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It’s great to be alive in Colma.

12 January 2009

CONVERSION NOTICE: This is one of 250+ blogs that originally appeared on MySpace. I’ve done my best to represent it with as much historical accuracy as possible, but there are limitations. Read about it in the FAQ.

Current Mood:  busy

Is this global warming again or what?  We had record cold temperatures over the last few weeks, and then today we had record highs, shattering many of the previous records by noon.  Looks like we’re in for a January heat wave, and a dry month in general.  I guess I shouldn’t complain though.  On my way home tonight, there was an almost warm breeze in the air, a taste of our long-forgotten summer.  Memories of many past summers came rushing back to me as soon as I felt it.  Warm air at night always makes me think of life’s possibilities.  It reminds me of summers with no school, playing under streetlights, staying out late with friends, freedom.

This weekend saw the biggest full moon of the year.  I didn’t make as much use out of it as I should have, but I did see a bit of it.  Pretty amazing.  Celestial events like that, the threat of global warming, and my own recent thoughts about mortality have given me a lot to think about.  The transiency and impermanence of everything.  Literally, everything.  The sun is dying.  The moon is moving further away from us every day.  The earth itself is slowing down a little every second.  No one gets out alive.  It doesn’t matter if you are the most important and famous person to ever walk the earth.  Eventually, you’ll be gone.  Everyone who ever knew you will be gone.  Our civilization will be gone.  Mankind will be gone.  And all life will someday be gone.  Plain and simple, it’s gonna happen.  It’s a tough pill to swallow to think that nothing you do, no monument you erect will be there forever.  It’s impossible.  But it’s forcing me to realize that beauty in the world can’t be dependent on its permanence.  All things will eventually be dust.  All things will change.  So it’s important to enjoy things/people/beauty while they are available to you, despite… or even because they are only here for a moment.  (Whoa, please excuse that tirade — it just came out.)

On to less philosophical topics, I was getting my car worked on last week in Colma.  I don’t spend any time there, generally, but I always got the vibe that there were a lot of cemeteries there.  Like way more than you’d expect.  In fact, it seemed like the town’s whole main drag is graveyards and tombstone dealers.  Seriously.  Somebody at the car lot was filling me in on some of the local legends.  Things like Wyatt Earp is buried there, and some woman was buried in her piano.  I decided I needed to read up on this place, and holy shit, it’s no joke.  This culture of death is no accident, because it turns out Colma’s buried population out numbers the living by thousands to one.  It is quite literally a necropolis, and we live right next to it.  This terrifies me.

Friday night was the return of Louder Than Bombs, this time at the House Of Shields… once affectionately known to Nick as the House Of Pancakes.  It’s a nice pub, and there’s a bit more room there than there was in the Beauty Bar days.  It was good to see all the familiar faces, many of whom I hadn’t seen since the last LTB lo those many months ago.  I got a little dancing in, saw my doppelganger, people-watched, and ended up at Sparky’s with Shel, where we also ran into Beauty And The Beat again!  It was a way late night, and it threw my whole weekend sleep pattern out of whack.  In fact, I was so beat after Friday that I stayed indoors all weekend save a short stint in the Haight, and seeing The Wrestler with Jamie (which was great, by the way).

If I wasn’t already getting enough Smiths this last weekend, I’m also boning up on that first Smiths album in preparation for the anniversary shows we’re playing next month.  It’s always fun to unravel a new Smiths tune.  And it doesn’t hurt to get to play them for people who love this stuff as much as we do.  I was thinking about my favorite TCB moments, and there have been many.  But to me, this video says everything about what TCB’s about.  St. (Steven) Patrick’s Day at The Blank.  Our bassist at the time hadn’t learned this song yet.  Eh, we played it anyway.

This Charming Band – “Sing Your Life”

Which reminds me… The Smiths (or rather the record company that owns the rights) are finally synching up with MySpace, so some of their fine tunes, and eventually many more I assume, are available here.  Good news if you’re looking to gussy up your profile with some new music.  I’m just sayin’…

Well kids, Obama’s set to be inaugurated in just about a week now.  Here’s hoping this is the new beginning we’ve been waiting for!

“I either want less corruption or more chance to participate in it.”

Ashleigh Brilliant

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4 Comments to “It’s great to be alive in Colma.”

  1. I was alive in Colma this weekend too! Though I was at a funeral, then a cemetery and then a really nifty old-school Italian restaurant.

  2. wyatt earp is buried in a jewish cemetery in colma. i’ve never gotten to go, but always wanted to, so as to have my photo taken draped across his grave.

  3. Whoa, Benjamin. That tirade was quite the barrel of sunshine you doused us with 😉 Very true, my friend. For some weird random reason it made me think of a movie quote from Dirty Dancing, of all things. The one where Baby’s (Jennifer Gray) dad says “Max, our Baby’s gonna change the world.” And Max looks at Baby’s sister and says “And what are you going to do?” And Baby goes “Oh, Lisa’s gonna decorate it…” Im such a nerd.

    Let’s try a <TRUNCATED>

    • Dude I ride my Honda(sexual)Helix scooter through the valley of the dead on the way to work on the days I commute from SF. Sometimes as I’m boy racering down that road I think it would be cool if bodies would start popping up on all sides of me….like that scene in Poletergeist when the mom falls into the swimming pool and all the bodies are floating on all sides of her and she starts screaming and the little girl is still stuck in the TV and the tree and clown is trying to strangle that kid a <TRUNCATED>

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