Health problems Few days ago, I had to do a check-up. I have had a blood deficiency for two months and my doctor wanted to see if there was any problem in my stomach or my bowels. Before the surgery, I had got some medicines and I had had to go on a very strict diet. All my meals had to be cooked in a particular way and I could not eat some food. The only good point was I could eat chocolate (I'm a chocoholic :p) Eventually, nothing wrong was discovered. All I had to do is not to worry about it and continue to take my medicines. I felt a bit anxious about the surgery but everything was good.

Another Code : Two Memories (part 5) I follow the path heading to the north (the only path, in fact). The first obstable Ashley meets is a bridge upon the sea. Ashley thinks Jessica must have passed by this way. Suddently, she hears a voice which sounds like Jessica's one. Ashley decides to go and see but before she can cross the sea, the drawbirdge gets up. I get near the machine which gets thebridge up and down. It is quite rusted but still fonctional. I use the stylet to select the handle and make it turn round (two turns to the right are necessary). The bridge gets down again and I can go to the other side. Ashley calls for Jessica twice but the latter doesn't answer. I go straight up to a stone marker. On it, I can see “Property of the Edward family”. Ashley remembers it is the rich family name. I keep going to the north, up to an intersection. In front of me, there is a big house. I cannot enter it because of a high wall and a closed gate. I can see a broken sign and some wood pieces on the floor. I fixe them, as a puzzle so I can read “<-- The Edward Mansion” and a strange symbol on the right. I take a photo, it may be useful later... When I'm sure there is nothing left to do, I take the path to the right. I arrive at another intersection. I cannot go straight because the way is blocked by big rocks. Again, I take the path to the right. It leads me to a cemetery. Ashley calls for Jessica again, but still gets no answer. There are many gravestones, most of them are broken (by time or by someone ?). Two of them are still complet. The first one indicates “Thomas Edward, 1912-1948”, the second one “Henry Edwards, 1910-1948”. So, Ashley has the proof the captain's story was true. All the cemetery is circled (surrounded ?) by a stone wall. At the end, there is a hole which is filled by a large stone slab. With the stylet, I move it from the left to the right. When it's done, the stone falls and I can get out but before leaving the cemetery, Ashley notices a “D” engraved on the back of the stone. Then, she hears a voice. Someone asks who is there and what he is doing, before demanding to answer quickly. Ashley asks the person to show her. A boy appears...but it is a ghost !

Another Code : Two Memories (part 4 ) The father should be waiting for Ahsley and Jessica but he is not present. Ashley quickly gets worried, Jessica says they should look for him. Ashley refuses moving. I start talking with the boat owner who looks like a sea dog. He's wearing a white t-shirt, a light blue shirt and a grey pair of trousers. He says Ashley looks really down and he asks why. First Ashley is not talkative and only gives monosyllabic answers but then, she says longer sentences when she explains Jessica is not her mother but her aunt. The old man stops her, because he doesn't want to know all the details. But he declares he will wait for Jessica with her. For a few seconds, Ashley thinks about her aunt and admits feeling a bit worried for her before putting all the blame on her father. The captain drawns her from her thoughts and allows her to ask questions. I ask a question about the captain and the island. I'm not really interested in his life or whatever, it's just that some actions have to be done before continuing the game. Here, the point is underlining the fact Ashley could remember something she saw or heard when she was a little girl. That's the opposite Jessica told her, as if she wants her not to remind a particular memory. The boat owner has been captain for a very long time, far before Ashle's birthday. He doesn't remember if he has ever wanted to do another job, his memory is not as good as it was before. He adds if she wants to remember something, she has to repeat it in her head. Finally, he tells her it has been his second time on the island. The first time was with a tall blond fellow...which could be Ashley's father ! But he refuses giving any futher piece of information, “strictly confidental” he says. Then I learn the island used to be oowned by a rich family, the Edwards. One day, the owner got sick and every member of his family died one by one (one after another?). The reason has never made clear. Ashley wonders whether it was an accident but she cannot think about it any futher, the captain stops her thoughts once again and adds the rest of the family left the island. Since then, nobody really lives there. That's why it is so empty and people dudded it “Blood Edward Island”. The discussion finishes on Ashely's father. She says to the captain what she knows about him : not many things...Then, she decides to go and find Jessica. The man gives her some sweets, what she is fond of. She thanks and leaves him.

Another Code : Two Memories (part 3) You can move my character both with the stylet and the pad. I prefer the stylet, switching between both is boring. Every time I can do something, there is an incon with a magnifying glass. If I can talk to somebody, there is also an icon, but with two persons on it. On the boat, there is only a woman I can talk to. Her name's Jessica. She asks if Ashley feels good. The latter doesn't answer and Jessica guesses she did the « same dream » again. Ashley answers positive. Jessica advices the young girl to forget about it, because it cannot be memories. According to her, you cannot remember things from such a young age. Jessica is the little sister of Ashley's father and his only living family. She learned chemitry and has taken care of Ashley since his father's disappearing. She is kind-hearted but Ashley doesn't understand why she lied about her father. Warning : there is sometimes a sound and a part of the text in red. It underlines the important elements. You can choose when to speak about them. You may know this aspect of the game if you have ever played. For questions, I will speak from my point of view. I ask Jessica why she has lied. She answers she had to, Ashley's father made her promise to do so. She tells the day when he came to her home : he demanded her not to question him, not to tell his daughter he was alive and promised to come back to get her. She concludes saying something bad might have happened that night. I ask some informations about the man : he is a scientist who worked in a lab specialized in researches on memories (the little machine may be one of his creations). In this lab, he met an accomplished Japanese woman. Of course, that is Ashley's mother. After those revelations, I discover how to use the DAS. I can take photos with it and see them at any moment of the game. It may be useful later...Ashley is the only person who can use the DAS because her fingerprint is the only one registered. As the girl says, it is very neat :) And Jessica adds his father may have something important to tell her, because he wanted her only to access the DAS. I ask questions about the mother and get a physical description, which is not what Ashley wants. She would like to know if she is alive. Jessica cannot (or will not ?) answer the question and advices Ashley to ask her father herself. Land ho ! The boat shores at the end of the conversation.

Could anyone tell me the difference between "if" and "whether" ? I wonder whether it's right or wrong / I wonder if it's right or wrong ? He asked me whether I wanted to go with him / He asked me if I wanted to go with him ?

Puppies Yesterday, my best friend announced me something funny and adorable. When I visited her few weeks ago, she told me one of her friends had asked her to take care of her female dog during this month. But she didn't tell me the dog was pregnant (I don't know the term for animals and I didn't manage to find it in the dictionnary). So I was quite surprised when she told me the dog dropped ! There are six puppies (six males and six females). She told me she was a bit worried because she has been fearing one of them might die soon. In fact, more puppies they are, weaker they are. I know my best friend very well, I know she would take good care of them and they will grow up in good health :) I keep laughing because she is always talking about them "they are so cute!", "they are already trying to walk", etc... It reminds me a little bird I took care of with my mother. He was too young to fly and we keep him for several weeks. I gave him a name, Pierrot (a male name), but now I wonder whether it was a female XD I was a bit unhappy when we free him...

Visiting La Coupole Today, I have visited La Coupole with my mother. That's a huge military building in the North of France. It was built during the Second World War, on the request of Hitler. It was to be used for the construction and creation of rockets and rockets planes. But it was useless during the war because the construction of the building took too much time. I could see many pictures of depotees (prisoners who were interned in a cancentration camp). That's was very gloomy and sad, they were very thin because of the lack of food and the bad treatements. I learned from my mother my great grand-father was a deportee. She wanted to go there just to see his name engraved on a memorial wall. I took a photo of his name. My mother and I met an English woman who was quite afraid of taking the elevator because she was clautrophobic. My mother used to be it so she understood and help her. She talked with her, told her to close her eyes and think about the sea, the sound of the waves, the wind...She distracted her and helped her to relax. The woman thanked my mother several times and told her she was a very kind person, contrary to her husband who was always making fun of her. I regret I didn't ask her an adress or something to keep in touch. She looked good-hearted. In conclusion, I had a good day !

Another Code : Two Memories (part 2) The screen turns blue and I can see the screen of a computer or that king of thing. It indicates there is a process of identification in progress, then asks me to touch the ring at the bottom with the index finger. Of course, I cannot use my own finger, I touch it with the stylet of the console. As soon as the « reading » is done, I can see the owner of the computer is Ashley Mizuki Robins. Her birthday day is the 15th July 1991. How interesting ! Here is the second child I have seen before. And, according to her name, she is both Japanese and English or American : a dual nationality (now, I remember her mother was black hair, she may be the Japanese parent). A DAS is unlocked, I don't know what it is...Then, a message appears, coming from her father. He expresses his wish to celebrate her birthday with her. « Dual Another System » appears then, it may be the signification of the DAS abbreviation. I see some pictures from her past through a dream, which suggest her mother's killer is her father. She wakes up when someone knocks at the door of the room where she was sleeping. The man who woke her up is the owner of the boat heading to Blood Edwards Island. He tells her he ignores why she goes to the island but he doesn't envy her. The island has not been visited for a long, long time. Then, thanks to internal thoughts, I learn the girl received a package few days before her birthday. She found a letter from her father in it with a little machine, which is what I took for a computer. She says she thought her father died when she was three. Few seconds later, he screen turns black and indicates « Chapter 1 : The meeting with D ». I 'm gonna stop here. I will just use those last lines to underline a weird detail in the story. Ashley agrees to meet her father whereas he disappeared for eleven years. Isn't she angry at him ? I can understand she need to know why he did so but she accepts going on a small island, when she doesn't know nobody. Isn't it a bit dangerous ? Of course, if she refused to go on Blood Edwards Island, there would be no game :) but I think it is not really realistic.

Another Code : Two Memories I have not finished « Hotel Dusk » yet but I started another Nintendo Ds game. I have already played at it before but I had to stop because my microphone was down and I could not pass a moment when I had to use it. Now, I can play it again. The first time I have played it, I really enjoyed it. The musics were beautiful and the sounds very realistic, the pictures were detailed and the characters, especially the main character, were lovely and charming. I still enjoy the game today. The story, as Hotel Dusk, is a king of detective story, but from a child point of view. I think the very title is mysterious. The first seconds of the game introduces the story. It is presented in a comics way with vignettes. Apparently, it begins in 1948 at Blood Edward Island (blood ? quite conforting and reassuring, right ?) I don't learn many things but a child sees his father killing someone or being killed by someone. Of course, he is very confused and tries to stop it but he fails. The next picture indicates « 1994 - Seattle ». That's quite an elipsis... I can see a young woman. She is black-haired and brown-eyed. She is talking to somebody called « Ashley » who must be her daughter. She asks her to hide somewhere. The latter sees her mother killed. She cannot do anything but crying « mummy ». I know, it's quite gloomy... The next stage is in 2005 at Blood Island Island. Oh-oh...Back again on a crime scene  ? It might be one of the most important places of the game. A man looking like a scientific is talking about some finished important work. He looks feeling relieved. Someone arrives and you see the name « Richard ». It may be the scientific's name. The man who's just arrived points a gun at Richard and... that's when I get at the menu screen (frustrating, isn't it?). I choice to start a new game and the screen turns black. All I can see is white text appearing at the bottom. Someone is talking about what happens before his or her fourteenth birthday. The teenager is heading towards Blood Edward Island (now I'm sure it is the heart of the game!). He is going there by boat : that may explain why he is feeling bad. But I learn the sea is not responsable for his feeling. That's because of some emotions : excitement, confusion, happiness...It's the first time he has ever felt that way and that blend of emotions is caused by a piece of news he got few time before : his father is alive (maybe the first child we see at the beginning?) That's all for this time ! :)