01SJ: Oglala Oyate (Sister City Cam)

Another cool 01SJ public art piece that will be up during the festival is called Oglala Oyate and will provide a look at what our sister cities are up to around the globe. I wouldn't mind if this one was up all year round. You can find it at the corner of San Carlos and 1st Street on the side of the UFCW Local 5 building.

The Usuals Expansion + Streetbot

While is hasn't been around for very long, The Usuals (1020 The Alameda) has already expanded into an adjacent space allowing for more clothing/accessories, new dressing rooms, and plenty more local art. Another bit of interesting news is that they're partnering up with Treatbot (Awesome Karaoke Ice Cream Truck) on a new concept called Streatbot, which you can think of as a food truck without the food and with lots of local clothing and art instead. Here are some pics from the last party the Usuals threw (What's that? The clothing stores you shop at don't throw parties with free food and music? Maybe it's time to find a new clothing store).

01SJ: Particle Falls

One of the many public artworks coming to Downtown San Jose during the 01SJ festival is called Particle Falls. This dynamic 8-story tall art piece displays a real time visualization of particulate pollution in the San Fernando Corridor. It can go from a trickle to a full blown waterfall depending on the amount of pollution in the air.

Sean Boyle Art Show

Come celebrate 10 years of a local artist's work with music, food, and of course some great company. Full details after the banner.

Sean Boyle's biggest show   to date on Sept. 10th! Come out the 2nd Friday of September. There's going to be a ton of art, tacos, popsicles and music by DJ Cutso of the Bangerz. Featuring a new free standing mural consisting of 21 doors and a collection of current work and art dating back to 2000.

The Mmoon Sneak Peak!

Last week I was fortunate enough to get a preview of The Mmoon Empanadas... and I think we have a real winner on our hands! My personal favorite was the Beef Tri-tip empanada dipped in an Argentinian chimichurri sause. My wife couldn't get enough of the Banapple empanada. To take a look at the full menu, just head over here.

There's still some work to do before the restaurant officially opens its doors, but some nice San Jose touches like local digital art and a live twitter feed were already hung up on the wall and functional. Currently, they're shooting for a mid-September opening. In the meantime you can enjoy a few photos from the preview night:

September 2010 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• The holidays are coming up soon and the new official name of the downtown ice rink will be Hawaiian Airlines / Kristi Yamaguchi Downtown Ice.
• The San Pedro Square Urban Market will now launch in Q1 2011 [I should have names of some tenants in 1-2 weeks, construction should be done in December]
• Henry's World Famous Hi-Life celebrates its 50th anniversary (for 2 days in August the owner rolled back prices to 1960).
• Andy's Pet Shop is coming back! Formerly in a 4,000sqft store on the Alameda, they will open up in a new 9,000sqft location at 51 Notre Dame (near San Pedro Square and Little Italy). The famous neon sign is returning as well.
• As previously reported, Second Street Tavern + Bowl is coming to the ground floor of the Globe. Games will cost about $3 and hourly lane rental will range from $25-45.
• Satori Tea (phenomenal teas here) is open at 37 N. San Pedro.
• Pho 69 adds Vietnamese noodles to SoFA @ 321 S. First St.
• Polar Ice is now offering yogurt, gelato, smoothies, and boba at 96 E. San Salvador St.
• Whipp's Frozen Fruits & Deserts has frozen cups made entirely of fruit over at 110 E. San Fernando.
• Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt is open at 567 Coleman across from Chili's.
• Higher Fire Clayspace & Gallery opened its doors at 499 S. Market St. in SoFA [very cool place, they are a new addition to the South First Fridays art crawl]
• 01SJ is coming Sep. 16-19, showcasing 100+ artists from 21 countries. Many of the technology-oriented outdoor pieces will be up until at least November.
• The San Jose Mariachi Festival will take place from Sep. 15-26.
• The Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon will attract thousands of participants during its stretch from Oct. 1-3
• Property owners are following in Groundwerx's footsteps and beautifying the space around their businesses. The areas near the Comerica building, Market Street Tower Venture, and Original Joe's have all been improved by business owners. The SJDA is more than happy to help any downtown businesses that would like to improve their sidewalk space (Contact Eric at 408-590-0241)
• SJSU ranked 14th among the West's top public universities and the College of Engineering ranked 7th in the nation among public engineering programs.

To read the full newsletter, click here!

2010 01SJ Biennial Promo

ZER01 is coming very soon and represents the art forms that will differentiate San Jose's art scene from other cosmopolitan cities across the world. We're talking about art that's innovative, dynamic, interactive, eclectic, thought-provoking, and fun. Much more info to come, but let's start with the teaser video below:

SJBJ: San Jose office park will be transformed into 89 homes

According to the San Jose Business Journal, it looks like 16 acres of office park are going to be razed to make room for 89 detached homes in Almaden Valley. Not a bad idea given the 10 million or so square feet of vacant office space in San Jose right now. The builder also plans on restoring four acres of habitat next to the Guadalupe Creek. Fore more details, head right over here or here.