Thomas journals

Diorama in our subway station Is it DokDo? or TsuShima? or Liancourt Rocks? Two very tiny islands in between Korea and Japan are the cause of an ongoing dispute between the two countries.  They are simply large rock outcroppings, never inhabited — but national pride and potential mineral or navigation rights make their ownership valuable. Korea claims the Dok Islands, says they were part of the old Korean kingdoms five hundred years ago and so marked on old maps. Japan claims the Tsu Islands (the same rocks—Japanese name) because  Japan owned Korea in the first part of the 1900s so they designed the navigation maps used since then. This is a virtual carbon copy of similar disputes about similar rock outcroppings between Japan and China; between Philippines and China; and between Vietnam and China; as well as uninhabited glaciers between India and China.   Notice a common thread in these last sets?  The recent air-rights claims made by China over the Diaoyu/S...

Our Drama Department put on an adaptation of Pride & Prejudice .  Barb coordinated the costuming for the show.  She adapted costumes that we borrowed from a sister school that had done the same show a few years ago — she developed additional costumes and jewelry as well.  The result looked great, and all had a fun time.  I helped on show nights, selling baked goods at the concession stand, putting up signage, taking tickets.  I have promised to help with the elocution for the next play, as most of the performers had trouble slowing down enough to be understood.  Next spring, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!

Korean currency is denominated simply into Won.  Given inflation of the 70s, it now has lots of zeroes.  However, because the exchange rate is quite near USdollar decimals — at 1100won to the dollar, now increasing in value so it will soon be 1000won to the dollar — it is easiest for us to simply treat 1won as equaling 1/10 of a cent.  Thus, a one-thousand-won bill is like a dollar bill.   A ten-thousand-won bill is like a ten-dollar bill.  Easy! I think the won has a bit better purchasing power also — many small items can be purchased for under a dollar, whereas it is rare for anything substantial in the US to be sold for under a dollar. It is interesting to note that, just as in the US, coins are less and less important:  there is no coin valued as much as a dollar (unlike in Canada or Europe). I would guess that the government in Korea has a problem similar to that of all mints — it now costs them more to produce and distribute small coins than...