Black-faced Spoonbill

Only about 2,400 left in the world, and 20 or so overwinter on Jeju.  This one was pretty close to the road.  Snowy day.  Birds.

The Cure - Fire in Cairo

Burn like f-i-r-e-i-n-c-a-i-r-o!

In another era, I borrowed the 'Boys Don't Cry' album from a friend.  On tape, of course.  I dubbed a copy (by wedging cardboard into the tapeover holes in a U2 tape), and even went to the extravagant step of making color photocopies of the insert.  It's a solid album, and Robert Smith wasn't even wearing all that makeup and hair shit at that point.  Nowadays, he's fat, and all the makeup jazz just looks sorta super-stupid.
Nostradamian

Good soup for a snowy day

Green and good

Yessir, a gut-warmer for sure.  My Korean birdin' bud took me to this 'famous' place, which was in the middle of nowhere.  It's in the town where they make 'SamDaSoo' spring water.  It's chicken 'guksoo' (handmade noodles).  Hits the spot after a 6-hour birding session in the blizzards of Korea's Hawaii.  Along with the chicken, there were a few chicken 'parts' in there, but I mostly ate around those.  Soup and sandos are good things.  I also like lemonade.  The best part is when I drink it.

Hawaii my arse

We love having you here.

Except for you foreigners - we clench our jaws, look down, and grudgingly put up with having you here.

Well thanks, Jeju, we love being here.  Most of the time.  Except when it's an ankle-deep and stagnant green social puddle.  Been hibernating mostly lately, but I've sorta been honoring some of the productive/dumb resolutions I made.  Played a Korean volleyball/soccer hybrid this morning with Kansas Wizzles.  Got a good sweat up and coughed up what I hope were the last of my gelatinous lung demons.  Heading north super early tomorrow for some more coastal-scouring birding with my Korean bird homie, and some other journalistic nonsense.  Tra-la.
  Tried to write a song for the first time in 8 years the other day, on mando.  In true form, I thought it was awesome and chart-topping, then listened to it a few minutes later, and it turned out to be the weakest of candy-ass nursery rhymes.  Balls.

The most awesome thing ever

Yeah man, we're kinda a big deal.

I finished the Hendrix book, it was rad.  Turns out Jimi met Leonard Nimoy at a club at one point, and I found a picture of the blessed event.  I can't conceive of a situation where I'd want to be a fly on the wall more than this one.  After writing every Avett Brothers song before they can, and punching out Hitler, my first item of business after completing my time machine is gonna be to insinuate myself into this amazing meeting.  I'd just watch them.

Monsters of Folk - The Right Place

Crusty goodness

Wow, these are some good meds.  I can't feel my wips and I don't caew.
All different beards

Scream slogans!

Wait, who goes where?  You lost me.

Great place for a naval base then, right?

Stroke Seogwipo's cheek with a rose petal...

Geez, pick one and stick with it, I say.  Personally, I like 'We love having you here!', but I've been seeing less of those lately.
  I caved in today and went to the quack to get some meds for this sore throat that's been going round and round this island.  Couldn't sleep last night because it hurt.  That, and my neighbor decided to get drunk and scream at his TV all night.  One day, he'll die, probably at the hands of another hideous man-o-lantern, wielding a broken soju bottle.  He'll stab my neighbor in the gut, twist the bottle, and pull it out with one deft motion.  They'll look each other in the eye for a long moment, stunned, as time stands still.  Then, a cylindrical slab of innards will slide out of the bottle and hit the ground with a wet 'splop', and my neighbor will suddenly realize he's hurt bad.  The assailant will turn a wobbly turn, and flee.  My neighbor will gasp and clutch the gushing hole in his crap-factory, then notice he's incapable of screaming.  He'll keel over backwards into the bushes, gurgling, and bleed out.  Then, right before he dies, a single arrow will come whizzing out of the darkness, hitting him square between the eyes - 'THWACK!'
  Or perhaps he'll live a long and productive life.

This is the kind on day I'm having

All messed up in different sortsa ways

Three rare gulls

Black-legged Kittiwake

Glaucous Gull

Heuglin's Gull

I'm not a big gull fan - they're hard to tell apart, and they're not very sexy.  My last three lifers have all been gulls though.  Gonna head out early and try to re-find a large snipe I saw the other day.  I think it may have been a Woodcock.  A Woodcock!

Three dead loons

3...

2...

1!

Last year at this time there were four Black-throated Loons in Seogwipo's harbor for the duration of the winter.  A few days ago I spotted three dead and oil-covered Loons there.  Too bad, but it's ok, I don't think anyone noticed.

The climbing of the stuff

The Zissou

Was feeling shitty and sore-throated on Sunday.  Like gargling with rusty razor-wire.  Shook it off and went out and climbed an oreum with some youths.  The Oreum is west of Jungmun, and looks like Batman's head from a distance.  Climbing!  Stuff!

Crimes of fashion

It's fairly easy to find fashion creeemenollls in Korea.  Young Koreans like to kid themselves that they're fashionable. They look sorta fashionable-y, but all they do is walk into a store, point at a mannequin wearing an outfit, and buy the whole ensemble.  Then, every other young Korean does the same thing, and before you know it, you're afloat in a sea of shiny white Nikes, skinny jeans, black puffy coats, and Yankees hats.  'We're together in this thing!'

Blaaarg!

I see you because I'm staring at you to begin with.

  This fuzzy yellow beast is on a whole other level.  This is that next level shit.  I think she may actually be from the future.  A terrible and icky future.

Jeju's most wanted, 2011 edition

Crimewave!  Sneaky Pete, #7, is the only crimmo who's been on this list since I first poked fun at Korea's ne'er do wells back in April of 2009.  I overlooked him back then, which was a fail on my part.  Let's pray he's dead, for all our sakes. You'll be happy to know that it seems like 2009's all stars (The Midnight Screamer, The Playboy Killer, The Soju Slasher, Kim the Ripper, The Black Widow, and The Butcher of Seogwipo) seem to have landed themselves in the stony lonesome.  This year's notable miscreants:

So, you can run and tell THAT, homeboy!

1. Bottle-biting Bill
2. Headbuttin' Hank
3. PC Bang Pete-euh
4. Metrosexual Mike
5. The Midnight Clencher
6. Nanook of the South
7. Sneaky Pete (Come and fucking find me, coppers!)
8. Effeminate Edward
9. They caught my dumb ass
10. 'Face like a plate of meat' Johnson
11. Ghostface Killah
12. Ol' Claw-Hands Sally
13. Snuggle Bear
14. Hammerhead McGee
15. Sven the Blockhead
16. The Combover Catburglar
17. The Ugly Fuckface
18. Sweet Jim
19. Da Plane!  Da Plane!
20. Kim the Feckless

Mount Halla, always sexy

I've gone on about sexy Halla many times.  Damn, just look at her.
The highlight of my day today was finding a three-chambered peanut.  As I feared, I slept in like a dog and didn't go birding.  Tomorrow morning for sure.  I'm fairly soft and lazy, and I sure do like to complain.  Insert funny story here.  I used to like winter, but this one's been making me cranky in my cave.

Northern Lapwing

He's got a special little haircut.  Gonna do some marathon birding in the morn, if I don't keep hitting snooze for hours, as I'm known to do.  Almost done the Hendrix biography, it's sweet.

NEW TYPE OF ELMER FUDD

Be vewy quiet, I'm hunting rare birds.

I'm so glad that cameras exist.  This thing has feet on it too.  Super warm and super awesome, in my opinion.  I've worn it out a couple of times, for shits and giggles.
  Just picked up a new book on Jeju's birds, and found myself mentioned in relation to a rare bird I spotted on Jeju.  My name was hopelessly mangled of course, but thanks for the shout-out, Jeju bird book makers.

NEW TYPE OF BALLS

"You're a big dumb eagle and I hate you."

Man, I need to get my sensor cleaned, I hate flocks of dust.  That Magpie sure has a set, chasing a massive Greater Spotted Eagle around and nipping its tail.  Learn from his balls.

Jean Leloup - Isabelle (J'te déteste)

Glimmers of insanity/Here's Jean!

      Hier soir un DJ a sauvé mon âme avec cette chanson.

NEW TYPE OF HAPPY COUPLE

Tell me if you still love her after a few months of her nagging you to clean up the nest.

I just watched Bear Grylls eat a goat testicle then vomit.  It was awesome, thanks Discovery Channel.

NEW TYPE OF SUNGLASSES

Utter nonsense

Also picked up some amazing sunglasses.  Yessss.

NEW TYPE OF PUZZLE

Featuring pull-away meat!

BUILD YOUR OWN HUMAN ANATOMY MUSEUM!

I've always wanted a see-through human.  Now I have one.  He's half meat, half see-through.  I had to build him.  He's ALIVE!  Anyways, slow week.

Ripley's Odditorium

A magical land

Antics

Tomfoolery

Freakshow!

Jeju Bond

Cardboard Aston Martin

Nosey McNoserson

JoJo the dog-faced boy

Awesome horn-head guy

Awesome shark bite victim

Awesome mummified falcon!!

Meeting Robert Wadlow

Ripley you old dog!

We still hear the evil

Vlad Tepes - note the elf shoe tips

Ride the lightning

Elvis hair.  Elvis Hair!!

Lil fella

Shenanigans with the youths

The 'Ripley's Believe It or Not' cafe has been sitting in the middle of Jungmun's resort complex for as long as I've been here, but last month they finally finished the Ripley's museum next door.  It's kinda awesome, in a very 'so bad it's good' way.  I used to read the books as a kid, so it was sweet to finally go to a bonafide Ripley's freakshow.  A real good ol' fashioned freakshow.  Nice.  There was wacky and jolly magical-land oompah music playing in the place, and I kept skipping around and clickin' my heels together.  I believe that some Koreans thought I was part of a museum exhibit.