Life, the universe, and nothing....

Had a new job offer in Ansan, one hour outside Seoul on the Blue Line subway (line #4). So that's where I am, living in a studio apartment (in Chicago, it'd be called an "efficiency") just a few blocks from work and a short walk from the subway station, my bank, and my phone company. I have cable & internet in my apt., and a fridge & stove & washing machine. Pretty nice setup. On the first floor of the building I work in is a bakery, a small restaurant, and a 7-11. And there's another bakery right across the street! Also across the street is a bar (known as a "hof" in Korea) where I had some pretty excellent BBQ ribs after work tonight. I also just found out a really good friend of mine from Singapore is living in Ansan, so she and I will meet up on Thursday.

Later,
Rick

currently on my iPod: Modern Times, by Bob Dylan

Updates from Seoul

A month in Korea

Wow, time flies... seems like just the other day I was getting dropped off at O'Hare. I remember being really nervous about my flight for no reason, like was my ticket actually there at the Korean Air counter? etc. Stupid stuff like that. Some guy sat next to me on the plane because there was a seat open, no other reason, even though he had his own assigned seat and I kept wishing he would go back to his seat. Never happened. At least some of the food was OK - they served bibimbap, kind of a Korean vegetable salad (cucumbers, radish, cabbage, carrots, and sometimes wild mountain greens) mixed with rice and a spicy sauce. Very delicious and authentic, especially for an airplane meal. The dinner was horrible, frozen ravioli drowned in tomato paste and topped with an American frozen mixed veggie assortment, made in Chicago and completely inedible. But served with an amazing tiramisu, I still don't know how they pulled that off.

I did get to watch a lot of movies on the seat-back movie screen in front of me - Weatherman, Fun With Dick & Jane, Narnia, etc. I also watched a really good Korean movie called "Typhoon" -the first half concerned this guy who sees his family die during the Korean war and he grows up to hate South Korea and the US. In the second half it degenerates into a Bond-style action film where he escapes from North Korea and threatens to unleash a million ballons filled with some pretty dangerous stuff over Seoul during a major storm. It's up to, like, one guy, to stop him, a recently graduated lieutenant in the South's army.

When I got to Seoul I had to go through immigration, customs, etc. and then change dollars to won and find my bus, since there was no-one from the school there to meet me. Then it was an hour and a half by bus to where the school was, through terrible traffic backed up along the Han River. Tons of extremely modern apartments, cars, houses, shopping complexes, government buildings - Seoul is the world's 5th largest city and the sheer size of it just boggles the mind. There are over 10 million people in the city, where as Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea only has 2 million. Everyone here is pretty well dressed and they all have really fancy cell phones. Keep in mind that 2 of the world's largest cell phone manufacturers, Samsung and LG, are based here. There are tons of small restaurants, stores, street vendors, open-air markets, and the largest number of bars, nightclubs and internet cafes I've ever seen. The subway is really clean, fast and efficient and so are the taxis and buses. Seoul is also really safe - women walk down dark alleys here at 3 in the morning with no problem at all.

My school is all right, I'm just learning all the ropes. There really is a lot to take in at first, but I'm getting the hang of it all. I know as soon as I have the whole system memorized, it'll all change! So I shouldn't get too comfortable. I teach all age levels, from my first class at 3 p.m. of Kindergarten age children to my last one at 9 pm of high school age. I have some great coworkers: Kim (from Toronto), Lyle (North Dakota), Scott (UK), Les (Seattle), Mike, Charlie, Will (still not sure where they're from), plus my Korean coworkers Marty, Rose, Sienna, Sally, Lucy, Esther, Michelle, Anna, Monica, and a few more.

On the weekends I like to check out some areas of the city I haven't seen yet - like Apgujeong, kind of Seoul's answer to Rodeo Drive or Michigan Avenue, with posh boutiques (Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton) and some totally bizarre pet stores, where your dog can get a manicure/pedicure, shop for designer doggie clothes and get specially baked doggie treats for the discerning pooch. This weekend I'm going to an arts festival near Hongik Univerity, with some modern and traditional art and music presented entirely from the perspective of women. Should be interesting.

I really enjoy Seoul, today I spent about 4 hours in this really cool coffee shop talking with a friend and drinking jasmine tea. Afterwards we went and had some really good Vietnamese noodles. Both the coffee shop and the Vietnamese place I discovered completely by accident, and that's a cool thing about Seoul - little surprises around every corner. There are also some cool record cafes, where you can sit and have a drink and request music off the owner's large collection of vinyl records.

When I first got here, everything seemed so modern and bleak and sterile, but today it was raining and the air and light of the city had a different feel - dark, mysterious, romantic. Today on the subway going home, I was riding in the front car when suddenly there was a commotion and lots of people started running and screaming away from someone or something. I heard some guy yelling and realized this guy was crazy and was just being loud but he certainly scared everyone. He had kind of a disheveled appearance, was really thin and had long hair and was wearing black clothes. When the train pulled into the station, he jumped up and kicked the door really hard. Then an older Korean man yelled at him, something like, "Hey, what are you? Crazy? Look at how you've scared all these people! You should be ashamed of yourself!" or some words to that effect. He got off at that station and no one else wanted to get off, they were pretty shaken. I'm just glad he didn't have a weapon and that no one was hurt.

Then when I was walking from the subway station I saw three young guys tumble don the stairs of a second floor bar, where they had obviously had waaaay too much to drink, and they immediately started fighting in the street - kicking, punching, etc. A crowd of spectators gathered at a safe distance, oddly enough the police never showed up. Weird....

I'm now officially a Seoul resident, as I recieved my resident alien card the other day. Whoop-dee-doo, this calls for a party. No, really I am excited, just that it's been a long week and I came down with a cold over the last few days. I hope to get a little rest over the weekend and I've found some really good orange juice (not conventrated, with the pulp still in it - yum!) and am trying to get back to my regular health. I had a massive sinus headache the other day at work - ugh. But my back problems have cleared up......

More later,
Rick

mailing address: Rick Vaughn c/o YBM-ECC Language Institute Mia 3-dong 202-2 Joong-Ang Bldg. 2/F Kangbuk-gu, Seoul Republic Of Korea cell phone: (82)10-3980-1559 home phone: (82)10-983-6693

My life story

Here's a project I've been thinking of for about 10 years, the film version of my life experiences, and it will feature well known actors in very short cameos. Some of them won't even know they're in the movie, like Steve Martin did to Eddie Murphy in Bowfinger. Anyways, here are the latest casting additions:

Lucy Liu as Rainbow

==========

Fred Armisen as Hector

==========

Mike Myers as Joyce

==========

Christina Ricci as Rossanne

==========

...and of course, I'll be played by:

Anthony Edwards as Rick

stay tuned...... :-)

Eric Idle at Borders

I was in line at 7:55, at Borders on State, even though the signing started at 12:30. There were a couple people ahead of me, including one Creepy Lady who was standing in front of the door, waiting to get in. As soon as the doors opened we made a beeline for the top floor, where the line started. Creepy Lady only kind of stood in line for like 2 seconds then went downstairs and sat in the cafe for a couple of hours. I guess she expected the rest of us to keep her place, because when she came back up demanded to take her rightful place at the front of the line. We pretty much managed to ignore her demands, and block her from cutting in front! Creepy Lady wanted her book personalized the following way: "Dear ____________ (i forget her name), I'm sorry that Robin Williams had to spoil your Buddy Hackett moment. Sincerely, Eric Idle." Whatever that meant. Lori, the event manager, told her there was not much chance of that happening at all.

Oddly enough, the Borders staff insisted on playing Madonna ("Cherish" sticks in my head, even as I write this) but switched it to the Spamalot cast recording seconds before Eric Idle and John Du Prez made their entrance. Eric came in wearing a white suit with no tie, a light blue shirt, and sunglasses - very Hollywood, and quite appropriate for the nice sunny warm weather Chicago is suddenly having. He said one or two words, posed for a couple of photos ("Look, you're on the web!" he said to John, pointing to the number of cell phone cameras snapping shots from the audience) then proceeded to launch into a rousing version of "Sit On My Face", leading the audience in the final chorus. Funny, I had just commented a few minutes earlier on how they probably were't playing "Eric Idle Sings Monty Python" or even "Spamalot" because this was a "family" bookstore... and now this!

Just when I got to the signing table, and was placing in front of Eric the items mentioned in my last post, someone from either Borders or the publicity people announced they were only signing the "Spamalot" CD and the book, "The Greedy Bastard Diary : A Comic Tour of America" so I was left holding a pile of stuff. Guess what? Eric took one look at it, gave me a kind of "give it here, lad" look, and signed all the swag anyways. I've always said he was all right! I got a free pair of coconuts too, imported by real African swallows (but I always thought those were non-migratory....)

A side note: what's up with the armed police escorts at Borders events? Are Borders management that suspicious and distrustful of their customers? I recall this at the Margaret Cho event on Michigan Avenue, and found it a little inappropriate. But then again, there were people like Creepy Lady, who made me and my friend Jamie a little more pleased to have them around (just in case).

First 100 get a free pair of coconuts.....

Eric Idle will be at Borders on State Street tomorrow, signing copies of the cast recording of Spamalot. I'll be there in line (8:00 a.m.!) and bringing the following for him to sign:

1) A can of SPAM Golden Honey Grail;

2) The lid from a carton of Ben & Jerry's Vermonty Python Ice Cream;

3) DVD slip covers from The Rutles, The Holy Grail, and Baron Munchausen;

4) and, just to make it especially difficult on the man, a photo of he and I at the Chicago Theater across the street, Thanksgiving weekend, 1999.

If he refuses to sign all of these items (a refusal is highly unlikely), I shall have no choice but to say, "Ni!" to him....

Too bad I won't be able to afford tickets to the actual show, but I'll be flying out of the country on the 23rd anyways, but I sure would enjoy it if Spamalot plays in Seoul.

Your Japanese Name Is...

Takumi Tokudaiji

What's your Japanese Name?

Beijing will use artificial rain to clear air

Beijing will use artificial rainmaking to clear the air after a choking dust storm coated China's capital and beyond with yellow grit, prompting a health warning to keep children indoors, state media said Tuesday.

The huge storm blew dust far beyond China's borders, blanketing South Korea and reaching Tokyo.

The storm, reportedly the worst in at least five years, hit Beijing overnight Sunday, turning the sky yellow and forcing residents to dust off and hose down cars and buildings.

Hospitals reported a jump in cases of breathing problems, state television said.

The government was preparing to seed clouds to make rain to clear the air, state TV said, citing the Central Meteorological Bureau. It did not elaborate, and the bureau refused to release more information.

Storms carrying chalky dust from the north China plain hit Beijing every spring, but newspapers said this week's was the heaviest since at least 2001. The Beijing Daily Messenger said 300,000 tonnes of sand and dust were dumped on the city Monday.

That was "definitely one of the most serious pollution days in Beijing," weather forecaster Yang Keming said, according to the China Daily newspaper. "Small children had better stay at home during such days."

The dust reached Tokyo on Tuesday, the first time that has happened in six years, said Naoko Takashina of Japan's Meteorological Agency. Dust from China was found in more than 50 locations throughout the country, she said.

The Japanese agency warned of reduced visibility but did not say any health dangers were expected.

In South Korea, a light layer of dust blanketed the country, but no ill effects were reported. Rain was forecast overnight Tuesday, and the weather bureau said it should clear the air.

The dust storms are expected to last through at least Wednesday in Beijing, neighbouring Tianjin and a swath of north China stretching from Jilin province in the northeast through Inner Mongolia to Xinjiang in the desert northwest, the China Daily and other media said.

That region is home to hundreds of millions of people.

More storms were expected later in the week in Xinjiang and other parts of the northwest, according to news reports.

China's government has been replanting green belts of trees throughout the north in an effort to trap the dust after decades when the storms worsened amid heavy tree-cutting.

Last week, the western Xinjiang region was hit by its worst sand storm in decades, which killed one person and left thousands stranded after sand covered railways and high winds smashed train and car windows.

Image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE

KFA online shopping mall

Here is the official online souvenir store operated by agents of the North Korean government. I thought you may want to take a look at this, it's hilarious. Apart from ridiculously high prices, it seems the comments and customer reviews are completely unmoderated! Check it out now while you can.

Also, from an official North Korean website, here's an article promoting a restaurant in Pyongyang where dog meat is the house specialty: The Pyongyang Tangogi Restaurant

Updates

I'll be leaving on Sunday, April 23rd, 12:55 p.m., Korean Air KE0038 direct from Chicago-O'Hare to Seoul-Incheon (17 hours I think). I'll probably go to the airport early so I have time to go through TSA and all their reactionary no-shoes dance (hopefully no probes of any sort!). I will arrive in Seoul at 4:30 p.m. the next day, April 24th since I have to cross the International Date Line. Somehow that's preferable, so I can go to my apartment and crash and have a few hours to sleep and adjust. Hopefully this will ward off some of the effects of jet lag. But then again, maybe not.

From ESLCafe.com: Does the word "waeguk" bother you?

My answer: No. My ancestors were from Ireland, and were definitely discriminated against on moving to America. What did they do? Learned to live with it, and eventually overcame it. Watch "Gangs Of New York" if you really want to know what happened. I used to get upset in the Philippines when people would call out "hey Joe!" (traditionally used when referring to US soldiers, after WW2) as I walked down the street, but what can you do? Nothing. So I just learned to ignore it. One of my Chinese co-teachers in Liaoning province never could remember my name, so she just always called me, "Chicago". Which I found rather cute, actually. Now the people on the street yelling, "laowai!" (Mandarin equivalent of Cantonese "gweilo") on the other hand... definitely annoying. Once again, what can you do? There's a billion of 'em. Ignore it.

I used to hear "haole" all the time in Saipan, a US territory in the Pacific, this being a loan word from the Hawaiians (Polynesians) as the Chamorros (who are Micronesians) don't really have their own word for "outsiders" ("haole", meaning "ghost" - literally, "without breath" was used in Hawaii since time immemorial to refer to "Western" missionaries). And, more frequently, I'd hear "American" in reference to white people, which was ridiculous since Saipan residents claim US citizenship, so are by definition, "Americans" themselves (and even claim "Native American" status when aplying for college scholarships or admission). But what could I do? Get involved in a verbal debate or, God forbid, a fight, with some 350-lb. Chamorro guy juiced up on betel nut, Budweiser and soju? I think not.

I know non-whites in parts of America get called a lot worse. One of my African-American friends told me a few years ago he was considering starting a class for white people living overseas, since we're only just going through now what they've gone through their whole lives, at home. This is why minorities from Westen countries do much better... they've already experienced the staring, name calling, discrimination and much worse in their home countries, and are used to it already. At least the locals are only calling you "wayguk", or saying "hello" and giggling/running away, and leaving it at that. It's not as if they were burning crosses outside your apartment or lynching ESL teachers. Grow up.

My Amazon review of Franken's "The Truth, with Jokes"

Saipan chapter needs fact checking, April 11, 2006
Reviewer: Richard D. Vaughn (Saipan, Northern Marianas, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

While I am a fan of Mr. Franken's, and enjoyed reading this book there were some errors in the chapter about Saipan and the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

First of all, Mr. Franken cites the minimum wage on Saipan and her neighboring islands as being $3.15/hour. Not true. It is still $3.05, even as of 2006. I know, I lived on Saipan for nearly five years and have worked for this amount before. Various officials in Saipan and in Washington have lobbied at various times to change laws regarding this, and bring labor and immigration policies here up to Federal standards, but have been accused of prying into local affairs and violating the Covenant between the CNMI and Uncle Sam.

Next, Mr. Franken states that Saipan was where the bombers took off for Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Again, not true. The island that earned this dubious honor was the neighboring island of Tinian. I should know, I've been there too and have seen the pits where the bombs were loaded into the planes, and toured the runways.

Also, Mr. Franken states that the members of the Congressional junket stayed at the Hyatt Regency Saipan in 1997 or 1998 (the book was not clear on what year this took place) and were entertained at the SandCastle theater. This is also not true. The SandCastle Saipan facility did not exist until 2003. I should also know this, since I worked on the technical team that actually built the place.

I don't believe that there are any facilities on Saipan where the forced abortions Mr. Franken mentions were allowed to take place, seeing as the Mariana Islands are predominately Catholic. Rather, the pregnant garment workers would have to be sent for a short "vacation" back home in China, where the necessary procedure would take place, all in cooperation with the Chinese government.

Other than that, I found this book to be funny and well written. I just wish Mr. Franken would employ more dilligent fact checkers when he sits down to write his next masterpiece.

Going to Korea

Hi all,

I've decided to go to Korea to work as an English teacher. After many delays (I first thought about this back around January) I'm just about ready. A few weeks ago I had to send some documents off via US Postal Service, now my papers have been approved by Korean immigration and on Tuesday I should be able to pick up my work visa from the Korean consulate in downtown Chicago. I'll be living and working in northern Seoul, about one hour's drive south of the DMZ. In fact, if the North Koreans ever decide to invade, I guess I'll be right in their way! lol

I have not been to Seoul since 1992, and I'm sure many things have changed since then. I used to see old men in traditional clothes and straw hats sitting (or crouched resting on their feet, rather) in the middle of a busy street, scenic overlooks with a stall nearby selling microwaved corn dogs, discarded VCRs in a drainage ditch, and, the most unusual to me at the time, a female attendant in the men's bathroom. I remember my friend Pete, from the UK, found a perfecty good working telephone in the trash behind the KBS offices. At the time, the Seoul subway system had no English signs, only Korean, which I did not know how to read at the time (until an older British missionary who had been in Korea some 40 years gave me an index card with some language notes on it, for which I am eternally indebted to him).

(image above: National Broadcasting Corporation/NBC tower in Chicago that houses the Korean Consulate)

For those of you wondering just how many people live in this here place I'm going to, here is a list of the world's top 30 cities and their populations (hint: Seoul's #4, Chicago is #28):

no.	Name	calc.2006	country
1	Tokyo	36 769 213	Japan
2	New York	22 531 069	United States of America
3	México City	22 414 319	Mexico
4	Seoul	22 173 711	Korea (South)
5	Mumbai/Bombay	19 944 372	India
6	São Paulo	19 357 485	Brazil
7	Jakarta	17 928 968	Indonesia
8	Manila	17 843 620	Philippines
9	Los Angeles	17 767 199	United States of America
10	Dilli	17 753 087	India
11	Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto	17 524 809	Japan
12	al-Qāhirah/Cairo	15 707 992	Egypt
13	Shanghai	14 871 156	China
14	Kolkata/Calcutta	14 681 589	India
15	Moskva/Moscow	14 520 800	Russia
16	Buenos Aires	13 470 240	Argentina
17	London	12 524 316	United Kingdom
18	Tehran	12 183 682	Iran
19	Karāchi	11 969 284	Pakistan
20	Dhaka	11 918 442	Bangladesh
21	Istanbul	11 912 511	Turkey
22	Rio de Janeiro	11 826 609	Brazil
23	Rhein-Ruhr	11 793 829	Germany
24	Paris	11 633 822	France
25	Beijing	11 537 036	China
26	Lagos	11 153 863	Nigeria
27	Krung Thep/Bangkok	9 996 388	Thailand
28	Chicago	9 464 886	United States of America
29	Kinshasa-Brazzaville	9 343 416	Congo (Dem. Rep.)
30	Xianggang	8 855 399	China

No, I did not spend any military time in Korea. I was a worker for a missions/aid organization and visited 5-6 different cities on a ship. Mostly we sold books and collected medical and dental supplies for the newly-opened port of Vladivostok in Russia (which we visited that summer). I was in the army between 1993-94 but never went overseas (just Colorado) and finally was able to get a medical discharge and go to college on a scholarship... military life was just not for me!

I did try some dog in a Korean restaurant in northern China (when I was there in 2005); my mistake, I ordered the wrong soup, the menu was not in English or Korean, only Chinese. There were pictures, but they weren't very clear! Only after I had drank some of the soup and tried some meat did my friend let me know I was having dog. Not anything that you may want to eat, I think. I'll stick to kalbi and bulgogi instead!

My cell phone number will probably get cut off at some point, but give it a try anyways... and if all else fails, e-mail me! That's actually the best way to contact me, even in Korea (I'll probably spend most of my non-working time down the street at the local PC-방. As soon as I get to Korea, I'll let you know what my cell phone number is. I have three cell phones, all of them made by Samsung, and at least one of them should work in Seoul!

Later,
Rick

Reposted article about Korean food in China

Note: this is a post I wrote back in September of 2005 when I was teaching in Liaoning Province, northern China:

Seeing as I live in Shenyang, a city in northern China that is only a stone's throw from the North Korean border, I got this evening about as close as I'll ever realistically get to Pyongyang this evening - without needing a visa, that is.

I was invited by a couple of Chinese friends for dinner at a place near the city center calling itself "Korean Barbecue". Yes, that's the name of the restaurant, in 10-foot high neon letters .

Greeting us at the front door of the Nanjing Road establishment were two young Chinese men in fairly authentic North Korean military dress uniforms. Kinda freaked me out at first. Ya know? The only thing missing was a portrait of Kim Il Sung on the wall (a picture of Kim Jr. would have put me off my meal).

Even the guy who came to take away the coals was dressed in fatigues and had dyed blond hair and looked a little like Rick Yune in Die Another Day, where 007 sneaks into North Korea by high-tech surf boards.

The staff were quite good at explaining the menu in English and Chinese and even Korean, but one thing they failed to mention was that the soup I ordered, normally made with pork, this time contained dog. Yes, that's right, dog. Uh huh. Lassie. Bowser. Man's best friend. Etc. Mind you, this was only casually mentioned by one of my dining companions, "oh, by the way, that's dog you just took a bite of."

Needless to say, I stuck with the beef (bulgogi) BBQ.Afterwards (and sometimes during the meal) the staff brought us dessert, which consisted of sliced watermelon, melon ice cream, and some little fried bits of dough liberally coated in sugar. Midway through the meal they brought us damp towels, which I think you actually use before the eating starts (or after, I think).On the way out the door the immaculately attired North Korean soldier turned waiter gave us some fake Wrigley's "peppermint" chewing gum.

I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves Korean food (including the occasional canine - the sign outside should be a poster for that John Cusack movie, which by the way is already on DVD at Walmart here), or has a good command of Chinese, and dosen't mind attentive staff to the point of being slightly overbearing. I had a good experience, if nothing else for the atmosphere and some good bibimbap.

****NEW CONTENT, APRIL 2006****
One of the best meals I had in China was at a Brazilian restaurant (the name of which I cannot recall) on south Nanjing Road, Shenyang, in September of 2005. This is one of those places where the waiters come around to your table with meat on skewers and slice off large portions on to your plate. I had some fantastic beef, lamb and roasted chicken. There was also a quite comprehensive salad bar featuring various fresh and cooked vegetables, soup, and assorted types of sushi (including kimbap). The highlight of the meal had to have been the beer, freshly brewed on the premises.

While having my meal, a man came over to my table and introduced himself. He turned out to be Australian and had been in Shenyang visiting in-laws with his local wife and their daughter. Turns out they had been entertaining family in the restaurant since sometime early that afternoon, and he was eager to talk to have someone to speak to in English finally. I was equally desperate for conversation with a native English speaker, after nearly a month working in a Chinese-only company. Over a pitcher of beer, which he described as "bloody good brew, mate", he told me which items were good and which to avoid (he didn't need to tell me to avoid the chicken livers or fish balls, though). He turned out to run his own upholstery shop back in Oz, though he struck me more as a sheep herder or rancher. Nice fellow, anyways. And good company during the meal. While we talked, his half-Chinese daughter ran all over the restaurant, playing and being spoiled by the staff, who kept remarking on her cuteness. He said that is a problem, bringing young children with you to Asia, they get so spoiled and treated like princes/princesses that when they return to the "West" there's some major counter-culture shock for the youngsters.

Afterwards, I said goodbye to my new friend and his family, and departed - no need to pay the bill, I had already paid in advance, even though it was a sit-down restaurant - this was something the staff insisted on. Maybe they've seen too many people eat and drink their fill and then run out on their tab.Another interesting dining experience was at Pizza Hut, which is in the Heiping District on one of the major shopping streets (coincidentally, right next door to Wal-Mart). This is a more formal sit down experience, with soft lighting, nice decorations, and an line to get a seat - must be popular! One Chinese girl, Helen, a coworker of mine I had dinner with here remarked, "I get the feeling this place is mostly just for foreigners" at which I had her look around the room at the predominately Chinese clientele. The pizza was good, there was a salad bar (one trip only so make sure to load up the first time), and imported beer in bottles. Not somewhere I'd eat all the time, but good for a little treat once in a while.

MONTY PYTHON FLAVORED ICE CREAM?

Ben & Jerry's, the South Burlington, Vermont-based ice cream company has recently released a Monty Python themed ice cream!

The company started selling the officially licensed confection, called Vermonty Python, on February 6, according to company sources. The ice cream is only available in the traditional pint-sized containers, and may likely be found in your local grocery store. The packaging features suitably Pythonesque images, mostly a Holy Grail/Spamalot theme (including the Python Grail) and the following text:

We interrupt ourselves with much hooting through tin horns to bring you this brilliant new ice cream, made from dried shrubbery and old cereal packets. This is a ripping good flavor, really, so buy it quickly and run away, silly person, or we shall taunt you a second time.

The flavor is coffee liqueur ice cream with a chocolate cookie crumb swirl & fudge cows. Think tiramisu with chocolate treats! It's fantastic!

CTA announces "Pink Line", more to come (stay tuned....)

Causing a lot of furor, uproar and mayhem amongst Chicagoans, the Chicago Transit Authority announced the controversial "Pink Line", which actually is only part of a much larger plan for the Circle (or Silver) Line and anyways, and will probably only be in operation for maybe 6 months at the most. Don't get your knickers in a knot just yet, boys. Read more here and here.

China's Super Girl Needs a Rescue

American Idol is big. Mongolian Cow Sour Yogurt Super Girl's Voice is huge. Super Girl--as China's dairy-company-sponsored imitation of Idol is known--drew a TV audience of 400 million for the finale of its four-month run last year. Voting by text message, viewers chose Li Yuchun, 21, a college student who sang like a man and sometimes dressed like Mick Jagger, as their 2005 Super Girl.

Li Yuchun, on the cover of Time Asia

It turns out that she may also be the last one. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, China's chief broadcast regulator, last week issued new rules governing Idol-inspired shows. The directive says contests should contribute to "constructing a harmonious socialist society ... [They] must not make a hubbub about things as they please and must avoid creating stars." These restrictions may or may not prevent Super Girl from securing permission to air, but they're certain to cramp the show's style.

Less certain is what prompted the rebuke, which has stoked vigorous debate among the show's Net-savvy fans. Some speculate that the authorities worried that voting for TV contestants would make the Chinese want to vote in other contexts, such as for their political leaders. Others thought Li and her fellow finalists were insufficiently prim role models. It's also possible that Super Girl--produced by a station in Hunan province--was upstaging CCTV, China's national network, which produces its own more subdued but far less popular ersatz Idol.

Future Super Girls may see their ambitions quashed, but the directive reserves its harshest orders for prospective judges, who "should be positive and healthy ... They must not make contestants embarrassed." That last part may explain the original Simon Cowell's take on the Chinese rules: "Crazy."

Rick & Joel @ Great America
amusement park,mid-1980s

Rick, Grayslake IL, late 1980s

Rick, Chicago, late 1980s

Rick & Russ, Chicago, late 1980s