The Zoo over Ambuscade Street

Happiest of late birthdays to Izzy, Pam, and Larom. I had no internet this weekend (or phone, for that matter...it kept cutting out randomly), so I'm late. >.<

And if anyone's IM'd me and I somehow fail to respond, it's not actually me there at the computer. Erik signs on under the same screen name, and for some reason decided that ignoring people is a good policy...

Weekend was fun. I'll write about it later, maybe.

I've decided that I'll be spending next Labor Day here, at the Labor Day Old Time Music Festival, at what is supposed to be Virginia's oldest winery. I got to hear music from both Critton Hollow and Mando Mafia on Friday on my way home, and I loved what they did. Pity I can't seem to find CDs... If any given piece of music has a violin, chances are I'll love it. I also love this radio station, even though I can only pick it up for about the first half of my drive, provided it isn't really foggy. Classical music, show tunes, anime music, the BBC World News Hour - I love it. It's the only radio station I've found that doesn't annoy the living heck out of me.

I need to find a decent guide to Virginia wineries, as there are about a billion of them within a two-hour drive of my new place (at least one within ten minutes, and at least five on my commute), and I want to check them all out.

I think everybody I know is going to be getting wine from local wineries. If anybody reading this wants a bottle, let me know, and let me know your preferences. If you don't have any you'll probably be getting a red or a fruity wine, as I tend to like those best.

( Less interesting things about my weekend and morning )

I plan on Accomplishing Things this week. We'll see how long that lasts.

*cough* *cough*

Erik is telling me that he's going to break a limb tomorrow. He's also going to get shot with a tazer at some point. It's things like this that really make me appreciate my desk job.

While I can't find anything definitive, I've heard several people saying that Lois McMaster Bujold isn't going to be writing any more Vorkosigan books, that Miles with kids books are right out, and that Diplomatic Immunity was the end of the series. I'm going to go whimper in the corner and sob unconsolably now. Those have to be the most entertaining damn sci-fi novels ever written.

But she won another Hugo, predictably enough. I think this puts her at the most Best Novel Hugos of any writer. Gaiman's fantastic Study in Emerald also won, as did Vinge's novella Cookie Monster (which I haven't read yet, but it's Vinge, so it almost has to be good).