Brian with round, glazed doughnuts this time

Ave, Charles!

Back from his yearly American Folklore Society conference, Charles reflects on liminality and two students who had accompanied him to the conference. 

I think Charles would dig both Hinduism and Taoism, both of which deal with process and transformation. Charles contends that a liminal space is one in which a change occurs, and in both of the traditions I mentioned, change is fundamental to how the universe works. In Hinduism, the passing from moment to moment is often visualized as a constant destruction and creation—endings and beginnings. In Taoism, there is no conceptual separation of being from notions of process or flow: being is process and flow. I don't know whether what I'm expressing maps neatly onto what Charles is saying; I suspect he sees liminality in terms of the interstitial state between two distinct states, but if you slice all moments in time thinly enough, even those distinct states will look like a Taoist flow or a Hindu procession of endings and beginnings. 

I don't know. I'm probably talking out of my ass, but I still think Charles might find these traditions interesting for what they have to say about change. I should research some scriptures and put up some juicy quotes.

I'd never thought of that before

With his spectral looks, delivery and gait, Clint Eastwood has played a variety of ghostly figures in his career, but it never occurred to me to draw a connection between the characters he'd played in two different films: "High Plains Drifter" and "Pale Rider."

Are they, perhaps, the same person?

chicken pot pie done right

This guy gets it. Yes, there are peas. Yes, there's a fucking bottom crust.

happy fookin' Halloween

Just a little something to remember the day:

You might eat the meal, but in the end, the meal eats you.

Count your blessings: you're not this poor fucker.

Max on feeding the beast

Brian with his own, square doughnuts

from the trail

My first dam today:

Hapcheon Changnyeong Dam / 합천창녕보

approach

"Gukto Jongju Bike Path (Seoul-bound)"

eodo/어도, "fish way" = fish ladder

looking right (west)

one of several observation points

water, aerated

another observation point

like the prow of a ship

another angle of the falling water

All of this will eventually run out to the sea. 

Full speed ahead!

prow

wow

now

Many dams also serve as bridges.

looking back while walking away

doughnuts with Joshua (3 years ago)

back when Jamie nixed a myth

h/t John from Daejeon

Commenter John from Daejeon notes that we'll be making our own movies soon. George Lucas had predicted the democratization of entertainment years ago. Of course, there's a parallel, anti-democratic force that will ensure that some people's creations are seen way more than others'. You see this already in how the internet has evolved.

It's how the market works, baby.

flame on

Rogan and Kitsch on "Lone Survivor"

I reviewed the movie and the book here.

another loser in the works

quick-prep comfort food with Sam

equine cogitation

got his ass kicked by a girl

Amazing how the best competitive eaters are skinny.

more about us INTJs

Yes, it can be true that we're blunt assholes. But we also tend to see to the root of the problem and offer a complete (or mostly complete) vision of a solution.

it's not looking good

I have no plans to see this. Do you?

I got appointed to what?

At least I won't have to worry about money. 

Joker smile

From today's walk:

go pound sand

helping the goose

These animals so rarely say, "Thank you."

can you divine what the problem is?

Dave Cullen, unblocked

misreading The 48 Laws of Power

It's easy if you try.

the Coriolis swirl

vintage John Cleese on extremism

the little pub that could

Gary tries a pub that's been slammed in the ratings.

white lasagna!

I think my buddy Charles once did a white, vegetarian lasagna before.

in Busan and starting the walk today

Unless I've cancelled or died, I'm starting my walk this morning. This post should be coming out at around 1:30 a.m., so technically, I'll be in my motel bed in Busan, asleep for another few hours (unless, as often happens, I'm up for most of the night on the first night of the trip). Around 4 a.m., I'll wake up, prep, and be out the door by 4:30. First stop: Yangsan City. Nearly 30 kilometers. We'll see whether I can do it. Wish me luck.

UPDATE: got up at 3:10; out the door by 3:40; at the starting point (cab ride) and on my way at 3:57. Lots of traffic as the witching hour ends, and it's only gonna get worse for South Korea's second- largest city. 

geeking out over the 1989 Batsuit

view from the bus

on the way to Busan

Scotch-egg ambitions

The metafood madness continues:

Busan-bound

On the bus and headed to Busan. 

I might throw some material up here during the walk, but for the most part, I'll be blogging at Kevin's Walk 9. Link is on the sidebar. 

to the pain

heading out soon, but first—

My buddy Mike will recognize the significance:

I only just noticed this. After all these years.

bleh... birthdays

this one weird trick

Do you buy this?

Dr. Dhand on BP (from last year)

Remember my October 7 post? Dr. Dhand was talking about this problem at least a year ago. See below. Big Pharma, one-size-fits-all thinking...

intelligent?

But sometimes, the same test for intelligence can be a test for stupidity. For example: the two kinds of people who get easily bored are (1) intelligent people and (2) stupid people. In my experience as a high-school teacher, the kids most likely to say "This is boring" or "This is stupid" tended to be the stupidest kids in the class. When you're stupid, you see the world through the lens of your stupidity, so everything around you looks stupid. I might have had, at most, one student who was genuinely smart, but who acted out because of boredom. Otherwise, the smart kids in my classes tended to be quiet learners and achievers, soaking up knowledge and performing well on tests.

down to the wire

Today's agenda:

1. workout
2. laundry
3. next-to-final packing
4. holographic will—sign and seal
5. review Day 0 motel situation in Busan & cabbing to start site

Tomorrow's agenda (all before leaving at 12:30 p.m.):

1. final laundry (anything left still to wash)
2. practice workout with resistance band (to be used on the walk)
3. throw away all garbage, including food waste
4. final review of packing + final packing
5. shut off toilet
6. leave at 12:30 for Express Bus Terminal

some Johnny Somali updates

they just... don't... listen

When you're insane or high out of your mind, I guess you're begging to be put down.

This is from six years ago.

British food, but...

There's a lot of pushback from British commenters to this video.

new post at the walk blog

Check it out.

20K walk

A nice day for a walk, and a good walk. Lots of construction, as usual. No angina, so I was able to walk faster. Here are some pics from the walk, which went for 5¼ hours.

무당거미/mudang geomi—probably not Boris

I had to go down a different ramp today, what with trucks blocking my usual way.

Not a bad ramp, but it's facing in the wrong direction, so I had to do an almost-U-turn.

Korea's got a lot of slugs. Enlarge to see the complex, DNA-created patterns.

one of many Tan Creek construction sites

and another

close to the confluence of the Yangjae and Tan Creeks

There's a "Let's Walk!" health festival happening tomorrow: walk the Yangjae Creek! Meet under the south side of Yeongdong Bridge 5 at 7:30 a.m. How very Volksmarch-y.

more construction along the Tan Creek

Nanny Government says: "Wear your bike helmet!"

"Alert people with your bell or your voice!"

"At night, use your front light or reflectors!"

"Don't drink and ride!"

"Stow your things in your bike's compartments!"

"Don't use earphones or cell phones!"

"Maintain your bike regularly!"

"Don't (force yourself to) speed!"

"Drive straight in the same direction as motor vehicles!"

"(Yeongdong Daero) underground construction of trunkline!"

yet another glove

no more signs telling me not to enter this site, so I can stop doing it illegally

construction in the Tan Creek, under the Samseong Bridge

half-submerged

where I cross the creek

I had to be surreptitious. The guy kept looking back at me.

AI says these are probably a type of aster.

Asters in context. Curving right and east along the Han at the Han/Tan confluence.

wasp, munching

up the small hill to level ground as I approach the Jamshil Bridge, Lotte World Tower in the distance

Jamshil Bridge, almost 2K away

This public restroom seems tucked away and cozy thanks to the temporary walls blocking a lovely view of the park.

other floaters on the water

The large hashtag on the right says "Arisu Dinner," Arisu being the old name for the Han River. On the left is the hashtag "Han River Barbecue"—but Korean-style barbecue: samgyeopsal, moksal, galbisal, i.e., pork-belly cuts, pork neck, (pork) ribs.

right next to the Han River Barbecue, including a CU convenience store

I'm always happy when my shadow has a neck.

Jamshil Bridge, up close. I'm turning around in a few hundred meters.

A sax quartet of old guys under the Jamshil Bridge, playing Korean oldies that you hear when you take a taxi.

YouTube Short: Sax Quartet Under Jamshil Bridge

U-turn completed and heading back.

a sign identifying this structure as the Jamshil Bridge

a smaller sign on a pylon saying the same

looking back, not turning into a pillar of salt

a hawser wrapped around a... a... marine bollard (had to look it up)

note the road construction on the left

That tongue of packed earth now once again stretches across the Tan Creek.

two of many ducks, digital zoom

curving south and east along the Tan

These little ones are all over the place.

footbridge to my neighborhood

I decided to do three laps at this park and three laps at the park next to my apartment for a total of 20 kilometers walked. I was tired but otherwise fine. Unlike the previous walk, where I'd eaten a ton, I had fasted on Thursday, so today's walk went off without a hitch. No angina.

about to enter Irwon Eco Park

one of Georgia O'Keeffe's guardians

Danger Guy!

packing up after some event

"For the safety of pedestrians and to prevent accidents, please refrain from riding bikes in the park!"

curving around

I've never been in this center.

more stuff being folded up and put away

So this is the Irwon Eco Center. I gather this is an all-purpose building.

Irwon Eco Park (or EcoPark, as they write)

The park is about a kilometer in circumference if you walk the perimeter path.

There are several of these utterly fake cairns in the park.

Someone was keeping the spirit of rollerblading alive.

camera and clock/timer...?

maybe a team of rollerbladers...?

botanical gardens at the front of the park

asshole biker ignores all signs to get off his fucking bike

And another biker rolls right over the "no bike riding" sign.

I'm ambivalent about the whole "let's ignore signs" thing. On the one hand, Koreans are generally more unruly people than the Japanese, and ignoring rules and guidelines is part of the Korean way, part of the culture of a people who refuse to color inside the lines when the government (national or local) tells them to do something. At the same time, Koreans can be extremely social, group-oriented, and robotically conformist. As an American who leans more right than left, I can either appreciate this rebelliousness as a skeptic about government, or I can resent this rule-ignoring behavior as someone who appreciates law and order. I'm still trying to figure out where I stand, but given American conservatism's own internal contradictions (which I largely share), it's hard to know what to think sometimes. I mean, I know how I feel whenever I see biker assholes being casually obnoxious: I feel resentful and wish I had the telekinetic power to poke these bikers' brains and give them all hemorrhages. But maybe I should admire their casual fuck yous to the government, even if their selfish behavior often inconveniences me.

leaving the park and looking toward the footbridge

following the sidewalk to my apartment's park: Maru

the second park's entrance

walking in

a look over at my building

The water-treatment plant that creates a stink. Back when I lived on the sixth floor of my building and faced east, the smell of the untreated water would waft into my open window, so I eventually stopped leaving my window open. Then I moved to the 14th floor, and since then, I've faced west. While there's no more smell, the view is also a lot worse. I used to have a clear view of the Lotte World Tower from my room. No longer.

water-treatment plant, seen through the fence

The wavy path continues.

pergola

This appears to be a good ol' daisy. Give me your answer, do.

gateway to mystery

Looking toward the sunset. The camera makes the whole scene brighter than what I saw with my own eyes.

shwimteo

peeking through the fence at the currently unused jokgu field

rulez

the restroom I've never been in

almost at the end of a lap

Expose yourself to tennis.

What treasures will we find inside the bush?

Oho! An Abelia shrub.

O'Keeffe gets around.

vaginal clock

clock in context

performance area

slithering around to where I entered the park (side entrance)

boys playing basketball

that unique shwimteo again

The ball's about to sink into the basket. Perfect shot. See the ball? Look at the treeline.

the restroom I've used often

With no angina to speak of today, I did 20K at a rate of 3.64 kph—much better than on Wednesday. Not eating really helps, so during the walk, I'll eat only minimally except for those days when I'm doing a two-day stay, in which case I might indulge a bit more on the first night. I'm still worried about handling those hills, but I plan to take them slooooooowly.