Optic Nerve

Back in NY, very tired after a night flight via Cleveland. Cleveland's airport is almost like a museum/tribute to Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James (a basketball player, for those of you back home; he's an absolute phenomenon, and can currently be seen on the front cover of this month's Vogue). Seattle was extremely lovely, and perhaps just as importantly, my visa status has been completely resolved thanks to the very helpful and friendly immigration officers at the US-Canadia border. On Thursday Matan and I went to Vancouver. It was a very strange city, a juxtaposition of absolutely stunning natural beauty (Stanley Park and surrounding mountains) and really quite shocking human poverty and degradation. For all of Canada's much-vaunted welfare system, I saw far, far more homeless people on the streets of Vancouver than Seattle, or indeed any other US city. And, just as disturbingly, Vancouver seems to have a real problem with drug addiction: we saw people buying and selling drugs in backalleys, not to mention the woman with needle puncture marks up her entire leg. Unsurprisingly, we didn't linger in that area for too long.

After returning from Vancouver Matan and I spent most of our time watching/playing basketball and watching some films (Hoop Dreams - bit of a theme going on here - 28 Days Later, and some other bits and pieces). I read half of Mishima's 'The Sound of Waves', and a bit more of Chris Brown's excellent 'Moral Capital'. Very, very busy 10 days or so coming up, but hopefully I'll be able to post once or twice. Unlike this rather meandering, go-nowhere message, I actually have a couple of things I want to say/write about.

Anyway, if you so desire, you can check out some photographs from my recent wanderings in New York, Seattle, and Vancouver here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=90371&l=6b316&id=222304758

Finally, in the time that I've been away, the toilet water in my apartment appears to have turned blue. I wonder why this would be? Right, I'm off to check the New Zealand-England cricket score; I sense a rare England test series victory, a victory made all the sweeter by the bragging rights it gives me over my New Zealand coursemate Toby. Go Sidebottom!