Speaking from the Old Country with a New Tongue

In a general state of affairs, I have indeed returned to this place that, in recent years, has become my home. Much to my chagrin, I will admit - I feel pained to leave that which was so joyous, but that is how it goes. Enough of that, at the very least.

I have been watching the World Cup with unrestrained fervour, if you must know. As if part of some religious ritual, I place myself in front of the viewing portal, ready to consume whatever the soccer gods deem me worthy of witnessing. There have been a lot of totally amazing games and some that have been ... well, not so impressive. Yet I am here all the same - it may be muted and on the periphery of my vision - but it still remains in my consciousness.

I am NOT a summer person. I cannot stand the sun or the excessive heat that it provides in these dreary months. I may cringe and whine during the winter, but bring on the cold and I shall be a happy man - armed with the right wardrobe, of course. Of course, indeed.

The latest acquisition in the world of games is that of Loco Roco on the PSP. First off - HUZZAH! A game has appeared in Europe before the US (preceding the US release by at least 3 months according to the current schedule) and I have been here to claim it for my own. This is the justification for owning and hanging onto the PSP. Many a time over the past few months, I have wondered and considered why I own this device even though it offers me nothing entirely special. Intentional or not, on the part of Sony, this game is one of those reasons to have a PSP. Created with such polish and ingenuity - a simple enough design that uses just Two buttons to play and is so endearingly cute - one would be a fool to deny it.

Granted, last week, I was treated to owning the Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel on the PSP, which is also a stellar creation, combining Ashley Wood's dramatic artwork with some cool technical tricks and a fairly in-depth and comprehensive look at the world of Metal Gear Solid Circa ... is it the Outer Heaven incident? Yeah, so I'm not too familiar with the timeline or its classification, I'm sorry.

In the spirit of Art, I shall mention a visit to Karen Miller, not a usual haunt by any stretch of the imagination. In this particular branch that I did step into, I witnessed something rather neat - a large, oval pillar that was covered with thin vertical strips of convex 3-way mirrors, not too dissimilar from what you might see in a fitting room, only convex in set-up and really thin strips - no wider than 2 or 3 cm. Now what was really cool was the representation of the world and the self in these. As you would move to and away from; from side to side; the world would seem to disappear and appear. The self apparates and disapparates - as if its all a figment of a semi-conscious imagination. It was quite beautiful.

And now I shall depart before the lag induced by the not-so-pleasant skies drags me into a drooling state of slumber once more.