Christopher Caen

You may not know it, being out here on the "other coast," but we actually have a presidential election coming up. Although we are one of the biggest states, one of the biggest economies, and one of the biggest piles of electoral college votes, we get absolutely no love, do...

Those of you who have been tolerating my presence on this site for lo these many months have noticed a certain predilection to criticizing the Occupy movement. And those who see the headline, read the first line and immediately start leaving critical comments may think I have it out for...

As the summer rolls towards us, it is the season for what the industry calls "popcorn movies." These are the inevitable Bey/Bruckheimer movies that promise explosions, more explosions and yet more explosions while at no time actually stressing any of your brain cells. Let's be honest, we love them, and...

In the early morning fog they gathered deep in the woods of the Presidio. They were a motley group, but in truth they were following in the footsteps of a grand tradition of motley groups. They shivered, and bundled up further to ward off the chill. One of them dug...

Time keeps on spinning said Steve Miller, and this week was more true than most. It was that dreaded day we old(er) people loathe so: a birthday. Part of the dread comes from the question, "so what do you want to do for your birthday?" This ranks right up there...

It's a good thing this weekend is supposed to be a nice one, because thanks to the demolition of Doyle Drive, we are going to all be trapped in the 49-acre woods for the duration. At least that's the way it seems from reading the papers. Then again,...

To say that I was shocked would be an understatement. I wandered over to the Sfist website to see what my friend Brock was up to, and there it was: Sam Wo's is closing. I could feel my shoulders droop and I reread the sentence just to make sure, Yep,...

Dawn breaks over our wonderful city on this Good Friday, and all we can think about around here is: Good, it's Friday! Which means that this afternoon we get to go home early, shut down the office, head for the local watering hole, and celebrate the fact...

The missives have been coming in all week from the Sonoran Desert, and I have to admit I am a bit jealous. Every spring my father and I used to head down to Arizona for spring training with the Giants, there to bask in the sun, eat too much food,...

Every journalist has their Holy Grail. And ever since this whole Mirkarimi saga started, I have wanted to bust it wide open, and uncover what everyone was quietly talking about. This would be my greatest moment, my coup de grace, after which I could retire peacefully to my imaginary country...

Popcorn? Check. Snuggie? Check. Phone on silent? Check. And now we slide back in our chairs as we hear the immortal words of Emerson Lake and Palmer: "Welcome now my friends, to the show that never ends." Because after what has seemed like the longest spring training in history, opening...

When I saw the signs on Van Ness, I have to admit I always stopped in my tracks. The bright yellow signs had the one word to make the heart skip for natives: Playland. Yes, Playland at the Beach, the world's only amusement park inside a fog bank....

Friday afternoon the word went out about the lawsuit filed to stop the America's Cup. And let's be perfectly clear, chasing the Cup out of town was the exact purpose of that effort, because the requests to satisfy that lawsuit would have blown the Cup deadlines to pieces. By Monday...

Some victory laps are expected, and some are not. After Wednesday's epic 19-hour (well, it seemed that long, at least) meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee, San Francisco's agreement with the America's Cup organizers is finally going to the full Board of Supervisors next week for approval. Many people...

The irony of the situation does not escape me. My 11-year-old daughter told me last weekend about the cool kids at her school. Now mind you, this is a very nice public school, so I found it amusing to hear that the older boys have decided that being cool means...

If there is one thing we San Franciscans love talking about, it's those hallowed days of yore. These proclamations are usually preceded by "in the good old days..." and then off we go into San Francisco history, sighing deeply as we remember places, faces and times from long ago.

It...

This has been a strange week for those of us who love this mad town, and a particularly strange one for me. It started on Tuesday, when I got an email from my friend Beth Spotswood. Beth was writing a column about San Francisco, and more importantly, what...

How does that go again, be careful what you wish for? Something along those lines must be going through the head of our esteemed mayor. That temporary position was such an apparently easy gig, the full-time one would be just as fun, right?

Oops.

Let's see now, we have had...

Once upon a time this was my absolute favorite activity in the world: a friend of mine from out of town would announce that he was coming to San Francisco, and could I "show him the sights." My heart would jump, my grumpy little columnist face would contort into a...

Today, San Francisco watched newly elected Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi charged with three misdemeanor counts related to domestic violence charges. And already the talk is starting to move further than just this incident. Besides this being the possible end to a progressive golden boy, could this also be a...