The Foghat Chronicles
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
What began as a simple joke posting to my website blossoms into a strange correspondence with three members of the 70s band Foghat.
Posted in Writing, Humor | No Comments »
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Archive for April, 2006
The Dismantling of a Dot-Com
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
A short story about the dotcom rise and fail, told entirely through emails from a publicist.
Posted in Fiction, Humor | No Comments »
The Information Man
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
A short story based on San Francisco’s legendary community of archivists and collectors. Includes gratuitous Star Wars reference.
Posted in Fiction, Humor | 1 Comment »
The Heart of Voltaire
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
A quest through the streets of Paris to find the heart of Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire.
Posted in Journalism | No Comments »
Haunted Hawaii
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
I traveled to three of the Hawaiian islands to learn more about local superstitions. And just scratched the surface.
Posted in Journalism | 7 Comments »
The Rock and Roll Treehouse
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
Frank Zappa’s notorious home in Laurel Canyon goes up for sale after 30 years. Alice Cooper, Eric Burdon, John Mayall, Pamela Des Barres, and members of the Mothers of Invention remember the days.
Posted in Journalism | 1 Comment »
Do You Google?
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
An inside look at the Google search engine, the last refuge of Silicon Valley zaniness. (pre-IPO)
Posted in Journalism | No Comments »
World’s Largest Collection of Pornography
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
A visit to San Francisco’s Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, and a portion of its 22 warehouses stuffed with pornography from all over the world.
Posted in Journalism | No Comments »
Fast and Furious Import Cars
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
Two stories about the nation’s obsession with souped-up “Fast and the Furious” import cars.
Posted in Journalism | 6 Comments »
Race City USA
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
A look at the Mecca of NASCAR fans—Mooresville, North Carolina, aka “Race City USA.” They were thrilled to be interviewed for Playboy.
Posted in Journalism | 1 Comment »
Unexploded Ordnance in Iraq
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
Iraq is the world’s largest junkyard of UXO (unexploded ordnance). These are the guys who clean up the mess.
Posted in Journalism | 6 Comments »
Poker-Crazy America
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
A comprehensive look at our nation’s obsession with all things poker.
Posted in Journalism | No Comments »
The Friendster Phenomenon
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
Tollecting friends online has never been so easy—and so, I don’t know, ephemeral?
Posted in Journalism | No Comments »
Big-Wave Surfing at Cortes Bank
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
Kamikaze surfers attempt 60-foot waves, 100 miles off the coast of San Diego. It’s only been surfed four times, and with good reason. You’d have to be insane.
Posted in Writing, Journalism | 3 Comments »
Sumo in Prague
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
Outside Japan, the hotbed of amateur sumo wrestling is in the Czech Republic. Sweaty wrestlers, a sumo-themed hotel, and beer for breakfast.
Posted in Writing, Journalism | No Comments »
Kaiju Fighting Monsters
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
Godzilla-style creatures battling each other inside a steel cage. This is Boston’s oddball comedy/performance act Kaiju.
Posted in Writing, Journalism | No Comments »
Ron White
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
The Texas comedian who makes the Blue Collar Comedy phenomenon actually funny.
Posted in Writing, Profiles | No Comments »
RIP Johnny Carson
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
The late-night television king is dead at 79. Here’s a story I wrote about him a few years ago for Salon.com, which was linked over the weekend on Metafilter.
Posted in Blog | No Comments »
Sex, American Style
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
Published by Feral House, 1997. This was my first book, a socio-anthropological dig into America’s heterosexual revolution. The one I missed. Includes the histories of waterbeds, hot tubs, communes, nudist resorts, swingers, and all sorts of adult and mainstream pop culture. Tons of rare images.
* NOTE: This book is currently out of print, but copies are still floating around online here and here.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Books, Press | No Comments »
San Francisco Bizarro
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
St. Martin’s, 2000. An illustrated guidebook that’s really more of a tear through the last 50 years of San Francisco history. Chapters on sex, death, celebrities, sleazy bars, strange museums, and odd inventions. Plenty of photos, addresses, and contact information. Available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and fine bookstores everywhere.
Posted in Books, Press | No Comments »
Readings and Such…
Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
One of my favorite magazine feature writers typing today.—David Pescovitz, Boingboing.net
The funniest writer in SF.—Roman Mars, producer, KALW program “Invisible Ink”
Stunning, hysterical stories.—Derek Pozawek, founder, Fray.com storytelling community
A clip from KQED’s “Spark” program about the Porchlight storytelling series.
Posted in Press | No Comments »
Expats in Bangalore
Posted by Jack on 14th April 2006
Lose your job to outsourcing? Why not move to India and get it back?
Posted in Writing, Journalism | 12 Comments »
The Contender Boxing Show
Posted by Jack on 14th April 2006
Behind the scenes of Sly Stallone’s boxing reality show The Contender (since cancelled).
Posted in Writing, Journalism | No Comments »
The Mick Jagger of Pirates
Posted by Jack on 14th April 2006
The world’s most famous pirate, Blackbeard resurfaces for real along the coast of North Carolina.
Posted in Writing, Journalism | 1 Comment »
Crash/Up Hybrid Cars
Posted by Jack on 14th April 2006
Gearhead hackers redefine the hybrid car.
Posted in Writing, Journalism | No Comments »
Pirates of Kiev
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
An assignment for Wired magazine ends up in Kiev, Ukraine, world’s hotbed for CD piracy. This version includes a visit to the Chernobyl Museum.
Posted in Writing, Journalism | No Comments »
Beatles Festival in Liverpool
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
Aboard the “Magical Mystery Tour” bus filled with Beatles fanatics, en route from London to Liverpool.
Posted in Writing, Journalism | No Comments »
Boom Cars
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
Anational circuit of car-stereo competitions determines which car has the loudest sound system. “The Beast,” a modified 175-decibel Ford Bronco owned by a grandmotherly schoolteacher from Phoenix, prepares to regain the title of World’s Loudest Car. Includes a “bassing” cruise through West Palm Beach, setting off car alarms.
Posted in Writing, Journalism | No Comments »
Church of John Coltrane
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
ASan Francisco landlord evicts the world’s only church devoted to John Coltrane. This story investigates the dispute and details a history of the organization. After this story was published, I produced a jazz benefit at Bimbo’s nightclub in San Francisco, and we raised over $8,000 for the church.
Posted in Writing, Journalism | 2 Comments »
Wild Boar Hunting
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
Awild pig hunting expedition through the bucolic wine country of Sonoma, which culminates in a barbecue. Lots of mail on this one.
Posted in Writing, Journalism | 29 Comments »
The Kerouac Obsession
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
The estate of Beat writer Jack Kerouac was very messy in the late 1990s. The trail led from San Francisco to Kerouac’s hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts. Guest appearance by Johnny Depp.
Posted in Writing, Journalism | 1 Comment »
Coyle & Sharpe Audio Pranksters
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
In the early 1960s, two young men dressed up in suits and took a tape recorder around San Francisco, pulling weird pranks on unsuspecting pedestrians and shop owners. After 30 years, the recordings are finally available on CD.
Posted in Writing, Journalism | No Comments »
Porn Movie Extra
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
Behind the scenes of a porn movie shoot in which I appear as an extra (fully clothed, with three hours’ sleep). This 1995 film “Dog Walker,” directed by John Leslie, won four AVN awards including best director and best screenplay, no doubt in part because of my one line of dialogue. Excerpted from “Sex, American Style.”
Posted in Writing, Essays | No Comments »
The Joie de Vivre of Alan Greenspan
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
This began innocently enough, as a magazine assignment about Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Posted in Writing, Essays | No Comments »
Teotihuacan Tango
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
A trip to Mexico on the eve of the California gubernatorial election culminates in an unforeseen encounter with a bigshot celebrity.
Posted in Writing, Essays | No Comments »
Ice Golfing in Greenland
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
The treacheries of the world ice golf championships, held on the frozen waters of western Greenland.
Posted in Writing, Essays | No Comments »
The Wine of Mass Destruction
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
A unique home-made product from California’s wine country. And unlike the WMD in Iraq, the Wine of Mass Destruction actually exists.
Posted in Writing, Essays | No Comments »
The Sumo Wrestler has the Flu
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
“Riding black” in Prague, waiting for Sumo and dreaming of defenestration. Outtakes from “Sumo in Prague.”
Posted in Writing, Essays | No Comments »
Bill Hicks
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
Two pieces about the late comedian/satirist Bill Hicks.
Posted in Writing, Essays | No Comments »
Yahoo for Wahoo
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
One of the fastest fish in the sea. Razor sharp teeth. Just try and catch one.
Posted in Writing, Essays, Journalism | No Comments »
My First Hippie
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
Part of a work in progress, a collection of stories about growing up in the modern American west. Some of these chapters have been performed at readings, and recorded for radio.
Posted in Writing, Essays | No Comments »
My First Hippie
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
A true story about my first encounter with hippies.
Posted in Writing, Essays | No Comments »
We Are Good
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, I wrote down everything I saw or heard in the media, and fashioned a sort of poem. A month later, I read it at San Francisco’s Edinburgh Castle pub, and then recorded an audio version for Salon.com. It’s now been published as part of the Public House anthology.
Posted in Writing, Essays | No Comments »
Public House Anthology
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
Public House Press, 2004. This anthology is a collection of authors who have done readings at San Francisco’s Edinburgh Castle pub over the years. Featuring writings from Irvine Welsh, Mary Roach, Po Bronson, Noah Hawley, Peter Plate, Alan Black, and myself, among many others. Includes bonus audio CD of Welsh. Available through Amazon.
Posted in Writing, Books | No Comments »
Bruddah IZ
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
An essay on the life of the late Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwo’ole.
Over the Rainbow
Honolulu, two a.m. Music producer Jon de Mello is sleeping when the phone rings. It’s Israel, one of the artists he represents for his Mountain Apple record label. And Israel is wide awake. He often has problems at night because his weight upwards of 700 pounds forces him to sleep while hooked up to an oxygen tank. He tells de Mello he wants to record, right now. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Writing, Essays | 2 Comments »
Roadstrips
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
Chronicle Books, 2005. This is a cool new comics anthology about our national psyche called Roadstrips: A Graphic Journey Across America.
Artists include Peter Kuper, Gilbert Hernandez, Jessica Abel, Pete Bagge, Richard Sala, Brian Biggs, and Lloyd Dangle. Edited by Pete Friedrich. I wrote the intro essay about the West Coast. Order from Amazon here.
Posted in Writing, Books | No Comments »
Everything You Know About Sex
Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
Everything You Know About Sex Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to the Extremes of Human Sexuality (and everything in between), Disinformation, 2005.
This massive, oversized anthology features a panoply of sexperts, everyone from prostitutes to professors, legends to newcomers, sexual revolutionaries to sexologists and beyond, providing a varied and unexpected look at sex, challenging our notions of what is possible and in turn exciting, enervating, frightening, and freaking us out.
Essays and writings from Salvador Dali, Tristan Taormino, Susie Bright, Carole Queen, Violet Blue, Paul Krassner, Cecilia Tan, Annalee Newitz, and myself. Edited by Russ Kick. Order from Amazon here.
Posted in Writing, Books | No Comments »