Gunn-Paly shootout set for Feb. 7 at The Titensity Taj Maha, or The Paly Pit rather

When Gunn plays Paly they will seek to hold 21 below 21, points per game

When Gunn plays Paly they will seek to hold 21 below 21, points per game

IMG_20150116_185033963_HDR

John Reid, who Hans outs as a former Awalt coach, lauds Kevin Mullin of the Vikes.

Should be an interesting match up Feb. 7 Saturday at Gunn’s new gym (new to me). That’s in three weeks.check that, the game is at Paly.

Hans, Me, Matt “Naps” Passell and Baird checked out the Titans rout of Lynbrook the other night.

Hans says that the Titans have a bunch of “long” guys who are quick which could cause some mismatches and upsets of supposedly stronger teams. The Longs are too quick for other Bigs and too tall for other ball-handlers. Hmm. If so, you read it here first.

Meanwhile, when we toured the new Mitchell Park center Hans agreed that there is something odd about the new court. One, he said, little dingleberries fall from the trees onto the court. Two, the concrete is too hard and too slippery when wet. Three, the windows are too close to the backcourt. I double-checked if indeed that was the court where Jeremy Lin famously sprained his ankle the day before a CCS championship and was told, no that was Ross Road YMCA.

Even so, maybe they should lower the rims to make it officially a midget league court. Or, next time we build a $45 Million community center and include a hoop, someone with a clue should oversee it, and not just be dazzle-eyed because they met Jeremy Lin.

edit to add: Gunn beat Lynbrook by about 30 and it was fun to watch, with the exception of the Lynbrook rooting section, a group of about 12 boys and 2 girls who were rather obnoxious and actually started making monkey noises when Gunn put in a black player, although they self-policed enough to cut it out after a few seconds. Wow, their #5 did a reverse pivot!!!!!! The cheerleaders were very sweet, however, and delivered hot dogs for $2 each back to our section, and I bought a round for Coach and Baird.

Off the top of my head, and I could cheat by referring to about 50 shots from 4 or 5 games stored in my cell, but for the Titans I like: Russell, from outside and occasionally bringing the ball up court, Lee, or Lee-H-somethings, two brothers, skinny but good passers; Gil, a relative of Javier Gil a footballer from my generation, tall and quirky and athletic and explosive at 6’3″ — fun to watch — Noah Riley off the bench and some type of bench leadership, coach Brandynn said he is the toughest guy on the team — especially since as the football QB he got knocked on his fanny probably 100 times in 11 games; Davis, I think, a point guard; Sun, I think, a point guard; #13 the other point guard, and one of two blacks on the team; Sharod Miller who looks thin as a receiver in football but huge in hoops, especially since so many of his teammate are downright bony; another big guy, Silverman or something, off the bench – -Gunn really has 9 or 10 players who can contribute during prime time — Lukas Dorward tall at 6′ 2 but can also handle the ball, he and Silverman actually had one pass too many in a fast break that worked Tuesday; meanwhile Passell was more articulate and observant but we both felt that the team could be a little more disciplined. I may have to scout Paly tonight against Los Altos early tip off 6:30 while Gunn is idle. gunnlynbrook15

MaxPreps meanwhile has Gunn at #23 in CCS and Paly at #5, behind 4 private schools. (edit to add: Monday before the Saturday, Gunn at 12-2 .857 winning percentage is #19 in CCS according to MaxPreps while Paly at 14-4 .778 winning percentage is #9. Gunn also has Lynbrook and #20 Pinewood this week).

Posted in media, sports | Leave a comment

Charlie Musselwhite signed cd’s at Down Home in El Cerrito, while supplies last

Charlie was here

Charlie was here

I called up to Down Home to learn there are 8 or 9 signed copies of Charlie Musselwhile cd on sale for a reasonable price.

I might have to mosey up there to fetch me one. (And if Plastic Alto plug is enough to send others stronger, faster and more swiftly such that I am shut out, it’s all good).

Last I saw Charlie was backstage at Mystic Theatre and there was a teenager named Sweat Pea or something sitting in with the band.

I rode a bus with Charlie and a few others from San Diego to Orono, Maine in 2003 part of the Front Porch Blues tour. He asked if he could trail behind in his Harley, but was told the insurance wouldn’t front for that.

edit to add, a couple weeks later: I saw Mr. McCord the manager of the store at the Joe Ely show in Berkeley, from afar, which got me fixin’ to call them at 510 525 21 29 to see if any of these CDs are outstanding. Course, they’re not open until Thursday. I also noted I put them in the next town over, towards Berkeley, but fixed that. No offense to El Cerrito. The Gauchos.

Posted in music | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Daphne Hannig, October 28, 2014, 5:13 p.m.

Unbeatable at Boggle,and had some notes on my candidate statement, at Philz.

Unbeatable at Boggle,and had some notes on my candidate statement, at Philz.

(Daphne Hannig worked on my campaign, for Palo Alto City Council. I met she and Karen Guttieri her mother while walking a precinct in their south Palo Alto, Eichlerized neighborhood. Daphne and I met a second time a few days later, at Philz on Middlefield, where she critiqued both my ballot pamphlet statement and local press coverage of me, then we rang a few more doorbells. I was impressed with her ability to step forward with her views, how much they overlapped with mine and generally did not, in these handful of instances, did not quibble with whether it was her campaign or my own. To the extent that my friend since Terman Andrew Fajardo recently faulted me for ringing 100 and not 5,000 doorbells my counter-argument is that now therefore my time with this one fellow traveler stands out. Goodbye, Daphne, God bless, keep on rockin’ girl and thanks!)

Posted in music, Plato's Republic | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Mark B. Weiss the millionaire developer

Mark B Weiss from Chicago but not this Mark B Weiss from Chicago and Palo Alto

Mark B Weiss from Chicago but not this Mark B Weiss from Chicago and Palo Alto


I am not Mark B. Weiss the millionaire developer.

I spoke to Mark B. Weiss the millionaire developer, and author while on tour, in Chicago. He happened to have a shingle hanging around the corner from my appointment, with a perspective client, and I rang him.

I thought he said his middle name is actually the same as mine, unless he was just messing with me.

He is about 10 years older.

And it’s true that my grandfather and namesake Morton B. Weiss, was a developer in Chicago and helped build Indian Village.

Here is the link to the other Mark’s books (And for comparison, I rate myself only #4 at best among Mark Weiss in music, behind the ticket broker, the scat singer and the loud indie band singer).

edit to add: fact-checking this, post-pub, yields this hit to Morton Weiss, that he is a University of Chicago class of 1916 (you gotta start using all four digits, not just ’16), and that he wrote additional lyrics to a Blackfriars production called “The Myth of Mandel”. Link.

and1:
I never met my Pop-Pop. If this is him, that would explain a lot of things:
(from University of Chicago Special Collections, The Blackfriars, their answer to Harvard’s Hasty Pudding)

My grandfather worked on similar shows, from that era, as a lyricist

My grandfather worked on similar shows, from that era, as a lyricist

Posted in ethniceities, filthy lucre | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Two events, Earthwise and otherwise

I am working on two events this month, a Jan. 25 jazz panel I am organizing and moderating, and a Jan. 30 concert featuring Jerry Hannan, for Earthwise.

The Sunday, Jan. 25 event will be part of the program of the Palo Alto History Association, at Lucie Stern Center, 2 p.m. It features Akira Tana and I (plus TBA) discussing the history of jazz here.Note that it’s a talk not a show. But it’s free.

The following Friday, as part 2 of a potential ongoing offering, Jerry Hannan performs at a 7 p.m. event at Cafe Zoe in Menlo Park. There is a $10 door charge for that. It is billed as Earthwise Productions 20th anniversary series, or Earthwise@20 or even earXXise.

Here is a video of Jerry Hannan playing one of his catchier songs, “Heaven”. I’ve been watching him since about 2000. He played previous Earthwise gigs at 260 Cali (former Keystone, former Edge, former Icon) and Stanford CoHo.

Posted in music | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Tribute to Herb

On Tuesday, November 12, 2012 — 11/12/13 if you are counting — I snuck out of the house and motored over to Paly High to check out Herb Wong’s Adult School class on Woody Herman. Although I contemplated flashing my “junior historian” credential and asking to sit in for a class or part of a class, I erred on the side of caution and “the observer effect” by peering in briefly, unobserved, like a jazz peeping tom, thru the window of the portable classroom to verify that yes the legend endures. I stayed for about three bars of what I vouchsafe was “the Four Brothers”, nodding yes while those inside nodded along. Not quite gonzo journalism, but worth the short trip. I helped myself to a second bowl of pancit — still warm! — and then settled in to watch JFK on the telly. (Is this where I admit that not only had I heard of Dave Ellis before Steve Turre, but that even today I am almost mixing up Woody Herman, Woody Shaw and Artie Shaw? And yet I insist on wanting to add Maxwell Davis to my saxophone pantheon..)
wood

Part iii: “Broad City” was in Times today and on Terry Gross, plus Terry my Terry heard parts of it this a.m., on Comedy Central, which we will probably scope out, after the Warriors game (my call) and Idol (her call). I like them a lot better than “Girls”.

A better tribute to Herb Wong is by PAJA on Sunday, Jan. 25, the evening of the day that Akira Tana and I host a talk about history of jazz (and I had envisioned Herb as a panelist).

PAJA PROUDLY PRESENTS
SAVE THE DATE
Sunday, January 25, 7pm
THE WOODY HERMAN ORCHESTRA
In tribute to Dr. Herb Wong

Menlo-Atherton High School’s Center for the Performing Arts
         555 Middlefield Road, Atherton

Woody, of course, is no longer with us, but a group of alumni all-stars, led by Frank Tiberi, continues to carry the torch and keep those great Herd charts alive.  This is a rare Bay Area appearance for the WHO. Dr. Herb Wong had a special bond with Woody Herman, and Marilyn Wong conceived this concert as a final tribute to Herb.  Please join us at this beautiful 492 seat concert hall, an easy drive from anywhere in the mid-Peninsula.

Tickets are $40 general admission, $35 PAJA members, $15 students. Mail order tix now available from PA Tickets, c/o Fox, 294 Tennessee Lane, Palo Alto 94306. Enclose personal check and self-addressed stamped envelope. Or  pick them up at

and, from nearly ten years prior:
The Palo Alto Jazz Alliance will present “A Tribute to Woody Herman” on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Canada College’s Main Theatre, 4200 Farm Hill Blvd. in Redwood City. The evening will feature the Woody Herman Alumni All-Stars, led by Frank Tiberi. The West Coast premiere of the documentary film, “Autumn Eve — A Tribute to Woody Herman,” will also take place. The film, shot at Herman’s grave in Hollywood Forever Cemetary, will be released in October.

Tickets are $30 general; $25 for Palo Alto Jazz Alliance members and $20 students. Proceeds will benefit the Palo Alto Jazz Alliance Education Fund. For more information please call (650) 345-9XY3.

an earlier version of this had an account of a conversation I had today with a man who claimed to working on a recording with the Paly arts department.

Posted in jazz, Plato's Republic | Tagged | Leave a comment

Agit props

IMG_20150114_111843039

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Pharaoh, Pharoah

My notes on Don Cherry, which are actually Don’s notes on himself, circa 1970 have the traditional Egyptian to English spelling for his collaborator Sanders, see for you self:

I966I966 I(66

I966I966 I(66

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Dennis Whittaker’s 5 no 4 rules to follow to stay out of harm’s way, 1971 2013

Local news last night actually had item about a booby trap

Local news last night actually had item about a booby trap

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Jason Garrett high road

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by my father's madness

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by my father’s madness


When Jason Garrett head coach of the Dallas Cowboys football team, was interviewed post-game about the loss to the Packers he said something like “we had our opportunities to prevail but did not, and the officiating was not the reason we lost.” I, in contrast, had posted “Worst NFL call ever” about Dez Bryant’s amazing non-catch.

Jason Garrett is the son of a man who when they both were at Columbia University, which was then the losing-est team in the country, called his players “like a bunch of drug-addicted losers” which got him fired. (In theory, if he was in the drama department, he would have gotten a raise, it’s method acting: go read James Carroll, basketball diaries).

Good on Garrett.

And yeah that whole sport has to distance itself from Papa Joe.

Meanwhile I actually watched most of the Oregon Ohio State game at Old Pro next to Steve Bono the former UCLA and 49ers quarterback — a friend of a friend — and he spotted a flaw in the form of the National Champion signal called Cardale Jones: he said the fumble, back when the game was close, was because Cardale does not grip the laces. I told Steve Bono that I have a snapshot and print of him in the 1989 parade in SF. I will search for it and report back.

I also watched not long ago the Army Navy game at the same venue and enjoyed pointing out the shrine to Commander Campbell (Bill Campbell’s brother) who starred in football, lacrosse and basketball and was in charge of Navy fitness.

Posted in Plato's Republic, sports | Tagged , | Leave a comment