So, I spent the weekend in Phoenix getting ground into a mat with about a hundred other guys and gals. Holding onto a seventh dan (7th degree black belt) aikidoist is a lot like holding onto a threshing machine. It doesn’t do much to the threshing machine but it’s all sorts of fun for you. I had fun, I got sore, I learned things, and I was promoted a rank.

However, I am getting into the evening and I find all my brilliant notions for my official post are being ground into a thick, greasy layer of fatigue and muscle soreness. Martial Arts in your fifties has some interesting drawbacks.

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Okay, guys, I’m starting a tradition not unlike Rory’s Sunday Video. I’ll post a picture, maybe even suggest a caption, but your mission is to also suggest captions in the comments section.

Today’s image features a younger Twilight Ninja Girl in aggressor mode.

(This is not meant to be my official Monday post. That will follow later.)

APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2007 CLARION WORKSHOP AT UCSD ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED!

Clarion 2007 is shaping up to be one of the best Clarions ever — our first on the beautiful oceanside campus at University of California San Diego, and featuring a powerhouse slate of instructors including Gregory Frost, Jeff VanderMeer, Karen Joy Fowler, Cory Doctorow, Ellen Kushner, and Delia Sherman. Plus we’re pleased to announce that Jeff VanderMeer’s wife, well-known editor Ann Kennedy, will accompany him to the workshop.

If you haven’t already attended a Clarion workshop, here’s your chance. Pull out your two best stories, grab the red pen, and give ‘em a final polish. Submission stories should be between 2500 and 6000 words in length. Thanks to the generosity of everyone who has contributed to Clarion through regular donations, Clarion Circle memberships, and Virtual Clarion particiipation, we are able to offer many scholarships for those who need financial assistance, so please don’t let cost keep you from applying.

Full details are available at http://clarion.ucsd.edu/apply.html. Applications will be accepted until April 1, 2006.