The Trouble with Damascus

To some extent, someone or something must intervene in Syria. Such is the prickly situation that the United States, and obviously President Obama, have found themselves in. Do we play the world's policeman --on account of military strength, not so much nobility-- again, or avoid a potential Iraq-like quagmire? The president's final decision on Syria had the potential to be polarizing, to the extent that it could define his whole second term, but Obama's decision was surprisingly... wishy-washy. Delaying action and deferring to Russia was not necessarily cowardly, but certainly a passive action in the face of a reckless dictator. The president's declaration was underwhelming, no matter where you stand on the air strikes. He's just as confused about Syria as we are, and that is somewhat troubling.

Other notes:

+ Family Update: My father is now undergoing light radiation to prevent any further tumor growth, on top of his ongoing dialysis. Still no word on a third round of chemo.

+ Fantasy Update: About six weeks ago, both of my roto baseball teams were in dire straits; one was eighth out of ten, the other (which features some TV.com folk) ninth out of ten. Where the latter team was ultimately crippled by inning limits, I rectified my botched draft with some dark-horse pickups and surged back into the playoff race. When my head-to-head opponent failed to meet the minimum number of innings this past week, I hopscotched from eighth to sixth to fourth.

+ Improv Update: Two more shows to go before I graduate from the Second City Conservatory. It's been a long, challenging journey and I don't know how to feel now that it's almost over. With that said, I'm still staying busy; I'm producing a show at the Gorilla Tango theater in Bucktown (where I used to be on a house ensemble) in October, and I just booked some slots for my independent team.

Next week: the year in music, 2008.