Playing to the Sound Guy

1. Just got back from a French history conference in Arizona. I ended up presenting to an audience of...two. Eight people who had been there left after the first paper (by one of my co-panelists.) It reminded me completely of playing shows when no one shows up and you end up performing for the benefit of the sound guy and, maybe, the bartender. I still met some nice people and had an appropriately surreal time of things (the American southwest is bizarre), so whatevs.
2. Speaking of: Phoenix is like a huge parking lot in the desert, criss-crossed by completely straight sets of roads. One of the highways I was on could have been built following a laser.
3. I flew on Red State Airlines (tm). On landing, the head flight attendant performed a lengthy oration to any military personnel who might have been on the flight, to rapturous applause. It was complete cheap-shot blackmail; like every other lefty, I "support our troops" completely in the sense of wanting them to be at home rather than fighting stupid wars, and I resented the implied "if you don't clap, you're some kind of traitor" move on the part of the flight crew. It reminded me of politics during the worst of the W years. She also reminded everyone to enjoy the NASCAR event that weekend.
   
4. But today it's raining back in SC, and that cheers me up.