How should a man be in 2009?

Dear women,

40 years of feminist movement and with help from Karl Lagerfeld, you managed to finally make me insecure about my masculinity! I watched TV today and I saw the new photos of Karl Lagerfeld's muse Baptiste Giabiconi - IN STILETTOS!

So I went online and found these pics here. Please check them out and tell me what do you think. I really don't know what to make out of this. I know it's art and I can see some deep meaning behind it, nevertheless, it made me think about the modern man.

I was always for the equality of the sexes and I think that the feminist movement was necessary and mostly good. You know I love women (you can read here). But as much as I am happy that modern couples have relationships, that base on equality of the sexes with the female sexual liberation and as much as I appreciate that modern societies strive to give women equal opportunities and wages, I am somehow feeling uneasy about the trend in recent years, where a handsome man is more and more portrayed as feminine, ambiguous, metro. And that's for me the side-effect of the women's struggles for equality in recent decades. I mean, what is the metro trend anyway? It's probably a scheme by the multinational corporations to sell more beauty products to men by making them more feminine (or gay [*not that it's something wrong with being gay]). And the magazines and fashion designers go hand in hand with them. Money (read business) is the easiest way to set a trend. And the consequence of all that are insecure straight men, who are afraid to be who they are and try to be someone they're not. Ok, I am exaggerating a bit and maybe I am not really that isecure because of Giabiconi in heels, but you get my point. There is some truth in my reasoning, isn't it? I mean, sometimes it seems that you (the women) want a guy who's sensitive, thoughtful, soft, but when it comes to picking-up women (and sex), you always chose the hairy animalic muscular macho, who has the swagger with the cool (sometimes even ignorant) attitude [*Ok, again, I am clearly exaggerating, cuz not every woman is like that.] :)
So women, make up your minds! How do you really want us to be in 2009? Because when I see these male models, I sometimes feel like they're from a different planet. They don't reperesent me. I still don't understand why fashion designers use Kens and Barbies to promote their (in my eyes mostly) dubious collections for the modern man and woman. It just doesn't make sense to me. If you sell a product to real people, make real people wear your products. And I really wonder, after they made women insecure (even skinny girls think they're fat!) and after they recently transformed a big portion of men into metros (yes, some of us use creams and make-up [*not me!]), who will be next on their list? Pre-teens? Toddlers?

When will we stop them?

I am big in Korea now!

Ok, that statement is totally exaggerated. Few weeks ago my Korean friend Hwan helped me to submit my blog to the number 1 search engine in South Korea - NAVER. And since I'm sometimes writing about things related to Korea, I thought it would be good to make my blog more visible to Koreans. So, thank you Hwan for helping me out. It's not easy to do it, not only because of the language barrier, but also because Korean websites always want your real identity and the terms and conditions are very rigid. So it's quite hard for foreigners to sign up to various Korean websites. You need a Korean friend and I'm lucky to have one.

The person, who came on my blog (see screencap) was searching for "foreign humour website" and the word 유머 means "humour". I was very amused to be listed among Newyorker.com and Mentalfloss.com, hehe. The rest was only Korean websites. I mean, wth? Search engines are funny :)

저의 웹사이트에 한국 사람들이 찾아올 수 있게 도와주셔서 감사합니다. 그리고 모든 한국 사람들에 대해 언제든지 환영입니다. 하지만 제 블로그에는 유머 이상의 다른 무엇도 많습니다. :-D

I can be insensitive sometimes

I learned today that I can be very insensitive. I know that for a while, I'm trying to work on it, but I still fail sometimes. I have flaws. Many. I commented somewhere and provoked anger. But what hurts me most, is the disappointment I caused to one of my friends. I was asked: Why? Why did you write this in the first place? The answer is: I don't know. :( Sometimes my actions just don't make sense, sometimes I just don't think. Sometimes I'm self-centred in a bad way. I'm learning a lot recetly, but sadly, it's because I'm making mistakes. I have to learn by not making mistakes, but by being careful and thoughtful. I need to find a better way to express myself. Words sting, opinions hurt. Not everybody is always laid back on every issue. I know, because I'm not, too. So it doesn't matter what my intentions were or if I felt that my words are harmless. I should've known better. I hurt a friend, and I'm sorry.

What do you like about me?

My head is empty, no ideas what to blog about. So I'm passing the task to you. No, I don't want you to blog about me (LOL), just comment below and tell me: What do you like about me? Some know me more, some know me less. It doesn't matter, if you know just a tiny bit of me, just write whatever comes to mind. I'm very open to some funny stuff as well :)

Thanks!

[Photo: Source]

I feel like a shrink and a patient at the same time

“I was trying to daydream, but my mind kept wandering.”

(by Stephen Wright)

I feel melancholic. I don't know if I really am, but it's weird. My mood keeps changing and I seem to be in an uncontrollable state where I don't know how the next day will really be. I can't really say that anything bad has happen or that I experienced something very disappointing. Maybe it's my hormones running wild? I have no clue. It's all in my mind and my perception. It's those days where you question your own actions and actions of others, then you overanalyze them and in the end, you know nothing more than you did before. I used to chat with many people lately and I felt like a shrink and a patient at the same time. I'm happy when people come to me and seek my advice or just need a listener. Then again, it triggered a release of my own emotions and I think I shared too much than I usually would. I guess I'm very sensitive lately. That's obvious from the last posts I wrote. I'm totally not into politics or intellectual things now. A while ago, I would be riled at US politics, wondering how come people call Obama a Nazi, while he just tries to reform a healthcare system that's obviously unfair and unsustainable. But now, I'm like whatever. I feel like so many people around me have personal issues and we're all somehow becoming shrinks and patients, we all know how to help others, but we have poor solutions for ourselves. Nevertheless, talking about it helps. Maybe not immediately, but things are certainly better than they were before you pour out your heart. Thanks again to all my recent shrinks and it was also a pleasure to be a shrink for you.

[Photo: Source]

The Kiss

You stood there, waiting. Finally I saw you. Wow. Is that really who you are? I could not believe it. The silhouette of your body in front of the city lights was just so breath-taking and surreal, I thought I was dreaming. Maybe I was. You waved. How could you? It wouldn't be necessary. I spotted you among them, I knew that nobody else would wear that amazing dress you put on just for me. Your long hair was swept by the warm breeze of that temperate night and it made the image of you unforgettably perfect. I lost sight of everything around myself, all the noisy people around me, the cab drivers driving at my pace, shouting something that just didn't make sense to me in that split second I was drawn to you.

And there it was: The moment.

I stopped two meters in front of you, the marvellous silhouette of an angel turned into a gorgeous woman with radiant eyes and a smile that was only meant for me. A smile so honest and pure, it made me feel that everything was right in that moment. I needed to look into your glowing eyes, before we touched. Your embrace felt safe, comfortable. Your lovely head on my chest and your arms wrapped around me felt like the world can stop any minute. My world did. Basking in each other's presence, our eyes met again and I knew it was the right moment to kiss you. My hand went from caressing your hair to gently touching your chin, lifting it slowly. The moment froze. We looked each other in the eyes again, deeply: Goose bumps. I leant toward you, our noses touched tenderly, our lips were almost there. I tilted my head and pulled you closer to me. Our lips brushed, then touched: Explosion. Adrenaline. My heart pounding so hard, I could feel it in my fingertips. It was a soft kiss, yet a long one. It felt like we want to make it last forever. As soon as we became more and more comfortable with each other, we closed our eyes and while the soft kissing sounds were inaudible to passers-by, we felt like we're invisible, too. We were hungry for more. Your lips were so tender, so inviting, I just could not imagine ever letting go or stop coming back. We became silly and our kiss turned into kisses which turned into smiles and relaxing laughs. That was when you said:"You're not a bad kisser". And you smiled almost cheekily. "You're not bad yourself either", I replied and winked. Then I took your sweet little hand, intertwined my fingers with yours and we walked off into the city lights.

It was the next morning when I realized that all our clothes, that were shattered around the room, and especially your panties, that were hanging on the door knob, looked suspiciously like we didn't...

I'm a 20SB, but expiring...

I'm a 20 something blogger like most of you, but expiring. Yes, yes... few more months, 1 more new year fireworks and soon after that I won't be a 20 something blogger anymore. Kind of sad, don't you think? Can I still pose as one of you? I mean, you guys are so awsome. The purpose of this post is to thank you all my bloggy friends (as the Demigoddess would name our breed). So I really really wanna thank all of you, who come here recently in larger numbers than I expected.

Thank you.谢谢. Terima kasih. Salamat po. 고마워.

I won't name here all of you, in fear of forgetting someone, but most of you are on my blogroll, most of you follow me on Twitter, Facebook, some even chat with me on MSN. You guys are the best. I have to say it was quite a tough year for me (death in the family, a break up...). It was a year of many changes, mostly negative. But that's slowly changing for the better. Some days I feel like numb, like I don't have the energy to live. But then one of you dear new friends writes something funny or interesting and it makes my day. I am fully aware that we are not (yet) friends in the real world, but I am most confident that we could be. And who knows, maybe we will be one day. I already met one of you this year, Hwan from Korea, who was my Facebook and MSN friend for nearly 2 years and happened to travel thru my small country recently. I had a great time with him and his friends. And I am sure I could have a fun time with some of you, if one day we happen to be somewhere around the same place at the same time. I know that many of you are relatively far from me, most likely from Britain, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Korea and I don't know if I will really travel to all these places, but we never know, do we?
My thoughts came after reading some of your blogs lately and seeing how close some of you've become. I think blogging does connect people. Because all of us feel compelled to say something, share a piece of ourselves with the world, sometimes maybe too much. But I think we never share everything. And that's great. It's the things we don't say that make us who we are.
I have to say I really learned a lot from you guys, as most of you are very accomplished bloggers (and people). It really helped me many times when I needed comfort, advice or a different perspective on things. But sometimes I just need a dose of humour and you guys really provide the best there is. So, while I'm looking forward how you further decompose every aspect of the lives you live to learn more about humankind and its vulnerabilities, I am also anticipating funny stories, full of irony and wit to crack me up in the morning while I'm sipping my coffee. [Sure, if Nashe and Angel would post every day, I could just read their blogs for the crack-ups, but since they don't, the rest has to take over for them from time to time ;-)]
So this is now the final installment of the I love women series :P The next time you hear from me, it has to be something totally unexpected. [No, not a leaked sex-tape, you perv!] I mean something bold, something thought-provoking, something that will change all of your lives forever!!! Ah, I'm just kidding. Expect the usual. And thanks again :)

What is your take on bloggy friends and online friendships shmenships? Have you been blessed with many new friends? Did you experience any disappointments? I'm looking forward to hear from you.

당신에게 있어 삶이란 어떤 의미인가?

인생의 길은 곡선이다.
끝이 빤히 내다보인다면 무슨 살맛이 나겠는가.
모르기 때문에 살맛이 나는 것이다.
이것이 바로 곡선의 묘미이다.

훌륭한 사람들은 주어진 상황 안에서 포기않고,
자신이 할 수 있는 일을 찾는다.
그들은 직선으로 가려 하지 않고, 여유를 즐긴다.
다시 말하면, 우리는 매분 매초마다 우리를 둘러싸고 있는 것들에 대해
서두를 필요가 없다는 말이다.
이것이 바로 곡선의 묘미이다.

때로는 우리는 천천히 돌아가기도 하고
길을 잃고 헤매기도 한다.
하지만 이러한 과정들은,
목적이 아닌 과정을 충실히 깨닫고 산다면,
그야말로 훌륭한 것이다.

Life is like curve.
Would you be excited if you knew what to expect next?
That's why we are excited about life, because we can never
expect what will happen. That's how the curve of life is.

Great people find their purpose and pursue it under any given
condition. They don't try to go straight, but they take their time.
That means, we don't need to hurry every second to accomplish
all goals quickly. That's how the curve of life is.

Sometimes we make a detour and sometimes we lose our way
and wander. However, all this is okay, if you recognize that most
important in life is the process, not the goal itself.

[KOREAN and Eng. and the photo by Kim Tae-Hwan, his blog Awsome Spots of Korea]

Note by MKL: 만약 한국분이시라면, 제 블로그에 덧글도 좀 달아주세요.
전 한국을 사랑하거든요 ^^ 고맙습니다!

Love is...

My previous post made me a little sentimental. It made me think about love, about the various situations I felt love and I shared love... read through and share with me some of your memorable moments.

Love is giving and recieving. Love is watching him sleep. Love is making him coffee. Love is playing games on the PSP and competing with him. Love is the satisfaction you feel when you see how he came. Love is when you share a cup of noodles. Love is when you watch a movie on a laptop together. Love is the 68 he gives you. Love is the hug you give him before he goes to work. Love is when you hold him from behind when he puts on his shirt. Love is holding hands. Love is a smile he gives you when he returns home. Love is kissing his cheek when he's watching TV. Love is caressing his hair. Love is telling him he's handsome. Love is when he buys tortillias chips for you. Love is whispering "I love you baby" in his ear. Love is sleeping side by side. Love is being loved. Love is the only reason to live.

Love is giving and recieving. Love is watching her sleep. Love is making her coffee. Love is playing games on the PSP and competing with her. Love is the satisfaction you feel when you see how she came. Love is when you share a cup of noodles. Love is when you watch a movie on a laptop together. Love is the 68 she gives you. Love is the hug you give her before she goes to work. Love is when you hold her from behind when she puts on her make-up. Love is holding hands. Love is a smile she gives you when she returns home. Love is kissing her cheek when she's watching TV. Love is caressing her hair. Love is telling her she's cute. Love is when she buys cupcakes for you. Love is whispering "I love you baby" in her ear. Love is sleeping side by side. Love is being loved. Love is the only reason to live.

What is love for you?

She loves my blog!

I got an email today and I almost wouldn't notice it, because it was in my spam folder. And yeah, it does belong there. I just wonder how they found out my email adress, because I didn't publish it on my blog or Blogger profile. These spammers are becoming more and more smart and try to lure you to their website by flattering you. Apparently they succeeded with me, because I did check the site, hehe. Here's the email:

If you wonder what kind of website it was, I'll tell you: They are selling jerseys. And no, your website is not worthy to be linked from my blog. Thanks but no thanks, "Kathy".

Why I love and adore women

Women are wiser than men because they know less and understand more.
(by James Thurber)

Women in my childhood

I love and adore women. I can really say I am blessed (or cursed) by and with women. I have two sisters and a very awsome mom, who is more like a friend than a mother. That goes back to my childhood. I was always closer to her than to my dad. When they divorced (I was 7 years old), I had to live with my father in town and went to school there, while my sisters moved to the countryside with my mom. I had a very tough time with him. Especially the adolescent years were bad. My father used to beat me and humiliate me and his (at that time new) girlfriend was not very nice to me either. I've been totally shy during my early teen years and had very low self esteem. At the age 16, I decided to run away. I planned it for a long time, but many times my atempts failed, because my father intimidated me. But I eventually fled and it was the best thing I ever did. Of course my father was furious, but I didn't care anymore. I moved into a big old house with 3 women. Life was so much different from then on. Of course, there were problems, but nevertheless, I learned so much for my whole life. I have to say I enjoyed being the only male among them. That had a big influence on my life after, because I started to hang out with girls more than boys. In secondary school, all my best friends were girls and I learned even more about women during that time. I just connected better with them. It seemed like whenever I started a friendship with a guy, I eventually got disappointed. That happened a lot of times when I was in my secondary school. These were shallow guys, talking dirty, looking down on women, objectifying them or just rambling about irrelevant things that didn't interest me.

Women in my adulthood

During my time at the university, I also had many female friends. I studied outside my hometown and I was a bit lost in the big city: Most of my schoolmates came from all over the country and I didn't really connect well with many. But the few among them were all women. Also during this time, I met my first big love. It was probably the strongest feeling I ever felt for someone, which is usually the case with every first love. But most of these relationships fail and mine wa no exception: The girl crushed my heart by cheating on me and breaking up. That was the moment when I realized that women don't fumble when it's over. Once they make up their mind - it's over. At that time it was a big shock for me and I had a pretty rough time picking up the pieces of my shattered heart. It completely changed my life: It made me travel and led me to Asia, to my surprise. I dated 2 girls from that part of the world. I thought that my last one, a Chinese Malaysian, will be the one. When I met her, it was a big surprise for me (or maybe it wasn't?) when she told me she had 7 sisters! Seven! At that moment, I didn't know wheather it was a curse or a blessing for me. But when I got to know all of them, I really felt blessed. I connected with all of them very well and they really loved me. And all my previous experiences came in very handy. Yet... it wasn't enough to keep the relationship. Honestly, we seldom fought, we had lot's of fun moments, but we just weren't right for each other. Small things added up to the final break up. Anyway, I really treasure the whole experience and not only understand women better, I also had the privilege to peek into the world of Asian women, who subsequently became another big interest for me (as you can sense on my blog). And now I am here, single again, blogging, trying to figure out what to do in my life, planning my next steps. And I am blessed again. I met some great people, who follow my blog. And yes, it is no wonder, most of them are women. I think one can never learn enough about women, that's why I love to read your blogs, ladies... and love to drop some weird comments sometimes, hehe. Forgive me, please ;)

Women, my conclusions

For me, almost every woman is a treasure. When you unlock that box, you will get pearls and jewels, a beauty so radiant, that you won't ever forget. I really cherish the unforgettable moments I had with the women I adored. And it's not just the amazing skin-on-skin moments that nearly made me lose my mind, no, it's the times when I layed in bed and watched a movie and she layed on my chest. It's the time when I watched over her when she was sleeping and kissed her on the forhead and she didn't even know. It's the time when I teased her, made her laugh, saw the glow of happiness in her eyes. It's the time when I walked with her hand in hand, it's the kisses good-bye, the last hugs, tears... I've been thru so many kinds of emotions with women, that also includes the arguments, the sulking, the break-ups and the pain they induced. Nevertheless, the good predominates over everything else. There's nothing more satisfying than seeing a girl happy and making her happy. I've seen this, from very close to afar. And that's something that makes me really confident: Even though my relationships failed, I know I can make a woman happy. I can! Because I used to and I will be doing it once again. I think I understand women as much as a man can, because you can never fully understand a woman, of course. That's why I always try to give them the best I can, because I believe in what Oscar Wilde said so brilliantly: “How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being.” So, to all of you ladies out there, please have a high standard when it comes to guys, because you deserve the best: Only the best is good enough for you.

Han Chae-i, Korean model

Han Chae-i [한채이], a South Korean model. Read more about her here.

“You don't love a woman because she is beautiful,
but she is beautiful because you love her”

[Tiny.link: http://tinyurl.com/MKLsChaei]
[Photo: Source]

Up!

I am now nearly finished with renovating our old house and it really looks much better now. I feel like finally something's been accomplished and that I can move on to new challenges. I feel like life will be good to me. I had similar feelings after my graduation and with my ex, but it didn't work out the way I expected. So you may ask, what makes me sure, that it will be any different now? Well, I'm positive. My goals are not set for the next few months, but for the next few years. I know things will change for the better. I won't be single forever. And I hope my career will advance further, too. This recession will be over soon. All I know is, it can't get worse.

It's going up! And I'm feeling confident. Yay. How about you?

[Photo: Source]

Recent news about Lee Hyori!

I found some recent news about sexy diva Lee Hyori, my favorite Korean singer. She's now 31 years young and amid of producing her 4th album, that is set for release in 2010, but might be released this October 2009. We shall see. Here's some recent statements she gave, which show that she really matured.

About managing her sexy body: “Usually 2 to 3 days before a photoshooting, I do an urgent diet. Controlling what I eat and exercising are must-dos. I only need to be a little more careful, my body is the type that changes quickly. It’s a body very suitable for an entertainer.”

About her real character: “I’m a little different from the cool image that I have in front of cameras. In front of someone that I don’t know, I don’t say much [...] Talking about things that I regret doing because I’m too timid: I can’t say no, if somebody asks me to borrow him some money. That’s why a lot money didn’t come back.” [source]

About rumours she were a Filipina: “When I first debuted, my skin color was dark and there was an article that was saying I was an illegal Filipino immigrant. Because of that article, a lot of rumors started... The paparazzi photographed me a lot and I was hurt because of that... but now after 10 years, those rumors don't bother me anymore.”

About being 31 years young: “I've thrown away all previous constrictions. Now that I'm in my 30s, I don't rely on or obsess over a boyfriend. When I was in my 20s, all I cared about was cars, cellphones and others, but no more. In the past when I broke up with someone I felt like dying, but now its' much easier for me to accept separation.” [source]

Very interesting stuff from Hyori. I feel like the older she gets, the more attractive she becomes. She's really incredible. Someone who followed her biography and discography and someone who loves her music, will agree with me: Lee Hyori is an incredible woman!

[Exceptional women][My HYORI page][Photo: Source]

How much is your blog worth?

I came across this interesting website, that tells you how much is a website worth (in USD). It's called WEB VALUER. I evaluated my site just for fun and I was a bit surprised, because I expected a much lower number for my blog. Here's my result:

My site is worth
$37,448

Your website value?

It says my page rank is 7 and that I have 150 daily pageviews. I think this is sort of true. Since my site is fairly new, I'm quite surprised at the result. So what now? Should I sell my blog and buy a Mercedes? LOL.

And because I am a very curious guy, I decided to evaluate some of the blogs I like and follow. Many of you became dear friends. So, this list is for you. If you click on the money-link near your blog's name, you will see all the details and specifics. So click on it.

Let's see among my dearest bloggers, how much are their blogs worth, who's top and who's not. Here's the list including my own blog:

01 $60,644.0 Marina's Blogariffic (Pagerank 5, 450 daily pageviews)
02 $49,264.4 Extractions of a Desoriented Mind (Pagerank 2, 300 daily pv.)
03 $48,772.4 SHE in China (Pagerank 0, 300 daily pageviews)
04 $41,672.6 This is The Mad Style (Pagerank 3, 300 daily pageviews)
05 $37,448.0 My Kafkaesque Life (Pagerank 7, 150 daily pageviews)
06 $33,300.8 Through Eyes From Afar (Pagerank 1, 150 daily pageviews)
07 $31,177.1 Insomniac Lolita (Pagerank 0, 150 daily pageviews)
08 $24,865.1 Junjie's China Blog (Pagerank 0, 150 daily visitors)
09 $15,742.7 Lost... in Translation (Pagerank 0, 10 daily pageviews)
10 $14,155.4 A Misspent Life (Pagerank 3, 150 daily pageviews)
11 $13,907.3 When He Kisses Her... (Pagerank 2, 150 daily pageviews)
12 $13,029.7 As Zewt As It Gets [from RM to US$] (Pagerank 4, 300 daily pv.)
13 $12,782.3 Scary Azeri in Suburbs (Pagerank 4, 150 daily pageviews)
14 $10,797.1 Memory That Wasn't Mine [from SG$ to US$] (Pagerank 1, 10 daily pv.)
15 $9,845.3 Woodnotwood (Pagerank 4, 10 daily pageviews)
16 $9,067.7 The Demigodess (Pagerank 3, 10 daily pageviews)
17 $8,912.9 The World With No Together (Pagerank 0, 10 daily pageviews)
18 $5,748.2 Love and Debauchery* (Pagerank 0, 10 daily pageviews)
19 $4,732.4 Where Did All The Pecans Go? (Pagerank 7, 10 daily pageviews)
20 $4,576.1 the BLOGETTE (Pagerank 0, 10 daily pageviews)
21 $2,440.4 Tales Over Coffee (Pagerank 0, 10 daily pageviews)
22 $2,277.8 Trifledreamz (Pagerank 7, 10 daily pageviews)

*the blogspot URL

To compare 2 celeb bloggers:

Dawn Yang Clapbangkiss $235,835 (Pagerank 4, 1200 daily visitors),
Kenny Sia $1.47 Million (Pagerank 3 , 11000 daily visitors)

Ok, I was surprised to see Marina on top, but then again, she has an excellent blog and she's a very smart blogger that attracts many people. I guess it was the same surprise to see my blog as high. I checked the details and saw that I have a very good web recognition (guess my SEO is good) and the value metric, plus more people follow and comment on my blog recently and the linking on Twitter helped big time. I'm not surprised that Jerine is as high, I thought it may be even higher. Her blog is excellent and I knew she was Google page rank 3, so her result makes sense. I was expecting Zewt, Nashe and Tales a bit higher in the rank with a bigger value, but then again, their blogs are good anyway. I guess they cater to a certain number of people who follow them and not so much to the broader mass of people from all over. So, don't be disappointed, k? Everyone among you on the list has very good blogs and I hope you don't sell yourselves out. :)

Now keep on blogging. I need something to read with my morning coffee :)

Asian women, Western men: Conclusions

It all started when fellow blogger Jerine and I discussed this issue a while ago. I decided to write a post about it, but I was just talking about one part of this complex issue: (1) Are Asian women really attracted to Western men? There's quite many comments on that post, check them out. After that Jerine wrote a whole series on her blog and I think she really comprehensive, discussing it from every angle. Her last post was a summary of her previous posts and it's titled (2) Why white dudes like to date Asian chicks? You should read it, as well as her other posts, if your interested in this topic.
Then I came across STOMP and saw that they have a whole bunch of authors writing about the same topic. One of them was Dawn Yang and I have to say I was really impressed. She wrote an excellent post in the series and also posted it on her blog, which got her a lot of comments, check it here: (3) Caucasian male + asian female = the perfect match? She went thru all aspects very thoroughly and probably wrote the best piece I ever read on this issue. I couldn't recommend it more to you!
I found another blog post by a Western expat in China, that's worthy to read (4) In Defense of The Old Foreign Dudes with the Hot Young Asian Girls - Cut 'Em Some Slack... The author focuses only on this special kind of interracial relationship. Good read.

And if there shall be more on the whole issue, I will link to it.

[Photo: Source]

Madonna showed us the finger!

Madonna decided to cancel her concert in Slovenia

Madonna was supposed to have a concert in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on the 20th August. Guess what? She could not sell out the place! Out of 15.000 tickets, only 7000 were sold to date. So she announced yesterday, that the gig was canceled due to "unexpected logistical problems." Hahaha. What a lame excuse. They even made jokes on German TV about her, that she's too old to attract Slovenians to come on her concert. There's some truth in it. And I have to add something to our defence: When our best band Siddharta plays an open air concert, it's always sold out. Few years ago, they had 30.000 people on a gig, a record number so far for Slovenia (we're a small country of only 2 million people). We're just very picky when it comes to music. And we don't fall for those old stars now coming to our country, but when they were younger and at their peak of popularity, they didn't care about us. There are many jokes about this cancellation circulating here and most of the people are happy that she won't perform. We're weird. I guess some other nations would go nuts, if she had a concert there.

What do you think? Would you go on a Madonna concert now?

[Photo: Source]

Guest Blogger: George W. Bush

Hello fellow friends and readers of My Kafkaesque Life. It's the ex prezident the of USA, George W. Bush, hehe. I am writing instead of MKL today. Thank you, MKL, for giving me the chance to be the 2nd guest blogger on your respectful site, hehe.

I want to talk about current events around the world and my personal life in the past week. I went to the sawna with my best buddy John McCain, hehe. Check the photo here. Some people there were really buffled. They thought we're like BFF, because we got along so well. He told me that when he looks in the mirrow, he sees my face. We're like brothers. I like him, he's a funny guy. His demeaning jokes about women crack me up, hehe. Anyway, besides the sawna with Mac, I've been pretty busy. I went to the circus with my dad. I loved the monkey, hehe. Dad bought me a lolly pop (I won't tell you the flavour, but it was definitely a sugar overdose, hehe).
Yesterday I went to the movies with my wife Laura. We watched 'Hangover'. It really cracked me up. I thought I'm watching the old me from 20 years ago. but Laura didn't like it. She frowned the whole way back home and pulled my ear and scolded me. That damn dry pretzel (pardon my French) got me choking while I was laughing, so people complained behind me. What could I do? It was hilarious!
Since I used to be a politishan, MKL asked me to tell you something about the current political situation. Well, I don't know, if I wanna get sick in the future, since our hospitals will be socialized. I'm for small government. I only give money to big business. The money should trickle down to the rest. It worked until the system collapsed. I still don't know why it happened. I must ask Dick, he's smart. He has "the brains for mass destruction", hehe. And his riffle is no joke (no pun intended).
While I'm writing this, I'm trying to find prezident Obama's birth sertificate on Google. I don't know what to think, even if the republican governor of Hawaii says it's a valid Hawaii state birth sertificate, you know, republicans lie! So, I don't really know what to believe. But I've just retired recently and I'm writing my memoirs and watching reruns of Golden Girls. So I don't have the time to speculate about these matters, I let others decide. I'm not the decider anymore.
Oh, I'm feeling great today! Thank you MKL for this opportunity to write a little something on your well-respected blog.

And thank you, dear readers of MKL. I may write a regular column on this blog from now on.

43rd Prezident of USA, George W. Bush

[NOTE by MKL: I don't think so.]

[Photo: Source]

Birther jokes are funny, because Birthers are stupid.

Do you wanna hear some funny Birther jokes? [What is a Birther?] I have a small collection on my blog. You can read them in this post: Dear white fundamentalist Americans. The jokes are below the video. I'm writing this post, because a real Birther commented on my blog, you can read his comment here. And he didn't disappoint me. I expected him to be dumb, racist and angry. And guess what? He was! :) I'm really honored that my blog was visited by the dumbest of our kind. Initially I thought that Birthers can't be true. These people are made up, so that the liberals have some material for jokes. Oops. I was proven wrong. They exist and they are very angry and damn serious. I can really just laugh about these people, but I do hope that the US secret service lives up to its task, because the danger is real. Someone as stupid as a Birther can be really dangerous. Let's hope that they'll only be 'taken seriously' in jokes :)

Barack Obama, best president since FDR. We want change.

[Photo: Source]

I have a crazy stalker!

Can you imagine someone on another blog talking shit about you while hiding in anonymity?

That's happening to me lately. And he (or maybe there's more people) is posting some lies about me, some supposed information about me and using somebody else's blog as his homepage. And of course he has a big mouth while hiding in anonymity. What a moron. What is obvious, though, he went thru my whole blog and he thinks he knows me and what not. He's a crazy stalker!

Then I saw on my Fidjit, that some people are coming here from a 'certain' blog lately. I checked and saw that somebody wants to stir up controversy again (probably the same stalker!) by commenting trash and linking to my blog. I'm like are these people serious? All I can say is that I feel pity for you, whoever you are.

And now I'm already starting to get comments on a certain post I wrote. I tell you something: I won't publish your garbage, so don't even try. This is the last time I am writing about this, because I won't feed into another controversy, I will just ignore you and continue blogging and commenting on various blogs like I used to.

ANOUNCEMENT: And there's another thing I will do. I have many posts to publish, but I'll publish them later some time. I think it's better to post like once in 2 or 3 days instead of daily or more posts at once. Of course, if I feel the urge to write something instantly, I'll do that. This is just because now that I'm having so many blogs in my reader, I realized that if someone posts every day, you just can't follow or respond to every post, especially if you are busy. Or you may just browse thru or read sloppy. Besides, I have a lot to do lately, so this serves me well.

Happy blogging everybody. See ya.

[Photo: Source]

A flash of memory

I'm always looking back. I'm this type of a person who does that. I usually look few months ahead, but at the same time, I think about how it was months or even years ago. I like memories. I am hooked on memories. Mostly on good ones. I had a pretty tough childhood and maybe 10 years ago, I would've dwelled on that horrible period of my life all the time. But now, I'm mostly thinking about the past few years, from 2004 to now. It was a huge break in my life. I started to travel to Asia. My love life was flipped upside down and now nothing seems to be like it was in 2004. So many changes in 5 years: Ten times more than the previous 25 years. Or maybe there wasn't that many changes, but I just think they had a bigger impact on the current me. And this 2009 is really like a new turning point. I feel things will be once again so much different than they were between 2004 and 2009. A new chapter in my life, I guess. But I'm still looking back. Not all the time and not analyzing. Don't you have sometimes a sudden unexpected flash of memory literally infront of your eyes? Like something reminds you of a special occasion from the past? I have many lately. Especially about people who were so dear and close to me, who were a big part of my life, but were at one point abruptly disappearing from it. It can sting. It can burn. It can really hurt. But I try to stop it before it becomes bigger. I usually succeed and come back to present very quickly. And then I pretend like it never happened and put myself into some work, where my brain is switched off. I guess that's just how some of us tick.

[Photo: Source]

Laura and Euna are free!

Ok, I need to let it out! I've been blogging about this case ever since it started few months ago. I was really so touched by this few months ago, that I felt I need to write something. These two lovely Asian American women, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, two journalists, who were snatched by the North Korean border and sentenced to 12 years of gulag, are finally free! Thank you, president Clinton and whoever was behind this, probably vice president Gore and president Obama and many others. I hope this is a start of better relations between Norh Korea and USA and that the tensions ease a little. Not only because I want to go to Korea next year, it's because the whole world gains from peace. I hope things really improve. I can't wait to hear the first words from Laura and Euna about their ordeal and their stay in Pyongyang. I want to see how they reunite with their families and I want to hear what is their take on the North Korea-USA relations. It is truly a happy day. And on top of it, it's president Obama's birthday. I'm sure the women will feel like they are born again. It's just unbelievable. Let's hope they reach safely in USA.

[Photo: Source]

Bill Clinton met with Kim Jong-il

My blog recieved this exclusive photo of Bill Clinton, who visited North Korea today. He met with Kim Jong-il, the dear leader, as this photo shows (sent by a friend from Pyongyang). The two statesmen discussed various issues, from diets to women to American beef. Apparently Kim Jong-il rejected the import of American beef, because he feared riots on the streets of Pyongyang. Apart from these differences, the two wise men got along very well. It is rumoured, that Kim Jong-il will be on the guest list of Bill's barbecue party in Arkansas, that is set for September. The tensions between the two military superpowers seem to be easing up.

Let's hope Laura and Euna can return home safely!

[Photshopped by me]

Aww, my first blog award, thanks.

"I've wanted more than anything to have your respect! The first time I didn't feel it, but this time I feel it, and I can't deny the fact that you like me!"

Oscar speech by Sally Field, 1984

I admit! I have been an Ebenizer Scrooge when it came to blog awards. I made fun of them just recently. And now... so unexpected, my dear fellow blogger friend Carina Blogarina told me that there's an award waiting for me on her blog. I was surprised :) Well, Zewt once commented that "blog awards give you a sense of celebrity-ness." But for me it's just a small token of appreciation by a fellow blogger. We're all happy for some recognition, right? And I am glad that I recieved it from the super cute and sassy Norwegian bloggete Carina Blogarina. I am really honored (no kidding).

Mange mange takk, Carina Blogarina ;-)

Ok, now I need to chose someone to pass this award to. Let me think. I need to pick someone who really has an adorable blog. I checked few blogs and I think I want to give it to... ta daaah: The Demigoddess! She's a smart and beautiful Filipina with a blog I really love to read, although I discovered her recently. Plus she's got many awards already and seem to appreciate them, so I hope she accepts this award from me, because I think her blog is really lovely and adorable. ;-)

What I learned from my Korean friends

Few days ago, when I was a tour guide to four Koreans (read here and here), who were backpacking across Europe, I got a lot of information on their country, the people and life there and on various other things. Let me share some of the things my Korean friends told me and also some of my personal impressions on Koreans:

1. Koreans seem to be very polite, a bit reserved, yet friendly (my impression).
2. They get along very well in groups (my impression).
3. Korean girls are "hard to handle", my friends say. I wonder.
4. Korean girls supposedly want to be treated like princesses all the time, I've been told.
5. Korean girls may not be as loyal as their reputation is, my friends say.
6. Many Westerners date Korean girls.
7. It's hard to get a job in Korea: You need like 50 interviews, I've been told.
8. Korean food is mostly spicy.
9. Koreans love soju, their national drink.
10. American military is not very liked in S. Korea, but my friends say if it was gone, S. Korea couldn't defend itself.
11. Koreans are crazy about cell phones and cameras (my impression).
12. Life in S. Korea is very fast-paced, many Koreans don't find time to relax.
13. Koreans study very hard and have many exams.
14. Koreans drive on the right side of the road (unlike UK and Japan).
15. Speed limit on Korean highways is 110km/h.

This is the info I got so far. I knew some of these things, but some other were new to me. I got a better picture, because the info came first hand. It's so different than reading something on a Korea-themed blog or article. Anyhow, I'm keen on learning more about Korea, because I was always interested in it, especially when few years ago I started to watch Kim Ki-duk's movies and later started to like Lee Hyo-ri.
After my Korean friends left my country, two of them offered me to go to Tokyo with me. We had a discussion where I want to travel and I said I wish I could see both: Seoul and Tokyo. If I had company, that would be so much better. And my friend, Hwan, is really a good planer. I'd totally trust him, if he organized a trip to Tokyo (from Seoul). I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope I will make it at least to Korea, my newest passion.

[Photo of Han Chae-i by Clemens 2009: Source]

Guest blogger: Misha

Hello fellow friends and readers of My Kafkaesque Life. It's Misha, MKL's cat. I am writing instead of MKL today. Thank you, MKL, for giving me the chance to be the 2nd guest blogger on your respectful site.

I must add, I have hired a human, who translates my cat language to English. I want to share a little about my life and the current events. First I have to give a warm meeyow to all new MKL readers. I was told that there's so many new ones who come here and comment. Sometimes when I sleep near MKL, I see how he's blogging hard and he's always happy to get some appreciation for his effort by your comments. Many times he takes a small break and comes to me and rubs my belly. I really enjoy that. But I don't like when he kisses me. I don't understand the concept of kissing. Sniffing, yes. But kissing? It just makes my fur wet. Eew. Anyway, so MKL told me that lately there's so many awsome bloggers out there. So he asked me to be a guest blogger and now that I had the chance to check the blogosphere, I know that he was right. He said I should send some warm meeyow-wishes to all the awsome bloggers out there. Meeyow, my friends! I hope you keep coming on this blog, so that my master MKL will always be happy, ok? ^^
It's so hot these days. So I love to sneak into MKL's room, because it's cold and I can sleep there and nobody bothers me... Except MKL. But I like it. Sometimes I also snuggle with him... Oh, it's so nice to be a cat! And I have to tell you, a week ago, he bought Whiskas for me! Can you imagine? A small tin that cost 1,30€. Whiskas is the Mercedes among cat food. It had the salmon flavor. Me and my mummy were eating it like there's no tomorrow, but MKL's sister complained that the whole house smelled like salmon. I don't know why the big fuss. I love salmon. MKL didn't smell anything either. Some humans are so sensitive. I also have a very sensitive nose, but I never complain about human smells, but I could! Hmph! I think I'm gonna end this now. I heard something in the bush outside. It might be a mouse! Yummilicious!

Was nice to be a guest blogger today. Who knows I might become a regular writer here.

A long sweet meeyow from Misha

[NOTE by MKL: I don't think so.]

This is me after blogging. That noise in the bush was my mummy.
I didn't catch any mice today :( So I went to rest on bed and purr.

[Photo by MKL]

Out of luck this year! Why?

Today I was remembering this year's Chinese new year celebrations. I was thinking how many things I did to have a happy lucky year:

- I wore a red shirt.
- I attended the reunion dinner
- I visited grandma the second day
- I visited friends, always brought 2 oranges
- I said 农历新年 to tons of people
- I recieved a lot of angpau (red packages)
- I went to many temples
- I threw noodles in the air, ate the fortune fish
- I bought many suvenirs like on the pic, it's the Chinese sign fú 福 and it means 'good fortune'



Ok, to be honest, these are the things I didn't do:

- I didn't touch a fortune fish at a temple
- I didn't stroke a Buddha's belly at a temple
- I didn't pray at the temple

But nevertheless, did I deserve the misfortune I have now and all the bad things that happened this year to me? I really don't know, if all these things one does for good luck really work. This is a list of the bad things that happened to me this year so far:

- My grandpa died before my return from Malaysia
- My 11 years old cat died before my return from Malaysia
- A 40 years old willow infront of our house fell due to heavy snow
- My uncle caused a lot of stress after grandpa's death, inheritance issues
- My ex broke up, even though 2 months ago we seemed to be happy
- Severe hayfever disabled me for 3 months, on top I got heavy flu
- Unexpected heavy hail put a lot of dents on my car's bonnet
- Car's battery ran out, needed few days to fix
- Crazy weather, whole May and June was raining
- Our newborn kitten was killed by a vicious unknown tom-cat
- A lightning nearly missed our house, but it destroyed our phone line,
no internet 8 days

That's why I am very curious: Am I cursed? Did I ran out of luck? I was never a fan of celebrations, but for the first time, I was so happy to be part of one. It was Chinese new year. I know I will be in the mood of celabrating it next year, even I probably won't be around Chinese people. I have fond memories of this year's celabrations. And even if it's not a happy year for me, I will try to keep the good memories up and not dwell on the bad. I think now I have another 6 months until the next Chinese new year. Who knows, maybe my luck will improve. Maybe good things will start happening to me. I hope so. And I wish you, dear reader, the same!

[Photo by MKL]

Lack of (s)ex makes me emo!

I'm so emo lately. I don't know why. I don't even have ideas to blog about. I mean to write my own original stuff. Things piss me off. People piss me off. Some people.

I was thinking about my ex a lot. She messages me sometimes, but everytime she does, it makes me even more unhappy. It's just a simple "hi, how are you" message. I struggle to reply and usually it's something very shallow. I just do it because I don't want to get another message that will ask me why I stopped replying. I've been with this girl over 2 years. We've had a long distance relationship, but we had plans, dreams, expectations. But it just didn't work. I'm almost 3 months single now and I feel like crap. If she'd ask me back, I couldn't. If someone new hit on me, I couldn't. I don't even know, if some hottie offered me a one-night-stand, if I'd want to do it. I just don't know why am I in this state with no energy. I've been in relationships for almost 7 years in a row. It wore me out. I'll be 30 next year and I feel like love and relationship will become rational matters for me. I don't believe in romantic love for a while already. Romantic means unreal for me. It means you want to see the person the way he/she is not. Until you realize that... and get disappointed. That's why I wonder how will my next relationship be, if I take a rational approach. Is it even possible? Or will I be in a different state and back to my roots of being a highly emotional guy, that spreads honey around the girl's mouth and makes her melt? Someone who puts his whole heart into something? I don't know and I guess you will be the first one to know here. I'm just so emo. Someone give me a jab or something. Or just kick my ass. My sister has a new boyfriend 2 months after she broke up with the ex. So what am I waiting for? I donno leh...