I've been hanging out in Italy for most of the week, with occasional side trips to England, France, and *gasp* Los Angeles. I've learned some interesting things about the art world, although more about people who sell and steal works of art than about people who create them. There have also been murders. Lots of them. Some of them quite nasty. In the end, things generally work out quite well though. "Well", in this case, meaning "satisfyingly."

Too bad I've only got one more book to read in this series (by Iain Pears, and called "art history mysteries", probably by the publishers, who I imagine feel the need to over-categorize things much more than authors do). Still, this has been the most amount of guilt-free reading time I've had since I was a teenager, I think. I've been too sick to do much else.

Today I feel pretty well, although there's still some sinus pressure, complete with headaches. Last night I managed to hack up some blood, which alarmed me a bit. It may be due to having a bit of fluid in my lungs from laying on my back for so long while post-nasal drip flowed freely down into the caverns of my body. It may be due to a throat raw from coughing. Who knows? The human body is a mysterious thing.

Finally rejoining the real world, I went out late this afternoon and performed at a birthday party for a nine year old girl. This time I was armed with a tesla coil and an ethanol burner so I could zap things and burn chemicals. A couple of times I managed to zap myself right through the glove I was wearing, producing a bit of a rush. Similar to adrenaline, really.

I had originally planned to bring along my last remaining scorpion so I could make it glow under a black light bulb powered by the tesla coil, but when I went and checked on the scorpion last night I discovered that the term "remaining" no longer applied. It had died. It is an ex-scorpion. Deceased. Kind of sad, but expected. Maybe I should try breeding them... hmmm...

Anyway, the party was a success even without any arachnids in attendance. Afterwards I got a bunch of Indian food (In general, Indian families are interested when they discover that not only do I love Indian food, but that I'm a vegetarian), some cake, and a $20 tip.

Back at home, Willow, little detective that she is, pointed to my water speckled boots and said, "rain, rain!" Indeed she is right! The rain has started up again. Not that it's been gone for long over the last week and a half. Lots of clouds and rainbows interspersed with downpours. There've been rumblings in the news about mudslides and power outages, but nothing has happened locally yet.