Vagabonds, Lunatics and Scoundrels in San Francisco History, Part 1 One morning in the Spring of 1841, Pennsylvania businessman Paul Geddes was on his way to the bank to deposit $7,000 for his employers. Geddes must have been feeling lucky that day; he decided to stop and play a few … Read the rest
Party Politics: Will of the Voters Be Damned This week we read in the news that 2012 presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has filed paperwork in preparation for a 2016 presidential run, with Paul Ryan listed as his running mate. Coming in the wake of a string of primary … Read the rest
Notorious Belle: The Story of Belle Cora Born Arabella Ryan in 1832, Belle Cora was the daughter of a Baltimore minister and a doting mother. She rose to become one of San Francisco’s most celebrated madams. Along with her paramour Charles Cora, Belle opened her first San … Read the rest
Bernie and Hillary: Gloves Off in New Hampshire At Thursday’s Democratic debate in New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton went head-to-head (sans third wheel Martin O’Malley) on the stage for the first time. It was a slugfest relative to earlier debates, signaling an end to the congeniality … Read the rest
The Calendar, The Clock and The 5-Day Work Week: Arbitrary or Inevitable? A few nights ago I was talking with a bartender friend, and we got caught up in a conversation about the calendar. She told me the story of railwayman Moses Cotsworth, who, vexed by his irregular monthly earnings, created a … Read the rest
Competing Institutions – Pope Francis In Context Today we see in the news that Pope Francis has tied with Donald Trump for second place in a poll of the world’s most admired men (both lost to Barack Obama, which is no surprise: the sitting US president typically … Read the rest