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

Lera babble coinky synchronicity

Posted on February 3, 2012 by markweiss86

By LERA BORODITSKY The Gallery Collection/Corbis ‘The Tower of Babel’ by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563. (Please see Corrections & Amplifications below.) Do the languages we speak shape the way we think? Do they merely express thoughts, or do the … Continue reading →

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Dressed to the nines

Posted on February 3, 2012 by markweiss86

That’s a mixed metaphor –“Dressed to the Nines” — to the extent I am talking poker. This is a tribute to local hero Phil Hellmuth and his winning the 1989 World Series of Poker against Chan using a relatively weak … Continue reading →

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Daydreaming of Andre Dubus in a baseball boxscore

Posted on February 3, 2012 by markweiss86

Beth Custer and I rolled thru Noe Valley and stopped, momentarily — not sure stopped is the word, since we swarmed the bookstore more likes bees than not — and I walked away with two books, Octavio Paz poetry (but … Continue reading →

Posted in sex, sports, words | Tagged , | 8 Comments

My only advice to Narissa Padua — who totally rocks and is adorable — is that she can find her own phrasing, like check out Patti Barber

Posted on February 1, 2012 by markweiss86

use me or use patricia barber to go from 600 views on internet to intl stardom ms. narissa padua you can do it Continue reading →

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Brittnee Purtee is a huge rock star in Palo Alto, California, 30 miles south of San Francisco, thanks to the internet

Posted on February 1, 2012 by markweiss86

She also does passable jobs with Taylor Swift and Paramore. Hey, Britnee, let us know when you are on tour and we will line you up here in Palo Alto, in the 650. Your friends at Plastic Alto.

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Stole a Features flyer from the Cafe DuNord tee tee

Posted on February 1, 2012 by markweiss86

I posted this on their blog or try to: A little TN in CA I caught The Features at SXSW in Austin in 2009. Someone I met at random sent me that way because it was one of his favorite … Continue reading →

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Finding Memo

Posted on February 1, 2012 by markweiss86

Guillermo “Memo” Gomez Abascal had not changed one bit over the 30 years since we were exchange brothers for Neighbors Abroad’s Palo Alto Oaxaca Sister Cities. Continue reading →

Posted in Plato's Republic, this blue marble, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Cogswell Plaza tourist from China

Posted on January 31, 2012 by markweiss86

As part of my ongoing coverage of Cogswell Plaza and Lytton Plaza, I met this Chinese tourist and asked her to send me her photos of the plaza, for Plastic Alto. I hope “Yanni” or “Yah Nee” comes through. She … Continue reading →

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My left foot or fist

Posted on January 31, 2012 by markweiss86

French footballer Gael Clichy, from Martiniquis heritage and playing for Manchester City in the Premier League, developed his left foot on the advice of his father, I am reading. Truth be told, I captured this shot merely because I liked … Continue reading →

Posted in media, sports, this blue marble, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

John Hawkes as Mark O’Brien

Posted on January 30, 2012 by markweiss86

Am I the only one who wants to hear Jessica Yu on “The Surrogate” a new Hollywood release about the life of writer Mark O’Brien. Jessica Yu won an Academy Award for her documentary on Mark O’Brien, “Breathing Lessons”. The … Continue reading →

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