Category Archives: SFSC

Frisco Beat: Tad Dorgan at Poly

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Don

Cartoonist Tad Dorgan’s name continues gumshoeing Up and Down These Mean Streets. San Francisco native. Pal of black heavyweight champ Jack Johnson. Credited with coining the term “hot-dog” in 1906— though I see that claim has been debunked (if I learn … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Frisco, SFSC | Tagged Andy Robinson, Bob St. Clair, Brian Leno, Cacophony Society, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry, Herbert Igoe, Jack Johnson, Jimmy Hatlo, Kezar Stadium, Loony Tunes, Maria Van Vleck, Paul Terry, Polytechnic High School, Swineskin Gulch, Tad Dorgan |

Rediscovered: You Can’t Win

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Don

Out of the legions of neglected books from all the books that have come and gone in all the world, very few return to any kind of currency. Once the book slips out of print, or the generation of readers that made it … Continue reading →

Posted in Dash, Frisco, Lit, SFSC | Tagged "The Red Brain", Book Collecting, City Lights, Donald Wandrei, Green Apple Books, Jack Black, John Law, Kevin Hunsanger, Kindle, Pulps, The Big Knockover, William S. Burroughs, You Can't Win |

Suicide Club: Billboard Liberation

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Don

Before the Billboard Liberation Front spearheaded the modern artform of liberating billboards, it had its shadowy origins in the exploits of the ur-urban adventure group, The San Francisco Suicide Club. Personally, I never cared much about billboards, but keenly appreciated the … Continue reading →

Posted in Frisco, News, SFSC | Tagged BLF, City Lights, Irving Glick, Jack Napier, Taschen Press |

Suicide Club: Locked Room Poet

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Don

I’d fact-check before I put it in a book, but memory tells me that Gary Warne ended up in San Francisco because his pals from West Virginia, the Breiding clan, came here first. Within a few years Gary launched The … Continue reading →

Posted in Frisco, Lit, SFSC | Tagged Clan Breiding, Gary Warne |

News: December 2009

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Webmaster

HAPPY HARDBOILED HOLIDAYS In this case, from a few of the folk who showed up for the Hammett Flash Mob on April 2nd of this year — but doesn’t the heavy red and green décor of The Ha-Ra Bar just … Continue reading →

Posted in Frisco, Lit, News, SFSC | Tagged Ace Atkins, Arkham House, August Derleth, David Fechheimer, Firsts, Gary Warne, Ha-Ra Bar, Hammett Tour Book, Irving Glick, John D. Haefele, Kindle, Lovecraft, Vince Emery, Wall Street Journal |

News: March 2009

Posted on March 1, 2009 by Webmaster

NIX THE 540 CLUB Just a quick note to those who had planned on attending Don’s official launch of the Dashiell Hammett Tour book at the 540 Club — the venue and date have been changed. It’s now at Green … Continue reading →

Posted in DMac, Film, Frisco, Lit, News, SFSC, Tour, Willeford | Tagged Ace Atkins, Domenic Stansberry, Donald Sidney-Fryer, Elmore Leonard, Fatty Arbuckle, Ha-Ra Bar, Hammett Tour Book, Joe McSpadden, John Law, Lono Waiwaiolo, Palm Sunday Tour, Patrick Warburton, Peter Maravelis, San Francisco Noir 2: The Classics, The Cimmerian, Vince Emery |

News: January 2009

Posted on January 1, 2009 by Webmaster

NO EXTRA TOURS, LOTS OF NOIR No extra walks have been set for this month, but if you want some noir, buckle your seat belts. Don returns to the Mechanics Library for a reading — he’ll do the underground section … Continue reading →

Posted in DMac, Lit, News, SFSC | Tagged Castro Theatre, Donald Wandrei, Donald Westlake, Eddie Muller, Gary Warne, Ha-Ra Bar, Hammett Tour Book, James Crumley, Measures of Poison, Noir City, Noir Con, Peter Maravelis, Poe, San Francisco Noir 2: The Classics, Valentine |

News: June 2008

Posted on June 1, 2008 by Webmaster

OUR WEB HOST HITS THE BIG 13 While the average guy on the street may not think of Don and the Hammett Tour as part of the on-going cool San Francisco underground scene, Don does — the walk has its … Continue reading →