Saturday, November 29, 2008

Woodland Spider


Woodland Spider
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
I took this pic in the woods, though the background makes it look like at JC Penny's arachnid senior photo. Still, I think the colors worked out well.

Horse With Extra Appendage


Horse With Extra Appendage
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
One of the odder horses I've ever seen. (The arm that seems to be sprouting from the horse is actually from the unseen rider of the out of control steed.)

Leaves Building and Sky


Leaves Building and Sky
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Nature and not-nature.

Majestic Fritz


Majestic Fritz
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
A hiker and ex-pat in his prime.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Chicken and the Mayor

Someday I will write a children's book titled that, The Chicken and the Mayor, but for now it's just an odd blog about the odd things I saw today.

Today, in downtown Seoul, I saw a man chasing a chicken. In other parts of Korea this not an odd occurrence, but I live in a part of Korea that is comparable to Manhattan in New York. Fowl on the loose is not a common sight. I've never even seen a live chicken in this area so naturally I freaked out. Those of you who know me also know I'm not the biggest fan of chickens ever since I was viciously and humiliatingly attacked by a rooster when I was four. I saw this chicken running around off his leash and thought, "Oh god, here we go again. And this time in public."

However, the chicken was more freaked out than I was. The chicken was loose in an area surrounded by sea food restaurants. Korean restaurant owners advertise their ocean fare by setting up aquariums outside, displaying all the different oceanic delicacies. I can only imagine the chicken seeing this, wondering what the hell was in store for him, and deciding to get the hell out of there.

Then there was the guy chasing the chicken. I believe he had just been on a scooter as he was wearing a motorcycle helmet. The helmet only added to this folly as the man looked like a big a weenie and professional chicken chaser all at the same time. He did chase the chicken into on coming traffic where I was sure that the bird was going to get smeared. I'll admit, I let out a small "eek!" to the puzzlement of Koreans walking by. They looked at me like "What? It's just a chicken." Yes, I felt sorry for the chicken; the guy chasing the chicken; me, the guy watching the chicken. I left without really knowing how it all ended.

But that's okay because I'm somebody special, chickens need not concern me. Two Wednesday's from now, I'm going to have lunch with the mayor of Seoul. He called me up, asked my advice on some policy issues, and then scheduled a get together. Actually, I was informed by my employer that the mayor wants have lunch with all the foreign English teachers from Gangnam public schools. I think this is little more than a photo op to boost the international image of Seoul. I'm grateful, really...well, not really. For one, my classes will be behind as next week they have official school tests and then the Wednesday after that I have to leave for this lunch thing. Isn't it a little odd that the teachers leave school and miss classes for a lunch to tout how great the school system and English education is?

Still, I penciled in my scheduler today: "Lunch with mayor," for Wednesday December the 3rd. As a kid, it's something you think you will write all the time on the to-do-list along with "court at 3" and "fix the Bat-signal". Then you kind of forget about that stuff, but when you least expect it, Bam! there it is, "lunch with the mayor." Except the mayor takes you to a sea food restaurant and you are allergic to seafood, and you are with fifty other people, and the mayor doesn't speak English. Not always as I had planned, but soon I will be able to cross one more thing off the list, one more thing on the long list to immortality.

The Only People Crazy Enough


The Only People Crazy Enough
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
On Saturday we journeyed to Gangchon. Last year I went there with Canadians Scott and Al to ride bikes. I had so much fun that I decided to round up a posse and do it again this year. Much to our dismay, it rained. But did that stop us; no sirry, not even when the Korean go-cart manager told us to stop. He warned us that the track would be messy and wet and we said "Good!". This is a before picture. Click on it and search around on my flickr site to see after photos.

I Think It's a Van Gough

This is one of those pictures that just leaves a bad taste in your brain. I imagine the guy or guys who painted this (I am 99% certain a male created this thing) thought that they would paint something sexy and fun. This is how you end up with an anatomically incorrect girl snowboarding on a skateboard with no wheels and magic bananas sprouting from the ground. I wonder how much the commission was?

Skillz


Skillz
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
I had no idea Fritz was a stunt master on a bike. Here he is pulling off a move he calls the "white trash".

Small Hunchbacks Meet the Tall People

And sometimes I laugh at the Koreans and their get-ups.

Traditional Fine Nuts


Traditional Fine Nuts
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
At least they're fine. I hate to admit it, but this stuff was actually pretty good. (I think they wanted to say "pine nuts wine". I hope they wanted to say "pine nuts wine".)

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Gangnam at Night Time


Gangnam at Night Time
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
So every Wednesday I teach this kid English in his apartment on the 22nd floor and he's got a pretty cool view from up there. This week our English lesson centered around taking pictures. This is the shot we eventually came up with. Pictured is Gangnam, the financial center of Seoul, and the mass exodus of cars in the evening.

The Supersonic Highway


The Supersonic Highway
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Getting artsy.

Criss-Cross


Criss-Cross
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Night time on the Han River.

Wanna Be Pumpkins


Wanna Be Pumpkins
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Pictured is our weak attempt at Halloween, but at least it was an attempt. We went to our shopping mega-store, E-mart, to try and find a pumpkin, but apparently the only thing they don't sell are pumpkins. We improvised and went for peppers instead. They are much easier to carve, but don't last as long as a pumpkin and are quite the fire hazard when the candle is inserted.

Now You Can Urinate With a Smile on Your Face.

A week or so ago, I had a random Friday off and decided to hit up the Seoul Design Expo. I had hoped to see some engineering feats of the soon to be future. Instead I saw some pretty wacky write-ups of some pretty wacky ideas.
One thing I've noticed in Korea is that image is everything. If it looks good, it must be good. It's the victory of fashion over function. English is supposed to be the international language, so all the displays were in English to add that professional look. Too bad the displays were unintelligible to both Korean and English speakers alike. It was entertaining to read all the mock-ups and try and decipher them. The amazing urinal described is in the next picture.

The Breakthrough in Urinal Technology

Display only, though I was tempted to use it.

Smoking Baby
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Smoking Baby

Ever see that Cheech and Chong where Cheech has "burning baby" all over him? It's much funnier than this mock-up for a series of videos that try and lower female smoking rates. The one thing that gets me about this display is female smoking rates in Korea are some of the lowest of any developed nation. Probably because any female that smokes is heavily looked down upon. Nevermind the fact that forty percent of the male population in Korea lights up everywhere. I'm not encouraging women to smoke. It just seems that the person who came up with idea for this horrific cartoon is reinforcing the negative stereotype of women smokers, an already easy target. If he wants a challenge, he should have gone after the males.