this morning felt like winter

Litquake hits SF every year around the same time as reds and oranges and cinnamon. Last night, there was a reading and lecture down at the Hobart building on steampunk and it's uses in literature. Steampunk is fascinating to me in its contextual sense; the antiquation of modern technology, the idea the modern world subsists on steam energy, gives the reader something to relate to (modern tech) but immerses such concepts in a surreal and twangy setting. Think Mark Twain meets Apple computer. So, yeah, intriguing. Almost as much as the crowd such steamy punky readings attract-- there were top hats and hats with gears on them and barkeep vests and really long, really impressive beards. The gathering was punk'd, steamwise.

Unfortunately, my number 61 kept me from getting a seat in an auditorium that seated 60. Yes, the fact that I held the door for two individuals as I entered the building did cross my mind, but oh well. The rest of my group had even higher numbers, so the organizers set up a speaker so that we could listen to the readings in the lobby (where the food was!). At first, I was slightly disappointed by this development, but then I experienced unexpected joy; all of us, sitting there on couches drinking soda and beer and wine, were essentially listening to a live radio broadcast of someone reading a steampunk influenced story. Can you get more immersed in the genre than that? Add the old timely clothing present, and I was anticipating a horse hitch when we exited onto Market Street.