A few things that caught my fancy today...

At a two-story batting cage on the outskirts of Nampo-dong, the grotesque visage of Randy Johnson stares you down as a fastball rockets from the pitching machine... the guy next to him? Well, that'd be Byung-Hyun Kim, who many Koreans have yet to realize is the worst clutch pitcher to ever play in the Major Leagues. In fact, one of my highlights of the love motel days was watching a 30 minute highlight reel of Byung-Hyun Kim, Chan Ho Park, and Hee Sop Choi. Of course, Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" played during Kim's clips; even in Korea, you still can't escape that fuckin' song.

In the Mount Yongdu gift shop, a tireless wood engraver makes probably the most laborious caricature art that you'd ever come across. The framed picture, by the way, is of some Korean celebrity who will be the subject of many gag Christmas gifts I'll be sending this year. Keychains, calendars, fans: you name it, and this guy's kisser is probably on it.

In a Korean arcade, I came across a Starcraft-themed top-down shooter that I kind of doubt Blizzard licensed. While I didn't give it a try, it looked pretty shitty; it uses the Starcraft engine and sprites in what is essentially a Xevious knock-off. I was disappointed to see that the Terran bunkers could fly.

Took my first trip to a Korean record store and am now happy to reveal the truth about Mark Shelley's double-life. If only we at KCOU had known, perhaps the "R's" section would have quaked from the sound of Linear.