🎃 At a friend’s recommendation, our trio of children dressed up as Greg, Wirt and the frog from Over the Garden Wall, a family favorite for over a decade now. To our surprise and delight, they kept being recognized. A group of millennials handing out candy even broke out into song (To Adelaide, then Potatoes and Molasses). “Greg” had some candy in her pockets to throw out each time people guessed, but soon ran out and had to recycle the hard-earned treats from her bag. So, I’d call this Halloween a great success.

🏀 Cursed, I tell you. Cursed.

🏀 The Wizards are a cursed team with tone-deaf ownership. For a prime example of their cluelessness I would like to refer you to Monumental Sports' corporate website and their tagline, “Where Monuments meet Momentum”, plastered all over the soon-to-be renovated Capital One Arena. The same group of people who thought this sounded good is in charge of running the team. They are also the owners of the Washington Capitals. The Caps have been, may I remind you, employers of the all-time best hockey player for more than 20 (!?) years, and have managed to win a single Stanley cup with him on board. Hope lies eternal that they will become good, but the odds are that the Wizards will turn any good player they get into a mediocrity.

None of this applies to the Wizard’s courtside entertainment crew, from the show runner to the mascot to their three dancing groups (standard, juniors and — the best of all — their senior dancing crew Wizdom). Whoever is in charge of them should take over the whole show.

🍿 A House of Dynamite (2025) was the horror movie of the year — nay, decade — with a soundtrack made for nightmares. It is also the most geographically correct DC movie in ages, although in 10 years living here I am yet to see someone wearing a clean suit take a WMATA bus to work. Regardless, it was heartening to see that even Netflix could produce an occasional diamond.

And, of course, the star of the show. It’s apple pie time tomorrow.

I mean, just look at these clouds.

It’s a gorgeous day for picking apples.

Pyongyang on the Potomac

Seen on X and confirmed during my run today: the Trump banner has been removed from the Department of Labor. Good. It never belonged there.

After being away for almost two months, this is my impression of our little corner of DC: fewer people, more police cars, scattered groups of youngsters in camouflage uniforms looking like they’re just happy to be here although not really sure what they were supposed to do, the usual smattering of disheveled people sleeping on the ground and/or park benches, but with fewer belongings packed around them, all of us under the watchful eyes of Dear Leader.

The last 8 or so months have been a series of catastrophes small and large, most of which with delayed effect so that the true consequences won’t be recognized until years from now — if at al, seeing how the crack American news media have TikTok attention spans. Just look at research: grants not being paid out, many more not even being submitted because what’s the use, then people deciding to leave the country, others being kicked out, even more choosing to do their studies elsewhere. None of it will have consequences tomorrow, next year, or even what remains of this decade, but consequences it will have and they will not be positive.

But this is just high-level catastrophizing. The situation on the ground resembles ever more an Armando Iannucci satire that reveals everyone to be an idiot even the so-called serious people in the room. Of course as Kohen brothers have taught us, the stupidest people are also the most vicious.

What I would love to know is whether any American who supports the turn their country has taken for any idealistic reason and not for personal enrichment or opportunism? If this describes you please email me or leave a comment below. This immigrant needs an explanation for why copying petty dictators and making Little Pyongyang out of DC is good for anyone whose office is not in Kremlin.