Furries Invade Downtown

Last weekend was a little more interesting than most thanks to the Furry Convention happening at the Fairmont. Downtown was overrun by giant fuzzy animals, and we got a few snaps to prove it =)

Urban Land Institute South Bay Night FREE EVENT 2011

from The Bay Area Real Estate Blog by Josh Burroughs

This is going to be a great event - we hope to see you there!
Please join us for the 2nd Annual South Bay MyULI Nite, a special evening designed to connect you with the District Council leadership of the South Bay for the Urban Land Institute. (www.ulisf.org)

• WHEN: Thursday, January 27, 2011; 5:30pm - 7:30pm
• WHERE: Moffett Towers Club, 1080 Enterprise Way, Sunnyvale, CA
• COST: FREE to all members and prospective members
• ** Cocktails & Appetizers Provided
• Register @ www.ULISF.org or call 800.321.5011

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

• Matt Lituchy, Managing Director, Jay Paul Company
• Drew Hudacek, Senior Vice President, Sares-Regis Group
• Nevena Vidic, UBS Realty Investors

As a member-led organization, we encourage all members to take part in a way that best suits their specific interests and unique goals. Come hear first hand from a distinguished group of South Bay ULI leaders, sharing how ULI has made a difference in their professional lives. Following the presentation, participants will have the opportunity to learn more about our committees and how you can plug in to one of the fastest growing District Councils in the country.
Hosted & sponsored by Jay Paul Company and Barry Swenson Builder

Wishlist Wednesday: For the Sharks to Get Back in the Top 16!

Dishcrawl Comes To Downtown San Jose!!!

I love this concept! A Dishcrawl let's you experience cuisines from multiple restaurants in a single night and make some new friends in the process. They have been doing it in New York, LA, Montreal, and now Downtown San Jose. The 4 venues participating are some of my favorites... The Mmoon, Ruffled Feathers Eatery, The WOW Silog Truck, and Psycho Donuts. All are family owned, have launched in the past year, and feature killer eats. For more info and to get your tickets, just keep on reading!

Reserve your Exclusive Seats

With our launch of Dishcrawl San Jose, Dishcrawl brings you a brand new way to discover San Jose!

Have you heard? New downtown San Jose restaurants have been popping up left and right!

Discover a new downtown San Jose with us and mingle with other food lovers like yourself! It's a great way to rediscover the community and re-blossom into the new year.

We'll be visiting the likes of The Mmoon for argentinian empanadas, Ruffled Feathers for housemade flatbread pizza and specialty desserts, Psycho Donuts for crazy whacky donuts, and The Wow Truck, a new food truck in San Jose will be stopping by to serve us up! You can't miss it!

4+ dishes will be sampled around the city with us (Dishcrawl) as your guides on an unforgettable journey.

Reserve your tickets quickly- we sell out fast!

dishcrawl is the first matchmaker for your mouth. Create a taste profile and easily discover dishes in local restaurants that match your mouth. Dishcrawl currently serves San Francisco, Silicon Valley/San Jose, Los Angeles, Montreal, and New York! Simply visit dishcrawl.com.

Click here for other upcoming dishcrawls, and check out past dishcrawls here.

 Find us on Facebook.

Two Buck Tuesdays Tomorrow ($2 Art!)

Two Buck Tuesday Jan 18th at KALEID!

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

KALEID Gallery presents
Two Buck Tuesday January 18th 7-9pm
Happy 2011!

Our monthly $2 art sale and quirky people coming-together event is back for the new year and we have tons of goodies for you!

J. Marie Valdivia & Mike Dvorkin of Surgery.Art (along with several of their participating artists) will host a Q&A about their current show “Dark Matter” at KALEID Gallery. www.kaleidgallery.com/


The Samurai, sculpture by Matthew Pugh

Joe Decker will demonstrate how to photograph paintings and other artwork, talking about lighting and filtering issues, avoiding reflections, getting the color right, and coping with digital issues. There may also be a rant about metallic paint.
www.rockslidephoto.com/ 
www.rockslidephoto.com/photographing-artwork/


photo by Joe Decker

Reiji Hirayama will teach us how shoes are made, how to identify quality shoes and will give a demo on how to properly clean leather shoes to make them last. Bring a pair of shoes (non-lacquered or patent calf, bull or horse leather shoes in Black, Brown, Tan, Grey, Burgundy, Red, Navy, Purple, Heather) to participate!
Richard James will talk about his love of collage and the endless possibilities presented by the art form.

Michael Denning will teach a workshop on how to make art trading cards. Make your own art cards for $2!
www.heartofchaos.net/chaosblog/?page_id=244



Shannon Amidon will give a live demonstration of encaustic painting and mixed media techniques. Encaustic is a paint composed of beeswax, damar resin and pigments. Encaustic painting was practiced by Greek artists as far back as the 5th century B.C.!
www.shannonamidon.com



Lisa Mejia will create beautiful henna designs for a small fee.

Sonoma Walden Pond will host a vegan tea complete with cucumber sandwiches!

J Swizza will spin some sweet indie records.

David Mejia will be drawing portraits while you wait.

Marilyn Rowe will be recruiting yarnbombers.



Insane Craft Posse will hold a surprise crafting workshop! http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_120938521295733

Live Painting By:
Kimy Martinez
Erikka Hugger
Jehoiakim Santos
Steven Reece
Jimmy Oliver Halverson
Jean Davis
Jo Anne Yada
Courtney
Laura Callin Bennett

This event if FREE & all ages welcome!

KALEID Gallery
88 South 4th Street
Downtown San Jose
www.KALEIDgallery.com
(408) 947 1785

Mosaic Portraiture Workshop at Higher Fire Ceramics

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

Higher Fire is hosting a Mosaic Portraiture Workshop with Delaine Hackney. What a fabulous way to honor a loved one, be they pet or person. Typical finished size for each student's project is 12" x 14". This fun-filled workshop is designed for beginners and continuing students.

Two Saturdays, 10am - 4pm, Jan. 22 & 29, 2011

Instructor Delaine Hackney helps students create a realistic, texture rich, colorful and whimsical mosaic portrait made with ceramic and glass. Each student's portrait project (based on photo submitted before class) will strongly resemble their subject! Class includes lecture and demonstration on how to translate a photo into a mosaic template, use of basic mosaic tools and techniques. (visithttp://www.delainemosaic.com for more info.)

Registration fee of $180 includes all materials and tools.
Photograph of subject must be submitted at least 10 days prior to class.
Register online at www.HigherFireStudios.com (click on Workshops --> Schedules & Pricing).

Call or email for more details:
Dan Dermer
Higher Fire Clayspace & Gallery
499 South Market Street
San Jose, CA 95113
408.295.5765
info@higherfirestudios.com

The 88 Interactive Art Codes

One of my favorite art projects downtown is the LED light installation at The 88. It happens to be completely dynamic and interactive. Have you ever wanted to change the way a high-rise looks with a push of a button? All you need to do is dial (408) 287-0128, wait for the tone, then enter any 3 digits (including # or *), then press 0 and hang up.

Here are the codes I was able to find online so far:

*25 - Xmas Dance
*14 - Valentine's Day Beat
*88 - The 88
*** - Ship's Wheel
168 - Green with Red Bolt
182 - Happy
193 - Rainbow Chase
194 - RGB Down
197 - Rainbow Sweep
228 - Yellow Sweep
268 - Brackets Out
311 - Cyan Sweep
323 - Red Pulse
341 - Slow Easter Sweep
486 - Arrows Going Down
555 - Green Warp
666 - Bright Red
526 - Red with Blue Sweep
541 - Easter Sweeps
565 - Green Pulse
766 - Snow Falling
919 - Blue Flutter
927 - Mom's B-Day
931 - Rainbow Left to Right

My favorite is one I discovered on my own: *#*  I won't spoil what this one does!

If anyone knows of any others, I would be happy to add them to the list =)

Phantom Galleries: Variety Show & Poetry Slam

The Oversocial MoFo Revue_Jan. 14th

Save the date! The third installment of the Oversocial Mofo Revue is pleased to present the poetry of Laura Yes Yes, musical guest Emerald Hill, and burlesque with a twist from the lovely Laika Fox.

Note that this is the Women of the World Poetry Slam (WOWPS) qualifier. That means the highest scoring female poet earns the right to represent San Jose at WOWPS 2011. It also means ALL LADIES get a discount at the door.

More details will be posted soon, or visit the Facebook event page here.

SoFA is Getting a New Gallery in Time for February's First Friday!

Call for Art at new Pho69 in SoFA District

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

Phantom Galleries will be coordinating on-going art exhibitions at the newest SoFA District restaurant PHO69 (located next door to Caffe Trieste). The restaurant has been getting great Yelp reviews since their opening last month with special mentions of their contemporary decor, great food and friendly staff. It's just missing your art on their large spacious walls!

We are looking for large scale contemporary art work that will add to their overall ambiance and customer experience. Exhibition duration will be 2-3 months (yet to be determined) and will be a participating venue in the South First Fridays monthly art walks. Art may be available for sale.

Art work will hang from a professional hanging system that the restaurant installed (no screws/nails in the walls.) Hanging areas are: (2) 20' wide x 6' tall and (2) 12' wide x 6' tall.

To be considered for exhibition, please email 5-7 jpgs (sized no larger than 900 pixels wide at 72dpi), with short bio and exhibit history toinfo[at]phantomgalleries.com

We'd like to start their exhibitions by First Friday February 4th, so please respond soon if you're interested.

Feel free to pass this opportunity onto other artists you feel would be a good fit!





For more information, contact us at info@phantomgalleries.com

Wednesday Wishlist: San Jose Marina

Few people know that San Jose actually has direct access to the bay though Alviso. In 2010, we received some water access for small boats and kayaks, but in theory the area could support a full blown marina or port. Imagine one day taking a ferry ride from San Jose to other parts of the bay!

San Jose seen as #1 US Rental Market

There's an interesting article in the San Jose Business Journal saying rental pricing is expected to go up in 2011, and San Jose is expected to be the "best performing" for the year. By best performing, they means rents will likely go up the highest out of all markets in the US. San Jose currently has 97.1% rental occupancy and that is forecasted to rise to 97.7% in 2011. That in turn is expected to drive rents up 9.6% this year. Sounds like it's a good time to put up some shiny new apartment buildings. Click here to read the full article.

BTW, happy 1/11/11 day.

January 2011 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

• The City Council asks the California High Speed Rail Authority to continue evaluating an underground option for High Speed Rail and approves a $200,000 visual guidelines study for the aerial bridge option.
• The San Pedro Square Market construction is preceding nicely (should be open late Spring, one of the key buildings is already up).
• To recruit more businesses to San Jose, the city and RDA have launched www.choosesanjose.com, a site filled with success stories and tips for business owners.
• Good Karma now serves Barefoot Coffee at the "Barefoot Karma Bar"
• Parking after 6pm is now $4 (up from $3 last year) for most city owned garages. The lot under 280 in SoFA continues to be the only city lot that is completely free after 6pm every night. It is also easy to get validation for any of the other lots.
• The second generation of downtown residential buildings is coming soon, starting with a 3 high-rise 736 unit project in North San Pedro.
• Downtown Doors is now open for competition and plans are to install new local art on 25 doors such as the ones on the Fairmont.
• Koalas are coming to Downtown San Jose =). To help beautify the area and surprise downtown patrons, 13 metal koala sculptures are being placed on eucalyptus trees. You can already see 4 of them on San Carlos between 2nd and 4th.

To read the full newsletter, click here!

New Incubator in Town: Semantic Seed

San Jose is one of the must entrepreneurial cities on the planet. We have an amazing ecosystem in place to help budding entrepreneurs shape their ideas, find capital, and launch companies that may one day change the world. Every time a new start-up incubator pops up, it strengthens our innovation/start-up community and helps increase our competitive advantage against other cities vying for the founders of tomorrow's Facebooks and Googles. When entrepreneurs are deciding where to launch their ideas, we want them to be here.

Semantic Seed is a new incubator right in the middle of downtown (12 South 1st, Suite 318) whose mission is to become a catalyst of early stage companies to graduate into venture capital-ready companies. The verticals they focus on are Social Media, Search and Discovery, Consumer Infrastructure, Platforms, and Evangelical. For more information on the incubator side of things, click here.

They also have coworking space available which is a really interesting concept. Professionals and entrepreneurs that typically work from home or coffee shops can instead work in an environment with like-minded individuals. You have the cost benefits of sharing office resources with others while being part of a community where innovation is embedded in the culture and you have startups launching all around you. For more information on coworking, click here.

Thanks to Peter Smith from el408.com for the info!

Guadalupe River Park Conservancy

I just wanted to give a quick plug to the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, a non-profit group that provides community leadership for the development and active use of the park. They have many events going on for all ages and interest such as walks, garden tours, sustainability gardening, and environmental info sessions. I also imagine they will be the ones responsible for helping turn the Guadalupe River Park into our version of Central Park!

You can find their website right over here, and their blog over here (there is also a permanent link in the right sidebar of The San Jose Blog).

Bad News: No Art Walk Today :/ Good News: New Exhibits Launch Anyway

Dark Matter & Other Exhibits this Friday, Jan. 7th

There's no downtown San Jose art walk this month (January 7th) but there's still a couple of great art openings going on so you don't have to wait til First Friday February!

The Samurai, sculpture by Matthew Pugh

Surgery.Art presents Dark Matter a group study of the dark and immeasurable.

Opening reception: JAN 7 2011, 7-10PM

Fashion study: Mike Kemling

Auditory guidance: Dr. Stats, Femme Mystique, Kevorkian, Mixer Djammed

Featuring dark analytical work by: Matthew Pugh, Marie Dvorkin, Alla Viksne, Jay Ruland, Alex Yanushkevich, Kelly Nelson, Emily Feucht, Haley Goodlett, J. Marie Valdivia, Centa Schumacher, Mike Dvorkin, Genevieve Hastings, Shauna Mork + more

Curated by: Marie Dvorkin, Dora Lee

Exhibit dates: JAN 7 - JAN 21, 2011

Gallery hours: Tuesday - Friday noon - 7pm & Saturday noon - 5pm

KALEID Gallery
88 South 4th Street, San Jose, CA 95112
www.KALEIDgallery.com
(408) 947 1785

Over at Art Ark is Candy Coated Visions: recent works and site specific installation byGwen Mercado-Reyes and Kajmear Reyes

Opening Reception: Friday, January 7 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Art Ark Gallery
1035 S. 6th street
San Jose, CA

and WORKS Gallery will be having a closing reception for the Works’ Member Exhibition "Ring In the New" from 7 to 10pm.

This exhibition is the most eclectic, startlingly open, unjuried annual regional exhibition of art. Work from the stars of the South Bay scene are brought together with first time exhibitors. Come celebrate and support your community art and performance center with the artists who do the same: including Tony May, Carmela Rizzuto, Catherine and Tim Thompson, Myrrh, James Morgan, Irene Suber, and 100 more!

There will be member announcements at 9pm. Artists in the exhibition can claim their work to take home at 10pm.

Works
451 South First Street
San José, CA 95113
http://www.workssanjose.org/

San Jose Crime Drops Precipitously

Earlier in the week the Merc had an article about San Jose's Homicide Rate (click here). It turns out that in 2010 there were only 20 homicides in San Jose. Until proven wrong, I'm going to assume that is the lowest homicide count of any city in the world with a population over 1 million.

To put it in perspective, San Francisco had more than double the number of homicides in the same time frame with a population 200k smaller than San Jose. Oakland--with only 400k residents--had 94 homicides. Detroit, which is now smaller than San Jose, had 308 homicides.

As an added bonus, out of the 20 San Jose homicides in 2010, NONE were in Downtown San Jose.

Just for fun I'm also reposting an old blog post below:


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

From 2008: San Jose Crime Rate

Just how safe is our city? Well let's take a look at some official crime statistics that I stumbled upon from the SJPD website. Between 1989 and 2008, our population grew from 757,964 to 989,496 yet homicides fell from 40 to 31, rape cases fell from 399 to 220, and aggravated assaults fell from 2,939 to 2,268. Let's put this in perspective. In 2008 San Francisco had a population nearly 200k LESS than San Jose and had 99 homicides, more than triple the San Jose rate. Oakland with a population of 420,183 in 2008 had a staggering 124 homicides. Detroit, the city closest to San Jose's population in 2008, had a mind-blowing 368 homicides. You often hear that San Jose is one of the safest large cities anywhere, but the proof is in the numbers.

Okay, one more fun statistic. Does anyone want to venture a guess as to how many 2008 homicides were in Downtown San Jose? Zero.

Wednesday Wishlist: Light Rail Tunnel

The Achilles heel of the VTA system is unfortunately the Downtown segment where trains slow to a 5mph crawl. My wishlist item for the week is to move all of the light rail track in the Downtown area underground. Some benefits:

• It would cut ~5min from most light rail commute times
• Downtown would be safer as patrons wouldn't have to look over their shoulder for trains
• It would open up key spaces along 1st and 2nd St. (perhaps for kiosks)
• Less noise (wheel squeaking and bells)
• Traffic flow could be improved for cars, bicyclists, and pedicabs
• Easier to keep homeless people from using it as a free transit system

A project like this would have massive costs, but perhaps some of those could be shared with the BART tunneling project. What do you think? Would you miss seeing/hearing the trains?

SJC Lends Helping Hand to SFO

Last week there a ground hold at SFO due to "inclement weather" (i.e. fog). Flights ended up getting diverted to SJC, an airport that stares at you confoundedly when asked about severe weather conditions. Every single flight I've taken out of SJC over the past few years has either left on time or early, and the 3 flights I've had out of the new terminal have been extremely convenient. Dec 26th is one of the busiest travel days of the year and I was able to park, check bags, go through security, and get to the gate in less than 30min. On the flip-side, every flight I have taken out of SFO over the past few years but one has been either delayed or cancelled. The convenience and consistency are why I always try to book out of SJC even if it ends up costing a little bit more.

Thanks Tom for the tip and for the photos below of SFO flights sitting in SJC waiting for the fog to clear up north. I would love to see Virgin planes land here all the time!

Time Lapse Video of Driving in San Jose

Mt. Umunhum Access Coming in 2012

A mountain peak in South San Jose that use to house the Almaden Air Force Station will be open for limited public access starting in 2012. A few years later in 2016, it should be fully open to the public who can come an enjoy panoramic views of Silicon Valley and the Monterey Bay. Check out the videos below for more information:

Happy New Year San Jose! Best Wishes For 2011!

My New Year's Resolution

A couple months ago I stumbled upon a wiki page for Global Cities (also known as World cities). Wikipedia describes a global city as "an important node point in the global economic system" and the criteria include:

• Economic characteristics (corporate headquarters, financial output, cost of living)
• Political characteristics (active influence on and participation in international events and world affairs)
• Culture (notable museums, galleries, lively cultural and music scene, strong community, major sports facilities, educational institutions)
• Infrastructure (advanced transit systems and freeways, extensive mass transit, high-speed communications, prominent skylines).

It turns out that there is actually an organization called the GaWC that tracks all of these characteristics for cities around the world and ranks cities into categories. You have Alpha world cities like New York and London, followed by Beta and Gamma world cities, then you have cities with Sufficiency and High Sufficiency when it comes to these criteria. Spoiler Alert, we didn't do so well. In fact the 2008 report pegged San Jose as being only in the Sufficiency category.

My New Year's resolution is simple. I'm pledging to do whatever I can over the course of my life to help San Jose, regardless of how small it may seem, get from Sufficiency to Alpha World City status. It's a lofty goal, but I'm hoping that doing simple things such as promoting our vibrant culture and new developments will have a snowball effect and encourage more of the things that will put San Jose on the global radar.

The 88 Achieves a Perfect Walk Score!

Walk Score is a website that lets you know how walkable a particular home or neighborhood is. Proximity to restaurants, grocery stores, retail, parks, schools, transit hubs and entertainment all factor into the score. Getting a perfect 100 is near impossible, even in very dense cities. However, one of the downtown San Jose condo projects managed to pull it off. Thanks to being located in the middle of the downtown core, The 88 achieves a perfect 100/100 walk-ability score. After the San Pedro Square Market opens, I imagine Axis will also be very close to 100 (right now it's at 89). For more details, just click here.

Wednesday Wishlist: Flagship Chain Restaurants

If you read this blog regularly, you might have done a double take on the title. I usually promote unique restaurants that bring something new to the city over chain restaurants, but I think there are a few must-have chains that you will only find in fully developed and popular cities. I would call these flagship chains because they are usually gigantic and offer something else besides food to patrons, so even those that don't enjoy the cuisine can still have a great time. They also draw shoppers and tourists like magnets.

Here's my list of Flagship Chain Restaurants I would like to see in San Jose someday:

• Rainforest Cafe
• Hard Rock Cafe
• Planet Hollywood
• House of Blues (Downtown was so close to getting one)
• ESPN Zone  

Do you have any to add to the list? Post in the comments.

Maxim is Moving their Global HQ to San Jose!

Maxim, a multi billion dollar high-tech manufacturing company, is moving their headquarters from Sunnyvale to North San Jose's Golden Triangle (area between 101, 880, and 237). They are also gaining about 150,000 sqft of new space as part of the move, letting them expand operations by up to 20%. Some of the reasons why they are excited about their new space:

• Immediate access to 3 freeways
• Lightrail and ACE access
• Future retail and housing along 1st St.

They should be in their new home by 2012.

North San Pedro Development

It looks like the Barry Swenson housing development in the North San Pedro area downtown is one step closer to breaking ground. The San Jose City Council has approved the sale of 7+ acres for the project, which would encompass 3 high-rises and several townhomes. In total, there will be at least 730 units, 2 new parks, and a realignment of Julian Street back to a traditional grid. Barry hopes to start construction by Summer 2011 and have the first tower open by the end of 2012!

New 49ers Stadium May Already Yield Benefits

It looks as if Joe Montana and former owner Edward DeBartolo are looking to build a new luxury hotel, sports bar, and entertainment complex near the future 49ers stadium in Santa Clara. Just one of many additional potential benefits a pro sports team can have on an area.