diff --git a/base.mk b/base.mk
index f67f682..4371ebe 100644
--- a/base.mk
+++ b/base.mk
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ export
 NAME ?= $(shell basename $(CURDIR))
 VERSION ?= $(shell git describe --tags --dirty 2>/dev/null)
 
-ifeq ($(wildcard $VERSION),)
+ifeq ($(VERSION),)
 	VERSION:=unknown
 endif
 
diff --git a/python.mk b/python.mk
index f14cc7a..2ad9559 100644
--- a/python.mk
+++ b/python.mk
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-PYVERSIONS ?= 2.7
+PYVERSIONS ?= 3.5
 PYMAIN ?= $(firstword $(PYVERSIONS))
 TARNAME ?= $(NAME)-$(VERSION).tar.gz 
 VERSIONFILE ?= $(NAME)/VERSION