Well, I'm back from honeymoon and very busy (not long before my next interstate and overseas trips), but I'll try and write up some of the highlights. Trouble is that it was such a long trip and we did so much. I'll add to this journal progressively as I get free time.

We visited:

• 上海 (Shanghai), visiting the in-laws and having our Chinese wedding party, where I didn't drink too much, and practicing my 普通话


• Rome, and did as the tourists do and visit all the usual places.


• Venice, with a nice hotel balcony, expensive restaurants, and smelly (if scenic) waterways.


• Nice, which was very nice.


• Cannes, where we spent most of the time shopping, but did get to see the nice beach, and some short films on an outdoor screen (the main ones you had to be part of the convention).


• Monaco, where we had a very expensive snack.


• Paris, and saw the Eiffel tower at night, with lots of pretty flashing lights, and the Louvre (so-so) and the Musée d'Orsay. We also spent a small fortune at the Guy Savoy Restaurant.


• Reims, where pretty much everything was closed, except for the Notre-Dame de Reims and the motor museum.


• Barcelona, where we fell in love with the work of Gaudí


• Madrid, which due to travel plans gone slightly awry, we arrived at late at night, saw some of 于蓝's friends, and then left the next morning for...


• London, with it's loot and towers


• Watchfield, a tiny village in the English countryside, where we stayed with our lovely friends Liz and Dave and their three boys.


• Oxford, where I showed 于蓝 around my old haunts.


• Boston, which was lovely, and made even more so by Sabrina and Leeland showing us around and generally being helpful.


• New York, the city that never sleeps, especially when Obama won. Saw some of the usual things (Central Park, Statue of Liberty, Grand Central Station, etc.) and went to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, which was cool. :)


• Pittsburgh, where I spent some time with my genius (or at least, immensely well-read) friend & colleague Cosma


• Chicago, where I gave a talk on agent based modelling at Argonne National Labs, on the day that we didn't get stuck in post-football-game traffic while attempting to do a driving tour around the city.


• Santa Fe, beautiful Santa Fe, where I finally got to visit Bandelier, Abiquiu, and Ghost Ranch, before meeting up with friends Caroline and Aaron


• Los Angeles, where we lived 16km from one of the bushfires for a few days (lots of smoke, and even falling ash). We visited Disneyland and Universal Studios.

I will be posting some photos and videos up after they're all sorted and edited. Unfortunately we lost most of the photos as they were on 于蓝's camera, which had its flash memory die on us (and only found out after we got back).

我最近觉得担心太多了。因为大多于蓝的英国的境签证是来迟了。很失败!

我喜欢这个歌曲：

我在学中文，因为我新家庭是中国人。我在用这是博客为实践。请问，改正我的语法。谢谢。

I was recently asked by a facebook friend who is a publisher of fine books, if I'd review one called A Field Guide to Surreal Botany. Since I had no other info than the title, I wasn't sure what to expect, and my curiosity was sufficiently piqued to ask to review it (with the side effect that I am now having to do some work reviewing it instead of just admiring it :)

I think the web site will give you a sufficient idea of the art, as for the entries, I'll give you a quote from one of my favourite entries, the "Forget-me-bastard" (like the "forget-me-not", only different):
Male and female plant types have been observed, however aggression seems predominately against male humans---observer theorizes that this occurs as a result of the female side in any arguement (sic) being "right" by default, while the male side of an argument is invariably "wrong," and therefore worthy of attack.
[joke]Now that I'm married, I can attest to that.[/joke] (I am really happy with Yulan, and we get on well together, which is why I married her, and I'm only occasionally wrong ;)

The art is gorgeous, and most of the entries are imaginative / clever / humourous in a clever way. A few do feel a little bit forced and don't quite make it, but overall I love the book.

Here are the very first photos from the wedding, taken by my Dad. For comparison I've included wedding photos of my parents and maternal grandparents. I've also scanned in the wedding certificate & stuck that up.

I have it on very good authority that other photos will be ready fairly soon (the ones from the professional photographer might have to wait a little while as she's off to HK for a short trip soon).

I'm a very, very lucky man to have 于蓝 as my wife. Very happy too :)

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Read me.

Now you are without "isms". A person without "isms" is more like a person. An insect or plant is without "isms". You, too, have a life and will no longer be manipulated by any "isms", and you prefer to be an onlooker living on the fringes of society. Unavoidably, there will be perspectives, views and tendencies, but, finally, no particular "isms". This is the difference between the you of the present and the he that you are investigating.