Again, here's the link.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Wednesday Wishlist: More SJ Rooftop Patios/Restaurants/Bars
Okay, so today's Wednesday Wishlist isn't actually mine. This one is by Mark from the Think Bigger San Jose Blog (it's back!!!). So to read this one please head over there and while you're at it, you might as well check out Mark's latest posts and polls!
Again, here's the link.
Again, here's the link.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
San Jose Jazz Winter Fest
Are you one of the hundred thousand people that love the annual San Jose Fazz Fest? Well, then I have some great news. Starting this year there will be a Winter Jazz Fest in addition to the epic summer event. This is going to happen across the burgeoning San Pedro Square area, including many of my favorite Downtown eateries and the Theater on San Pedro Square. Our friends at Silicon Valley Lofts & Condos did a great job of summarizing the event, so check out their post below for all the details!
****************************************************
Looking for a jazz fix and can’t wait for Summer Fest? San Jose Jazz’s Winter Fest is the answer.
Concerts will be held at the intimate Theater on San Pedro Square, and will feature established musicians as well as some up-and-comers. Highlights of the festival include a collaboration between young jazz artists Amrose Akinmusire and Gerald Clayton; vocalist Jamie Davis; saxophone prodigy Grace Kelly; Bay Area favorites The Blues All Stars with J.C. Smith, Chris Cain & Maxx Cabello, Jr.; and global fusion group Rupa & the April Fishes.
Other exciting events include dance parties and a “Club Crawl”. The Blues Dance Party will feature Summer Fest favorite Legally Blue, and the Salsa Dance Party will feature the Latin Salsa Big Band sounds of the Pacific Mambo Orchestra. Both parties will be held at the new local favorite San Pedro Square Market. The Club Crawl will have performances by local jazz groups at favorite downtown San Jose bars and restaurants in San Pedro Square including 71 Saint Peter, La Piñata, The Mmoon, O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub, and the Satori Tea Company. Food and drink specials will be available during the festival.
Single tickets and festival passes are on sale now at sanjosejazz.org.
What: San Jose Jazz Winter Fest
When: Friday, March 9 – Sunday, March 11
Where: Concerts held at the Theater of San Pedro Square
29 N. San Pedro Street
Dance Parties held at the San Pedro Square Market
87 N. San Pedro Street
****************************************************
Looking for a jazz fix and can’t wait for Summer Fest? San Jose Jazz’s Winter Fest is the answer.Concerts will be held at the intimate Theater on San Pedro Square, and will feature established musicians as well as some up-and-comers. Highlights of the festival include a collaboration between young jazz artists Amrose Akinmusire and Gerald Clayton; vocalist Jamie Davis; saxophone prodigy Grace Kelly; Bay Area favorites The Blues All Stars with J.C. Smith, Chris Cain & Maxx Cabello, Jr.; and global fusion group Rupa & the April Fishes.
Other exciting events include dance parties and a “Club Crawl”. The Blues Dance Party will feature Summer Fest favorite Legally Blue, and the Salsa Dance Party will feature the Latin Salsa Big Band sounds of the Pacific Mambo Orchestra. Both parties will be held at the new local favorite San Pedro Square Market. The Club Crawl will have performances by local jazz groups at favorite downtown San Jose bars and restaurants in San Pedro Square including 71 Saint Peter, La Piñata, The Mmoon, O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub, and the Satori Tea Company. Food and drink specials will be available during the festival.
Single tickets and festival passes are on sale now at sanjosejazz.org.
What: San Jose Jazz Winter Fest
When: Friday, March 9 – Sunday, March 11
Where: Concerts held at the Theater of San Pedro Square
29 N. San Pedro Street
Dance Parties held at the San Pedro Square Market
87 N. San Pedro Street
Monday, March 5, 2012
February 2012 Downtown Dimension Highlights
Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:
- Groundwerx is looking to improve services in Downtown San Jose when the PBID gets renewed. Specifically they are looking to:
- Improve safety using roving ambassadors, private security, and hiring off duty police officers
- Help retain and grow businesses by improving services to existing and new businesses interested in locating Downtown.
- The San Jose Redevelopment Agency has been dissolved and the city is assuming all assets and responsibilities.
- Dennis Fong has sold the landmark Prussia Building in SoFA at 371 S. First to AEDIS Architecture. The new owners are preparing the ground floor for retail and will use the upper floors for offices.
- The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services has launched a smartphone app that allows residents to send photos and reports of graffiti, litter, and park conditions (Groundwerx has something similar for Downtown).
- Chacho's Restaruant is back home in Downtown San Jose at 87 E. San Fernando [Josh: try their mole enchiladas, phenomenal]
- The Studio is a new Touchstone rock climbing club at 396 S. First that is just about to open in a heavily modified version of the former Wet nightclub building.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Pinger Receives Additional $7.5M from VCs
A hot new start-up based in Downtown San Jose has raised $7.5M from Deutsche Telekom. They currently have a mobile app that lets you text for free on Android devices and text or call for free on iOS devices. You can get links to download their app right over here. Their eventual goal is to build an international free global network with the support of carriers. I imagine most of the $7.5M will go towards building the right partnerships.
Source: SJBJ
Source: SJBJ
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Saturday Stats: San Jose #2 for Social Media Jobs
Just when I thought I was out of job-related Saturday Stats, I ran into one more. San Jose is being ranked as the second best location in the country for social media jobs. #1 was New York (which actually has slightly lower social media salaries than San Jose) and even with Twitter, San Francisco only managed to nab the bronze medal.
Source: SJBJ
Source: SJBJ
Friday, March 2, 2012
South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk Today!
The next South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk is March 2nd!
A self-guided evening tour through galleries, museums, and independent creative businesses featuring exhibitions and special performances- all venues are FREE & open to the public 7–11pm.
Lots of new exhibits opening on Friday including:
Ordinary People new works by Daniel Jesse Lewis at Anno Domini.
I Can’t Go On; I’ll Go On a new body of work by Jehoiakim Santos at Good Karma Vegan Cafe presented by Phantom Galleries.
Portraits of the Innerself new work by Valerie Runningwolf at KALEID Gallery
Steam Punk Explorations new work by Dorothy Whitman at KALEID Gallery
The Practice in Ink by Leslie Lambert at Downtown Yoga Shala
Quilt National ’11 at San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles
Cult Films and Midnight Movies group show featuring David Mejia, Nic Ceaser, Des Taylor, Thomas Boatwright, Mike Rosen and Bryan Dobrow
Art and Chrome Culture group show featuring original art and live painting by Alfredo Reyes, Freddy Alfaro, Anthony Trayer, Jesse Villegas, Mike 3.5 & Neto Soza at South First Billiards
plus lots more at MACLA, Metro Photo Exhibit, Art Ark, WORKS San Jose, Pho69, Psycho Donuts, TechShopSJ, San Jose Jazz at Eulipia and opera at Caffe Frascati!
View full line up here at www.SouthFirstFridays.com
Invite your friends along here.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
TOTEM Ticket Giveaway: And the winner is....
What a whirlwind contest! We had fun watching the entries come in... but enough of that. You want to know who won don't you?
The winner of Two (2) tickets to see tomorrow night's premiere of Cirque du Soleil's TOTEM is....
RAY C.!!!
Congratulations!
But wait... there's more!
The super generous folks at TOTEM decided, what the heck... here's ANOTHER PAIR OF TICKETS. So, surprise San Jose Blog readers - there's another winner out there!
And that winner is ...
ANNE J.!!!
Congratulations to both winners! We hope you have a fantastic time at the show!
I'll be posting about the show later this weekend so be sure to come back and check that out. Ray and Anne - we look forward to hearing what you thought about the show too!
The winner of Two (2) tickets to see tomorrow night's premiere of Cirque du Soleil's TOTEM is....
RAY C.!!!
Congratulations!
But wait... there's more!
The super generous folks at TOTEM decided, what the heck... here's ANOTHER PAIR OF TICKETS. So, surprise San Jose Blog readers - there's another winner out there!
And that winner is ...
ANNE J.!!!
Congratulations to both winners! We hope you have a fantastic time at the show!
I'll be posting about the show later this weekend so be sure to come back and check that out. Ray and Anne - we look forward to hearing what you thought about the show too!
Santana Row Expansion
Not too long ago Santana Row announced new residential construction behind the building bound by Yankee Pier and Pasta Pomodoro (212 rental homes). Now they are adding two new projects into their immediate expansion plans.
First up is the vacant two-story flagship Borders space. H&M will be taking over that location to become a retail anchor and triple their square footage at the row. This will also free up an 8,000sqft corner location, which I imagine won't be empty for long.
Second is a massive new Class A office building that will be on the corner of Winchester across the street from Eli Thomas and stretch all the way to Thea. We're talking 220,000 square feet--more than double the office space Santana row has now--and they are planning to get rents in the Downtown Mountain View range. They are also looking to lease to a single high-tech tenant, opening another "headquarters" opportunity for San Jose.
The new office building will also have 660 new underground parking spaces, which will be open to everyone on nights, weekends, and holidays.
Source: The Merc, SJBJ
First up is the vacant two-story flagship Borders space. H&M will be taking over that location to become a retail anchor and triple their square footage at the row. This will also free up an 8,000sqft corner location, which I imagine won't be empty for long.
Second is a massive new Class A office building that will be on the corner of Winchester across the street from Eli Thomas and stretch all the way to Thea. We're talking 220,000 square feet--more than double the office space Santana row has now--and they are planning to get rents in the Downtown Mountain View range. They are also looking to lease to a single high-tech tenant, opening another "headquarters" opportunity for San Jose.
The new office building will also have 660 new underground parking spaces, which will be open to everyone on nights, weekends, and holidays.
Source: The Merc, SJBJ
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Win 2 Tix to see TOTEM, Friday March 2nd!
Attention The San Jose Blog readers! Between now and NOON TOMORROW, you have the opportunity to win TWO (2) tickets to attend the Premiere of Cirque du Soleil's TOTEM!
TOTEM traces the fascinating journey of the human species from its original amphibian state to its ultimate desire to fly. The characters evolve on a stage evoking a giant turtle, the symbol of origin for many ancient civilizations.- TOTEM website
Inspired by many founding myths, TOTEM illustrates, through a visual and acrobatic language, the evolutionary progress of species.
Somewhere between science and legend TOTEM explores the ties that bind Man to other species, his dreams and his infinite potential.
Here's the show details:
When: Friday, March 2, 2012
Where: Taylor Street Bridge, Lot E (You can't miss the big tent!)
Site Opens: 7:00 PM
Showtime: 8:00 PM
Enter to win by filling out the form below-- but first, some contest details:
Contest ends NOON tomorrow, Thursday, March 1st.
Winner will be chosen at random.
Please do not enter the contest if you cannot make the show!
Winners will be notified by email (look for an email from Jennifer Bullock!)
Fill out the form below, and GOOD LUCK!
3/1: 12:00PM (NOON):
*** CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED ***
World Premier of "Worth the Weight" at Cinequest
There are many worthwhile films to check out at the Cinequest film festival--which officially started yesterday--but the one below is well worth highlighting for several reasons:
1.) It's a world premier. The first time the public will get to see the movie will be at Cinequest in San Jose.
2.) The producer was born and raised in San Jose and went to SJSU.
3.) The script was bought off of craigslist for $500 and the writer and director are meeting for the first time at Cinequest.
4.) The director, cast, and crew will be at each of the screenings for Q&A after the movie.
Sounds pretty interesting already without knowing anything about the movie itself! Now check out the trailer and press release below (or for the website click here).
Worth the Weight - Tease from Ryan Sage on Vimeo.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CRAIGSLIST BUY LANDS DIRECTOR AT CINEQUEST
FROM A SCRIPT BOUGHT OFF CRAIGSLIST FOR $500,
“WORTH THE WEIGHT” PREMIERES AT CINEQUEST MARCH 2
SAN JOSE, CALIF. – February 6, 2012 -Craigslist, the go-to website for finding jobs,
housing and deals, offered an unexpected opportunity for LA director Ryan Sage and
Chicago writer Dale Zawada to realize their dream of making a movie. “Worth the
Weight,” the story of one man’s quest to find love while on the challenging journey of
major weight loss, will have its World Premiere at San Jose’s Cinequest film festival
Friday, March 2nd, capping off a year long production that began with a short post on
Craigslist and culminating with the writer and director meeting in person for the first time
at the festival.
“I can’t say I was expecting to sell my first script on Craigslist,” said Zawada. “But my
goal was always to get my script into the hands of some talented and passionate
filmmakers and this just seemed like the right opportunity.”
Sage, a promo writer/producer for ABC’s hit show “Modern Family,” who has directed
many award-winning shorts, commercials and TV pilots, was looking to take on the
challenge of a feature length film. Unfortunately, he lacked the right script. Sifting
through dozens of responses from his Craigslist post, Sage discovered “Worth the
Weight” submitted by Chicago-based stand up comic Zawada and knew he had found
something special.
“What I loved was the story felt very real to me and it was peppered with these really
funny moments,” said Sage. “It really captured the ups and downs and realization by the
main characters that people are defined by more than just their size. Their hopes, their
outlook on life and the way they see themselves are just as important. It’s an inspiring
message that I think will resonate for people, with or without weight issues.”
“Worth the Weight” depicts the hard road of weight loss coupled with a journey to find
love – a story many can relate to. Steering clear of the standard transformation formula
seen on many current television shows such as “Biggest Loser,” the hero finds
acceptance – and love – in unexpected places.
Another reality for Sage was the need to make this film on a tight budget. Shooting on
weekends allowed cast and crew to keep their day jobs and also gave lead actors
Robbie Kaller and Jillian Leigh more time to delve into their characters. Zawada would
also use this time to hone the script from Chicago after getting notes on production from
the weekend’s prior shoot.
“I really think the extra work we put in paid off,” said Sage. “The actors give some truly
break out performances with amazing subtlety and nuance. I wouldn’t be surprised if
they were both household names within ten years.”
The festival will have additional special meaning for both Sage and producer, Kristina
Denton. Denton was born and raised in San Jose, and graduated from San Jose State
University in 2007. Sage spent five years studying film at the Academy of Art University
in San Francisco and spent every summer growing up at his grandparent’s house in
nearby Santa Rosa.
“This is really special for both Kristina and I and we can’t think of a better festival to
premiere at,” said Sage. “It’s basically a homecoming, only without the tiara. Although
I’m packing mine just in case.”
“Worth the Weight” Cinequest Screenings:
Friday, March 2nd -9:45pm (WORLD PREMIERE) | San Jose Repertory Theatre
Sunday, March 4th -4:00pm | Camera 12, San Jose, CA
Wednesday, March 7th -11:45am | Camera 12, San Jose, CA
# # #
1.) It's a world premier. The first time the public will get to see the movie will be at Cinequest in San Jose.
2.) The producer was born and raised in San Jose and went to SJSU.
3.) The script was bought off of craigslist for $500 and the writer and director are meeting for the first time at Cinequest.
4.) The director, cast, and crew will be at each of the screenings for Q&A after the movie.
Sounds pretty interesting already without knowing anything about the movie itself! Now check out the trailer and press release below (or for the website click here).
Worth the Weight - Tease from Ryan Sage on Vimeo.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CRAIGSLIST BUY LANDS DIRECTOR AT CINEQUEST
FROM A SCRIPT BOUGHT OFF CRAIGSLIST FOR $500,
“WORTH THE WEIGHT” PREMIERES AT CINEQUEST MARCH 2
SAN JOSE, CALIF. – February 6, 2012 -Craigslist, the go-to website for finding jobs,
housing and deals, offered an unexpected opportunity for LA director Ryan Sage and
Chicago writer Dale Zawada to realize their dream of making a movie. “Worth the
Weight,” the story of one man’s quest to find love while on the challenging journey of
major weight loss, will have its World Premiere at San Jose’s Cinequest film festival
Friday, March 2nd, capping off a year long production that began with a short post on
Craigslist and culminating with the writer and director meeting in person for the first time
at the festival.
“I can’t say I was expecting to sell my first script on Craigslist,” said Zawada. “But my
goal was always to get my script into the hands of some talented and passionate
filmmakers and this just seemed like the right opportunity.”
Sage, a promo writer/producer for ABC’s hit show “Modern Family,” who has directed
many award-winning shorts, commercials and TV pilots, was looking to take on the
challenge of a feature length film. Unfortunately, he lacked the right script. Sifting
through dozens of responses from his Craigslist post, Sage discovered “Worth the
Weight” submitted by Chicago-based stand up comic Zawada and knew he had found
something special.
“What I loved was the story felt very real to me and it was peppered with these really
funny moments,” said Sage. “It really captured the ups and downs and realization by the
main characters that people are defined by more than just their size. Their hopes, their
outlook on life and the way they see themselves are just as important. It’s an inspiring
message that I think will resonate for people, with or without weight issues.”
“Worth the Weight” depicts the hard road of weight loss coupled with a journey to find
love – a story many can relate to. Steering clear of the standard transformation formula
seen on many current television shows such as “Biggest Loser,” the hero finds
acceptance – and love – in unexpected places.
Another reality for Sage was the need to make this film on a tight budget. Shooting on
weekends allowed cast and crew to keep their day jobs and also gave lead actors
Robbie Kaller and Jillian Leigh more time to delve into their characters. Zawada would
also use this time to hone the script from Chicago after getting notes on production from
the weekend’s prior shoot.
“I really think the extra work we put in paid off,” said Sage. “The actors give some truly
break out performances with amazing subtlety and nuance. I wouldn’t be surprised if
they were both household names within ten years.”
The festival will have additional special meaning for both Sage and producer, Kristina
Denton. Denton was born and raised in San Jose, and graduated from San Jose State
University in 2007. Sage spent five years studying film at the Academy of Art University
in San Francisco and spent every summer growing up at his grandparent’s house in
nearby Santa Rosa.
“This is really special for both Kristina and I and we can’t think of a better festival to
premiere at,” said Sage. “It’s basically a homecoming, only without the tiara. Although
I’m packing mine just in case.”
“Worth the Weight” Cinequest Screenings:
Friday, March 2nd -9:45pm (WORLD PREMIERE) | San Jose Repertory Theatre
Sunday, March 4th -4:00pm | Camera 12, San Jose, CA
Wednesday, March 7th -11:45am | Camera 12, San Jose, CA
# # #
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