to 5 or so. I first stopped by for an ice-cold beverage--they had OJ, mango juice, avocado juice (I like avocados, but yuck!) tembikai juice, lobak juice and lo han kuo, among others. I have no idea what any of those are, but I gambled on the lo han kuo and found it quite nice--vaguely nutty but refreshing.


Many of the stalls had signage with names and prices, but they didn't really help much (though nasi goreng means 'fried rice' in Indonesian):


However, English is quite common in Kota Kinabalu, though like the rest of the country, Malaysian is the official language, and people were always kind and helpful. And they sure can cook!

This concludes my series of posts on my visit to Malaysia. It's been slow coming together because I've been quite busy between camp, my public speaking class and just farting around. I leave Friday for a week on Koh Samui, but don't expect much in the way of photos etc from that trip--been, there, done that, to the extend I think I won't take the Nikon, but just settle for pics from the iPhone camera. Before I go, I do expect to update the Book Report. Until then, see you in the funny papers!