Re:

What they say is true, you never finish reading Mauriccio DiGiorgio. Not only was he vastly prolific, but a great deal of his life remains a mystery. Anyway, just the other day my good friend Flasto came across a compilation of letters exchanged between DiGiorgio and a cryptic man who signs as Mr. 12, (Letters form The Sea and The Land and The Beyond) and he bought it for me. The book is not in good shape, and the very first page is missing, so we really don’t know where or when it was printed. I believe it is a translation from an original either in Italian or French, although it is known that DiGiorgio spoke many languages. It appears this Mr. 12 served in a ship called HMS Cuntineur somewhere between 1740 and 1750, and sent letters to DiGiorgio to an adress in Milan, but I have no idea as of how the letters were delivered. Sadly, very few of DiGiorgio’s letters exist, and the majority of the book dwells on Mr. 12 writings and drawings. Today I will post a particular letter by Mr.12 that really caught my attention, from the first chapter of the book.

Dear Mauriccio,

It is with some sorrow that I reckon, once more, that you were right and I was wrong. I have come to believe that the whole ordeal has it’s source in a most unfortunate misunderstanding. At any rate, the duck is dead now, so it seems unlikely anyone will ask witty questions.
After all the struggle it was to get the bear onboard, it seems to be finally adapting itself to life at sea. Strong willed beast, I must say. It is very stubborn but it appears to have some sort of intellect, at least as much as a spaniard. But it has hideous manners. During last night supper, it lost it’s temper while Dr. Carlowe tried to smack it into using a spoon. Sadly, Dr, Carlowe succumbed to his wounds that very night, as he was only geleno on board no one was fit to heal him. The bear received 10 lashes and was sent to bed hungry. Poor little thing.
But now we face quite a pickle, you see. We decided that the youngest member of the crew should punish the bear for it’s inappropriate behaviour at the table. It would be a lesson for both the bear and young Mr. Stevens. Applying a punishment is the best way to understand its seriousness. Young Mr. Stevens, may he be with the Lord now, proved to have a heavy hand in the lash and the bear did not appreciate this. After this we decided the bear would no longer be punished.
Now that Mr. Stevens is gone with Dr. Carlowe to wherever the soul of men slain by sailor bears go, we need a new man of science and a new navigator. Now our compass lays in a certain Mr. Doud. Son of a Turkish soldier and a British prostitute, Mr Doud is an extravagant character. He was able to read and write in latin by age four. The most ill fortune caused him to suffer a blunt concussion to the head at age twelve, which rendered him illiterate once more. I hope his guiding can finally bring us back to Europa, only beckon of reason in this world gone mad. I must admit, however that in Arabia I came across a wonderful tome on alchemy. You will be delighted.

Kind regards,
Mr. 12

New kid on the bl0ck.

This bar it a total n00b. You know, bars have a sort of personality. Some are tough. Some a posers. Some are, well, lets say inexperienced. Usually, the nature of a bar becomes obvious in the restroom. This one was a real easy one; it smelled of paint. Instead of the thick, unforgiving and unavoidable reek of pee & puke, this one had the fragrance of fresh paint. No wonder I never saw it before, it’s been open for only a week. Waiters are still kind and the cashier is unshot.

The bar is all right, though.