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tarigwaemirHaste Street, on the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas
New lab! My third and last rotation, before I must decide on a thesis lab. I sorted out heterozygotes today by looking for flies with curly wings. After reading so many papers on fly genetics and development, it's kind of neat to be looking at real flies. My last rotation was also in a fly lab, but I only worked with sequence data, not actual organisms. Say what you will about the power of computational biology, but there's nothing quite like real bench work.
I keep having the urge to write up a long self-reflective post, by which I mean, the sort of vaguely neurotic navel-gazing of which Thomas Merton wrote:
Specifically, Sharp Blade Hong Gildong! Normally, I'd turn my nose up at a fusion historical drama, but Hong Gildong keeps it light and funny. True, the modernized costumes (e.g. the gisaeng outfits) and dialogue (e.g. English phrases like "I love you") can seem cheesy and overdone, but the drama does sometimes use its modern elements to great comic effect. For example, when two of the characters are hiding behind a screen, they communicate by pointing at characters on the screen, in a sort of anachronistic version of "text messaging".
But more to the point, Hong Gildong is the story of how a lazy, apathetic good-for-nothing, who thinks that no one in the world can be trusted and that nothing he does can make a difference, ends up becoming a hero. Gildong is the illegitimate son of a yangban official. Though he has talent, he's not allowed to prove himself because by law, he's a slave and not allowed to become a civil servant or a military officer. He can't even call his father "Father". Naturally he becomes bitter about his situation and decides to give up and "do nothing". But as the drama progresses, we see him transform from only caring about himself to realizing that he has the ability to help other people. At first, it's an inadvertent result of his attempts to prove himself innocent of a crime that he didn't commit, but eventually he decides that he can't simply stand back and accept the injustices of the world as he used to. In the latest episode, he says (in rough translation), "This world has tied me up to prevent me from doing anything. But if I keep resisting and try to do something anyway, wouldn't the world change a little?"
It's also interesting to look at the other main male role, that of Changhwi, the prince who is believed to be dead and has returned from China to take the throne from the older brother who tried to kill him. Changhwi is normally the character you'd expect to be the protagonist in a historical drama--a.k.a. the rightful heir to the throne--but here, he acts as a foil to Gildong. Changhwi is motivated and ambitious, in the way that Gildong isn't, but he's also ruthless and willing to sacrifice everything to his cause, which is to get revenge and claim the throne. Although the current king, Changhwi's brother, is clearly mad and unfit to rule, Changhwi does not seem to be much of an alternative. In Mandate of Heaven terms, Changhwi's revolution is doomed to fail since he is no more virtuous than his brother. In this sense, I think the drama is true to the spirit of the original story, which was meant as a critique of the ruling classes and how those in power fail to take responsibility for the powerless. A rather simplified view of society and politics? Perhaps, but I think the message of social justice is still meaningful even when presented in a historical setting. And I think the blend of modern elements also makes the theme more relevant to the present: how different are the yangban, after all, from the wealthy corporate elite in today's society?
Anyway, if I've tempted you at all to watch this drama, the torrents for episodes 1-8 can be found here and the softsubs for episodes 1-6 can be found here. (Episodes 9 and 10 air this week! Catch up while you can!)
In other news, the reading list for "School Stories" is up at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
bibliophages. (I didn't realize how long the list was! Next time, I promise to use a LJ-CUT.) I was surprised and delighted to see that Delia Marshall Turner, the author of one of the recommended books, commented on the list and friended the community! (How did she find us?) I haven't read any of her books, although ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sub_divided's blurb for Nameless Magery makes me want to read it.
Yours &c.
Post-script: Note to self, please remember email hostee for recruitment weekend! (Not to mention conducting four interviews on top of that! By the way, anyone have suggestions for good questions to ask? I've never been an interviewer before.)
Post-post-script: I forgot to add thatramble_corner has a post with photos on Klang Valley bookstores at bookwormhabitat.
New lab! My third and last rotation, before I must decide on a thesis lab. I sorted out heterozygotes today by looking for flies with curly wings. After reading so many papers on fly genetics and development, it's kind of neat to be looking at real flies. My last rotation was also in a fly lab, but I only worked with sequence data, not actual organisms. Say what you will about the power of computational biology, but there's nothing quite like real bench work.
I keep having the urge to write up a long self-reflective post, by which I mean, the sort of vaguely neurotic navel-gazing of which Thomas Merton wrote:
The soul that picks and pries at itself in the isolation of its own dull self-analysis arrives at a self-consciousness that is a torment and a disfigurement of our whole personality.How true. In any case, I'm endeavoring to achieve a healthier state of mind by posting instead about K-dramas. ^_^
Specifically, Sharp Blade Hong Gildong! Normally, I'd turn my nose up at a fusion historical drama, but Hong Gildong keeps it light and funny. True, the modernized costumes (e.g. the gisaeng outfits) and dialogue (e.g. English phrases like "I love you") can seem cheesy and overdone, but the drama does sometimes use its modern elements to great comic effect. For example, when two of the characters are hiding behind a screen, they communicate by pointing at characters on the screen, in a sort of anachronistic version of "text messaging".
But more to the point, Hong Gildong is the story of how a lazy, apathetic good-for-nothing, who thinks that no one in the world can be trusted and that nothing he does can make a difference, ends up becoming a hero. Gildong is the illegitimate son of a yangban official. Though he has talent, he's not allowed to prove himself because by law, he's a slave and not allowed to become a civil servant or a military officer. He can't even call his father "Father". Naturally he becomes bitter about his situation and decides to give up and "do nothing". But as the drama progresses, we see him transform from only caring about himself to realizing that he has the ability to help other people. At first, it's an inadvertent result of his attempts to prove himself innocent of a crime that he didn't commit, but eventually he decides that he can't simply stand back and accept the injustices of the world as he used to. In the latest episode, he says (in rough translation), "This world has tied me up to prevent me from doing anything. But if I keep resisting and try to do something anyway, wouldn't the world change a little?"
It's also interesting to look at the other main male role, that of Changhwi, the prince who is believed to be dead and has returned from China to take the throne from the older brother who tried to kill him. Changhwi is normally the character you'd expect to be the protagonist in a historical drama--a.k.a. the rightful heir to the throne--but here, he acts as a foil to Gildong. Changhwi is motivated and ambitious, in the way that Gildong isn't, but he's also ruthless and willing to sacrifice everything to his cause, which is to get revenge and claim the throne. Although the current king, Changhwi's brother, is clearly mad and unfit to rule, Changhwi does not seem to be much of an alternative. In Mandate of Heaven terms, Changhwi's revolution is doomed to fail since he is no more virtuous than his brother. In this sense, I think the drama is true to the spirit of the original story, which was meant as a critique of the ruling classes and how those in power fail to take responsibility for the powerless. A rather simplified view of society and politics? Perhaps, but I think the message of social justice is still meaningful even when presented in a historical setting. And I think the blend of modern elements also makes the theme more relevant to the present: how different are the yangban, after all, from the wealthy corporate elite in today's society?
Anyway, if I've tempted you at all to watch this drama, the torrents for episodes 1-8 can be found here and the softsubs for episodes 1-6 can be found here. (Episodes 9 and 10 air this week! Catch up while you can!)
In other news, the reading list for "School Stories" is up at
bibliophages. (I didn't realize how long the list was! Next time, I promise to use a LJ-CUT.) I was surprised and delighted to see that Delia Marshall Turner, the author of one of the recommended books, commented on the list and friended the community! (How did she find us?) I haven't read any of her books, although sub_divided's blurb for Nameless Magery makes me want to read it.Yours &c.
Post-script: Note to self, please remember email hostee for recruitment weekend! (Not to mention conducting four interviews on top of that! By the way, anyone have suggestions for good questions to ask? I've never been an interviewer before.)
Post-post-script: I forgot to add that
ramble_corner has a post with photos on Klang Valley bookstores at bookwormhabitat.
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Date: 2008-01-29 08:08 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2008-01-29 09:38 am (UTC)That's so weird! I was planning to read her book; the blurb does sound cool.
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Date: 2008-01-30 03:31 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-29 03:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-30 03:33 am (UTC)