So by now we're sure you're all wondering, is it still International Week here at AtAT? You betcher sweet boots it is, buddy! But after our recent plot jaunts to France and China, this time we thought we'd reel it in a bit, because all this thinking about intercontinental travel is really messing with our internal clocks. Virtual jetlag: almost as bad as virtual leg cramps, virtual ear-popping, virtual turbulence-while-peeing, and virtual packs of peanuts that are just too freakin' small, already. Seriously, all this nonexistent flying is the virtual pits, so this time we thought we'd pick a country we could think about driving to, instead.

Helloooooooo, Canada!

Yes, Canada, our lovely neighbor to the north; remember, folks, it isn't the 51st state yet, so it's totally fair game for an International Week installment, even though it's only a few hours away by car (for us, anyway). Virtual road trips are far less irritating than all that tedious pretending to sit around in airplanes. And here's the Canadian plot twist of the week: apparently Apple's going completely nutso with the iPod ads over there. Not TV commercials, which aren't even really at saturation levels here in the states (and why would they be, since iPods and miniPods are selling like crazycakes already?), but those posters that Apple's so fond of plastering all over the place. The thing is, Apple has reportedly taken the whole poster thing to a whole new level-- one which some mental health care professionals might well categorize as "obsessive."

Check it out; MacMinute reports that the St. George train station in Toronto has been made over into a veritable "Apple dreamland," in the words of one eyewitness: "iPod ads adorn nearly every object of the station-- posts, walls, stairs, and even newspaper recycle bins." Scope out the provided photographs to see what they mean; our favorite is definitely Elongated Silhouette Dude™ jammin' venetian blind-style on the front surfaces of some three-dozen stairs. Call it overkill, call it art, call it anything but subtle. Not a single soul passing through St. George will be able to say he hasn't heard of the iPod. Of course, all he may be able to tell you about it is that it's some white thing with wires that people who paint themselves black like to hold while they pose in front of brightly colored backdrops, but hey, that's brand recognition right there.

So clearly Apple has set its sights on Toronto as the next city to be taken over by shuffling, vacant-eyed 'Pod people who are strangely slow to respond to phrases like "I can help you down here, sir" or "Are you ready to order?" or the ever-popular "For God's sake, get out of the way-- I have no brakes!" Meanwhile, sources indicate that the iPodified St. George station is an irresistible beacon to famed spraypaint vandals the Neistat Brothers, who are already planning a road trip across the border to stencil every possible surface at St. George with the slogan "iPOD'S NONREPLACEABLE BATTERY LASTS ONLY ABOOT 18 MONTHS, EH?" Here's hoping the Mounties give 'em what-for.