Randy Cassingham's Blog

Posted by MG, Port Angeles, WA on June 1, 2009:

I first discovered Herb Caen in 1960 when I did my coming-of-age in San Francisco as a naive young woman from Idaho. His columns helped me to discover all the important things about The City: Herbert's Sherbet Shop, Paoli's Pinafore Room, City Lights Book Store, the back side of Telegraph Hill where I found my first solo apartment/small house, North Beach, the Black Hawk jazz club. Great memories for this Old Broad - thanks!

Posted by Matt, Downers Grove IL on July 23, 2009:

Regarding Freaks of Nomenclature:

My favourite is Russell Brain, an early neuroscientist. Later he was made Baron and so became Lord Brain.

Of course, LORD BRAIN sounds like an over the top comic book villain, but that is why I like it...

Posted by Gary from Santa Cruz, CA on January 8, 2010:

I still subscribe to the daily SF Chron (since 1979 or 1980) because I just can't let go of the rag that ran Herb Caen's column for so long. Breakfast just isn't the same without him.

In addition to "namephreakisms", do you remember his collection of euphemisms for saying that someone is not very bright? (Examples: his elevator doesn't go all the way to the top; he only has one oar in the water; he has to drop his drawers just to count to 21).

At one point, he so tired of these dribbling in that he asked everyone to submit them so he could dispense with them all at once. As I recall, it took 3 days to run them all. I'd love to find a copy of those columns -- they were a riot.