DevO

You mean War Dance! That movie IS amazing, and a must-see. Bring tissues.

I saw this a while back and I agree, its a great documentary. Now if I could only find time to read his book..

My biggest piece of advice would be this: Make the most of your time there, make friends with Koreans and do the things that they do. Avoid becoming cynical and jaded, don't get sucked into habit of sitting around bitching about Korea and Koreans. This may sound ridiculous but SO MANY expats waste their time doing this. It used to piss me off to no end. Korea isn't perfect, but either are you! Also don't let the rockstar status that you will sometimes receive just for being a white Westerner go to your head. Also, try to overcome those insane hangovers on Saturdays and get out to do something before the night creeps up on you again!

That movie The Host was a huge hit last Summer when I was there. I didn't know it was out here (or that it was called The Host) but I'm glad I can see it now in English! Some great tips posted above for sure. Insadong is a neat place in Seoul. Check out 'Flying Bird Tea House', cool opium den like atmosphere with odd trinkets all around and little birds flying around inside. (Excellent date spot if you ever get a date!) Check out the musical instrument market, which is in a big ugly building at the south end of Insadong. I can't remember the name of the market at the moment unfortunately but you'll find it sooner or later. I bought a melodian there. Bar Nana is my favourite place to go in Itaewon as well, and Sarahbelle and I danced together there many a night! DJ Conan was my favourite DJ in Seoul. Check out my friend's band Saint John the Gambler. Say hi to Mark the frontman for me! They're a good gateway into the expat music scene. Definitely learn how to read Korean. You'll be surprised how fast you pick it up -- really it just takes a couple of hours of study and that's it. Eat lots of beef galbi in the Mapo area of Seoul.. Oh man its so good! I worked down in Bundang a few times but didn't spend much time there. It'll take you almost an hour to get to Itaewon and a bit longer to get to Hongdae. Hongdae is the club/bar district, and where all the Seoul hipsters go. Hongik University is there, which is the artsy university. There are lots of these cool underground lounges hidden in the back alleys where you sit around on cushions and smoke hookahs. This is also the area where most of the live music clubs are. Good shows come around but not all that often! Check out Pastel Music - Korean record label with some cool stuff going on. Mono (from Japan) usually make it over once a year. Mostly they get DJ's.. Tons of house/techno. I could go on forever! Any questions, just let me know. Oh re: North American groceries.. Its worthwhile getting a Costco membership. They've got great deals on a lot of the things you'll be craving. Cheap cheddar cheese too.

Those 2-bedroom apartments.. I wonder if there's anything stopping us from squeezing 7 in there.

Thanks Mary! We're heading down on Wed Mar 26 and heading back to Toronto on Sat Mar 29... Attending a conference at Colombia all day Thurs & Friday. Dave Brubeck is playing at the Lincoln Center on that weekend, which is currently my top pick! Anything else of note around then? I know Caribou will be in town but I plan to catch him in Toronto soon instead.

I like the sound of that! Any more info? Fluffhead?

Looks like its the Teddy Charles Quintet doing a residency while I'm in town. I think exploring Grenwich (sp) Village will be just about all I get around to doing on this stealth visit to NYC. Hoping to find a hostel in that area of town. (And hoping that getting up to Colombia from there is easy to do)

Thanks for posting this Blane, I hadn't seen it yet!

Who's in?? I am!

Hey D, I've got plenty of tips! I'll post again tonight. What school you working for and whereabouts in Seoul will you be living?

Holy smokes, thanks everyone! Unfortunately we won't have much time for tourist attractions this time 'round but we will have a few nights out and time to get some good meals into us. Maybe we'll track down the soup nazi or somethin. Anyone have any experience with NYC hoStels? There are enough of us that we'll probably be trying to book out a dorm room at a hostel (around 10 beds).

I'm driving to NYC with a van-load of people in late March to attend this conference. (And hopefully to see Dave Brubeck). I've only been to NYC once before, for the New Years when Phish came back from the hiatus. We were unprepared and under-resourced and it went a lot like Levon Helm describes in The Last Waltz: “New York is an adult portion. You go there the first time and you get your ass kicked, so you take off till it heals up, then back you go again.†Round Two! I imagine that parking is expensive and difficult in NYC, and was wondering how people usually go about this.. Would you recommend parking the car somewhere outside Manhattan for a few days and taking public transport into the city? Can anyone recommend a hostel or cheap hotel? The conference is at Colombia, so closer to that will be ideal. Any other NYC tips or ancient secrets would be most appreciated. Thanks!

Oh, damn.. But do they play more than once a year?

I can't figure out how to open my ports, so I will probably be looking for one once my current membership expires.

#338 Songs by Canadian jambands that are currently broken up (playing once a year doesn't count...) 1. j'moor - The New Shady Groove 2. Dynamite - Blue Quarter

Led Zeppelin - If the only thing holding them back is Robert Plant's touring committments with Allison Krauss, then obviously there is no problem! I'm sure the Superfly guys would fork out whatever dough is necessary. Ryan Adams - I want him on the bill damnit! What do you think is the likelihood of that? That's all I can think of at the moment.

Wicked! Where did you find this?? haha.

I think I want this mix! Its got a good Springtime flair no?

So' date=' for a $400 show an $80 convenience fee is appropriate? Seems to me that it is pretty convenient for you to purchase tickets to a show in Toronto on the Internet from Calgary. I really do enjoy playing devil's advocate. Either that, or I am actually the devil. [/quote'] Ok then: Convenience fees should not exceed 20% of the ticket price for tickets costing up to $20. After that, convenience fees should be capped at $5. Ha!

True but: 1) Rotate This is possibly on fire, or most likely cordoned off; 2) I am in Calgary at the moment. To digress, I'm also purchasing tix for a few friends who are in TO right now, but it was sort of my initiative to get them to go, and I said I'd take care of getting the tix, so I'd feel bad telling them to go get em themselves at this point. Yes. It should be pro-rated. EG. "convenience fee" should not exceed 20% of the ticket price. Or they should eliminate convenience fee completely on account of it is bullshit.

Thanks for the tip!

'If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.' Mark Twain Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress.... But then I repeat myself. -Mark Twain I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -Winston Churchill A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. - George Bernard Shaw A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. -G Gordon Liddy Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. -James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994) Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. -Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. -P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. -Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850) Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. -Ronald Reagan (1986) I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. -Will Rogers If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free! -P.J. O'Rourke In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. -Voltaire (1764) Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you! -Pericles (430 B.C.) No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session. -Mark Twain (1866 ) Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it. -Unknown The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. -Ronald Reagan The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. -Winston Churchill The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. -Mark Twain The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. -Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903) There is no distinctly Native American criminal class...save Congress. -Mark Twain What this country needs are more unemployed politicians. -Edward Langley, Artist (1928 - 1995) A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -Thomas Jefferson

I just went online to buy tickets for Corb Lund at The Phoenix (March 6).. Tix are listed as $18.50. The convenience charge on these tickets are $6.30! That's more than 1/3 of the original ticket price! Isn't that more than usual? Then tack on another $3.50 for Order Processing charge and the total comes out to $28.30. Total B-S!

#337B: Songs about starting again / new beginnings 1. Johnny Nash - I Can See Clearly Now 2. Tom Waits - Old Shoes (Pictures & Postcards) 3. John Lennon - Just Like Starting Over 4. James Brown - Papa's Got A Brand New Bag 5. Sonny Curtis - Love Is All Around 6. Marillion - Made Again 7. Trey Antipasto - Alive Again 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.