Turtles-Cocktail Love

This was one of the first songs I heard on Korean radio. The airwaves were dirty with it the first few weeks of September, and I still hear it a lot in restaurants and bars, though it's been replaced, to some extent, with a newer Turtles song. It's way up there in the feel-good stratosphere, where the children are always ready to gather 'round and sing your chorus, and the cocktails are always free.

Busan's Jagalchi Fish Market and the Triumph of Kodak

Well, I got to Busan limping, lost and hungry. But after a brief walk through the Russian red light district (sorry, no pictures) and a quick meal, Tracy and I got right to it. And it was impressive.
There were dozens of brightly clad fishmongers; pig head salesmen(!); spice shops; whale meat restaurants (well, it sure looked like whale meat, anyway); knife vendors; writhing octopuses; unidentifiable Lovecraftian sealife; watch salesmen(???); and concession carts rolling by with boomboxes jamming.
This, I think, is a case in which I should thank the ability of the camera to frame and solidify the chaos of the moment. I've never been much for snapping shots, but the way these turned out kind of amazes me. Being there, yes, was surely impressive. But it was also quite overwhelming. I'm glad I have these artifacts to look back on. We could have just stuck our lenses in any direction down there and gotten a great shot. As it stands, we didn't do much more than that, and what we got was somethin' else:


fish:medicinal herbs:

old women playing with fire:gangly men and little ragamuffins:
and, of course, pig heads (which I ate a few weeks ago! More on that later):
Viva Jagalchi!