The building industry term “net zero” is a green-wash term designed to confuse the issue about growth per se.
Here is a good article on it, about San Francisco’s first “net zero” building.
To me the context of this is: powerful special interests are pushing leadership to not amend, revise or update Comprehensive Plan but UNDERMINE it, specifically to negate the Downtown Cap on office space.
To the extent we are invited to comment at all is just a show.
Maybe I’m a wee bit cynical, but that is what I read in the staff reports and hear at the various versions of this I have attended in person, plus putting it in context of watching policy fairly closely for the last five years plus taking into account the Grand Jury Report of 6/6/14 which says Palo Alto is corrupt in at least two cases both involving one developer: do you expect us to believe the corruption is limited to those two cases? How deep is the rot?
(I posted this on GS story from last week, a preview of PATC meeting about Comp Plan review, which I missed; I found the link while sussing Dan Minkoff, of Minkoff Group, the ones who want to over-build at 385 Sheridan: they have a building in Mountain View that is so-called Green, and there was a link from that to “net zero” SF discussion — article by Nathan Weinstein in Biz Journal — that’s the nature of the internet and search…outro, because this is, after all, a music blog, not “How deep is your love / rot?” but “Have you ever seen the rain?”
Note: A previous version of this linked only to the first part of the two-part series, and not, slightly more relevantly, to the second part, dateline Eupen, Belgium. I recommend read both parts.
Evil Knievalist that I am, here I graft Chris Lang’s post about genetically modified poplar trees from Belgium to Sam Borden et al in The Times, abut Qatari soccer drift there, to Belgium, whereas previous-like I had falsely claimed that it was a distant cousin of Obama who scored the 88 minute goal in the World Cup, all of this catalyzed by something in June /July 2014 Art in America — the one that misleading like has a Chris Ofili, from Nigeria, on the cover but no actual story. Got all that? On page 125 of Art in America, there is a facsimile of Wipers Times, from 1914, a pun about the most pop’lar tree in Belgium. gotze cup?!
I don’t think Jack O The Clock, the improv music group, have played Palo Alto. Jumping the eye across a scrolling screen of 0’s and 1’s disguised as A, B, C, &’s & #’s, it seems they like Starry Plough in Berkeley (and I like Starry Plough in Berkley, when it was booked by Misty Gamble, and for darts) and sometimes Crepe Place in Santa Cruz (never been, but Terry and I took a photo from outside the venue a few weeks back, like a character in Round Midnight) and the occasional scrolling up to Seattle and Portland, but not hardly here in the 650 — maybe Red Rocks on Castro once.
The word I was looking for was “saccade” means jumping.
Meanwhile, a Palo Alto triple-mom (as opposed to an Octo-mom, she has three sons, and her husband is a musician — check that, her husband is the best musician in Barron Park, I would venture, eyes fixed-like dead on in a stare) wants me to led my considerable Mojo (not the music mag) and perhaps the extreme editorial influence of Plastic Alto (the blog, not the British reed-holder) towards a music series for today’s Utes (not the Ohlone). You know, for kids.
I guess we could do both: a venue, perhaps downtown for interesting music, including Jack O The Clock and their ilk — I also booked Ava Mendoza and friends into Smith-Andersen Gallery once — but also somewhere were teens, especially those forming bands, but I would make it for ages 15 to 18 or something, can play, and listen to their peers.
I also have a meeting with someone in Leadership about why or why not there is no place in Palo Alto for nationally-known touring acts to play. And not just not at 456 University, the former Varsity.
I apologize to Jack O The Clock for not reviewing their music and more directly. Oblique strategy, dearies, as Brian Eno would say. (Not that I know Eno, but I did manage Beatty and Hilsinger during a time when they met Eno and he wrote the liner notes for their tiger mountain homage….)
Jack O The Clock has my permission to use this as liner notes someday.
(which reminds me that I more than an hour ago booted up the old sputtering tube-amp-cum-abacus with the specific intention of pilfering in the Bittorrent or Lawrence Lessig sense photo or photos perhaps on the Mississippi Museum of Art website, for an exhib called “This Light of Ours” which also reminds that I have two copies of Odetta’s last show, at Golden Gate Park. Bit Torrent or bitter rent?)
Maybe I will, for no reason, medley from Jack O The Clock to “activist photographers of the Civil Rights Movement. They got a Jordan Glenn which reminds me I been meaning to ring my old friend Glen Jordan, the Vermont-based Sports Writer and former quarterback for the Richardson Rapiers. Sarah Howe I think. I don’t know these people at all; their were 2 girl and 3 boys, from the picture, near as I can tell.
There’s also a lady at Stanford who has an agent and maybe a label and plays her music thru an electronic coo-hickey, of the type ironically enough that has been banned at Lytton Plaza; I’d like to book her there anyways. (We have an amplifier ban, that probably ensnares due to it’s obvious lack of narrow tailoring, laptop bands or acts).
Palo Alto fans entranced by Jack O The Clock no just kidding its a photo by Matt Herron of Mississippi in 1965
Music writer and rock pioneer Paul De Barros of Palo Alto re-enacting elements of an early gig, 50 years prior
Twenty nineteen, five years from now, brings an anniversary of Portola discovering, so to speak, Palo Alto, on behalf of the King of Spain, , in 1769 and I have been thinking that it sounds like a good concept for a party.
Meanwhile I ran into jazz and popular music writer Paul De Barros at Zots in Portola Valley (what greenhorns might call Alpine Beer Garden) just today. He was doing some musical history and archeology. He claims he gigged there, in 1963, with his rock band.
Zots was called Casa de Tableta and has a marker regarding its historic significance, I had been noting, before Paul chugged past.
He gave me a brief re-cap of the history of Santa Clara Valley rock and roll, from his era. He said he is working on an extensive research project recreating the set lists of the bands from that era, his era. He said he is Cubberley class of 1963 and knows Bill Kreutzmann and Gregg Rolie, if that places him to the music fan but not expert/ genius. He said the repertoire pre-Beattles was a lot of Chuck Berry (as, of course, was the Beatles, in their Hamburg days).
In honor of all that, I had a double Hamburger, although I was fixing to dog.
(What made me approach Paul was that just as I was pulling in in my 4-cyclinder Chevy — what I call my little cheddar — this dude 18 years older than me was doing it on a bicycle –and came from much further, “down by Bayshore”. My opening line was “you are a better man than me, bud”.)
I hope he gives me a credit line for the picture of him standing where his hit was, 50 years ago. Not that I’m Jim Marshall or anything.
I recognized his name from Downbeat magazine, where he writes when not also writing for Seattle Times.
Paul De Barros should give a lecture or presentation on his findings, perhaps at Palo Alto History Association. Come to think of it, I might just mosey on down there, to Cub, to run this by Steve Staiger.
The photo of Paul on his own phone has him gesturing like on an air-sax. Back in the day you would think “sax” when you thought “rock” more often than today.
Here is link to his book on Marian McPartland:
edit to add, a month later:
Laura Stec the esteemed eco-cook (that’s cook, not kook) and former BAA regular, wrote about Zot’s and I added news of Paul:
Great job, Laura.
Zots.
Tim Harris and I met up there recently; I drove although it is biking distance from my apartment, Oak Creek. When I got there I greeted a dude who had obviously come a distance on his bike. It turns out he is Paul De Barros, Cubberley Class of 1963, looking to shoot a photo in the spot his band gigged there that year, i.e. 50 years ago. He is actually a known music writer, mostly jazz, in Seattle. Was visiting his parents.
Also, re Khosla, I am pretty sure I recall precisely that twenty or so years ago, the Mercury, then a Knight Ridder paper and much better than today’s, ran a list of water scofflaws and he was head of the list, for a Palo Alto or Palo Alto Hills property, or LAH, maybe the one you are describing. (He famous as VC and founder of tech company and recently for privatizing a beach access). Water scofflaw meaning he ran up a huge bill even when we were supposed to be rationing.
Here is link to picture of Paul:
Web Link
I have to say the food was iffy. I would rather eat yours, from what I hear. And no I cannot follow a recipe but thanks for suggesting.
(I read “Borges Y Yo” in Spanish 3 at Dartmouth, in its original Argentine; was my professor named Russell? And I found it recently, in English, at a good used book store near the Plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is part of the U.S., one of my favorite parts actually)
(I have a copy of “I and Thou” on my shelf but I admit I have not gotten very far with it — wonder what Freud would say about that)
See also:
“Matador” tv show, “the Moe Berg of Soccer” some wag says, starring Tony Bravo, who is either fictional or real, close enough for Plastic Alto.
master spy and srtriker tony bravo
Not to be confused with Paul Bravo, real enough, born in Campbell, played for Foothill College, Santa Clara and MLS, who did train with Brazilians, if that is enough to raise an eyebrow at NSA (not NASL)
The Merc also had a nice story about social media and Copa Mundial, which I should read into as follow up to my paen to World Cup Buzz the App.
I am repeating for emphasis: gotze cup?!
And I want to drag into this brouhaha the German stamp: they ran either five million of these or five million dollars worth, and were prepared to pulp them, make them a pulp fiction.
welt Meister sounds like a cold cream
I also want to suss out the thing about “Bad Moon Rising” adapted to song by Argentinians; is that the same thing in Jere Longman “Your daddy is in the house/You have relinquished control to an authority figure”?
And: do White Stripes get any bounce from “7 Nation Army” being so ubiquitous?
Quick enough on the camera and then type in my email function, shortcuts or no
At 9:10 on Monday, I am reading the Times in the common room of my apartment complex. I notice the chart on Downloads. Katy Perry number one, Pharrell Williams “Happy” number two. I suddenly am reminded that as of a very few number of days, I have a smart phone. How hard would it be to punch a few buttons and hear that song?
Pretty simple.
(Even if I only know how to use about 2 percent of my phone and only about a third of what I could do, for the last several years, on my Stupid (flip) Cell Phone).
I am the 343 millionth person to stream this video.
It occurs to me that the young(er) man I passed on the way here busting a move was probably listening to the same song.
By 9:20 I will complete this post (not likely to be seen by 343 million; maybe not 343).
I am meaning to go back to hard copy of Times and read about BitTorrent. Earlier today I found an abandoned 2/7ths copy of same Times and tore a clip about a bookstore in Morningside Heights fighting the organization of its five employees.
In terms of skill of video making, I prefer Cake “Long Jacket” and or Feist “One Two Three” or whatever, with the French or Canadian choreographer.
(also, I’ve already mentioned I had upgraded a couple months back to fairly powerful laptop by leading trendy brand, on my birthday, thanks to dad and GF)
edit to add: I did see this last night, but didn’t bite, until I saw Randy McMullen in the Merc site talk about it: the “Tacky” parody of “Happy”. Reminds me that a few years ago Aisha Tyler was an account rep at J.Walter Thompson Sf and I called on her, to pick up a vhs of her stand-up set. I wasn’t really booking comedy but thought about it. I recall being sort of grossed out by a bit about, how you say, nasal discharge. Also: Kevin Ryan the owner of Green Apple claims that I overlapped with Margaret Cho there, in 1991, but we must have just missed each other. And despite being impressed by his “twerking” in this video this is not the worst place to pass on condolences to him for the loss of his father in law, Charlie Haden. Somewhere I have Tanya Haden’s phone number on the back of a cardboard coaster, with a smiley face 0. I was just cruising’ for potential clients, honest. Too bad I didn’t have a proto-Twerk, or would that have been tacky? I recall, on our second chance meeting giving Ms. Haden — did I almost write or even think Tanya Harding? — a cassette copy of early The Negro Problem based on her saying she liked squeeze box and that band, pre-Heidi, featuring on accordion Jill Meschke. Me-too happy enough, you betchske.
I owe the library about $5. I have three books out, on J.D. Salinger, on “Dollarocracy”, something else, and an Ornette Coleman cd called “Space”. I think there are about 100 titles in the library database that I have paid small fines on — I call this a type of donation, or civil service.
Not that I have any bitcoin, but why not let me pay that fine with it?
Believe me, this will come up.
When I applied for Library Advisory Commission, I was the only candidate interviewed who mentioned any particular authors. The guy selected had a scheme to put RFID in every book to prevent theft!
I facetiously stated, in a private correspondence, that I doubted any of the Palo Alto Yangpu delegation, from a couple years back, knew what side of the river they were on — there are two districts in Shanghai that are being redeveloped. We are part of something (almost as murky as bitcoin) called Smart Cities that is pushing some kind of development there.
The Smart Cities people, whoever or whatever they are, are also pushing Bitcoin.
I was for Ithaca Dollars once, in contrast. Ithaca hours, that is.
I guess Bitcoin are smart. Paul Krugman, like myself, thinks their stupid. Or dangerous. His column from a few months back is called “Bitcoin is Evil“.
Andreeson Horowitz thinks they are smart(the currency), and has placed a $25 million bet on them, called CoinBase, based in SF. Impressive list or team players. Or scary.
Before Palo Alto had Smart Cities relationships — in Shanghai, and Germany — we had Sister Cities. We still do — Oaxaca, Palo, Enschede, and more — but, apparently a mere cultural exchange and friendship is, well, stupid.
Stupid me, for example, texted my Oaxacan brother — my good friend since 1981 –during the Mexico World Cup run, and he texted me back regarding U.S. Belgium.
I saw Nancy Shepherd — our Mayor, her daughter is a school teacher, if that speaks to her intelligence and I think it does — for a minute — two minutes –two Mondays ago and she was mentioning to me but not telling me about her trip to Oaxaca in honor of our 50th anniversary with them.
Coupa takes Bitcoin, not sure how or why.
Actually I tend to bristle and sometimes mouth off when the public sector lets the private sector colonize it; I call this corporate creep. I also track cases where the library looks like a product showcase or mall. This topic does not seem to register at all on the radar of the library director.
I put BitCoin in the same category with the people who want to download their brains to disc and then die and think they will live forever in the post-biological age. It would not surprise me, however, if Bitcoin survives long enough to separate the average people from a few billion dollars, going up to the rich. (Which reminds me of reading somewhere about Mark Cuban saying Silicon Valley is not about start-ups as much as exit strategies; which reminds me of reading somewhere about a CalPirs money manager indicted for corruption).
Wouldn’t the world be great without Government, money and the poor.
Which reminds me of Palo Alto Planning and Transportation commissioner Michael Alcheck stating that he looks forward to a transportation system like in the movie “The Minority Report” which is based on a Philip K. Dick story about a dystopian future of mega-technology. Maybe someday little mechanical spiders will straighten up my apartment.
Bitcoin gains legitimacy bit-by-bit: Is your city ready? by Kevin Ebi, on SmartCities group webpage.
Meanwhile, Oakland has a Bitcoin-championing candidate for Mayor named Bryan Parker, a former investment banker and executive with a high-powered healthcare company, so maybe the Bitcoiners will use our election the same way. Story in East Bay Express and The Chron
edit to add: this doesn’t really go here but “Silicon Valley” the comedy show on HBO, I saw in the L.A. Times big article on Emmy noms. Meanwhile, while linking to that I see that biz journal lauds Netflix of Silicon Valley and 31 content nods…And I caught on tv (whatever that is or something like it) last night lion’s part of “The Prestige” from 2006 about magic and technology with David Bowie as Nikola Tesla: so this is about bitcoin, coinBase, Salinger, Bryan Parker, fictional content about entrepreneurship to much bouncing around — I did not link to the article I saw about mysterious penny stock with $6 billion market cap.
This will all feel that much more simplified once I return those three books and the cd.
I should probably not write about “Passing Strange” Mark “Stew” Stewart or The Negro Problem — MY FORMER CLIENT, 2003-2004, TEN YEARS AGO, let the Sunshine Clause in — SUNSET — WHATEVER — but it suddenly occurs to me that there is a newish Spike Lee movie, about Red Hook, maybe called Red Hook Summer and it is about a preacher and a young man, not Youth from L.A. but Yuta from Atlanta or something — and somebody kinda, you know, gay — and Colman Domingo and D’Adria Aziza and maybe Daniel Breaker and how does this not remind you of Washington and Crenshaw are beautiful at night, stoned angels weep and all that?
Note: I spent about 100 to 200 hours with Stew (and sometimes Heidi Rodewald) and exactly 2 minutes with Spike Lee (in an elevator, at NYU Film, which is second floor, in Feb. 2001, and DID NOT ask him if he ever got my letter on the influence of Nigger Jim and Huck Finn on his work), so whose side am I on?
Stew has not been my client in about 10 years and I’ve only seen him about three times in the interim — once at Tamarine in Palo Alto in January, 2005 and once at JCC in SF in 2010 — so I should not bother my gray matter, but it does worry me when checking stewsongs.com there is no action. I just assume there is a spat — Stew being Stew, his attorney Steve Nearenberg would term it — and now a certain amount of sulk. Sometimes things grow there. Don’t go there.
“Red Hook Summer” owes a debt to “Passing Strange” you bet.
arlington hill helped him see everything, sho-nuf, ya dig, by any means necessary
Or as Adam Duritz says: there’s a little bit of Maria and every thing I write.
I don’t really talk to Stew and I doubt he reads “Plastic Alto” (puh- lease) but I would advise him to move on and, say, start working on a black and unauthorized (is that redundant) version of Franny and Zoey.
I posted on Gennady Sheyner (“Candidate Season opens”) that any fewer than 10 candidates for five seats for Palo Alto City Council would mean that Palo Alto has thrown in the towel on Democracy.
The period to pull papers, he reports, starts today and extends probably through August 15.
I presume but have not verified that the basic requirement carries over from 2012: 25 signatures of PA registered voters to qualify and $25 or 100 signatures, but that could change. City Clerk Donna Grider sets appointments to talk candidates thru the process. An oath is administered, either at the pull or the file, I forget which.
Declared so far: Gregg Scharff (i), Nancy Shepherd (i), Eric Filseth, Tom Dubois, Claude Ezran, See Reddy — that’s six. Karen Holman (i) is likely 7.
There were 14 for five in 2009 and 6 for 4 in 2012.
It takes about 8,000 votes to be seated.
The typical candidate spends about $20,000 on yard signs, consultants, ads in the three papers. I think but would have to verify that the Weekly is usually better at predicting the winners, thru it’s endorsement; or, the Weekly endorsement usually carries better than that of Post or News. (just ask: Tim Gray, Corey Levens, Dan Dykwell, endorsed but never seated).
outro, The Donnas “Take it Off” maybe they can re-form to do a special election season version call “Pull Papers” (9, 689 votes, the number shown in the screen capture below, would be a good goal for a City Council candidate)
Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss 