Potterfication continues unabated; I am now into Azkaban. This morning Matty Price and I were talking about it and we identified Azkaban as the point where Rowling really started to figure out the kind of scope and range she was able to do with these stories... but I realized later this afternoon that I was about fifty-odd pages off with that assessment. I'd say it was more specifically the moment when Harry enters the Chamber of Secrets and finds the ghost of Tom Riddle waiting for him, that Harry Potter went from being an amusing fairy tale serial for kids, to the defining fantasy of our time. I am now, officially, looking very much forward to seeing how this thing ends.

Regardless of that highfalutin' talk, here's Mamo. I can also now say with some confidence that I can drive standard. Not well, by any means, and not in a way that would allow me to, say, escape collision with other vehicles if and when such vehicles were ever to do something even slightly unexpected. But it's a start.

Last night Dave and I went to see Paprika, and it was lovely. I highly recommend it.