On Saturday Steve and I did 20x2 Chicago where we each had 2 minutes to answer the phrase "What do you want?" I wrote a very heartfelt essay about how much I hate that we are so addicted to engaging as much as we can with people with whom we fundamentally disagree. It's just a waste of time and we tell ourselves that it's somehow a righteous act of some sort. (The question we should all pose ourselves before, like, wasting time on social media, being "What do you want?")
Steve was also performing and kept telling me how dumb his piece was. And I realized, I would rather do something dumb than do something earnest. Because who cared about what I had to say about the election? Wouldn't people rather I be short and dumb and sweet? So I came up with a plan B.
But the show unveiled itself in such a way that I couldn't tell which piece would be better--my earnest plan A or my dumb plan B. I honestly rather expected a lot of people to use their 2 minutes to rant and rave about the election but not a lot of people did that at all. And I just couldn't tell which fit the tone of the show better. So I got up and asked the audience, "What do you want?" and explained that I had an earnest piece and a stupid piece and which did they want. To my ears the majority said "Stupid!" and so I read them this, with some annotations:
Everything we've ordered from Amazon in October:
1.    Little Rabbit and the Meanest Mother on Earth  by Kate and Sarah Klise
The Klises are sisters of my friend Jim--he gave me a copy of this book and I just sent a copy to a friend of mine.
2.    Carter's Little Alien Halloween Costume-24 Months
Paul is going to be an astronaut for Halloween (if he knows what's good for him) and despite having a perfectly good turtle costume at home I caved and got James a related costume.
3.    Nest Cam Outdoor Security Camera
Our neighbors' garage got robbed, so.
4.    Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders  by Joshua Foer
Steve ordered this. A lot of peope at the show seemed to know what it was.
5.    Whistlestop: My Favorite Stories from Presidential Campaign History by John Dickerson
Steve loves the drama of election season and gets really into Sunday morning shows.
6.    Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration - PlayStation 4
Steve's buy.
7.  Box of 104 Pampers Diapers Size 6
James poops a lot.
8.    Halloween Lights Orange Purple and Green
We decided we wanted to start decorating for Halloween. They look good!
9.    Mafia III - PlayStation 4
It's been a fun month for Steve.
10. <<a hair thing that Steve uses>>