Author Archives: markweiss86

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About markweiss86

Mark Weiss, founder of Plastic Alto blog, is a concert promoter and artist manager in Palo Alto, as Earthwise Productions, with background as journalist, advertising copywriter, book store returns desk, college radio producer, city council and commissions candidate, high school basketball player, and blogger; he also sang in local choir, fronts an Allen Ginsberg tribute Beat Hotel Rm 32 Reads 'Howl' and owns a couple musical instruments he cannot play

‘Bye-bye baby bonanza’…or ‘Bonanza’?

Posted on May 5, 2014 by markweiss86

Kruk and Kuip said that something tonight — Bowser Blasts in Pittsburgh — remind them of Lon Simmons’ calling Willie Mays’ 600th home run, which was supposedly “Bye Bye Baby Bonanza”. I paused the game to go back to magic … Continue reading →

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Interview with Dan Kaufman from BARBEZ

Posted on May 5, 2014 by markweiss86

Not sure what to say yet, but couldn’t help but hit “reblog” function…I heard Seymour Hersh give a long lecture re-telling the story of My Lai massacre at a student investigative journalism conference in New Haven in 1985 or 1986 … Continue reading →

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Slainte Michael Carneys

Posted on May 5, 2014 by markweiss86

Beth Custer sent word of the passing of her friend Michael Carney, a retired ad executive in Mill Valley who was also on the board of Headlands Art Center. Terry and I met him at Beth’s show at Throckmorton in … Continue reading →

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New Celan notebook

Posted on May 5, 2014 by markweiss86

Paul Celan was born in 1920 and died shortly before his 50th birthday, in 1970. I’m not sure what I knew or had heard of his work, before a somewhat random communication with a musician and writer very into him, … Continue reading →

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Black Keys “Turn Blue” drops Tuesday

Posted on May 5, 2014 by markweiss86

Their eighth release. first single “bullet to brain”  speaking of brain I swear it was just yesterday I stood next to Black Keys wailing away in Austin at Billions party, circa 2004, although I have to admit I sometimes do … Continue reading →

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Major Taylor monument in Worcester

Posted on May 5, 2014 by markweiss86

My friend Lynne Tolman was instrumental in bringing to fruition a monument to honor Major Taylor, a famous bike race from the early 20th century. I met Lynne when I was summer reporter for the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, in … Continue reading →

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Stanford Humanities Central featuring Ivan Brunetti et al

Posted on April 30, 2014 by markweiss86

1. On my walk yesterday, I spied a flyer regarding an appearance today of cartoonist Ivan Brunetti at Stanford’s Levinthal Humanities Center; looks interesting; it says he’s born in Italy, based in Chicago, has six or seven covers for The … Continue reading →

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Catching up with Rupa

Posted on April 29, 2014 by markweiss86

I have not seen or heard in a while Rupa & The April Fishes, yet am thinking about her and them, this 29th day of April, 2014. I rescued if that’s the word, these 900 words that I had posted … Continue reading →

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Anand Patwardhan and Anusha Rizvi at Stanford

Posted on April 29, 2014 by markweiss86

I met Anand Patwardhan at Stanford, at a screening of his film “Jai Bhim Comrade” and then at a lunch round-table the next day. This was November, 2012, the week before the elections (and I first posted this shot, above, … Continue reading →

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Philip Roth reading list

Posted on April 29, 2014 by markweiss86

What has the aesthetic of popular culture to do with formidable postwar writers of such enormous variety as Saul Bellow, Ralph Ellison, William Styron, Don DeLillo, E. L. Doctorow, James Baldwin, Wallace Stegner, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Penn Warren, John Updike, … Continue reading →

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