COMING AND GOING

This is the University Dormitory Parking lot behind my house, where apparently they use this improvised 'Denver boot' to immobilise an illegally parked car. I suppose what I like most about this is the sense of immediate, personal reaction; in my experience, people in America would rather call the tow truck and hide behind the anonymous (and ugly) facade of the tow truck company and the aggressive demeanor of the truck driver. But this, this is up close and personal; and most likely the driver of this car will learn their lesson without having to pay an arm and a leg.

although the smoke from slash-and-burn agriculture in the area ruins most long shots like these, the solitude of the fisherman with the pole on the mighty Mekong is truly something to see in person.

Here's another mystery fruit from the market in Luang Prabang; I didn't do my homework carefully and so I don't know what the heck this thing is. It may look like a fig but the seller seemed to be implying that it wasn't very sweet.

The richness- and strangeness - of the Jackfruit, which, like the martian Cacao fruit, springs straight out of the trunk without the help of branches...

The Courtyard of Wat Aham, Luang Prabang, just after sunrise and a fresh sweep by a squadron of monks. As usual, click the picture to see a larger version.

what could be 'greener' than having even the waste container made completely from renewable organic materials? It looks nice too, beside this lovely stretch of river in Luang Prabang

A monkboy picks his teeth on the stupendous curving riverbank of downtown Luang Prabang, one of the most exotic-sounding cities I've ever been to....though plenty overrun by other tourists seeking exotically named cities.

The picture that inspired the series 'Furniture Haiku' - one early sunday morning, undoubtedly after the drinking crowds had passed through the night before, I found this tableau of urban existence on a subway bench....It sort of ties in with the whole buddhist/tourist thing of stacking little rocks on top of eachother in impossibly high pagoda formations....

Another Furniture Haiku from Pra Athit Road in Banglampu, Bankok. Sorry I had to be so obvious as to paste in the blowup, but I didn't trust you to know that you could enlarge the picture by clicking on it (Flash would solve my problems, but then I'm not sure that 'Hello' can load it)

Maybe it's just me, but does anybody else see the resemblance to Imperialist (Fascist) Japan's flag? A professor got fired here last week for coming off as pro-Jap empire, but look at the damn chicken boxes! I'd be a little bit incensed if I was a korean flag-waver...

A food delivery poster/menu from a local restaurant. Proof that there's some kind of psychedelic drugs in Korea...I always thought those delivery guys were whacked, the way they zip around in heavy traffic with only one hand on the scooter handlegrips, while the other holds the heavy metal food container.

it's all melted now, but it's hard to imagine my backyard this beautiful ever again, even with the dog and chickens disappeared...

Have a look at this couple, the girl shyly smiling 'cause Jeezuz is in her heart....but take a closer look at how they market this Campus Christian group in these posters I found near my office elevator...

But when I look at how they acronymyze the word FISH in this poster I really wonder if it is a case of learner's English, or if they really do understand how to use using sex appeal to sell the product...

By Tanarug copyright 2004

Now I know what it was!

Now I know what was so special about yesterday! Not the sudden three inches of snow dumped in March, not the almost two hours I taught (should have been four, but I let them go early as per tradition on the first day). No, none of that.

What was so unique about my day is that I spent half the day going round to two clinics, the first for an examination, the second for a full blown treatment. Nothing too serious, just my back was acting up for the first time in a long time (I got lazy in Laos and didn't do my daily situps), so I went round to Hyungi's office near my neighborhood.

He really fixed me up good - he's one of the only three doctors in the world who have been able to deal with my strange lumbalgia - resulting from a full on car accident in San Francisco many years ago, I was struck by a car while I was on a bike and went high in the air (according to witnesses).

Anyways, he hooked me up to this electric vacuum pump apparatus, something that administers mild fibrillation while holding on to you with its suction cups. For the uninitiated it feels a lot like what being devoured by alien raptor worms must feel like. Or maybe, on a more earthly level, like jumping into a bathtup with a toaster under your arm, while simultaneously jogging through an automated carwash. It certainly challenges your use of metaphor....

I'm fine now. I just have to take it a little easy in prep for the big ski trip this weekend. I even passed up a drinking night with my two barroom buddies in Seoul (sorry guys)

dead things

Today the snow was a good omen. As it usually is where things concerning school are. I mean, how many of us prayed for a snow like this when we were tired of school? It really seemed like a gift from the heavens (literally) back then, and it seems no less now. Now Seoul is quieter, warmer, and more tranquil looking with its new snowjob.

Speaking of which, I nearly put a picture of my long-dead and unnamed cricket up. The reason is that I left the laptop at the office and am typing from the desktop at home. That is, the reason that I nearly put a picture of the cricket up....not the reason he is long dead and still unnamed. A linguist would point out all the ambiguities in the above sentences, but I'll just stop there. The cricket is already dead enough without beating him more with descriptive functional linguistics....

anyways...(another curious thing; I apparently am the ONLY native speaker of English to say 'anyways' instead of 'anyway')...I decided, instead of the aforementioned long dead and nomenclature challenged arthropod, to give you a nice cheery picture of a painting by a friend in Thailand, TANARUG (aka 'Bird') - who personally I consider one of the best artists I've ever known (are you reading this, Bird?)

Also don't even THINK about stealing his images for commercial use (this blog is still listener-supported) or I will hunt you down. However, if you'd like some of his artwork, I can hook you up with him (shameless plug - I told you bird, it's Picasso's legacy to the artworld)...

I better end this blog here before you figure out that I'm too tired from the stress of first-day-of-class hysteria to write decently.

and before I go, for those of you who like to chill, I'd like to recommend the music of Carla Bruni, in case you haven't discovered her yet. The sound of her breathy notes makes me believe that puppy love is possible even for old pokes like me....yes, I LOVE that woman's voice!

UPDATE! AS I Blogged the thing below, this was happening outside my window

.....And this

clearly child's play

First Day of School!

Just thought I'd put up this image, though I don't teach young children, it was what I enjoyed most about Laos, the kids play in the street, have a true, innocent childhood.

If you are patient, I'm currently cutting down all my trip pictures down to size, and instead of making you wait to see them one by one, I'm going to schlock them all into country folders that you can circulate through all at once or even put them on slideshow mode.

till then, kiddies!

Kelly