Korean Job Discussion Forums

animalbirdfish · Joined: 04 Feb 2004

Not sure if this has been posted here yet, or if you've already seen it.

I appreciate Thomas Friedman, though I don't always agree with him. His enthusiasm and curiousity are infectious and I can't help but like his "golly gee," American tourist persona, which the above comic captures pefectly.

I tend to agree with Bill Maher that the US seems like a country that just can't do anything anymore (Katrina, Iraq, etc.), but unlike Maher, Friedman doesn't settle for ragging on the place. Instead, he takes the view that, hey, if America's going to make it, the country is going to have to buck its sense of entitlement and get busy - not only working but in returning itself to the country that could come up with grand ideas that actually worked.

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

i don't know Thomas Friedman or his politics.

But mustaches.. there is a topic. they just look funny.. and so are the people who wear them.

i had an arabic-speaking girlfriend in the past and i met her mother.. first thing her mother said to her daughter/my girlfriend after meeting me was 'i think he'd look so much better in a mustache!' i think the way my jaw dropped was visible after she said that.

HapKi · Joined: 10 Dec 2004 Location: TALL BUILDING-SEOUL

He's a very infectious speaker, with a lot of good things to say.

http://www3.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hd4irktfAo

Moldy Rutabaga · Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Location: Ansan, Korea

The Lexus and the Olive Tree is an excellent read. At times the diction does seem a little ham-fisted, but he writes at a newspaper level for nonspecialists. It would be nice to see some more academic writing from the man, but it should be remembered that he's a journalist and not a professor. His examples are often down-to-earth and based on personal experiences. I'll forgive the cheesy mustache.

Ken:>

potblackettle · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Location: South Korea

The Lexus and the Olive Tree was an interesting read.

Scariest Statistic EVER: Those with average or below average intelligence breed at 4 times the rate of those with above average intelligence.

I like Friedman and I thought the cartoon was a trip. I'm a bigger Chomsky fan though...

HapKi · Joined: 10 Dec 2004 Location: TALL BUILDING-SEOUL

animalbirdfish · Joined: 04 Feb 2004

riley · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Location: where creditors can find me

I find his book From Beirut to Jerusalem (written in the early 90's) to still be relevant in how it accurately reflects the thinking and attitudes of the people there.

animalbirdfish · Joined: 04 Feb 2004

potblackettle · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Location: South Korea

"Chomsky, while occasionally proposing some interesting ideas (and a few goofy ones), is simply too dry a writer to ever reach a substantial audience. His prose is just dead boring. Friedman, by contrast, is an excellent writer and storyteller who ought to be taught as an example of how to simply hook a reader while also saying something of substance."

Must be a matter of opinion because I don't find Chomsky drier than any other academic writer. In fact, I find Manufacturing Consent to be a great engaging read. Of course I guess it also depends on one's interests. I work in the mass media (until October!) so a little of Chomsky's commentary is really relevant to my work ethics/ideas.

I read "The World is Flat" and really enjoyed it.

I'm reading a book called "Voluntary Simplicity" currently. It's really good.

SarcasmKills · Joined: 07 Apr 2003 Location: Seoul

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

The World is Flat had damn well better be good. I just bought it--on the strength of Beirut and Olive Tree, both of which I enjoyed.

animalbirdfish · Joined: 04 Feb 2004

potblackettle · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Location: South Korea

"That's the problem, though: most academic writers are so damn dry. They, like Chomsky, have valuable things to say but I wish they'd figure out how to say it so that more average people would care to slog through it. And I don't mean "dumb it down." Just make it engaging. I've enjoyed some of Chomsky's thoughts - like Manufacturing Consent and Necessary Illusions - but I've never thought much of his prose."

I know what you're saying. My majors were both pretty "theoretical/academic" so maybe it's just that by now the "dry" writing seems normal to me. Try Vonnegut or Heinlein... you get the philosophy/theory/academic knowledge in a nice, funny prose form.

This is one of the reasons I really enjoy anthropological case studies. You get the "academic" element, but a good case study reads like a novel. My personal favorite is Colin Turnbull's "The Forest People". I wanted to be a pygmy for years after reading that book.