Reds — the title of Warren Beatty’s Bohemian/Bolshevik love story that features John Reed and Louise Bryant — is also the title of Maurice Isserman’s new book subtitled, “The Tragedy of American Communism.” Issermam is…
Posts published by “Jonah Raskin”
When I read Kinky Friedman's obituary the other day I felt like crying and laughing. Laughing because I laughed at the lyrics to many of his songs, including “They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore,”…
I grew up with restaurants and in restaurants and luxuriated in the romance of restaurants in New York, London, Mexico City and elsewhere. My lawyer father had clients who owned restaurants and so we ate…
On June 14th, a day before Flag Day, Aaron Peskin celebrated his 60th birthday and rallied hundreds of supporters and dozens of dear friends along with a handful of family members, including his wife, Nancy Shanahan…
To call it “Frisco” is in and out itself a retro act of defiance. I don’t know anyone today who calls it Frisco, though Jack Kerouac, Mr. On The Road, did decades ago. Go to…
What are the sounds of San Francisco? Music of all sorts of course and especially rock ‘n’ roll in concert halls, under the stars and on street corners. As the Starship once sang, “we built…
I have been living in San Francisco for three years, and, while I want to love it, I encounter hurdles at every turn that inhibit my wanna-be romance. I have a hard time getting beyond…