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James Maguire: Journalist, Author, Raconteur

James Maguire: Journalist, Author, Raconteur

James Maguire, Journalist, Author, Raconteur

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James Maguire

Running Days: Tales of a Teenage Oxygen Junkie

December 18, 2022
Anxious, heart thumping, all of us standing in the brilliant autumn sun. About 40 teenage boys lined up at the starting line, almost panting. Race day for the high school cross country team. The instant the starting gun went pop we’d scramble off …
Read moreRunning Days: Tales of a Teenage Oxygen Junkie

The Joy of Pfizer

April 5, 2021
Oh yeah, a fresh sweet shot of Pfizer -- straight up, no chaser. Sure, I had to take a 90-minute train ride to find an appointment; I was never happier to commute. And sure, my shoulder was sore the next day -- but what a pleasant pain. I thank all …
Read moreThe Joy of Pfizer
George Foyed Protest

George Floyd and the Protests Heard Across History

June 6, 2020
I feel something so positive in America. The protests are sparking us back to health. All those voices rising up for justice. The crime was against a black person – as it has been, again and again. But the people gathering are white and black and all …
Read moreGeorge Floyd and the Protests Heard Across History
brotopia, women in tech

Women in Tech, Tech in Transition

October 26, 2018
I wrote this after going to a book release event for Emily Chang’s Brotopia, a book about sexism in Silicon Valley.   There’s something unusual about this evening’s tech event. Tonight’s gathering is, to be sure, a classic San …
Read moreWomen in Tech, Tech in Transition
apple tart

The ‘Rustic Apple Tart’ (Can Barnes and Noble Survive?)

October 23, 2018
I love it that the apple tart sold in the Barnes and Noble cafes is called the Rustic Apple Tart. I also love (unfortunately) the tart itself, in a love-hate kind of way. It’s a soulless glop of industrial sugar-goo that delivers a Mike Tyson body …
Read moreThe ‘Rustic Apple Tart’ (Can Barnes and Noble Survive?)

Who is James Maguire?

October 14, 2018
You know who I feel disdain for? I feel disdain for writer types, for instance, James Maguire, who write blog posts about themselves on their own site. Clearly, it’s a pathetic self-promotion scheme. It’s craven, it’s shameless, and honestly, it’s a …
Read moreWho is James Maguire?
pumpkins in autumn light

The Meaning of Autumn

October 12, 2018
Stepped outside today and realized…it’s autumn. The summer drifted away with hardly a whisper. Summer, when it’s here, seems almost stationary. For a moment around July 19 or so, time might stop altogether. September will arrive, we’re sure of it. …
Read moreThe Meaning of Autumn

The Red Tide in Florida: What Have We Done?

October 9, 2018
I felt the deepest dismay on my recent trip to Sanibel Island, in South Florida on the Gulf Coast. We stayed near the water and I was so looking forward to walking down to the beach. That first morning, it was great to see the water and hear the …
Read moreThe Red Tide in Florida: What Have We Done?
Screenshot from The Singularity is Near

Humblebrag: I won an award for my feature writing

April 28, 2018
I’m delighted to report that I won a 2018 Azbee Award of Excellence in the category of Web Feature Article. (Azbees are awarded by the American Society of Business Publication Editors). My winning article is titled Artificial Intelligence: When Will …
Read moreHumblebrag: I won an award for my feature writing
electric piano in a music store

My Tribe in the Music Store

April 7, 2018
I like stopping into the music store now and then. There’s a Yamaha electric piano I have a crush on, but for $800 my love is better off unrequited. It’s always good to check in with the tribe in the music store. They’re my people, the people who …
Read moreMy Tribe in the Music Store
march for our lives

March for Our Lives in SF – Feelin’ It

April 1, 2018
[From Saturday, March 24] Gathering for the March in front of SF City Hall. Must admit I’m a tad verklempt at the energy of it all, the young people voicing a higher purpose. Kind of makes you think there might be hope for us after all. That we make …
Read moreMarch for Our Lives in SF – Feelin’ It

I turned the corner and there it was….

January 21, 2018
Yes, San Francisco has a Museum of Ice Cream. No surprise, actually. The city itself has a mellow softness, if not quite a sweetness. I put it on my list for a later adventure.
Read moreI turned the corner and there it was….

Nightfall 

December 2, 2017
The sun disappears over the Pacific. Nature is a cathedral. What's our place in it?
Read moreNightfall 

The Zen Mountaintop of Transcendent American Consumerism

November 25, 2017
Clearly, it's the dizzying Zen mountaintop of transcendent American consumerism: the Apple Store on Black Friday. Even for the privilege of talking to clerk about a MacBook, I was told the wait was 35 minutes. In that moment I stared into the …
Read moreThe Zen Mountaintop of Transcendent American Consumerism

Life in the Bay Area

November 18, 2017
Ah, life in the Bay Area: even the coffee shops can be techie in San Francisco and surrounding areas. I was walking down the street in Berkeley and spotted Algorithm Coffee. Perhaps a dude or dudette is dreaming of a start up in there?
Read moreLife in the Bay Area

Lion, Starring Dev Patel: A Feel-Good Drama

April 3, 2017
Lion, starring Dev Patel, scored mediocre reviews – a low wattage 69 out of 100 on Metacritic – but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it. The story starts with a destitute young boy, Saroo, who gets lost and separated from his family in 1980s …
Read moreLion, Starring Dev Patel: A Feel-Good Drama

At the SFMOMA — Glorious Stuff 

August 9, 2016
The recently reopened SF Museum of Modern Art is full of treasures. And the building itself is architectural art.
Read moreAt the SFMOMA — Glorious Stuff 

Summer Splendor

August 7, 2016
At the grocery store. Oh, and I ate before I went -- bought less. Funny how that works.  Summer splendor....
Read moreSummer Splendor

Passing by the Tattoo Parlor

July 13, 2016
An almost Norman Rockwellesque tableau, if the old master painted urban types. A tattoo parlor in downtown San Francisco. 
Read morePassing by the Tattoo Parlor

George Saunders on Trump Supporters

July 10, 2016
George Saunders on Trump supporters, in The New Yorker: An outstanding piece of campaign reporting by Saunders, more commonly known for his fiction. A must read -- balanced and deeply insightful.
Read moreGeorge Saunders on Trump Supporters

Tracks Across America

July 9, 2016
Riding on Amtrak northward from the Bay Area to Sacramento. 
Read moreTracks Across America
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Blog

Running Days: Tales of a Teenage Oxygen Junkie

December 18, 2022

The Joy of Pfizer

April 5, 2021

George Floyd and the Protests Heard Across History

June 6, 2020

Women in Tech, Tech in Transition

October 26, 2018

The ‘Rustic Apple Tart’ (Can Barnes and Noble Survive?)

October 23, 2018

Who is James Maguire?

October 14, 2018

The Meaning of Autumn

October 12, 2018

The Red Tide in Florida: What Have We Done?

October 9, 2018

Humblebrag: I won an award for my feature writing

April 28, 2018

My Tribe in the Music Store

April 7, 2018

March for Our Lives in SF – Feelin’ It

April 1, 2018

I turned the corner and there it was….

January 21, 2018

Nightfall 

December 2, 2017

The Zen Mountaintop of Transcendent American Consumerism

November 25, 2017

Life in the Bay Area

November 18, 2017

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