THE SIGNAL from David Katznelson
"And when the Strong start smashing each other's strength ... the Weak may turn out to be, instead, the Wise."- G. C. Edmondson
October 12 is a date that always brings a smile to my face…I would assume to many a native San Franciscan’s face. The morning after a great Giants win over the Dodgers in post-season play? Well, yes…that too. But in much more distant history, on October 12, 1859, Emperor Norton issued a decree to dissolve the United States Congress. It had been just under a month that this English-born eccentric who had gone from successful land developer to pauper after a bad rice investment, declared himself “Emperor of these United States.” So it would make sense that a self-proclaimed ruler would need a self-created government body….or maybe none at all. Dissolve the Congress.
It is interesting to dig deep into Norton lore to get an understanding of the Jules Verne-sian visions of the future he really had, including building a suspension bridge to connect the various coasts that made up the Bay as well as building a tunnel under the ocean linking them. His proclamations included “forbidding conflict” between religions as well as mandate to end the Republican and Democratic parties. He issued these proclamations regularly, at times published in the local paper, many speaking out against those who did not respect his title (a list of his proclamations collected by the late historian Gladys Hansen are here)
For the most part, the good citizens of mid-nineteenth century Northern California loved the guy-especially given that many were merchants who profited by selling items with his likeness and his name. In 1867, he was arrested by the SF police with plans of institutionalizing him. The public protested so vehemently that Norton was released, with a formal apology (for the rest of his life he was saluted by officers as they passed him on the street).
Emperor Norton was the one who ordered anyone who used the term “Frisco” when referring to the city by the bay to be fined. The hatred of calling our city “Frisco” has continued ever since. When Napoleon III invaded Mexico in 1863, Norton added to his regal title “Protector of Mexico.” When there arose a horrid anti-Chinese movement in the city, Norton fought against it, speaking out publicly wherever rallies were gathering, often a lonely voice against a mob. He sent communications to rulers of other countries attempting to set up diplomatic relations…and some even responded to him.
He created and distributed his own currency that were honored by local banks. He showed up everywhere with his over-the-top empirical costume and saber, sometimes with a military hat, sometimes with a beaver hat and a flower. His fame spread, even reaching Scandinavia where the great Swedish Nobel prize winning author Selma Lagerlof wrote an entire book based on Norton called The Emperor of Portugallia, where yes, there is a crazed character who declared himself ruler of the land. He has also inspired writings from Mark Twain (who was not a supporter), Robert Louis Stevenson and more recently from Neil Gaiman.
He passed away in 1880, and over ten thousand mourners at his funeral…and after 141 years people still commemorate his birthday by flocking to his grave in Colma. An incredible legacy for a street walker who declared himself ruler and attempted to reimagine America in a radical (and in some ways more just and accepting) way.
Pat Fish, AKA The Jazz Butcher, has died aged 64
When the Jazz Butcher came to San Francisco in 1986 with a member of Bauhaus, David J, in tow as well as longtime bandmate Max Eider, my seventeen-year-old self was completely excited. I had been relentlessly grooving to his recent career-spanning compilation Bloody Nonsense and was ready to see him live. Butch came by KUSF before an in-store at Reckless Records on Haight St. He was as cool as I thought he would be, witty, suave: very kind and charismatic. The Reckless show…and then his I-Beam show…were both incredible. Great band firing on all cylinders, and his beat-ific banter and showmanship truly refreshing. He was one of the first to champion the Spacemen 3….giving them opening slots on his shows around England, introducing them to his record label…and just for that I will be forever indebted. But he gave us so much more over the decades through his recordings that breathed his personality He left us with a new record that explores his mortality…his cause of death has not been reported, but he was definitely pondering it. RIP.
The Ongoing Mystery of “ABC’s Wide World of Mystery” (1973-1976)
It really is strange that even as recently as the 1970s major networks produced shows that are now lost. Especially some with big actors involved. The Wide World of Mystery, with shows entitled “The Black Box Murders,” “The Book of Murder,” “Chant of Silence,” and “Death is a Bad Trip,” sounds just incredible….I wish I had seen these the first time around!
The Times takes the moment Laurie Anderson is coming out with a career spanning exhibition to offer up a deep interview with the pioneer.
It is confirmed….Chopin was a strange looking fellow…almost alien.
How Did the Parthenon Marbles End Up in the British Museum?
This 200+ year story is completely riveting…and is still going on! A great read.
At the Threshold
By: Eugenio Montale
Be pleased if the wind that enters the orchard
brings back the surge of life:
here where a dead tangle of memories
sinks and founders,
there was no garden, only a reliquary.
The flapping you hear is not flight
but a commotion in the eternal womb;
you see how this strip of solitary earth
transforms itself into a crucible.
Beyond the sheer wall is rage.
If you proceed, you might bump into—
perhaps you might—the saving apparition:
here the stories are composed, the acts
that the game of the future will cancel.
Look for a broken link in the net
that holds us down, jump out and flee!
Go, I've prayed this for you—now my thirst
will be lighter; the rust less bitter. . .
