Then the land was split from the sea, and the sea from the sky, and only the birds were left among them that could choose between earth and heaven.

Just got back from Santa Barbara. Here's the beginning of yesterday's sunset on a deserted beach west of Lompoc. We found a dead seal, but I didn't photograph it.

Rocket launch.

I've been saving this one for a rainy day.

Flashback to March. Lemons in Paris.

Suburban sunset, looking towards LA from Covina.

That's what you call decadent. Reception desk at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.

In the oases that dot the mad emptiness between Vegas and LA, you meet some characters.

Not Paris.

Another Venice Beach scene.

Big Daddy takes a stroll in Venice.

The Amazing Pink-Eared Jumping Poodle makes friends in Venice Beach.

Rose at the Huntington Gardens in San Marino.

Posting will be a little spotty for a couple weeks since I'm in California. Here's a shot of the Seoul Needle, for all you needle lovers out there.

Sand tiger shark. He will eat you like warm sushi.

Bonus shot since I won't get to post Thursday, being in transit. This gives you an idea of the dominant color in Korea at this time of year. This is the garden, once forbidden, now touristed, of one of the Seoul palaces.

Desiccated anchovies. Like candy! But fish!

This bit of cultural pollution has taken firm hold in Seoul. This is the only one that features the name in hangeul characters rather than the King's English.

Hardening arteries one burger at a time. Note the "msn zone" in there; you can browse the Internet for free courtesy of Micro$oft. An aside: studies show that public keyboards are home to more bacteria than public toilet seats. Finger lickin' good.

Extremely fresh market mushrooms.

A stall in Namdaemun. A general rule I learned about Korean cuisine: red means hot.

I'm back from Korea, where I was on a Samsung media tour. Let the photographic Asian invasion begin with this shot of one street in the massive Namdaemun market. Whatever you want, from leather jackets to fried silkworm larvae, 24 hustling hours a day.