Simon Cowell -V- Jeremy Clarkson

I’m a huge car fan. In particular I love Aston Martin and Range Rover. I came across this fantastic video of a BBC presenter, Jeremy Clarkson, interviewing Simon Cowell of American Idol and Pop Idol fame. This video is hilarious and if you need cheering up on this hot and humid Monday then take a look at this.

Enjoy and have a wonderful Monday ^^

나비 바 (Butterfly Bar)

I had the pleasure of visiting an amazing bar in Hongdai in Seoul last night. The bar’s name was Nabi (나비) which means “Butterfly” in Korean. There are no big tables or chairs, just cushions and small tables to put your drinks on.

But the best part about this bar was the amazing lighting. It was just candles and very low level lights. This gave me the opportunity to use my Speedlite flash to bounce the light off the ceiling to create some fantastic studio effect lighting. You can see from the images here just how good the effect was. I have done very little re-touching in Photoshop, just a little cropping and re-sizing and a little adjustment to the overall lighting effect.

To view all of the images you can check out my website by clicking here

Saturday News Update

Hi guys and sorry for not posting recently, I’ve been rather busy this week preparing for my holiday next month - yep I going away on a little break next week :-)Ok to give you some updated news. Finally I have bought a copy of Photoshop CS3. I already know it is fantastic as I tried the trial version last March, but now I have the full version (well, not the extended one - just the basic) I recommend to anyone interested in photography to go and try out this new version of Photoshop. You can download a 30 day free trial copy by clicking HERE It’s certainly worth a try ^^

My good friend and amazing photographer Mark Kim has been updating his blog a lot recently - You can check out his fantastically imaginative photography here

Also, one of my favourite sites is a blog written by a wonderful photographer called Mark Flemming. Recently he has been posting photos from a car rally he has been featuring. You can view his blog and how he achieved the photos by visiting his blog here

Finally, if you want to see what you can do with your vacation photography you should visit Scott Kelby’s blog over here Recently Scott has been on vacation and took some amazing photos in Maine. Check it out

Ok, time to go and play with Photoshop CS3 - see you all again soon

Happy Holiday

Just back from my trip to Incheon (to the west of Seoul) having had a wonderful few days spent with my family-in-law. The above picture is my family-in-law following a little picnic we had close to Incheon Airport.

While catching up on my favourite blogs, I was put on to this interesting site - rather funny for all those of you who know about iPods and Zunes - check it out here

For those of you who are interested in giving presentations don’t forget to check out my previous post. Very useful.

That’s it for now.

Presentation, Presentation, Presentation…

Just back from my few days away in Incheon. While I was away, TED.com has posted an interested post on their blog concerning powerful and effective presentations. … Check out the blog here

More from my few days away later.

Friday News Update…

Well, Friday is finally here and it’s a long weekend break for me. I’ll be returning to work on Wednesday and I shall be spending a few days in Incheon (west side of Seoul for those who don’t know^^) But before I go I wanted to update you on some news …

The above picture was taken by me at a recent BCM photoshoot. The model (Seon Mi) was incredibly photogenic. This shot has needed nothing more doing to it in Photoshop than a little resize.

Also, for any of you out there that need a little inspiration in their photography - check out this site. John Lehet’s photography is truly inspirational and I totally recommend you take a look at his amazing photography. (Thanks to Scott Kelby for putting me on to this site)

Another Scott Kelby recommendation is this re-touching site. Here you can see the before and after shots. Quite amazing what you can do in Photoshop eh? - See it HERE

Well, that’s it for now. Take everyone and have a great weekend

Thursday News Update

While reviewing my favourite blogs I came across a fantastic website for all you amateur photographers out there. This one is about ’studio lighting’ and lighting is something I have begun to realise is very important in photography (I know, I should have known that before) Anyway, here is the LINK

Another post by my favourite ‘business guru’ Mark Stevens entitled “A Mind Is Terrible Thing” - wonderfully thought provoking - check it out here

During my Free Talking class this morning (Tuesday / Thursday 10am to 12pm) we talked about education and how the obsession in Korea in a university education effects the creativity of today’s young people. It was highly emotive and very intense. I know this kind of discussion can frighten many people, but it really does help students to start really expressing themselves in English. Something that all people who think that a university education is essential. But for all those people out there who are obsessed with a university education - check out this video of a presentation by Sir Ken Robinson a world famous education professor. - you can see it HERE

Have fun everyone and feel fantastic

Boeing Dreamliner Is Launched

Today saw the launch of the new Boeing 787 (or “Dreamliner as it has been nicknamed)

This is an amazingly futuristically designed aircraft for the future and one that is likely to rival Airbus’s A380. It is a really exciting time in the ’super-passenger’ airline business between Boeing and Airbus and one that is surely going to go on for some time.

The design of both these airliners and the possibilities for the future of air travel can really demonstrate the amazing abilities that we humans are capable of and I for one an really excited about the future.

To view the video of the launch the Boeing 787 you can see it HERE on CNN

Biased Korean Reporting

It saddens me when Korean media make claims that native English teachers in Korea are irresponsible, unqualified, drunken womanisers.

I have lived in Korea for over 5 years now and have had the pleasure of meeting some of the most intelligent, well motivated people here who teach English to Korean people because they genuinely want to help their students learn English and improve their lives.

I have met very few, if any, teachers who come under the stereotype that many people in the Korean media like to portray as a typical foreign English teacher in Korea. Of course, there will inevitably be a few foreigners in Korea who take advantage of their position and carry out irresponsible acts, but in my experience of living and working in Korea these foreigners are few and far between. The point is that these teachers are a very small minority and very rarely stay in Korea for very long.

It is wrong of the Korean media to paint ALL English teachers as if they were womanising drunks. They are not. Many of the teachers who are accused of being under qualified are brought here by unscrupulous KOREAN institute owners who pay them very little, put them in squalid housing, under pay them (if at all) and leave them stranded in a foreign country with no money to get home and nowhere to live. It is very rare for the Korean media to report on these stories, I guess that is because it would start to show the real picture of what is going on in this country and would demonise the real culprits of this issue, namely fraudulent Korean businessmen out to make a quick buck.

It is odd that the media in Korea never learns about fairness and balanced reporting from the foreign media. When the Korean born mass killer killed all those students at Virginia Tech, the American media did not start claiming that ALL Korean born students were mass murders. When the islamic terrorists killed 52 people on the London Underground in 2005 the British media never claimed that ALL Muslims were terrorists. And when the terrorists blew up the trains in Milan in 2003, the Spanish media never claimed that ALL Muslims living in Spain were terrorists.

Indeed the media in the US, UK and Spain when to great lengths to point out that these acts were carried out by individuals and that the majority of the group these people came from, were not involved nor would they ever entertain such horrific thoughts.

It is about time that when it comes to foreigners living in Korea the Korean media needs to show the real side of living in Korea as a foreign English teacher - that is the majority of teachers take a great deal of pride and show a lot of care, professionalism and attention in making sure that their students get the best English education they can give.

So I plead with all sensible and even minded Korean people out there, to truly understand that over 95% of the native English teachers in Korea are fully qualified, genuine people who come to your fantastic country to experience the wonderful and dynamic culture here and to help you to learn English, a very important language, and to help you improve your life and your career prospects.

Language Effects Flight Safety

This is scary. A report on CNN claims that flight safety is being put in danger by pilots not being able to speak English clearly enough. It is an international requirement that pilots speak English, but many do not speak English to high enough degree to deal with emergency situations.

To view the report (and it is only 3 minutes long) click here

So guys, please remember - learning English can save your life