Years ago I wrote and subsequently had to delete a great post about online critiques. For some reason the post attracted a lot of spam and I think that later compromised my site. However, it was a great post and you can read it here. At any rate, the point of that article was to explore the idea that the people who are giving critiques or “advice” are sometimes not offering much in a practical sense.

Last year, the Asia Institute invited the public to attend a free lecture by the author of the first English language book written about Choi Chi-won, one of Korea’s greatest historical figures. Author David Mason grew up in Michigan & has now lived in South Korea for more than three decades. He received his M.A.

Spring is here and we are ready to get out into the fresh air and enjoy some of that crisp air and fresh Makgeolli!

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It’s not quite spring yet, but you can almost taste it, can’t you? Which means we’re almost into the half of the year when I have to specify — and repeat — and double check one more time that anything I order at a cafe will be delivered hot instead of iced.

While I may do the occasional cold brew at home, I generally take my coffee (and tea) hot all year long, and if there is anything I don’t need more of, it’s mugs. The last time I allowed myself to buy another one to add to the already teeming shelf, it cost me 50,000 won (about $50 US). For a mug. I was that in love with it. The problem is, now I’m afraid to use it. It never goes in the sink with the other dishes, and I only use it when Charlie, little coffee spilling terrorist that he is, is safely down for a nap. No, I’m not kidding.

I just got back from lunch. Working in a new area since the beginning of the month, one of the things I have been most excited about was finding new culinary treats to expand my stomach. As this is an old neighborhood, narrow alleys abound. I have already enjoyed some delicious raw fish (회, pronounced “hwe”), simple, delicious Bibimbap (비빔밥) and spicy, hearty Galbi stew (갈비찜), among others. But, how do I judge whether or not a neighborhood’s restaurant “scene” is up to the task of pleasing my pallette?

With 돼지국밥. Always, with dwaeji gukbap.

The debate about whether to work for free or not as been going on for some time and I don’t think that it will ever go away. The reason being is that there are always people wanting top quality work for nothing and (oddly enough) there are people who are willing to work for nothing. Recently, I saw Gary Vaynerchuk talk about how people were getting too fancy and wanting to charge money for services when they should be giving it away. I scratched my head and thought “Easy enough to say when you run a multi-million dollar company” but there is some truth to what he says. It’s obvious he knows what he is talking but for photographers working for free can sometimes also mean being taken advantage of.