Rainbows in the Darkby: the real ginger on: July 4, 2008 8:00pm
Happy belated 4th of July, mis amigos en los Estados Unidos! Er, I'm not sure why that last part ended up in Spanish, but there you have it. I hope you guys pigged out on plenty of pulled pork sandwiches, ribs, potato salad, and apple pie. I was definitely missing the 4th of July cuisine while hurriedly gulping down a plate of spicy ddukbogi that served as my dinner last night. Dean and I ended up in Hongdae to go to Galaxy Express' album launch party at FF's. There was a fair mix of drunk GI's, drunk English teachers, drunk Korean hipsters, drunk Korean underage girls, and drunk Korean performers. I wasn't in the mood to go crazy, so I just had a few cocktails and called it quits after that. Some chick went crazy and sprayed beer over all of us around her while laughing, screaming, and spinning around in circles. Usually, I'd find it somewhat amusing, but last night, most of the people there were annoying to me. By the time the 4th band came on stage, there was a pretty decent sized mosh pit. FF's is a small club, though--too small for that much moshing. I stayed right at the edge of the stage so I could take pictures. Going to shows has been a good way to give myself practice with my DSLR. The light changes so quickly from bright to dim, red to green, white to blue, etc that you have to constantly adjust your settings. Also, I don't have an autofocus with this lens, so I have to do that manually. It's a good work out, definitely.
The show went on for about four hours, letting out at 12:30. Dean and I met up briefly with a few of our friends in the area and then went to Kraze Burger for some late night eats. How do you pronounce "Kraze Burger", anyway? Krah-zay? Krah-jay? Kray-zee? Kray-jee? Krage? I've heard it spoken in all of those forms and I always forget to check out the Hangeul spelling. It was a good time, though. I'd thought that it would be something like McDonald's so I avoided it. The atmosphere was so different from what I'd expected--it was pleasantly decorated and wasn't garish or childish at all. The menu also impressed me, sporting multiple types of burgers, sides, salads, and sandwiches. There were several things that I wanted to try but I ended up gettin the original K.B. burger. I'll definitely be going back soon to try a sandwhich.
In other random news...a Coldstone opened up at my subway station and Dean got his hair cut! He finally gave in to the heat so we went to Juno's. Juno's was really nice--they give you free drinks, some snacks, and it has a very professional air. The guy who cut Dean's hair was obviously so, so proud of himself by the end of the job--he was positively beaming. I think the new hair cut looks great, but it is unabashedly Korean in its style.
Tonight, I'll be going to the Cheonggye to take pictures of a protest. Interestingly enough, it's actually a protest sponsored by LINK (Liberation in North Korea). Basically, they're sick of the beef protests and want to protest somthing that is actually killing thousands of North Koreans--the famine and the incredibly cruel regime headed by Kim Jong Il. The anti-US beef protests have been growing increasingly violent and the newspapers are littered with arrests, raids, and the like. US beef actually hit the markets this week, which is why some protesters have become more desperate.
Outside of FF's and Go Go's
Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of this group. But yeah, a chick got up there and started belly dancing and then a guy took his shirt off, jumped up, and started staggering around.
Their last song was in English and he needed to have a fan hold up the lyrics.
Dean's short hair!
This title is Rainbows in the Dark by Tilly and the Wall
The see-saw of love and its rickety balance »
Comments |
lets_be: Thanks for reading and commenting! The bands have colored lights during their performances, so much of the coloring in the photos is due to the actual light sources. I have to tweak them all, though--sometimes, the light is too bright from behind and it's washing out the band member, it's too dark, etc.
by: the real ginger
Jul 14, 2008 10:44pm
I've been reading your blog for awhile and I just wanted to tell you that it's really refreshing. There are a lot of times when I really miss it there and your entries bring me back there.
Your photos always turn out so great, I was wondering how you get that lighting/coloring like the ones of the band. They're so dramatic!
by: lets_be
Jul 14, 2008 9:59pm
Da Xing Di: Thank you for reading and commenting! Your English is really good, by the way, for someone who says that they don't speak it well! I've gotten kind of addicted to fixing up my cyworld in my free time at work. I don't mind spending some money on it and it keeps me amused. I don't even have that many friends on it nor do I receive a high volume of visitors on a daily basis, but it still keeps me busy when I'm at work. :)
Cooler als Penn...: !! Fireworks have always been bad in my hometown, but I've never seen a police maul a teen. However, my town has this river festival in the late summer and one time, Chubby Checker fell in the river while doing the twist and his toupee came off. I, too, missed the good action because I thought it was going to be a lame time. Little did I know.
gerrronimo: Good job on your A! Thanks again for reading and posting. :)
by: the real ginger
Jul 13, 2008 5:17pm
I say it every time, but I absolutely love reading your blogs. And I felt especially compelled to comment after seeing that photograph of the fan holding up the lyrics--that is an amazing shot. My jaw dropped when I saw it! Also, the photo of the two best friends in the post after this one is equally fantastic. You have a really good eye! :)
Monica
P.S. Thanks once again for interviewing for my research paper. I got an A :)
by: gerrronimo
Jul 12, 2008 3:28am
I always go to the waterfront for the 4th and it's been getting a bit lame since I've been doing that with my family for the past 9 years. However, nothing beats a fist fight b/w two testosterone-filled teenage boys duking it out while the fireworks show is going on. Unfortunately, I decided to be "above" the average American and focus on the fireworks. But that proved futile anyway because the fireworks show was terrible and everyone else got to watch a policeman maul one of the kids by tackling him to the ground. Damn.
by: Cooler als Penn...
Jul 08, 2008 9:14am
by: Da Xing Di
Jul 07, 2008 1:51pm
cjgohan2003: Korea rarely ever cards for alcohol. Every single place I've been to in the US has carded me--they card EVERYONE in DC, even if you are clearly 50 years old. Anyway, Korea is really, really lax on carding. Drinking is a lot more of the culture here than it is in the US, too, so binge drinking and underage drinking are more...I don't want to say "acceptable", but they kind of are. Thanks for reading and commenting!
koncettina: The US beef has has it the markets here is being sold REALLY cheap by the butchers. According to one foreigner, there is a butcher selling Prime Angus beef for 1,000 won per 100 gram. That's...insanely, insanely cheap.
saera: I ended up feeling sick on Saturday night, so I didn't get to go anywhere, much less the protest. I also heard that there wasn't at huge turn out from the LINK people, but that around 50,000 showed up for the regular protest. It's funny--the organizers keep inflating the numbers to amusing proportions. Last night, they reported that 500,000 came. How can there be a 450,000 difference between the police/newspaper reports and what the organizers estimate? Ugh. Anyway, the Catholic priests and Buddhist monks have really gotten into it lately.
vana117724: I'm from WV, where most people are pretty damn patriotic. We're a state that loves football, NASCAR, beer, and country music, so...we're pretty stereotypical in the "WE LOVE THE USA!" kind of way.
But actually, Korea has been against US beef for a while, even though they still LOVE other American things. I see more fast food chains in Seoul than I ever did living in Washington, DC and that is no exaggeration. It's not rare to see two Dunkin' Donuts or two Starbucks within the same block here. Anyway, Korea is actually the one that is coming off looking foolish with these protests. I've been checking various news outlets from around the world and they're not painting Korea is a very positive light. The protesters are frequently refered to as "rioters" and they are definitely showing how the masses--driven by internet hysteria--have been trying to topple the only 4 month old government.
Don't be afraid to comment! I won't chew you out for grammatical errors, because I definitely make some of my own (I don't really edit these blogs so a lot of little things slip beneath my radar). Dean IS mixed, by the way (and what a nice mix it is!) I will still vote (for Obama)--just gotta get my absentee ballot in on time. :)
by: the real ginger
Jul 06, 2008 4:56am
I actually love reading you blogs... I checked to see if you updated on the 4th of July, being that you are
American and all that. I don't know where you are from but I'm from California and this year's fourth of July celebration was not up to par. I didn't feel very patriotic this year for some apparent reason. We didn't even spend the 300 plus dollars that we usually spend on buying fireworks. (I know this is irrevelent to everything but...) yeah since you mentioned the whole Anti-US beef protests something triggered within me to say that. America seems down lately too... in all aspect. And the whole Beef protest just help to assert the fact that America is declining in the eyes of the rest of the world.
I have to say, I am really trying hard to write grammatically correct because you mentioned that you majored in English... I am always afraid of commenting in fear of being corrected for my grammar. OH the joy of having ad a grammar nazi for a teacher.
Btw, this is totally random but is Dean caucasion or mixed? He looks mixed.
Peace OUT.
And you're staying in Korea for one more year? SHUCKS you can't vote for our future President... lol
sorry for this random comment.
by: vana117724
Jul 06, 2008 2:04am
Oh, I hope the LINK protest turns out well! Koreans seem to forget about what's happening on the other side of the fence. =X
by: saera
Jul 05, 2008 6:28pm
I'm still very disappointed by the Koreans view on the beef. Soon enough, though, they'll forget that it even happened and go on with life.
I'm very happy you're taking pictures with the DSLR since I'm buying the same soon. Thank you for the advice with the lens. I just hope that manual focus won't be hard....
Dean's hair looks very nice. I find drunk people very amusing....so I just sit and watch them.
by: koncettina
Jul 05, 2008 11:55am
Ahaha. Oh wow. I didn't realize they were lax with unerage drinking there as well. I figured 1st world countries actually impliment that sort of stuff. Oh well, not complaining.
The Seoul nightlife seems quite lively. And I love the mix of colours you captured during the bands.
Keep blogging! it's great reading posts about seoul from a foreigner's perspective, since I have plans to visit there soon.
by: cjgohan2003
Jul 04, 2008 11:00pm