End of an era. I used to manage a dark, twisted circus (cirque noir... no animals) that toured the US several times; Circus Contraption. (The official site is - remarkably - still running, somehow.) The circus is an important part of theater, social commentary, and shyster freakshow. We need the twisted, living at the edges, fucking with our standards and our brains and our social contracts. The resiliency of our beliefs and views comes from having them challenged, and the circus is an important part of that. Even the glitzy, showboat style feel-good carnival of Ringling Brothers and Cirque du Soliel still serve this purpose... a bit ... at the edges ... When we lose the weirdness at the edges, we lose a bit of ourselves. Our definitions blur. Lines become unfocused, and more easily crossed. RIP RBBBC.