pollution is pretty!

smell something? (from the veranda)

i'll keep saying it until it's turned into a coffee table photo book: pollution is pretty. imagine luxuriously thick matte paper with photos of metallic rainbows formed by gasoline-filled puddles or an upward-angled shot of a seagull sporting a stylish six pack plastic belt fit snugly around its midsection...

growing up not far from the continental usa's only bonafide rainforest in a state whose motto is, "the evergreen state," i grew up knowing delicious air.

contrast this to what i inhaled on my asian walkabout last fall. 1) while cavorting in taipei i developed my "pollution cough" thanks to the thick car and moped exhaust. 2) this, in turn, was nothing compared to the yellow haze of lahore, pakistan, which required breathing through a damp hankerchief. i've heard staggering tales of dirty, dank and disgusting air in china, nigeria and india that i can't wait to smell for myself.

code orange!

until then, i'm here. korea's air has been cleaner than i had expected. and, i can keep tabs on it thanks to the digital pollutant-monitoring billboard that i pass on my way to school and via the u.s. military's air quality monitoring devices. the latter is to help commanders gauge "training risk assessments." naked eye horizon scans have also sensed that the air be gettin nasty round here.

i've been told that the best is to come. next spring, the korean peninsula will be blanketed by the annual spring mongolian yellow dust storms. i can't wait for the respiratory and skin problems they'll precipitate! the locals are already umbrella freaks thanks to the fact that the acid rain will burn your scalp bald! two more reasons to thank china!