Gunn football Titans or Big Red are seventh in the CCS in scoring, 267 points or thirty-eight-and-one-seventh points per outing.
And number three in the county, behind only Los Gatos and Leigh of San Jose. Twenty-one of 93 teams exceed 200 aggregate points, or 30 points per game.
Last season Richard Jackson IV of The Titans led CCS in rushing and scoring. At one point it seemed frosh-soph was outscoring Big Red varsity this year.
Note: Palo Alto has 165 points and a 2-5, the reverse of their south city rivals who are 5-2. Okeh, 3-4 but were skunked by Gatos, like Pepe Le Pew.
Gunn has Cupertino Thursday, Fremont and Monta Vista and should finish 7-3 or at worst 6-4. Beating unblemished Tino could lead to an at large CCS berth.
Kudos to Coach Jason Miller for proving the unbeatable spring ‘21s were no fluke.
Imagine a beach – you within it, or better: watching from above – the burning sun, sunscreen and bright bathing suits and sweaty palms and legs. Tired limbs sprawled lazily across a mosaic of towels. Imagine the occasional squeal of children, laughter, the sound of an ice cream van in the distance. The musical rhythm of waves on the surf, a soothing sound (on this particular beach, not elsewhere). The crinkling of plastic bags whirling in the air, their silent floating, jellyfish-like, below the waterline. The rumble of a volcano, or of an airplane, or a speedboat. Then a chorus of songs: everyday songs, songs of worry and of boredom, songs of almost nothing. And below them: the slow creaking of an exhausted Earth, a gasp. (Lucia Pietroiusti)
which reminds me of the time I met James McMurtry at Slims and he said he had just been reading Wallace Stegner “Recapitulation “ and he was his fathers teacher but turning a short story into a song was difficult to do. I mentioned this to Jaimee Harris of Waco, Austin and now Nashville who might be willing to give it a whirl. Women on The Wall— songwriter challenge: Dao Strom, Freedy Johnston, JP of Origami Ghosts who played Beerland on February 9, 2009, Jon Dee Graham, Will Sexton, Matt Nathanson, Vienna Teng; for Stegner Centennial— he was my neighbor and quite musical. L. Marie Cook for Lions With Wings. Though with Sylvie we are also talking LC.
I met the Benitez sisters at Palo Alto World Music Month, directly after hearing Ledisi at Stern Grove, where Cecilia Pena Govea and her father Miguel Govea were the opening act.
That they had a jaw’s ass (oops: jaw of an ass) naturally led to a discussion of John McCrea and Vince Difiore of Sacramento’s Cake (who feature vibraslap, and in fact i sat in on such in 1995;
Trumpet: Joseph RamirezVihuela, vocals: Tanya BenítezViolin vocals: Sharon BenítezPercussion: Rodrigo Serna LópezGuitarron, guitar, editing: Carlos Barba
Months later, and after barely making it back over the summit from Mary and Jaimee at Don Quixote, here is their version of “Mexico” (I think it has a weird Charles Ives quality):
I don’t have a permit but I am paying two musicians, David Boyce and Philip Greenlief, to play a concert at Lytton Plaza on Saturday, October 16, 2021.
If for some reason the plaza is not available for such an event, we are likely to both the whole show, two men and their instruments, across the street to the foyer of The Stanford Theatre which is resonant yet has been uneventful since March of 2020.
David Boyce and his trio Broun Fellinis played Earthwise’ The Cubberley Sessions twice, back in the day. Once with New Orleans Klezmer All Stars, once with some rappers in EPA led by Heru Hall. They were advertised in a poster for a third show, opening for Oliver Lake but pulled out at the last minute and were replaced by Noe Venable. I saw David Boyce more recently in a sextet that played along to the silent film “Hands of Orlac” in October, 2019.
Philip Greenlief I know thru his collaboration with Scott Amendola. He did a show in 2019 at Palo Alto Art Center. Or maybe at The Mitch. I think with Trevor Dunn. He did a solo show at Mitchell Park outdoors on July 31, 2021, my first concert in many months. It was supposed to be with Amendola, but the drummer felt ill and decided against coming. Philip did jam a bit with Motoko Honda but mainly just did one long improv of about 30 minutes duration.
Atlhough they will not perform together, Jonathan Lagunta Bautiista of Palo Alto will perform on alto sax at 2:45 Saturday. Notably, Jonathan will play an instrument that I bought after seeing an ad in a local newspaper a few years ago, 2019. The seller lived on Portola Street in Los Altos. I paid $250 for it. It was 250 years before that that Portola noticed an alto. Lagunta also played with John Santos and Melicio Magdalayo a cameo in 2019.
David and I have known each other for quite some time, but we didn’t start playing together until 2006, when I began teaching at the San Francisco Waldorf High School (where he teaches World Music). I realized then that I had never really had a duo with another tenor player – and it’s so good because we have such a deep love for the instrument. We have never talked about using compositions, it was just understood without ever saying anything that we would be an improvising unit and so the music has evolved naturally.
Also:
Our music has a range – both in the way that we lead and accompany each other, but also in the way that we use the duo to explore the horn and it’s rich history. We have spent many hours listening to tenor players together – something that doesn’t seem to happen a lot in our fast paced world – and have enjoyed an ongoing conversation about the instrument over the past 15 years, both on stage and off.
and:
No, Mark. And again, you need a permit to be there.
From: mark weiss <earwopa@yahoo.com> Sent: Friday, October 8, 2021 1:45:04 PM To: O’Kane, Kristen <Kristen.O’Kane@> Subject: Marco Peris band at Cogswell plaza 5 pm TODAY
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. ________________________________
Hello. Any chance the power at Cogswell plaza, we discussed yesterday (per Mark Ribeira-?-) will be restored by 4 pm today? Mark Weiss 169 Bryant— as failsafe I might pull power from own home
(kind of a random or obscure past is prologue for this show, which actually does not require amplificationn or eleclaljdslkfaljadlfjasulate
andandand:
The business community has also complained that “people seeking the free power are ‘camping out’ at the plaza, creating a mess and creating an unwelcoming environment for other visitors.”
The city has tried cutting off power at the plaza and even locking the outlets, but those efforts have been met with vandalism.
The new rules would allow amplified sound 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday, noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday. There would be no permit, insurance or fees required during those hours, according to the report.
One outlet would be available and the power would be turned on during the permitted hours.
The outlet could be reserved ahead of time for $90 and used outside the permitted hours for the same cost. Musicians without a reservation would be limited to playing for three hours.
The penalty for violating the new rules would be $250, or the cost of issuing and processing a citation, according to the report.
Altogether, up to 47 hours of free amplified music would be allowed at the plaza during the week.
In developing the new rules, the city met with musicians and merchants, who for the most part agreed they were a good compromise. Visitors to Lytton Plaza were also surveyed between March 27 and April 5 (2012). Of the 60 interviewed, 33 said they were in favor of limiting amplified music.
According to (Daren) Anderson’s report, it will cost the city $250 to design, fabricate and install new signage advising plaza visitors of the changes to the municipal code and open space regulations. (Jason Green, San Jose Mercury, 2012); to wit:
Background:
Lytton Plaza was renovated in 2009. During the park renovation several electrical outlets were added to the plaza for the production of City-sponsored events and activities. The electrical outlets were intended to be used primarily for special events. Shortly after the renovation, Lytton Plaza became the site of a City-sponsored Farmer‟s Market. Live, electric amplified music accompanied the Farmer‟s Market events. In addition to their playing for the Farmer‟s Market, musicians also played at Lytton Plaza on other days (without authorization or permits). The Farmer‟s Market was discontinued in 2010, however, the unpermitted live music has continued and expanded. Individual musicians, as well as groups, utilize Lytton Plaza to perform amplified music at all hours of the day and night.
lastly: this is likely the lastly event I produce at Lytton Plaza this year, although I do have Mary Gauthier at Mitchell Park the next day, Sunday October 17 at 2 pm. Sylvie Simmons will be mistress of ceremony. Two doctors from Stanford’s “Med Muse” program, Tamara Dunn and Terrigal Burn, open the show. Jaimee Harris also appears, with Mary Gauthier. I, Mark Weiss of Earthwise Productions and Plastic Alto, will do next to nothing. Maybe nothing at all. I.e. let Sylvie run the show. Sylvie appeared in fall, 2019 at Cubberley H-1 with Matt The Electrician (who might have been helpful last week at Cogswell Plaza). Sylvie Simmons returns to Palo Alto for an Earthwise Productions event at The Mitch, A Tribute to Leonard Cohen. On November 20 at The Mitch is a triple bill with Barbara Manning SF Seals, The Corner Laughers and Clean Girl and The Dirty Dishes. Then maybe just glorious John Cage like pregnant poise and pause and silent and found sound until the weekend of January 28, the next year when a jazz musican from New York named Caroline Davis will play a show, two shows, perhaps three shows or more. With her band. More sax. Very saxy, even.
bw
I’m watching “Lost in Translation” with Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson, from 2003. Should be good for a few liffs — which is a cross between “laughs” and “riffs”.
The Colts are in a doozy down in Baltimore. It is knotted at 25, going into overtime. The Colts were up by 17 before Lamar Jackson pulled a few rabbits or birds out of his proverbial hat.
I was toggling back and forth between Giants-Dodgers and NFL/MNF but did catch the announcers lauding Chris Strausser’s leadership of the offensive line.
Chris was Gunn’s quarterback in 1981. He says he was co-MVP of the league along with Jim Harbaugh (future Bear and Colt and current Wolverine NCAA head coach).
Chris was a friend since 7th grade, 1976. He came to my bar mitzvah. I played flag football both 7th and 8th grade at Terman but he played full-contact tackle football for Palo Alto Pop Warner.
Injuries and the lack of a growth spurt made him a late comer for the Titans. He played behind: Nick Sturiale, Joe Oliveira, Phil Wessels, John Corbett, Danny McCalister, Shapur Taleghani, Bill Parker. Reminds me, excuse the digression, that Geoff Gibbs ’79 claims plausibly that he might have been Gunn’s QB were it not for the 9th graders and 8th graders joint promotion his year. I.e. he never had the chance to lead Terman 9th graders and had to compete with Danny McCalister a year younger without ever leading his team.
Chris has coached for San Jose State, Boise State, Washington Huskies, Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts. I am guessing he has as many seasons as a pro coach as Harbaugh, and remind me: who is still competing in the NFL?
I hope the Colts pull this one out.
edit to add: 31-25 Ravens in OT; Jackson to Brown, not to be confused with Jackson Brown. 37-for-43 442 yards for Lamar Jackson. Has 34 victories before age 25 tied with Dan Marino for greatest start for a young QB. Which is 140.5 rating on 100 point scale.
Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss 