O.K., I swear I will accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour (and Moses as my investment adviser) if this not only actually comes to pass, but it actually reaches to the Top (where the scum has truly risen) and convictions are returned all around.

I'm gonna be an atheist forever, aren't I?

Meanwhile, back at the photograph. A few seconds after I took this, the guy pulled what looked like a defunct 50 mm (hey, it coulda been a 35) lens out of the bag and, cackling, held it up to his eye. I guess he'd noticed my camera, huh? But, how many street folks do you know (well, period, I suppose, but...) who've got a 50 mm lens in their bag o' tricks?

I think I mentioned our dimwit Premier yesterday, didn't I? Well, he's at it again. Yep, while people are dying for lack of basic social/medical services on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, Gordo's answer is, "Let them play sports!". My bet is they'd rather have the cake.

Uh-oh. Time to hit the streets again.

And, just in case anyone was actually thinking of attending the Olympics in China, here's one more reason to rethink that plan.

You know, if you've got to live in Hell, it should at least be colourful, right?

O.K., even for an omnivore (but, 99% veg), this sign is just so incredibly wrong! Still, if it were to come up for sale (and, given that the building to which it's attached will very likely be knocked down in the next couple of years, it very well could be), I'd be tempted to pay big bucks to acquire it. Lucky me, though - I don't have any big bucks. Dang.

If you're looking for a good movie to go see, try "Honeydripper". Yeah, it's a tad earnest (come on - it's a John Sayles movie, after all!), but it's earnest for darn good reasons. And the music is great!

A Vancouver landmark. The Dominion Building. And, to your right, ladies and gentlemen, another Vancouver landmark. One the name of which (the official name, that is) I've forgotten. It used, however, to be known as Needle Park, 'cause, if you were a junkie, well.... Not quite so much now. Notice the streetlight that the guy nearest me is about to walk in front of. Over the street, a normal streetlight. Pointing to camera right, however, into the park, a nice, big floodlight. Don't want no untoward activity taking place there under cover of darkness, after all. It's a nice little urban oasis now.

Ah, planning. It doesn't always work out, does it? This place has been empty for at least a couple of years now. A very expensive error. Or con job. The building, that is. What genius decided that a high-end retail mall would be a success in the heart of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside? Say "Oops", boys and girls.

Yeah, and you all thought I lived in some quiet West Coast town with nothing much happening.

Meanwhile, Hillary seems to have bounced back. With, maybe, a little help (ill-intended, I'm sure) from someone else's friends. Of course, we all believe Smirkin' Steve's denials. Just like we believe he didn't try to bribe a soon-to-be-dead MP with a million dollar life insurance policy. The Smirk?!? Do something so heinous?!? Naaaaahhhhhh........

Isn't life exciting?

For some reason a cat that seems to be waving good-bye is a good luck symbol in a lot of Japanese restaurants. This isn't a Japanese restaurant, however. It's.....um....well, to be honest, I'm not sure what this place is. Other than the previously-pictured School of Hypnosis. Squirrel hypnosis, at that. So, a "bye-bye" kitty? I just dunno.

The glowing building in the background, however, is a place where folks whose luck has gone bye-bye often wind up. If they're lucky. Paradox - what a thing!

"I think I can, I think I can, I think........"

I created the above post a few hours back, and, 'cause it's bedtime and I'm always curious about these things, I checked StatCounter one last time. All of a sudden there's 64 hits on the site. So, it's mystery time again. Not that I'm not charmed to have all these nice people drop by, however briefly, for a look, but...? Kuala Lumpur? Nairobi? Santiago? Pleasanton (it's in California)? Moose Jaw (where else but right here in the Great White North?)? Welcome to the photos, everybody! I hope you liked something about the site and that you'll come back sometime.

But, what's with the sudden 10x increase? I'd love it if someone out there would drop me a line.

He moved through Chinatown, only one thought in his mind, "Giddes. I've got to find Jake Giddes." He never did, of course.

I've been a big fan of the New York Review of Books for a long (really, really long) time. Got an interest in art? Literature? Science? History? Politics? Philosophy? Anything? Go buy a copy.

Now, that's aerodynamic riding!

Say, speaking of Chinatown (that's where this was taken), next week begins the year of the Rat in the Chinese calendar. Now, I was going to make a joke about how it's also Dumbya's last year in office, so, just for a little information on what, exactly, the year of the Rat might involve, I decided I'd better check Wikipedia. Honest, I ain't makin' this up. Here's a direct quote: "Rat is associated with aggression, wealth, charm, and order, yet also associated with death, war, the occult, pestilence, and atrocities." Gees! Maybe there's something to this Chinese horoscope stuff after all!

Another little remnant of Japantown. I wonder who the Morimotos were.

Speaking of things Japanese... O.K., it's a tenuous connection but, well, it's there. Really. I'm a bad person to take up an exercise plan. Why, you ask? Because I'm a big believer in rewarding virtuous behaviour (especially my own) and I ran 7-ish km tonight, before dinner, which meant that when I got home I just wasn't really in the mood to cook. Solution? You betcha - head out to the local sushi joint for some ohitashi, beef (sorry vegetarian pals) teriyaki and, of course, sake. I love running!

Once upon a time, Vancouver, like so many cities on the west coast of North America, had a Japantown. You can probably guess when that ended. This little scene is on Powell Street, once one of the main streets of Japantown. It reminded me of shoji.

Soooooo, McCain won in South Carolina. Phew. Shows that there are at least some Republicans who aren't completely insane. Still, the fact that they're Republicans at all is some cause for worry.

And Hillary won in Nevada. I'm thinkin' you want Obama, folks. Don't get me wrong, Hills would be O.K., but she'll be pretty much status quo if she actually makes it to president. Obama might actually offer something new. And, with a little luck, that "new" thing might actually be better. It's worth a shot. Things pretty obviously can't get any worse.

Take your choice in Chinatown.

Pretty good description for this particular part of town.

I think I've mentioned this before - Vancouver's got the world's most colourful "bad" end of town. Things may be falling apart, no one's got any money, but - wow! - somebody's got access to paint.

It'd just be so hard to decide, wouldn't it?