Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ya-ta Boy]

Today�s post about the peace sign got me feeling nostalgic. Sorry.

Over the last year or so, it has become common here on Dave�s to use �hippie� as a bad word. It�s as if Bill O�Reilly and Rush were posting here. People throw around the word, often sounding like they have no clue what it means, but assured that whatever it means, it is negative.

The first time I felt �old� was when my sister�s kids went Trick or Treating dressed as hippies. The secret joke was that she and I supplied them with authentic clothes.

I haven�t made a secret of the fact that I�m 57 or that I dropped out of college because Janis Joplin died. I don�t think it�s necessary to mention that Patty M. and I got chased down the alleys of Greeley, Colorado because my hair style did not meet the standards of the local cowboys.

I am curious what SOME of you think about hippies.

PS: The correct answer to the heading: Patchoulie. (Although I did caution a hippie throw-back in the 80�s not to wear so much of it when she came to school. Opening the windows in winter at the request of other students who were gagging was uncomfortable to all.)

[rockstarsmooth]

yep, i actually wear patchouli, though my supply is running low. i saw some in hongdae, it was 20,000 for a tiny little bottle! i'm getting some shipped over...
as for my favourite incense, i prefer nag champa... mmm... that's running low too, there's more on the way with the patchouli.
i grew up a hippie, raised by hippies, living in a community peopled almost entirely by vietnam draft dodgers and back to the landers.
my mom asks me questions like, "do you still buy your weed from old willie? is it still good stuff?"
how could i not like patchouli and incense with a background like that?
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right now i'm listening to: the flaming lips - all we have is now

[RACETRAITOR]

You don't want to hear what I have to say about hippies. Then again, hippies these days are I'm assuming nowhere near as cool as hippies used to be.

In Insadong you can get opium-scented incense. Anyone ever try that?

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Hollywoodaction]

[tiger fancini]

[daskalos]

My favorite flavor is whatever flavor we used to light in order to mask the smell of the weed we were smoking when we didn't want anyone to know we were smoking weed. It never worked, but we thought it did -- we were young and dumb.

[Rteacher]

It's called "opium incense". It's pretty cheap stuff imported from Thailand, selling for 2000 won a pack (~20 sticks...) It's basically good enough for use in the bathroom (the fragrance not close enough to trigger impure reminiscences of smokin' stuff that made my eyelids close involuntarily ...)

If I run out of good quality Indian incense (delivered by friends from India...) I buy fairly expensive Korean stuff like Jing Kwan (clear gaze) which is a mixture of Frankincense, Aloeswood, Sandalwood and other spices...

The attractive lotus motif packaging notes: "Calming and centering, this blend of spices balences Yin and Yang and improves energy (Ki) flow..."

I once tried some really expensive Korean/Buddhist incense that claimed it would bring about so much purification of the atmosphere that a state of perfect harmony (and maybe Nirvana...) could be achieved just by whiffing some of it. It was really good (and mildly addictive...) but I couldn't see spending like forty bucks a pack just for some stinkin' incense...

[maya.the.bee]

[Hollywoodaction]

I got some pretty good sandalwood scented incense that I bought in Canada. I almost got the franckincense, but then I remembered I never liked going to church so I didn't need to be reminded of the experience.

PS. Stay away from the brightly coloured incense that people sell on the side of the road (the type of stuff you'd find at the dollar store back home). It smells nice when your nose has been deadened by car exhaust, but it will leave your home smelling like a dirty ashtray.

[Dev]

I am not big into eating incense, so the word "flavor" doesn't work for me. However, the word "scent" does and Nag Champa has a wonderful scent.

[kermo]

I'm a fan of sandalwood.
I'm definitely a hippie-sympathiser. I'm very interested in pacifism, grassroots movements, saving the whales, etc. I even sewed a pair of bell-bottoms for myself before they came back into style. I wasn't into shaving and occasionaly eschewed bras when I was a teenager. Oh, if I could find a pair of olive-green suede bell-bottoms my (weirdly hip) grandmother bequeathed to me, I would rock the patchouli-scented house.

It's to be expected though-- I've got it running through my veins. My mother had long long hair and my parents both played acoustic guitars. My father used to work as a social worker (suicide prevention) in Saskatoon, and smoke up in the office on slow afternoons. I experienced Donovan, Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the gang thanks to their LP collection.
These days, I try to hide my hippie roots a little by showering regularly, shaving/waxing, ironing my clothes, etc, but I'm pretty crunchy-granola at the end of the day.

p.s. My father has done a 180 in his grumpy old age, and now supports Bush and the invasion of Iraq. This proves the truth of P.J. O'Roarke's book title "Age and Guile Beat Youth and a Bad Hair-Cut."

[seoulsucker]

Anyone know where to buy Nag Champa in Seoul?

[Rteacher]

Best bet may be the Foreign Food Store in Itaewon. They carry different kinds from India from time to time. A Korean art paper place next to Little India cafe in Insadong used to carry some decent Nag Champa along with various other scents, but I haven't seen any there in a long time...

[Buff]

1) Superhit
2) NagChampa

Unfortunately, hubby hates both. weenie.