San Francisco History Podcast - Sparkletack » San Francisco angle

“Frisco”? I think not.

richard - sparkletack — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:17:25 +0000

It’s not because Herb Caen got hot under the collar about it. And yeah, I know it was practically the official name of the City in the decades following the Gold Rush — a moniker beloved by locals and visitors alike. In fact, here’s Exhibit A on the pro-Frisco side, a song sung by thousands [...]

Lefty O’Doul Hall of Fame Campaign

richard - sparkletack — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:54:54 +0000

For years I’ve said that the enshrinement of San Francisco’s favourite son Francis Joseph “Lefty” O’Doul at Cooperstown is overdue. LONG overdue. Sure, we in San Francisco named a drawbridge after him — but Lefty is due some recognition at a national level. I’ll resist the urge to restate my entire podcast about Lefty’s colorful life here, [...]

Gangs of San Francisco

richard - sparkletack — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:30:29 +0000

I’ve been meaning to post about these amazing T-shirts forever. Because they’re — I kid you not — unbearably cool. It’s an idea so good that I’ve been kicking myself constantly (though ever so gently) for not having thought of it first! What we have here is a series of San Francisco historical T-shirts, each one [...]

A map that’s just my type

richard - sparkletack — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:48:19 +0000

Ork Posters has created something guaranteed to delight typophiles (that’s me) and San Francisco neighborhood geeks (check) alike. It’s a typographic neighborhood map of Our Fair City. See? Oh sure, they do it for a bunch of their other favourite cities too. But this is so cool that I forgive them for that. Screen-printed. Multiple color options. Totally [...]

Lefty O’Doul’s green suit — in color

richard - sparkletack — Fri, 29 May 2009 08:57:50 +0000

In honor of that most noble of American pastimes, a lovely painting inspired by a favourite photo of the great San Francisco character, Lefty O’Doul … otherwise known as Mr. Lefty not-yet-in-the-damn-Hall-of-Fame O’Doul. But I digress. If you’ve heard my podcast about Lefty, you’ll have guessed that this photo was taken on one of Lefty’s [...]

Lana Turner — a San Francisco noir

richard - sparkletack — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:15:54 +0000

Yet another one for the "there's always a San Francisco angle" files ...

Years before the discovery of the platinum haired Lana Turner at a Hollywood cafe propelled her into a life of glamour and super-stardom, her lifeline intersected San Francisco -- and with tragedy.

I suppose we could begin the tale in Oklahoma, 1920.

check out the rest of the post ...

Kitchen Sisters on NPR: “Birth of Rice-A-Roni”

richard - sparkletack — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:30:06 +0000

1940s San Francisco. A young Canadian immigrant and her Italian pasta family husband move into the spare room of an old Armenian woman.

The result of this temporary arrangement? The boxed rice and pasta side dish which -- for good or ill -- would come to be as strongly associated with San Francisco as the Golden Gate Bridge:

"Rice-A-Roni - the San Francisco Treat"

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And I quote: “Buried Treasure in San Francisco?”

richard - sparkletack — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:29:09 +0000

I love this blog, if for no other reason than the jawdropping diversity of the email that slips over the digital transom. This note from a few weeks ago just about takes the biscuit. In breathless terms it tells the story of a decades-long treasure hunt, a project just brimming with danger, doggedness and derring-do! [...]

SFist: “A Jitney Elopement” — Charlie Chaplin’s San Francisco film

richard - sparkletack — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:30:35 +0000

File this — again — under “there’s ALWAYS a San Francisco connection”. A reader recently alerted me to the fact that Charlie Chaplin, America’s favourite clown (and perhaps the most influential performer in motion picture history), shot one of his bazillion-odd silent movies on location in and around Golden Gate Park. “A Jitney Elopement” is classic [...]