Diego’s day on the Naruto train

A couple of weeks ago, after a day trip to Tsuyama for a spot of hanami – more on that in this post on my travel blog – I headed for the station to catch the first available rapid service back to Okayama.

Imagine my surprise when the sight of this train greeted me on the platform.

Counting down . . .

. . . to my next, long-overdue – but hopefully not final – dose of K-ON.

Amazon’s got a date now, so it’s only a matter of time.

Cheerio.

Gentle reader, if you’re on the hunt for a birthday present . . .

. . . or, to be precise, a birthday present for me . . .

. . . I’d like to reward you with a hint.

Probably won’t be out in time, but I’m quite willing to wait.

Cheerio.

A squid in the net is worth two in the sea.

Several days ago, a whiff of an ugly rumour reached these ears (or rather eyes) of mine: the second season of Shinryaku! Ika Musume might never see the light of day (in the form of an English subtitled release, that is).

And then yesterday, news broke of a possible rescheduling, rather than an outright cancellation.

This is where one might, under different circumstances, gratefully type out the words “and I breathed a sigh of relief” – but I shan’t do so just yet. (Other than to illustrate the point.)

I haven’t been keeping tabs on Media Blasters, but if the comments related to the two articles linked above are anything to go by . . . well, let’s just say their reputation for punctuality in so far as release schedules are concerned isn’t quite up to Japanese railway standards.

So all things considered, perhaps it would be a little premature to break out the champagne. (Or soda water, depending on the age of the readership.) The not-quite-so-old saying up in the post title sums up my guiding principle on this matter.

Cheerio.

Diego’s day in Castello, Venice

I’ve always had the intention of blogging actively about my travels. As to why that noble intention hasn’t translated into a regular series of travel posts . . . well, I can name any number of excuses: work, acedia, bubonic plague, global warming, etc. (All right, scratch the third one, and I profess a contrarian’s views when it comes to the fourth. But we’ll let the first two stand.)

I haven’t given up entirely on the whole enterprise though, so let’s have another crack at it – this time with a brief account of my November 2011 walk through the back streets of Castello in Venice.

Hyōka (ep. 22)

And they lived happily ever after.

Hyōka (ep. 21)

Heartbreak. Redefined.