Monthly Archives: July 2014

Plastic Alto and Plato’s Republic: your source for policy news, to dance to

Posted on July 13, 2014 by markweiss86

Plastic Alto is an arts blog — the name reference jazz legend Ornette Coleman — yet of the first 750 posts roughly one-quarter, or 188 posts and counting are about politics or policy. They are labeled by the category “Plato’s … Continue reading →

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Banjo Riot in Professorville, by Michael John Simmons of Fretboard Journal

Posted on July 12, 2014 by markweiss86

On Saturday I went to a picking party in Professorville, an elegant old neighborhood in Palo Alto. There were dozens of people there playing bluegrass, swing, folk and all sorts of good things in little clusters all over the garden … Continue reading →

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Goodbye, Charlie Haden

Posted on July 12, 2014 by markweiss86

Terry and I on our way back, driving, from L.A., heard something about Charlie Haden passing. I met Charlie briefly, backstage in New York, at the Blue Note club. I had to look it up to realize it was ten … Continue reading →

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Our Palo Alto $325,000 slush fund to undermine Comp Plan

Posted on July 12, 2014 by markweiss86

I posted this under Gennady Sheyner’s coverage of the recent Planning and Transportation Commission meeting. I hope to write soonly about the Leadership Ad Hoc Comp Plan group or whatever they are called. People I like on that group, of … Continue reading →

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Palo Alto Free Press website covers Grand Jury report about 27 Uni

Posted on July 12, 2014 by markweiss86

And my response: Good story, Chad. Another point about 27 University is it is actually simultaneous with 456 University potentially back-online as a place for public events: City of Palo Alto staff actually took what they were hearing from residents … Continue reading →

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Pablo Cruise Palo Alto roots

Posted on July 12, 2014 by markweiss86

Pablo Cruise was all over the radio in 1977 “Place in the Sun”. Years later it was Gil Draper of Draper’s Music who hipped me to the fact that the band had Palo Alto roots. Here is a glib from … Continue reading →

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Lonnie is the tops in Cleveland

Posted on July 6, 2014 by markweiss86

  O Lord Lonnie, we bow down To a man we once called Clown So so bad he was last year A demotion seemed quite clear Somehow he stayed with the team Filling in, he kept his dream Quietly, his … Continue reading →

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Mahna Mahna break from World Cup semis

Posted on July 4, 2014 by markweiss86

Watching taped versions of France-Germany and Brazil-Colombia made me want to post as an interstice Cake “Mahna Mahna” which I took as a tropicalia cover. Its actually an Italian song about a Swedish soft core porn movie. Many people think … Continue reading →

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Plastic Alto and Ran-Ham Bowl, St. Paul

Posted on July 4, 2014 by markweiss86

The masthead of Plastic Alto, a blog comprising 750 posts since 2010, pictures Mark Weiss bowling at Ran Ham Bowl in St. Paul. The photo is by Terry Acebo Davis. Mark’s cousin, Isaac Blumfield, had a gig in the adjoining … Continue reading →

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My grand slam (Plastic Alto v. Palo Alto Weekly)

Posted on July 3, 2014 by markweiss86

I spoke below about scooping the Palo Alto Weekly four times recently: 1. Karen Holman “company-town” 2. Happy Donuts maguffin 3. Gunn graffiti hate crime as prayer “Thank God…” 4. More office space proposed for The Varsity art by Russ … Continue reading →

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