Phrase of the moment: kick ass! Music of the moment: Goo Goo Dolls Wow, it’s been a couple years since I’ve started this blogger, and it’s not come a long way. I look at my title now, Parallel Universe, named after my favorite song at the time by Red Hot Chili Peppers, still considered one of my all time favorites, and it still makes sense. I have no desire to change it, although few years back I thought I’d be changing it ever so often. It’s kind of funny how the most random people recognize you. I went to go get my haircut the other day. The woman cutting my hair (in the hole in the wall in Berkeley), Jenny, didn’t say anything, really, other than how do you want it done. Well, after everything was fine and done, I was paying with credit when she goes, so are you back from Iraq? I was like, excuse me? I didn’t expect it because it’s been 18 months since I last got a haircut from her, and I don’t remember telling her that I was leaving for Iraq. After all, I had less than 3 days to pack my shit and go, so she was like the last person I had in mind to tell before I took off. Turns out my brother told her (it seems like he told everyone and their mother) and she was quite fond of my brother and she just put the 2 and 2 together. I wish I could recognize people like that. I’m really bad with new names and faces. There was another case when I went down to Fremont about 2, 3 weeks ago to check up on my TMJ. The food prices are pretty cheap down there in comparison to Berkeley, so I ordered a dinner, ate there and came back up. Now when my splints broke and I went again a few days back, I did the same thing with lunch this time around. Later on, they were like you wanted this to go, right? I was like yeah, and she goes, well I wasn’t quite sure because last time you were here you ate here and went, so yeah, hold on it won’t take long to pack it. I was like, damn, that was really random, of all the people that come in and go, you actually remembered where I sat, what I ordered and the fact that I even came by? It’s also kind of funny what kind of things you run into being spontaneous. I was waiting in line for the hair cut when I happened to glimpse a small sign that said “music” in the same hole in the wall. Well, I asked her to hold my spot and that I’d be back. Man, did they have some awesome guitars ensembled in there. And real cheap, too, considering it’s so small and not very noticeable. I gotta stop by sometime to mess around with them later.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/07/09/jenkins.profile/index.html
This soldier supposedly deserted to North Korea during the Korean war. He’s now really old. How he managed to marry, have kids, appear in North Korean propaganda films, and somehow decades later end up in Japan and Indonesia is beyond me. Right now, he’s playing it smart, not saying whether he’s sorry or not, so he can use everything he can in court, including surprise and deceit. My personal opinion? If he indeed he did desert willingly, then punish him, accordingly. What he did, lie about his age at 15, then fight in a war at 24, is remarkable. But in the military, one cannot be exempt from charges because he’s shown honorable intentions. But at the same time, this guy is getting away with everything he wanted to do in his life. First, he joins the army beacuse he wants to. He fights in a war, and ‘deserts’ because he wants to. He’s gotten married and appeared in North Korean propaganda films because he wanted to. Now he’s seeking medical care because he wants to. This is one spoiled guy. Regardless of age, what he did ultimately was not honorable. Some people with the charge of desertion is in prison for life, which amounts to decades in most cases. So the fact that he’s already had a late start in prison life is also not acceptable. Treat this man like a soldier that he should have been before he deserted.