Viral Videos of the Week - Week Ending October 22

Here are the viral videos I talked about on today's Pete Ross show. Enjoy!

Dot. The World's Smallest Stop-Motion Animation Character

OK GO: White Knuckles

BP Spills Coffee

Bull Attacks Drunk Who Strolls Drunk Into Rodeo

Cecilia Cassini: The World's Most Precocious Kid

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I don’t do many book reviews on this blog, but when I finished The Road the other day, I felt compelled to write something about it. In any case, I don’t consider this to be a review. There are already hundreds of those online. The book was a runaway success and most of you will probably have seen the recent movie adaptation (I haven’t). No, these are more the thoughts seeping from my freshly blown mind. This book is stunning; probably the best I’ve read of McCarthy’s and certainly the most thought provoking.

What I enjoyed most about his writing in All The Pretty Horses, The Crossing, No Country for Old Men, is how much he makes from so little and how he makes that little work for him. He takes this to the next level here. When I was in journalism college, my lecturer constantly told me that every word has to earn its place on the page. I’ve yet to encounter an author that practices this as brilliantly as McCarthy. In the post-apocalyptic American setting of The Road, he squeezes so much from the bleakness of the landscape. He conjures up the most barren of imagery: dark and lonely, all the while being uber-economical with his language. In his previous books (particularly the Border Trilogy), he used this to positive effect. I wanted to experience the spaciousness and under-the-stars beauty of Southern America and Mexico. This time, he’s turned it on its head.

I love how McCarthy gradually feeds us lines of information… drip, drip and then suddenly, bang! He mentions nothing about how the earth found itself in this situation. He occasionally alludes to the past, but mostly in the form of memory. There is little historical information. It makes it all the more striking when he says, kind of in passing, that cows are extinct. Or when the boy is asks his father whether crows could fly high enough to see the sun, should they still exist. All the time, the reader is left to wonder what catastrophe could have befallen the planet, but such is McCarthy’s deftness of language, it never distracts from the actually story.

This, incidentally, focuses on the relationship between father and son in the most desperate of situations. They are traveling south… but why? To escape the cold? But what will they do when they get there? What hope do they have? They have no hope. They have nothing. Each is kept alive by the desire to maintain the other. At times, their plight is truly heartbreaking. Here is a little boy who has never had a friend. He doesn’t care if he dies or not, anesthetized as he is to human demise. McCarthy attempts to show just how inter-dependent father and son are on one another. The son will do anything the father says. He accepts anything he is told. The father does everything in his power to keep his son alive, despite the knowledge that they would both be better off dead.

No part of the book brings this home more forcefully than after a time they are confronted by one of the nomadic bands of cannibals. The father washes his son’s hair in a river, telling himself that he must wash the murderous brains he’s just blown from their assailant's head from his son because that is his job. He is the boy’s father and he must try to keep his hair clean. Simple, yet devastatingly effective and it sums up what, for me, is the meaning of The Road. Even in the most horrifying circumstances, parents are driven by an unbreakable bond at childbirth, the evolutionary desire to keep their offspring.

I had a conversation with a friend the other day about modern literature. We were wondering which contemporary writers would be viewed as “classic authors” one hundred years from now. Which authors will be studied by sixteen year old high school students? We both immediately suggested McCarthy. His books are the most wonderfully analogous I recall from modern literature. We can all learn a lot from them and particularly, The Road.

Viral Videos of the Week - Week Ending October 15th

As mentioned on the Pete Ross M-Town Show on www.gfn.or.kr/index.jsp, here are the viral videos of the week!

The Simpsons Banksy Intro

John Lennon Google Doodle

Cebu Pacific Flight Attendants Dancing

The English Language in 24 Accents

Sesame Street Old Spice Parody

Gwangju Blog

I've been asked to write for a local publication in Gwangju, the Gwangju Blog. It's a regular gig, I'll be writing four articles per month about sport in the area. I'll post them on this blog too... partly out of convenience for future collation, but also, because maybe some people at home might be interested in reading them.

You can read Gwangju Blog here: http://gwangjublog.com/

It contains updates, reports, directives and guides and is very useful for people in the area.

Gwangju Sangmu 1 - 1 Suwon Bluewings

Written for Gwangju Blog

The World Cup Stadium in Gwangju isn’t full at the best of times, so you can almost understand the paucity of supporters for Gwangju Sangmu’s K-League game on Sunday against Suwon Bluewings. After all, before kick-off, Sangmu were lying second from bottom. They’d scored thirteen goals in twenty games and recorded a paltry 3 victories. Talk of a citizen team to replace the current military set-up will no doubt be welcomed, but for now, we must make do with the soldiers! But that’s not to say a trip to watch them in action isn’t worthwhile. For fans of “the beautiful game” in Gwangju, it’s a chance to see professional soccer at a decent level. For those yet to awaken to its splendor, it’s a nice day out, in comfortable surroundings.

Suwon arrived at the Guus Hiddink Stadium as strong favorites, seven places ahead of Sangmu in the league table and one of the traditional powerhouses of Korean soccer, having won the K-League four times and the Asian Champions League twice. The difference between the two sets of supporters was marked: the Suwon followers cheered as only those who have tasted success can, consistent and choreographed. In contrast, the Gwangju support was tame and non-expectant, although one section of the crowd was impressively vocal. However, the cagy way in which the visitors started Sunday’s game was no indication as to a bridge in quality. Indeed, Gwangju’s stifling tactics proved to be more than a match for Suwon for much of the first half.

The play was scrappy. Any form of attack was strictly of the Route One variety, over the top. But just when it looked as though the spoils were to be shared at half time, Hong Soon-Hak broke free of his marker and was fouled in the area, with Gwangju conceding a penalty in the forty third minute. Japanese international and former Boca Juniors and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Naohiro Takahara stepped up and made no mistake from twelve yards

With the deadlock broken, both teams emerged for the second period a little more adventurously. Gwangju’s captain Choi Sung-Kuk went close with a volley from just outside the box, which was a harbinger for more involvement in the game from the influential forward. Suwon pushed on looking for a second, leaving gaps at the back, gaps the Sangmu forward line failed to capitalize on until late on. Gwangju’s Korean World Cup star, Kim Jung-Woo had a quiet game, but it was his mazy run past a couple of Bluewings defenders that led to the equalizer, after he was felled in the area.

The referee didn’t hesitate in pointing to the spot, and up stepped that man Choi again to fire past the keeper, high into the roof of the net. It was a goal Gwangju’s second half performance arguably deserved, but the military team could have snatched the victory as the game crept towards stoppage time. Choi again made space for himself in the Suwon penalty area, but was closed down just as he was about to pull the trigger. A powerful header drew a great save from Kang-Jin Ha in the visitors’ goal, but they held on for a point.

A point, though, is of little use to Gwangju. They are still hovering a single place from the foot of the table in what has been a disappointing season. Here is hoping the talk of a citizen team comes to fruition. This city deserves a quality, committed soccer team.

The Michael Simning Benefit Concert

Written for Gwangju News

The response to the Facebook campaign to find B- donors for Michael Simning was astonishing. Despite the fact that he’s arguably the most widely known member of the foreigner community and certainly one of the most loved, few could have anticipated just how quickly word spread and how great the response would be. The momentum continued on Saturday night. The turnout at A Fundraising Concert for Michael Simning at the GFN Concert Hall was phenomenal.

GFN radio host and Speakeasy Pub Quiz maestro Pete Ross was compère for the evening, offering watershed friendly quips throughout: a shock to the system of anyone who has heard him behind the mic on a Thursday night. The music of the night was of an impressively high standard. Local rockers Deserts kicked off, offering a more stripped down version of their stuff that the Gwangju public may have been used to. An accordion added to the ambience of the occasion, as Deserts showed they have versatility, too. Next up, was an artist known only as Herb, playing a number of enjoyable clarinet tunes.

Elton Laclare, a close friend of Michael, was next to take the stage. At pains to distance himself from the “slightly irksome piano music”, Elton’s open letter to Mike was both moving and amusing. He praised his renowned sense of humour, whilst also making reference to his repertoire of party tricks, the legend of which is growing by the hour. I get the feeling that Mike’s going to be a busy guy when he’s back in business.

A choreographed light display, spelling out messages to Michael was delivered by the staff of GFN and they were followed on by the barefoot Andrea and Trevor, who you may have seen playing on the city’s streets. Despite not being from Newfoundland, their first number is an ode to the Canadian province. Andrea’s first attempt at playing the tin flute on stage went according to plan and the pair’s harmonies were nothing short of sumptuous. The folkies’ second song was written for the occasion and so fresh, it’s yet to be christened, but its message of longing and hope was one that resonated with the well-wishers in attendance, delivered as it was in fine style.

A montage of photographs showing Mike with friends and families brought a chuckle from the crowd, leading into penultimate musical performance of the night. Caleb Frost, sat at the piano, has a voice reminiscent of Bob Dylan. His songs, all original, are thoughtfully written and impressively delivered and he was a welcome addition to the line-up. A vox-pop of greetings for Mike was shown, before the main event: a video message from the man himself. In a short, yet emotional recording, he thanked everyone for their contribution and reported good news on his treatment, which doctors say has been going even better than they expected. It brought the biggest ovation of the night, and one which even Pete Ross’ accompanied version of Stand By Me couldn’t trump.

All in, it was an excellent night’s entertainment, in aid of a good cause. I’m sure everyone will join me in wishing Michael all the best and a speedy recovery.

Viral Videos of the Week: Oct 1 - Oct 7

As mentioned on the Pete Ross M-Town show, here are my Top 5 Viral Videos of the week.

1. Stairway to Heaven - Climbing Towers

2. Never Say No To Panda

3. Australia's Next Top Model Announce The Wrong Winner

4. A History of Rap (with Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots)

5. Guillaume Nery base jumping at Dean's Blue Hole