Archive for South Korea

a journal of the plague, &tc, year

Posted in Books, Travel, Wines with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 18, 2026 by xi'an

From the Hugo Award package (leftover), I read the fifth and sixth volumes in John Scalzi’s Old Man War, namely The Human Division, and The End of All Things, the former a rather loose collection of short stories, and the later not even pretending. Efficient writing but nothing exciting. (Still part of his Hugo Award 2026 for series!) In the plane to Tokyo, I finished a new Kingfisher novel, Swordheart, set in the same universe as the Paladin series, which is similarly efficient but overly delayed by witty exchanges (in the least appropriate situations) and endless inner thoughts about romantic feelings! I also read a French BD, Tourner la page by Zep, whose drawings of Greek islands are nice but whose thriller scenario is rather conventional and predictable.

Watched at high speeds the Korean TV series Teach you a lesson (참교육), which addresses the woes of the Korean education system (bullying, teacher burnout, campus violence, gambling, gang links, teachers’ corruption, parents’ harassment, drug trafficking, suyeongsaeng) but is deeply flawed in supporting violent interaction with and generally extra-legal actions against delinquent high school students.

Bayesian persuasive privacy at ICML²⁶

Posted in Books, Mountains, pictures, Statistics, Travel, University life with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 14, 2026 by xi'an

horsy new year!

Posted in pictures, Travel with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 17, 2026 by xi'an

a journal of the invasion year

Posted in Books, Kids, Mountains, pictures, Running, Travel, University life, Wines with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 17, 2026 by xi'an

Read The Tainted Cup, by Robert Jackson Bennett, which I enjoyed tremendously. Admittedly, and paradoxically, it belongs to a highly specialised niche, namely the one of murder mysteries in fantasy settings. Paradoxically, because in a fantasy universe, anything can prove true (and the opposite), which makes uncovering the murderer(s) an impossible task (for the readers). But the author manages to make the story into a page turner, while unfolding the specifics of the local universe without massive infodump. And creating fully-fleshed characters, esp. the main investigator and her rookie assistant. I am definitely looking forward the continuation of the sleuthing adventures of the pair and comforted that the book won the 2025 Hugo [Best Novel] Award! (And this made me reminiscing of other great fantasy mysteries, like Gideon the Ninth, A Master of Djinn, the Bobby Dollar trilogy, as well as several Kingfisher‘s books.) I also read the BD Petites coupures à Shioguni (Small denominations in Shioguni) by Florent Chavouet, a Japanese gangster story with a truly original style and a relatively convincing scenario.

Prepared several kilos of local (sea) scallops during our Norman vacations, which is easier than preparing oysters but messier since the shells may be full of sand. Also failed my first chocolate mousse of the year, mostly due to eggs being too cold and solidifying the barely melted chocolate as a result.

Watched Beyond the Bar, (yet another) Korean TV series on a major legal company and the rise of a young recruit. Repeating a lot of tropes found in other series on the same topic, with weak resolutions of the legal issues but enjoyable at low doses nonetheless. Also found myself watching The Secrets of Dumbledore, the third instalment of the Harry Potter franchise, Fantastic Beasts, which is frankly appalling, cheesy, and lacking a true background story.

4th Bayesian Nonparametrics Networking Workshop [call for contributions]

Posted in pictures, Statistics, Travel, University life with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on January 6, 2026 by xi'an