Let it snow, let it snow, let it... oh. Maybe not.

It snowed a tad last night. It even stuck around for a bit, but had melted away by about 10 or so. We had occasional flurried throughout the day, but nothing much.
To make up for the lack of snow, I present Attack Cat Charlie:

seen on the subway, part 3

There used to be some signs on the subway that looked like this:

Don't lean on the doors.

They were recently replaced with some new signs.

Don't have an erection while leaning on the subway door.
Yeah.

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Kim Jong-Il is dead! This song popped into my head the instant I heard the news this morning, and it's been singing in my head all day. The news spread rapidly through my office, and I'm pretty sure not much work got done over the next hour, as we all sat and refreshed news sites over and over looking for updates. The atmosphere was almost joyous - but this momentous occasion was marred somewhat by the thought that well... Kim Jong-Il was the devil we knew. He threatened to turn Seoul into a sea of fire on numerous occasions, but he never actually did it. Will his successor show similar restraint? This concern was discussed at length among my coworkers - many of whom are either working at my company as interns in lieu of active duty military service, or who are military reservists. The South Korean military has been placed on alert - just in case.
Kim Jong-Il named his 20-something son, Kim Jong Un as his official successor last year, but he's young and inexperienced. Will the old guard follow him? If so, what kind of leader will he make? If not, what kind of power struggle will ensue? Will the people rise up, or will they meekly suffer a new dictator? At this point, it's impossible to predict what will happen.
I'd say I'll keep you posted, but getting accurate news out of North Korea is pretty damn near impossible in the best of times.

Updating my mom's website :-)

Click on the picture to check it out!

*Being a cat lady is genetic :-)

Charlie goes under cover

...er, under the covers. It's cold out there!

Charlie's cheezburger debut :-)

Traditional vs. Modern - Gangnam and Bongeunsa

Despite the below freezing temperatures of Saturday morning, the day was gorgeous, and I decided not to let it go to waste. I decided to take the absurdly long subway trip to the opposite end of Seoul (well, to Gangnam anyway, which is an absurdly long subway trip from Hongdae) for the purpose of visiting Bongeunsa, a Buddhist temple founded in 794, and since enveloped by one of the most modern areas of Seoul. It's located just across the street from the frightening (to me anyway) COEX Mall and the South Korean World Trade Center Complex. It's a great area for photographs, especially if you're looking to juxtapose modern with traditional. Only a few of the photographs I took are shown below; to see the complete set of photographs, CLICK HERE.

There were quite a few silver spheres. The one on the right was part of a monument to the 2010 G20 meeting, which was held in Seoul.

The building on the left is the Trade Center Tower; the one on the right is part of the overall complex.

Elephant outside Bongeunsa
Unfortunately, one of the main sections of the temple was closed for refurbishment. Luckily, the complex was large enough that there was still plenty to photograph.



(Right: well fed but feral temple cat)

To see the complete set of photographs, CLICK HERE.