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Feature

Pirates Be Cool (Yarrrgh!)

All Things Piratical

By Silke Tudor

Published: March 12, 2003

During the Middle Ages, the mere mention of the Barbary Coast was enough to incite a fearful flutter in the bosom of every self-respecting gentlewoman in Europe; the North African seaboard between...

Matt Smith

Fajita Backlash

Our DA's ineptitude in dealing with a food-inspired police scandal may frustrate desperately needed reform of SFPD

By Matt Smith

Published: March 12, 2003

I think I've found a silver lining to the awful fix our city's police department has found itself in. Now that Assistant Chief Alex Fagan Sr. has been suspended from his duties, he'll get to spend...

Bay View

Nervous in the Service

As war looms in Iraq, some U.S. reservists are trying to get out of their military obligations

By George B. Sanchez

Published: March 12, 2003

The wiry young man in the gray warm-up pants and faded T-shirt lowers his voice each time a passer-by gets too close. He's explaining why he's AWOL from the United States Marine Corps during...

Dog Bites

Love Bugs

Dan took a risk when he picked up Lisa at a hospital lab. So did Lisa.

By Dan Siegler

Published: March 12, 2003

Romances begin in all sorts of ways. Some are sweet. Some are strange. And some are ... well, a little bit of both. Take Lisa (not her real name) and me. We met at Kaiser Permanente on Geary. The...

Sidebar

Suggested Pirate Reading

Published: March 12, 2003

Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates By David Cordingly The Pirates Own Book: Authentic Narratives of the Most Celebrated Sea Robbers By Charles...

Sidebar

Essential Pirate Sing-Alongs

Published: March 12, 2003

"Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her" "The Mermaid" "Roll the Old Chariot" "The Black Ball Line" "Go Down You Blood Red Roses" "Whiskey in the Jar" "Blow the Man Down" "Big Five-Gallon Jar"...

Sidebar

Pyrate Punx Articles of Agreement

Published: March 12, 2003

1) All dogs & wench's o' da crüe shall be treated equally. 2) 10% of booty from an engagement shall go into da common chest, to help with demand o' supply's. 3) Everyone shall have equal...

Sidebar

Popular Pirate Viewing

Published: March 12, 2003

Captain Blood -- 1935 Errol Flynn is an Irish physician condemned to slavery in Jamaica, where he hooks up with a crew of Spanish pirates and falls in love with Olivia de Havilland. The...

Sidebar

Lyrics From "That's What Pirates Gotta Do"

Published: March 12, 2003

You see these pirates didn't cut Redbeard's limbs off For throwing sand in the headhunter's eyes And they didn't cut open his belly While he was still alive Taking one end of his...

Sidebar

Pirate Cocktails

Published: March 12, 2003

Fuzzy Pirate 1 part dark rum 1 part peach schnapps dash of orange curaçao splash of orange juice Italian Pirate 2 parts dark rum 1 part campari splash of falernum...

Letters

Letters to the Editor

Week of March 12, 2003

Published: March 12, 2003

New Girl on the (Chopping) Block She's a pretentious pinhead! Please inform your food critic, Meredith Brody, that her long-winded and pretentious musings about German photographer August...

Music

Saint in the City

MC Pitch Black finds spirituality in the San Francisco streets

By Greg Doherty

Published: March 12, 2003

Rapper/poet Pitch Black seems to be living two incarnations simultaneously. In one, he's a scraggly 26-year-old b-boy, a product of the streets who lives and breathes hip hop. He wears baggy sweat...

Reviewed

Califone

Quicksand/Cradlesnakes

By Chris Baty

Published: March 12, 2003

OK, it's official: Tim Rutili has earned a spot in urban-hillbilly heaven. Over five years, Rutili and his band Califone have outdone themselves, crafting a hallucinatory, moonshiney sort of folk...

Reviewed

Cornell Campbell

Original Blue Recordings 1970-1979

By Ron Nachmann

Published: March 12, 2003

Although hard-core fans of reggae's golden era have generally come to grips with Jamaica's 15-year-old dancehall revolution, many still see a glaring lack of singing talent in today's scene. Oh,...

Reviewed

Jeff Hanson

Son

By Dan Reines

Published: March 12, 2003

Listen blind to a few tracks from the gorgeous Son , and some questions spring to mind. Like, "Did Elliott Smith release a new album?" And, "Hey, when did he go back to Kill Rock Stars?" And,...

Reviewed

Murs

The End of the Beginning ()

By Sam Chennault

Published: March 12, 2003

The Living Legends crew stormed the Bay Area hip hop scene in the mid-'90s with a flurry of 4-track recordings meshing jazz, soul, and rock samples with bling-free lyricism. Ironically, the same...

Pop Philosophy

A Blind Man's Penis

John Trubee and the curious world of song-poems

By Dan Strachota

Published: March 12, 2003

Human breakdown of absurdity Occasionally people ask me what I think the best song ever written was. When I suggest "Blind Man's Penis," by Santa Rosa resident John Trubee, folks tend to scoff,...

Hear This

Hear This

Russia's DJ Vadim promotes international openness and spartan beats

By Philip Sherburne

Published: March 12, 2003

If his crib is anything like his beats, DJ Vadim's pad must resemble a Buddhist monk's cell. The Russian hip hop producer has long been known for making some of the most Spartan rhythms out there:...

Eat

Worth a Detour

Zax Tavern

By Meredith Brody

Published: March 12, 2003

Without knowing a lot more about the French restaurateur Bernard Loiseau, it seems reckless to ascribe his recent suicide to the seemingly negligible change in his restaurant La Côte d'Or's...

Social Grace

The Cold Shoulder

If only we were allowed to pick our friends' spouses

By Social Grace

Published: March 12, 2003

Dear Social Grace, A couple of years ago, I wrote to you concerning some friends whose falling out was damaging my circle of friends. Your advice worked, so thank you. I have a new problem for...