These things are guaranteed thinglike, or your money back, provided you paid none.
1. My son graduated this weekend on an almost springlike day. Of all the pix we took, I like this one because (a.) I’m not in it and (b.) the combination of Nick in his medieval regalia leaning casually against a lamppost and calling someone on his cellphone struck me as funny.
2. Jess celebrated my upcoming departure for Rome with her thousandth bloody victory in our local amphitheater. Note her savage triumph in the image below.
3. Meanwhile, the return of somewhat-springlike weather to the Great Black Swamp has brought with it a greater variety of birds. Here we see Lewis and Clark discovering them.
4. Blood of Ambrose (or rather its French translation by Marie Surgers, Le Sang des Ambrose) has been nominated for the Prix Imaginales. It’s an honor to be counted among such a stunning list of great fantasists. My money is on Le Guin’s Lavinia, but Lev Grossman’s The Magicians is also a fine book… Maybe I’ll hedge my bets.
5. I’m flying out to Italy this week, so my posting here may be even more irregular than usual until I’m set up in the Castello di Engitudine in Rome. Pix when that happens.
Congratulations on the nomination. Wonderful feeling, I expect. And as for the trip to Italy, my eyes go green, sir! Well, for both items 4 and 5, actually. Well done on all counts.