Asian Movies All Over the Map

...One of the festival’s real finds is the South Korean film “Breathless,” a closely observed drama written, produced and co-directed by its star, the vividly talented Yang Ik-june. An enforcer for small-time loan sharks, Mr. Yang’s character, Sang-hoon, has found a professional outlet for his violent nature, though he’s hardly a becalmed spirit. He goes through life cursing and clobbering his co-workers and family until he encounters a high school girl even more foulmouthed than he is. Without editorializing, “Breathless” suggests that while South Korea may have moved beyond a militaristic, authoritarian culture, residue of the dark era — in the form of an interpersonal network of brutality and victimization — survives...

Full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/movies/19asia.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

기자 아저씨가 제대로 보셨다.
군국주의, 권위주의에서 벗어났다고 생각하지만 사실 그 시대의 잔여는 아직도 버젓이 한국 사회에 남아있는거다.. 도대체 언제쯤 그 찌끄러기가 사라질지... 안타깝다.

MySpace, the world's second-largest social networking service, is pulling out of Korea 10 months after it first appeared.

MySpace, which entered Korea in April 2008, announced it will stop Korean language service as of Feb 18.

Due to Cyworld's strong presence, MySpace failed to gain enough of a following, although it launched local services such as "minilog," where users were able to jot down their daily thoughts and feelings. Cyworld has 22 million users in Korea, or more than 45 percent of the country's population.

The failure of MySpace was not surprising news. The Korean SNS market was already saturated when the company entered without distinct features. MySpace seemed to lack understanding for Korean culture, industry watchers said.

MySpace will convert Korean service to English menus, user interface and customer care. Content already created by users will remain in Korean language, MySpace said.

http://www.zdnet.co.kr/ArticleView.asp?artice_id=20090204185732

+
내 말이..
작년에 한국에 들어간다고 기사 났을 때 저게 되겠나 싶더니만 역시나 안되는군.

By Kristine Owram, The Canadian Press

TORONTO - A number of factors combined to push the Canadian dollar below 80 cents US for the first time in more than three years Wednesday, but experts say the plunging loonie could actually help Canada weather a global economic slowdown.

Canada's manufacturing sector suffered as the dollar soared above parity with the U.S. greenback over the past year, making Canadian goods more expensive for other countries and hurting export-based industries, the auto sector in particular.

Now its drop may help protect Canada's manufacturing heartland - Ontario and Quebec - from the effects of a worldwide recession.

"It will help, but to the extent that the weak Canadian dollar is also a symptom of poor global economic growth, it's more of a cushioning of the recession rather than a cure for it," said Avery Shenfeld, a senior economist with CIBC World Markets.

A lower loonie is not a cure-all for manufacturers, Shenfeld said. The Canadian economy is too tightly intertwined with its American counterpart - reeling from the continued financial meltdown - for the currency alone to reverse its woes.

Canada's dollar traded as low as 79.71 cents US Wednesday morning but pulled up later to 79.95 cents, still down 2.44 cents on the day. The loonie - which hit its all-time high of 110.31 cents US almost a year ago, last Nov. 7 - hasn't been below 80 cents since mid-2005.

The dollar is considered a commodity currency, meaning the decline in commodity prices caused by shrinking global demand - crude oil was down $4.29 to US$67.89 Wednesday afternoon after losing more than half its value since its high in July - is a major factor in the loonie's drop.

But the relative strength of the U.S. dollar against other major currencies is also having a major impact, said Steve Malyon, a currency strategist with Scotia Capital.

"It is a bit counterintuitive to have all this U.S. dollar strength, given that the subprime crisis started in the United States, but I think the key observation is that it started in the United States but it didn't stop there," Malyon said.

"It's sort of an ugly contest in global currency markets. The U.S. dollar doesn't look terribly great, but neither do a lot of other places."

In fact, the loonie has fared comparatively well next to some of its peers, said Malyon, losing about 18 per cent of its value against its U.S. counterpart since the middle of the year, while the New Zealand and Australian dollars have lost 22 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively. The Euro has seen a decline similar to that of the Canadian dollar.

The U.S. dollar has also been given a boost by investors eager to buy the currency to pay back debtors, said Shenfeld.

"Investors that had borrowed in U.S. dollars and are now seeing losses on their investments are attempting to pay back their loans and are buying U.S. dollars in the process."

Inflation is another persistent worry when the dollar drops, as goods imported from the U.S. and other countries suddenly cost more. But this time a global slowdown in demand combined with lower input costs should insulate the Canadian economy from inflation this time around, said Malyon.

"The decline in commodities has been far greater than the decline in the Canadian dollar," he said.

"When you net it all out, we have a fairly significant disinflationary pulse that's going to work its way through the economy."

Malyon added that this should allow the Bank of Canada to continue cutting interest rates, at least in the short term. The central bank lowered its overnight rate by a quarter point Tuesday after a half-point cut on Oct. 8 in an attempt to stimulate the economy by encouraging borrowing.

George Davis, a senior technical analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said he expects the loonie to continue its decline in the short-run.

"Until we see credit markets stabilize, which would also imply some sort of stabilization in commodity and equity markets, I think that's going to imply weaker days for the Canadian dollar ahead," Davis said.

But Shenfeld sounded a more optimistic tone.

"In the near term, the continuing turmoil on financial markets is going to put some downward pressure on the Canadian dollar, but we likely have room for a substantial recovery when the global economy is back on its feet," he said. "I wouldn't expect this to last that long."

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/081022/national/loonie

By Jon Herskovitz
SEOUL (Reuters) - Destitute North Korea on Thursday threatened to end all relations with South Korea, a major source of aid and cash, in anger at the hard-line policies of its conservative president.

It comes days after North Korea pledged to resume taking apart a nuclear plant that makes bomb-grade plutonium and return to a disarmament deal after the United States took the North off its terrorism blacklist and removed some trade sanctions.

"If the group of traitors keeps to the road of reckless confrontation with the DPRK (North Korea), defaming its dignity despite its repeated warnings, this will compel it to make a crucial decision including the total freeze of the North-South relations," the North's communist party newspaper said in a commentary, referring to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

The state media regularly hurls insults at Lee but this latest commentary was similar in form to a warning issued in April that was followed by the North cutting off direct dialogue and expelling South Korean officials from a joint factory park just north of the border.

The compromise in a nuclear deal it has with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States, give the ostracized North more chance to tap into international finance and trade.

North Korea pledged to allow in international inspectors to check claims it made about its nuclear program after the United States removes it from a terrorism blacklist.

North Korea's improved standing in the outside world could help it raise its crippled industrial base and possibly make it easier for overseas investors to tap into its mineral wealth.

"The North is saying that should the South not change its policy to a more favorable one, it could isolate it in the nuclear talks and try to get closer with the United States," said Koh Yu-hwan, a Dongguk University professor of North Korea studies.

North Korea, with an economy that is less than 3 percent of the South's, has seen aid from its rich neighbor cut drastically since Lee came to power in February promising huge investment and aid for his neighbor if it gave up trying to create a nuclear arsenal.

But Pyongyang rejected his overtures, a move analysts said reflected its autocratic government's fear that a large influx of South Korean businessmen would threaten its grip on one of the world's most reclusive societies.

Analysts have said that Pyongyang may be hoping its latest nuclear compromise will open the door to doing business internationally and make it less dependent on South Korea.

The Lee government has asked North Korea to hold bilateral talks and resume humanitarian projects such as reunions for the tens of thousands of families separated after the 1950-1953 Korean War, which has never officially ended.

South Korean officials have said Seoul is ready to speed up cooperation projects if the North reaches out.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/081016/world/international_us_korea_north

엄훠나.
브라보>_<! 

http://www.newsen.com/news_view.php?uid=200807080732341010

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유튭엔 없는게 없는줄 알았는데.
뭐야. 내가 좋아하는 '누구도 일러주지 않았네'는 없잖아.
췟.
++
꿩대신 닭이라고.
'빠이빠이 베스파'라도 올려야 기분이 풀리겠당.

+
'The films, papers and processing chemicals these factories produced will soon be obsolete...'
polaroid is already a goner :(
++
robert burley.
my (future) professor. kkkk.

Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's wise, funny and heartbreaking memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq.

Official Website (Movie):
http://www.sonyclassics.com/persepolis/

A Movie Review by NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/25/arts/25pers.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Persepolis, the Graphic Novel:
http://www.randomhouse.com/pantheon/graphicnovels/persepolis.html

1. Trekking to Everest's South Base Camp in Nepal
2. Walking the Great Wall in China
3. Hiking the Inca trails in Peru
4. Camel trekking in Morocco
5. Tandem skydiving in England
6. Cage diving in South Africa
7. Bungee jumping in Zimbabwe
8. Motorcycle trip up Highway 1
9. Running with the bulls in Spain
10. Ice fishing in Canada

For details, read full article:
http://features.us.reuters.com/destinations/news/A7AEF066-E3D6-11DC-AA26-CB3F8A14.html

+ On my personal list is "walking the santiago pilgrimage trail." i guess it isn't on the list above because it isn't considered exhilarating. but then, how come "walking the great wall in china" is up there? and #2 even?? plus, ice fishing=exhilarating? come on, are you kidding me? it's not just fishing, it's ICE fishing! it's gonna be frrrrrrrrreeeeeeezzzzzzing!!!!!

Goodnight Moon!

Wednesday night, the Earth's shadow will plunge the moon into darkness. From here, it will be a lovely sight.

Tomorrow's (Wednesday, Feb. 20th, 2008) total eclipse of the moon will be visible across the country, starting at 8:43 p.m. EST. In the East, the spectacle will take place relatively high in the sky while, in the West, the moon will be low on the horizon as it begins to move into Earth's shadow.

WHERE IT'S VISIBLE
Most of North America, all of South America, plus Western Europe and West Africa will be able to see the lunar eclipse in its entirety.

HOW IT WILL UNFOLD
Tomorrow's will be the last eclipse visible from Canada for almost three years.

THE LATE SHOW
The lunar eclipse will last about three hours and 26 minutes.
The moon will be completely immersed within the Earth's dark umbral shadow for just under 50 minutes.

Read full article about tomorrow's Lunar Eclipse:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080219.weclipse19/BNStory/Science/home

A few years ago, in 2002, 100 major writers from 54 countries agreed to answer a remarkable question: What is the best work of fiction ever written? By an overwhelming margin, the authors chose Don Quixote. Why is this 400-year-old Spanish novel held in such high esteem by readers, writers and critics? Entire libraries are filled with answers to that question, but I'll confine myself to just a few.

Read full article:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080215.w50booksquixote