Great surprise, the local Korean ESPN station is showing the NY-Tamba Bay game in Tokyo. Giambi got things going with a 2-run homerun in the first. Since I’ve seen how much weight he’s shed, my thoughts have been that he will have a monster year. I can hardly wait for this season to get going. Just wish I could watch every game between the Yanks and the Red Sox. Despite what my brother Randy thinks, this will be a season of torment for the Sox, again.
This past Saturday I had a great opportunity to catch some Korean culture. A Korean friend of mine, Beaker, so named because some say he resembles the {{link http://www.cozmo.dk/comics/honeydew.html Muppet character}}, though I don’t see it, invited me to join him that evening to watch and hear some Korean music. We went to the City Hall auditorium and were treated to a world-class performance by a Buddhist group called Yadan. They were awesome. If you’ve ever seen the famous Japanese drum group playing those huge drums, then you have some idea of what these men and women were like. Great performance, with a variety of large, medium, and small {{link http://www.rhythmatism.com/ Korean Drums}}. I suppose some of them may be particular to this group or to Buddhist performers, but I have no information to that effect. If someone knows, email me and tell me. There were also a couple of guys playing pots and pans! There were five pans of various sizes attached to a metal frame that they wore. The clacking sound they produced contrasted uniquely with the deep throbbing of the drums, which boomed throughout my body when they were into their heavy beats. Truly a unique performance, which, my friend told me, symbolized the Buddhist concepts of karma, enlightenment, and Nirvana.
I didn’t bring my camera because people are usually discouraged from taking pictures at events like these. I only noticed a few flashes during the performance. However, cameras were also not allowed at the performance of the opera {{link http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2003/s924677.htm Aida}} that I saw in Seoul’s large Jamsil Stadium back in September. There, hundreds, if not thousands, of cameras were flashing throughout the performance, despite the admonitions of the ushers.
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