As you may've heard, Jim Kelly's latest On the Net column lists 40 blogs of SFnal note, including our own Tropism, so that's nice.

The Locus annual Recommended Reading list is now online! As is the Poll & Survey. Lots of great stuff by my friends and peers and colleagues made the list this year, as did my own "Life in Stone", the seemingly unanimous critical favorite of the stories I published last year. And you should fill out the poll, which is used to choose the winners of the Locus Awards. This is your chance to be the educated readership we've always dreamed about.

I just found out there's going to be a piece about me in an upcoming issue of Hayakawa SF, the Japanese SF magazine. I answered a few questions and sent along a photo, so, if you happen to be in Japan (I'm looking at you, Barzak!), keep an eye out. I've always dreamed of being big in Japan...

I mentioned the Clarion Auction before, but it's worth mentioning again. There's great stuff up for bidding through the end of the weekend, and it's a good cause. As I write this, bidding for the signed copy of Little Gods is up to $50, which makes me so happy -- I want to help this workshop keep going. I learned a lot there. Hell, I'd like to teach at it someday.

I got a copy of Success... And How to Avoid It by Mat Coward, and it's the funniest, most accurate look at freelance writing I've ever seen. Seriously, it's a must-read if you're even remotely contemplating the ludicrous path of misery and heartbreak that is life as a freelance writer. It's about time someone wrote a book on writing that properly discourages people from the occupation.

(If this entry seems a bit slapdash and scattered, it's because I've had very much wine tonight, and if it doesn't seem slapdash and scattered, it's because I'm a writer of such prodigious gifts that I'm able to successfully cover my inebriation.)

Today, at work, I saw the most astonishing rainbow. Really, it was vast, and clear, and sharp-edged, far and away the most impressive rainbow I've ever seen. And the great piles of dark-bellied cumulus clouds were amazing, too. The air smells clean, the light comes slantwise, and everything glistens in the rain. Just lovely.

I finally hung out with Nick last night! He's only been living out here for, what, seven months? And this is the second time I've seen him. That's because I'm a hermit. I met him and Heather in Berkeley for dinner (I had to give him his cut of the money for our story "Blind Date", which is upcoming in Lenox Ave., anyway, so it was a good excuse to hang out). Much fun. We went to Au Coquelet, which is sort of the default eatery whenever the brew pub is too crowded and tapas doesn't sound appealing. Fortunately, Nick shares my disdain for Thai food, the usual choice for everyone I ever get together with for dinner in California, ever, so this time I wasn't overwhelmed by majority rule and railroaded into eating yet another plate of peanut sauce.

Heather and I are going to see Tres Chicas and Tiff Merritt in San Francisco tomorrow, with our friends Scott and Lynne. Should be great fun. They're staying over on Saturday, and we've got a bottle of shiraz and a bottle of champagne to get us through the night. I'm looking forward to it -- we haven't seen them in a few months, and we usually visit them down in Santa Cruz, rather than hosting them up here. Pleasant days ahead, pleasant days behind -- what could be bad?