The following review on IMDB says it all (almost): Author: VoodooKlown from USA

"First off, this is the saddest movie I have ever seen. Having said that, it is also one of the cutest love stories I have ever seen....

My review will be simple and to the point. The acting here is superb. Thats why the story works so well in my opinion. You can really let yourself go and get in there and feel for these people. In typical Korean fashion, this works as a slow burn. For about an hour or so, you just kind of follow the story of these two people falling in love and being happy together and wondering "what's the big deal - it's just a typical love story, right?" . Wrong. You will then start to notice little things that will make you feel a bit uneasy, then bang - time for the relentless hold of what you have now realized is going on and what a tragic circumstance that it is. This is especially heart wrenching because the story is so well done in that first seemingly hour of nothingness, you grew so attached to these people.

Fabulous film, please find this movie and watch it. Easily a 9 out of 10."  If you'd like to see a clip of it, click on more for the first set of Youtube videos of this. 

The movie those is broken up into 26 pieces on Youtube.  So, I made a playlist on it here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F20EA71991723535

Also, a couple additional notes.  The two main actors in the movie are Woo-sung Jung from a recent big scale Korean production called the "The good, the bad & the weird" and Ye-jin Son, from the previous post I wrote about "The Classic." I've found her in two great Korean movies recently.  I'll have to look out to see if she's in more...along with Woo-sung Jung.  This 2204 Korean movie is also called Nae meorisokui jiwoogae.

Why I Blog:

1) It helps me grow: Because my blog is linked to the web and there are quite a few ideas on the web it forces me to interact with a worldview bigger than myself.
2) It keeps me regular: While I don't necessarily expect or have time for a lot of interaction there is something about it that keeps me posting every couple days and forces me to write and think critically (or at least attempt) that a journal simply hasn't done for me.
3) I process: Sometimes I am referring to a blog that I have read and it has inspired some thoughts. Or it may be something else I have been thinking about that has been coming up in the news or conversations with others. I may not even agree with what I am writing at the time...so I don't necessarily expect you to either.
4) I laugh: There are things that I find funny. You might not. No offense intended. This might not be the page for you.

How You Might Respond:
1) If you agree or something resonates with you: Comment, it's always nice to have a fellow friend say they were encouraged or just say hi. Maybe offer what you have been learning about the subject yourself. I'd love to hear about it!
2) If there is something that rubs you the wrong way: Disagree with kindness. Online over a blog is a terrible place to choose unkind words. It usually doesn't make you look to good either. If you don't agree feel free to state it. But there are more important things in the world to get upset over than a blog post. And if you know me in person it makes more sense to give me a call or bring up the subject over food (just don't bring it up before service as I have a lot going on at that time) than to post your frustration on line. If you find yourself with more negative statements than positive and this site seems to give you heartburn you might choose not to visit it.

So with that said: Welcome to the blog!

It occurred to me recently that there is a great significance to the fact there are only three basic colors, from which all others are derived: red, blue, and yellow. Once I realized this, it was immediately clear to me that these correspond to the Id, Ego, and SuperEgo:

The following is Excerpted from Wikipedia's Color Symbolism article:

Red: Passion, strength, energy, fire, love, sex, excitement, speed, heat, arrogance, ambition, leadership, masculinity, power, danger, gaudiness, blood, war, anger, revolution, radicalism, socialism, communism, aggression, summer, autumn.

Blue: Seas, men, productive (interior) skies, peace, unity, harmony, tranquility, calmness, coolness, confidence, conservatism, water, ice, loyalty, dependability, cleanliness, technology, winter, depression, coldness, idealism, obscenity, tackiness, air, wisdom, royalty, nobility, strength, steadfastness, light, friendliness.

Yellow: not included because the symbolism is not relevant to this post.

If you think about it, the symbolism of Red corresponds to Id, and the symbolism of Blue corresponds to the SuperEgo. The level of compatibility is amazing, actually.

Naturally, the Ego corresponds to the color yellow. Both blue and red, as best demonstrated by mixing paints, are very strong colors, are strong colors, although their strengths achieve different effects. Yellow, on the other hand, is a very weak color, and as such is, like "Ego", suitable for control- that is, working out the finer details of the work, be it a painting, or our own life.

One of the core matters that I've been concerned with, is how to get ourselves (i.e. "Ego") in touch with the SuperEgo. See- Id, Ego, and SuperEgo, are our mind's materialization of the past, present, and future- Id=past, Ego= present, SuperEgo= future. By looking in retrospect, one can appreciate both truths- these three elements are, in my opinion, just three different ways of looking at the same thing. We have the past, present, and future, and from our mind's perception of these, are born desire, control, and direction, which in turn correspond to the respective three. But God exists outside time (depending on "who" God is(!) and so to him they are all one

As I have more or less already said, I'm currently setting aside the face-value dogmatic interpretations of the Bible prevalent in Christianity, to determine what the true meaning is, if only for me. The Bible is referred to as "The Living Word of God", and "living" is the key word here. The Bible is the literary personification of God himself, and should be treated as a person when reading it. I think it's very unfortunate that God's word, which not only is essentially a person, but also one of infinite proportions, has been simplified into such a dogmatic, close-minded interpretation.

To put into proportion the gravity of this unfortunate development, here's a good comparison: "All Mexicans feel compelled to have babies" In the United States, the rate of Mexican babies being born versus Caucasian babies being born is 3 to 1, despite the fact Mexicans are a minority. Such a statistic might justify that stereotype then, but it's still a bit harsh, right? The figure can also lead people on about the relation to the other aspects of Mexicans' lives.

The dogma that Christianity, and other major religions have become, is infinitely worse than the above example, because God is infinite, and thus infinitely more complex. Not only is this insulting to God, but it has produced many misconceptions.

We should try to understand the Bible as we would a person. When getting to know people, there are two key things to consider:

(1) Everyone who knows that person knows them a little bit differently.

(2) The more that we get to know each person, the more that our own understanding of them changes; over time our perception of them is continually clarified, and more beautiful.

When reading the Bible, we should treat it as we would a person, because it is a person, and God himself at that. God does not change, but our perception of him does.

The Id, Ego, and SuperEgo also correspond to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Genesis 1: 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was^[a] on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.

In verse 1, God separates the heavens from the other, but IMO, this does not refer to the physical heavens and earth. Those were created in verses 9-10. Christian conspiracy theorists claim that the first creation occurred in verses 1-3, but that Satan and his angels destroyed it, and God recreated it in 7 days (a rush job!), in verses 9-10. I know these claims are just hot-air, but it's interesting that J.R.R. Tolkien materialized (more or less) this theory in the first few chapters of his book The Silmarillion.

Here's the real meaning (IMO): vs1- Time began when God created the first law (as in standard, without which we could not know one thing from another, or ourselves even, it (and we) would all be one big blob without standards.

vs2- It is clarified that everything is just one big blob "without form, and void" notice also that God's Spirit (the Holy Spirit) is hovering over the "blob"- notice the significance in relation to the Id, which is aimless desire.

vs3- "the Father" (or the Ego) began time (and the first law) with the first, and fundamental law, light and dark. Through establishing this standard, God was able to appreciate his work, and this is acknowledged by God, following the creation of light and dark, and in doing so time itself, said it was good.

Throughout the rest of the creation story, God clarifies the previously formless creation, starting with the basic standards of contrast, and with each new standard things become more and more complex; with the increasing complexity and standards, God is able to appreciate his creation more and more- that is why with each standard he says it is good, because the creation is better than it was the day before. The Son, which is referenced in Genesis, and throughout the Old Testament, but not realized (actuality, i.e. incarnation) until the new testament, is the part of God that focuses on the future, and on ideals, expectations, and most of the aspects covered under the symbolism of Blue (above) Through Jesus we can look forward to a future, are given hope- and that is also the purpose of the SuperEgo.

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all^[b] the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

"Let Us" is key here- it refers to the fact that God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- each of these aspects are reflected on us, because we are an image of all of these aspects of God. In other words, the Id, Ego, and SuperEgo are the reflections of God the Holy Spirit, God the Father, and God the Son within us; because God gifted us with his image, we have a past, present, and future; we have desire, direction, and control. We are "Fearfully and Wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14)

• I almost dumped a whole bag of cat food on the kitchen floor. 
• My poached egg exploded in the microwave.
• The handle broke on my favourite coffee mug. 
• I had another spot appear on my face.
• I fell over Mercia and almost landed on Abby.

I have no clue what else may happen today, but I'm expecting the worse. I'll probably break a dish or something later.

It wouldn't be a proper blog unless I dramatically titled one of my entries with song lyrics. (In this case, Lethal Enforcers by We Are Scientists which you may listen to below if my calculations are correct. Which they aren't.)

I guess it's statistically impossible for me to have a streaming flash-based playlist on Wordpress. Just click the arrow. I'm sorry for what happens to your web browser if it works like mine.

I noticed I began this blog with promises of unfortunate tales for people to feed off of. Up until now, I guess I've been skirting the issue. So let's get down to business:

I'm gradually growing more and more discontented with the fact that my summer is ending. In fact, so much so that I'm starting to get that pain in my chest that you get when you're not happy. Or something like that? ( I've never been able to attribute things to emotions before because I'm pretty sure I'm a robot. ) Too many friends are leaving, I've decided. One in particular will probably be much harder than the others. <sigh...> (People sigh on blogs, right? I'm still not sure how cliché I have to be in these things.)

I'm just going to have to squeeze as much time with them into the next month as possible. And I'll probably make several mix CD's. (I find mix CD's the most appropriate way to express your feelings. Words and actions can blow me. Cleverly themed CD's are where it's at.)

Right now I'm working on a mix CD called "Asshole, You're Leaving... "

I think I'm going to leave my first "unfortunate" post delightfully vague, just so no one can truly understand how unfortunate it is. I'll go into more detail by September.

Or when I'm wasted.

(Sidenote: I find titling entries with lyrics from a song completely acceptable, seeing as though I try my hardest to word song lyrics into conversation all the time.)

Can you imagine what kind of jokes the U.S. would suffer from if this came true? You never know...it may not be too far from the truth.  Sad, but true...

• Acrylic glass, meaning it has seemless curved corners
• A base with built-in stabalising styrophoam
• It's silver
• The hood is neat and tidy and shows no cords. It houses the light with a protevtive plastic splash cover, a fantastic (and very quiet!) wet/dry filter and the non-submergable top or the heater. It has a switch for the light on the topwith a plastic casing and a very handy swivel lid along the front, very convenient
• As I have just said, the filter runs very quietly and effectively
• The dimentions (including hood) are (approximately) 37cm long, 46cm tall and 25cm from front to back

I have natural coloured gravel in the bottom.  I have live plants in there, including one small smazon sword and a clump of dwarf hairgrass. I did have cabomba in there, but it died (I have never been able to keep cabomba for very long). The sword and hairgrass don't seem to be doing to well either, I suspect it is the lighting. I will experiment a little more with my current lighting, then upgrade if needed. It may also be that I have not added enough gravel. I do have half a bag spare and will be adding some more soon. At the moment I am attempting to cycle it with my last remaining male guppy and three male juvinile guppies. I have my driftwood in there. I have bought a new 50w heater and  a smaller gravel vacuume. I have been trying to tiptoe around the ammonia spikes to avoid any major health issues with the fish, however my adult blue moscow has come down with tail rot. I do have aquarium salt on hand, however no medication. i have done a 40-50% water change via vaccuming the gravel, so the tank is very clean. If it does not clear up within a few days, or if it gets much worse by tomorrow, I will drop into the pet shop and get some medication. I'm not in too much of a rush as this particular male has come down with fin rot in the past (a few months ago) and it seemingly cleared up after doing a major water change every day for 4-6 days. Let's see what happens before rushing into anything.

All the guppy fry seem to be maturing very necely. The three males in my new aquarium were seemingly trying to harass the females, which is why they were put in the new tank. They are all mainly red in the tail with some yellow and a few black dots. Their body is developing a dark blue colouring. Looking down on them from above they all seem to have a vibrant, almost flourescant violet patch along the top of their bodies, linking from their dorsal fin down to the base of their tail fin. Very beautiful, especially for a crossbred batch.

My golden apple snails have been relocated to the 9g and seem to be very happy in there! They have had no effect on my live plants and their antennae have fully grown back. I balieve it is only the youngest guppies that tend to nip at them.

To everyone with a heater in their tank, I want to share my recent experience with you. yesterday i was performing weekly water changes on my 18g tank. I vaccumed the gravel. I was changing my regular amount of 5 gallons (25% of the water) and without realising, the heater had come out of the water. I went to empty out the second bucket and when i came back I heard a sizzling noise and realised what I had done. With no thought at all of the consequences, I slid the heater down into the water and It practically exploded. huge bubbles came flying up and the glass cover shattered. I immediately unplugged the device and checked what damage I had done, still unawear of what had happened. Thank goodness I unplugged it in time, the water was creeping up the inside of the remaining top half of the heater. Dangerously, the VitaPet heaters I use have no transformers, making them risky to use. Thank goodness, all my fish and I are perfectly fine. It jsut serves as a reminder of how carefull you need to be when working with electrics. I replaced the heater, this time with a smaller 100w (my old one was 150w), that better suits my tank.

Prof whose 'last lecture' became a sensation dies of Pancreatic Cancer (at the young age of 47 years old)

I first heard about Professor Pausch back in February of this year when someone forwarded a video clip where he tells people to live out your childhood dreams. It was definitely a great speech to listen to and it does remind us that your life can be taken at any moment. It was also something that I wrote about recently in just not being scared & doing what you should do in life. So, it's a bit coincidental that he passed away just today (which is still July 25th in the United States). I've also been thinking more seriously about working on my WhenILeave.com project more recently as well which is definitely related to his passing.

Perhaps his message on WhenILeave.com would go something a little like this:

"Dear friends, family & all those who were gracious enough to support me this past year when I became popular despite being no more than just a good family guy, a professor and somebody who had Pancreatic cancer. I guess my popularity and my relatively best selling book maybe had something to do with the fact that I had the courage to say that people should do what they want to do in life & not have something like Pancreatic cancer to encourage you to finally realize it.

As you know due to headlines potentially in newspapers on the Internet, I have now passed onto the next world. I leave my beautiful wife Jai and my incredible children Logan, Dylan and Chloe to this world that I hope will start to do more things before death starts knocking at peoples' doors. It would be a waste of my message that I wrote & tried to deliver the past year if people did just carry on their lives like they used to.

I sincerely hope more love, more happiness and more enjoyment is ahievement in life for all. If there are just a few more people in this world who are living more fulfilling lives because of my messages, I am definitely looking down with a bigger smile than I showed in my video. "

Well, this is NOT a REAL message from Professor Pausch, but something I would imagine he would of sent to possibly his friends and anyone who elected to receive a final message from him from WhenILeave.com

More about his passing here from Yahoo News.

PITTSBURGH - Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose "last lecture" about facing terminal cancer became an Internet sensation and a best-selling book, died Friday. He was 47.

Pausch died at his home in Chesapeake, Va., said Jeffrey Zaslow, a Wall Street Journal writer who co-wrote Pausch's book. Pausch and his family had moved there last fall to be closer to his wife's relatives.

Pausch was diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer in September 2006. His popular last lecture at Carnegie Mellon in September 2007 garnered international attention and was viewed by millions on the Internet.

In it, Pausch celebrated living the life he had always dreamed of instead of concentrating on impending death.

"The lecture was for my kids, but if others are finding value in it, that is wonderful," Pausch wrote on his Web site. "But rest assured; I'm hardly unique."

The book "The Last Lecture" leaped to the top of the nonfiction best-seller lists after its publication in April and remains there this week. The book deal was reported to be worth more than $6 million.

Pausch said he dictated the book to Zaslow by cell phone, and Zaslow recalled Friday that he was "strong and funny" during their collaboration.

"It was the most fun 53 days of my life because it was like a performance," Zaslow told The Associated Press. "It was like getting 53 extra lectures." He recalled that Pausch became emotional when they worked on the last chapter, though, because that to him was the "end of the lecture, the book, his life."

At Carnegie Mellon, Pausch was a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction and design, and was recognized as a pioneer of virtual reality research. On campus, he became known for his flamboyance and showmanship as a teacher and mentor.

The speech last fall was part of a series Carnegie Mellon called "The Last Lecture," where professors were asked to think about what matters to them most and give a hypothetical final talk. The name of the lecture series was changed to "Journeys" before Pausch spoke, something he joked about in his lecture.

"I thought, damn, I finally nailed the venue and they renamed it," he said.

He told the packed auditorium he fulfilled almost all his childhood dreams — being in zero gravity, writing an article in the World Book Encyclopedia and working with the Walt Disney Co.

The one that eluded him? Playing in the National Football League.

"If I don't seem as depressed or morose as I should be, sorry to disappoint you," Pausch said.

He then joked about his quirky hobby of winning stuffed animals at amusement parks — another of his childhood dreams — and how his mother introduced him to people to keep him humble: "This is my son. He's a doctor, but not the kind that helps people."

Pausch said he was embarrassed and flattered by the popularity of his message. Millions viewed the complete or abridged version of the lecture, titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," online.

"I don't know how to not have fun," he said in the lecture. "I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left. Because there's no other way to play it."

Pausch lobbied Congress for more federal funding for pancreatic cancer research and appeared on "Oprah" and other TV shows. In what he called "a truly magical experience," he was even invited to appear as an extra in the upcoming "Star Trek" movie.

He had one line of dialogue, got to keep his costume and donated his $217.06 paycheck to charity.

Pausch blogged regularly about his medical treatment. On Feb. 15, exactly six months after he was told he had three to six months of healthy living left, Pausch posted a photo of himself to show he was "still alive & healthy."

In May, Pausch spoke at Carnegie Mellon's commencement ceremonies, telling graduates that what mattered was he could look back and say, "pretty much any time I got a chance to do something cool, I tried to grab for it, and that's where my solace comes from."

Story continues here.

~ Vanessa

./Edit

So Thursday was an okay day from a Sunday perspective - I don't remember much but we went bowling and my skills in bowling is like having a giant toothbrush float in space - in my dreams! Hah -
An and I were competing. At least I still beat An :D Up the esteem, up the esteem!

However the cheery nessa was soon after replaced by a grungy annoyed school kid when it started pouring after school. I instantaneously thought, oh rain! joyous joyous rain - no need to worry, I have an umbrella. *insert failure sound* bum bum BUMM!

My umbrella was leaking. What kind of umbrella leaks? It's not supposed to leak - defeating the purpose of having an umbrella. The fact that it was deformed made it worse as I ended up holding up a water catchment area on my umbrella. My umbrella was screwed up and the shape on the top was like a giant U, collecting the rain instead of repelling it. It got so heavy that the water was seeping through, hence, wetting me. Luckily beloved Angel, being the 'Angel' that she is let me under hers. Lol (:

The 924 bus finally came - and I wasn't allowed on it because it was 'too full'. The bus driver was quite rude about it too. I mean I didn't even get on the bus and he's like get off the bus blahblahblah catch the next one. I got angry however Angel and I trotted back in time to catch the 925 - another bus that gets us to our destinations. Sarah Dang was there again, greeting us with that mischievous smile of hers! Quite the creepy, but she's a friend so not so creepy.

Anyways, once the bus passed Angel's stop, it broke down. Something about the brakes. Mind you, I forgot to mention that this day was the first day of English tutoring class so I didn't want a horrible first impression. Nonetheless, we waited for a replacement bus and then bused it to tutor.

Oh wells - I'm cool about it now. English tutor was pleasant, the teacher is quite nice but I still believe that I don't have a use for English tutoring.

I wanna believe I'm hardcore. I wanna believe that I'd survive and manage to rebuild everything after every disaster in my life. Fact is, we end up beat up. We survive but we're beat up. We're swollen and we're bruised. And we're afraid the next time we won't be as invincible as we thought we were.

I feel that too. I believe I'm hardcore yet I fear that I won't survive the next blow.

When the time comes for me to choose my path, I choose the harder one. I choose the impossible one. Then when failure sets in I could just give it a shrug and say, "It can't happen anyway. Not the way I wanted it because it's impossible." Then the failure doesn't sound so bad.

Have I been built any differently, then I would like to think that things would be a lot easier. Craving for success makes me want to fail more than anything. Being hardcore causes me to wish for the softer version of things. And so I use it as an excuse. My poor and sorry excuse.

It can't happen anyway.

I have been, off and on, extremely anxious these past few months, likely due to delving too far into the secrets of my spiritual self. I'm disturbing the spiritually dead, proverbially speaking, and it's not someone else either- it's my dead self. Well of course this is all speculation, but in either case- as far as I'm concerned, I've willingly asked for a glimpse of Hell, and now I'm agonizing over whether it was really worth it.

I began this journey of self-exploration at first just to turn the nothing I was into something in the future; then, once I realized that it was not that simple, I began seeking out what that nothing was, because you cannot do anything you know nothing about, because even nothing is something

Well, all that abstract talk is just me being melodramatic...eventually, I found that the more I discovered about myself through this inference-based reasoning, the more I was able to improve upon myself. I started with internal change (opinions, morals, perspectives), and eventually harnessed these changes into habits/etc., to the point my transformation could not go unnoticed by those who "knew" me. But noooooo...that wasn't good enough for me. I had to find the unfindable answers, relying on the forbidden intuition that I should never have had- well perhaps I've just being "played" by myself- this illusion of soul-torture that I've forced upon myself due to expecting something.

But really, the possibilities are endless, so why doubt my doubts when I can "suspend judgement" on those matters- and focus my attentions on these far more engrossing and apparently irresistable obsessions. But, as you may have noted, these obsessions have really done a number on me. Why is it that I must have such depressing, such inevitably hopeless obsessions.

Now that I know that we all are motivated by the desire to run away from ourselves- or more accurately, we won't be happy unless we do everything to run away from ourselves. No- that's not even accurate. I mean "our other self" - might be our "Ego", might be our "soul" or "spirit" or "psyche"- well, it's arguable that all those words mean the same thing anyway. Perhaps- and this is most definitely the case, we are running away from something far bigger that that. But really, is that even possible, or does it even make any sense, considering at this point it's all just semantics.

Actually, I wouldn't even be able to write this post had it not been for the spontaneous impulses (that's redundant BTW) of my brother- by which I was able to clear my head sufficiently to actually think straight for the first time in 2 days. Now for some revised definitions "for the road":

Sin: Self- you know, the "other self". like I said, all semantics...

Agony: Seeing self, or a reflection/glimpse thereof- for what we really are, an eternally tortured self.

Hell: In "God's" presence we see the ugliness that we really are:

desperate, hateful, dependent, miserable, melancholic, masochistic/sadistic, vengeful, malicious, lonely, obsessed, perverted, greedy, lustful, irrate. All scum that is depicable and distasteful.

As to how such a hellish curse was eternally forced upon us, there are many possibilities, but this is my theory: Balance has always existed- it is the true God. But "in reality", Balance is only rules- just as Pythagoras's numbers did not create anything, but only organized what already existed. We, our "original" self- also existed, and were thus governed by Balance. But to gain self-awareness, our soul- as I'll call the "original self", had to pay an equal price- that is after all necessary to maintain Balance. The "Adam and Eve" story of Genesis 2-3, is IMO, a story that originally took, or more accurately, takes place outside time and a space- humans would not exist if "original self" did not become "original sin. Update: Time did exist- since it is a fundamental necessity of balance.

There are many Bible verses which support this interpretation, in several books, both the old testament and new. Although I really don't have motivation or time (b/f going 2 bed) to cite specific verses (although I probably would have if I didn't spend so much time procrastinating on Uncyclopedia- it's way to funny for my own good! see side-panel links for reference!)-

In Genesis, Isaiah, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastics, Revelation- just to name a few...

In the account of Jesus's death (found on all 4 gospels, though only a couple in sufficient detail), Jesus dies for our sake- taking the sin of the world upon himself.

I pity those millions (Billions unless it's "all for show") of Christians that completely misinterpret the Bible- it's not like I'm even close to accurate (obviously!) but at least I'm on the right track. Honestly though, how can anyone take what they call "God's Word" at face-value. It's sickening how simple people can be about things so far beyond themselves- what an insult to God!

Back to Jesus: In taking the sin upon himself- I strongly believe that this refers to the evolution of man. See, before man- there was just animals- no self-awareness.

To further understand- I'll shed some more light on my theories regarding the Soul:

The Soul is running away from itself- in denial, just as we are. That is because, in order to create life, death needed to be created. To create ecstasy, despair needed to be created. This was the price of Balance. The soul took upon itself those ugly qualities (the ones listed halfway through what I've written so far) so that it might give birth to the positives. The Soul did this so that it could have meaning, and because it was inevitable- it was in its nature to bestow benevolence. This soul is our God, and is always a part of us....Okay, for the time being ending creepy mystical mutterings...

Naturally, the Soul could not bear this state of being (hell), so it thrust itself into its creation, and became ignorant. The soul enjoyed bliss in this ignorance- animals, plants, and all life at that time, had naught but instincts, and thus had no reason to find the Soul. This is not unfeasible, as most humans today have the gift of self-awareness but do not use it, leaving it dormant.

But, in accordance with Balance, the Soul innately struggled to correct the imperfection of its beasts, and these struggles took on the form of evolution, with its battle-scars taking on the form of mutation, and its confusion was mirrored in natural chaos. As the struggle became exponentially intense, a split occurred within the Soul- this was also a necessity of balance. The struggle had reached a level so great that it threatened to destroy Balance, and an innate failsafe defense mechanism was activated within Balance, resulting in the first miracle. This miracle, having split the Soul into two, formed what I will call the "Thesis" and "Antithesis". Both the Thesis and Antithesis seek to be reunited under a Synthesis- but, in accordance with balance, this is not possible because that desire is neutralized with an equal and opposite force.

*Please note: Contrary to Augustine's theory that God exists outside time, my account, assuming "God" to be "the creator", exists within time-- Balance always exists, therefore time does. Even though God has always existed, he did within time, because Balance is also eternal. My "God" is also not infinite, and is bound by the laws of Balance.

The desire for synthesis is mirrored in our own lives to this day, because it is necessary for Balance. One might ask the question, is there then the possibility that there is also imbalance?- But if the answer was yes, that would be a moot paradox, so I wouldn't bother. (see Illogical)

Also, these events are somewhat reflected in the story of Cain and Abel.

Eventually, amid the struggles between the negative and positive that is the Soul, life evolved into increasingly complex organisms. But, in accordance with Balance, existence must be sustained by non-existence- thus, As many who are born must die. Because the animals were reproducing and flourishing, more were being born than were dying.

*Please note- keep in mind that although the Thesis and Antithesis are fighting, neither are self-aware of it, as their self-awareness is dormant within now-primitive life. Their subconsciousness's are dualing, and they are only aware of the effects, in the forms of chaos and mutation.

*Also- these circumstances are reflected in the story of Noah's Ark, particularly Gen. 6:1-7.

Now Balance was approaching the failsafe point, and- aware that the Soul had self-awareness, corrected the deficit by calling out the Soul (Antithesis and Thesis) to make a choice: allow the creation to be destroyed (which would be the second miracle), or make another sacrifice to correct the Balance in their stead. Because the Soul was now two different beings, the choice would have to be made separately. This decision could have been the long-awaited Synthesis, because both the Negative and Positive desired for life to continue flourishing. But Synthesis did not come to be.

The Positive Essence decided to sacrifice its self-awareness eternally, taking the form of Heaven or, more accurately, Nirvana.

The Negative Essence decided to keep it's self-awareness, but eternally resigned its right to ignorance, forever tormented to the ends permitted by Balance- its unhappiness mirroring the happiness of life, and vice versa. Thus, in order for life to be happy, it must be unhappy- we essentially depend on the unhappiness of the negative essence. It took the form of Hell or, more accurately, Samsara.

*Please note that there is a big difference between ignorance and self-awareness. The Positive Essence did not become ignorant by losing its self-awareness- if fact, if I understand Buddhism philosophy correctly, losing self-awareness is essential for losing all ignorance.

*As you probably already guessed, the Positive Essence's sacrifice was mirrored through the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha.

*Also note- The irony: Buddha discovered that the cause of human suffering was ignorance, but this is only one type of truth, which is derived from the Positive essence. Just as our well-being mirrors Samsara, our self-awareness mirrors the Positive Soul's lack thereof. Thus, because the Positive Soul is statically in a state of Nirvana, Balance must correct our ignorance with suffering, in accordance with Nirvana's complete lack of ignorance. On the other hand our ignorance can also grant us happiness, as ignorance makes our creator (the Negative side) unhappy. In other words, two negatives, when multiplied, make a positive. See here: God hates being ignored. Why do you think this commandment takes top spot on the 10?

*The Negative Essence was mirrored long before the Positive Essence did (Hinduism), but the effects were not fully realized until the life of Jesus. Because of the complications caused by the division of the Essences, and the sacrifices thereof, many miracles occurred up until the time of Jesus, and echoed until long after, in accordance. The effects of the Positive Essence need no be mirrored long, because it actually returned to its original self- essentially rendering it's role in the creation of life nonexistent. The original miracle through Which Nirvana's choice was reflected, was told in the allegory of Jacob and Esau (Gen. 25:30-34). Just as Esau gave up his birthright, Nirvana did as well. Key here is verse 34: ..."thus Esau despised his birthright." This mirrors the notion that Nirvana did not want it's birthright, because self-awareness actually held it captive, thus being more a hindrance than help.

(Just a thought)

Mirroring how Samsara took every kind of agony possible upon itself, Jesus took every sin upon himself. The Negative Essence became Samsara, taking Hell upon itself so that we might live- thus, the balance, at least for the time being, was complete.

Now all that remains is our choice. Because we were made in the Image of the Soul, we have self-consciousness. However, our self-consciousness is incomplete- metaphorically speaking, half complete. This is why we have two selfs. One of our selves has self-awareness, the other does not. That is because we are based upon and depend on two different Essences, of one Soul- one Essence has self-consciousness; the other does not. These two different selfs take the form of the Id and Ego.

The Id is the self-consciousless persona, derived from Nirvana

The Ego is the self-conscious persona, derived from Samsara

thus, Balance is achieved, and all that is left is for us to make the choice:

The Antithesis, the Thesis, or the Synthesis?

If we choose the Antithesis, Nirvana is achieved, ultimately

If we choose the Thesis, We will maintain self-awareness, but perpetually share with the happiness and unhappiness of the Samsara. Unfortunately, to correct the Imbalance required for us to live, we must ultimately suffer, as the suffering must outweigh happiness to compensate for life. This will continue, until we either choose Nirvana, or the third choice- the Synthesis:

Not a true Synthesis, but: We run away from our true selves, gaining ignorance through bliss, and pleasure through Denial. This is, unfortunately, the choice of the vast majority of the world. Although it is clearly the best choice for us, it is the greatest sin one can possibly commit, as we are gaining pleasure as the direct consequence of God's suffering. That is because by ignoring God we are doing that which makes him suffer most, and thus gain the greatest pleasure from it.

To end with a few verses that best reflect that last paragraph:

Mark 8- "34Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life^[c] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" If you really think about it, you'll be taken off-guard at how closely these words match up to this post! ps.- this is probably the most on-the-spot biblical re-translation I've ever done on the spot in my life- guess I showed that Redneck/Asshole!

However, should I forgive these guys?  The claim now is that I'm exposing their "business progress" and that it's vital information to their expansion or introduction into Korea.  Well, I don't see any way around the post except to literally deactivate it because the emails are used to explain why I was fuming after getting no sleep in a hot & humid snoring & farting filled room this past week.  I recall countless emails, two voicemails on one of the guys who could of helped me room's phone, a personal message at the front desk, another live phone call where he confirmed it and a text message reminding him -- 8 different forms of communication & not a single call into the hotel or visit (only 200 meters from their hotel) to book my room after promising I had one before coming up to Seoul.

What's fair?  The cost of my travel?  The day's worth of work & potentially detriment to the others I couldn't help because of my trip up to Seoul?  The potential social equity I basically burnt and threw away due to their requests in getting business drawn up for them?  The risk I was taking to my job by taking time off to "talk about their business" with them?  How about the wasted time waiting for them to take care of my room or the exhaustion the next couple of days due to a horrible night's sleep?  Will money just wipe this out?  How much is this worth?

Well, I doubt they'll even call, nor pay anything for my troubles.  Come on...they're now frustrated that I've "flogged them online" and that I've exposed them in other ways.  Any takers on this bet?

I did a quick search on both "online flogging" and "email flogging" and both searches don't come up with much that is directly germane to the perceived definition of the terms.  More accurately, flogging is defined by Merriam Webster as "to beat with or as if with a rod or whip" or "to criticize harshly."  So, this would basically mean that my post about the two guys who manipulated me into coming up to Seoul & persuade me to gather as much information for them for free (wasting my time & social equity in trying to acquire them contacts) along with "job speculation" or "employment lures" is "whipping them online" or "criticizing them harshly online." Am I whipping them?  I agree I am criticizing them as much as I can.  When did criticizing become wrong? 

They screwed me & now with the power of the Internet, I'm able to complain about it in a public forum so others won't be abused by them again in the future.  If one of my friends did this to me -- manipulate me & hurt me in the end, I probably would have just as harsh words for them.  However, the reason why they are friends and why the guys in the post "Two tools on Facebook NOT to use" are not is because my friends are ethical.  They don't use people.

Simply put, my post about them was also and very importantly to point out how NOT to abuse relationships or practice business in 2008.  Be responsible in what you say and do.  Don't think communication is frivolous and the receiver of your emails just deletes them.  Use your brain when you throw out offers or even feel free to point out that your "business development" or "sales tactics" are very loose & that you don't always follow up on all that you throw out there.  It will save you from getting "flogged on the Internet."

...or at least in my case, get "used by" via Facebook.

"Tools" must be defined before proceeding here.  One definition is "utensil; A device, such as a saw, used to perform or facilitate manual or mechanical work."  However, a recent semantic interpretation or loosely used version of the word is "a person who is simply not worth the dust that litters his/her computer keyboard" or "a dupe."

Definition number 1 is not what this writing is about.  

I get this Facebook message from a guy I supposedly worked with at Doubleclick (now a part of Google after they were gobbled up by the search engine behemoth).  His name is Dave Gwodz.  Meet Dave virtually thanks to Facebook.

He likes long walks on the beach...just kidding.  Actually, his profile tells us he's the Senior VP of Sales & Business Development for a company called Phorm.com.  Here's the message string:

---------------------------------------MESSAGE START--------------------------------------------------------

E DoubleClicker looking for help in S. Korea

Between You and Dave Gwozdz

Dave Gwozdz
February 28 at 6:25am
Brandon,

I don't believe we've had the chance to meet, but i wanted to reach out and see if you might be able to help a former DoubleClicker set up an office in Seoul and best way to approach Naver with an online business opportunity in the Behavioral targeting space.

love to ask you a few questions if its ok.

Dave Gwozdz
DCLK 96-2001

---
February 28 at 7:45pm
Yah, shoot Dave. What do you need?

---
February 28 at 10:46pm
Brandon,

Thanks for the reply.
Where to start? Our ad exchange is built on top of ISP networks which allow for the exchange buyers/sellers to benefit from a deep (yet anonymous) behavioral ad match. We are being pulled into Korea by the top ISP, KT. This exchange is open to all publishers, ad nets, advertisers etc. What we don't quite have a handle on is how Ad networks play in Korea, and outside of Naver and Daum, are there any publishers, social networks etc, worth speaking to? Also it seems that the interactive ad agency world is very concentrated. This is a display ad echnge today, not textbased ads.

any guidance on who the players are, or how best to approach naver/Daum would be really welcomed.

thanks.

Dave

---
February 29 at 1:57pm
Let me ask, but are you guys in the research stage? The planning stage because you guys are commited to setting up an office? And how much in funds does your company have in order to set up, if it's the latter? I don't need the whole budget number, but I'm trying to figure out if I can help get you documents, connections or just give you my insight. I've been keeping tabs in my time here and know some people in the biz, but in a separate business right now. However, I have some insightful documents that you might like, but it depends on your needs as far as how to "share" or dedicate a little more effort towards Phorm's needs. Let me know...

---
March 3 at 10:51pm
Brandon,

we are really in the research stage. Thought is that we would need to set up an office, but are evaluating all possibilities. We are committed to spending what it takes to ensure success there.

It looks from the data, that in order to be successful, we would need to set up partnerships with Naver and Daum on the publisher side and 1 or 2 large ad agencies would need to be convinced.

Trying to work from the Long tail up, might take years.

We would need to hire or partner with well connected ad folks.

Is my assessment correct? or is there an alternative?

---
March 4 at 8:44am
Your assessment is definitely close. The thing about Asian business is that it's definitely VERY relationship based. While the relationships can be built quite fast, they need to "trust" you. Once they do, they do almost anything for you. Don't have your email, but I could send you a couple of .pdf's to add to your research if you want. I also might be able to introduce to you a guy who is very "in tune" with the whole interactive industry in Korea. Let me check in with him to see how busy he is...

---
March 5 at 6:45am
Great.
My email is
D***.******@*****.***

Dave Gwozdz

---
June 17 at 1:00am
Brandon,
Well... it looks like we will need to really get serious about the Korean ad market afterall. Phorm has sent over an HR head this week to set up an office. I am not sure where you are in your career, or where the guy you mentioned was "in tune" is. but we are hiring.

I am trying to learn the Korean ad market, and how advertisers, agencies, media reps, publishers and ad networks all function. I have heard there are differences between the way Korea operates from the US in terms of ad serving, yield management, behavioral targeting etc...Once i know the market a little more clearly, i can pinpoint our most important hires.

Any interest in meeting our people this week?

By the way, Chris Hogan is here in NY as our VP of Advertising Partnerships.. i guess you used to work together at Expedia. He says hello and that he might be headed to Korea soon.

---
June 17 at 1:58pm
Hey Dave,

Well, I was seriously contemplating jumping back into the SEO side of the marketing industry recently. So, it's sort of timely that you write.

I wouldn't mind meeting up with your HR head if they wish. My phone number is 010.1111.2222 here in Korea.

It's great to hear about Chris. Yah, Chris and I go back a long way. He's a great guy. Tell him "hi" back for me.

Anyway, let me know if your HR person needs assistance. I might be interested depending on the opportunity.

Cheers,

Brandon

---
June 17 at 7:17pm
Brandon, i have passed your number over to Sandra M*********, her email is S****.********@*****.*** she is in korea all week and will call you. You might want to send her your email so you can connect that way too.

Lets catch up after the two of you talk.
Dave
---------------------------------------MESSAGE FINISH------------------------------------------------------

Innocent enough, right?  However, if any normal person can verify, they are basically asking me to help and join potentially on their team.  It's a little unknown as far as what they would like me to do, but they need help & are definitely inviting me to interview, right?

Work's been tough lately.  I've been here for 2 years now and people seem to be less satisfied than normal and trying to deal with the long laundry list of daily issues is tiring.  I guess I wouldn't mind at least listening to what these guys have to say, but as you can see from the message, it's really unclear what they are offering and what I would be interviewing for.

In chimes Chris Hogan.  Meet Chris (again, courtesy of Facebook):

Chris was this cordial guy who likes golf and we played Fantasy Football together while at Expedia.  Seemed like a good guy, but I've never had to rely on the guy.  However, since we did work together and he was friendly most of the times, I definitely leaned towards trusting what the guy said.

So, I ask him about things and what exactly they are wanting me to do.  It goes a little something like this:

---------------------------------------MESSAGE START--------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Agencies

Jun 19

I am working on getting to see some of the big boy agencies over there. Any contacts you have over there who you could introduce me to? Just want to fill up my week while there.

BTW, where are you working?
Thanks, CH

---

Brandon to Chris

Jun 19

I work for a group of 13 English Academies. It's located in Busan though. So, I don't know much direct help I can provide you guys right now without much time.

I have a friend of a friend who was a partner at McKinsey who's joined another firm recently up there. Another friend's an attorney for Samsung. And there's this guy I was trying to hook up with who provided a lot of the data/info I provided Dave ...

My best advice would be to check out journalists for the big 3 English publications here in English (JoongAng Daily), Korea Times and Korea Herald. Do searches on everything related to advertising and pull up the Advertising writer.

For example, with JoonAng, I got this set of results: http://joongangdaily.joins.com/search/index.html?query=advertising&x=0&y=0

Looks like this gal named: So-young Staff Reporter [symoon@joongang.co.kr] covers the ad world for them. Maybe she can hook you up with Cheil.

If I had more time to think it through and start to lay the tracks down, I know I could get you guys what you need. The problem is that it's only as a favor and it's tough to do as a favor, right? :) Anyhoo, good luck with this & hopefully we connect next month.

Cheers,

B

---

Chris Hogan to me

Jun 25

Any help you can get me at Samsung or Cheill, I will hook you up. Thanks,C H

---

Brandon to Chris

Jun 25

I'm putting my feelers out...

Have you tried the contacts on this site? http://www.ccaworld.com/ At leaset they speak English.

I've messaged that gal I told you about on Joongang Daily. I've asked friends if they have online ad agency contacts.

If anything comes through, I'll let you know.

---

Chris Hogan to me

Jun 26 (13 days ago)

Yes, actually spoke to Melissa Pordy in New Jersey who runs their negotiation arm in the states. Are we planning on interviewing you that week?

---

Brandon to Chris

Jun 26 (13 days ago)

I don't know. Dave through out the idea, but nothing was followed up after that. What do you guys need? I just need some details...

---

Brandon to Chris

Jun 26 (13 days ago)

By the way, I'd be much more effective for you guys if I was in Seoul, but being down here kind of prevents me from being as "in touch" for you guys.

You might want to ping Danny at http://technokimchi.com/ -- maybe having you guys speak to him will be good. I tried him a while back. We've missed each other several times in the past when I was up in Seoul. You might want to give him a try though...

---

Chris to me

Jun 26 (13 days ago)

A General Manager for the office, but will need a publisher and ad person at some point to build the inventory and ad fill sides. I’ll keep you in the loop.

Thanks for your help. CH

---

Chris Hogan to me

Jun 26 (13 days ago)

Yeeah, we have an office in Seoul, so thats where this would go down.
---------------------------------------MESSAGE FINISH------------------------------------------------------
Oh yah, Chris emails me beforehand basically saying we should "hang out:"

---------------------------------------MESSAGE START--------------------------------------------------------

Korea

Between You and Chris Hogan

June 18 at 5:32am
YO,

Dave Gowzdz told me you are over there. Im coming out the week of the 6th - 11th of July, will you be around?

Thinking a Room Salon or Karoke maybe needed, since Ive never been.

CH
---------------------------------------MESSAGE FINISH------------------------------------------------------
Dave had asked for more assistance and I do a bit of work and networking on their behalf to get him some stuff for their venture and office.

---------------------------------------MESSAGE START--------------------------------------------------------

Dave Gwozdz sent you a message on Facebook... Inbox X

Facebook to me
Dave sent you a message.
--------------------
Re: E DoubleClicker looking for help in S. Korea

Great.
My email is
D***.****@****.***
--------------------
Brandon to Dave

These help?

Cheers,

Brandon
--
3 attachments — Download all attachments
Social Media in South Korea.pdf
31K View as HTML Download
Broadband in Seoul.pdf
586K View as HTML Download
Blogging Study in Korea.pdf
142K View as HTML Download

---

Dave Gwozdz to me

Thanks for the docs
I owe you.

Dg
Sent from wireless device
---------------------------------------MESSAGE FINISH------------------------------------------------------
Owe me?

OK, Chris is speaking about a General Manager position and Dave is telling me he owes me. So, what does this exactly mean?

Dave tells me later their HR person is in town and wants to meet, but I can't make it up because he doesn't give me really any advanced heads up & I can't just take a train up to Seoul withe very little notice. Nevertheless, it looks like they're wanting to at least interview me for the positions mentioned earlier.
---------------------------------------MESSAGE START--------------------------------------------------------

Meet phorm in korea

Between You and Dave Gwozdz

June 17 at 10:48pm
Brandon...sandra is having berry/cell issues. Any chance you are free at 2pm Wednesday and could get over to the grand intercontinental?

Dave Gwozdz

---

June 18 at 6:12am
Brandon, Sorry to bombard your inbox.. i hope you are able to meet with Sandra.
In any case, i might be in Seoul in July. As of 2 hours ago, I am now on a mission to understand and meet some of the players in the space there. Daum, Naver, NAS, DMC, @4/7, SK, Mezz, Nate, Paran, Chosun etc. and will be trying t set up meetings with them all. ANY insight as to where I start or whom i concentrate on or stay away from would be great.

Let me know how tomorrow goes if it goes at all!

dave

---
June 18 at 12:36pm
No worries Dave, but didn't get your messages until just now. Anyhow, I haven't heard from Sandra since like you say, she's having phone issues. She could use the land lines though to call or I could reach her at the Intercontinental. Nevertheless, I couldn't meet her today and this week is a bit busy. I'm several hours away from her by train.

As I mentioned earlier, I probably wouldn't be able to meet until Saturday. Not sure if this works in her schedule. In terms of meeting with all these guys, you may be treated as an outsider unless you have some internal contacts with them already. You may get lucky though since the younger generation does sometimes warm up to foreigners more readily. Do you have appointments already scheduled?
---------------------------------------MESSAGE FINISH------------------------------------------------------
I'm even thinking about the welfare of these guys....
---------------------------------------MESSAGE START--------------------------------------------------------

one other note

Brandon to Dave.gwozdz, chris.hogan
Jun 18

Did you guys know the sentiment against the U.S. is at a low point right now due to all the protests about U.S. Beef? Have you checked with Sandra if this is affecting her stay?

Anyway, just a note.

You guys can email me directly, if needed. However, please realize I operate during different hours than you may suspect: 1 - 10:30p. I think you emailed me after 10:30p yesterday Dave & I didn't see any of the messages until shortly before going to work.

Cheers,

Brandon

Chris Hogan me, Dave

Jun 18

Meaning what for us going there? Is it a shit show?

I’ll be in on the 6th provided you not scaring me off. Let’s hook up. CH
---------------------------------------MESSAGE FINISH------------------------------------------------------

Loud and clear.

The message is I'm meeting these guys AND I probably will interview to join the company at least. These guys appear to need my help very much. No word about all the other potential help they're getting, but I guess they don't care they're wasting my time and constantly bugging me for favors. I guess everyone they know basically throws everything aside & tries to help them.

Seriously, they know that I'm burning time for them, sending them docs & trying to help them and still continue to ask for more. For example:
---------------------------------------MESSAGE START------------------------------------------------------

Resume

Chris Hogan to me, Sandra, Dave

show details Jun 27 (13 days ago)

Brandon meet Sandra and vice versa.

BN – Lets chat about the Publisher and Ad Side people we are looking for based in Seoul. In the meantime, can you send your res to Sandra?

CH

---

Brandon to Chris, Sandra, Dave

Jun 27 (13 days ago) [resume.pdf]

Hi all,

Nice to meet you (virtually) Sandra. Attached is my resume in .pdf form. I hope that's o.k. Are you still in Seoul?

It's actually somewhat timely you guys do write to me about work. We're IPO'ing this month and they were talking to me about taking on a higher profile position taking over the rest of the country in about 2 weeks when the current guy in charge is getting released.

Chris -- I sent a couple emails before this (should keep us busy for a bit). I'll try to free up more time for it, but I do have my day job to keep up. :)

I am turning in (it's like a little short of 4a right now).

Speak more soon.

Cheers,

Brandon

---

Chris Hogan to me, Sandra, Dave

Jun 27 (13 days ago)

Go to sleep bro....thanks for the hooks

---

Dave Gwozdz to me, Chris

show details Jul 1 (8 days ago)

Brandon,

As Chris mentioned, we will both be in Seoul next week. Love to catch up and say hello. Maybe grab lunch or dinner depending on your schedule.

In any case, we are moving quickly toward a small technical trial. One of the elements of this trial will be to secure some inventory on a Korean web site. Do you know anyone in the online business wants to make a few bucks for a 4-6 week ad campaign. We would be looking for a general interest web site, no porn, gambling , hate etc.... And would simply secure some standard ad unit sizes and buy the inventory. The ads would be from well know brands, we could even run house ads for the publisher when we didn’t have a behavioral ad to show. It doesn’t really matter how large or small the site is. ( actually, small is probably better)

If you are aware of anyone or have a friend in the business , we would love to meet them while in Seoul.

In any case, lets see if we can get together.

Dave
---------------------------------------MESSAGE FINISH------------------------------------------------------
Despite "pushing it", I oblige because it sounds like maybe they do want me to help out in a significant manner and I'll be meeting them to talk about helping them open up the office. I basically beg an acquaintence for help and even get the website(s) they need for the trial.

Dave even writes:
---------------------------------------MESSAGE START------------------------------------------------------
Dave Gwozdz to me, Chris

show details Jul 3 (6 days ago)

Brandon, yea we owe you big time!!

Blog sites are fine as long as the content isnt too controversial.

And remember, we would buy the ad space.
---------------------------------------MESSAGE FINISH------------------------------------------------------
I get a day off to go meet them in Seoul despite being very busy. The weekend before, I decide maybe this is worth sacrificing and do a bunch more research and calls on their behalf. I buy a nice suit for the interview & even miss seeing my boys this weekend. I was a week late in seeing them, but had to sacrifice one more weekend because Dad may be setting up a new office in Seoul and possibly taking on a good position with some "old friends."

Chris messages right before to make sure I'm taken care of:
---------------------------------------MESSAGE START------------------------------------------------------
Chris Hogan to me, Dave

show details Jul 3 (6 days ago)

If you are coming up to Seoul to meet with us, can we get you a hotel?

The email string continues....

Chris Hogan to Vera, me

show details Jul 4 (5 days ago)

Vera,

Can you book Brandon Na at the Intercontinental with us on Tuesday night for his interview? Please feel free to use my credit card.

Brandon is coming up for a meeting with us.
---------------------------------------MESSAGE FINISH------------------------------------------------------
Then I get these messages the day before I'm to leave...
---------------------------------------MESSAGE START------------------------------------------------------
Chris Hogan to me, Dave

show details Jul 7 (3 days ago)

We have a pretty tight schedule today through Wednesday and then an all day meeting on Thursday...

---

Chris Hogan to me, Vera

show details Jul 7 (3 days ago)

wERE YOU able to get a room at this hotel? If not, we have very limited time to meet you.

---

Chris Hogan to me

show details Jul 8 (2 days ago)

We are just so busy here and was not aware of the amount of meetings we had scheduled. If you are coming in tonight, we wont be able to meet until after 9pm. Don’t mean to be a pest, its just a lack of time we have and not sure it makes sense for you to come up with this limited time.
---------------------------------------MESSAGE FINISH------------------------------------------------------

WTF?!????

For months, these two tools string me along and act all friendly & try to use the “old connection” route which you could easily do via Facebook or LinkedIn.com and then the day before say they have no time to meet. I extend myself not only at work, but also with new acquaintences which we know is a fine balance of not asking too much & yet still asking. If I don't have anything to reciprocate with, I basically burned bridges that weren't even worth trying to start building in the first place.  Thanks to these guys, I possibly hurt my chances in getting to know some good people.

I'm fuming...but what can I do? I've already asked for the day off, the suit is already pressed & hemmed...I can't return it for the most part. I have ethics in contrast to these boys. I've already scheduled a couple of meetings to get them more leads and get my friend to get off work early to treat her to dinner. I even go back and forth on her because these other retards keep on saying they have and then don't have and then have time.

It could of been so EASY for these guys to have the common decency to just tell me several days before they came they were taken care of. If they didn't want to interview, they could of said that as well...but not a single iota indicating that.  I would of been a little perturbed, but had the weekend to settle down and just wished them the best of luck.

I almost cancel despite ALL THE WORK and wasted effort & trust into their communication. I mean, I was going to have to waste my morning & go get a refund on the train tickets that cost about $100 to go up. However, I thought I didn't want to burn all the bridges that I was just starting to build & thought maybe at least I could get to know them for future mutual benefit. They seem like nice guys as well. My friend Di- also is worth the trip and like I said, I already scheduled the day off. My work would probably wonder why the stories changed all of a sudden. Plus I get a confirmation from their Executive assistant that the room's booked across the street at the Grant Park Hyatt. So, I go...

I check in or rather TRY TO CHECK IN to the Grand Park Hyatt and they tell me the room hasn't been paid for. They say I'm going to have to pay for the 300,000 won a night charge if Chris doesn't get his butt over and pay it.

I'm floored at the whole thought of what had just transpired...

Since I never get a call from Chris, but just excuses in email, I assume they are possibly phone-less which is almost 100% impossible coming here, but I give them the benefit of the doubt (again, my mistake). I just tell him via email that I need help getting the room paid for. He promises MULTIPLE times (at least 3 times or so via email) and after leaving two messages by walking up to this hotel and leaving messages on his voicemail and another hand written one at the front desk, I FINALLY get a call from a mysterious cell phone he has neglected to tell me he's had since he arrived a couple days before. I've given him my phone number MULTIPLE times to reach me, but he still neglected to even message me about the phone.

He promises again to pay for the room by walking over and I even text him 2 hours later to remind him. I call the hotel 4 times up through almost 1a and they say they haven't heard from the guy & that he hasn't come over either.

I'm done. I can't trust this unethical you know what anymore and decide to try to get a reasonable hotel in the area. Guess what? Everyone's booked up...

So, I get to sleep instead in a Sauna with 30 other snoring men who roar up the tight room with their digestive tracks not giving them a break from cutting the cheese louder than most earthquakes.

By the way, I never met the excuse ridden slime of a saleman ... if I can even call him a man despite all this trouble.

Lessons learned:

*Never trust old acquaintences in foreign countries. Rather, call ahead to anything they said they "supposedly" booked for you.

*Always, always and one more time, ALWAYS question what people are offering you for the many requests they may ask. Get more specifics and again, DON'T TRUST the tempting words they come out of their mouths.

*Final lesson, never trust anyone from Phorm.com (which I found they are bleeding money if you read through their financial statements) or people from the company especially two "tools" named Chris Hogan and Dave Gwozdz.

This post is the conclusion to a post I wrote a long time ago, appropriately titled Racism (appropriately because, at least superficially, that post makes me look very racist(!)- so I guess this post is partly to clear up any misconceptions that I have anything against black people, which I don't, and expose my true feeling regarding them, and if possible without excessive stereotyping (oops too late :P)

I actually sent an email to someone (who I initially thought was black--well technically I still don't know, but intuition tells me they're not) which perfectly captures the gist of what I'm trying to get across in this post, so I'll just indulge in my already over-used practice of copying directly from the email, with essentially no editing.

"FTR, I consider blacks unfortunate. They are violent and sexual tendencies in their genetics, but it was not always this way. Throughout history, they were targeted for thousands of years, by various nations and empires for slavery. This resulted in several generations of interbreeding, prioritizing physique, endurance, and all other qualities suited for hard labor. This resulted in handicaping the other genes, which also in turn criples African cultures, and thus countries and their descendents, beyond repair.

I feel pity for blacks. they are mankind's greatest sin, and America is paying for it right now, with the blacks ultimately suffering most, because they cannot help the way they are. Genetics is, after all, the most difficult thing to oppose, and add to that a corrupt background and culture- living successfully is nearly impossible for most.

but if anything, it proves that at least one Biblical prophesy is right :-)"

So yeah, to clarify on that: Africans were slaves long before America, or even (civilized) Europe existed. Ironically, everything seems to point to their origin as slaves as being after they (in Egypt) enslaved Hebrews.

Well, I don't know much about African history outside Egypt (should do research), and it's more than likely that they enslaved their own kind long before Abraham even encountered them, let alone Moses. But it cannot be ignored that Egypt, the country once holding the title of most advan