Just Came Up With A New Aphorism

To use against the neo-segregationists who would have you believe race is the most important thing about a person:

"We may eat different, but we all $h!t the same".

EDIT:  I am reminded of an old documentary I once watched, that referenced the first contact of a New Guinean(I think?) tribe.  An old native man was talking about the time when he saw white people for the very first time and was fascinated.  He recalled watching the white party from a place of hiding, and when one of the group left to go off into the bush, he guessed what the man was up to, and followed him stealthily.  The white man went to do his business in a suitably secluded spot, none the wiser that he was being watched, and went back to rejoin his party.  The old native recalled then going in to examine what the white man had left behind, and he said something to the effect of how he'd been impressed by the fact that the white man's $h!t looked the same as his own, not white as he had half-expected.

Errant Sparrow

Looking rather overwhelmed.

Related posts:  Errant Teddy, Errant Bunny

Down Below

Not quite Eloi and Morlock, but hey, give it a million or so years...

Polite Giant, And About That UFO Rescue

On one level, giants are symbolic embodiments of the unstoppable, inescapable disasters nature sends man's way.  Storms, torrential rains, avalanches, these are all nature's giants.  But giants also serve as literal stand-ins for human evil, writ large.  That latter clan of giants includes Polyphemos the Cyclops, who devoured Odysseus' men.  The "Fee Fi Fo Fum" giant Jack encountered at the top of the beanstalk also wanted to eat him.  And don't forget the savage race of giants in the Harry Potter series.

The big guys all seem so unpleasant.  But are they?  Seems to me, they're not necessarily more cruel to us than we are to the creatures that we exploit.  If we were conquered by a vastly more advanced race of aliens ("giants") who like to eat exotic meat, we wouldn't really be much more than livestock to them.  In fact, there is a movie starring Scarlett Johansson dealing with that very theme ("Under The Skin", based on a novel by the same title by Michael Faber).  And there's the savage aliens consuming human fluids in "War of the Worlds" (2005).  They weren't more civilized than humans, they just had fancier weapons; but even so they treated humans as "just food" (and fertilizer!).

Since giants are creations of ordinary little humans, this tendency to equate giants with evil does not show us in a positive light.  It means people believe being powerful and free of the constraints imposed by rules made by others, not having to answer to anyone, would naturally tend to bring out the baser impulses in men's hearts, even unconsciously (some of Spiderman's adversaries, such as Doctor Octopus and Electro, come to mind).

But not this giant.  He seems to be apologizing for all the harm done by his fellows.

*But if there were godlike, galaxy-girding aliens with inconceivable powers and glories, forget about caring about us, would they even notice us?  Forget "breeding" with humans (ahahaha!), like the UFO conspiracy nuts are always going on about -- **why would they even want to?  Do we notice the ants that we walk over every day, and wish we could breed with them?  Or in a darker, but more immediate vein:  if five year-olds were giants, would they trample little adults underfoot when angry?  Imagine a hundred-foot tall kid throwing a tantrum in a crowd...

*The Heaven's Gate tragedy happened because its cult members really believed space aliens with superior powers specifically cared about them. Wow.  And then there's that certain other religious cult out there that does the converse:  it teaches its adherents that, hey, just by joining the cult and paying respect several times a day in a very outwardly visible "I'm devout and you are not, which makes me superior, like a human is superior to a pig" kind of way, they become metaphorical giants among mankind -- not gonna name names though.

**That's supposing such godlike beings even needed physical bodies.  And even if they absolutely wanted biological bodies for some reason, there are all kinds of ways to design much better anatomies than the human model.

Blackbird Over Seoul

 Seen hovering over the Chungmuro subway station.

Just some pretty scenic pictures.  It's azalea season - in this case at Jamsil, Gangnam.

I'll Never Stop Wondering

Whether that's a real rock or an empty shell.

Full Moon Rising

There is a card game known as "Hanafuda" or Flower War in Japan.  And some time during the last couple of centuries, J merchants brought it to Korea, where it took root as "Hwatu", which means -- Flower War^.  This image was taken several years ago when I was coming home from work one evening.  I saw it as I drove by the alley, and I just absolutely had to go back and take a few shots of the real-life "Full Moon" card from the Hwatu deck.

Related Post:  Another Well-Timed Shot

Sliding

A wistfulness passing unseen.

This confluence of randomnesses will never be repeated.

Related post:  Two Skies

Creepy

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the restaurant that was supposed to be at the top of this desultory, spooky stairwell had gone out of business.  It wouldn't have been at all out of place to see some misshapen movie monster come waddling down those steps.

Cherry Blossoms

At Seokchon Lake, yesterday.

I'd forgotten about the trees (and the season) and had gone there for a quiet walk around the lake, but yesterday it was like a commuter train at rush hour.  It was not easy, cutting all the people out of the frame.

My Halo Is A Manhole Cover

 

A man who wears a sewer lid as a halo. Figures.

Oddly enough (or maybe not so oddly), this reminds me of the Japanese saying "Kusai mono ni, futa wo suru" (くさい ものに ふたをする) -- meaning "If something stinks, put a lid on it". In other words, cover up, whitewash, pretend. Just so you look good on the outside, that's all that matters.

But in any case, I like what this photo represents -- a union of polar opposites.  The sacred and the profane, The Brahmin and the Untouchable, combined in one harmonious image.

Related post: A Rather Jungian Reflection

Bright Wings Over Seoul

This looked to be the very opposite of, and a fitting match, for the image of the Dark Angel posted a little while back.

Related post:  Dark Wings Over Seoul

At Seoul Forest

As a rule, I prefer to keep people out of my shots if I can help it.  But there have been exceptions.

Renamed "In A Secret Language"

Originally titled "Untitled".

Magic Tree

Another one of those images that vaguely remind me of Miyazaki animation.  An ordinary object or scene, that seems somehow laden with a certain supra-normal significance.  This one was taken at Sky Park, Seoul, but I think it would fit right into the "set" of "My Neighbor Totoro".  Almost makes you expect to walk through that doorway and see something extraordinary!

Mute Witnesses

Found in a back lane in Seoul.

Stool Pigeon Crow

 "He went thataway".

CONJUNCTION

Moon, Jupiter and Venus, from last night.

A Mysterious Memory

 

Ascending

It's a deceptively simple image.  A flock of birds rising from behind some trees.  But when you think about it it's pretty remarkable, considering this is a 'candid' shot taken on the spur of the moment, not an arranged one.  I don't remember if I waited for that one bird to top the Sun - probably it was a lucky accident - but anyhow, what timing; and the bifurcated clump of trees provides a perfect setting for the birds' emergence.  A great example of finding the Extraordinary in the ordinary.  A humble shot of an everyday event, but a special one, and one that can never be duplicated.

Just Playin'

 

Yet Another "Seen In A Seoul Alley"

 

Another "Shattered Man"

It was an accident, but I like it like this;  kind of reminds me of me.

Related:  Another Random Pair

Perfect Timing

O.K., maybe it's time for a little lightheartedness^

A visit back to a minor sub-genre that I actually spent quite a lot of time on. Yes, it's kind of silly I know, but hey, Monty Python was silly. And there are numerous other excellent examples like this, but this particular one really does stand out.