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Published: September 5th 2005
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Legs and a Bag
I was trying to illustrate how even an unguarded bag at a busy intersection is safe in Korea (land free of theives), but I got some legs instead. Plus, my umbrella was nicked today out of the school's common umbrella stand. Rrrggh. Frankly, it's all a little disturbing... ...But kind of neat, too. I've never been in the path of a really major tropical storm. Oh, by the way, in case you didn't know, there's a decent-sized typhoon (which is a hurricane that spins in the opposite direction) headed toward Korea. Or maybe Japan, these things are hard to say for sure until a Hyundai smashes into your living room. The typhoon is named "Nabi", which means "butterfly" in Korean. How could I be joking about this? On one hand, it sounds kind of cute: "Hey, a typhoon named Butterfly couldn't be all bad, right?" (It also reminds me of the old chaos theory adage: "a butterfly flaps its wings in Tokyo and causes a thunderstorm in New York.")
Actually, this typhoon is about half the size of Hurricane Katrina, which has so recently turned New Orleans into Soggy Hell, which sounds not so bad until one realizes that a typhoon of similar size pushed cars around and shut down the city a couple of years ago. Things could get pretty fucking bad around here, although undoubtedly the Koreans will tough it out with what I'm beginning to understand is not total
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They are a little camera shy, though confident in their moon boots. ignorance of obstacles but a stubbornness and grit that doesn't quit. I will be hiding in my room and making an awful mess of my undergarments if it gets ugly; that's the plan, at least.
And it can't be as bad as Katrina - I've seen pictures. What a nightmare. I'm tired already of people pointing fingers and shifting blame, though. It's a class 5 hurricane - there's no preparation for cataclysm. Even I can't blame Bush for a hurricane. I tried, but my logic detector made a groaning noise that I can only describe as "plaintive." I can blame his administration for spending more time claiming it isn't their fault than putting help into action. Looks like things are finally sort of moving along there. My condolences and support to anyone who is reading this who has friends or family that have been directly affected by Katrina. New Orleans has survived an annual Mardi Gras celebration for countless years, not to mention a putrid football team, and the loss of a decent basketball team named the Jazz to Salt Lake City, a place where jazz is illegal; New Orleans will limp out of this one with a hangover
Who Died?
The spirit of tasteful advertising, that's who. Who am I kidding? "Tasteful advertising" is just as much of an oxymoron as "Senate Ethics Committee." and a strange smell, into the daylight, blinking its eyes and wondering just where it slept (mostly in the Superdome, and uneasily, to say the least).
Anyway, it might be kind of cool to see a tropical storm like that, you know, as long as I don't die, which I shouldn't if I don't get any "bright ideas" during the storm like playing Ben Franklin. (get it? "Bright?"- electricity - the light bulb - electrocution? I know, it's a stretch.) Anyway, if it's to come, it's likely to hit in the next couple of days, so I may be on the phone mewling if things get bad - be prepared. Tell me to do something constructive, like tape the windows, or ask the authorities if I can be of service, because my ideas will probably be to go nuts and possibly go out into the storm and see what I'm made of. These latter ideas aren't sound, but they sound like fun to me even now, so, you know...
I've got pictures, but nothing of the typhoon yet, so they're random pictures.
Except the ones of the seemingly impromptu Korean traditional festival outside of Lotte Department Store
What an awesome hat...
In the background, really, really, blurred, you can sort of see the tower of death that I was trying to shoot. and the store opening, both of which I will cover briefly here.
The store opening happened a couple of weeks ago, right near my work. A big chain grocery store opened down the block, and like every other store opening, it was an ordeal. The Korean style is certainly something to see, though. Friends and neighbors send big wreaths of flowers, the kind you see at weddings and funerals, which are prominently displayed outside of the store on opening day (this goes for every kind of store), and people grab flowers as they leave. This particular store also had serious discounts, so there was a line outside all day. Which is good, because otherwise only people driving by would have noticed the go-go dancers. Mmm-hm. It always seems like the same two girls wearing a different color of hotpants, and every week you see them somewhere, most commonly on the back of a flatbed truck, advertising everything from a video arcade to whatever it is they advertise on the back of flatbed trucks. Again, how could I be joking? They play dance music and the girls are hardly ever that into it, but it's always ridiculous, shocking and not
Processional Exit
I wanted this picture, with the grandma holding the child, and I got it. Looking into the viewfinder really helps for taking pictures of what you want to. Just a tip from an old pro. as titillating as it should be.
The traditional Korean festival took place right after I went to see a movie at the Lotte movie theatre. (It was "Bewitched," and since my expectations were subterranean, I thought it was great. I was blown away, frankly - it wasn't the greatest movie I've ever seen, and maybe my theory that I've gotten dumber since I have come to Korea is true, but it was one of the smarter remake movies I've seen in a while.) They were just setting up, so I grabbed the best position I could, and was immediately jostled out of the way by Koreans. People here, like in many other parts of the world, are less concerned with the idea of personal space in public than in Seattle (from which I hail). And my aim is bad, so I got a lot of pictures of stuff I wasn't shooting for. Instead of the contortionist quartet's painful-to-look-at tower of bendiness, I got a picture of a hat. A cool hat, no doubt, but not what I was going for. It was cool, though, and it felt good to know that the West hasn't completely shattered Korea's historical traditions.
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Tried to take a picture of a cockroach and got a super-awesome smeary photo instead. Some usher handed me an ad for a show entitled "The Mystery of Asia," but I not only have a problem with the name of this show (for reasons that mostly have to do with my own anti-imperialist brand of imperialism), but it's expensive, and I got to see part of it free.
Hope you all enjoy the pics, and if you must know, my soul feels like it is in the middle of a D&C. Don't ask unless you want to know the whole story.
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Lauren
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I want to know the story, but you could probably just email it to me... when are the kids going to write... and that kid IS pretty effing awesome.... ...as was Dashboard. Whoot.