Michael sicinski

JAY-Z: Made in America JAY-Z: Made in America Photo: St. Martin's, Handout Photo: St. Martin's, Handout Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Image 1 of 1 JAY-Z: Made in America JAY-Z: Made in America Photo: St. Martin's, Handout Book World: In Michael Eric Dyson's new book, Jay-Z is the living embodiment of American ideals 1  /  1 Back to Gallery JAY-Z: Made in America By Michael Eric Dyson St. Martin's. 224 pp. $25.99 --- When professor and author Michael Eric Dyson began teaching a class on Jay-Z at Georgetown University about a decade ago, not everyone was on board. Although the course, "Sociology of Hip-Hop: Urban Theodicy of Jay-Z," was one of the most popular on campus, hip-hop was not seen as a … [Read more...] about Book World: In Michael Eric Dyson’s new book, Jay-Z is the living embodiment of American ideals

Photo: Getty ImagesRemember when George Bush appointed New York judge Michael Mukasey to be United States attorney general? And we kinda decided we liked him because he has amazing New York street cred? Well, he went on to lose some of his fan base because of his hard-to-understand stance on torture, specifically waterboarding. (C’mon, everybody’s doing it!) It was a big deal, because lately one’s position on torture is the Bush administration’s litmus test for attorneys general. It used to be abortion or gay marriage that made or broke someone in the eyes of the Bushies. Those days are over, it seems, as is the policy of attorneys general to shun all things gay. The Washington Post today reports that Mukasey lifted a ban, in place since the reign of Ashcroft, on the use of e-mail, bulletin boards, and easels in the Department of Justice to promote the gay group DOJ Pride. They will also be allowed to hold an annual celebration, which they have been banned from … [Read more...] about Michael Mukasey: Republican of the New York Variety

It turns out that when it comes to Michael Vick’s dogfighting past, some are neither willing to forgive nor forget.An online petition with well over 100,000 signatures at the time of this writing, is demanding that the former NFL star be removed as a 2020 Pro Bowl Legend Captain. The NFL recently announced Vick’s nomination as 2020 Pro Bowl Legend Captain. However, that news was unwelcome to tens of thousands of activists who immediately began filing online petitions to make the NFL rescind the nomination. “Two separate petitions are getting a lot of attention, with one on Change.org petition garnering 140,000 signatures and another on AnimalVictory.org getting nearly 200,000.” Both petitions cite Vick’s dogfighting past in claiming that he is not worthy of the honor the NFL is attempting to bestow upon him. Vick served 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to running a dogfighting ring in 2007. However, since then, Vick has apologized repeatedly for … [Read more...] about Online Petition Demands Michael Vick’s Removal as 2020 Pro Bowl Captain

A choked-up Joe Biden again stressed the need for tighter gun-control regulations in a speech today at City Hall in New York City, where he traded compliments with Michael Bloomberg on the steps they’ve taken so far. “State action is not enough,” said Bloomberg, outlining the proposals presented by the vice-president, which have already been stripped of the assault-weapons provisions by the Senate. “There is a national problem.” When Biden took the microphone, he praised Bloomberg’s work with Mayors Against Illegal Guns: “It is organized, it is committed, and it is consequential,” he said. But then he turned his aim on the opposition. “There’s not one single thing — not one, not one, not one — that infringes on anybody’s second amendemtn constitutional right. Not one,” said Biden, backed by victims of the Sandy Hook shooting, in a meandering but emotional plea that returned often to that refrain. … [Read more...] about Joe Biden Joins Michael Bloomberg in NYC to Talk Tough on Gun Control

For more stories like this, check out The Chronicle’s weekly Travel newsletter! Sign up here. When chef and restaurateur Michael Mina needs a head-clearing break from his restaurant empire, he hops on his motorcycle and heads for the Marshall Store on Tomales Bay. The undulating road, the wind, a tray of fresh-shucked or barbecued bivalves overlooking the water — Mina calls it the “quintessential NorCal experience.” “I don’t have a lot of releases outside of work,” says the Michelin-starred chef. “That’s my getaway. When I tell my wife I’m going to be gone for two hours, that’s where I go.” It's understandable that he might need a time-out. As the chef and founder of Mina Group, he runs 44 restaurants across the United States and Dubai — including nine in the Bay Area — a number that seems to tick upward all the time. A new outpost of International Smoke — the joint barbecue venture with Ayesha … [Read more...] about Where chef Michael Mina eats in Marin