Random Notes, October 2018

I can't seem to focus on more than one topic:

+ I'm still trying to make heads or tails of the Saudi Arabia situation. Some pieces of the puzzle are certain: Saudi Arabia has some serious human rights issues, Mohammad bin Salman is a weasel, President Trump is too fawning and trusting of tyrants and dictators (and vice versa), and above all Jamal Khashoggi shouldn't be dead. This fiasco is subtext becoming context, a revelatory moment for those who wrongly assumed Saudi Arabia was more progressive than its Middle Eastern neighbors.

+ If the president is sincerely concerned about political violence, it might be best if everything he said wasn't some sort of call to arms.

+ Two weekends ago, Flower Shop Bangers played the Compass Improv Festival in St. Louis. It was the culmination of my year of travel, as I visited 10 states (including Illinois) since November 1st of last year. In order: Michigan, Wisconsin (several times), Texas, Maryland (twice), Iowa, Nebraska, New York, and Indiana (several times). I have tentative plans to visit Scotland in 2019, and I'm still submitting to improv festivals. Stay tuned.

Next Week: a death in the family, ten years later.

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