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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Photos of Evergreen Village EPIC Festival

The Evergreen Village EPIC Festival last weekend was vibrant and lively. The crowd was bustling and kids were playing everywhere. It was a great day for some photos.



Lori and RJ hosted the event. You need to be a bit young to remember them. They use to host FOX Kids and the weekday cartoon lineup. What a flash back. I kind of miss watching cartoons.



The balloon artist was pretty cool. He was making neat multicolored multiballon animals and flowers. The T-Rex was pretty cool.



There were also various dances and some martial arts demos. Unfortunately, the stage was really hot due to the sun and so some of barefoot dances had to be done on the grass. But I think it turned out nicer dancing out on the green grass.



It was a great time. Also meet with Steve Natale from the Examiner who was doing some photos as well for the Evergreen Village site. Had a nice time chatting about photography gear and some classic cars.



The Evergreen Village will also be holding summer music and movie nights in the coming weeks. So, if you’re in the area, drop by and check it out.



To view the rest of the photos head on over to the album here.



Froyo Delight is Now Open!

Today was Froyo Delight's first day open for business. I randomly stumbled upon this as I saw a line of people out the door as I was driving to a meeting. When I drove back to try it, they were sold out of yogurt but at least I did get to talk to one of the workers there. Froyo Delight is immediately next to Dac Phuc on Santa Clara Street (in fact I think they have the same owner). They have several varieties of frozen yogurt, smoothies, and espresso. Looked like a nice little shop.

They are open from 8am - 8pm every day, and for this week only all of the yogurt is free from 8am-noon! They also mentioned free parking in one of the 2 spaces in front of the adjacent dry cleaners building (which I think they own as well).

SubZero is THIS Friday!

The mother of all South First Fridays is coming this week. Prepare yourself for tons of art, live music, vendors and even a flock of food trucks. If you only go to a single South First Friday this year, this is the one. If you feel like showing off how awesome Downtown San Jose is to disbelievers, this is the event to bring them to. More specifics below from the SubZERO Facebook page:






Last year- SubZERO Festival was the single most exciting South Bay event I participated in all year. The 4th Annual SubZERO Festival returns on June 3rd.

This year, KSCU 103.3 FM and Grand Fanali Presents have put together a stage of entertainment for you. It's a FREE event downtown and our stage is just one piece of a larger collaboration with many artists, vendors, musicians filling the South First Street area that night. Check the SubZERO website for more info.http://www.subzerofestival.com/


KSCU 103.3 FM and Grand Fanali Presents stage at SubZERO:
Friday, JUNE 3rd 6pm-midnight
added crashfaster: (SF 8-bit) http://crashfaster.bandcamp.com/

final line up-

KSCU Stage:
DJ K-VON 6:00-7:00
goodriddler 7:00 - 7:40
San Francesca 8:00 - 8:40
DJ Jeff Jagged 8:40 - 9:30
crashfaster 9:30 - 10:00
The Glowing Stars 10:10-10:50
DJ K-VON 10:50 - 11:30
@ South First Street (between San Carlos & Reed Streets)
FREE - 6pm-midnight - ALL AGES - http://www.subzerofestival.com/

OTHER STAGE PREFORMERS include:
Battlehooch
Corpus Callosum
Ben Henderson
Jhameel
The Emerald Hill
Red Paintings
Black Lotus Fashion Show
http://www.subzerofestival.com/stages-2011.html

MORE ABOUT THE PERFORMERS ON KSCU / GFP STAGE:
The Glowing Stars:
http://theglowingstarsband.wordpress.com/
There are many chiptune artists, but not a lot of chiptune bands. The Glowing Stars — guitarist/vocalist Lizzie Cuevas and drummer/Game Boy synth programmer Matt Payne — combines the clicky waveforms and perfect arpeggios of 8-bit processors with the fury of live drums and distorted guitars. Influenced as much by Frank Zappa and Freddie Mercury as Mega Man and Metroid, the band’s wistfully emotional lyrics are more boy-meets-girl than Game-Boy-meets-end-boss. With customized game hardware sharing the stage with 100-watt half-stacks, The Glowing Stars are half Weezer, half Wario – in other words, utterly unique.

crashfaster:
just added crashfaster: (SF 8-bit) http://crashfaster.bandcamp.com/

San Francesca:
http://sanfrancescamusic.com/
http://www.facebook.com/sanfrancesca

Goodriddler:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/goodriddler/113393282006642
http://www.reverbnation.com/goodriddler

DJ K-VON:
http://makeyousick.com/

KSCU 103.3 FM - Santa Clara:
http://kscu.org/

MORE ABOUT SubZERO FESTIVAL:
Focused on emerging and present subcultures thriving in our region, SubZERO is a diy, artistically bent, hi/lo-techno mashup where street meets geek. Come downtown on June 3rd to San Jose's SoFA District from 6pm 'til midnight for an inspired evening of arts & culture. In addition to the South FIRST FRIDAYS monthly art walk you'll find outdor stages of entertainment plus artists, performers & musicians celebrating the indie creative spirit!

FRIDAY JUNE 3, 2011 from 6pm-midnight
SoFA district in downtown San Jose
(on South First Street between San Carlos & Reed Streets)
Event website: http://www.subzerofestival.com/
For more information or to participate please email us: info@subzerofestival.com

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Future Vision for North San Jose

Below is an excerpt from the San Jose Department of Planning regarding the future vision for North San Jose. I really hope this comes to fruition soon as San Jose commercial development needs to catch up to residential (we have more employable residents than jobs at the moment within the city limits). For the full page, click here.


North San Jose Now
Above and Below: Images of North San Jose today and in its potential future
North San Jose Future
Images courtesy of Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) & Silicon Valley Action Network

Key Vision North San Jose Goals
Vision North San Jose is a long-range planning effort, addressing future potential growth and development needs. The key goals for the effort are to:
  • Proactively plan for growth to allow more industrial development in a way that benefits current San Jose residents.
  • Allow up to an additional 27 million square feet of research and development and office space in North San Jose.
  • Bring up to 83,000 new jobs to San Jose, providing additional job opportunities for San Jose residents.
  • Concentrate up to 16 million square feet of the new research and development and office space in a 600 acre Urban Corporate Center core area along the North First Street light rail corridor, between Brokaw Road and Montague Expressway.
  • Develop an average 1.2 FAR in the core area with typical buildings of 6-10 stories.
  • Focus on high-tech and corporate headquarters development.
  • Create a rich pedestrian environment within the core area to encourage use of the transit system.
  • Generate approximately $520 million in funding for the construction of local and regional transportation improvements.
  • Provide new high-density residential development (up to 32,000 units) in close proximity to employment centers.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Saturday Stats - Quick Bytes

2 quick stats from the San Jose wiki page for you today:

1.) San Jose residents produce more U.S. patents than any other city.
2.) Thirty-five percent of all venture capital funds in the U.S. are invested in San Jose and Silicon Valley companies.

Friday, May 27, 2011

New Art Reception @ The Usuals Tonight

Michael Buscemi @ The Usuals

The Usuals present

New artwork by Michael Buscemi

With a short performance by Mara Hruby

Opening Reception
Friday, May 27th
7:00p - 10:00p
On view thru June 20th
Join us for snacks, music, art, and a live performance in the Backroom.
In the Backroom, introduce yourself to up-and-coming Bay Area artist, Mara Hruby! Join us for her sneak peek performance. Mara has a live performance later in the evening at Party Favors at Xanh Lounge in downtown Mountain View.
Mara Hruby @ The Usuals

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Fanime Weekend

This weekend is FanimeCon in Downtown San Jose, the largest anime convention in Northern California and one of the top 10 in the US. If you're wondering what thousands of people are doing running around in funky costumes, well you'll just have to click this link. Also, show your FanimeCon badge at any of the restaurants below and you'll get a 10% discount:


ShopAddressItem
The Cheese Steak Shop76 E. Santa ClaraAuthentic Philly Cheese Steaks
Peggy Sue’s185 Park AveBurgers and Milkshakes
Tengu Sushi111 Paseo De San AntonioSushi Boat
Philz Coffee118 Paseo De San AntonioCoffee House
Good Karma Café37 S. 1st St.Vegetarian Fast Food
Smile Sushi86 S. 1st St.Sushi Boat
Pho 69 Noodle321 S. 1st St.Fusion Noodle House
House of Siam151 S. 2nd St.Thai Cuisine
Icebee Frozen Yogurt151 S. 2nd St.Do-It-Yourself Yogurt
Pita Pit151 S. 2nd St.Wraps and Sandwiches
Psycho Donuts288 S. 2nd St.Specialty and Custom Donuts
Bo Town409 S. 2nd St.Regional South East Asian Cuisine
Hydration Coffee & Tea310 S. 3rd St.Pearl Tea and Snacks
Pagoda Restaurant170 S. Market St.Upscale Chinese


Zanotto's Downgrading to Deli

So the bad news is that the 15,000 sqft Zanotto's grocery store downtown is shutting down. I'm sure few people are surprised as The Market is just down the street. The good news is that they are planning to open a 2,000 sqft deli at 80 S. First Street, which is the old La Nostra Pizza space. I'm sad to see the grocer go but am glad that they will still keep a presence downtown. For more info, click here.

Zanotto's Family Markets

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Think Bigger San Jose!

I have some great news! Yesterday a new blog was launched to help promote our city called Think Bigger San Jose. The focus is on new ideas that will help improve San Jose with a historical context. An added bonus, the proprietor is a long time reader of this blog (Mark). Best of luck and thank you for joining the San Jose blogging community!

Here is a direct link to Think Bigger San Jose, and I've also added a handy link to the right in the San Jose Blogs section.

San Jose Greek Festival June 3-5th!

The San Jose Greek Festival is just over a week away! I must admit that I have never attended this one, but the letter from Georgia below sold me on this event. I'm definitely putting this on my calendar and am hoping to get some good pics to share.

Oh, and you can print out the image below for free admission!



Hello Josh!

I hope this email finds you well! I wanted to submit news for the San Jose Greek Festival coming up the first weekend of June, on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of the month. Hopefully if you've been you know what it's like. There's always fresh food at the stands outside, especially the sweets/desserts, but the real and more authentic Greek specialties are found in the community center near the dancing area. People who are first time visitors never seem to remember to go in there since at first glance it seems like it's just an indoor dining area, but is has such great food in there too (a good spot to avoid the sun, or as of late, the rain!). Gyros are considered Greek fast food which were popularized in the late-middle part of the 20th century when there was a tourism boom. The souvlaki, sausages, salads, tzaziki sauce, and roast lamb (both at the main food line/stand and the Evvia booth) are more like every day eatings when you go out, but the dining hall is like Greek comfort food, what your mom makes/the stuff you grew up on.

One of my favorite things to do at the festival is to get some fries, and loukaniko (Greek sausage) or the souvlaki that has been bbq'd, drizzled in olive oil, oregano and lemon juice and sip on a glass of Retsina, a specialty wine from Greece. It's an acquired taste since it's made in pine barrels (the wine absorbs some of the flavors to give it a unmistakably unique taste), but best and usually only enjoyed ice cold under the hot sun.

The inner courtyard has umbrealla tables and a coffee shop set up as well where people can get a frappe, a modern coffee drink that everyone drinks in Greece. And I mean EVERYONE. It's truly something I miss from Greece: sitting outside a cafe with my parea (my group of friends) while sipping my frappe as long as I want and people watching.

A lot of people say it's hard to enjoy the festival if you are young, that it's for an older set of people or people who are more laid back, but the food is fantastic, the people are so welcoming, and with the right friends and attitude it's a great way to start off the summer in San Jose.

I've uploaded a flyer here which can be printed and used for free admission: http://i54.tinypic.com/140lj6.jpg It's usually $3 for students, $5 for adults. There's plenty of free parking and free shuttle service that drops off right at the entrance.

I'd advise that pets aren't allowed, however!

Best regards,
Georgia

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Sharks Lose Game 5 and Series in Second OT

All Sharks fans alike watched in disbelief. While many in San Jose had likely been gearing up for Game 6, either looking on Craigslist to find the first available tickets for sale or looking contently at their already obtained stubs, the Vancouver Canucks tied the game with only ten seconds left in the third period to send the game into overtime. (This, of course, being made possible by a controversial icing call that tipped off of a Canucks player and should have been waved off.)

The Sharks, then with a perfect 5-0 overtime record in the 2010-2011 playoff season, looked to have the edge, even as the overtime period began as the Sharks dominated with puck control and putting massive pressure on the Canucks’ defensive line, especially their goaltender Roberto Luongo.

Unfortunately, even with the Sharks’ offensive effort, a weird bounce during the second overtime gave the Canucks’ defenseman Kevin Bieksa a grand opportunity to take a slapshot from the point, which he did – the shot careening past a stunned Antti Niemi for the game and series win, pushing his team to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they are to face either the Boston Bruins or the Tampa Bay Lightning from the Eastern Conference.

Even though the result was unsatisfactory, the Sharks arguably played a very strong series against a very hot team. In an unusual series of events, the Sharks entered the series as the underdogs, having been seeded lower than the Canucks in the regular season. While I can point out the Sharks’ difficulties of getting players well positioned to get quality shots on net and positioning the defense to watch for open members of the opposing team in the defensive zone, the Sharks undoubtedly worked extremely hard in their forechecking, puck possession, and takeaways (most of the time while applying a physical style of play).

I want to congratulate the Sharks for a wonderful season, and hopefully they may regroup, train hard, and give us fans a heck of a 2011-2012 season, and hopefully a successful post season push.

As for now, we fans must continue our hardened and enthusiastic support for our great local team: the San Jose Sharks!

Onward to next season. Get some rest, boys. You will need it!

GO SHARKS!

Dishcrawl - S'Mores Tea Party with Satori and Li'l Puffs - Jun 5th

Dishcrawl is starting to bring some slightly different events to Downtown San Jose than the usual 4-5 meal food-fest. They're bringing together Satori--probably the best tea shop in Silicon Valley--and the marshmallow artisans over at Li'l Puffs to create a S'Mores and Tea event on June 5th. I'm sure this will sell out, so if you are interested it would be good to buy tickets sooner rather than later! The ticket link is right over here.

************

Imagine a fantasy land where artisan marshmallow meets hand blended teas.  Celebrate the coming of summer with a S’mores Tea Party!

Satori Tea Company, a personalized and artsy tea bar and Li'l Puffs, gourmet artisan marshmallows, team up for an experience in the heart of Downtown San Jose.

Satori Tea and Li’l Puffs will dazzle you with an array of deliciousness to "create your own" s’mores. Among the treats will be Li’l Puffs gourmet vanilla and fruit flavored marshmallows, premium chocolates, and Satori tea blends to accompany your s’more creations.

S’mores and tea lovers can expect a fun, engaging evening creating and savoring their own creations with enthusiasts. This event is family friendly, and open to all ages. To reserve your seats, please register quickly before the event sells out.

For those of you lucky to get in, see you soon for an evening of fun!


**TO NOTE***
We're sorry, but cancellations are only taken if done 48H in advance. Thanks for understanding!
Visit dishcrawl.com for more info or email hi@dishcrawl.com with questions.
About Li’l Puffs
Li’l Puffs is a San Jose local food company offering the highest quality, all natural, and great tasting artisan marshmallows in a variety of fruit flavors and chocolate. Li’l Puffs marshmallows are made in small batches and without any flavor enhancers, coloring, or preservatives to bring you the freshest and purest products possible.
About Satori  Tea Company
Satori Tea Company offers the world's most popular drink without the fuss or pageantry , serving inspired teas blended and brewed by the discriminating palate of a world-traveled tea mistress. The Satori Tea Company specializes in bringing organic, fair trade loose leaf tea to tea drinkers and enthusiasts. Our teas are always fresh and packed with flavor.

KGB Deals: San Jose

Today I ran across a deal for one of the retail stores downtown, Bronze Beachwear & Tanning. To check out the deal click here. I didn't even realize there was a place that sold swimwear downtown.

Monday, May 23, 2011

2011 San Jose Jazz Festival!

Our good friends over at WMS Media have provided us with a little preview of the San Jose Jazz Festival, which is happening from August 12-14. This is one of the largest Jazz festivals on the west coast and is definitely worth checking out!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

San Jose Has the Best Wages on the West!

You can get all of the details from this San Jose Business Journal article, but I'm going to ruin the suspense and post the best part:

"The following are the 10 Western metros with the highest annual average pay for all occupations:

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., $66,780
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif., $61,940
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, Calif., $54,590
Boulder, Colo., $53,640
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash., $53,240
Anchorage, Alaska, $49,730
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif., $49,010
Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif., $48,940
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif., $48,860
Denver-Aurora, Colo., $48,560"

San Jose

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Fresco World Market is Coming to Eastridge

Eastridge mall is getting a new anchor tenant in September! Fresco World Market will feature 34,000 sqft of fresh produce, seafood, and a deli. It's even going to have aquarium tanks with live fish and shellfish. However, what really excites me about this tenant is how eclectic the selection is going to be. There will be imported brands from South America, Mexico, India, and all over Asia. It's a market well catered to the South Bay, one of, if not the most diverse place on the planet.

For more details, just head over to the San Jose Business Journal.

85259152

Friday, May 20, 2011

Saturday Stats: Largest Public Companies in San Jose

Earlier this month the San Jose Business Journal published a list of the largest public companies in Silicon Valley based on revenue. I've pulled out the ones from San Jose along with their rank and latest fiscal year revenues:
  • Cisco Systems (#4) - $40.04 billion
  • eBay (#8) - $9.6 billion
  • Sanmina-SCI Corp (#13) - $6.32 billion
  • Adobe (#21) - $3.8 billion
  • SunPower (#29) - $2.22 billion
  • Brocade Communications (#32) - $2.09 billion
  • Altera (#34) - $1.95 billion
  • Xilinx (#35) - $1.83 billion
  • Atmel (#38) - $1.64 billion
  • Fairchild Semiconductor (#39) - $1.60 billion
  • Novellus Systems (#44) - $135 billion
  • Verifone (#50) - $1 billion
  • Cadence (#51) - $935.95 million
  • Atheros (#52) - $926.83 million
  • Netgear (#53) - $902.05 million
  • Cypress Semiconductor (#54) - $877.53 million
  • Super Micro Computer (#57) - $721.44 million
  • Quantum (#58) - $681.43 million
  • Integrated Device Technology (#69) - $535.91 million
  • California Water Services (#74) - $460.40 million
  • Harmonic (#75) - $423.34 million
  • Oclaro (#80) - $392.55 million
  • Tessera (#91) - $301.39 million
  • Micrel (#92) - $297.37 million
  • Integrated Silicon Solution (#95) - $252.46 million
  • DSP Group (#98) - $225.48 million
You can also find a filterable version of this data right over here. Of the 100 companies in Silicon Valley (including Santa Cruz County, San Mateo County, and parts of Alameda County), 26% of the companies were based in San Jose. The total revenue from just the San Jose companies exceeded $81 billion!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Sake Tasting in Japantown Next Week!

ABOUT

Sake San Jose combines sake tasting with a walk through Historic Japantown San Jose.
WHEN:May 26, 2011
5:00 pm – Opening Ceremony and Registration
5:30 pm – Sake Tasting
5:30 – 7:30 pm Akiyama Premium Sake Tasting
WHERE:Japantown San Jose
On Jackson Street Between 3rd and 7th Streets
TICKETS:Pre-event – $40
Day of – $50
Akiyama Premium Sake Tasting – $80.00
Yu-Ai Kai Senior Services will host this benefit sake tasting walk through Japantown’s various businesses and restaurants, each having different types of sake at special tables.
This year, Sake San Jose will be premiering a new event in the brand new James Akiyama Wellness Center, the Akiyama Premium Sake Tasting. A special collection of premium sakes will be assembled for tasting in the Center’s Sakura Room (5:30 – 7:30pm).
Along with sake, a variety of “small plates” will be offered to accompany the sakes. Sake experts will be available to offer information about the different sakes being tasted. And once you have tasted these offerings, the streets of Japantown will still be available for you to find your Sake San Jose favorite sakes.
Proceeds from Sake San Jose benefit Yu-Ai Kai Senior Services, a nonprofit senior center, in Japantown.

To purchase tickets, click here.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

San Jose Bike Party Formal Ride - May 20th

The latest San Jose bike party is coming this Friday and the theme is dressy. Don't be surprised if you see a thousand people that look like they're biking to prom this weekend.

"This months theme is the Formal ride so get dressed up and get ready to ride. and don’t forget a corsage for your special lady… the night promises to be a night full of Awkward dancing and even awkwarder kisses.  Please remember to keep your outfit clear of your chain so you don’t have a wardrobe malfunction and end up as the only one at the dance without pants."

For all the info, just click right over here.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

TWO BUCK Tuesday Today, May 17th!

from Phantom Galleries 
KALEID Gallery presents
Two Buck Tuesday May 17th 7-10pm
You're invited to join us for our monthly $2 art sale and quirky people get together! We have another great lineup of art, demos and hands on activities!

Featuring:

Joanne Yada and Courtney Thiesen shows us how to reduce, reuse, and recycle without taking the can to the curb. Fuse together plastic shopping bags and make your own wallet. No sewing, no tape, no hard labor- just iron your creation and make it a useful work of art using the printing on the bags and your own scribbles. Free! http://www.craftingforcheapskates.blogspot.com/


Jessica Spencer will wow us with pirate-themed cross-stitch embroidery! Arrrrr!


Julie Jacobs will demonstrate her exquisite wire-wrapped jewelry.


Laura Callin Bennett will teach us how to print a Peregrine Portrait with a hand carved linoleum block. Take home your very own Peregrine Portrait! http://lauracallinbennett.com/


Troy Sims will show us the amazing art of customized paper embossing by hand.www.simsartworld.com 


Alan Hackler will guide us in the creation of the ultimate paper airplane. Complete with a paper airplane contest at the end of the night!


David Mejia, our resident portrait artist will draw your portrait for a small fee while you wait!


Nathan Vargas will host a drawing game he invented called Nathan's Juxl Puzzle.

It's very easy to learn and really engages the person's brain and imagination.
Nathan was bored one night and wanted a visual game that was a challenge but didn't seem like I was doing math....this is his answer to Sudoku. When the puzzle is completed, it can be easily turned into a piece of art. (The image above is a completed puzzle that has been taken to that next level.)
Come learn how to play and take home your own piece of Juxl Puzzle art!http://portfolio.nathanvargas.com/content/nathans-juxl-puzzle


FREE Heirloom Tomato Plants! While they last. Six varieties grown with love by Lacey.

Live Artists:
Jennifer Cordiglia 

Steven Reece http://steevn.carbonmade.com
Jehoiakim Santos http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000499750737 

Suhita Shirodkar sketchaway.wordpress.com 
Al Preciado

and Andre Trigueiro Harthttp://www.facebook.com/TheAndreHart


Music by DJ Coco


Treats By Sugar & Spice – Two lovely ladies with cupcakes and savory snacks!

As always, $2 art will be on sale throughout the evening! 
Tuesday, May 17th, 7-10 pm - free & all ages welcome!

KALEID Gallery 

88 South 4th Street 

Downtown San Jose

www.KALEIDgallery.com 

(408) 947 1785

Monday, May 16, 2011

New San Jose Events Site!

There is a new site that just popped up that is dedicated to posting new events coming up in San Jose. To check it out (and also to submit new events) just go to www.el408.com. There is also a permanent link over to the right!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

@First Updates

The @First development at 237 and First St. has confirmed another tenant, a 5,000 sqft Chase bank. It is also rumored that Fresh & Easy will be their grocery anchor and they are on the lookout for a dry cleaner, hair salon, and dentist. The other leases they have confirmed are:

  • Five Guys Burger and Fries
  • Chick-fil-A
  • Chipotle
  • Sweet Tomatoes
  • Panda Express
  • Premier Pizza
  • Panera
The development already includes a massive Target and a 160 room Hotel Sierra.


Saturday, May 14, 2011

Evergreen Village Square - EPIC Festival

Bored next weekend?  Well if you haven’t heard yet, Evergreen Village Square is hosting the EPIC Festival on Saturday, May 21 @ 11a – 3p

EPIC - "Earth-People-International Culture Festival", a community event
celebrating the costumes and cultural performances of our diverse community.

There will be Tai Chi Performers, Sikh Temple Martial Arts, Dance Theatre International and more.  The event will be emceed by Lori & RJ Cotton Candy Express Music.

I’ll probably be dropping by and getting some pictures.  I should be easy to spot, unlike Waldo.  You can checkout their FB page for some info.

As the Sharks advance to the Western Conference Finals...



It is now set. The Sharks have advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they will play the Vancouver Canucks. In a rare sense of events, the Sharks will actually be playing a higher seeded team (as the Canucks' first place seed in the regular season and Presidents' Trophy victory is higher than the Sharks' second place finish). As such, the Canucks will gain home ice advantage, and the first two games of the series will be played in Vancouver.

What does this mean for the Sharks? As far as the playoffs have gone so far, we much evaluate the performance of both teams:

In round one,
The Sharks faced the Kings and beat them in six games. One of the victories included an epic comeback from a deficit of four goals to win in overtime. Although the Kings were without their star player Anze Kopitar (due to a fractured ankle), their goaltender Jonathan Quick was a very potent force, keeping the Kings within striking distance despite the significantly greater number of shots released by the Sharks.

The Canucks faced the Blackhawks and beat them in seven games. To start the series, the Canucks clinched the first three games, but allowed the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks to come back and force a Game 7. When the final game went to overtime, the Canucks barely managed to win with a goal by forward Alexandre Burrows. To note, the Blackhawks did not have nearly the firepower they had last year, missing such impact players as Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, Antti Niemi, and Ben Eager.

In round two,
The Sharks faced the Red Wings and beat them in seven games. During the series, Red Wings clearly showed themselves to be a reckoning force with their amazing talent, although the Sharks' youth perhaps allowed them to push through and win. While the Sharks won the first two games of the series, the Red Wings orchestrated a comeback to force a Game 7. With the San Jose crowd loud and supportive of their home team during the seventh game of the series, the Sharks narrowly won to advance.

The Canucks faced the Predators and beat them in six games. Although the PRedators have had a very impressive run during the regular reason and during the playoffs with the likes of Shea Weber, Mike Fisher, and their goaltender Pekka Rinne, the heavily offensive Canucks managed to win. Despite being the favorites to win, the Canucks did show a bit of weakness, as their defenses were not what they used to be.

So now, we have the Sharks and the Canucks: the Sharks being a relatively well balanced team with phenomenal puck control, and the Canucks being a much more offensive based team.

How will the two match up?
It is heavily argued that despite posting a 1-2-1 record agains the Canucks in the regular season, the Sharks have become a much better team, and with a victory over the Red Wings, that enough is proof the Canucks may need to fear the Sharks come Sunday. Additionally, the path the Sharks took to the Conference finals may have been more difficult. The Kings out-performed the Blackhawks in regular season play, and the Red Wings...well, are the same dominant Red Wings that have won the Stanley Cup four times since 1997. I also know plenty of Vancouver natives who are very nervous about their home team playing the Sharks.

If the Sharks manage to beat the Canucks, they will face the winner from the East, and will have home ice advantage.

As fans, let's push our Sharks to victory! This is our year!

GO SHARKS!

***

An additional note: Since blogger.com was out for the entirety of last Thursday (when the Sharks faced the Red Wings in Game 7), I never got to post the following, so I will do so now, for those who are interested.

One game, two outcomes.

The Sharks can either go in there, do their best, emulate the skills from practice, and put up a tough front in a losing effort, or they can unleash their fury by entering the game with a dominant force, owning the game, and putting away the pesky Red Wings once and for all!

As Sharks fans, we all know what our team is capable of. We have seen it all so far in the post season: our perfect overtime win record, our ability to overcome large deficits, Benn Ferriero’s overtime goal in Game 1 versus the Red Wings on his birthday, Ryane Clowe and Devin Setoguchi’s clutch goals, Douglas Murray’s thundering hits, Joe Thornton’s great playmaking and vision in the zone, Scott Nichol’s hard hitting work ethic, Dan Boyle’s amazing puck control, Jason Demers’ toughness, Joe Pavelski’s drive, Ian White’s puck skills, Logan Couture’s battles and scoring, and Antti Niemi’s amazing saves. We have seen this!

This is a team that is ready to win. The last three games do not matter; they’re worthless. What matters is tonight. Already, I can hear the San Jose crowd cheering, echoing support across the HP Pavilion, heard by everyone throughout downtown San Jose. Tonight, we strike. Tonight, we win!

The support is here, the momentum is here, and it is time to, once and for all, utilize everything that has been held back: the hunger, the drive, and the dominance.

I am tired of hearing from both Sharks “fans” and Red Wings fans alike how the Sharks have lost their touch. They’re all pathetic. It is time to cast aside the rage and fury held back. They must be unleashed tonight, in quite possibly the most important post-season game in San Jose!

We have done this before against the Red Wings, and we will do it again.

This is our game! This is our night! Time to win!

GO SHARKS!

The Usuals Sale Today + Art in the Backroom

Spring Clearance
SATURDAY ONLY!! Help us move Spring inventory! We're making some space for our new summer goods! Take 40% off of our remaining Spring apparel, accessories and shoes!
ALSO...
In the Backroom, from 12p-5p, get GREAT DEALS on original artwork by Sean Boyles and Roan Victor. Proceeds from Backroom art sales go toward kickstarting the opening of The Arsenal.The Arsenal is an innovative, up-and-coming art store in San Jose...and they're looking for a home on The Alameda! Want more info? Stop-by on Saturday and talk to the brains behind The Arsenal!
Spring Clearance
See you on Saturday!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Roosevelt Park Street Cleanup Tomorrow

This post almost didn't happen due to the Blogger outage yesterday!  Tomorrow the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association is putting together a street cleanup and they are looking for some volunteers. All of the info is below:

WHAT: Street Cleanup
WHEN: Saturday, 5/14 from 9:30 - 11:30 am
WHERE: South east corner of 22nd Street and E. Santa Clara
WHY: For neighbors to work together to make our neighborhood a clean place to live
Web site: http://www.rooseveltparkneighborhood.com/

Roosevelt Park Street Cleanup

Roosevelt Park Photo

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Today is Bike-to-Work Day!

If you see a lot of bikes on the road today, this is the reason why. Think of it as a city-wide bike party!

Also, last week there was a Clean Commute Challenge that pitted 3 transit options against one another in a friendly contest in preparation for today. Here is the press release:

                                                                                                        
IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SILICON VALLEY CLEAN COMMUTE CHALLENGE
GIVES BIKES THE EDGE ON MORNING COMMUTE

In a pre-emptive ‘race’ ahead of Bike to Work Day May 12, San Jose Councilmen and local business execs show commuting by bike is sometimes faster than…everything else


San Jose, CA (May 3, 2011) – Today’s Clean Commute Challenge, a friendly competition between three modes of commuting from downtown San Jose’s The 88 condo-highrise, surprised a lot of people but not the bike-equipped commuters as the two-wheeled team beat both a light rail team and a car team for a classic two-mile commute.  Participants included City Councilmen Sam Liccardo and Ash Kalra;  Carl Guardino, Pres. and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group; and volunteer San Jose residents who regularly commute in the area.

Starting at The 88 at roughly 7:45am, the three teams took best-recommended routes from Google Maps, 511.org or their own experience to draw attention to the ease and even the advantages of transit commuting.  At the finish – the County Administration Building at 70 W. Hedding, where Liccardo and Kalra often go to meetings – the lead bike team took only 6 minutes, the lead car team took 12 minutes and the light-rail team took 17 minutes – with a caveat that the light-rail rider would have clocked  4 minutes less if he’d been able to take the planned train at 7:38 if the Challenge had started on time.

“That’s commuting,” said Brandy Bridges of Wilson Meany Sullivan, developer of The 88, “and actually illustrates why more and more Silicon Valley residents are finding bikes and trains are more reliable than the surprise of a Monday morning back-up or stalled cars on the roadways.”

"As leaders, we have to pedal what we preach," said Guardino. "For me, today's 'Clean Commute Challenge' is part of my everyday transportation experience, as my daily 32-mile roundtrip between Los Gatos and San Jose is on two wheels rather than four.  It's healthy, fun and almost as time-efficient as the automobile during commute times." 

“Over 40% of commuters have a five-miles-or-fewer commute, and that’s perfect for bicycles,” said Corinne Winter, direct of the Silicon Valley Bike Coalition.  “With today’s friendly challenge, and the annual Bike-to-Work Day coming up May 12, we want to point out to all commuters that it’s really not that difficult, and it’s often even faster, and better for your health.”

The Bike Coalition cites national research that adults who bike to work have better weight, blood pressure, and insulin levels, and that women who bike 30 minutes a day have a lower risk of breast cancer.

“Although we live in the technology capital of the world,” says Liccardo, “the tech-savvy denizens of Silicon Valley have long recognized that the best solution to our common challenges with health, transportation costs, and the environment lies in relatively low-tech: the bicycle. I’m proud to be pushing pedals with them.”

“Whether riding a bike or riding the rails, South Bay residents should seriously consider other options besides their car,” says Downtown Association Executive Director Scott Knies. “With Silicon Valley employers back in a hiring mode, they and their employees need to use these better ways to work, and closer places to live such as downtown San Jose.”

The Commuter Challenge also highlights the progress made by San Jose, a League of American Bicyclists’ “Bike Friendly City,” as it takes advantage of its ideal climate and flat topography to promote cycling as a way to reduce traffic and pollution.

“San Jose is moving in the right direction, between its ambitious bicycle plan approval last year and the opening of close-in housing like The 88, commuters really do have many more opportunities to choose their bikes to get to work and school year-round,” said Winter.

##
About cycling…more at www.bikesiliconvalley.org:
·       Almost 40 percent of Bay Area commuters live within just five miles of their workplace, a bike-able distance for even inexperienced cyclists.
·       If every person living this close to their workplace ditched their cars on Bike to Work Day alone, more than 60,000 vehicles would be off the road, reducing tailpipe emissions by more than 150,000 pounds.
·       Adults who bike to work have better weight, blood pressure, and insulin levels.
·       Women who bike 30 minutes a day have a lower risk of breast cancer.
·       Adolescents who bicycle are 48% less likely to be overweight as adults.

About Bike to Work Day….more info at www.bikesiliconvalley.org/btwd :
·       Thursday, May 12 is Bike to Work Day 2011 (BTWD) in the San Francisco Bay Area.
·       Each year, tens of thousands of commuters participate in BTWD.
·       In Santa Clara County, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition has organized almost 70 Energizer Stations where cyclists can stop and refresh on their way to work.
·       The large turnout each year makes such a visible presence of bicyclists that motorists actually take notice, slow down, and make room.
·       Each year, this one great bike commuting experience converts people to occasional, then frequent bike commuters

PHOTO: San Jose Councilman Sam Liccardo, flanked by rail-commuter Tom Rivell and car-commuter Sarah Ligda, won a close ‘race’ in a Clean Commute Challenge today (May 3) from The 88 condo-highrise downtown to the County Administration building, drawing attention to May 12 Bike-to-Work Day.