In Times of Upheaval

Interesting details gleaned from Tania: Memories of a Lost World by Tania Alexander (daughter of the infamous Moura Budberg, about whom I have posted before, many times, all the way back to 2006, as part of a story I am once again about to begin revising, after finishing a draft in 2010): during World War I, what was Russian high society doing? There were no official parties or embassy balls for the duration of the war, but right up to the  October 1917 Revolution it was possible to maintain the outward appearances of social life, and restaurants and gypsy taverns …

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Mosquito Change?

By the way, the fact that there are still mosquitos flying around is what it is, but I’m wondering: has anyone noticed how different the mosquitoes of October are looking? They’re paler, and they have more prominent striping on their abdomens. I’m wondering if this is just a feature of Korean mosquitoes I never noticed before, or whether they’re young mosquitoes (though they’re kinda big, really), or perhaps this is some other species that’s spread North. And, of course, should the latter be the case, I’m curious about the different pathogenic profile of this new type of mosquito. Not to …

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Chuseok Rain

Well, it rained like the flood was a-comin’ yesterday. Took me two hours to get somewhere not-that-far away, but along the way I saw some things that convinced me some people out there–especially those who live in basements–will not be having a very good Chuseok. (And I didn’t even think of the people traveling to their hometowns, either, which this article mentions.) In Yeokgok, I don’t think there’s a lot of that. Still, I think Yeokgok was far from the worst-hit area. I mean, look at the photo in this report! (Or even worse here on Twitpic.) We were not wading …

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