Kim Jong-il is sick and so am I.

29Oct08

Mr. Kim may be ailing, in hospital, and could have suffered a stroke in August. With Castro relinquishing control of Cuba to his brother, it appears this generation of dictators are facing something an oppressive regime can’t control: old age.
In my old age of 26, I am sick as well, not with the cold or [...]

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Tags: fort greene, irksome, korea, strangers

Congrats, N. Korea! (Oh, and Nelson too!)

27Jun08

You are being removed from America’s terror list. Nice work. Though I feel like being on America’s terror list might carry a degree of badassitude, or at least impress a stranger at a dinner party to go home with you. So, sorry Kim Jong Il and ilk, you no longer terrify us. Now to bully [...]

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Tags: diplomacy, korea, politics

Polite smile.

13Mar08

There have been a couple instances recently where I’ve employed my polite, non-committal, hoping-to-end-the-conversation smile. Sometimes there’s really no other way I can think to respond.
At an East Village bar last Friday, I had the following exchange with a friend of a friend:
FoaF: So what’s your ethnicity?
Me: I’m Chinese.
FoaF: [pauses, considers] I spent a year [...]

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Tags: bars, chinese, clinton hill, conversations, east village, korea, phillipines, strangers