Posted by Jack on 4th July 2008
Playing nine holes of golf with the mystival Shivas Irons Society, who spice up the game with meditation, classical music, and alternative methods of keeping score. Originally published in San Francisco magazine Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Jack on 4th July 2008
A column for SF Weekly about spending Christmas in Reno turns into a hellish nightmare, with vicious snowstorms, and the Blues Brothers tribute band Rubber Biscuit. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Jack on 27th December 2007
Winston Churchill’s baby clothes. A 10-foot-tall toilet. UFO abductions. They’re all part of Ireland’s most eccentric castle.
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Posted by Jack on 27th December 2007
Being chased by a bull is Martin Kiff’s job. And yeah, there’s an art to it. But the bigger question is, how does Martin Kiff fit 26 rodeo clowns into one truck?
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Posted by Jack on 27th December 2007
The Melting Point
Whether or not you believe in global warming, the fact remains that a vast majority of the world’s glaciers are shrinking.
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Posted by Jack on 23rd September 2007
I haven’t written much about this era of my life, and I don’t know exactly why it feels time to post a few things about it. Probably because if something isn’t available online, it automatically doesn’t exist for a lot of people. And perhaps because enough time has passed. And maybe because I’m publishing a new book about punk rock history, and people aren’t sure if I was ever a punk. Anyway, here goes.
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Posted by Jack on 6th June 2007
An exclusive inside look at London’s legendary Abbey Road, recording studio for Sir Edward Elgar, Glenn Miller, Beyond the Fringe, Pink Floyd, and some group called The Beatles. A new music television show, Live From Abbey Road, was taped at the studio and premieres June 2007 on the Sundance Channel.
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Posted by Jack on 4th May 2007
Media star, cocktail creator, and Las Vegas bartender extraordinaire Tony Abou-Ganim, the world’s first monarch of the bar. And the snappiest dresser I’ve ever met.
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Posted by Jack on 4th May 2007
Big-wave surfer Zach Wormhoudt inherited his father’s love of skateboarding — and his company. Today he’s head of the industry’s top skatepark design firm.
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Posted by Jack on 4th May 2007
How did a 40-year-old woman fool the world into thinking she was teenage prostitute and wunderkind author JT LeRoy? As a punk rocker, porn writer and phone sex operator, Laura Albert had been inventing herself for years. This story first appeared in Salon, and was the basis for a screenplay commissioned by the Weinstein Brothers. Not that I got paid anything.
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Posted by Jack on 4th May 2007
Inside Vietnam’s remarkable economic renaissance. One reason — lots of catfish.
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Posted by Jack on 4th May 2007
Some are for singing, others for fighting. Some tell you the temperature. As a collective bunch, they indicate when it’s time to plow a field. Maybe that’s why the right cricket in China can fetch nearly $13,000.
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Posted by Jack on 6th February 2007
America may be the birthplace of jazz — and of such legends as Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong — but it’s the Parisian radio station TSF that’s keeping the passion for it alive.
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Posted by Jack on 31st January 2007
Yes, another story about pirates. This is an overview of piracy on the high seas, as it pertains to what eventually became the coastal United States.
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Posted by Jack on 31st January 2007
The strongest hair! The youngest sumo wrestler! The longest pencil! In Malaysia, making your mark - any mark - is a matter of national pride.
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Posted by Jack on 31st January 2007
The best deal in online office supplies just happens to come from a band of Cistercian monks.
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Posted by Jack on 31st January 2007
A short compendium of stolen loot, stashed about the globe and waiting to be discovered.
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Posted by Jack on 31st January 2007
American millionaire Bernard Keiser has spent six years of his life, digging for buried treasure off the coast of Chile. He’s survived government red tape, skeptical locals, and competition from a metal-detecting robot. And still no treasure. So what keeps him going?
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Posted by Jack on 31st January 2007
This one focuses almost exclusively on the legendary “Bus Uncle” video.
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Posted by Jack on 31st January 2007
On the trail of Mundaca, the Yucatan’s lovesick pirate.
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Posted by Jack on 31st January 2007
America’s first capital of cigars was Tampa, Florida. This is what happens when a visitor attempts to smoke as many stogies as possible every day.
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Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
A quest through the streets of Paris to find the heart of Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire.
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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.
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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.
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Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
An inside look at the Google search engine, the last refuge of Silicon Valley zaniness. (pre-IPO)
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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.
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Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
Two stories about the nation’s obsession with souped-up “Fast and the Furious” import cars.
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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.
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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.
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Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
A comprehensive look at our nation’s obsession with all things poker.
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Posted by Jack on 20th April 2006
Tollecting friends online has never been so easy—and so, I don’t know, ephemeral?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 »
Posted by Jack on 14th April 2006
Behind the scenes of Sly Stallone’s boxing reality show The Contender (since cancelled).
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Posted by Jack on 14th April 2006
The world’s most famous pirate, Blackbeard resurfaces for real along the coast of North Carolina.
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Posted by Jack on 14th April 2006
Gearhead hackers redefine the hybrid car.
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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.
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Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
Aboard the “Magical Mystery Tour” bus filled with Beatles fanatics, en route from London to Liverpool.
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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.
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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.
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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 »
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.
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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.
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Posted by Jack on 13th April 2006
One of the fastest fish in the sea. Razor sharp teeth. Just try and catch one.
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