Hey from Rome, which kicks molto assini (literally, many little asses). So far the most wicked awesome thing we have seen has been the Italian National Gallery of Modern Art. But we have not gone to the Vatican or the Colosseum or the Catacombs yet.

In other news, Italian keyboards do not seem to have apostrophes.

In still other news, the George Saunders story from the March 2005 Harper's (apparently not online, though crappily excerpted here) was excellent. Pat described What the Shadow Told Me as satire that will slash your tires. This one cuts your limbs off and leaves you for dead. It's brutal.

In still other other news, the Wells Tower story "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" from this issue of Fence and anthologized in The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories (but sadly not online at all) is the single best short story I can remember reading recently. It's a rumination on 21st century preoccpations through the lens of medieval Viking raiders. Towers even manages to use 21st century language without any obvious anachronism. It's just great, and the last page in particular should be much more legendary than it is. Buy the Anchor book just for this.

Jaimee says buon giorno. Ciao.