O H N O!

Tomorrow (here anyway) is the first of December. Christmas is around the corner and I have no Christmas presents to give... In November I could deny the existence of Christmas, but no longer! AHHHHHH! This means long lines and no carparks all through the world.

Right, time to take my chill pill I guess...

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I'll be here next year!

I can't wait!

San Nakji for President!

The Meaning of Life

What more can be said?

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Blood is Red

In my many years on this earth, I have never given blood. Like my friend Ori, I have a huge phobia of needles. However, yesterday I got a big case of the guilts. It seems that my blood type, O-, is a rather important type. It is known as the universal blood type and no matter what blood type you have, you can take my blood. Only 7% of people here in Aotearoa have it, I am not sure if this follows around the world or not, but this means now they know I have this blood they will be knocking on my door every three months wanting more!
The blood people came to my work and set up right next to my office. After thinking about it for about 20 minutes I decided that it would be the right thing to do. Also, it is important to face your fears, right? I sat in the chair and tried everything I could to take my mind off what was about to happen. When the nurse finally put the needle in, well I am not going to lie, it hurt! It was really painful. However the pain quickly subsided and as long as I didn't think too much about the foreign object jammed in my arm, it was ok. About 5 minutes into the blood giving, the machine sucking it out of me suddenly started beeping. It scared the hell out me! It turned out that my blood just wasn't rushing fast enough for the machine's liking. Another nurse came along and readjusted the needle. More pain, and then... it was over!
Giving blood gave me a warm feeling. That may have been because I just lost a pint of San Nakji special, but I think it is more likely that this is what it feels like when you do a good deed...
I urge people who have considered it to go ahead and donate blood, it's not all that hard. A moment of pain for someone's life, much like having kids really...

San Nakji for President!

sannakji.org

Just for fun, I have registered my own URL. To visit my blog, all you need to do is go to sannakji.org and lo and behold... My email has also changed, sn@sannakji.org . Please don't go to sannakji.com, it is just some crumby restaurant selling squid (of all things!).

San Nakji for President!

Algeria Images

Just some more images of Algeria for you. It looks amazing, everything your basic exotic desert nation should be...







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Beautiful Desolation

The book that I am reading at the moment, Dining with Terrorists, has made me interested in Algeria. It still has its' problems, but not quite what they have been.

I love deserts, so with scenes like the above, how could I not book my ticket there... (well money may prevent it, I suppose) I must put it on my list of places to go...

San Nakji for President!

Happy Birthday Deepa!

Happy Birthday to my friend Deepa! Huttida Habba Subashayagalu! Still so young, which I am quite envious of and extra congratulations because you have finished with uni! Yay! I hope you enjoy your day, do you eat curry cake over there? Mmmmm curry cake, I can only imagine!

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What the Hell?

A bronze of martial arts legend Bruce Lee has been erected in the Bosnian city of Mostar - a day before a second statue of him is unveiled in Hong Kong. The life-size 1.68 metre statue depicts the Chinese-American actor in a typical defensive fighting position. Hong Kong unveils its own statue of the kung-fu star on Sunday, at a ceremony to be attended by Lee's widow Linda. The Mostar unveiling was attended by the ambassadors of China and Germany, both of whom assisted the project. The city witnessed fierce fighting between rival ethnic factions in the 1992-95 war. It remains split with Bosnian Muslims, Croats and Serbs still deeply divided. Lee was chosen by organisers as a symbol of the fight against ethnic divisions.
"We will always be Muslims, Serbs or Croats," said Veselin Gatalo of the youth group Urban Movement Mostar. "But one thing we all have in common is Bruce Lee."
Lee, who died in 1973 at the age of 32, was born in the US but moved to Hong Kong as a child.
The statue there will be unveiled on what would have been the Enter the Dragon star's 65th birthday.

Seriously.... What the hell?

San Nakji for President!

George Best - I Thought He Had Died Already

A brilliant footballer, George Best died way too early. Still, he brought it on himself with a major alcohol problem. To me it is a crime that he was given a liver transplant and then continued his wild ways with more drinking. Still looking at what he acomplished on the football field I think he will be missed. All across Britain this weekend there have been minutes of silence, remembering the footballing genius rather than the poor drunk he became.

I will always remember this quote, "90% of my money was spent on women, cars and drink; the rest I squandered."

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Mr Miyagi.... Nooooooo!!!!

Ok, this is officially the crappiest year ever for all the stars of movie and TV that I love. My all time favourite movie swings between Karate Kid or Karate Kid 2, so Pat Morita's death has hit me pretty hard. It is hard for people of East Asian heritage to make it in Hollywood, so Pat's fame was extra special.

People of East Asian descent have found it tough going in Hollywood. While Pat never managed to reach the heights of stardom in America, he did have steady work and was much loved all over the world. I wonder if the new generation of East Asian actors look at him as a pioneer in the industry? He was forced to play type cast roles, but then again in Hollywood you have to do what you have to do I guess. Pat, I will miss you.

Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita - Born. 28 June 1932 Died. 24 November 2005 RIP Miyagi San

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Birds of Aotearoa - Kea

This is the Kea, a native New Zealand parrot found only in the high mountains of the Southern Alps. They are the favourite bird of many a New Zealander as they are packed full of personality. One of their tricks is to all the rubber from your car in no time flat... Don't take your eyes of them!

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Weekly Animal Pic - Sugar Tail Glider

As much as it pains me to say anything good about Australia, I have to admit they have the best animals. This sugar tail glider, well, glides... It's tail doesn't taste as nice as you would think though...

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Hey Yanks!

Happy Thanksgiving, think of San Nakji as you munch on that yummy pie....




ps. Happy Thanksgiving to you Canucks too, I know I am a week late, but there you go...

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America is a Wacky Country

Where else would they send a couple of turkeys to Disneyland first class?!! I love it. Long may Marshmallow and Yam remain free from the chop, yahoo! Bush has made a difference to these two birds...



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The End...

My favourite show in the world has ended in Korea.... It is quickly heading towards an end on KBS World. How will I cope? In case you hadn't figured it out, TV is my life, my hope... *sob*

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Georgie Pie, I Miss You

Georgie Pie Poem by Jon

There are ghosts in white outfits
They are working the till
There are ghostly pale patrons
they are eating their fill
Eating one dollar pies
Eating one dollar pie
But the dream is long dead
And the ovens are cold
And the grease has been biffed out
And the mince maker sold
Selling one dollar pies
Selling one dollar pies
And the kids that once worked here are now parents, they're old
And the skaters won't skate here, since the
fires are cold
Under broad Waikato skies, on this boulevard
of broken pies.

San Nakji for President!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving (is it one word) fascinates me. The reasons for the holiday seem pretty feeble to me (please don't get upset Americans!), but any excuse to eat heaps of food gets my vote! I think it's strange that it's on a Thursday, Friday's not a holiday right? I feel sorry for all the turkeys over there, although they are a rather tasty animal and cranberries just wouldn't be the same without their juicy meat. The thing that fascinates me the most however are the pies. I, as all New Zealanders, love love love pies. We may be one of the largest consumers of pies in the world (maybe the Aussies give us a run for our money?) and I like to contribute to that. (recently Mrs San Nakji has put paid to my fun however... health and all that kind of crap) I heard that Americans eat pumpkin pies and sweet potato pies. What the hell? I have never heard of such a thing... What do they taste like? Do you eat them during the meal or for dessert? There is so much I long to know about those pies....

San Nakji for President!

Wal-Mart and the End of Variation

I read an article this morning about the new movie by Robert Greenwald called Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. There was an advance screening in New York (I think) and Wal-Mart sent a spy in to get the low down on the movie so that Wal-Mart could launch a counter offensive. We don't have Wal-Mart here, so I can't speak from direct experience, but we do have our own version called The Warehouse which seems to follow similar lines.
My basic read of Wal-Mart is that it is using its' size to push prices down. This is of course good for the consumer. In an example here, CDs cost NZ$32 on average which is about US$22. I don't know how that compares with other countries, Korea is cheaper, but I have always found this on the high side. Along comes The Warehouse and offers new release CDs for NZ$22 or US$15. It is a no brainer for someone like me who loves music, I am of course going to buy from The Warehouse. This is what I see happening with Wal-Mart.
I am not a big follower of the business world, frankly my socialist leanings do not sit well with our capitalist society, but one thing I have learned over the years is that most economies in the world require that citizens spend money. When consumer spending is up, the economy is up. I know this is a little simplistic, but basically that's how it goes. With cheaper prices at The Warehouse or Wal-Mart, this means that people will spend their money there and I have generally found that when people find a bargain they spend more than they otherwise would. So on the one side of the coin these places are good for our economies. On prices, I certainly have no complaint.
I was however thinking the other day that one day all the shops I pass everyday could cease to exist. The Warehouse is now talking about getting into alcohol sales, they already sell some food, and there will come a time where they will sell everything, at cheaper prices.
Watching the trailer for the movie, as well as reading comments on anti-Wal-Mart , I can understand the arguments against these kinds of places. People, such as myself, are always going to go for the lower price. If it were just a few dollars we were talking about, then perhaps our loyalty would not be affected, but a $10 difference on CDs? How can I turn that down. This means that shops near the big store will have to reduce prices to get customers. They obviously don't have the buying power of the big place and having to cut prices means lowering wages and then in the end closing down completely. I have seen this happen at our local mall. Once The Warehouse went in, our local CD shop which had been around for 20 years, went out. Other shops followed and now we are left with The Warehouse and two $2 shops.... Obviously the $2 shops are thriving, a little bit sad. After killing the competition, what is to stop the big store from raising its' prices? After all, when it comes down to it, modern business is all about delivering dividends to their shareholders and higher profits definitely are good for that.
What am I trying to say? Well, this kind of store has good points and bad points. In the long term I can see things getting really boring as everytime we go shopping it will be to the same place, as all the other shops will have gone under. Monopolies generally don't have our best interests at heart and without government intervention do not particularly need to worry about their employees either. In the short term however cheap CDs are good!

San Nakji for President!

Mascot = Failure

Hi guys, I am back after almost a week of absence. The worst thing is that I am now back at work. 6 glorious weeks of freedom and now nothing until next year. Yuck. Anyway, thanks to everyone who commented on the mascot thing. I hoped it would be more popular, but it took a week to get 5 votes. Therefore I have decided in my official capacity at San Nakji's World to can the mascot game. As far as I am concerned, the beaver will stay undefeated. So, it is therefore with sadness that I return to blogging about nothing, much like a famous TV show...

San Nakji for President!

Mascot Playoff - Beaver v Dog (??)

In a shock victory, Anik, our beaver friend, beat out the tough competition fron Huanhuan. In the next round Anik is up against Cobi, a dog like thing from Barcelona, the host of the Olympics in 1992. So my dear readers, you know you want to vote, but who do you want to vote for?





San Nakji for President!

Mascot Playoff

**Voting Ends**

Ok, thanks for the votes, I got my five. Huanhuan wins the battle of the annoying Beijing mascots. I now ask you to choose between the fire mascot of China and Amik, the beaver (?) of Montreal 1976... Which one goes on to the next round?




San Nakji for President!

Olympic Mascot Poll

I thought I would try something new here with the new mascots for the Beijing Olympics being released. I have got pictures of all the mascots there have been so far and my plan is to run a vote. For each mascot I will need a yea or neigh from at least five voters. At the end we will have a run off between the top two or three. For the winner, ultimate glory... what could be better? (I hope this makes sense? If it fails miserably, this will be pulled pretty quickly!)

So here's the first one, Beijing's Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, Nini... Yea or Neigh voters?




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Weekly Animal Pic - Hyena

Hyenas get a bad rap. Maybe that's a curse for all scavengers. Still, we should give them more respect, they are a important part of the food chain.

When I was camping in Kruger Park in South Africa I came the closest to a wild animal (a hyena) possible without having your throat taken out. He (or She, again who knows?) was on one side of the protective wire and I was on the other side. Unlike a zoo however, I was on the inside! It was an amazing experience.

San Nakji for President!

Wisdom from an Old San Nakji

I think it is time to let you know some wisdom that I have gathered over my many years of existence. This is valuable stuff, so I will wait while you get a pen. Don't worry, I won't start without you!

1 - Always carry two poo bags when you walk your dog

2 - You will always win the lottery the week you didn't buy a ticket

3 - Never trust anyone who comes from 'the South'

4 - Always bet against the team San Nakji is supporting

5 - Department stores have the best toilets when venturing to a strange new land, McDonalds' do not

6 - Country music is aligned to the Axis of Evil

7 - It's not like it used to be

8 - Food dropped on the ground is ok if you follow the 20 second rule

9 - Teenagers are closely aligned to country music

10 - San Nakji's World is a hell of a read

Well, that's enough wisdom for you today. Perhaps I will give you some more when I believe you are ready, but only then.

San Nakji for President!

Moving Around

Hi All,

Haven't posted for a while as I have had to move my computer out of its' normal place of honour due to more kitchen renovations... Arrghhh! When will they end?

Hopefully will be back posting tomorrow. I know you miss me!

San Nakji for President!

Countries I have Visited

Create Your Own Visited Country Map

34 countries, or 15% of the world. Still so much of the world to go....

San Nakji for President!

Weekly Animal Pic - Sun Bear

Our local zoo decided a few years ago that it would stop keeping bears. I believe the rationale behind that was that bears needed more land than our zoo could give. They just let the bears they had die of natural causes and didn't replace them. The last bear they had was a sun bear. He (maybe she, who can tell? Well, probably other bears...) was an amazing looking creature and I always enjoyed going and watching him. I was quite sad when he finally died. Still, the best place for bears and other animals is the wild, so I am sure his family is enjoying their freedom.
Sun Bears are from Indonesia and are endangered as are most animals from that part of the world. Deforestation as well as hunting is quickly depleting their numbers. It is hard to have hope for animals such as these when our world is all about money...

San Nakji for President!

It's Just Hard Living in the South

The 'South' I am talking about here is the Southern Hemisphere. My readers from the North have no idea how tough it is here when Christmas comes around. When I was a kid I was always confused, generally I was a confused kid, but specifically I was confused about what I was seeing with my own eyes and what I saw on TV and read in books.
As a small country, our media is not too developed meaning that a lot of our TV, Movies and Books come from other English speaking countries with bigger populations, namely the UK and the US. When it comes to Christmas up there what do you think of first? (If you are a godless heathen like me...) Father Christmas! There he goes riding his sleigh through the snow laughing all the way. Here was the first of many problems. I always wondered how Santa would get his sleigh to New Zealand as it has never snowed in Auckland, not even once, and wasn't about to start snowing in summer when the temperature was about 25 degrees C (that's 77 F for you foreigners!). In fact it worried the hell out of me. The second problem with Santa was that he was seen to go down chimneys. This was a major problem at our house as we didn't have a chimney. I made my mum (that's how we spell it here!) leave windows open all over the house so in case Santa could figure out the sleigh problem, then he would be able to get into our house. Fortunately for my mental wellbeing he always managed to leave me a little something!
Another thing that makes it hard to have Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere is the food. When we see all the great food they eat on Christmas day in the North, we are desparate to do the same. The problem is that it is just so damn hard to eat that much on a day when it doesn't get dark until 10pm and with the sun beating down. You will be happy to know that San Nakji does try his hardest, but usually the amount of food was just too much...
The whole romance and magic portrayed by the damn Northern media made every Kiwi kid dream of a white Christmas, something that was never going to happen...
I didn't see snow until I was 10 years old and even then I had to go all the way to Norway to see it. I still remember with fondness the first time I stood in a street watching and feeling the snow fall around me, this time in Sendai Japan. As the residents of Sendai ran for cover I stood there finally able to feel the magic of winter and snow.
The next time you think to complain of a snowy Christmas season, please think of us poor people in the Southern Hemisphere, forced to go to the beach, forced to BBQ and forced to spend our time outdoors... It's just hard living in the South!

San Nakji for President!

The Grass is Always Greener or 남의 떡이 커보인다

It is getting warmer here in Aotearoa. This is not a place where the desert sands are whipped up in great storms and are thrown through the streets, but it's hot enough for me. Early this morning after a distinct lack of sleep I was shocked out of bed as my barely-able-to-drive grandfather drove up on to my lawn... my poor lawn still recovering from a nasty attack of heavy truck tread-itis. I threw on some clothes, I am still quite fashionable even in my comatose state of near sleep, and rushed down to find out what the hell he had against my lawn. It turned out he had lugged a letter box he had made for Mrs San Nakji and had decided that Thursday morning, 8am, was the perfect time to erect his creation. As I watched his car slowly settle into the grass I felt I had to act quickly. I began digging holes, making concrete and bashing wood like no one on this blue earth has ever done before. The sun beat down mercilessly on me as I toiled. (well not really... but sounds good!) After barely an hour I had finished and I waved as my grandfather drove off down the road dodging cars left and right...
So nine o'clock in the morning and my hands were covered in dirt and I was drenched in sweat. I knew exactly how someone who actually worked for living felt. Well, almost. It was at that time that I wished that it were winter. The ground would have been softer and I wouldn't have been such a sweaty mess. Well no more than normal. The best thing that could have happened however is that it would probably be pouring with rain, meaning the damn letterbox would never have been delivered.
Where's my point? My point is that I was sick of the cold only a few months ago and couldn't wait for summer. Now summer is almost upon us, we have been inflicted by Halloween and worse still by my sweaty, never enough deodorant body. Next I will be bankrupted by Christmas and then I will be dreaming of winter. By the time winter rolls round I will dreaming of Christmas ham. I will never be happy with my current lot and that is my point, not a great one granted, but as good as you will get at this time of night!

San Nakji for President!

This Kid is Relaxed!

Ahh, to be a kid again... Not a care in the world!

San Nakji for President!

뭐 쓸까?

요즘 뭔가를 쓰고 싶은데 쓸 것이 전혀 없는 것 같다. 매일 집에만 있기 때문 인지 이제 재미 있는 것을 볼 기회가 없다. 그래서 한국말로 블로그를 하기로 했다.
오늘 심심해서 국보에 대해서 좀 알아 봤다. 국보란 대한민국의 가장 중요한 유적지, 문화등이다. 예를 들어서 남대문은 보물이고 하회탈도 보물이다. 이런 체계가 원래 일본에서 왔는데 이제 완전한 한국 체계가 된 것 같다. 꼭 필요한 것이 아닌데도 재미는 있지.

더 알고 싶으신 분 이 웹사이트를 방문하십시오.

제1호부터 제10호까지 쓰겠다.

제1호 - 남대문 (숭례문)


제2호 - 원각사지 10층 석탑


제3호 - 북한산 진흥왕 순수비


제4호 - 고달사지부도


제5호 - 법주사 쌍사자 석등


제6호 - 중원 탑평리 7층석탑


제7호 - 봉선 홍경사 비갈


제8호 - 성주사 남혜화상 백월보광탑비


제9호 - 부여 정림사지 5층 석탑


제10호 - 실상사 백장암 삼층석탑


신기한 것들이 많다!

한국말로도 재미 없게 블로그 한다!

산낙지가 대통령으로!

Survived!

Yes folks, I have survived another Halloween. We actually avoided having anyone come to our house, I am not sure how that happened, but it was great. Maybe it was helped by our whole family leaving the house and taking a long walk around the neighbourhood....
As I write this I am watching ESPN and everyone is wearing Halloween costumes. Yes, I see what a great occasion it is over in America and in Australia (I have heard) as well. However here it is just a crappy crappy day. Notice the double usage of crappy? Yup, that means it's more than just crappy. Every kid I saw out on the streets last night were wearing costumes from our local version of Walmart, The Warehouse. The problem with this is that the costumes consist of a black cloak and a North Korean salt mine made cheap plastic mask. A total cost to the child's parents of $5. Where is the imagination I see in America? It exists not in this country. It is all about the lollies, nothing more, nothing less. Please America, take back your Halloween it has no place here with the greedy fat kids of Aotearoa.

San Nakji for President!