A place I saw in my dreams, to which my heart longs to return

Writing in National Geographic, Cathy Newman once poetically described a certain Italian city as “neither land nor water, but shimmering somewhere in between”. A place where “time is measured by the breath of tides, and space bracketed by water”.

I’ve been to the real city, and I’ve been to its fictional counterpart. In the years that have passed since those visits, I’ve longed to return to both.

If one speaks of the city in our own world, it may be a while before I can once more glide through the canals and walk along the streets of that heart-achingly beautiful place…

…but where its imaginary sister is concerned, I may soon get my chance.

Yes, I am sorry to report that they’re still selling it

Remember that gut-busting, heart-massacring, quadruple-bypass-on-a-plate menu item that KFC released in the Philippines a few days ago?

Until a few hours ago, I could have laughed it off as a slightly early (or horribly late) April Fools’ Day joke…

…but that ceased to be a viable option when I saw an image of the beast on the menu of a KFC restaurant in my neighbourhood. (Yes, this is new – I snapped the picture earlier today.) It seems the, er, thing has graduated from the initial 2-day trial phase and is now seeing a much wider – perhaps longer term – release.

But wait, it gets better! Or worse, depending on your sense of humour and the state of your arteries. Shift your eyes downwards just a wee bit and see what they’re advertising directly underneath that thing.

As the parody persona of a certain Eastern philosopher might say: “Man who eat double down dog is dead man.”

And in case you were wondering, I had bibimbap for lunch instead … which is why I regret to report that I’m still very much alive.

Cheerio.

Well, it’s not like ready-to-eat eringi just slide by when one needs them…

…so if one is determined to survive in the RPG universe, it pays to be flexible with one’s diet.

Thankfully, a recent manga series (tip of the hat to ANN for the news) stands ready to teach the starving dungeon-crawling masses such essential skills as preparing emergency rations out of slime and turning scorpions into a palatable dish.

I just hope the book comes with some great chocobo recipes. There’s got to be a better way of cooking those birds than instantly roasting them with a blast from a mage’s staff – tends to leave them too crispy you know…

新年明けましておめでとうございます

Diego happily wishes you all the best in the year ahead. ~(‾⌣‾~)

Et Verbum caro factum est . . .

. . . et habitávit in nobis: et vídimus glóriam eius, glóriam quasi Unigéniti a Patre, plenum grátiæ et veritátis.

DEO GRATIAS!

Diego wishes you, your family, and all your loved ones a very happy Christmas.

Whoa, hard to believe it’s been 8 years and a day . . .

. . . since I published my first post here.

Happy day-after-your-birthday, dear blog of mine. (^_^)

Okay, time to nitpick about a recent animated movie . . .

. . . and boy, have I got one massive nit to pick.

Before that, let me say it out straight: GREAT movie. I mean . . . mm, I’d love to make use of a well-known phrase involving a pair of human appendages posed vertically in such a way as to indicate approval, but I hear it’s been copyrighted and I’m in no mood to go to court. Anyway, good stuff.

Now here comes the nit. Let me get the shotgun ready.