Letters from San Francisco
Review: The Florentine Papers: A Novel
If you are a fan of lean, hard-boiled prose, you won’t find it in The Florentine Papers: A Novel, by Thom Palmer. In this, his first novel, the author is [...]
Advice from the oracle’s mouth
Annals of Advice: Uncle Pat Agonistes is the “Oracle of the Ferry Building.” He is a fixture of some renown at the San Francisco Ferry Building’s exclusive men’s club, “Embarco [...]
Fly the funny skies
It’s been six years since my last confession. And it had been that long since I last boarded an airplane. But a recent family emergency required travel, and with disbelief [...]
A San Francisco Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is not a big deal in San Francisco, as it occurs weeks after Halloween and weeks before Christmas. The Day of the Dead and the arrival of Baby Jesus [...]
The mystery of Liar’s Dice
Liar's Dice, as played in bars and nightclubs in San Francisco, is for two or more patrons and involves deception as an essential element. In “single-hand” games, each player is given [...]
Chet Baker remembered
When Chet Baker returned to San Francisco to play a few sessions at Kimball’s Jazz Club on Grove Street in 1986, he agreed to an interview to promote the booking. [...]
Reimagining “The Rock”
While President Trump’s idea of restoring Alcatraz as a high-security prison seems silly, many here believe that the property should indeed be taken away from the National Park Service, which [...]
A “V” for the WNBA
Local ferry commuters and tourist riders who anticipated The Golden State Valkyries' debut here this season as an expansion team were first intrigued by the jersey design unveiled by the Women’s [...]
Suicide by ferry
In the movie masterpiece “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” the two outlaws have been fleeing Pinkerton mercenaries who have driven them to a cliff high above a raging river. [...]
Poker prophets
When our poker party convenes every Thursday evening, the discussion inevitably involves the seductiveness of gambling and games of chance. The talk also often contains some insights on fashion and [...]
What not to ask San Franciscans
We are spotted as natives, most likely because we are not burdened by backpacks and we don’t stare dumbly into cellphones at busy street intersections. This means that we are [...]
Chess undressed
Compared with other games, chess is rather staid. But even chess has some drama. The latest scandal in the chess world has to do with the International Chess Federation (FIDE) [...]
Author
Patrick Burnson worked for The Rome Daily American and the International Herald Tribune early in his career. After a long tenure with various business trade media, he now writes about art and entertainment in the San Francisco Bay Area for visitors and commuters reliant on the region’s ferry system.