I'm hoarse right now! I've been sick. I wish there were some way for me to write using my current voice, because I think it might remind you of a pleasant campfire.

Just wanted to mention that I have a new photo in The Morning News, of Miss Kristen Schaal. Kristen is a comedian, writer, and an actress (probably most known as the obsessed fan on Flight of the Conchords). She's also very funny in person, and friendly, and patient with photographers.

Very tiny interview here.

Figuring out where to go on a honeymoon has been tricky. Our wedding is on October 18, a time that neither hemisphere is at its best -- travel in the north is preferable through September, and travel in the south is generally better starting in November. Of course, there are a few exceptions, but either the plane tickets are too expensive, the country is too expensive (and the dollar too sad), or the country is covered in landmines. I'm actually weirdly drawn to the more dangerous places, but of course I'd like to return from my honeymoon in one piece, and on top of that, Todd is most definitely not drawn to those places.

I've been researching countries on the Lonely Planet site, which provides a run-down of the best time of year to visit, what there is to see, and how safe each country is. It's pretty fascinating. I particularly like clicking on the countries I know are terrible choices, just to see what the site has to say to deter me from visiting, say, Iraq, or the Democratic Republic of Congo. The site seems to almost balk at me for daring to click on that country's name and is very insistent that it is not the best idea, but in the nicest language possible.

I can imagine that whoever wrote the Iraq entry just wanted to put something like, "C'mon. Really? Iraq?" but, in keeping with the politeness of the site, had to go through the trouble to write a reasoned explanation, taking care to use a red font and phrases like "not a place for a holiday," and "Travel Warning: Instability Rules." Also, it turns out, the Democratic Republic of Congo is not particularly democratic. In fact, the Lonely Planet site instead called it a "long-suffering cauldron of chaos."

I've sent Todd a few suggestions, slipping in oddball locations like Bosnia-Hercegovina ("dynamic") and Sierra Leone ("beautiful and weathered"), noting that they're really on the upswing, but this is what I got back: "Lisa, we're not going to spend our honeymoon in Bosnia." I guess that means Libya is out of the question?