Good news regarding Dr. Hayden, our former Librarian of Congress. apnews.com/article/carl...

Recently I rewatched the 1936 film "After the Thin Man," which opens as the train of Nick and Nora Charles pulls into San Francisco's Southern Pacific station. These days it's the same location from which I take my daily commute by Caltrain down to Stanford.

San Francisco writer WC Morrow crafted gothic tales while living at 1871 Sacramento Street. His macabre short story "Over an Absinthe Bottle," published in 1897, is set in San Francisco and is available for free online: americanliterature.com/author/wc-mo...

Yesterday's Trans March in San Francisco. Thousands of people took over Market Street. www.transmarch.org/trans-march-...

Well, this is utterly bizarre. The National Archives in College Park (outside DC) will no longer be open to the public as of July 7, and security guards will be posted. These are the records of our federal government, and should always be accessible to everyone. www.archives.gov/college-park

"The Serpent Queen" reminds me of Alexandre Dumas' story of Catherine de' Medici killing her son King Charles IX with a poisoned book. That, in turn, has reminded me of other stories of poisoned books such as Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" and Milorad Pavić's "The Dictionary of the Khazars."

Black Union soldiers were among the many Black Americans instrumental in the Union victory of the Civil War - a victory that secured liberties for all Black Americans and is celebrated on Juneteenth. (Photo from the Library of Congress: www.loc.gov/pictures/ite...)

Happy Bloomsday! When Jim and I have spent time in Dublin we've sought out locations that appear in "Ulysses" - James Joyce's modern retelling of Homer's "Odyssey," set in Dublin on June 16, 1904. This is from our trip in 2023. I was enjoying a pint at Davy Byrne's pub on Duke Street.

Here's a bit of Greek. Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers, Father figures, and Daddies.

Yesterday: No Kings Day in San Francisco.

Last night: Ross Alley (舊呂宋巷) in San Francisco Chinatown.

Remember: If you see an ICE agent in San Francisco, you can call the San Francisco Rapid Response 24-hour hotline at: (415) 200-1548. Calls can be taken in Spanish, Arabic, Cantonese, and Mandarin as well as English.

Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries and library staff were creative in their use of book trucks in the Santa Cruz Pride Parade. Video here: www.instagram.com/reel/DKfpdh4...

A great turnout last night for the opening reception of a show of Danny Nicoletta's photos in Harvey Milk's former camera shop!

Yesterday I went on Peter Field's historical walking tour of the Tenderloin. Here Peter is speaking at the former site of the Black Hawk jazz club, at the intersection of Hyde and Turk.

The Veterans Memorial in San Francisco's Civic Center features the poem "The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak" by Archibald MacLeish (who fought in WWI). The poem includes this line: "Our deaths are not ours: they are yours: they will mean what you make them."

San Francisco Black history: Alabama native Oscar Jackson received his MD from Howard University before serving as a surgeon in the Air Force during the Korean War. He later became first Black surgeon at SF General. Here at 1342 Haight Street he received patients regardless of their ability to pay.

I'm proud of the stand my alma mater, Harvard University, has been taking lately. And remember: Harvard offers free online courses on civics and government (choose the "audit" option when selecting a course). pll.harvard.edu/subject/gove...

Last night Jim and I went to a sundown screening of the 1922 film "Nosferatu" at Grace Cathedral, with live music by the Sascha Jacobsen Quintet. silentfilm.org/event/f-w-mu...

This weekend Jim and I saw the new immersive play about the 1966 Compton's Cafeteria Riot. It was great! I highly recommend it. www.tenderloinmuseum.org/the-comptons...

How to decorate your home. 490 Linden Street, in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco.

Near my home in San Francisco.

Last night Jim and I went to see the Go-Go's at the Warfield in San Francisco.

Yesterday Jim and I went to a book talk in which Christopher Moore discussed his new novel, "Anima Rising," which is set in Vienna in 1911.

Yesterday historian Gayle Rubin gave a walking tour of Ringold Alley to discuss the history of leather in San Francisco. This was part of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District's Ringold Block Party: www.facebook.com/events/s/dis...

Here's an interactive map showing the origin of San Francisco street names. sfstreets.noahveltman.com

I never tire of the architectural flourishes of San Francisco (corner of Howard and Lafayette in the South of Market).

One of the miniature rare books from the collections I manage at Stanford - Anathomia Mundini, published in Venice in 1538.

"The Coyote," by Efraín Fuentes, is part of the "Alebrijes & Nahuales: Fantastic Animals from Mexico" outdoor exhibit at Yerba Buena in San Francisco. yerbabuenagardens.org/events/alebr...

The juke joint dance was my favorite scene in Ryan Coogler's new film "Sinners."

Last night Jim and I watched Shaun Blaney star in "In the Name of the Son" - a play about Gerry Conlon's life following his wrongful arrest in 1974 for the Provisional Irish Republican Army's bombings in Guildford. Lots of folks from Belfast in the audience!

If you do work in the history of California, you know how valuable the California Digital Newspaper Collection (CDNC) is. Their funding has been eliminated and they need your support: www.givecampus.com/campaigns/61...

When Jim and I lived in Massachusetts I spent a lot of time in Salem. I'm glad to learn that restoration work is proceeding on the 18th-century Grimshawe House, located next to the Old Burying Point and featured in the stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne. (Photo by Hawthorne Hotel www.hawthornehotel.com)

Last night historian Bill Issel interviewed Lincoln Mitchell about his new biography of San Francisco mayor George Moscone.

San Francisco's Ocean Beach, with the Pacific to the right, as seen from Sutro Heights.

Today Jim and I went to see a live broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro." www.metopera.org/.../2024-25....

This interactive map allows you to find trees that were planted in San Francisco on your birthday. transpomaps.org/projects/san...

Jim and I recently finished reading aloud to each other Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century work, "History of the Kings of Britain."

San Francisco Black History: In the early 20th century 228-248 Townsend Street (near today's Caltrain station) provided lodging to Black railroad employees who were Pullman porters and maids. In 1925 the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids became the first Black union in the US.

San Francisco City Hall this past weekend, with Illuminate's art installation creating sparkling colored lights in the sky.

I always thought Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975) and Ledermeister (aka Paul Gerrior, 1933-2021) resembled each other.

Last night I watched Eddie Izzard give a one-person performance of "Hamlet." It was quite a feat! www.act-sf.org/.../limited....

Outside the home of poet Thom Gunn (1929-2004) at 1216 Cole Street.

Recently the US Army removed a feature on its website about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a highly-decorated and majority Japanese American unit that fought in WWII. Public pressure, however, has succeeded in getting the story restored. asamnews.com/.../16/army-...

In the early 1980s French philosopher Michel Foucault taught at UC Berkeley. At night he came to San Francisco's South of Market district to frolic with his fellow leathermen at venues such as the Barracks (1145 Folsom, left) and the Slot (979 Folsom, right).

Last night: Handel's opera "Orlando" at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Last night at the Powerhouse in San Francisco: Italian American drag king Cosimo killed it with his rendition of the Italian power ballad "Senza fine" ("Without End").

At the annual meeting of the Society of California Archivists: how to use original sources to teach histories of activism.

Sempre / Always. (Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse by George Herriman)

San Francisco Black history: the Madame CJ Walker Home for Girls and Women (left, at 2066 Pine St), named for Black self-made millionaire and philanthropist Madame CJ Walker (right). From 1921 to 1972 the Walker Home provided assistance to young Black women who were recent arrivals to San Francisco.