As the Supreme Court decisions on DOMA and Proposition 8 were announced, I was lucky to be at the spot where it all began. The court struggle for equal marriage rights in California got underway when San Francisco county clerks began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, begetting a series of decisions over six yearsContinue reading “San Francisco City Hall on Decision Day”
Monthly Archives: June 2013
Changing Gears: In Praise of Fisherman’s Wharf!
The easiest cliché of life in San Francisco is that everyone, universally, is meant to hate Fisherman’s Wharf. The same people who would happily park themselves on Trafalgar Square in London, tour the Eiffel Tower in Paris, or take gondola rides in Venice look down upon the Wharf as irremediably ‘touristy’. In celebration of whatContinue reading “Changing Gears: In Praise of Fisherman’s Wharf!”
Scenes from a Swimming Pool
When I was in Berlin a few weeks ago, I checked out some of the places my parents were in the late 1960s, including Andrews Barracks and the Army swimming pool where my father was a lifeguard. Of course, this being Germany, the place turned out to have a rather interesting history.
Changing Gears: From SFO to the Sea
On this hike we’ll climb up to the windy ridge where, in 1769, Spanish conquistadores first discovered San Francisco International Airport. Imagine their excitement when they realized they could simply fly back to Mexico City with news of their discovery, the greatest harbor on the West Coast of North America, with connections to dozens ofContinue reading “Changing Gears: From SFO to the Sea”
Can China Create Brands?
New York Times columnist David Brooks recently wrote a piece on the role culture and society play in creating a context for great brands. To wit, it requires something quite different from heavy government investment, a cheap currency strategy, or a vast labor market: rather, great brands come forth from freethinking individuals who can pursueContinue reading “Can China Create Brands?”