CO2NNED!

hi there bluddies
to misquote a sex pistol
ever had the feeling youve been co2nned?
well, fireseed been reading up about carbon trading
carbon offsets
plantin' a few trees to save the world
whatever ya wanna call this little scam
the 'new internationalist' magazine has done a great expose
funny how ive always had this nasty little uneasy feeling
about the jolly idea of buying our way out of a consumption-fuelled problem
ye olde climate change, you understand, my dear cyberchums
anyway friends - it turns out weve been serously bio-fooled
led down the kindergarden path by those crafty corporate whores
who will have us pissing around making donations
to the Coldplay monoforest
while the uberbiodiverse amazon goes up in smoke
(is there no end to the deceit and duplicity of big biz?)
corporate social responsibility, dontcha know
biggest oxymoron in the whole book!
nah, carbon offsets aint gonna solve climate change
theyre probably gonna make it a hole in the ozone layer lot worse
selling us the comforting idea that we can carry on our fossil-fool frenzy
like a bunch of neroes
fiddling with our direct debits
while rome and the rest of the planet burns
so whats the real deal, friends?
well, carbon credits from tree planting are a nasty little fake
cos carbon stored temporarily in a tree is of limited use
when carbon released into the atmosfear by burning f***** fuels is permanent
yep, once its burnt its burnt
and im afraid there aint no going back
so dont buy this CO2N, my little fireseeds
the only solution is to keep the black stuff in the ground
(might help us to avoid another iraq-style bloodbath too)
for the sake of ourselves and fyoocha generations
whoever they may be...
hannah elisabeth (our little peach)
kai
naya
little ivy
jade
megan
hawon
jiwon
sohyun
baby bouncer
and all the unborns who havent even had the chance
to take a gulp of luvly fresh unpolluted air
who wont thank us for our greed and selfishness
or our feeble attempts to justify pissing our beautiful earth
and all the creechures in it
up a toilet wall
just so that we can have our weekend break in gay paris...
so just like the 'oral contract'
in that great dodgy video cine ad of yesteryear
carbon trading?
aint worth the paper its written on, mate!
love ya
over and out
your slightly vexed but still sweet fireseedy boy
xxxx
ps: a very happy birthday to my not-so-little bro'
miss ya!

MESSAGE ON A BANKNOTE

i am the toothless beggar gurning in your face
i am a mountain people abandoned to their fate
i am the crying toad who lost his livelihood
i am the zero-fighter hiding in the jungle
i am the prisoner of conscience languishing in jail
i am the lonely widow her face behind a veil
i am the stooping hunchback
i am the circus freak
i am the blinded child who saw his destiny
my message on this banknote is written here to show
that money cannot buy me
that hatred wont prevail
that lies cannot defeat me
that ignorance will fail to deter me
i am the faceless woman dishonoured and disgraced
i am the refugee dispossessed and displaced
i am the lonely soldier drumming out his beat
i am the sleeping orphans dark flowers on the street
i am the restless ghost howling in the night
i am the silent witness to a genocide
i am the weeping mother in mourning for her child
i am the kazoo player on his endless circle ride
my message on this banknote is written here to show
that money cannot buy me
that hatred wont prevail
that lies cannot defeat me
that ignorance will fail to deter me
so dont you look away
no dont you look away
this message on a banknote is written here to tell
that all is not well...

CHANGMA!

welcome back to ye olde blog faithful 'bluddies' (blog buddies)
its been a while
good to return to the comfy realm of cyberworld
after an exciting few days in the damp wilds of chollado
have acquired a new addishun to me beleagured korean vocabulary
and what a beauty it is...
'changma'
the rather dull and insipid english translation is 'seasonal rain'
which really doesnt do justice to this lurvly word
seems like most of this summers changma has fallen on me since we last hooked up...
on our bus journey down to the south coast on wensday
i thought we might be needing a boat rather than wheels
on thursday the rain never stopped
thankfully we escaped with a mere sprinkling on friday
but the uninvited clouds burst again with a vengeance on saturday
back in seoul today the sun is out to spite us
still every cloud has a silver lining, if youll pardon the pun!...
back to soggy thursday
having given up on plan A (mountain hike in duryunsan)
and ruled out plan B (fun on the beach)
we come up with plan C - a bus ride through the downpour to 'ddanggut maul' (lands end)
more like the end of the world, friends
mist descending from the verdant hills
wrapping its chilly fingers around us

lands end

wanderin round lookin for somewhere to take shelter from the storm
and to fill our empty bellies
we stumble on a place by the name of 'cape national'
and duck inside

cape national

what a cool place!
an arty surfer-style cafe with a little stage and a piano
stone walls, wooden floor, bamboo ceiling
garish paintings covering the walls
like something out of new south wales rather than korea
the lovely owner, yeorin
smiling n kind
cooks us up some tasty food
graciously accommodates my weird vegan requests
shows us her great cd collection
(sometimes triumph comes out of adversity, friends!)
so here we are sitting there at the end of korea
in this mellow beach cafe
6000 miles from 'home'
munching our delicious fried rice and pasta and salad
cupping our hazelnut coffee
(usually i hate the stuff but it tastes great today!)
listening to king crimson, and belle & sebastian
boy with the arab strap
wow!
now heres a strange question for you:
how do you get from kim jong il to hannah elisabeth in 5 steps?
answer: kim jong il gives a cute little puppy to his pal kim dae jung
kim dj being an octogenarian ex-president of sk
he doesnt really want the hassle of looking after an untoilet-trained puppy
gives it to a friend of his
who is also a friend of yeorin
she takes the puppy down to her cafe at lands end
and introduces it to hannah
anyway, friends, if youre ever passing that way
be sure to check out the cape cafe
stop by for some food
enjoy the minbak with the sky blue walls and balcony looking out over the sea
and find out what great customer service is all about...
heres a few more pics before i sign off

daehungsa temple backdrop
(it stopped raining for a few hours
but not quite long enough for us to reach the summit!)


delicious 'bosot jongul' (tofu n mushroom soup)
a suitable reward for tired mountaineers


dandelion girl at the cape cafe

see ya friends!

BREAK

just a quickie this one friends
to tell ya not to worry
if you dont here from old fireseed for a few days
tomorrow morn j and h and i are jumping on a bus
off down to the sw coast of this here peninsular
to the province that goes by the lovely name of 'cholla namdo'
for some peace n quiet n fresh air
a mountain and a temple
maybe a beach or two
i cannae wait
(wont escape the 'we are twelfth' tshirts of course!)
so see ya soon friends
and watch this space for more from ye olde fireseede
xxxx

HANGUL

h is learning to read korean 'hangul'
t'is an intresting script designed in the 14th c
by old king saejong and his merry men
to help the general korean populace to read
(them nasty chinese pictograms
were pretty tough to get the hangul of
unlike the korean version
which - famously - can be learnt in a day
although it often isnt!)
maybe we should give it a try in the uk
anyways heres what it looks like: 한글
(oops - guess you may not be able to get that on your computer!)
h's teacher drops by for a short lesson once a week
usually the cue for some frantic last-minute flat-cleaning
but h loves the lessons
particularly sticking the little stickers in her book

HOLIDAYS

...are here at last!
went for a picknick in seoul wc park
the morning after the night before
70,000 shaking sanggam stadium to its foundations
(france 1, sk 1 - dramatic korean equaliser right at the deaf!)
no problem hearing the noise from our house...
met up with some friends
christian, basia, kai and little naya
veggy kimbap, raspberries, watermelon and cafe went down well
the kids enjoyed a paddle...

took turns on the bike
here's c and k doing their turn...

but wherever you are at the mo
you cannae escape those red tshirts!
can anyone explain the significance of 'we are twelfth'?!

MAPPING THE MIND

A technique which organizes ideas around a central key word or concept, mind maps can be used to generate, visualise and categorise ideas as an aid to thinking, study, problem solving and decision making.
By presenting associations between ideas in a radial, non-linear, graphical form, mind maps encourage a brainstorming approach to a task. Maps consist of images, words, and lines. The elements are arranged intuitively according to the importance of the concepts and are organized into hierarchical branches and groupings.

Fireseed's tips

1. Start in the centre of a blank page turned sideways. (This gives you maximum freedom to spread out in all directions.)
2. Use an image or picture as your central idea. (Pictures often help to stimulate the imagination.)
3. Use colour throughout. (Colours are also stimulating, and add vibrancy and life to your mind map.)
4. Draw main branches out from your central image and select a key word or picture for each to establish a basic structure for your thoughts (like branches radiating from the trunk of a tree).
5. Draw secondary branches out from each key word as you associate further ideas.
To keep things simple, try to reduce each idea to just one word or image sitting on its own line. Make the lines the same length as the word/image.
6. Continue generating, associating and branching out ideas. Add more branches where you need to.
7. Add numbers, letters, etc. to finished branches in order to give a logical sequence to the ideas in your completed map.

Some mind mapping applications:

*Brainstorming ideas
*Note-taking (meetings, lectures and talks, conversations, books, articles, etc.)
*Preparing a presentation or talk (see example above)
*Analyzing and solving problems
*Planning a process or project

Read: How to Mind Map by Tony Buzan, Thorsons

SELF PORTRAIT WITH GOATEE

such vanity!
promise not to post any more pics like this again
not planning on cutting off an ear anytime soon either
check out the itchy goatee while stocks last!
is it just me or do i look real tired?
oh well
holy days will soon be here for poor tiredseed...

MOTHER'S LITTLE HELPER

maeshil are little korean fruits
good for making sweet fruit tea
hannah got up early this morning
to help mum with the fiddly process of 'destalking'
little h loves her maeshil cha
not so her caffeine-veined father
a peaceful sun day to all

CRASH!

hi friends!
from my window perch high above the street in the steel and glass birdcage
i have to admit to having a pretty good view of whats going down outside
today there was a nice little pile-up right outside the window
no one seriously injured thankfully
but what tickled me was the two taxis right at the centre of the action
ok - seoul taxi drivers aint quite as bad as their brake-pummelling bus-driving counterparts
but theyre not exactly the most careful of road users!
interesting thing was
when i came back a couple of hours later
the cops had gone and marked the positions of the four sets of wheels on the road
precisely as they were when the vehicles ground to a halt
looked like the scene of a murder investigation
a traffic post-mortem nonetheless!...
well friends
off to catch a bus home
pray for fireseed to get there all in one piece!
laters
F
xxxx

FRESH PINEAPPLE

hi friends
how are ya?
as for yours trooly
well, i had a luvly day!
managed to escape from the steel n glass birdcage
nice n early for a change
(10am - rare feet!)
high-tailed it cross town to a high school near surak mountain
got lost on the subway about three times
sprinted out of surak station
then realised i'd got the wrong exit
which in seoul can mean the diff'rence
between keepin n missin an appointment!
so despite best intentions
arrived 5 minutes late
very unprofessional
draggin ma tail 'tween ma legs
what irony
the lesson topic was 'giving directions'!
but t'was ok - ek was so cool about it
even with all them 'seniors' watchin' at the back!
nice lesson and the kids (16-year-olds) were good as gold
the girls were cute
wanted to chat to me after the lesson
but didnae know how!
(the boys were all cool n just cleared off when the bell went!)
we went to do the feedback
and ek produced this containerful of fresh pineapple
ooh - twas lovely!
quoi plaisir!
givin' feedback to these appreeshative and intelligent teachers
(two of the other 'i-selled' trainees were there too)...
stopped off at daehangno on the way home
had a wander around as the storm clouds gathered
as it started spitting big drops of greasy rain...
thought it would be nice to organise a nite out
in this slightly more cultured n int'restin part of the city
some pasta or pizza in di matteos (real italian nosh/chefs with a proper pizza oven)
some live jazz down the road
ok, fireseed has to admit that hes not a huge jazz fan
though he is partial to the occasional jazz cigarette
(don't you go tellin that to the awf-orities, mind you, friends
- or we won't be friends any more!)
but love live music
specially if there's a guitar or bass player
cos thats my instrument, friends
like to see the chords n runs n riffs that those guys can do
even if it does make me feel like givin up
i have to tell meself:
no, fireseed - don'tcha worry yer ken!
you ain't and never will be a tecnicly good musishun
one of em session musician types
no, fireseed - youre a writer
an arranger
an interpreter of whats going on in the world
a melodist
a harmonist
a rhythm sectionist...well, just about
a shredder? forget it
aint got the patience or the perseverance
aint got the hand-eye-brain coordination
old brain's too slow for any of the old geetar pyrotechnics
i'll leave that to eddie van halen (is he still alive?)
and those amazin jazz dudes in daehangno
anyway, ive had half a bottle of ye olde chilean cabernet
(as may have become clear buy now)
and t'is time i stopped boring ya with ma drivel
so nightie night
and have a good one friends
wherever y'are
n whatever yer doing...
and if ya like footy
enjoy the world cup
hope england
and wayne's meta-tarsal
do emselves justice
even if they get knocked out in the quarters as usual
hope south korea can recreate their little miracle of 2002
night friends
love
yer faithful fireseedy boy
xxxx

BIG WIDE WORLD

it's such a big dangerous world out there, baby
there's people dyin' all the time
i don't want to die young, baby
i want to live to see my dreams pass the test
there was another plane crash yesterday, baby
another boy all smashed up in his car
he didn't have the chance to say goodbye
they scraped his guts up off the floor
now they're looking for more victims to insure
out there in the big wide world
they'll eat you up and devour you
out there in the big wide world
beat you up and deflower you
welcome to the big wide world
those bastards'll swallow you whole
out there it's a big wide world
will you let them steal your soul?
it's such a big dangerous world out there, baby
there's people lyin' all the time
don't believe the stuff you read, baby
the system's rotton to the core
an injury to one's an injury to all
out there in the big wide world
they'll eat you up and devour you
out there in the big wide world
beat you up and deflower you
welcome to the big wide world
those bastards'll swallow you whole
out there it's a big wide world
will you let them steal your soul?
put your hands over your eyes
and you will not see the suffering on their faces
you can run but you can't hide
oh, don't forever be resigned to what our fate is
out there in the big wide world
they'll eat you up and devour you
out there in the big wide world
beat you up and deflower you
welcome to the big wide world
those bastards'll swallow you whole
out there it's a big wide world
will you let them steal your soul?

MANY HAPPY RETURNS

hi friends
how are you this fine monday afternoon?
here in seoul it is warm and humid
summers well n truly here
shorts n t-shirt weather
bbq n cold beer weather
(tofu n lentil burgers only on the bbq please!)
just wanted to say a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
to a dear friend of mine
duncan 'rusty' russel
a scholar and a gentle man
my co-songwriter
and all-round brilliant bloke
congratulations on reaching the milestone, mate!
i miss ya
looking forward to renewing our quaintances
on the fireseeds' happy return to england in augustus

SUGARY FACE

the only remaining evidence
of hannah's demolished doughnut!

WISH-MAKER

hi friends
hope something good happened to you today
here is our hannah elisabeth
making a wish at her third birthday party
(thats a very nice vegan choccy cake by the way!)

WAKE-UP CALL

hey, sleepwalker with your head in the sand
yeah, you with the mobile phone in your hand
yeah, you with the MP3 round your neck
will you listen to me?
i’ll tell you something for free
there’s a vicious war being waged
and the weapon is mass deception
they’ll turn you into a corporate slave
will you be an acolyte or will you misbehave?
tell me what’s gone wrong when the world is run by neo-cons
here’s a message for you all
here’s a wake-up call
here’s a wake-up call
fear, hate and ignorance are deadly terrorists
who are your bedfellows?
tell me who you been sleeping with?
tell me what’s gone wrong
when the world is run by neo-cons
here’s a message for you all
here’s a wake-up call
here’s a wake-up call
here’s a wake-up call

TALKING COMPASSION DEFICIENCY BLUES

it's me again
been a while, crocodile
no particular excuses, man
just busy as ever at the great steel n glass birdcage
sometimes this cyber thing can get a bit lonely
when the comments run dry
IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE????
sitting on an e-cloud?
floating out there on the e-ther?
must give up on these internet puns
they're truly awful...
walked out of the steel n glass birdcage this afternoon
bright sunny seoul pavement
heat bouncing up from the concrete beneath my feet
walked past a 'save the children' stall
those photos hit me hard in the stomach
wham!!!!!!!
pictures of little kids
covered in bruises and scars and cigarette burns
who could do such a thing?
(you could do such a thing
i could do such a thing
we’re all human, friends)
couldn’t help but start making CONNECTIONS...
where do i start?
let's make it within my parents lifetimes:
two whole cities incinerated in japan
dresden reduced to ashes
untold numbers with birth defects in vietnam
(wow! that's MY lifetime!)
hundreds of thousands killed...traumatised in iraq
collateral damage?
a price worth paying?
i dont think so
VIOLENCE!!!!
yobs in the street
racist thugs
refugees go home
youre nickin our f***ing jobs
take that you gypo scum!
bamm!!
VIOLENCE!!!!
train our kids to be meat-eaters
put down your cute little teddy friend
come to the table
eat up that brown lump on the plate
executed in a stinking abbatoir
stuck in a freezer
plucked from a clingfilm-wrapped Styrofoam supermarket tray
thrown in a frying pan
served up for dinner
kind of know where it came from
but don’t really wanna think too much about that
ain't got no qualms about those factory farms
with their inconvenient tales to tell:
the agonised cries of the perma-pregnant cows
the squalid squeals of the pitiful pigs
social animals
jammed so heartlessly into their concrete torture cells
the little male chicks
cast into the incinerator seconds after birth
eat up your peas, love
VIOLENCE!!!!
the rat race
survival of the fittest
stepping on others to get that promotion
sneer at those who look out for others
look out for number one, mate!
don’t worry about the casualties
who aren’t so clever
who aren’t so able
who get fired
who lose their income
who can't feed their families
who lose their dignity
who hit the bottle
who hit their wives, girlfriends
and little kids
who end up with broken arms
and cigarette burns
and bruises
black and blue from head to toe
why is it that we don’t see the connection
between VIOLENCE and VIOLENCE????
between tory blair n george w and that thug who just smacked you in the head
there’s only one way out
gotta reject this apologetic shit
gotta cultivate compassion
gotta cultivate the urge to take action to relieve the suffering of others
thats me done for today
over and out
sorry for the rant
see ya
f
xxxx