December 2002 Archives

I think the Card's contrived way of telling a story -- the way that makes it seems that the whole story is told by an omniscient, ethical being -- becomes more apparent in Shadow Puppets. I was tempted to defend him that this is because he was trying to tell a story within the bigger history that had been told already, but his previous Ender's series had the same feel as I look back.

It's not a bad story, but I can't help but make a comparison of Deep Fritz as it describes the whole sequence of a yet-to-be-played chess game (not that, it can actually "solve" the game, but quite close toward the end).

Although the writing is smooth and the whole story is easy to read, there is not much suspense nor much of character development (we already know what all these characters are like), and most of the characters are so smart that nothing really surprise them. Card tried to incorporate some international politics here, but it's a bit dis-illusionary to think that those countries involved can be "controlled" like that, like pawns.

I am a fan of the series (but if I think about it, I only really liked Ender's Game), and have read all of them, but I am beginning to think whether I should continue if there comes another sequel (I probably would though).

I read this article today.

There has always been anti-U.S. resentment in Korea since 1980. You can say it's a love-hate thingy. Some part of the population (maybe most, unconsciously) felt the need of the U.S. military presence. However, some resented having a foreign military effectively controlling one's own army. This is especially true for most of the younger generations.

I am sorry to say this to the men and women who serve their country, but they don't really represent the finest in the soft power that the U.S. has to offer. Maybe, the hard power, but definitely not the soft. There have been many incidents between the U.S. military personnel and the Korean civilians, and most of the times, people will talk about it for a couple of weeks and it would quiet down.

However, this time it seems a bit different. It involved two middle school girls. There are already several agendas against the U.S. (the North Korea issues, the next-generation fighter selection, the HDTV formats, etc.) that it just exploded. Also, I think the success of the World Cup 2002, and the confidence that the Korean people got from that seem to play a bigger part. Also, there is a presidential election soon.

Anyway, maybe this, 2002, is the year that would change the attitude of Korea. Or maybe not.