One, sake apparently does have as wide a range in taste as they say it does. And hot sake is better than cold, and more expensive, dryer sake is way better than cheap stuff. Two, "Japanese" style restaurants where they cook everything right in front of you are hella expensive, but it might be argued that the given chef, however Caucasian, can make up for it with insane and possibly dangerous wielding, flipping, drumming, and spinning of kitchen implements, and/or food. Three: on a list of Bad Ideas, put down going to a country-western club while the rodeo's in town. The word crowded applies, to understate things. Still, I managed to learn the two-step. Oh yeah. I am a dancing machine. Except not really.

The Tao of Steve, with Donal Logue and Greer Goodman. I saw this a long time ago, but it's well worth multiple watchings. It's a very conversational movie, both in the sense that the conversations in the movie are a pleasure to listen to and in the sense that it would be easy to pause the movie regularly and have a conversation about what was just said in the dialogue. I think the viewer'd get a good deal more out of it if they've read from the philosophers quoted and used throughout the movie, but that's not really necessary to enjoy it. And fittingly, for a movie about relationships, the myriad of different kinds of relationships (which are all yet connected in meaningful ways) are quite interesting. Also, there are some great vistas from New Mexico, which reminded me of why I really do like the Southwest so much.

Libyan poet Khaled Mattawa, in translation