Friday Last Minute Event: Lord Kook, DJ6, and DJ Candy at Catalyst Cocktails!

From Lord Kook himself:

Come join me, DJ Candy (Now Hear This!) and DJ6 (Lucky Pierre, Now Hear This!, Substance) and more at a last-minute shindig tonight! From 9pm to 2am we'll be spinning and dancing and drinking at Catalyst Cocktails.

Come down and shake your ass to the newest indie/electro/remixes/new wave, get drunk and party with us! It promises to be a fun, easy way to kick off the weekend.

And it's FREE!

Your Saturday Guide for September 29, 2007 (Lovefest!)

Lovefest, LOVEFEST! Okay, so it's not nearly the orgasmic ecstatic dancing in the streets and on telephone poles full-on fiesta of its Berlin cousin, but we do try, right?

For my money the absolute best thing to do is head down to Civic Center around 1.00PM and dance your ass off until the fog rolls in and you're so exhausted you can't move, then hit the hot tub with your fave beverage. But for those of you who still have the stamina and the need for more, more, more, well, you know what, the Official Lovefest Website has the listing of everything I know about, so go check that out.

My best bets for big party action

• Tantra at SoMarts (psystrance and psychill)
  
• Seismic at Mighty (breaks and mash-up)
  
• The Lovefest Experiment No. 6 (with some visuals and music by my buddy Tari) at Fat City (breaks, house, etc)
  
• Maybe the Opel party at Temple (though I haven't checked out that space yet) (house, breaks, progressive)
  
• Whatever underground you can pick up fliers for at Civic Center (Hello, Kontrol, I'm here!)

Stuff to avoid like the plague

• Infected Mushroom at 1015 (hide it in your panties, kids, and watch out for the bangers)
• The Bill Graham massive monstrosity (though I'd love to hear John "00" Fleming)
• Crystal Method at Ruby Skye (Crystal Method? That's so 1999)

Paul Addis Arraigned on September 25

So two days ago Paul Addis, "alleged" arsonist of The Man, was arraigned in Pershing County District Court. According to this interview in Wired (which further confirms just about everything I've thought about the man to this point - hey, did you know that all us folks who go to Burning Man and have tech jobs don't do *anything* creative when we come back to the city?), he planned to plead "not guilty." I've not been able to track down any accounts of the proceedings yet, but will doing my best to dig it out. Since there were eye witnesses, and no one is going to take his blarney story about "Black Rock Intelligence" seriously, I think he's digging himself into a big hole, but that's his business. Let's see how well his Hunter S. Thompson act flies in state prison.

Your Friday Guide for September 28, 2007

It's the LoveFest Pre-Party Friday! Lots of stuff going on all over the city, but don't blow your wad cuz you've got keep something in reserve to get you through to Monday morning (and you are calling in sick, right?)

Cosmic Gypsy Happy Hour with DJ Mak at the W Hotel
Get your lounge groove on with DJ Mak in this swank hotel bar.
6PM - 8PM
No cover
W Hotel, 181 3rd Street x Howard

The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Charlie Horse at the Cinch
Best place to go out and have a cheap drink while being entertained by drag queen antics. Recently voted Best Drag Show in San Francisco by the SF Weekly! Music by DJ Dirty Knees and Bearzbub is more rock and new-wave oriented, but at least it won't interfere with your conversation. Check out my latest review of Charlie Horse at The Cinch.
9PM - close
NO COVER
The Cinch, 1723 Polk Street (between Clay and Washington)

Fag Fridays at The EndUp
Reliable, not all that exciting, typical San Francisco deep house, but it's gay and you can stay until the next afternoon. Go while you still can, the countdown to Pink proceeds!
10PM - 6AM, and then Ascension starts up
$20
The End UP, 6th x Harrison

The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Lights Down Low at Club 222
This installment features guests The Mystery Jets, Jen Lasher, and Robert Smith, with resident DJs Sleazemore, Rchrd OH! and now "hosted" by Billy C. Check out my previous reviews of Lights Down Low.
10PM - 2AM
$7
Club 222, 222 Hyde Street x Turk

Monthlies and One-Offs

Shark Attack!
Residents 0rko, Rubyacht, Starr (Bondage-a-Go-Go), Macro spinning "Electro/Progressive/Techno/Grime/Popdancecrap."
9.30PM - 2AM
FREE before 10, $5 after
Julie's Supper Club, 1123 Folsom x 7th

Honey Sound System with Part-Time Punks at The Transfer
A night of "post-punk dance music" with the Honey Sound System crew and LA's Part-Time Punks.
9.00PM - 2.00AM
No cover listed
The Transfer, Church and Market

Girls Love Techno! at Club Anu
Your fave femme techno DJs mix it up Club Anu. Line-up includes Forest Green, Saya (FilterSF), Solekandi (FilterSF), and a live performace by Chel-C Faith [DEF-SF].
9.00PM - 2.00AM
$5
Anu-Bar, 43 Sixth Street x Market

Marke B. on Energy 92.7 and the Death of Circuit

Ah, how great minds think alike. Just this morning, as I was pondering what I might get up to on Saturday night after a day of festing around the Love, I realized just how few gay dance options really exist. It seems that, in a total backlash to the circuit scene, alternaqueers decided that dancing, period, was the epitome of all that was despised, and that mixing was to be strictly forbidden. As I thought further I realized that, outside of Gus Presents events, and the tourist-oriented version of the same that goes on at Badlands and The Cafe, the only real queer dance-oriented events that happen on any regular basis are Lucky Pierre (a monthly) and Fag Fridays. In the past couple weeks I've been out to some nights that, for the most part, had okay music, but there was no dancing, and not even any real interest, from what I could tell, in stoking up the dancefloor. When I really want to go out and dance it's about going to nights that aren't strictly gay-identified (with the exceptions of one-offs from the likes of Honey Sound System and others).

And then, what do I find in my inbox but a teaser for Marke B.'s latest article it the San Francisco Bay Guardian on the topic of gay dance music, Energy 92.7, and the death of the circuit scene? Marke does a great job of surveying the current lay of the land for the gay club scene and club music, and discovers what I would describe as the club cultural vacuum; sure there are events that focus on very specific tastes, communities, body types, and cliques, but almost nothing that unites everyone in the pure good time of going out and getting down on the dancefloor. It's really a shame that the gay capital of America has become so fractured and factionalized that we no longer have any avenues for coming together and letting all our differences melt into the joy of ecstatic dance. I'm relieved that the next generation of queer kids, who don't carry with them the same baggage around DJ music as those who lived through the circuit era, are now looking to get out there and re-invent the world of gay dance music, but it's going to be a hard go until the bottom-line economics of The City change in such a way that these kids can get access to good venues and build up a new scene. Me, I'll just be looking for those signs of queers out at Kontrol, and at Space Cowboys parties, and hope that their presence, and mine, are indicators of a growing desire within our community for a new queer dance aesthetic.

Update on the Citizens for Halloween Meeting

This past Saturday there was a meeting of the Citizens for Halloween to discuss what is going to happen in about five weeks when the dread date descends upon us. BeyondChron has an article about the proceedings, and the answer still seems to be "nobody knows;" no one from The City, like, oh, say, the police department, showed up to answer citizen questions. Apparently the police "have plans" but aren't telling anyone what they are; they are taking a "wait and see" attitude that makes me think they don't have the slightest idea what is going to happen, or what they are going to do about it when it does. Stay tuned, folks, this only promises to get more interesting as time goes on.

Upcoming Event: The Workout at The House of Shields, Thursday September 27

The Workout
DJs Pozibelle, Johnatron, and the infamous Baron von Luxxury drop dope electro and nouveau disco beats for you at this swell old-school saloon. This week's special guest is Sorcerer from Oakland.
10PM - 2AM
$5, FREE before 11PM with RSVP to http://sanfrancisco.going.com/discoworkout
The House of Shields, 33 New Montgomery at Market

Mix to Download: HeatVision by Lord Kook

From Lord Kook comes some darker, harder, electrobreaks beats than what you might have heard during his residency at Drunk and Horny. Here's the track list:

1. Zombie Nation - Don't Touch
2. Rex The Dog - Everyday
3. Timo Maas - First Day (Extended Mix)
4. Groove Armada - Get Down (Calvin Harris Remix)
5. Jape - Floating (Alex Metric Remix)
6. Don Almond - Shake It (Philipe Boyar Mix)
7. DFA1979 - Sexy Results (MSTRKRFT Edtion)
8. N'fa - Get Doh (fRew Remix)
9. Kavinsky - Testarossa (SebstiAn Remix)
10. Riot In Belgium - La Musique
11. Tommie Sunshine - Dance Among the Ruins (Boy 8bit Mix)
12. The Lotterboys - Blazer
13. Justice - DVNO

Check out this mix and all his others at Lord Kook's website.

Upcoming Event: Roller Disco at Mighty, Thursday September 27

Not much (or anything, really) on the details about this, but on Mighty's website it lists Roller Disco! for this coming Thursday. When I'm on rollerskates is just about the only time I'm capable of enjoying disco, and I've had a great time at all the events like this I've attended (I'm betting that these are the Black Rock Roller Disco kids).

Here's what I've got for a link: Roller Disco at Mighty!

Upcoming Event: Beats for Boobs at 111 Minna, Thursday September 27

Aw yeah, you gotta love an event title like that. Get down and raise up some money for breast cancer research with some of The City's finest lady DJs at 111 Minna. My Mom had to have breast cancer surgery a couple years ago, so I'm particularly happy to help support these efforts; think of it as doing something really nice for Moms all over the world. Wear Pink!

Beats for Boobs
Fire performers: Sky Fire, Think 13, Luminescence, Fire Arts Collective, Fire Flies, The Sirens

Fashion show contributors: Silver Lucy Design, De Falco Design, Levis, Spindle Desco, VindyCo, Camilla Slater, Bolland, and miss velvet cream

Additional performers:
Cheryl Fidelman: actor/performance poet
The Naughty Nurses
Live Art by Abe Alvarez

Food from: Triptych, Sauce, Greenleaf Platters, Kells, Chakkas, The Cake Gallery

DJ Line-Up:
Sharon Buck (Green Gorilla Lounge)
shOOey (In Deep)
J-Fi (SisterSF)
ViaJay (Angels of bAss)
j9 (Angels of bAss)
Dory Kim (Listed, LA)
Calamity Jane (Word of Mouth SF)

7.00PM - 2.00AM
$20 (includes food; advance tix at www.beats4boobs.org via PayPal)
111 Minna Gallery, Minna at 2nd Street

Event Review: The Most Hyperbolically Stupendous Clothing Swap Ever!

This past weekend the boyfriend and I dragged a huge blue bin full of stuff that had been rejected out of our closets to The Most Hyperbolically Stupendous Clothing Swap Ever! at Cellspace. Our hope had been to score at least a couple cool new items to improve our fashion standing, but, like our friend Chandler, who showed up with a suitcase of designer duds and left with most of them still in it, we sorta concluded that our stuff was way cooler than the the lame threads others had brought to unload.

Two acquaintances of ours, Monica and Jason, are the brains behind swapsf and this excellent idea - invite everybody to bring their old threads to a clothing swap, and then donate whatever is left to charity. Add some DJs, some drinks, some coffee, and you've got the makings of a fine hipster meet-up. The big problem, however, was that the crowd well exceeded the space, and after the swap had been open for only an hour it was like a scene out of some 1950s movie where the savagery of women is illustrated by their fighting over items at a one-day Macy's sale - except in this case, there were a lot more trucker hats. Every table was completely surrounded by culture vultures grabbing whatever caught their eyes as new carrion was dumped on the pile - in one case I saw someone come up with a bag of t-shirts, and within ten seconds they were all gone. Whatever remained on the tables for the casual browser were the items that had already been deemed unfit by the hiperatti, stuff that I could have found at Community Thrift on a bad day. Since we had long ago decided that the things we brought were going out the door one way or the other, it was overall a better experience than having those bitches at Crossroads pick through our stuff, but I was really disappointed that most people seemed to have brought stuff that was, well, just not that cool - and who knew that so many hipsters were size extra large? The boyfriend did score a cool suit jacket and a nice black shirt, but it seemed an awful low swap ratio.

I think this is a great idea, and I hope that the success of the last two events will move the next clothing swap to a bigger space, and perhaps inspire those participating to bring more than what they've decided is too worn out, or too ugly, to remain in their own closets.

Upcoming Event: Meeting to Discuss Halloween Action, Saturday September 22

From the SFPartyParty comes word of a meeting this Saturday, September 22, at the Eureka Recreation Center (18th and Collingwood in the Castro), of the Citizens for Halloween (organized by Bevan Dufty's political rival, Alix Rosenthal, interestingly enough). Interested in the Halloween imbroglio and what can be done about it? Then go check it out.

Folsom Street Parties?

Okay, so it's generally indicative of how well the gay community relates to the rest of San Francisco party culture (or maybe it's the other way around) that LoveFest and Folsom Street Fair wind up on the same weekend. And while my Outlook calendar is so brimming with LoveFest parties for next weekend (mainly on Friday, I guess nobody wants to compete against Seismic at Mighty or the huge hullabaloos at 1015 and the Bill Graham), I've got nothing, nothing for Folsom Street Fair parties. Oh yeah, I know about Real Bad at (urgh) 1015 ($60 - $85, but at least the proceeds benefit LYRIC), and Magnitude ($75 retail, $90 at the door, thank you very much), the Folsom Eve Ball at the Porn Palace (sorry, an event that only has images of women just doesn't appeal to me very much), and Juanita More's Playboy event The Stud (which at least has Safety Scissors as a DJ going for it), but these are all the "official" events - what I want to know is, are there any "underground" parties going on? Any parties with music besides tribal diva house (now that's butch) or stereotypical industrial sounds (how many times will NIN be played this weekend)? Any parties that aren't in megaclubs or mega expensive? C'mon, I haven't had a chance to wear my latex doggie gear out in a really long time, gimme a clue about where I can get my fetish on.

Your Saturday Guide for September 22, 2007

The Saturday 'fore LoveFest all was quiet in The City, nar'y a party is happenin', 'tis such a pity.

Weeklies and Bar Nights

Drunk and Horny
Sorta like those high school parties you'd wished you'd had. Get drunk, flirt with boys, and dance to good-time party standards. Reliable, easy-going, and a short stumble home, but beware that it gets claustrophobically crowded. Check out my reviews of Drunk and Horny.
9PMish - 2.00AM (with maybe an afterparty)
Underground SF, 424 Haight Street x Webster

Frisco Disco at The Transfer
This night just recently started up at this new location and I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but with tunes provided by the likes of Jefrodesiac and Richie Panic, and Lady Meleksah as the cruise director, there's some great potential for a good time.
No cover listed
9.00PM - 2.00AM
The Transfer, Church at Market

Your Friday Guide for September 21, 2007

Weeklies and Bar Nights

Cosmic Gypsy Happy Hour with DJ Mak at the W Hotel
Get your lounge groove on with DJ Mak in this swank hotel bar.
6PM - 8PM
No cover
W Hotel, 181 3rd Street x Howard

The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Charlie Horse at the Cinch
Best place to go out and have a cheap drink while being entertained by drag queen antics. Recently voted Best Drag Show in San Francisco by the SF Weekly! Music by DJ Dirty Knees and Bearzbub is more rock and new-wave oriented, but at least it won't interfere with your conversation. Check out my latest review of Charlie Horse at The Cinch.
9PM - close
NO COVER
The Cinch, 1723 Polk Street (between Clay and Washington)

Fag Fridays at The EndUp
Go check out Fag Fridays at The EndUp while you still can, remember that October 12 is the last night of the eleven year run in this location!
10PM - 6AM, and then Ascension starts up.
$20
The End Up, 6th x Harrison

Monthlies and One-Offs

Blow-Up at The Rickshaw Stop
Jefrodesiac (Frisco Disco) and Richie Panic mix it up with MC Jelly Donut, with special guest appearance by Stretch Armstrong.
9PM - 2AM
$10 before 11PM, $12 after
The Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell at Van Ness

Deep End: Back in the Saddle at Supperclub
Another fundraiser for the biggest lil' danceclub on the playa.
9PM music in the bar, 11PM music in the main room
$15, $10 in playa or Western gear
Supperclub, 657 Harrison x 3rd

SF House Music Fundraiser for LoveFest Float at Mighty
Claude vonStroke and Mark Farina top the bill for this fundraiser for the SF House Music kids to have a float in the upcoming LoveFest. House house house house, house house house house . . . .
$10 - $20 sliding scale
10PM - 4AM
Mighty, 119 Utah

Mix Download: DJ Pup on Modyfier

Waaaay back in June Rayna, the author and artist behind the modifyer blog, asked me to make a contribution to her Process series. Given that the other contributors included folks like apendics.shuffle, Philip Sherburne, and popnoname, it was a slightly intimidating invitation. And, as it turned out, an excruciating process that lasted more than three months. You can read all about it on modyfier, and download the mix, but the result was about an hour of minimal techno direct from my turntables to the CD recorder (no Ableton for me, kids!). Check it out, I'd love to hear what you all think.

Track List:

Dominik Eulberg and Gabriel Ananda - Schieder Kreisl
Styro 2000 - cremeschnitte
Jason Emsley - P.H.I.A.P.O.S.
Yapacc - take this away
Lurifax - Lobo rmx
Fletcher Mundson Syndrome - Lauter Leute
Carston Jost - divide et impera
Serafin - Starship Discotheque
Sascha Funke - I love this tent
Kontakt - Music Gewinnt Freunde

Eat My Feed!

Okay, after much hemming and hawing and puzzling over technology, SFScene now has a feed, courtesy of Feedburner. Hit the link there on the left and you have the option to subscribe using some pretty standard readers, or, for the fully geeked, you can get the XML blahblahblah.

Best Onion Article Ever: "Pitchfork Gives Music 6.8: Review Calls Ancient Art Form 'Tired'"

Of course music journalism has its own unique, um, style, which is pretty much the same game of intellectual one-up-manship played by people like, oh, say, Science Fiction fans, or a room full of second-year comparative literature grad students. In fact, put those two groups together and I guarantee that you will find at least one person who imagines themself as the next Lester Bangs (though we all know how that turned out).

Pitchfork Media is the current platform for all those aspiring Mallermes of the musical milieu. But I'll let The Onion take it from here. My favorite bit is the last paragraph:

Still, most analysts agreed that the impact of Pitchfork's scathing review of music will be dampened by the 2.4 rating it received from Pitchfork staff writer Dave Maher just moments after the initial critique was published online. Maher termed Schreiber's assessment of music "overwrought, masturbatory posturing intended to make insecure hipsters feel as if they're part of some imagined elite beau monde."

Article on "Jerm" Barley, Burning Man Suicide, in SFGate

A brief profile of Jermaine "Jerm" Barley, the boy who hung himself in the Comfort and Joy tent at Burning Man, appears in today's SFGate. Seems like the kind of guy it's a shame for the world to lose.

Your Saturday Guide for September 15, 2007

Weeklies and Bar Nights

Drunk and Horny
Sorta like those high school parties you'd wished you'd had. Get drunk, flirt with boys, and dance to good-time party standards. Reliable, easy-going, and a short stumble home, but beware that it gets claustrophobically crowded. Check out my reviews of Drunk and Horny.
9PMish - 2.00AM (with maybe an afterparty)
Underground SF, 424 Haight Street x Webster

Frisco Disco at The Transfer
This night just recently started up at this new location and I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but with tunes provided by the likes of Jefrodesiac and Richie Panic, and Lady Meleksah as the cruise director, there's some great potential for a good time.
No cover listed
9.00PM - 2.00AM
The Transfer, Church at Market

Monthlies and One-Offs

Vibrasphere at The Gingerbread House
The first San Francisco appearance from the Swedish standard-bearers of deep, progressive trance in four years. Two rooms, electro/house up and trance down, with many of the usual suspects from the SF psytrance scene.
$20 advance tickets (hit the link above to purchase online or check the retail outlets)
10PM - 6AM
The Gingerbread House, Connecticut at Cesar Chavez

Substance at The End Up
Synthpop, new wave, 80s, electro, etc. with DJs The Melting Girl (Death Guild), Damon (1984), Dangerous Dan (1984), Donimo (Shadowplay and Lucky Pierre) and Tomas Diablo (Strangelovae). Be advised that Paul Addis has been invited to make an appearance at this month's installment.
$15 (?)
9.30PM - 6AM (and then the T-Dance starts)
The Endup, 401 6th Street, 6th x Harrison

9.30PM - 6AM

Upcoming Event: Vibrasphere at The Gingerbread House, Saturday September 15

Back when I was more of a trance-head I was really into the smooth, progressive, deep sounds of the Swedes known as Vibrasphere, and for the first time in four years they're making an appearance in San Francisco. I picked up a couple of their tracks last year and the vibe is still there, so if you're into that kind of sound, you should definitely check this out. Here are all the deets:

Line-Up:

<>
DUTCH ((((thum pradio)))/inner eye)
MICHAEL LIU (illumination records/stilldream)
SENTIENT (vaporvent/synchronize)
*CHRISTINE* (vaporvent/infinite webb)
OBU (bombay power/outpost23)
EPSILON (preserve/secret psychedelica)
TORIN (dawn patrol)

<<>>
DENISE (mizumo music/sound asylum)
MACADIO (first light/defsf)
SERG ROCKWELL (rokrite)
DEXX (earwacks/evolution)
DJ REMINISCE (all in the family/earwacks)
JERRY CHIU (pure.fm)
MOROCCO SLIM (bumpty hump/earwacks)
DJ PM (outpost/love allstars)

details >
audio // HARDSCIENCE
visual // VIBERATION GRAPHICS and OOZE SYSTEM
San Francisco CA // 10pm to 6am // 18+
415.762.3638
www.vibrasphere-sf.com

location>
The Gingerbread House
@ Connecticut St. and Cesar Chavez St.

tickets >
Advance ticket information > purchase tickets now to guarantee entry and save on admission
$20 Advance tickets are now available at www.vibrasphere-sf.com
Standard retail tickets are available at these locations:
Reverb > 1816 Haight St, San Francisco, 415.221.4142
Skills DJ Workshop > 2566A Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, 510.704.9876
Paramount Imports > 455 Meridian Ave, San Jose, 408.286.9839
Channelz > 2371 Arden Way, Sacramento, 916.641.8808

Your Friday Guide for September 14, 2007

Weeklies and Bar Nights

Cosmic Gypsy Happy Hour with DJ Mak at the W Hotel
Get your lounge groove on with DJ Mak in this swank hotel bar.
6PM - 8PM
No cover
W Hotel, 181 3rd Street x Howard

The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Charlie Horse at the Cinch
Best place to go out and have a cheap drink while being entertained by drag queen antics. Recently voted Best Drag Show in San Francisco by the SF Weekly! Music by DJ Dirty Knees and Bearzbub is more rock and new-wave oriented, but at least it won't interfere with your conversation. Check out my latest review of Charlie Horse at The Cinch.
9PM - close
NO COVER
The Cinch, 1723 Polk Street (between Clay and Washington)

Fag Fridays at The EndUp
Reliable, not all that exciting, typical San Francisco deep house, but it's gay and you can stay until the next afternoon.
10PM - 6AM, and then Ascension starts up
$20
The End UP, 6th x Harrison

Monthlies and One-Offs

The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Lights Down Low at Club 222
This week's installment, Space Disco 2007, features the Gemini Disco Gang and Mikkee Lixx, with resident DJs Sleazemore and Rchrd OH!? Check out my previous reviews of Lights Down Low.
10PM - 2AM
$7
Club 222, 222 Hyde Street x Turk

The Rod at Deco Lounge
For all the gay boys who want to pretend that it's 1979. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. Check out my review of The Rod.
10PM - 4AM
FREE before 10PM, $5 After
Deco Lounge, 510 Larkin at Turk

Monthlies and One-Offs

Disco Hook-Up 2007 with Hey Willpower at The Rickshaw Stop
Also featuring Oakland's Hot Tub and and Orange County's Voxhaul Broadcast, and DJ Omar of Popscene on the decks.
10PM - 2AM
$8 before 11, $10 after, advance tix available if you hit the link above.
The Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell x Van Ness

Paul Addis at Substance at The End Up this Saturday

Word comes to me that Paul Addis will be "holding court" at Substance at The End Up this Saturday. Maybe this will encourage you to go, maybe it will encourage you to go elsewhere, maybe it will inspire the prankster in you - all I'm doing is relaying the information, it's up to you to do with it what you will.

The Ethics of Destruction

Judging by comments I've started to receive from my post below, I've aligned myself with the "uncool kids" by thinking that there was something wrong with the actions of Paul Addis at Burning Man. I considered responding in depth in the comments, but given that today marks the anniversary of another event that provoked world discussion through the destruction of an iconic structure, it seems that this might be a great opportunity to discuss the ethics of destruction.

Let me state my position clearly: I think what Paul Addis did was wrong because it was an action filled with contempt for the work of others, that it was nihilist rather than artistic, and because it threatens the principle of mutual respect that makes radical community possible. This is completely separate from what I feel about Burning Man as an event (which I recognize has issues it must deal with), what I think of Larry Harvy or the Burning Man organization (with which I have had only slight interaction), or how I feel about "The Man" itself as one iconic structure among the many in the world.

Let's start by talking about The Man as an object. Though others obviously disagree, I see it as something that was created by a group of people, who invested their labor into it, and who had an intention for it. You may try to argue that it was a "craft" and not "art," and you may argue that, because it is serially reproduced year after year, it is also not art. This is all pure semantics, and has no bearing on the fact that people worked to create it, invested it with intention, and saw it, in some way, as a personal expression of what they were giving to the community. Those who created the man were acting as participants, which, supposedly, is what is most valued by all members of the Burning Man community.

This object, however, is also imbued with iconic meaning. For many, it is a negative icon, symbolizing everything that they think is wrong with Burning Man. For years people, mostly those who see themselves as part of the older, more authentic Burning Man experience, have talked about burning it early in a symbolic act of defiance. So after many years of talking about destroying this symbol, someone does it, and is instantly acclaimed "a hero" by people like Chicken John Rinaldi and others who consider themselves part of the original Burning Man experience.

Those who find this act praiseworthy seem to take the position that what Addis did was an act of radical self-expression, that the intent was to make a statement about art, about the corporate nature of Burning Man, about the loss of spontaneity at the event, etc. But all of this ignores the nature and intent of the act itself. I can do many things that are provocative and make a statement about something - I can blow up a building, paint swastikas on a church, or slash a painting in a gallery - but just because they provoke a discussion and make a statement doesn't make them ethical. The consideration of the ethical dimension of Addis' act is what has been completely left out of all these discussions, as though the intent justified the means.

It is obvious from Addis' various statements, most notably the one that appeared on Laughing Squid, that he holds all those who are not part of the original Burning Man experience in contempt, an attitude shared by many others. It is also obvious, from his action itself, that he holds the work invested in the object of The Man in contempt - it is something worthy only of being destroyed. Thus it seems to me that Addis acted out of a general contempt for the experience and work of others. In my view, this makes his action unethical.

But what about it as a prank, about it being in the spirit of the original Burning Man experience? For me, a prank is like what John Law did with The Man in 1997, the year of the Smiley Face. John Law also has taken a very critical stance toward Burning Man, and wanted to make a statement about it. His statement was to *create* something of his own that commented on Burning Man - in other words, he created art. And this is where Addis' act is completely different, in that it was only about destruction. Destruction isn't art, it's nihilism.

Finally, what did Addis' action accomplish? Judging from the commentary on this and other online forums, it has only caused even more polarization and factionalizing in the Burning Man community, a hardening of already opposing positions that will now be even more difficult to resolve; thus, instead of bringing about a synthesis, of provoking dialogue between these various factions, Addis has only succeeded in breaking apart the community even further.

When our community begins to hold someone like Paul Addis up as a "hero," I think we have truly lost our way, because it means that our heroes are nihilists who are incapable of creation, only destruction. Addis' action may be seen as an act of "radical self-expression," but it is self-expression that is completely devoid of any respect for the labor of others, their intents, and their expression. If that's our hero, then we are deep trouble, and I think that the values of our alternative community are no longer viable, because we have lost the main quality that makes community possible: mutual respect.

Last night the boyfriend pointed out to me how ironic it was that this is all taking place during the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love, another moment in time when it seemed that the alterative community was poised to make real changes in the world. But that moment collapsed for many of the same reasons that the Burning Man community now seems to be collapsing, a victim of its own success, with in-fighting over issues of authenticity, how to manage a community that has grown well beyond its original members, how to keep its values alive when they are being disseminated on a massive scale. What has been most striking to me in all of this is how whether or not you agree with Addis' action seems to have become the mark of whether or not you are an authentic Burner, whether you are part of the despised establishment or can count yourself as a true participant, one of the heads. I think that what David Addis did was wrong because it was unethical, because it did not respect the labor and intent of others, and because it was based on a general contempt for all those not part of an in group; if that means I'm not an authentic Burner, I can live with that.

Chicken John on Paul Addis: "[He's] a hero"

Steven Jones gives Chicken John some press in this San Francisco Bay Guardian article on Burning Man that centers mostly on the Paul Addis' arson of the man and reactions to it. Jones explains how Chicken John and Addis have known each other since 1995, and that CJ even kicked Addis out of his Odeon bar a couple times. No surprises there, since San Francisco is a small town, and the core of old-skool burners is even smaller. But then there's this lovely quote from Chicken John:

"[Addis is] a hero. He did the thing that we've been talking about doing for a decade," Rinaldi said. "No matter how misguided he was, his intention was to facilitate art."

Umm, how does that work exactly, facilitating art by destroying something that someone else has created? I guess I'm just a grump, but I don't see where Addis' action is facilitative, helpful, or even a good prank, because it involved the destruction of something created by someone else. To me, it's akin to burning a book, destroying someone else's creation because you don't like what it represents (and no, it's not the same as that iconic gesture of flag burning, because a flag is a reproduction, not an original work - how would we feel about some slashing a Van Gogh to make a statement?).

In an earlier post I talked about why I have trouble with Chicken John's campaign, but now we have someone who is holding himself up as a guardian and supporter of the arts commending Addis as a "hero" for destroying someone else's work. Does Chicken John think it's okay to destroy art if you don't agree with it? Is that how he's going to improve the condition of the arts community in San Francisco?

New York Times on the Last Misshapes Party

There's an article in today's New York Times about the last Misshapes party that went down in SoHo on Saturday night. For those of you who have not been following the New York scene (and why aren't you?), the Misshapes have been the big IT kids for about four years now, winding up as DJs for big fashion shows and now having spun off a blog, a clothing line, and a photo book. My favorite line in the article is "In 2002 Geordon Nicol, 23; Greg Krelenstein, 28; and Leigh Lezark, 23 — self-styled D.J.’s known more for their post-new-wave aesthetics than their turntable skills — started their nightlife careers with a one-off at Luke & Leroy." You know, if you just have the right style, and you can get the other stylish kids to show up too, then the whole music thing doesn't really matter.

It's a good article in that it gets right down to the whole damned if you do/damned if you don't aspect of the hipster club scene - if you're not hip enough, then nobody pays attention to you, but if you get to be the hip party, then everybody is sooooo over you and spends the rest of their time sniping at you. Sorta like Burning Man here. Me, I'm slowly becoming of the same opinion as one of the kids quoted in the article: “The new hot party is the dinner party." At least at my own parties I have no one but myself to blame if the music sucks.

Your Saturday Guide for September 8, 2007

Well, now that everyone's back from the playa, it's time to shift from fundraisers to decompression parties.

Weeklies and Bar Nights

Drunk and Horny
Sorta like those high school parties you'd wished you'd had. Get drunk, flirt with boys, and dance to good-time party standards. Reliable, easy-going, and a short stumble home, but beware that it gets claustrophobically crowded. Check out my reviews of Drunk and Horny.
9PMish - 2.00AM (with maybe an afterparty)
Underground SF, 424 Haight Street x Webster

Frisco Disco at The Transfer
This night just recently started up at this new location and I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but with tunes provided by the likes of Jefrodesiac and Richie Panic, and Lady Meleksah as the cruise director, there's some great potential for a good time.
No cover listed
9.00PM - 2.00AM
The Transfer, Church at Market

Monthlies and One-Offs

Dust Buster with Pink Mammoth at Mighty
Pink Mammoth resident Gravity, along with Andy on percussion, will be joining Black
Rock's top DJs spinning memories across the dance floor, with footage on the big screens from BM 07 all night long.
FREE with playa'fied gear, $5 otherwise
10.00PM - 4.00AM
Mighty, 119 Utah Street

Kontrol Underground with Galoppierende Zuversicht
And to think that I took years of German just so I could spell that without looking at the copy. Check out Zurich's hottest contribution to minimal techno, along with your favorite Kontrol DJs at this special underground location (hmmm, 16.8.2 surround sound - only one place in the City I know of with that kind of system). LIMITED CAPACITY OF 150 PEEPS!
$20
10.00PM - 6.00AM
Directions on Saturday by hitting the link above

Your Friday Guide for September 7, 2007

Sorry so late with getting it out this week, kids, believe it or not I've had *homework* this week! Going back to school is so much fun (I think), let's hope it pays off, if you know what I mean.

Bar Nights and Weeklies

Cosmic Gypsy Happy Hour with DJ Mak at the W Hotel
Get your lounge groove on with DJ Mak in this swank hotel bar.
6PM - 8PM
No cover
W Hotel, 181 3rd Street x Howard

The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Charlie Horse at the Cinch
Best place to go out and have a cheap drink while being entertained by drag queen antics. Recently voted Best Drag Show in San Francisco by the SF Weekly! Music by DJ Dirty Knees and Bearzbub is more rock and new-wave oriented, but at least it won't interfere with your conversation. Check out my latest review of Charlie Horse at The Cinch.
9PM - close
NO COVER
The Cinch, 1723 Polk Street (between Clay and Washington)

Fag Fridays at The EndUp
Go check out Fag Fridays at The EndUp while you still can, remember that October 12 is the last night of the eleven year run in this location!
10PM - 6AM, and then Ascension starts up
$20
The End UP, 6th x Harrison

Monthlies and One-Offs

Garth and Jeno Back2Back at Club222
San Francisco house legends Garth and Jeno in one of the best intimate dance spaces in the city.
10PM - 2AM
$10
Club 222, 222 Hyde Street

Club Loaded at The Rickshaw Stop
This week with guest DJs Inflagranti (Brooklyn) and Jan Muller (Berlin), and a live set from Immigrant.
10PM - 2AM
$8 before 11, $10 after
The Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell x Van Ness

The Jaded Gay DJ Recommends: Lucky Pierre at The Stud
We had a great time last month and are looking forward to tonight's installment. This month's theme: Hair Dos (or Don'ts!). With guest DJ Mickey Moniker (aka Dirty Hairy) from Vancouver. Check out my review of Lucky Pierre!
10PM - 3AM
$5
The Stud, 9th x Harrison

Space Cowboys FRESH from the Playa at Shine
Share stories, catch up with friends, and get shit housed with the bartenders.
Space Cowboy DJs Brad Robinson, Mancub and 8ball. Come in your dusty playa gear!
9PM – 2AM
$5
Shine, 1337 Mission Street between 9th and 10th

Comfort and Joy Issues Statement Regarding Burning Man Suicide

Comfort and Joy has released a statement regarding the suicide that was committed at their camp at this year's Burning Man. For all those who wondered how no one could have noticed the body, how they could let him hang for two hours and think it was performance art, and all the other misinformation that has been spread (primarily by those bastions of hard journalism, USA Today and Fox News), here are all the answers: no such things happened. The suicide took place in the early morning, in the hour between when a camp member checked on the tent (a very large, two story, Moroccan tent with beams) and when another camp member came in, and as soon as the person who came into the tent saw the guy, Germaine, hanging there, he went over to check it out, realized what had happened, and immediately summoned the Emergency Medical Services Team. Anything else you've heard or read is conjecture from people who don't know what they were talking about.

Update: Burning Man Suicide Committed at Comfort and Joy

Now that everyone is back, the actual truth about what happened with the Burning Man suicide at Comfort and Joy is coming out. The facts are that no one watched the victim hang himself, no one from Comfort and Joy was using the tent while the body hung there, and that as soon as a camp member realized what had happened, the authorities were summoned. Below is a message posted on the eplaya website from Moist, one of the camp members. A formal statement from the camp is forthcoming.

Hello everybody,

I'm back from the burn and I have to say this was the most chaotic and amazing year I've ever attended. The Man burning on Monday brought a sense of "anything could happen" early on in the week... and in fact it did.

On Thursday morning I woke up to the sound of a ranger outside my tent telling another camp mate that we were all being detained and needed to go to the kitchen, and that our residential tents were part of a crime scene. Startled I rolled out of bed and unzipped my tent, I was told to get dressed and to go to the kitchen. The Rangers would only say that there had been a death. It was frightening for all of us.

It turns out that a young man had found our brand new beautiful Moroccan tent with its high peak, rafter, and chandelier and decided it was where he wanted to end his personal pain. He moved one of our furniture pieces under the chandelier, cut it down from the rope that held it, and then hung himself from that rope.

All this happened in the early morning hours of Thursday. We are a late night camp, so most of us were sleeping. My bed was less than 15 feet away and he was so quiet that none of us knew it was happening. It is my understanding that there was only an hour between when one of our camp mates had checked on the tent, and when another camp mate discovered the body. The young man came in alone during that hour and efficiently went to work.

After the boy had hung himself somebody (not part of our camp) came in to work out on the gym equipment we had at one end of the tent. Our gym equipment was painted pink as a joke, and he thought the hanging body was part of the joke, or a weird art piece (he thought the body wasn't real.) When my camp mates came in a few minutes later they thought it was a joke being played on us. He approached it and touched it and saw the face and knew it was no joke. We were camped less than 150 feet from the EMS and he ran to get them immediately. Despite what the SF Chronicle said, we did not leaving him hanging for hours. It only took seconds for our camp mate to realize it wasn't a joke.

And that is the about the time that I was awoken by the rangers voice.

We had the mental health team there to help us through this, and they were present when we made the decision to not take down the tent. None of us believe that this young man wanted to trouble us with his action, we just happened to have an open tent with a high enough rafter. We had worked hard to create our camp to provide comfort and joy to all the people of BRC. Some of our camp mates even felt that there was something to be said that this young man chose our space as the place where he would want to spend the last moments of his life.

After the coroner had left, and the police had reopened the space it was myself and another camp mate who put the space back to the way it had been. This was very upsetting for me and I wept openly with friends in my old camp.

David Best came by and suggested we contribute to the temple, and so we took down the rope and it went up with the temple on Sunday night.

I wanted to post this because there was a lot of criticism, and incorrect information in this thread, as well as in the SF Gate piece. I want you to know that for all the members of Comfort & Joy this incident was upsetting, and terrible. This young man inflicted a lot of pain on us in the process of ending his own pain. We made the choice to continue living, to make the day ours, because we don't think he wanted us hurt with his actions. This was solely about him ending his own pain, not about hurting others who didn't know him.

-Moist
Comfort & Joy

Mix to Download: Dex Stakker of Opulent Temple

A recorded version of Dex's electro set from the Audible from Space party at DNA, a recorded version of his opening set for Elite Force at Mighty, and another set of self-described "pop and fluff" can all be had at dexstakker.com.

Update: Fag Fridays Moving to Pink!

This past weekend I got an email from David Peterson, who, along with his partner Jose Mineros, have been the impresarios behind Fag Fridays at the End Up. David saw my posting about the end of Fag Fridays and contacted me to set the record straight on some rumors that were swirling around, and to also let me know that Fag Fridays might be leaving the End Up, but was ready to start anew at Pink. The boyfriend and I met David and Jose for some drinks at 440 Casto and found out some interesting info about the history of Fag Fridays, and well as plans for the future.

David started working at The End Up in 1994 as the general manager, and soon afterward hired Jose to work as a promotions manager. One thing led to another and in 1996, while sitting on the beach together, the two of them came up with the concept for Fag Fridays, from the name right down to what they wanted it to achieve; as Jose put it, if they could bring one couple together on the dancefloor, and have a relationship blossom from that experience, they would consider the whole undertaking to be a success. Eleven years later they are probably responsible for more gay men hooking up together than craigslist, what with anywhere from 400 – 700 guys turning out every Friday night to get down.

In their eleven year run they’ve seen lots of change in the gay club scene, including the great club crackdown of 2001, which led to the super-strict, bummer security pat-down routine patrons now have to endure at the door. They have also seen The End Up change hands, passing last year from the last surviving brother of the original owner to an east-coast LLC that owns the business, if not the building. And here’s the reason for the passing of Fag Fridays; not that the boys have given up on the scene, or that they’ve broken up (a rumor they find particularly amusing). Rather, the new owners just want more money for the use of the space and the bar guarantee, to such an extent that running the night is no longer economically viable without jacking up the cover to $20, a price that they think would change the nature of the night in ways they don’t want.

David and Jose had considered just saying that’s it, we’ve had a good run and it’s over now; David even went so far as to find another job for himself, now working as Sales Manager for the revived Temple club. But as soon as word got out, offers started coming in from several promoters, including one very prominent club owner, to bring Fag Fridays to their spaces. After considering all the possibilities, the boys settled on Pink.

As one of the bastions of San Francisco house Pink seems like a good fit for Fag Fridays; there will be challenges too, though, since Fag Fridays is, in some ways, inherently connected in people’s minds with the End Up space. There’s also the issue of how the upcoming generation of gay clubbers relate to the Fag Fridays house sound. One the other hand, moving to Pink will allow David and Jose to do some things that they’ve wanted to do for a long time, like drop the cover charge down a few bucks. Pink will also not enforce their usual dress code for Fag Fridays, and just because the booze has to stop flowing at 2AM doesn’t mean the music will stop. Jose emphasized to me that one of the things they always wanted with Fag Fridays was to create a more intimate space that was in contrast to the big mega club event, and Pink seems ideally suited for this.

The new Fag Fridays at Pink is scheduled to take off on October 19, with New York’s Tedd Patterson (famed for his Vibal parties at Cielo in the Meatpacking District) headlining. It promises to be an event, and I’ll be anxious to check it out and see how Fag Fridays adapts to its new home.

Hatin' the Hatin'

I dunno what it is about long weekends - drinking too much, eating too much, toking too much, or just the feeling that it's all too little, really, the taking of a short break out of the usual dull grind of default life - but somehow I usually wind up feeling a little tired and deflated after them. Today I came into work with really nothing to do (a situation that I actually dread), and so have wound up reading blogs and articles and other online ephemera related to last week's major events at Burning Man, and have come away feeling a bit worse for it all. The problem is that I've grown quite tired of the culture of hate that has come to surround that event, and which seems to have permeated so much of the conversation about anything that takes place in San Francisco.

The hate around Burning Man starts first with Mr. Paul Addis himself, whose statement is full of absolute contempt for all those "swine" he has come to see as spoiling his good time; then there is the commentary from "old guard" Burners such as Summer Burkes who whole-heartedly congratulate Addis on his move and join right in with their own contemptuous screeds. But then you spin it around, and you can find comment after comment on SFGate where all "burners" are hated upon just as hard as the in-crowd hates all the "ravers."

I probably wouldn't be quite so down about all this hating if it wasn't for the fact that I'm one of those people getting hated on from every side; I'm one of those johnny-come-lately raver techno lovers who likes to dress up and make costumes that are the absolute antithesis of the "real" burners like Addis and Burke, as well as an employee of a technology company who makes okay money and is just a "weekend hippy" as characterized by other haters. I guess being gay should be enough to get me used to being hated by complete strangers for reasons having to do more with their own preconceptions than anything I've actually ever done, but somehow that hasn't inured me to the general wilting influence of being hated on.

I would like to think that all this hate seems so abundant just because I've encountered it on blogs, where hating is easy and an obvious way to get attention. Sometimes I think what blogs have really done, rather than opening up utopian dialogues, is to just let all that bile flow when it normally would have festered unnoticed. But so much of San Francisco culture, right now, seems to be about polarizing opinions and attitudes, where you're either in or out, you get it or you don't, you're one of them or one of us. And somehow, I always seem to be attracted to the wrong pole; it's not really much fun to see how many perjoratiave characterizations that have been throw around in the past few weeks could be applied to me. After all, I am one of those people with a technology industry job who looks forward to Burning Man and other events as opportunities to refresh my view of myself and the world, which makes me a yuppie weekend hippy who should just go back to making money for my corporate masters.

I think that all this polarizing hate is a symptom of what San Francisco is going through right now, as it transitions from having been a sleepy counter-cultural city to one of the four richest cities in America. Everybody is feeling pressure in the housing market, everyone is worried about their futures, everyone is worried about what the city is becoming; that Burning Man becomes a stand-in for the city of San Francisco as it undergoes its own growing pains should probably not come as any real surprise. Look at the invective being hurled by the old-skool Burners against what Burning Man has "become" and you can see the same worries about how San Francisco is being overtaken by monied classes and changed into something more corporate and less progressive than it used to be.

It's Tuesday afternoon after a long holiday, and I'm tired; tired of the polarization, tired of the hating, tired of feeling that the life I'm trying awfully hard to live in a way that brings me happiness and security is an ongoing object of derision by people who don't even know me. I hope that sometime soon all this hating might turn unfashionable, and that people will discover that they can use public forums as a means for interacting with others in civil ways that engender mutual respect; in the meanwhile, though, I'm afraid that the assholes will rule, because it seems so much easier to think that being an asshole is about being strong and honest and true, about living up to a macho ideal, than to see it for narcissistic sneer of contempt that it really is.

Event Review: Trans Am at Club Eight

This past weekend the boyfriend and I had a friend visiting from the land of grey skies and evergreen trees, also known as Seattle, and we debated long and hard about where to take him on Saturday night for a taste of gay San Francisco before finally settling on Trans Am at Club Eight. Neither of us had been there before, but we knew there would be a performance by the inimitable Frieda Laye, and we were curious what sort of tracks Jason Kendig would lay down for a "rock night" - and the fact that it was only five bucks to get in helped as well. We had a good time, but my initial impression is that Trans Am is basically like going to The Eagle beer bust, inside, at night, with a younger crowd.

We arrived aroud 10.30, being, as usual, among the first attendees, with the upstairs space still being closed. We lingered in the outside smoking area (really just the alley between Club Eight and the building next door, but lit very nicely with Christmas light palm trees) through our first drink, and then went back inside to find a small crowd coming together just in time for Frieda's performance at 11. Following her a gothy rock band, complete with lead singer in vampire face, took to the stage, while we took to the upstairs.

The crowd seemed small - when we left around 1 the downstairs was completely empty - but this was a weird weekend out on the city, and everywhere we went there were fewer people than you would normally expect. I also suspect that many of the folks who would be drawn to the music and crowd of Trans Am were out at the various bear events associated with Hairrison Street Fair. Of the guys who did show up, though, most were of the sort you might expect to see at the Eagle on a Sunday afternoon, pierced, tattooed, punky, but probably about ten years younger on average than your typical Eagle beer swiller.

The music was also very reminiscent of the Eagle, but the tracks leaned more toward the Arcade Fire than the Stooges. When Jason Kendig went on upstairs there was a dirge-like, droning quality to his selections, though later he slipped into stuff with more distinct beats and a clearer sound. The thing I really noticed, though, was that no one danced, at all, to anything. Maybe if we had stayed later there would have eventually been some dance action, or if there had been a bigger crowd, but this was the way in which Trans Am felt most like The Eagle to me - lots of guys standing around, drinking to rock music. The overall vibe might have skewed more to indie/emo college rock, but I would completely expect to see many of these faces on Sunday afternoon as well, as though they had just shifted from one location to the other.

I'm curious to see what Trans Am is like on a busier weekend, and whether it gears over into a more lively scene. I had an okay time, and if I was looking for a fairly low-impact Saturday night of hanging out and drinking I would certainly consider Trans Am, but, even with the promise of a live band, a $5 cover seems a bit much for what is really a bar night with gay DJs playing rock music. Why not go to The Eagle, or the Lone Star, where you can get pretty much the same thing without paying a cover?

Burning Man Suicide Committed at Comfort and Joy

Last night at Trans Am I ran into a fellow Comfort and Joy campmate who told me he had been contacted by another campmate on the Playa who told him that the suicide at Burning Man had been committed at Comfort and Joy. This morning I got confirmation though the SFGate Burning Blog that this indeed was the case and that the suicide, who was not a member of C&J, had hung himself from a beam in the tent that housed a small public gym. According to our campmate on the playa, the suicide hung himself in the early morning, and people passing by had thought that it was a mannequin or dummy. According to the SFGate, people had been using the gym while the body hung there, also not realizing that it was real. Though many many wonder how you could have a dead body hanging above you and not realize that it was real, I can only say that, among the many surreal things you might expect to see at Burning Man, a suicide by hanging is not one of them, and I'm sure people were much more ready to believe that it was a fake rather than real.

PLEASE SEE THE UPDATE POST

Why, with the hundreds of camps and structures at Burning Man, did this had to happen in one belonging to Comfort and Joy? My first thought was that perhaps the vicitim was drawn there by the name itself, and that his choice of camps was intended as a statement. Once the victim is identified I hope that some of this will be figured out. Meanwhile, I can only wonder what my campmates are going through right now, and I hope that that they are finding ways to deal with this experience.