BAR COLUMNS

Some text about Benjamin’s career writing bar columns, such as what publications these were featured in or some parts of the word you can expect to read about in the articles below

Bar Columns Featured

The Bulletproof Waltz: An Ode to Nightlife

(This story first appeared in the SF Weekly) We're hanging out in Martuni's, the last…

BenjaminDecember 1, 2015

Bar Columns

Ruthless Inefficiency

(This story first appeared at the SF Weekly) Sitting at the bar, nursing a glass…

BenjaminDecember 1, 2015

Bar Columns

Going Native at The Page

(This story originally appeared in the SF Weekly) I was prepping to go to an…

BenjaminDecember 1, 2015

Bar Columns

The Knockout Channels the Odeon

(This article originally appeared in the SF Weekly) I'm going to tell you a ghost…

BenjaminDecember 1, 2015

Bar Columns

Hiding Out at Dalva

(This article originally appeared in the SF Weekly) I'd been inside Dalva, in the Mission,…

BenjaminDecember 1, 2015

Bar Columns

They had it coming

I rarely write a straight up bad review of a bar. Drinking at a bar should…

BenjaminJune 12, 2015

Bar Columns

A few bars I have loved

I'm frequently asked by people who say they read my column "What's your favorite bar…

BenjaminJune 12, 2015

Bar Columns

Running the Magic Gauntlet at Sparky’s

I'd thought "Helena" was only in town for the afternoon, but she was staying in…

BenjaminJune 9, 2015

BURNING MAN

Some text about Benjamin’s experiences writing for and about Burning Man totaling maybe a line or three

Featured I, Robot

The “I, Robot” Series

In 2018, Burning Man’s theme is “I, Robot,” and on behalf of the Burning Man…

BenjaminApril 4, 2018

Featured Radical Ritual

The “Radical Ritual” Series

In 2017, Burning Man’s theme was “Radical Ritual,” and on behalf of the Burning Man…

BenjaminApril 4, 2018

Art, Money, and the Renaissance Featured

The “Art, Money, and the Renaissance” Series

In 2016, Burning Man's theme was "Da Vinci's Workshop," and on behalf of the Burning…

BenjaminApril 4, 2018

JOURNALISM

Featured Journalism Long-form Journalism

Progressively Worse: The Tumultuous Rise and Fall of San Francisco’s Left

(This article first appeared in the SF Weekly) Even last year, people were talking about…

BenjaminJune 9, 2015

Long-form Journalism

Out of the Wilderness: The Future of Burning Man Isn’t in the Desert. It’s Everywhere Else

(This originally appeared in the SF Weekly) On the first Tuesday in August, the staff…

BenjaminJune 23, 2013

Long-form Journalism

The Forbidden City: How the Happy Meal ban explains San Francisco

(This originally appeared in SF Weekly, co-written with Joe Eskenazi) In August 2010, San Francisco…

BenjaminJune 23, 2010

Long-form Journalism

Let it Bleed (Everything you need to know about San Francisco’s budget problems)

(This originally appeared in the SF Weekly, co-written with Joe Eskenazi) "Infinite" is not a…

BenjaminJune 23, 2009

Long-form Journalism

The Worst-Run Big City in the U.S.

(This originally appeared in the SF Weekly, with Joe Eskenazi as a co-writer) Despite its…

BenjaminJune 23, 2008

Long-form Journalism

Putting the Test to the Test

(This originally appeared in 2003, on the 10 year anniversary of the establishment of the…

BenjaminJune 23, 2007

REVIEWS

Reviews

Gallery offers exhibit to die for with ‘After Life” show

(This article originally appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle) "His Light," by Fernando Orellana Would…

BenjaminAugust 16, 2015

Reviews

Book review: ‘Bondage of the Mind’ sloppy in its methodology

(This review originally appeared in the J Weekly) By the beginning of the 20th century,…

BenjaminJune 14, 2015

Reviews

Fun with Short Form reviews: a few plays I have hated

San Francisco Theater writer Lily Janiak once called me "San Francisco's most lacerating critic," but in…

BenjaminJune 14, 2015

Reviews

Theater Review: ‘Blithe Spirit’ at the Actors Ensemble of Berkeley

(This review first appeared in "All Shook Down") Noel Coward does not haunt us from…

BenjaminJune 14, 2015

Reviews

Fun with Short Form reviews: plays I’ve raved about

Brevity is the soul of wit, and just because you only have 250 words to…

BenjaminJune 14, 2015

Reviews

Theater Review: The Puppet Version of King Lear Is Surprisingly Awesome

(This review originally appeared in The Exhibitionist) Talented people often do baffling things. Sometimes this…

BenjaminJune 14, 2015

Reviews

Book Review: No good guys in outstanding ‘Hell’s Cartel’

(This review originally appeared in the J Weekly) By today's standards, Carl Bosch and Carl…

BenjaminJune 14, 2015

Reviews

Book Review: Sociologist Philip Rieff haunts us from the grave

(This review originally appeared in J Weekly) "Authority cannot die." This is the message Jewish…

BenjaminJune 13, 2015

Reviews

Book review: The right stuff?: Rabbi not wrong in defense of human spirit

(This review originally appeared in the J Weekly) There are already dozens of ways to…

BenjaminJune 12, 2015

BAR COLUMNS

BURNING MAN

JOURNALISM

REVIEWS

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