Came back from Vegas and got sick right away, which everyone I've talked to who was there also did. They have these sneaky germs there that sit around waiting for the dry heat to evaporate the protective coating off your mucous membranes, and then they move right in. (Val McDermid asked me, "How can anyone have sex in Vegas?")

However, I wanted to post about the Cirque Du Soleil "O" show, which I saw out there. Weird though it is that Cirque built a permanent home for their water show in the desert, still, that show was an astounding experience. Most things in life are like other things, just a little different, varied in this or that way. One show like others, one book like others. "O" was like no show I had ever seen, and I've seen Cirque before. It was an amazing combination of breathtaking acrobatics, surreal and romantic narrative, guts, faith, and wildly imaginative engineering. Knowing what I think about Vegas, you'll know how taken I was by the show when I say it's actually worth a trip to Vegas just to see it.

But stay at the Motel 6 outside of town.