MSI Press Blog

This book is written for people whom society labels as average and refuses to consider as elite. They have neither the family fortune nor the biological endowment that would enable them to achieve power as it is modernly defined. This group constitutes the overwhelming majority of any community. They may openly reject or suffer silently in a culture that values celebrity and materialism and therefore favors the few who can muster seemingly unlimited resources. Its aim is to promote a sense of respect to these individuals’ lives and affairs, allowing them to wield an authentic power that can lead to personal satisfaction. Although this book has been a lifetime in the making, its evolution gained momentum during a chance encounter. The experience would plant a seed of questioning that would preoccupy my mind and challenge what I had convinced myself to be true. This story begins modestly, save for an overwhelming heat. August in Missouri is a devastating formula of 100 de...

  Bob was born in Richmond, California and attended California State University Hayward. After college, he became a third-generation steel painter. He spent 20 years painting bridges in the Bay Area, the last 12 as a member of the Golden Gate Bridge paint crew. Bob retired in 2014 and is now a contributing author to local magazines. He lives with his wife in Northern California. Bob was born in Richmond, California and attended California State University Hayward. After college, he became a third-generation steel painter. He spent 20 years painting bridges in the Bay Area, the last 12 as a member of the Golden Gate Bridge paint crew. Bob retired in 2014 and is now a contributing writer at Bicoastal Digest Magazine , with his work also appearing in Marin Magazine , and The Argonaut, Journal of the San Francisco Historical Society . He now lives with his wife in Valley Springs, California. Bob's book, A View through the Fog , was recently released and is already near to top 10...

  As folks get ready to settle in to some great yelling, screaming, and cheering for today's Super Bowl, we offer readers a look at the everyday players, the kids who might grow up to be stars, and how their parents affect them and the game. Jonas is a long-term sports coach, and his insights and humor make for a wonderful, easy, and inspirational read in Soccer Is Fun without Parents .  I never played soccer growing up but my son, Kevin, latched onto it about the same time he learned how to walk. I have learned how to love the sport by watching kids play and being a high school referee. Apparently, Americans don’t find the sport exciting; not enough scoring, too many dives by players, slow action, etc.   Have you ever watched a baseball game? Come on. Any NFL game typically entails only 11 minutes of actual playing time compared to 18 minutes in baseball, and 90 minutes in soccer. Despite what many Americans say about the sport, there is only one thing that needs to be f...

  The Golden Gate Bridge stands as one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world—a symbol of human ingenuity meeting natural beauty. Conception (1910s–1920s): The idea of bridging the Golden Gate Strait, the narrow entrance to San Francisco Bay, was long considered impossible due to strong tides, deep water, and frequent fog. Engineer Joseph Strauss , known for his bascule bridge designs, championed the project and gradually won public support. Design and Engineering (1930–1933): Strauss assembled a team that included Leon Moisseiff , Irving Morrow , and Charles Alton Ellis . Moisseiff contributed suspension‑bridge theory; Morrow designed the Art Deco elements and chose the now‑iconic International Orange color; Ellis handled the complex structural calculations. Construction (1933–1937): Work began during the Great Depression, providing thousands of jobs. Despite dangerous conditions—high winds, icy cables, and the constant threat of falls—the bridge was completed a...

Most people assume the Golden Gate got its name from the bridge — that the span came first, and the poetic title followed. In fact, it’s the reverse. The strait between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean carried the name long before the bridge existed, and its origins are surprisingly global. The name was coined in 1846 by U.S. Army officer John C. Frémont, who looked at the narrow, dramatic opening between the headlands and saw not just a passage of water, but a metaphor. He called it “Chrysopylae,” Greek for Golden Gate, deliberately echoing the Golden Horn in Istanbul. Frémont imagined San Francisco becoming a major commercial port linking the United States to the markets of Asia — a western counterpart to the great gateway of Constantinople. In other words, the “gold” wasn’t about the color of the hills, the sunsets, or the bridge (which wouldn’t be built for another ninety years). It was about opportunity. A symbolic portal to trade, migration, and the future. Then came the...

  If the Golden Gate Bridge is the dramatic overture to San Francisco, then Sausalito is the quiet, shimmering refrain waiting just across the span. Crossing the bridge northbound feels like stepping through a portal: one moment you’re in the city’s rush and fog‑kissed edges, and the next you’re descending into a waterfront town that seems to exhale in slow motion. Sausalito is the bridge’s natural counterpoint. The Golden Gate carries you over wind, tide, and the restless Pacific, but Sausalito receives you with stillness—its marina bobbing gently, its hillside homes catching the late‑day sun like a mosaic of terracotta and cream. The town offers the best vantage points for understanding the bridge not just as infrastructure, but as a living presence in the Bay. From Sausalito’s shoreline, the Golden Gate Bridge looks almost mythic. The towers rise like sentinels guarding the strait, and the International Orange paint glows against the blue water in a way you simply don’t see from...