I had dinner with Jay Lake tonight, which was fun. It’s nice to catch up with someone, like, in real life, instead of just existing online. I love you guys, but it’s nice to see facial expression beyond an emoticon. That and Jay is funny.

Afterwards, I went to see The Curse of the Golden Flower with Rob. My comment upon the films end was, “Wow. I never expected something so lavishly produced to make Phantom Menace look good.”

I have loved every one of Zhang Yimou’s films so far and this one was unredeemably awful in almost every respect. It’s been a long time since I’ve wanted to leave a film. Also, one of the worst choices for end credit designs ever. Bad from beginning to end? Sadly, yes. We were trying to decide when we turned on the film, and I think it might have been when the prince arrived at the palace a full day before Chan, despite the fact that they left ten minutes apart, both riding horses at full gallops. And yet, Chan’s mother arrives a mere two minutes after she does, despite leaving considerably after her and having to battle what appear to be ninjas–several times–on her way to the palace. Yeah. Ninjas in the T’ang dynasty. I’m not worried about spoilers, because really, you should not see this film.

Have I mentioned how much I enjoyed dinner with Jay?

Aliette de Bodard just posted the first sentences of her last five stories, and I thought it looked like fun. So here are mine.

The Wentworths of Long Parkmead had the regard of their neighbors in every respect. (Shades of Milk and Honey)

As the ventilator pushed air into his lungs, Samuel savored the brine from the sea. (”Locked In”)

His keys dropped, rattling on the parquet floor. (”For Solo Cello, op. 12″)

When the matriarch announced that she was sending the sixteen members of Pimi’s small-family across the ocean to settle in Repp-Virja, Pimi thought it the end of her life. (”The Bride Replete”)

A liveried manservant waited by the front stairs of Fairbairn Hall as if he expected to take the reins of a horse. (”Ginger Stuyvesant and the Case of the Haunted Nursery”)

If you’re working on your pirate story, today is your last day to submit it to Shimmer. Captain John Joseph Adams is all set to turn the canons on any latecomers.

My friend, Jodi Eichelberger, is doing a series of podcasts on his website. Listen to the first one,10 Swimming Lessons, to get a taste of what our time in Iceland was like.

Nearly all the hot water in Iceland is geothermal and comes right up out of the ground. For this reason, there are several outdoor swimming pools open year round. I made it a priority to visit one very soon. I had swimming lessons at the YMCA in kindergarten, but the only technique I learned to prevent drowning was grabbing onto my cousin’s frilly swim suit. Despite having taught myself how to swim later in college, I found I had a lot more to learn from these Icelandic pools.