PYONGYANG, North Korea ? It's hard to imagine a North Korea without Kim Jong Il, who led the nation for 17 years until his death in December.
His portrait hangs in every building, his visits to factories and shops are commemorated with signs in his honor. The song book at the hotel at Mount Kumgang features a full page of tunes with his name in the title, and the airline hostesses in lacy gloves give their thanks to him as Air Koryo flights cross into North Korean airspace.
Kim's death on Dec. 17 marks the end of an era for North Korea, which has known only two leaders: Kim and his father, Kim Il Sung. Already, a new era has begun under the leadership of his young son, Kim Jong Un.
Still, Kim Jong Il's presence is felt in every frame of these images made by Associated Press photographer David Guttenfelder over the course of our visits during the last months of Kim's life.
The white gloves on a table outside the International Friendship Exhibition Hall at Mount Myohang belong to the young guide in traditional Korean dress who eased them on before opening the front door to the museum housing gifts to the late leader.
Doctors and nurses laugh as they huff and puff their way past mountains carved with Kim's sayings and signature.
Young men in bumper cars bash each other gleefully at an amusement park that Kim ordered renovated as part of a bid to "improve the people's daily lives," one of the goals he left unfinished when he died at age 69.
Brush in hand and paint can tucked between his feet, an artisan colors in the letters for a propaganda poster from his precarious perch.
The date printed across the top of the poster reads "June of the year Juche 100 of Great Leader Kim Jong Il" ? or, to the outside world, June 2011.
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Follow Jean H. Lee on Twitter at twitter.com/newsjean and photographer David Guttenfelder at twitter.com/dguttenfelder.
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Public release date: 27-Dec-2011
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As a kid growing up in Central New York, we always had plenty of snow thanks to the lake effect off of the Great Lakes. I would sled and ski, cross country and downhill constantly. Each year once Halloween passed, I found myself with elbows pressed on the window sills, head in my hands, just waiting for the first snowfall to totally transform the earth white.
So what causes our region to undergo this wardrobe change into white? The answer lies partly in the intricate design of each snowflake and science oh mystical science.
However, the term ?snowflake? is actually incorrect. Scientifically speaking, the word snowflake refers to a cluster of snow crystals stuck together. Snowflakes are what we usually encounter in an everyday flurry. The awe-inspiring six-sided individual snow crystals are spotted falling softly from the sky only on those special winter days where there is little to no wind and the weather conditions are just right. Most of us probably recall seeing a perfect snow crystal fall onto our gloved hand at one point or another in our lives and it really is amazing to see.
Many different shapes and types of snow crystals exist, not just the aforementioned six cornered variety. The type and shape of each snow crystal is determined by the atmospheric temperature and supersaturation of water vapor in the air, also known as the humidity. The most complex designs occur when humidity in the air is the highest. 
Having said that, there is more to the picture than just what we see on the surface. If you pierce a small, deep hole in the snow you may notice the snow way down inside appearing bright blue. Also, different layers of snow and bubbly ice like that of frozen waterfalls and glaciers sometimes have been observed to emit a subtle blue or even greenish hue. Red algae is also said to alter the perceived color of snow. These and other topics relating to the physics of snow continue to captivate researchers and science lovers alike as they have for over 100 years.
Acknowledgements: With very special thanks to Ken Libbrecht for allowing me to interview him via email. I learned so much and he really helped make this article possible. If you want to savor the magic of snowflakes a little longer, check out his amazing books on Snow Crystals and Snowflakes! His website is also well written and very fun to read!
