"Off With Their Heads"

OCD guy with a camera.  The bird is a bonus.

 

"Left To The Moon"

 

Just What It Says

For some reason she kept staring at me during the whole subway ride, so I couldn't draw her openly.  I only drew this quick sketch from memory, which is why the quality stinks.  Nevertheless, I think it's pretty close to the model;  she really did have an extreme face like this.

Sorry lady, you're probably a very nice person.

The Pub Named Lethe

Lethe, the river of forgetfulness.  In classical mythology it was the river in the underworld whose waters made you forget your former earthly life.  Then you were ready for paradise or reincarnation.  It would have been nice to be able to forget just specific memories, but that wasn't allowed.  You drink, you forget everything including your identity, that was the deal.  You couldn't pick and choose.

There have been times when I almost wished I could drink of its waters and forget.  Almost.

Just as well.  I wouldn't really want to have my memories erased anyway -- not even the unpleasant, sad and disturbing ones.  If I can't partake of the joys, I'll at least keep the regrets.

Anyway, I can experience temporary oblivion from the bottle whenever I want -- and that's enough for me.

COME IN AND FORGET

By the way, my compliments to whomever chose to have the door of the establishment painted that forbidding grey.  It's perfect.

More Trashed Dudes

According to an article I read the most-consumed spirit in the world, by sheer volume, is not vodka, not whisk(e)y, not tequila or rum.  Liter by liter, the rather unexpected winner of that honor, is soju, overwhelmingly the drink of choice with meals, snacks and excuses in Korea.

Related post:  Trashed Dude

Martial Cloud

I've named this cloud "St. Michael".  It reminds me of the Archangel Michael, that most martial of the angels, who led God's hosts with drawn sword against the rebel angels.

Related posts:  Speaking of Dragons...

                         Devil On The Floor

The Temptation Of Eve

For a guy who isn't Christian, I sure like me some Christian imagery.  This is another tiny panel (5 inches high and 3.75 inches across) that I started a long time ago, got distracted by other things and never followed up on.

I once was in a relationship with someone else's wife (actually it was the first of two such affairs in my life, where I was "the other man", but anyway).  She was unhappy in her marriage.  She was bored and frustrated with her strait-laced, hidebound husband and feeling trapped.  I guess she found my somewhat unconventional style fresh and interesting, a kind of escape valve from her stifling situation.  As for me, I found her beautiful and sexy, and maybe I was just a little flattered that someone so attractive would be attracted to me as well.

And it's true what they say about creative artists and their muses.  Her beauty has since informed all my subsequent imagery of nude female figures, be they Eves, Venuses, or just anonymous ideals.

[An amusing side note:  Some time after we started our relationship, I gave her a handmade card with the image of myself as the Serpent, offering the Fruit of Knowledge to her (the Serpent finally had limbs!).  She loved it, and remarked that she especially liked that I made a point of coloring us with different complexions^.  She gave it to a friend to keep though, as she was afraid her hubby might find it]

Monster Eyes In The Sidewalk

Not many people would have noticed it, but I did.

Because I'm always on the lookout for monsters, especially ones that are "hiding in plain sight", like this one.

"Composition With Cherry Bowl"

An accidental arrangement of lowly, random objects -- invested with new significance, simply because they made up this photograph.  The 2-D analog of objet trouvé ("found object").

A Drizzly Day In Hongdae

I took this photo this afternoon in the Hong-Ik University neighborhood (the origin of the name Hongdae).  When I looked at the downloaded image I was immediately struck by its visual similarity to another shot that I took a few years ago.  But that earlier image was quite different in feel;  while it was intended to exploit the ominous, dystopian anxiety of being alone in the midst of an anomalously empty urban environment (wow, I so can wax poetic sometimes), this new image was definitely in a different category.  So I decided to emphasize that difference by modifying it with various editing tools, running it through filters, etc.  The result is a page out of an imaginary picture book dedicated to nostalgia, longing, and faded memories that will die with me.

Related posts:  A Bit Eerie,  Nostalgia,  Two Skies

Red Flyer II

 

Related post:  Red Flyer

Another Worm Rescued

Just came back from a short walk in the rain.  While on the way out I came across a worm slowly inching along, right in the middle of the sidewalk.  Overcoming a certain apprehension -- this guy was Really big -- I tried to pick it up, but as I did so it violently writhed and wriggled out of my fingers and fell back onto the sidewalk.  This happened several times but I finally managed to pick up the slippery, slimy creature and put it down on the rain-softened earth over the adjacent retaining wall.  Before resuming my walk I waited until I saw it start to dig its way into the soil.  This was my first worm rescue since moving to Korea.

Number of worms rescued:  68

EDIT:  I just came back from a quick trip to the supermarket down the street, and on the way back I found another (not nearly so large) worm on the sidewalk.  I removed it onto soil as well.  Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo.

Number of worms rescued:  69

Waiting

Or "Patience"

Or maybe "Like vs Like"

"Berthe Aux Grands Pieds"

I found these big (for Barbie, that is) feet at a second-hand store and just couldn't resist.

The "Big Apple"

Or,

"How To Make Sure Delivery Drivers Remember Your House In A Maze Of Anonymous Lookalike Buildings".

A Rogues' Gallery / "Novelty Cakes"

When I was in weekly therapy I used to carry the week's production of these masks on a board to show my therapist.  It was sort of like a gauge of my mental states.  As I would walk down to her office from the car I've actually had people ask me if they were edible.  I guess they thought they were made of marzipan or something.

Earthshine

Into The Depths

 

Or perhaps "Out of the Depths"?

"Beyond Residence"

Just because of the juxtaposition, I briefly wondered if she'd been evicted.  But of course it has to be an accident, with nothing to do with anything.

Anyway, I didn't ask her.

A Wrinkle-Lipped Serpent

Has given up the ghost.  It's clearly been dead for some time, doubtless due to clueless humans repeatedly chasing it away from the "poor pigeons".  Poor pigeon hunter starved to death in the midst of plenty.

Related Post:  The Wrinkly-Mouthed Serpent

One Unusual Night

Before it closed up a month or so ago, I used to pass by this kindergarten almost every day.  I never paid it much attention;  it was just another built-in facility for the convenience of the residents of my apartment complex, like the pharmacy, the Taekwondo dojang, the piano studio and the ice cream shop.

On one particular night, though, while making my way back from the convenience store at the end of the mini-strip mall with my beer purchase, my eyes took in this sight -- and I was transfixed.

The gate, the lights, the full Moon, and the ginkgo leaves arching above, all had conspired to create a magical sight -- reminiscent of some enchanted castle from a fairy tale that I've never read but can almost remember.

Yet More Seoul Stairs

Shadows Have Eyes

At The Headwaters

Of the modernized, artificially enhanced CheongGyeCheon stream, Seoul -- indelibly marked by this Claes Oldenberg sculpture.  It is my personal opinion that its toy-like bright colors stand out dissonantly amidst the stream's stark, open environment, but what do I know, it's a popular tourist attraction as well as a favorite hangout of Seoulites who want to relax and enjoy a bit of (semi-)nature along with the herons and cranes, who don't seem to mind the all the human attention.

A Rare Shot

Another rummage session through old files uncovered this humorous accidental image of a gull seemingly reacting to a swimmer.  It somehow went unnoticed at the time, but it's a true "once in a lifetime" shot.