Great article in the times about Weird Al Yankovic; it reminded me that I stole a line of his for a political parody I posted online about power and the proposal to rename Lytton Plaza for a leader of a large extended Palo Alto clan.
The family later told their advocates to drop the issue. They also later built a brand new building in the 500 block downtown which includes a plaque explaining some of the family history.
To wit:
14, 2010 at 5:26 pm
There they are now. Let’s detain them.
They look stupid. And contagious.
Hello, hello, hello, hello.
Now go. Now, go. Now, go. NOW, GO!
They wear doo-rags, they speak Ingles
They have skateboards. And gold braces.
First Amendment? Don’t recall it.
We have billions. And the Council.
Our new plaza, looks so sterile.
But our pizza, makes us virile.
“Sketchy people” “Undesirables”.
Huddled masses. Civil rights groups.
We hate workers. We hate loudmouths. (and song parodies)
It’s hard to bargle nawdle zouss.
People’s Plaza – is just for Berkeley.
We like crushed rock, not rosy parks stuff.
How low? How low— how high? (match our $400,000, guys!)
Our “doo” process?
It’s just sausage!
Smells Like Thoits Plaza
with apologies to K. Cobain and L. Levy
Wouldn’t THAT be loverly?
I’m sorry for the deceased and family but their so-called friends are doing them a disservice. And it’s only about the naming because of the context, how they do things here, with our money, and name.
Recently a friend from Berkeley said my People’s Park reference is problematic because the place is overrun by people with diseases. Kinda ironic coming from a musician; but he has kids.
The Thoits also own the former Palo Alto Sport and Toy building and saved the Greg Brown mural there : Greg’s ain’t with a garden hose, a bird alighted, learning to pray.
I would say a life-changing event for me was a benefit for Mia Zapata — to raise awareness about her murder, to hire a detective after the police gave up — in Cyclone Warehouse near The Ramp in San Francisco in spring 1994 organized my members of the Gits, the late great and dearly departed Lisa Fay Beatty of Mudwimin a guy named Rob Roy – – it was my first time seeing stone fox – they rode in on the top of an old converted school bus – their version of Furthr — maybe they called it “For Her” or ‘Fur Her” — I’m alluding to Ken Kesey’s bus a generation before. I’ve never worked in corporate America since then! Only punk and DIY and unemployment and depression. But seriously, civilization as we know it would have ceased without the intervention of dyke rockers in the 1990s, in SF.
mike and bob sounds like stage directions for raging bull
This is just a picture of a kick boxer from an article in The New Yorker by Elif Batuman and a picture of Eugene Robinson (Of Oxbow) posing with a famous or successful mixed martial arts dude, from Eugene’s book on fighting. My headline is a pun on “kicking” it (meaning relaxing) or ass (fighting).
I’m the only person who has read Eugene’s book and that of Elif.
They are both Stanford grad’s but different eras. Although it wouldn’t surprise me if Eugene can bs about Russian lit and Elif can talk about punk rock and indie.
Elif also has a great section in The Idiot her first novel. Maybe she is paraphrasing someone else but she says that math started as just a crude approximation of the real world and then it became more real than the world, that the world we live in is under-carriaged (?) by math and math is more real than the world we experience, and no one but her thinks this is weird or noteworthy.
I heard about Elif one day walking thru Stanford campus when I was living at Oak Creek but I could in theory still do this and in fact just yesterday despite feeling sick I walked around campus with Steve and Eric and Terry and Terry wanted to see the sculpture that is near Cecil Green Library that is dedicated to Dr. Shumway and donated I guess by his parents class of 1950 that is red and sometimes has a water feature but it has to do with the human heart — the doctor pioneered heart transplant surgery — I think Eric said he trapped a Pokeman Pichu — and we noted the building maybe in Munger but could not see in or enter than has I said Rauschenberg and Eric — who studied with Paul McCarthy — said De Kooning — anyhow it was a day like yesterday but 10 years ago and I was nearer the main quad or the engineering that is to say slighly east of yesterday – and notably by myself and a copy of the Stanford Dailt student newspaper blew by like a tumble weed and I stepped on it and picked it up — it was really a sheet, like four pages front and back plus a fold — and there was an article about Elif as a grad student having published a book of essays and I later noticed that they had spelled her book wrong or misidentified it. They said “The Possessed: Russian literature and the people who read team” instead of “the Possessed: Russian literature and the people who read them”.
And then I saw the book in the airport and eventually bought it otherwise I would not have remembered this or noticed it.
bw
weird segue other than Eugene’s band was same era as Stone Fox AND Dan Adams the bass player from Oxbow went to Duke with David Leftkowitz who either managed Stone Fox or merely shared his office with Trouz who did — plus they worked with Primus and on some level Metallica.
I would say a life-changing event for me was a benefit for Mia Zapata — to raise awareness about her murder, to hire a detective after the police gave up — in Cyclone Warehouse near The Ramp in San Francisco in spring 1994 organized my members of the Gits, the late great and dearly departed Lisa Fay Beatty of Mudwimin a guy named Rob Roy – – it was my first time seeing stone fox – they rode in on the top of an old converted school bus – their version of Furthr — maybe they called it “For Her” or ‘Fur Her” — I’m alluding to Ken Kesey’s bus a generation before. I’ve never worked in corporate America since then! Only punk and DIY and unemployment and depression. But seriously, civilization as we know it would have ceased without the intervention of dyke rockers in the 1990s, in SF.
lastly or and1:
I wrote privately and read or listened about CRISPR which is a type of gene-editing that could help us — we the people – -or some people — someday cure sickle cell anemia and I was going to first learn the acronym — the “P” is palindromic — a, t, c, g and I guess g, c, t, a et al — which made me think of Emily’s Sassy Lime one of the top palindromic bands of the 1990s with ties to stanford. I might contrast tho it sounds racist Emily Yao or Wendy Yao or both with the infamous twins made by mad scientist “JK” (He JianKui).
It’s 5 o’clock on a Saturday and I have totally ignored my goal to read all day Elif Batuman. Terry more sensibly is in the garden, reading Voltaire. She’s a stone fox in that she is moving stones, in the garden.
my a michael pena:
ELIF BATUMAN, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Comparative Literature, could give grad students who are tied to the Farm just the kick in the pants they need to venture off campus. Batuman braved regular jaunts past San Francisco’s “Bail Bond Row” along Bryant Street to study the not-so-sweet science of Thai boxing. She studied strenuously under three-time Muay Thai world champion BUNKERD FAPHIMAL at his gym, Fight and Fitness—as detailed in a long and graceful feature that Batuman wrote for the New Yorker (Jan. 16). Muay Thai also is known as the Science of Eight Limbs, which refers to a fighter’s use of his or her feet, fists, elbows and knees. (You might consider addressing the high-kicking freelancer by “Miss” when you first meet her.)
Ok here is my bottom line: Elif Batuman fights better than Eugene writes.
Also, I have no idea what it is but I spent 3 minutes on a suggestion from Eugene watching Robert Downey JR in 1999 Black and White harrass Mike Tyson playing himself and almost get beat up. With a character in the movie filming it, or pretending to.
There’s also a long list in NYT Elif mentioning films or books with neurological premises, like Motherless Brooklyn. And no mention on the internet save here of Elif Batuman plus Eugene Robinson nor Eugene Robinson plus Bunkerd Faphimai. Tho duly noted Eugene trains in muy thai.
Last time I spoke to Eugene, ok second to last time, I asked him if he would train me to take a punch from Jim Harbaugh, he said “sure”. Last time I spoke to Eugene was at a Gunn graduation (my god-son, his daughter) and he said he had gotten married. Not to get too personal – -and maybe having been in a rock band for 20 years or 30 years there is no off stage versus on stage but I said something like “are you planning to start another family” – -he’s 56, my age plus one or two – -and he said “it is inevitable” — he may have been paraphrasing Jeff Rosenbloom paraphrasing Michael Crichton, “nature will find a way”. I’m also flashing to re-watching Monty Pyton apropos of Easter and “every sperm is sacred”. And there’s a Eugene line in his book about some of the weird poses fighters and grapplers do: it’s only gay if you make eye contact.
No regrets but I should have read Elif Batuman “The Idiot” and not done so much internet screen time and my own lousy writing: yes, elif Batuman both write better than me and she likely could kick my ass, too. i think Terry can take her, however.
Mazel tov to eugene and his loved ones.
ok, wait a minute — I have a score to settle with ESR: years ago I lent him a copy of a two-work anthology by the guy who wrote both Wild Party and the long poem on which a boxing film The Set Up with Robert Ryan was based. And I wanted to adapt it to stage with, like the original, a black anti-hero, Pansy Jones.
But in his final words, I found an ace that I could keep
Rogers V Henson
Hi, Doug.
I want to, first, commend you on the the meticulous and persevering nature of your blog.
That enabled me to discover that at minute 36 of the October 13, 2009 candidates forum I suggested that Palo Alto get ahead of the curve on socialized medicine, for something I was calling — but had no other plan besides the words — as I am a strict Saper-Whorf-rat — “Public Option Palo Alto”.
Would we — Palo Altans, Americans — be sleeping any easier right now if we had “health care for all”, beyond Obamacare — if we had what Europe has?
Or how does reaction to Covid-19 and result sort versus type of health care system?
Were we penny-wise pound-foolish to not prepare more for a pandemic in this way?
I was bemused to discover that, according to your previous recent posts, a model was run locally imagining a hypothetical concert as source of contagion — did it mean if a band called Anthrax had played? Or Killing Joke? The Germs? Death Cab for Cutie? The Sick?
At around noon on 3/13/20 Akira Tana and I had a discussion of whether we should cancel our Tohoku Relief benefit concert at Mitchell Park Center, for that evening. So far we stand by our decision.
Thanks for taking such a serious look at this. You called it.
In 2009 I suggested universal health care
PS, albeit off topic, I was pleased to see somewhere in your archives two comments by the great griot Tom Jordan suggesting that people using their real names be prioritized over people like “Reason”/”Dissent”. Pretty sure I am the only person who uses his name and commonly gets deleted from TownSquare – and definitely the only $800/week advertiser who does.
Sapir and Whorf, rather. (Plus a song by the Dead).
That, plus I worked at Chiat-Day right after their Orwell spoof for Apple. Ok, as an intern. But I worked for a talking teddy bear — talk about prophetic!
I pointed out earlier today on these same pages that the article by GS in a matter of paragraphs quoted authorities offering projections that varied 64-fold — 250 deaths predicted hear by the University of Washington model compared to 16,000 deaths in County predicted by the assistant City Manager of San Jose*.
Or as the late great Kenny Rogers said in his most famous song I hope that in the last cards I am dealt there is something that I can keep, I’m paraphrasing.
The last thing I got deleted by Bill Johnson, who claims he does this himself, is that I had a riff about the fact that Terry and I got lost driving around Inverness the exact same night that Carol Kiparsky and Ian Irwin got lost on foot, even though we had three computers plus a loaded new car — there is apparently no room for poetic utterance or prayer dressed in lyric attire; you know, space is so scarce here in cyberia.
I guess it depends on what condition your condition is in.
Coen Coen 1999
its * passed my bedtime but this reminds me that the Palo Alto Weekly was better when it was folded not stapled.
Sky Posse is a political action group lobbying to change federal aviation laws in favor of suburban quiet enjoyment.
One of their people ran for city council and got 8,000 votes, but in retaliation the pilots are buzzing are homes more obviously.
I wrote to them and suggested a rebranding as CA Plane Por Moi an allusion to the 1979 French novelty song, #58 on the charts with a similar looking name Ca Plane Por Moi — pronounced “saw plan poor mwah” — slang for “its alright with me — gliding along “ but there’s also an American language version “Jet Boy Jet Girl”. (At the meeting at which to me this was revealed, there was also a plank about gender equity).
I’m suggesting that beyond the obvious or too obvious appeal to reason the people should pack the council chamber and start chanting “CA Plane Por Moi “.
A second front good start a counter melody chant “oooh—-oooh—ooh”.
At a certain point the group or subgroup could go “CA plane Por Moi Moi Moi Moi “ four or five times and others could shout out without waiting to be recognized “ Sonic Youth” or “I am king of the divan”.
maybe raging grannies could chime in with a saucy parody version of “Leaving on a jet plane”.
of course the ultimate would be dragging guitars to the rally, and amps.
one of these days I’ll start the group on my own.
ps:
the kid in their ad needs a helmet:
Giving serious thought but rejecting a plank based on XTC:
BLUF: This is a pastiche of two letters I dredged from my email archive, both dealing with race, plus I am reacting to the passing of Bill Withers “use me” “sunshine”
We pledge allegiance all our life to red blue and white…this world was made for all men…1976
P.S Here is a partial list of some of the 300 artists and groups I brought to Cubberley for public performance, 1994-2001 (I will explain this list when we speak):
Bloque: rock group from Bogota, Colombia; Ozomatli: multi-ethnic pop/Latin group from Los Angeles; Pinetop Perkins: 86-year-old black blues artist from Clarksdale, Mississippi; z’l Pansy Division: gay activists/rock group from San Francisco; Kemuri: Asian rock group from Tokyo, Japan; Mudwimin: all-woman rock band from San Francisco, featuring Palo Alto native Mia Levin; Oxbow: black-fronted rock band featuring Palo Altans Dan Adams and Eugene Robinson;
Penelope Houston: female singer-songwriter; leader of pioneering female-fronted rock band The Avengers; Vukani Mawethu: multi-ethnic female-led vocal group singing the music of South Africa, from Oakland (canceled show); Alvin Youngblood Hart: black blues singer from Oakland and Memphis; Bonfire Madigan: female fronted rock group from San Francisco; Danilo Perez: jazz musician, of mixed ethnic heritage, from Panama; the “International Cultural Ambassador” from the nation of Panama i.e his government officially designated him as such. Oliver Lake: black jazz artist from New York; Steve Lacy: MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow, jazz musician, first interpreter of the music of black composer Thelonius Monk (other than Monk); z’l Mingus Amungus: multi-ethnic jazz group from Oakland; features female-led and integrated dance accompaniment group; leading interpreters of black composer Charles Mingus; Kristin Hersh: female singer-songwriter from Massachusetts; co-owner of ticket service virtuous.com; Barbara Manning: female singer-songwriter, band-leader from San Francisco; Femi Kuti: black bandleader in jazz/”afro-pop” from Nigeria; son of a deceased political prisoner in Nigeria, Fela Kuti, musician. Stanley Jordan: black jazz artist from Palo Alto (Gunn graduate) and Sedona, Arizona; Wendy Waller: female jazz singer from Menlo Park, married to a Palo Alto musician Hershel Yatovitz. Orixa: Latin rock band from San Francisco; Ragady Anne, aka The Electrocutes aka The Donnas: all-female rock band from Palo Alto; The Toasters: integrated rock/ska band from New York; featured Jamaican (black)instrumentalist Lester “Ska” Sperling, z’l; Imogen Heap: mixed-ethncity (Asian) singer-songwriter from London; AFI: gay-fronted rock band from Oakland. Austin Willacy: black singer-songwriter from San Francisco; Miriam Sullivan: black female jazz musician from New York (sideperson); (aka Mimi Jones, leader) Allison Miller: female jazz musician from Washington, D.C. (side person); (later, leader) Beth Custer: female jazz/pop instrumentalist, composer, band-leader (of mixed-ethnicity band)from San Francisco; True Margret: female singer-songwriter from San Francisco; Cat Cody: female, mixed-heritage dancer and singer from Los Angeles, with Eperanza De La Tierra “Espi” Lopez, female Latina dancer from Los Angeles; Billie Eyeball: female bandleader from Palo Alto; Allette Brooks: female singer-songwriter from Palo Alto
Marika Hughes who played with Austin Willacy in October, 2000, more recently in Ashland with Stew’s “Family”
; James Hurt: black jazz artist from New York and Memphis; Jacques Swartz-Bart: black jazz musician from New York (sideperson); World For Ransom: female-fronted rock group from Palo Alto; Jenny Scheinman: female jazz instrumentalist and composer from New York (attended PAUSD in 1981); Rachel Z: female jazz musician from New York; (although confusingly her last name stars with an “N’) Van Gogh’s Daughter: all-female rock band from San Francisco; spoke at PAUSD music classes; Seven Day Diary: female-fronted rock band from San Francisco; spoke at PAUSD music classes; Virginia Dare: female-fronted rock band from San Francisco; (Brad and Mary Johnson, a different Brad Johnson) Sweet Virginia: female-fronted rock band from San Francisco featuring Palo Alto instrumentalist Clint Bennett; (named for a Rolling Stones song, and don’t get me started on “rolling” “rocking” “tumbling” ) Laura Kemp: female musician from Oregon; Shelley Doty: black female lesbian rock musician and bandleader from San Francisco; The Toledo Show: black-fronted jazz band from Los Angeles; (Toledo Diamond; Jewish?) Dave Ellis: black jazz artist from Berkeley; (Jewish) Henry Butler: black jazz artist from New Orleans; blind since age 2; spoke at California School For The Blind, Fremont; z’l Venus Opal Reese: black female dancer/mime/monologist from Palo Alto, Baltimore and Dallas, Texas; phd candidate and instructor (at the time), Stanford; phD from Stanford; professor of drama at University Texas-Dallas; (and literally, a canvas and snake-charmer) Cookie: female-fronted rock band from San Jose; Bimbo Toolshed: female-fronted rock band from San Francisco; Ripple: female fronted rock band from San Francisco; B-Side Players: Latin rock band from Los Angeles; Morty and Connie Show: jazz band featuring female vocalist Connie Champagne; (Kelly Johnson?) Broun Fellinis: all-black jazz band from San Francisco; DJ Charlotte the Baroness: female dj from San Francisco; Pele Juju: all-female pop band from Santa Cruz; Tin Hat Trio: female co-led jazz band from Oakland featuring Carla Kihlsteadt; Marika Hughes: black female jazz instrumentalist from Oakland (sideperson); (but leads or co-leads many projects now) Cheryl Wheeler: female singer-songwriter; Dar Williams: female singer-songwriter; Rebecca Riots: all-female rock group from Berkeley; Marginal Prophets: black co-led rock group from San Francisco; (Keith Knight) IBOPA: rock band fronted by gay singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart (pka Xiu-Xiu); Idiot Flesh: Asian co-led rock group from Oakland; (I think i was thinking of the butoh dancer they sometimes worked with…poetic license) Skankin’ Pickle: Asian and female co-led rock group from San Jose; (the most Rev Mike Park) Frightwig: pioneering all-female rock band from San Francisco; featuring Palo Altan Mia Levin; Molly Neumann: female rock band co-leader and co-owner of influential Oakland record label Lookout; currently manages The Donnas, major label all-female rock band from Palo Alto who made their professional debut in Earthwise concert series at Cubberley, as 15-year-old Paly sophomores — their parents signed release forms permitting their appearance; Cindy “Cinder” Block: female rock musician and business owner in Oakland; her female-owned business printed 500 silk screen t-shirts given away at shows saying “The Cubberley Sessions Palo Alto”; Superchunk: female co-led rock band featuring Laura Ballance co-owner of Merge Records of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Stephanie Mechura: female singer-songwriter from San Francisco; Amanda Krugliak: female monologist from San Francisco; John Nelson: black rock instrumentalist (side person) Squirrel Nut Zippers: female co-led rock band from North Carolina; Soul Divine: female led rock band from San Francisco; Umami: all-female rock band from Palo Alto; Sally Ann: female led rock group from San Francisco; David Walker: black rock instrumentalist from Palo Alto (sideperson); Garrett: black rock musician from Redwood City; (I think I meant Garrick Davis) Whichicallit and Dem – black rap group from East Palo Alto; part of a youth services outreach program led by Heru Hall; (who may or may not be both the night time DJ at KCSM “Harry Hall” and the first black quarterback at Cubberley) Urban Ministry of Palo Alto “Garden Project”: tabled at a show; Support Network for Battered Woman: Mountain View; tabled at show; beneficiary of show proceeds; director spoke at event; Woman’s Recovery Center: Belmont; tabled at show; beneficiary of show proceeds; director spoke at event; Palo Alto “Teenline”/suicide prevention: beneficiary of show proceeds; tabled at show; Rape Crisis Center of Palo Alto/Palo Alto YWCA: tabled at show; beneficiary of show proceeds; director spoke at event; director led a woman’s self-defense clinic as part of a benefit concert, at show; East Palo Alto Historical Society: tabled at show; beneficiary of show proceeds; director spoke at event (Trevor Burrows; black-led n.g.o — he’s actually West Indian — which reminds me that I asked the current mayor of Palo Alto East what she meant when she said that she preferred the term “Black History Month” to “African-American History Month” because it was “more inclusive” I’ll post the video); International Society for Ecology and Culture: Berkeley; beneficiary of show proceeds;(female-founded n.g.o. by author Helena Norberg-Hodge); (someone corrected me recently that “NGO” for non-governmental agency is not used for “non profit’ in the US — except in Vietnam) Bimbetta: all female chamber music group from Bloomington, Indiana and Berkeley; spoke at PAUSD music classes; Michelle Nelson: female graphic designer from Santa Cruz (and PAUSD educated)who designed many of the 70 posters created for the concert series, most of which were printed at female-owned or co-owned print shops); z’l Spring Heeled Jack: black co-led rock group from Virginia; Noe Venable: female singer-songwriter; Third Eye Blind: rock band fronted by Palo Alto native Steve Jenkins. (although he stole his best song from a black man — I’m starting to feel very Stevie Wonder here Dan Olmstead: Palo Alto-raised musician and Cubberley High School graduate; (sideperson). Sheila Schat: female rock instrumentalist (side person);
Jessie Green: female rock violinist (side person); Geraldine Fibbers: female fronted rock band featuring vocalist Carla Bozulich, from Los Angeles; Tarnation: female-fronted rock band featuring Paula Frazer and Michelle Cernutto; Carrie Bradley: female rock instrumentalist (side person); Zoe Keating: female rock cellist (side person); (partial list –90)
I’m not sure if I list her here but a great guitarist Sunny Haire of Waycross, Bedlam Rovers Enorchestra and the Upsets was known formerly as Sunshine Haire. I have not spoken to her directly but mutual acquaintances told me that one of the victims who died in the Ghost Ship was her child.
bwbwbw
bw is my mom’s initials; her birthday was last month; bw means “backed with” my code for a second thread somewhat related to the first; bw means bill withers who died this week.
another letter wherein I want to argue for my woke ness — tho I am of the age where I am likely exsqueezed from having to be woke. woke can be a yoke, no joke.
That’s my Mom’s name, by the way. The one who died. For Whom I am mourning. Which is why I took the day off and went to the ball game. Then parked down town. And wandered the brave new old world. And I did in fact greet two or three total strangers between like 3:30 and 4 p.m. ambling up Telegraph (although I thought I was like George Benson and on B_) Barbara. My Mom I mean. I stopped total strangers and said “Isn’t this a beautiful day?” A couple people, or one at least, totally ignored me. Who talks to strangers on the streets? A guy named “Small” who I said “no, you’re a giant” sold me for $5 or $10 a cd of what is supposedly hip hop music or original music by he and his friends. He was wearing a pointed bamboo hat. Yes, I did turn and take his photo from across 17 or 18 or whatever, about 100 feet a way. A bike and a car rolled between us. I snapped or tapped two shots. Not thinking too hard about it. When we met again a block or two later — he was on a bike, had crossed to opposite side of me, I recognized him by the hat and yelled out to him, he waited — he said he noticed that I had taken his picture. I asked if instead he wanted to do a selfie. He said he had moved on. He said I might move on (from concern about the lady in the gallery who 86’d me). I left a voice mail on the number on the website for Ono Gallery saying that my wife had gone to grad school with Rene DeGuzman. Rene who played soccer, I think, for Hayward or Tennyson and then Cal, who once sat in the window of Oaktown Museum as human and performance art. Doing his thing. In front of passersby. (Some of whom may have snapped his photo, who knows). Oakland Museum where I was last there having coffee and a bite maybe with a musician. Local. Not Ambrose Akinmusire but…what’s his name..Dayna Stephens. (Ambrose who has a song called “I am Oscar Grant”…and my review or notice about his work that work is called “I am Oscar Grant” because I am Oscar Grant. And my Mom is or was the mom of the character in Jesus the Pimp rolling in a 1979 Granada, although I have a 4-cylinder Chevy. Although acdtually I was parked yesterday at the Paramount by a guy named Ron, “although the tags aint right” in a Lexus. And I do dream of (waking type) Boots reading his story at my Moms Memorial service, nexgt month or later this month, at a Jewish Synogogue in Silicon Valley, although I told Boots or his publicist that he could wear a Palastinian t-shirt if he likes, with or without the “Oakland, can I hear you, do you want to RISE?” and the baking or backing vocals, the female voices, the angels, with or without now but maybe with, for sure, Purple Pam –not that I knew her as such, but I do now — because its on the internet — Pam the FunkMistress — Pam Warren — his movie was dedicated to her. And I did buy– ifyou excuse the digression — () the dig — ?? — a purple Buddha intended to shrine it at 30th and West or something — it was on the internet — but instead gave it to a total stranger moving into her apartment –as a house warming gift — she was from Shanghai or Hong Kong — Dayna who has very serious health issues, but still plays his ass off. On saxophone. I forget which days he takes or doesn’t take phone calls. A picture of his hand and some sheet music, or justthe heads, is on my website. Plasti cAlto. it’s an ornette reference. Or not. I lelft all this info on your or her voice mail. The woman at the gallery. Who may or may not be the woman in the photo in the frame on the desk. Bettina no Ankya Barber (or Ankhya?). I almost wrote “Berber”. Palo Alto has not Tuareg but one Waddabe-American family. Or one Waddabe-American woman. Her mom’s name is Marie. Her name is …ok I forget. (At a certain age it is not a bonus to remember the names of 13, 14, 17, 18 year olds, even from the neighborhood). Our former mayor here, Yiaway Yeh (people called him”Alex” in high school, my school, Gunn of Plao Alto – but years later — and he was also a City of Oakland mid-level bureaucrat at the time, like an accountant — Yiaway met his wife in Africa, like the peace corps or something. I was offering to get some Congolese or Waddabe music for his wedding. I’m in the music business. There are not that many black people (left) here in Palo Alto. We had a historicly black neighborhood, called Ventura, it’s near Fry’s. Fry’s which is leaving. Fry’s where a developer bought the land, bought the adjacent land — like 20 homes — and then got the city to upzone for density. And they picked a citizen’s advisory committee to oversee what we shall build –we the peolple –or certain people –there’s at least a peep-hole — to Democracy — but they did not pick the one lady who had been there the longest, and still owned her home — and the only black woman — Lakita Pittman* I think is her name — I went looking for her. We talked like an hour. I have her number somewhere. I have all these people’s numbers. I have your number, Mam. Or Ms. I don’t have Yoko’s number but I have a small piece of porcelin she gave me — and 100 others –at Stanford a couple years back. I stood in line and maybe was on her dime — with Aleta Hayes. The dancer and singer and actor and teacher and leader of a group called Chocolate Heads and creator of a dance called “The Gesture Chorus” and I didn’t notice it but she told me that it acdtually had “jewish” too, a gesture of the Jew, the observant Jew — more observant than me –although I see a lot — I read Emerson and hsi “transparent eyeball” I see all or am all — like Whitman, maybe. White men, I admit. The Gesture Chorus had about 14 people, mostly young (college age) woman, mostly of color, plus like this one kid, a boy, of about 12 or 10, doing something like the jews do when they wrap this special strap around their arms — it kinda looks like drug use — not that I would know — or so I’ve heard. In fact I think Venus Opal Reese, who kind of had Aleta’s spot before Aleta did — Venus, who I called “a wordless story teller’ — she’s like a mime — once opened a show I did with Henry Butler the blind piano player. Seh also did a little show in a little gallery — not unlike BettiOno gallery — and now its a real estate office — and the guy who sang before Venus I only booked because he had nice hair, Elvis hair, surfer boy blond hair – his name was Brad — and he’s in heaven too — with Pam, and my Mom, and Lisa Fay Beatty who worked at the Brower Center in Berkeley, and Henry and my grandfather Henry — and my Dad — and Mia Zapata of the Gits, and a copule others — Brad sang with a girl or woman namd Astrid and his band was called Wandering Stars (not Wandering Jews mind you, do you mind? and sorry to bother you) Venus had a piece about hair, black woman’s hair and about how a woman with cenrtain hair, be she from Palo Alto or Paris France or Asmara Africa could all talk together and have a conversation, about their hair. She’s on the internet, too. Anyhow, i left a voice mail to say that I had signed your (or her, or Ankya’s or Ankhya’s) book, with my name Mark Weiss (son of Paul and Barbara Weiss –we are all actually from Chicago, the South Side) and my email –above — earwopa at yahoo — it’s not an AFrican or Hebrew word it’s an acronym or contraction, in the way that Intel is “integrated electronics” earwopa is Earth Wise Of Palo Alto — my concert company– since 1993, a spinoff of Bay Area Action Earth Day — and now my number 650 305 &^(Ankh) (Distaff) because I’m not hiding. There is no hiding place. Which is acdtually Nina Simone I think. Or Billy Taylor. Or the Christian non-Torah. But I was thinking of Maya Angelou, who once said to me, and 300,000 others, “good morning” and then again, in Philly, at the Bar of the Four Seasons, I was with D_ the Dominican trauma surgeon — who sometimes was mean when she wanted to be nice, or have someone else, nearby, maybe too near, be nice back — who knows? we only human. Anyways I did meet Maya Angelou and won’t forget that. Although I do sometimes forget her exact words. And I’m not really namedropping. They are literally dropping in on me. At this MacBook. At this cafe. Like angels or ghosts or presences. Today. So maybe I should forget yesterday or Move On. And you’re website did say “unapologetic” but i am still wondering what’s up with that? I did apologize. It’s called capitulating. Tapping out. Why? (or “radical inclusivity” – her words) anyhow, whoever you are. have a nice day. And sorry — although I’m sort of repeating yourself – -and acdtually one of my theories is that you really don’t like Boots Riley and are projecdting at me some grudge intended towards him. And truthfully I hardly know the guy and maybe don’t get his songs or movie. (But I did buy a magazine to learn more. I showed you. Or them.) Also I know a guy who wrote a song that says black people (the speaker is black, the writer, the singer) get mistaken (by white people, or Chinese) for people they don’t resemble in the least. So good luck with your museum and your gallery and the young female photographer who also plays violin (but not likely like Marika Hughes, or Carla Kihlstedt, but close enough, I’m sure). I was going to inquire about the photo or photos of the crowns (the woman’s hat. not to be a code-switcher, but I think I saw a play with that name or word. It might even be in Passing Strange). How much? In college I read a book or was asked to, maybe by Howard Porter or William Cook (he too, now in heaven) that had a black character refer to a woman’s butt as her “turd-cutter”. I’m wondering why you kicked me out of your gallery. Also, do you mind if I post the photo to my blog? I took 88 photos that afternoon (yesterday) on Broadway and Telegraph, and might publish or post 10 or 12 or 40 of them. On Plastic Alto. Also I think I mentioned I’m running for City Council in Palo Alto — like I said, or for what its worth, I’m a known person and not some Cointelpro officer or whatever. Or are you saying you fear that I will make money and exploit BettiOno Gallery and Kierra Johnson and Ankya Barber? (Her actual name is Anyka but I was shaping it with an ankh). (Which is ironic if she does not have permission to use Yoko’s name or Miles Davis or his ex-wife or widow — she is basically saying that in her space she can bully me or push me around not for shooting her picture but for not looking like her; as compared to talking to me long enough to know what i think about art or media or Oakland or black culture; if anything, I assume black people are talented in art or music, I’m attracted to such) I’m so confused (Jonathan Richman). holler mark weiss ps this also reminds me of the situation regarding Dana Shultz and her painting of Emmett Till’s photo.And of the poet in the Nation just this week who later tweeted that his bad poem was due to “privilege” not trying to trigger you just wonder what you think
and yeah i did write to spike lee once asking what he thought of Huck Finn and (Servant) Jim — but 10 years later rode the elevator down with him at NYU film department and pretended not to notice him
This is from being kicked out of a gallery in Oakland where three people were having a meeting and didn’t like that I snapped their picture and stole their soul.
*Years later, it was published in the local newspaper’s comment board that Lakita while in office or commission had protested including gays as people eligible for affirmitive actions, on religious grounds. So who knows.
it’s let she who is without sin cast the stone, not she with stones handy casts the next stone. Or sorry to bother you.
I just noticed on the Fretboard Journal website that there is a soundsample of a collaborative song between Laurie Lewis and Molly Tuttle called You are My Flower. I don’t know the song but it is on “Will The Circle Be UnBroken” by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and collaborators. This version sounds great to me!
Laurie released a cd of collaborations (Mike Marshall et al) on her own label.
I’ve really only seen her once or twice but admire her. She played with Todd Sickafoose and James Nash who went to Stanford.
(I jump genre a lot but am first of all, a rocker; a conductor named Dave Moschler said he leads an orchestra that reworked Dookie by Green Day)
Here Comes The Rain
From True Stories (Laurie Lewis/Spruce and Maple Music, ASCAP)
VERSE 1 A A I’ve been waiting for so long, I’ve been listening for your song D D I’ve been scanning the skies, searching for clouds on the horizon A And here they come D F#m E And I know you’re going to fall to the thirsty earth again A Here comes the rain
bw
Research and fact-checking this — yes I do that — yields the unfortunate news that two roots musicians had passed: Charles Baty of Little Charlie and the Nite Cats, and Ron Thompson, both 66. Rip in peace. So where this went compared to where it started I would have to say that the grass is not just as green nor the sky just as blue. But hang in there, dear reader, and keep on rockin’ in the free world.
Giving serious thought but rejecting a plank based on XTC:
Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss 