Congratulations!

I am very proud of K, who just passed his viva yesterday!
You are now Dr. S!
Your hard work paid off and you can move onto another stage of life.

Some other friends also received their PhD degree this year.
Congratulations to A and O!

Congratulations to the graduates

Most of my students graduated from the university this and last year. The class that I tutored just completed their undergraduate education a few days ago. I was sorry that I couldn't make it to this important rite of passage for them, both times.

I have been viewing their pictures and feeling their happiness these days.

I hope I was helpful to them in the year when I worked closely with them. Inexperienced and reserved as I was, I made mistakes and failed to offer good advises.
They gave me good lessons, however, lessons on life and attitude.
They were such a variety of individuals, of whom each had a different personality and challenged the bookish me in a different way.

Thanks to them, dear graduates.

Sushi

L, a little sister in my flat, knocked on my door tonight and gave me a lot of sushi!
It was very nice indeed, an innovative blend of a variety of ingredients, and a good taste even without sauce!
Cute shapes too! They were just like small, smiling, happy faces.

Thank you, L and F!
(Sorry that I did not come to the kitchen to express my gratitude properly, as I was already in my night gown even though it was still early...)

L, you should be more proud of your own cooking!
I do not even know how to make sushi! You are brilliant!

I believe you have found the best seasoning in the world! ; )

How many steps will it take?








In order to recycle some numerical tags, I made a decorative work on the board in my room.

Travelogue II: Chicago, 7-11, May, 2006: McDonald's

A. and I traveled together in Chicago. It's the first visit to this city for both of us. The city-scape of Chicago did not attract me at first sight because it appeared to me to be a world of machinery giants, while York, where I have got used to, was such a cozy town of miniature. Although this city of skyscrapers is really not my cup of tea, my 4-day stay did allow me to appreciate it, an extensively developed space that parades a very metallic and edged beauty of modernity. An intimidating friendliness, I think.

Modern theorists have commented that some international chain-stores successfully create images of a universal nostalgia for every global citizen. That is, whenever and wherever you travel, no matter how exotic the place is, once you see the signboard of, for instance, McDonald's, Starbucks, etc. (sorry that my examples are extremely limited, please help me with the list if you come up with any idea), your feeling of estrangement and fatigue as a traveler (if there is any) will be soothed and eased.
For a list of nostalgic objects like this, McDonald's can hardly be forgotten.

If my suggestion is valid, as an object of universal nostalgia, McDonald's should have worked hard to keep its appearance no matter where it locates. However, A. and I found interesting how McDonald's has managed to accommodate itself in Chicago by disguising its trademark: a golden arch against red background. There was a green-yellow McDonald, organic burgers perhaps?! A golden royal McDonald's; and a McDonald's imitating the famous signboard of the Chicago Theatre. There could be a complex cultural discourse behind these changes. But somehow this effort of McDonald's reminds me of a trend in the market of stuffed toys.

It can be a Winnie the Pooh in the outfit of a black cat. Or


a Hello Kitty pretending to be a rabbit, or


Kitty as a tiger (cat and tiger are not that different though...), and


Winnie is disguised as a Paddington Bear! :-O


Yes, I know my imagination has gone too far apparently. But I do feel a very interesting connection between the two incidents. The disguise, or camouflage, might have been created only for fun, but it also satisfies a variety of exotic imaginations of their prospective patrons.

Maybe it's time to stop before I ruin this interesting observation...