Watching City Hall #381 (6-29-05)
“I’ve got my pot and my whiskey. I have material for a column. What else do I need?”
(h. - exiting Jens’ SRO)
“Do you have a conundrum?”
(Jens)
Damned if I know what that means but it was the exchange I had with my old buddy as I headed (re-energized) out of his version of SRO paradise.
Things have been very, very good to me and I hope they have been for you. Sometimes I have to use expensive pot and cheap whiskey to part the fog enough to reveal how well I really have it to me, but (thanking God) those are usually just a phone call away. Let me give you a few developments.
“Je suis American.”
That’s how I endear myself to the Italian customs agent who looks at my virgin passport. I’m hoping Angela’s not too busy to help me out. I’m also hoping that her offer of a spot with her trip to Rome pans out. I know that if it doesn’t it will all be my fault and I admit that in advance but, you really have to admit that the possibility of going to Rome with Angela Alioto to watch the Arch-Bishop of San Francisco become a Cardinal and ...
And, add postscript to the photos of master photographer Luke Thomas of the Sentinel. What an opportunity. Oh, I’ve been there. When I was a 20 year old Navy radioman with pimples buying cognac at 3 cents a shot in 1964. ... To go back. How could that ever happen? To me? The Czarina of the modern mission of St. Francis in the town that bears his name folds a far left blogger into her expedition. How appropriate. I must behave. It could happen in October. Plenty of time to get off the Homeland Security ’No Fly’ list, get a passport and get in shape for my fans in the Eternal City. I wonder how much is cognac now? A shot, I mean. I probably shouldn’t bring pot. How long do they keep police records there? How long does your dna last? So many questions when one is planning a trip to a faraway place.
Dating outside one’s orientation
I recommend it highly. Been doing it myself these last several months and couldn’t be happier with the results. True, there are times of mutual puzzlement. And, the occasional mockery of close friends. Other than that though, it’s a very rewarding and learning experience. It’s a new kind of ’closet’ to spring from. People just don’t expect it. And, face it, when you have no expectations, you cannot help but exceed them. Really. Honest.
“The world would have been a lot better off
with music instead of money.”
(Jens - of course)
I’m always trying to put friends together. Match them romantically, artistically, professionally ... whatever ... it is one of my chief pleasures to introduce people whom I absolutely know can produce great ... something-or-other, together. That’s why I want Neska to meet Jonathan Richman and Krissy Keefer. It’s why I want Arthur Bruzzone to meet Jens Nielsen and for George Roth to meet Richard Sklar. San Franciscans all. Unmixed pyrotechnics off the shelves of history rolling toward some cataclysmic destiny. Or, maybe just a good party.
Great minds. Great music. Great dance. Great results.
I want a salon like Gertrude’s
Yeah, Gertrude and Alice’s place in Paris. That’s the gold standard of salons. I’m convinced the present talent in San Francisco can match it. Good people with lots of money have challenged Stein’s Platonic ideal of ’salon’ since Oakland’s most famous daughter left to compare her collection with St. Peter’s. None have succeeded (Hemingway, Picasso, Matisse, Faulkner ...) how could you?
Well, first you have to have the cast. Then, you need the stage. I have the cast. Ever expanding, with limitless talents. I’ll clean the toilets and mop the floor and be what Thornton Wilder called the ’Stage Manager’. Hmmmm, good weed (’Grandaddy Purple’ - available at local pot clubs now).
“Come out of the funk.
It’s the end of the month!!”
(Jens’ pep talk)
“Old people in the fast lane.”
(Jens describes our state)
Gonzalez & Leigh to defend Bulldog
Did I already report this? God willing and I heard right from lots of different people more talented, equipped and knowledgable than me, the Bulldog is going to expand considerably over the next couple of months. It’s mostly happenstance, so don’t ask me for lots of details. Partly, it’s because I don’t think there’s a seriously informative political forum out there and I want to put my ego on the line and combine with Anthony Faber and Seth Walker and Bruce Wolfe and Phil Benzinger and make one. The Bulldog chat room/political post/whatever will do many things, but it will very seldom bore you and will never waste your time. Then, there is the shutdown of Mark Twain’s ’SF Call’ for a period as yet to be determined (anything literary and 150 years old has a life of its own). To make a short story of it which is not possible for most Irishmen and I’m no exception ... to make a short story of it, I think we’re gonna have another handfull of brilliant writer s posting on the Bulldog. (Deby, show press passes front & back?) The cops will be looking for reasons to deny access to agencies to whom they don’t issue passes. Having a referral to the hottest new lefty law firm in town on the back of your pass cannot hurt.
I’m being proactive here in creating our own Bulldog press passes. It is becoming clear that there is a need for a new umbrella agency with some clear accredidation to step forward to extend legitimacy to some great local writers who would otherwise be left in the cold. This may go nowhere and that’s OK but we’re all that’s here right now and as soon as my geek grandsons can get it together, we’re gonna hit you with a serious broadside. I greatly appreciate the courtesy and respect accorded to me and my writers by Matt Gonzalez and Whitney Leigh through their firm. They add immeasureably to the Bulldog credibility and will boost us as we seek access to a variety of venues.
The Board and the budget
This was meant to be an upbeat column. We’ll take up the budget and the Board another time.
Italian immigration: “Oy vey!!”
Don’t be so serious.
