And when I say ‘International’, ‘Chinese’ is probably the first thing that pops into your mind. But if you really want to explore the diversity of our planet you need to look beyond the Chinese restaurant around the corner. Unfortunately, Pizza Hut doesn’t count as Italian cuisine either. If you are wondering from where to start your journey, here are some ideas:

If you are looking for something truly exotic, Indian food should be just the right thing for you. From flatbreads like chapathi, naan, dosai, and poori to many other delicacies like steamed rice, tandoori chicken and spicy curries, the variety Indian food offers is endless. This is probably the ideal cuisine for vegans and vegetarians.

The world’s best gourmet kitchens are in Paris. French cuisine normally consist of an array of dishes prepared from vegetables, fruits, fish, sea food and meat served along with bread, pasta, crepe or rice and an assortment of cheeses and wine.

Italian food seems to be one of the most popular choices. After all who can resist the taste of a crusty and cheesy pizza or some delicious pasta? Some of the most commonly found ingredients of Italian food are tomatoes, eggplant, olives, garlic, pepper, cheese and meat. And don’t forget to stop at an Italian café for some tiramisu and cappuccino.

Mexican food is for all of you who can muster the courage for a really hot and spicy experience. It mainly consists of corn and beans, along with vegetables and meats loaded with chilies and other spices. Chocolate has also played an integral part in Mexican cuisine throughout history.

So are you ready to let your taste buds take you on a trip around the world?

What exactly are Lemmings anyway?

1. Fat, herbivorous rodents that should under no circumstance be mistaken for guinea-pigs because guinea-pigs are actually cute!

Oh this is interesting! According to learned men from the 16^th century, Lemmings all fell out of the sky during a storm.

“Mass suicide” – That’s what we call the accidental mass deaths that occur when lemmings migrate in large groups.

Need evidence?

What I find most stunning is the (newly learned) fact that Lemmings (right) were based on lemmings (above).
The wee turf-haired creatures I sacrificed years ago in Lemmings Revolution actually made death cute.
Imagine a fat rodent dying. ‘Splaarffth!’ Blood, fur, guts and chipped teeth. Goddamit lemming, why can’t you be more like your distant cousin Lemming, and leave life in a way that makes the murder of small creature enjoyable?

I’m not old-school enough to have played (or want to play) the original game Lemmings released in 1991 by Psygnosis. Still, I’m a sucker for nostalgia and downloads that don’t need to be paid for. It’s time to get a copy of Lemmings revolution and another glass of lemonade.

Just need to strain out the drowned Lemmings, pop in a few ice cubes and
LEMMINGS REVOLUTION . . . is downloading. At third world country internet speeds. Thank goodness the whole game is only half a gig large. (If anybody wants to debate the ethics of using bit torrents, I’m not interested.)

Let’s get a little background information while this thing crawls its way to my laptop. The game I’m about to play was released in 2000 by Psygnosis and Talonsoft. It is the last game in the series to be made for PC. It’s also a lot more loyal to the concept than its 1997 predecessor ‘The adventures of Lomax’, where you control a single Lemming, unravel his story and weep over the fact that the Lemmings has conformed to being a standard third-person action game – something which by the looks of it, neither IGN nor Gamespot has bothered to review yet.

I couldn’t help but post this utterly mediocre (but mildly alcoholic) recipe for lemonade. It’s extra hot these days and I’m drinking a lot of the stuff, though not enough to get tipsy sadly. If anyone has ideas on how to improve my lemonade, I’d love to hear them!

LEMMINGS REVOLUTION is ready for action now, so without further ado, let’s bring on a good bout of cuteness, nostalgia and death.

Wow. I remember being amazed by these graphics: a spooky plank bridge snaking across dark water, lit by torches. A 3d ‘tree’ around which various deadly or inhibitory pitfalls are placed, the wobbling lemmings… Now I’m just amazed that I used to be amazed. It’s easy to see why it runs so smoothly on my craptop – (A laptop I’m borrowing for work while I take a break abroad and back home from university. It’s a Pentium mobile netbook, enough said).

The first level round, I choose ‘just float’ where all you need to do is equip each and every lemming with a brolly. In period I took to figure out how the tree spun, I managed to kill them all.
This was really disappointing because none of them cried ‘oh no!’ as they were supposed to. It’s the price that must be paid for bootlegging games, since I just don’t have the patience to download a better version.
The next four levels went smoothly. Take note: A ‘basher’ will take four steps swinging his arms in the air before realising that there’s nothing in front of him to bash, and that you’ve wasted his time and made him look like a fool before all his sheep-like comrades. He secretly hopes you’ll use ‘bomber’ on him next. That’s another thing I’ve learned so far. If you’ve got a frozen ‘block’ Lemming that you decide to blow up, he doesn’t have to die! Just watch the countdown and assign him a task when he sees the white light (immediately after ‘1…’). I prefer to save them with bash in such instances because it’s quite harmless in terms of random stairs and holes created in your tree.

I’m not too confident about getting the rest of my levels flawlessly completed. It would be brilliant to have a mouse right now but it looks like I’m stuck with my craptop’s touchpad, which by the way, doesn’t even come with a tapping function.

Hey! – does anyone remember another early 3d puzzle game centered on sheep? They were shiny, fat sheep that had to be rounded up in different, ways I think.
There’s time to research or remember that one anyway. I’ve posted my current progress below. The beginning level in the middle is where all my Lemmings died. I’m going to zig-zag my little Lemmings to their promised land and this should take just 8 levels. Still, it’s going to be great running through all of them. If I don’t find the sheep game too soon, I’ll probably write a Lemmings Revolution guide, and stick another recipe up while I’m at it. It’s nice to moonch/sip something home-made and yummy while taking a trip back in time.

So anyway, back to (virtual) reality, I’m wandering the streets of Second Life with nothing but a few unfashionable rags on and a measly L$250 (L$ = Linden Dollars) in my pocket. What do I do first? Well, I’m not the most affluent resident out there at the moment, so my best option would be…the junkyard! Oh don’t get me wrong – it’s nothing near as unappealing as it sounds; in fact, it contains heaps of cool clothes and accessories. And the best part – very often they’re free of charge! Any exceptions would only cost a Linden dollar or two. Of course, you can’t expect them to be entirely in-season. Most of the items will look quite old in comparison to what the residents usually wear, but just think of them as vintage fashions. Newcomers to Second Life should probably try out the aptly named “Newbie Paradise,” which has a host of things that you would want to get a hold of. Wagaland (111, 123, 30) also exists as a useful junkyard for new residents that are strapped for cash. Another great place to scavenge around for valuable junk is YadNi’s (Leda, 210, 28, 54). Keep in mind, though, that just like in any other large complex, desirable items will run out fast, so after taking a minute or two to get your bearings (junkyards can be unimaginably massive), shop ‘til you drop or you’ll end up regretting it!

Also keep in mind that clothes are nowhere near the only things you’ll be able to find in the junkyards. All you’ll ever need to start your new life and Second Life, including furniture, vehicles, appliances and even weapons. A vehicle shouldn’t be that important to you in Second Life, seeing as how you can immediately teleport to your destination, so unless you think it will help you establish your identity or something similar, you might as well spend your time deciding on buying something more useful. Weapons won’t be much of a help either, seeing as how you won’t be able to use them on other avatars unless you take part in one of the numerous fighting games they have going on. On the streets of Second Life, though, they wont have any effect on other residents, and much of the area is designated as a safe zone anyway, so once again, unless it helps with the identity you’re going for, don’t bother.

So, I’ve finally got myself a nice wardrobe and a great selection of furniture and accessories, and I can’t wait ‘til next time to test out my new self!