Archive for the ‘blog stuff’ Category

it’s been a busy week … and a little stressful at the same time.

i’ve been trying to organise my last few months in korea. my contract for my school finishes at the end of december. i wanted to stay on for two more months so that i can leave korea in march, when the weather’s a little warmer.

however it seemed like i wasn’t going to be able to stay. that put me in a bit of a panic. it means i’d lose my apartment in 8 weeks and i’d need to start acting fast to make all the necessary arrangements. so last weekend i started selling off the stuff i can’t keep. i sold my umpc, cd player, guitar, webcam, blender, tripods, electronic junk, as well as a few other bits and pieces. i’m selling a bit more today and tomorrow as well. i also started packing and throwing out unwanted clothes.

but last night i got a reprieve. my boss said that i can stay for two extra months. it was quite a relief. i’m going to continue selling off my unwanted household goods, but i’m secure in the fact that i don’t have to move and find other work for two months in january and february. it also means the rubberchicken will have somewhere to stay when he arrives.

this morning i have been lazing about the house waiting for people to pick up items they’re buying. i’ve used the time to re-design my website’s colour scheme. while i like my site’s design, i think the colours were a bit hodge podge. so i’ve narrowed the entire site down to 3 basic colours (blue, gray, black), as well as white for the background. i also changed the default fonts and the link mouseovers … the site looks heaps better!

while i’m still busy, i have a bit of breathing space. i think i’ll go out this afternoon and get my film developed. i can enjoy the rest of my weekend, watch the liverpool game tonight, and sleep in tomorrow.

i had a weird weekend. friday night was my late night, so i taught until 9.40pm. after class i went with one of my students to yoido for some night photography. we camped under a bridge and got some great shots. we were there for nearly 3 hours and headed off at after 1am. i could feel that my student wanted to go drink beer after, but i was too tired. however, i’ve promised him we’ll head out again another night and definitely have some cervezas next time.

saturday morning i woke up, turned on my computer and fried the motheboard. i spent the whole day getting my computer fixed. fortunately the old guy up the road (who ran the computer store) was very nice and friendly. they replaced the motherboard and tweaked my system to improve it a little. i finally got home at 6pm with my computer and spent the evening putting stuff back together and watching movies.

sunday morning the craziness began. i moved a bunch of sites and have been doing database and dns editing all day. i took a break in the afternoon, then did some more web work, now i’m editing a few photos before i go to bed.

i still have a few sites to move, but i don’t know when i’ll get to it … and my computer isn’t recognising my two external hard drives. so i’m going to have to figure out how to make them play nice, so i can back up my photos and music.

i only have a limited number of weekends left while i’m in korea … so i gotta do as much as i can. this week i’ll photograph a bunch of things that i want to sell. hopefully next weekend i can offload some stuff i don’t need.

i’ve had a cold since about tuesday. the usual symptoms began with a sore throat followed by a shitty head cold. i’m felling a bit better today, but i’ve still got a cough and my nose feels like an open tap. i will probably have a runny nose for a few days, then i should be fine. i rarely get a cold and i always hate it when i do get one.

today i need to go out, reluctantly, and get some film developed. i also need to catch up with matt from the korean herald. i’ll probably stop by and have a beer, pick up my business cards, and head home. i’m not keen to stay out too long today. i’d rather come home where it’s warm. and i can be miserable in peace.

i’ve also started moving sites over to the new server. i’ve decided to switch server companies and i’ve bought a 10 year plan. holy shit, that’s a long time. super-dave.com is already moved, as is nerfy.com and most other minor sites. i still have a few sites to shift … which i’ll leave until next weekend. the problem is that sites with databases are a pain in the arse to move, so i’ve been moving stuff slowly, for fear of fucking it up. super-dave.com has a database, so i’m pleased with myself for moving it over successfully. but i don’t want to get too confident, or shit will probably start to go awry in a big hurry.

next saturday i’ll move craig’s sites too. the new server company has sub-uer accounts, so craig will be able to have all his own login details … pretty sweet.

note: i’d like to start this post by stating that i’ve changed the title. out of anger, i included the nons de plume of a korean netizen with whom i was angry about a post on her site. while i will leave this discussion on my blog for the sake of public record, i have removed her name from the title as a consiliatory action, designed to show my attitude is not directed at this one person, but rather at the attitude of ‘netizens’ in general. the permalink, however, cannot be changed … and i apologise for that.

i’m really quite tired of hearing about korean netizens. during the 2006 world cup, koreans were banned from fifa’s website as a result of the netizen complaints. not only did the national soccer team play very poorly, but koreans complained because they believe they have a right to win. this blind patriotism is really quite astounding sometimes.

so, imagine my surprise when i found a korean netizen has blogged about me and my site. this netizen’s name is mannoya. of course, that’s not her real name. she hides her real name and identity because she’s a coward.

her blog has an article (full article in korean is below, so she can’t delete and deny it) which states that my nude photographs are pornographic. she states that it’s offensive and unethical. there are numerous assumptions on her blog that she doesn’t support with evidence.

i’ll deal with her comments one by one, for the point of simplicity.

first. mannoya is a coward. my identity is open and true. i’m not hiding behind some website. i’m an honest person and i have nothing to fear. korean netizens hide their identity and then make accusations about everyone else. mannoya would never have the courage to contact me. she would never have the courage to speak to me face to face the same way she speaks in her blog. she is very much a coward.

mannoya states that my nudes are not art, they’re porn. she provides two links to prove her point. one link is to a blurry photo which looks like it was taken by a 10 year old child. in my opinion it’s a terrible photo. art is very much subjective. my nude photographs have no sexual intercourse. all of my photos are a tasteful and not too revealing. i don’t have much experience in nude photography. but it’s not reasonable to say my photos are porn simply because they’re not blurry.

mannoya states that i don’t have the right to publish the girls’ photos on the internet. however, in fact, i do have the right. those were professional models. each girl was paid 300,000 won (about $300 US) per hour for the shoot. the models also signed release forms. both models were over 20 years of age. therefore those photos belong to me. the girls were paid very, very well for the photos.

mannoya continues by saying that i’ve made rude comments and insulting comments about women (probably korean women) on other websites. however, mannoya provides no evidence to support this accusation. i’ve never offended or insulted women. why would i do such a thing?? there is no evidence and she cannot support this statement. it’s a lie.

mannoya admits that she’s offended because the models are korean and i’m a foreigner. this is an admission that mannoya is racist. if the models were white, she wouldn’t care. if i was korean, she wouldn’t care. mannoya is a racist, pure-blood korean because she doesn’t want foreigners ruining the “perfect reputation” of korean women.

mannoya stated that sexual issues are each person’s private business. yet, she’s on the internet complaining about my photos … which are my private business. this is an extremely hypocritical point of view. also, mannoya never contacted me or attempted to communicate with me in any way (via email, which would have been more appropriate) … instead, she jumps on her secret identity and proudly admits that she’s a racist coward.

well, i would like to retort with a few points of my own:

my website has nearly 400 photographs. of those, 20 phoographs were part of my nude gallery. the other 380 photographs were all taken in korea. 380 photographs that showed the wonder and beauty of korean life. 380 photographs that highlighted how much foreigners love to live in korea and immerse ourselves in korean culture. but, obviously, those 380 photographs are not important.

my website has 30 articles regarding photographic tips and tutorials. the articles are designed to help photographers improve their skills (mannoya uses a photo logo on her site, suggesting she has an interest in photography). but, obviously, those 30 articles are not important.

my site has a guide for buying cameras, in depth reviews of photo equipment and discussion about my life in korea. but, obviously, all that information is not important either.

the only important part of my site is 20 nude photos. wow. that’s just amazing … ignorant, but amazing.

i’d also like to point out that mannoya’s anger towards me is very much misguided. you see, i live in one of the most sexually perverse countries in the world. the korean government has evidence that over a million people work in korea’s sex industry. korea’s sex industry is larger than thailand. every neighborhood has 안마 rooms (sex and massage), room salons (sex and karaoke) and love hotels (sex hotels, paid by the hour). during my 6 years in korea i’ve had countless experiences where korean men (married korean men) tell me that they get drunk and have sex with prostitutes. this is not random at all, this is a common occurence. it’s a part of korean male life. very few husbands can claim to be faithful to their wives, because office ‘bonding’ involves drinking and sex.

in fact, 4 days ago two old korean men (in their 50s) were on the subway looking at porn DVDs that they’d bought. they were looking at the DVD cases on the crowded subway. women and children were nearby, and the DVD covers were very graphic. these men didn’t seem to care at all.

none of those problems are important. what’s more important is a foreigner who has 20 nude photos of korean women on his website. 20 photos of perfect, pure-blood, korean women.

the opinions of people like mannoya are simple biggotry … and what makes it worse is that she lies about me degrading women on other websites … and doesn’t even have the courage to reveal her identity.

*as an after thought, i believe mannoya may have lived abroad (in LA) and it’s possible that she knows me or has met me. this makes her opinions even more ignorant and racist. you’d think that someone who lived abroad would have a better understanding of reality … and you’d think that she’d have the courage to contact me directly.

… obviously not.

mannoya … your country has many, many problems. why don’t you try fixing your own country’s corruption, economic failure and sexual perversions. once your country is perfect, then criticise me and my photographs.

the following is her blog entry. recorded here for prosperity so that she cannot delete her post and deny what she wrote. i would expect a person who is a coward to delete their own blog so that they can pretend nothing happened.

어느 교수님의 사진.

Semilla님의 포스팅을 읽다가 예전에 쓰다 잊어먹은 토픽도 생각이 났고 누군가를 가르치는 사람으로서 과연 그 자질은 어떻게 평가되어야 하는가에 대한 생각 해 본다.
개인의 사생활이 어떤일을 하는데 있어 적합하다 혹은 적합하지 않다라고 말할 때에는 여러가지 기준이 있을 것이다.

Semilla 님이 언급하신 교수님을 말하자면 게이라서라거나 가르치는 방식이 독특한 것에 대해서의 내가 교수로서 자격이 있다 없다 할 수는 없다고 생각한다. 학점을 빌미로 학생들과 성관계를 맺는 교수들이 수두룩한 마당에 개인의 성 정체성은 충분히 존중되어져야 한다는게 내 생각이다. 불법적인 행동이야 당연히 처벌받아야 하는거고 이러한 ethical issue에 국한에서 하는 말이다.
교수라는 직업을 지키면서 한쪽에서 포르노를 찍는다는 건 그런면에서 (내 생각으로는) 한국에서도 크게 이슈가 된적이 있었던 교사의 누드사진 문제와는 다른 문제인 것이다.

내가 여기서 말 하고자 하는 사람은 한국에서 영어강사로 일을 하고 있는데 블로그에 따르면 호주와 영국에서 고등학생들을 가르치기도 했고 한국에서도 초중교를 거쳐 현재는 기업체 영어강사로 일을 하고 있는 모양이다.
짧 게 설명하자면 남친이 웹서핑을 하다가 어느 비디오 클립 밑에 난데없이 벌어진 동양여성 비하+성적 코멘트 사태를 보다가 그중 상당히 저질의 글을 남긴 사람이 버젓이 자기 블로그를 이름에 링크해 놨기에 방문을 했고, 한국거주중이라는 걸 보고 나한테 알려주게 된 거였다.

문제는 이 사람이 이 블로그에 올려놓은 누드들인데, 본인을 teacher이며 photographer로 자칭하는 그 태도에 비해 사진 상태들이 상당히 논란스럽다는 거다. 내가 예술적인 감각이 없어서 그런다고 할지도 모르겠지만 개인적으로 이 사람의 사진들 과 예술성이 있는 누드라고 생각되는 사진1과 사진2를 비교해보면 그 차이가 확실히 있다. 미안하지만 내가 볼때 이 사람의 사진은 porn이지 art가 아니다. 궁금한 사람들은 직접 비교해 보고 얘기해 주길.

개 인적으로 내가 학부모이고 내 아이의 미술선생님이 사진1이나 2을 찍었다면 내 아이들을 벗겨놓고 찍은것도 아니고 딱 봤을때 외설스럽다기 보다는 조각이나 옛 그림을 보는 듯한 느낌을 주는 이러한 사진들을 가지고 문제 삼을 생각은 없다.
(물론 아직까지도, 그런면에서 많이 개방적이라고 우리가 알고 있는 서구사회에서도 누드모델을 하거나 모델의 사진을 찍는 행위는 예술성을 떠나 항상 논란거리이긴 하다.)
하지만 그 사진들이 David Smeaton의 사진과 같은 거라면, 난 화가 날거다.
저 런 사진을 찍는 취미를 혼자 간직하는 정도라면 몰라도 버젓히 같은 블로그에 교복을 입은 학생들과 함께한 사진을 올리고 그 바로 밑에 누드모델들을 감독(?)하는 본인의 모습을 올리며 포토그라퍼라고 소개하는 뻔뻔함은 정도가 좀 지나치다.
누드사진들은 정말 딱할정도이고 그나마 나쁘지 않은건 평범한 사진들인데 기술적인 면에서의 나쁘지 않음이지 사진으로서 교감할 수 있는 그런 수준은 못 된다.
애석한건 영어를 가르치는 사람으로서도 그의 포스팅을 읽다보면 캐쥬얼함을 벗어나 약간 수준이 낮다는 인상을 받게 된다는 거다.

개인적으로 기분이 상당히 나쁜건 누드 사진들은 하나같이 동양여인들 (굳이 말하자면 한국인) 뿐이라는 거다.
이 사진을 찍은 아가씨들은 자신들의 사진이 Flickr등을 비롯해 외국유저들을 상대하는 온라인에 공개되어 있다는걸 알고는 있을까.

예 술을 하는 사람들의 누드에 대한 사랑은 잘 안다. 그림을 하는 사람들에게도 누드란 하나의 어려운 과제이며 이건 사진, 조각등에도 해당한다. 무용을 볼 때도 사람들은 사람의 몸이 어떻게 동작하고 감정을 표현하는지를 보지 몸에 딱 달라붙는 무용복에만 시선을 두지 않는다. 물론, 익숙치 않아 남사스럽다는 사람들도 있지만 저런 옷을 입고 무용을 하기 때문에 내 아이들을 가르칠 수 없다, 라고 하는 사람은 본적이 없다. 예술은 확실히 외설과는 다르다.

한국헤럴드 영자판에서 사진관련 섹션도 가지고 있고 내노라 하는 공기업과 사기업에서 일을 하는 이 사람, 내가 수업을 받아보지 않았으니 실력이 어떤지는 모른다.
어쩌면 본인은 정말로 자신이 예술을 하는거라고 믿기 때문에, 미성년자를 대상으로 사진을 찍은것도 아니기 때문에, 혹은 정말로 그정도 취미생활은 열린관점에서 인정해줘야 하는걸지도 모르겠다.

과연 그를 채용한 사람들이 이 사람의 블로그를 방문해 본적이 있었을까?
그는 과연 지인들이 아닌 영어강사쪽이든 신문사쪽이든 일관련 인물들에게 자신의 블로그를 소개하고 사진들을 보여줄 자부심이 있을까? 한국인 친구(혹시 있다면)들에게는?
만약 이미 그런것들이 다 알려졌고 받아들여진거라면 또 다른 질문이 여기서 생겨난다.
과연 같은 한국사람이 같은 상황에 있었다면 어땠을까.
만약 취미생활과 일에 대한 실력이 별개로 취급되어야 한다는 것이 이 사람에게 적용된다면 그건 그러함이 당연하기 때문인걸까 아니면 이 사람이 외국인이기 때문인걸까?

well, i knew my name was uncommon, but now i know how much. a nifty little website called public profiler has a way to calculate the frequency of surnames around the world. i was surprised to find that smeaton is actually most common in new zealand (61 per million), followed by australia (29) the uk (25) and ireland (8).

my understanding is that smeaton comes from an area on the scotland/england border. so far, mostly thanks to this website, i’ve actually found about 4 other people called ‘david smeaton’. actually, there are a few famous ’smeaton’ things … most notably a town called smeaton in victoria (australia) and a smeaton lighthouse in england.

i’m not sure how accurate that website is, or how they build their results, but it’s an interesting little test.

if you’re a smeaton, or a david smeaton, please write a comment and say ‘hi’ … i love meeting people with my own name.

ibuddha.org has received a face lift, and a few extra photos. the site now has a 100 photograph, horizontal scrolling gallery. yay!!

i really like the new look … however, be warned, it takes a while to load.

oh, speaking of web stuff, i bought a few domains. i noticed that davidsmeaton.org and davidsmeaton.net were still available. so i bought them … might as well own the lot.

got a hella busy weekend coming up … tonight i’m trying to finish angie’s photos (which i’m 3 weeks behind on) and update natalya’s site (which i’m months behind on)

ryan gets here in the morning. we’re gonna check out the magnum photography exhibition, go to cheungmuro and look around, then head to dongjak and do some photography on the bridge. the plan is to photograph the han river at sunset (here’s hoping for clear weather). the view from the bridge is probably the best location in korea. we can see the sunset, the han river, lots of buildings and a motorway on the right, and the 63 building on the left.

however, tonight’s work is progressing well. i’ve upgraded my site and fixed the permalink error. i’m running wordpress 2.6.1 which has a few error fixes from the wordpress 2.6 release. i also fixed some small cosmetic issues and uploaded a different smilie pack

i’m a bit hungry, so i might head out soon and get some food. actually, i’ve been a good boy lately. my diet has consisted of kimbab (lots), bibimbab, ramyeon, neng myon and dongass. it’s been a 95% korean diet … with the occasional sandwich thrown in … usually on the way to work.

but, i have beer … so i’ll grab a snack and have a few drinks while i do some editing.

oh, i almost forgot, i’ve started listening to last.fm. these days my regular music has been getting a bit dull, and i’m tired of changing playlists. so i figured it’s time to explore and find some new music … it’s working out well.

joining vfxy.com has been a lengthy process. it took a few weeks for my photoblog at super-dave.com to be accepted. then it took a few more weeks for the blog to be given a quality rating. however, it’s all been done and i can hopefully start looking forward to traffic.

vfxy.com posts blog photos via an rss aggregator. so when i post, my photo shows up on their main page and is also added to my profile. it’s a popular site and is a good way to get extra exposure. out of 10, my blog has begun with a quality rating of 5. which i’m happy about. hopefully it will go up from there.

view my profile here: http://photos.vfxy.com/photoblogs/4831.

an interesting post on brave new traveler discussed the ongoing beef protests in korea. the focus of the article was about ’staying safe’ during the protests.

although i agree that the protests should be avoided, i don’t think they’re particularly dangerous … the violence didn’t really have enough energy to last for too long and it was mostly late at night, after all the families, church goers and peaceful protestors had left. the article, though, was an interesting read about the author’s experience being at the protests.

i decided to write a response, which in my usual fashion of ranting became quite lengthy. i will reproduce it here:

As a resident of Korea for 6 years, I’ve seen all the highs and lows that this country has to offer. On one side, they’re so passionate about sport and their local heros. It’s almost blasphemy to speak ill of Korea’s iconic soccer team. On the other side, constant sabre rattling and skirmishes with the ’skittish’ neighbours to the north creates a lot of tension and hostility.

But people are reluctant to consider the history behind Korea’s sudden rise. This little piece of land, isolated on a small peninsula, has been the focus of Chinese and Japanese domination. In more recent history, the cold war divided the nation. Koreans, more so than many countries, have a healthy distrust of foreigners. Many foreign veterans in Korea are very bitter about this. Indeed, it’s often quite difficult to live in Korea, since the government begrugingly gives rights or privilege to foreigners, for fear that such power will be abused, like it has so often in the past.

However, the beef issue is something different altogether. The catalyst for the protests was the decision to import American beef, which would expose Koreans to the risk of Mad Cows Disease (ignore the fact that MCD cases number in their 10s and there is a virtually zero percent chance the disease would affect anyone in Korea). But it’s not beef that Koreans are angry about. On the surface, this is the issue, but under the surface the issue is much bigger.

The real issue is presidential incompetence. The current president, Lee Myong Bak, was elected on sweeping promises of economic reform (a promised economic increase of 7%) and numerous other impossible promises. Korea’s lowest voter turnout of 46% was enough for Lee to gain power. Immediately, he announced that his economic reforms would be impossible. All of his other promises have either been abandoned (the Grand Canal Project) or delayed/modified (the immersion English education program).

His cabinet has been changed twice already (he came to power in January) and numerous high level ministers have been sacked for their their roles in real estate speculation scandals and other unethical endeavours.

In fact, Lee himself might be in prison now, had he not won the election, due to his own involvement in shady business practices. Although he denied involvement, video evidence revealed he was directly involved. Lee’s “Blue House” staff are also the richest group of people to ever lead the country. His staff of ministers (including Lee himself) are worth at least 3 million dollars each (on average). This itself has been a source of constant criticism, since his staff of wealthy elites support big business and are out of touch with common Koreans.

Lee gained power by blinding Koreans with the promise of money, via economic success. The current economic slump, along with his decision to constantly ignore the calls of the people who protest outside the Blue House, have resulted in growing discontent towards the country’s leaders.

Returning to the protests, although American beef is the guise for protests, the true motive is Korean people’s complete dissatisfaction with the direction their country is taking, and the leadership of their government.

Beef was just a convenient excuse.

Technically, it should be easy for foreigners to stay safe during these ongoing protests. Mostly because it’s illegal for foreigners to participate in political protests. Partly because, now, the Christian churches have started to get involved, turning much of the violence to peaceful resistance.

As a photographer, I’ve been tempted to document the protests, but I don’t want to be targeted by crowds or mobs of people looking for a foreign face upon whom to focus their anger. A few friends have gone along and they’ve not reported any problems.

However, it’s more likely that a foreigner who is perceived to be participating, risks being deported. Whilst that may sound like nothing more than a threat, Korea did deport Chinese students who became violent during the Olympic torch relay in Seoul. The Korean government’s decision to deport the Chinese students was a brave one, considering China’s dominance of the region and Korea’s reluctance to offend it’s bigger neighbour (for fear of economic reprisals).

None the less, Koreans are living in interesting times. Since I teach adults for a living, we have some amazing conversations about these very issues and the direction their country is taking.

Dae Han Min Gook!

David Smeaton

well, i finally got around to updating the ‘about me’ page … i threw in a few photos for everyone to enjoy.

on the flipside, the stupid stupid update to wordpress 2.6 resulted in all my permalinks (that’s page and post links to regular folk) not working.

i don’t know how to fix it, so i’ve reverted to the original linking system … as a result, some of my links may not work … sorry about that!