Seattle: Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe and sunset on the Pier

Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, a staple of Seattle's odd, eclectic, esoteric curious consumer. Whether you're looking for a shrunken head, to...uh...do whatever it is people choose to do with shrunken heads...or a taxidermied monstrosity, a mummy, a goofy gift, post-card, or general trinket to show you've been there, you've found the right place. This was one of the few locations that Antho actually researched prior to our ending up there by coincidence, so he was beyond ecstatic when he realized where we'd arrived. While there are some signs floating around, you might have to search with the purpose to find the place, though we found it by sheer chance, the Shoppe is nestled into an inconspicuous location on Pier 54 behind a meat pies restaurant. Antho could giddily spend days exploring these kinds of places, googling all the odds and ends that proliferate, and Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe is certainly not lacking in curious bits and bobs to lay your peepers on. I have to admit, I get a bit of a bad vibe from the idea of taking a dead thing and putting it on display as a novelty, in the case of their mummies and shrunken heads, though I suppose they could simply be mimicries or fakeries made out of other dead things stuffed and sewn back together...but, still, kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth. That isn't to say that being into taxidermy is wrong, it's just not my cup of tea, my shot of whiskey, or any approximal form of appealing to me, personally. To each their own, sugarbear. You do you if you're into it, so long as we're not talking Silence of the Lambs level taxidermy, in which case, you should consider seeking out a therapist, to say the least. 

But then again, maybe it's just me. Do you, the casual reader/viewer of the blog, find the above image disturbing? Given the fact that Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe clocks thousands, if not millions, of visitors every single year, it's safe to say the average consumer is at least mildly curious about such curios. Should you find yourself down on the Waterfront of Seattle, near an inconspicuous pier where meat pies are sold, you might want to take a gander into the strange world of this little business. They'd be happy to have you, and you can always say you've seen the Mer-monster! That is, at least, up until it sells to the next collector with a fat pocketbook, in which case your window of opportunity will have shriveled up like that poor mummies' chest. Yikes. Better get to it! While I'm not 100% sure that everything inside is for sale, I'm sure there's a high enough price for anything you might have an interest in, that someone could walk out with it...so, you snooze, you lose, ya dig? Not to mention, if you go behind the shop, you've found an exceptional location to take in the sunset. Not bad, eh?

Vegas: Yet another scorpion

I've had the luck to have been able to live in several different cities around the world throughout my life, from the world-renowned den of sin and glittering desert city of Las Vegas, Nevada, to the densely populated metropolis jungle of Tokyo, Japan or the fast-paced, fashion-forward capitol of Seoul, South Korea. Every city I've lived in has offered its various pros and it's cons, like the crowds on the Tokyo and Seoul subways, trains and busses, or the creepy crawlies with a poisonous sting that can invade your home, such as the scorpions in Las Vegas ranking high among my cons lists. Generally speaking, the desert landscape isn't hospitable to too many species of insect, so while you'll occasionally spot a Black Widow spider, moth, or daddy long legs, you're not likely to encounter too many mosquitos- or lightning bugs, either. The environment, being a harsh, desiccated wasteland low in readily available resources, fosters only the toughest of beasts, and unfortunately for the residents of Las Vegas and it's outlying areas, scorpions are among those that thrive.  

These tiny little scorpions are especially fearsome, as those stingers on the end of their tails aren't just for show! While their sting isn't necessarily lethal, unless you have an allergy or are immunocompromised (like an infant or the elderly), they can be extremely uncomfortable to receive. I have absolutely zero desire to ever be the recipient of their wrath, and any time we've encountered one in our living space we've extracted it by using chopsticks to keep a safe distance from (and a measure of control over) their tail. Some people might go out of their way to test their bravery or manhood by taking a sting, I wouldn't recommend it. To each their own, but personally, I'll stay far away from any scorpions I come across. 

Vegas: Bonnie Screams Halloween haunt

Bonnie Springs has no shortage of entertaining ways to while away the daylight hours throughout the entire year, but come sun down in October things shift gears quite a bit. After their normal operating schedule, the springs close down to the public for a couple hours as the ghouls start to crawl from their crypts and the venue itself changes it's name from the unassuming "Bonnie Springs" to "Bonnie Screams"! It's a fitting change in moniker as the shadows spread and spookiness prevails you might find yourself hard-pressed to silence a scream. Not only is the location famously haunted (as explored in an episode of Ghost Adventures) year round, anyway, but when the barrier between this world and the next one over thins during Halloween it's bound to get a bit spectral. Even during the supposedly safe daylight hours I found myself screeching in shock and horror in the wax museum when one of the wax "figures" sprung to life and damn near scared the shit out of me, literally... Luckily for us, it was just one of the gunmen from the afternoon shoot-out messing with us, but with the thick and ominous atmosphere of the wax museum I really wouldn't have been surprised if that had not been the case. There's a lot of history at Bonnie Springs as it was an important stop in the Spanish trail for some time and helped in the exploration ever Westward that led European settlers to build up the Americas as we know them today...  but prior to that Paiute tribes and indigenous people called this place their home for much, much longer. If all the tales of misfortune attributed towards building upon ancient Indian burial grounds holds any water, the entirety of Las Vegas and especially Bonnie Springs would be rife with curses and foreboding. 

With multiple haunted houses to explore, the cost of the tickets themselves is quickly absolved. We had a lot of fun and thoroughly enjoyed our exploration of the grounds. One especially fun thing about your tickets is that you can do the haunts as many times as time permits in the evening, there's no limit- so if you need several rounds through to get your satisfaction you absolutely can! On top of the haunted houses there were live performances from fire dancers and magicians, tapping into the otherworldly powers provided by the Hallowed eve. Between our explorations of the petting zoo and daytime grounds, we did have an hour or two to pass before they reopened to the public...we opted to hang out in our van after moving to the Screams specified parking. We watched the sun go down and took a few more photos of the van, and ourselves, before we were able to strike out for the spooky fun. You have a couple of options from there- we opted out of the zombie paintball this year as it wasn't in our budget and instead took the creepy walking trail up to the haunt. Though the darkness made it difficult to snap much, I'm not terribly bothered by this as I wouldn't want to ruin the fun for anyone else! Suffice to say, winding our solitary way along a desert path in the dark with creepy sounds echoing among the terrain and the occasional hung man, clown or other otherworldy spook greeting us around various turns had our hackles well and raised before we even entered the grounds proper...

More photos after the cut...

Baby Rat Growth & Development Part 1: the first 10 days

In this post I'm going to cover the development of Deadpool's first litter, from birth to day 10. 

This will be a fairly image heavy post as I tried to accurately and thoroughly document their growth process. Hope you enjoy!

Peeping Toms & pretty lights; Date night in Tokyo 2012-10-25

Japan is a romantic place.

During the winter holidays they take great pride in illuminating their cities with string lights, creating a magical atmosphere resplendent with glittering lights. Neighborhoods throughout Tokyo will go the extra mile with elaborate installations that send you winding your way through department stores to their roof top terraces and back to see it all. While absolutely stunning to view solo, it's always lovely to have company, so when a sweet young local boy named Kazu asked me to accompany him for an afternoon stroll and a bit of light-gazing near Tokyo Station, Hibiya park and Marunouchi it was with joy that I accepted his invitation.

Locals always give the best tours and insights, don't they? ^_^

Kazu was busy with classes during the day so we agreed to meet at Marunouchi, which is accessible from Otemachi & Tokyo Stations via a labyrinthine structure underground. Kazu was attending Tokyo Medical College and his entire family were doctors, from his great grandparents to his aunts and uncles. Something of a family tradition, evidently, huh? After meeting in the underground we emerge surface side to stroll in the late afternoon sun.

Seoul Trip: Day 3, Namdaemun market at night

     After leaving Namsan Seoul Tower by cable car, I walked through the neighborhood until I was able to find the market, which was mostly closed up for the evening due to the late hour. Not to be deterred, I took advantage of the somewhat solemn shadows and deserted corners for many photos. This is kind of a theme of mine. I love seeing cultural centers in their off-hours.

Warning! This post is going to be photo heavy!

This post focuses on photos of the market itself, if you're curious about what I ate while there read here!