December 20, 2009

Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously said of obscenity, “I know it when I see it.”  We’re here to tell you that also in that category is the 6.4 on the Richter scale earthquake.  Moments before we went on stage last night in Taipei, our final show of 2009, we encountered something that none of us had ever experienced, but nevertheless recognized instantaneously.  It lasted somewhere between 15 seconds and an eternity, and subsequent news accounts (some which put the quake at 6.8) report just a few injuries, freeing us to lament that we were too rattled to work up an impromptu “I Feel the Earth Move” or “Shakin’ the World.”  (As we all know, the Supreme Court’s decision in Jacobellis v. Ohio was not unanimous.  Along those lines, I feel I’d be remiss if I didn’t concede that one member of our touring party did not realize there had been an earthquake until after the show was over.)