archive for September, 2005
Friday, September 30th, 2005
#28: birth of san francisco #1
when i got here, san francisco was already a city — and had been one for the previous century and a half. but what went on before that time? what was san francisco before it was san francisco? i’ve decided to tell the story of the pre-city peninsula, and the birth of the tiny [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in PODCASTS by richard - sparkletack
Friday, September 23rd, 2005
#27: patty hearst, revolutionary sweetheart
a cool evening in february 4th, 1974. nineteen-year-old patricia hearst, heiress to the hearst family fortune, was relaxing in her rented apartment on campus with her fiancee. the front door burst open and three armed people rushed into the house, dragging patricia away in her nightgown and stuffing her violently into the trunk of [...]
4 Comments » - Posted in PODCASTS by richard - sparkletack
Friday, September 16th, 2005
#26: streets of san francisco #1
as I was riding around town this weekend, i was suddenly struck by a thought: stopped at the intersection of broadway and battery Streets, I suddenly wondered to myself: “broadway? battery? where did those names actually come from? does anyone still remember?” these names must reveal something about the character, history, and essential nature [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in PODCASTS by richard - sparkletack
Friday, September 9th, 2005
#25: charles cora and the 2nd vigilance committee
charles cora must have been a happy man as he arrived in san francisco in 1852 with arabella ryan on his arm. and why not? he was a professional gambler of the highest reputation, and would have been delighted by the wide open nature of the town in the gold rush years — a [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in PODCASTS by richard - sparkletack
Friday, September 2nd, 2005
#24: alcatraz
the very name gives one chills, doesn’t it? on a sunny day it seems almost unbelievable that such a lovely little island could have once been such an menacing symbol of power. it’s just over a mile from the san francisco shore, and yet according to official records, none of the hundreds of men [...]
