Oh, sugar sugar

Almost the only English on a pack of Kurozu Candy I picked up at the co-op: ``Black Vinegar Candy -- No Strong Vinegar Taste.'' Well, thanks, but I was really feeling more like getting some caramels that didn't have a strong caramel taste to them, or a marshmallow that didn't have that strong puffy sugar hint to it. There are times I suspect Japan decided to just start being weird to mess with other nations' heads, like a character from Real Genius or something. I can't read the nutritional information, past ``16 kcal', `0g', `0g', `3.9g', and `4 mg'. The ingredient label put on by the Taysun Gen Trading company, importers: ``Maltose, sugar, brown sugar, black vinegar, black vinegar powder salt, citric acid, natural colouring (caramel), brown sugar flavoring.'' It tastes like a caramel-licorice hybrid.

More from the Brush with Lions: an anonymous lion -- the identifying plaque was broken off somehow. There seems to be a storm theme to it. Located at Merlion Park. The stairs lead to the Singapore River. The real attraction of Merlion Park is Merlion and Merlion -- they're merlions. The left one is around thirty feet high, sprays water from its mouth, and is often in pictures of the skyline. The right one is about human-sized, a model until last year placed in a slightly different part of the park. I don't know why they moved. Neither of these is the Sentosa Island merlion, a ten-storey concrete version that shoots laser beams (at night) and is apparently featured in Cowboy Bebop at one point.

Trivia: The MR-1 Mercury capsule flew twice. Its first flight, on 21 November 1960, reached an estimated altitude of up to five inches. Source: This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury, Loyd S. Swenson Jr., James M. Grimwood, and Charles C. Alexander. NASA SP-4201.

Currently Reading: Out of the Silent Planet, C.S. Lewis.