The Entroporium

[Soundtrack]
M. Ward – Undertaker.mp3

More Swedish significance today. Last Saturday I attended a wedding at San Francisco’s Swedish American Hall, a bizarre little auditorium over Café Du Nord constructed after the 1906 earthquake with many Scandinavian touches. I’d only been there one other time, to see M. Ward touring behind “Transfiguration Of Vincent,” a loose song cycle about the wasting death of a close friend dieing young. So here were these young people joyously celebrating their past & future life together with close friends and family, but the whole reception I had reminders of songs about life’s fragility running through my head. The only thing linking it together was the room itself.

The Swedish American Hall web site offers a brief history of the building. The original 1875 bylaws for the club behind its construction, The San Francisco Swedish Society, intriguingly ranks illness death above celebrations and entertainment: "It shall be the purpose and object of this society to assist the sick and bury its deceased members, to work for the maintenance of a choir, and to give literary and social entertainments.” Why was this? Was there a plague at the time? Or was there just something preternaturally gloomy about the founders of the SF Swedish Society?

I love it when halls provide histories of themselves – who played there, whose life was celebrated there, how was this space used for before it became what it is, why did the architects think it was a good idea to build what they did. I have no idea, for example, who lived in my 104-year old house. Shouldn’t it be a societal requirement for every building to keep a log?

The wedding — originally planned as an outside affair but moved inside to avoid the rain — was great fun. For another day, life triumphed over gloom despite gloom’s best efforts.

[Soundtrack]
Dandy Warhols – Every Day Should Be A Holiday.mp3

Apologies for the slow posting over the weekend. DSL is down at home until tomorrow night.

Last week’s most popular download (by far!) was Brian Jonestown Massacre. In the interests of equal time for the Dig! candidates, here’s a track from their more-successful, less-interesting brethren who still have their moments. Plus, today being Monday, I’m all for the sentiment of this particular track. Class, I expect a Compare & Contrast essay in 5-paragraph form due Wednesday.

Last Thursday’s auction for the Bridge School tickets went splendidly. I received 50 bids and a whole lot of “Are you for real?” The tickets (face value $120) went for $350, so Bridge School wins $230.

I had lots of E-mail conversations with folks (“I’m a teacher. Pick me!”) and I got to hear quite a few horror stories. The worst was a woman who was trying to bring her wheelchair-bound mother to see Paul McCartney. Some creep offered her handicap seating at 2x face… and the tickets turned out to be on the lawn. At a benefit for disabled folks, that’s a particularly tacky thing to do. I also had one fun IM conversation with a rockin’ 15-year old, which you can check out by hitting the “Continue Reading” link below.

I love that next gen folks are so open about IMing. We’re headed for a society where everybody is completely open with each other so long as they can stay anonymous.
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