Meandering. Pointless? You make the call

Procedural note: I’ve added one photo to a previous post. Nifty, huh?

Soundtrack music for writing: Sun Ra – Disco 3000

Today’s post will have neither theme nor coherent narrative. I’ve just got a few pictures I feel like posting.

Here’s one from a long time ago that I never got around to finding a place for. I’ve been in Starbucks stores in at least four countries. Can you guess which country has this one?
It should come as no surprise to me that construction happens all the time here, but when I saw this the other day, I was stunned.
To give you an idea why I was surprised, here’s what it looked like a while ago, in a shot from an old post:

I’ve eaten at this place quite a few times, and like it a lot. It’s Xinjiang food, from the far west of China, and it’s quite popular. I hope they’re just remodeling and don’t feel the need to mess with the menu too much.
Last weekend I was feeling a little bored, so I hopped on the subway and got off at a stop I’d never visited just to wander around. Jishuitan is three stops directly west of my office. The canal follows the same path, though it ends just up ahead there. It’s safe to say this stretch is non-navigable. Yes, the upper part is frozen over – the temperature has been consistently below freezing for a couple weeks. Not solid enough for skating, however.
I guess the guy who took this bird out for a walk was having a rest somewhere.
This was taken a little further along looking towards the end of the water.

Here’s something I came across on the way to work this morning.
It’s recycling, Chinese style. They pull the garbage truck into our street (that’s our building behind them) and go through the trash to find recyclable items. If you think this is a worse system than having tidy color-coded bins like many American cities, you’re forgetting that in China, labor is cheaper than goods; it’s more cost-efficient to have people sort through the trash than to distribute containers. And people would throw recyclables into the trash anyway, either through inattention or lack of concern. So this gets the job done and provides employment, a win-win situation. Aside from the smell, that is.

Our building, Gehua Tower, is run by the media conglomerate called Gehua, and as befits their artsy focus, the lobby is often host to works of art or design.
There’s also an art museum up on the 13th floor which I have not visited.

After lunch today, I went out to a local store to buy some groceries (lately I’ve been leaving the office too late to make it to the store), and when I passed a newsstand, something caught my eye.
It’s a Chinese science fiction magazine. Back when I was getting ready to go to the Worldcon I had read about its existence, but every time I checked at a stand or store, they didn’t have it. It’s only ¥5 (less than a dollar), so even if I can’t read it, it’s worth the price.
Part of the inside is glossy, and this seems to be an article about cutting edge neuroscience.
And I’m pretty sure this is a translation of a story by David Brin – there’s a picture of him at the end of it.

And that’s enough for now. Catch you later!

Soundtrack for finishing: Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 – “Adventure Rocket Ship” (really!)