Logged out of my yahoo e-mail account today and was greeted by the following ad:
The colour of the text also flashes between red and blue.
Some questions that arise:
1. What does the ad actually say (I have no idea)?
2. Could it be for something vaguely illegal, seeing's how there are photos of US passports on it?
3. How did a solely-Chinese language ad appear on the Yahoo.com website?
Any answers would be greatly appreciated.
Kurt Vonnegut died tonight.
Despite being the voice of an earlier generation, I believe he still had a profound impact on each successive generation of youth. He will always be, I think, a university student's writer, an author whose books wide-eyed undergrads discover and read with electric recognition.
And he remained funny and sharp as he got older, even a couple of years ago when he appeared on The Daily Show. There was someone who did not mellow with age.
News out of England that the quite romantic life story of Romantic poet John Keats will be made into a movie directed by Jane Campion. The movie will be titled Bright Star, after a poem that Keats wrote for his fiancée Fanny Brawne. Thank god it won't be called something insipid like Becoming John or Ode to Keats.
Keats will be played by young British actor Ben Wishaw, who seems appropriately wan and sallow. He does have to look like he [SPOILER ALERT!] dies of consumption at age 25.
I am happy to report that I am 98% unpacked and it hasn't even been a week since I've moved. I would still like a trip to IKEA to get more office storage, but otherwise I'm okay with what I've got.
When you come in the front door, this is the view of the living room with the new (used) sofabed.
And a bit of a Cubist view from the desk side. (If you sit on the couch, you directly face the TV):
My desk area in front of the window, from where I am writing this very post:
The dining room and kitchen:
Even though I am almost fully unpacked, the bedroom is still not set up to my satisfaction, so no photos of that yet. Rest assured that there is also tonnes of storage space and that the bathroom is brighter than the one in the previous apartment.
So... who wants to come visit Edmonton?
Without fail, everytime anyone comes to visit me, I get comments about the wallpaper in the building's hallways. This is what the ends of the hallways look like:
Up close it looks like this:
But the best part, which is not evident in photos, is that the red pattern is raised and fuzzy. It's also tactile!
So if I end up going a little nuts by the end of the PhD, it won't be entirely due to the dissertation.
Things I miss about the old apartment:
For the second time in my rental life (which has consisted of now four properties), I have moved within the same building to a different unit, this time due to water issues. While I was in a third floor south-facing corner unit, I am now in a second floor east facing unit which is technically on the SE corner but has no window facing south.
I am posting this from my old apartment, where I still have internet. Alas, I will be phone- and internet-less at home until Thursday because I called Shaw too late, but I guess that gives me more time to unpack and to actually do work. Of course I'll have internet access from school, but it's not the same.
Photos of new place once everything gets unpacked an arranged. The new place is about the same square footage, but the living area is smaller and the bedroom is larger. In fact, I would venture to say that they are about the same size. Carpet is also green instead of brown.
And finally, I have fantastic friends who not only helped me move but also took down old blinds and put up my curtains. Yay, friends.
(I suspect this chatty post is pre-compensation for not being connected for the next few days.)
