Forced synchronicity?

Written on a wall on 21st Street between Mission and Lexington.

Is there true synchronicity out there or is it an invention of the dreaded “spiritual but not religious” crowd as much as God is the self-serving love child of the Bible thumpers and rosary gropers, all denying that we live in a stew of meaningless chaos? Or, are we all in denial of the fact that life is a cabaret or at least a banquet? Or, most frightening of all, are we all just forever making return trips to an existential Home Town Buffet, clogging our psychic arteries with one more supersized order of Zen fries covered with tao gravy?

These questions were racing through JunkThief’s battered little rodent brain as he returned from an appointment in Berkeley and his phone rang just before the West Oakland stop. Unable to talk for more than 90 seconds, he did let his ex, W________ in Park Slope, know that he was willing to see the Weill-Lenya musical Love Musik despite generally negative reviews. And the Manhattan journey that just Tuesday looked to be sparse is suddenly jam packed, mostly with work appointments, and very little open space. Does it make sense to see a second rate representation of one of the most fascinating of Weimar romances? Oh, whatever, he decided, resigned to go with what happens as the travel sped like a burrowing gopher beneath the bay.

Deciding to take the 16^th Street exit and enjoy a stroll down the Mission’s version of Lexington Avenue, Valencia, JunkThief stepped into the Community Thrift Store where, as usual, they were playing far better music than most upscale retail outlets. In this case it was Marianne Faithful’s 20^th Century Blues. He probably lingered longer than he would have otherwise if only to wait until he had the chance to hear Marianne warble “Surabya Johnny.” If they played this stuff at Saks, he'd be bankrupt.

It just wouldn’t be right not stopping in at Paxton Gate. JunkThief really didn’t need to stock up on mink penis bones, but he did nab a few crustaceans and was thrilled to find UCB professor Mel Gordon’s The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber – Weimar Berlin’s Priestess of Depravity. To his delight, there is probably more text on the cover than inside which is jam packed with amazing photos of this zany gal that makes Courtney Love look like Amy Grant. It seems inevitable that JunkThief will some day meet Gordon who is perhaps the ultimate authority on all things Weimar or at least all things naughty from that era.

Arriving back at the JunkPlex he decided to check out Eva Deadbeat’s Stuck in Vermont episode promoting the Weimar-inspired SpielPalast Cabaret since Ms. Deadbeat herself will soon be converging on Der Kleine Alexanderplatz auf der Pacifik.

Now, do all those dots connect or is it just the Junkster’s brain collecting too much useless beauty? We like to think not, but if you agree, relive his late afternoon stroll home in this slide show that is here in part 1 and part 2.

Currently in the window of Million Fishes Artists' Collection at 23rd & Bryant.