Body Worlds Vital has been Extended!

For Immediate Release

February 23, 2011

Change of Heart: BODY WORLDS Vital exhibition to keep beating through April at The Tech Museum

World-premiere blockbuster extended after solid reviews, overflowing crowds

SAN JOSE – BODY WORLDS Vital, which has sold more than 90,000 tickets in the three months since the blockbuster opened its doors to critical review and jam-packed crowds, will have an extended stay at The Tech Museum.

The popular exhibition will now remain in Silicon Valley until April 24, 2011.

The announcement comes just as Americans take stock of their health during February’s American Heart Month. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. In 2010, an estimated 785,000 Americans had their first heart attack. Nearly every 25 seconds, someone in the United States will have a coronary event, and one person every minute will die from one.

The chance of developing coronary heart disease can be reduced by taking steps to prevent and control factors that put people at greater risk. Developed specifically for the American audience to educate people on common diseases and preventive care, BODY WORLDS Vital is a specially curated collection made up of real human body plastinates and a large arrangement of individual organs – including the heart – arterial configurations and translucent slices that give a complete picture of how the human body functions. Using multi-media installations as a backdrop, the exhibit shows the body in disease and distress by comparing healthy bodies to bodies that have succumbed to a host of illnesses and medical conditions.

Physician and Creative and Conceptual Designer of the exhibition, Dr. Angelina Whalley said, “I hope that this exhibition at The Tech Museum will continue to inspire visitors by showing the body’s potential and capacity for change. My husband Gunther von Hagens and I created BODY WORLDS to show that the body is so fragile and vulnerable, and yet so resilient and forgiving.”




BODY WORLDS Vital is the latest chapter in the HUMAN SAGA project - a series of curated museum blockbusters that began with exploration of the brain and neuroscience, cardiology and the heart, human development and longevity and aging. BODY WORLDSexhibitions have been hosted by more than 50 museums and venues in North America, Europe, and Asia – and seen by more than 32 million visitors worldwide.

“This exhibition is perfectly aligned with our mission to give visitors high-quality experiences that educate, inform, provoke thought and inspire action - all in the spirit of Silicon Valley," Peter Friess, president of The Tech Museum, said. "BODY WORLDS Vitalgives visitors greater insights into the complexity of their bodies. But, even more than that, the exhibition challenges visitors to take serious stock of their health, propel them toward fuller, fitter lifestyles and, ultimately, wellness."

New Art at Red Berry Coffee Shop Tomorrow

This would also be a great venue to be added to South First Fridays, really cool coffee shop:

Tim Walker Reception at Red Berry Coffee

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

Coffee, Tea, and Artistry at Red Berry Coffee Bar: Landscapes by Tim Walker
Artist's Reception: Friday, February 25, 7-9 pm

Join us at the opening celebration of Landscapes by Tim Walker, an exhibition of vibrant images showing the beauty and inherent drama of our country’s natural spaces.

Meet the photographer, Tim Walker, a recent graduate of San Jose State University, currently working for the award winning photographer, Frans Lanting. Fresh baked treats will be provided. Artisan coffees and teas are available to complement the treats and lift your spirits. An easy walk from downtown San Jose, Red Berry Coffee Bar is located directly across from City Hall. Street and covered parking is available.

Red Berry Coffee Bar
231 East Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA
408.286.0508
www.redberrycoffeebar.com

Wednesday Wishlist: 2020 World Expo

From the Merc:

THE POTENTIAL ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF BRINGING
the WORLD EXPO 2020
TO SILICON VALLEY

Overall economic activity:
$5.6 billion
San Jose's share (14 percent):
$818 million
Jobs created (minus construction):
42,000
Local and state tax revenues: $440 million
Visitors (over six months):
25 million
Overnight visitors:
8.3 million

Axis Promo #4 - Great Video!

Exciting Game In Detroit Extends Sharks’ Win Streak

The San Jose Sharks come out on top in a hard-fought match against the dynamic Detroit Red Wings team, narrowly winning with the score of 4-3. While the Sharks snapped the Red Wings’ win streak at five, the Sharks extend their win streak to four. Sharks forward Devin Setoguchi, currently on a hot streak with ten goals in his last thirteen games, nets two (after his first ever NHL hat trick last Saturday at the Shark Tank against the Colorado Avalanche), and Sharks captain Joe Thornton scores his 300th career NHL goal. In addition, for the first time in San Jose Sharks franchise history, the Sharks sweep the Red Wings at their home in Detroit.

From the onset, the game was rife with playoff-like tension. Earlier in the season, the Sharks had lost to the Red Wings in San Jose and the Sharks had beaten the Red Wings in Detroit. To add to the already thick tension, the fans in Detroit never forgot their elimination by the Sharks from last year’s 2009-2010 playoffs.

As expected, both teams came out playing strong, knowing each other’s team was an equally difficult opponent.

The first period began scoreless, and even with a four-minute high-sticking penalty followed by a two-minute high-sticking penalty against the Red Wings (both drawn by the Sharks’ Logan Couture), giving the Sharks ample five on three opportunity, the Red Wings still managed to keep the puck out of their net. Much of the Red Wings’ success was due to a combined effort of solid defensive play and the standout saves by netminder Jimmy Howard. With twenty minutes left in the first period, the Red Wings took another penalty, giving the Sharks a power play for the rest of the period. It did not take long for the Sharks to capitalize on their advantage, with Joe Thornton scoring a great goal in front of the net, giving the Sharks a 1-0 edge by the end of the first.

Succeeding the action-filled, relatively scoreless first period revealed a still action-filled, three-goal second period. Just over seven minutes into the second period, the Red Wings’ Daniel Cleary scored on a weird bounce in front of the Sharks’ net to even up the game at 1-1. Later in the second, Sharks forward Ryane Clowe brilliantly blocked a Red Wings defenseman shot to earn a breakaway, beating the Red Wings’ Howard with a backhand to bring the Sharks back up to a one goal lead, at 2-1. Before the Sharks could become comfortable with their lead, the Red Wings’ Daniel Cleary scored again thirty seconds later to even the game at 2-2. Before the second period could end, Devin Setoguchi tipped in a shot from Joe Thornton and Logan Couture to bring the Sharks again to a one goal lead by the time the period came to a close.

No scoring occurred between the two teams during most of the third period, much in part to the brilliant saves by both the Sharks’ Antti Niemi and the Red Wings’ Jimmy Howard. Thirteen minutes into the third period, the puck came to Sharks forward Devin Setoguchi at the point from a nice Joe Thornton pass, who let go a ripping slap shot past Howard to put the Sharks up at a 4-2 lead. After a Dany Heatley interference call late in the third, the Red Wings used their one man advantage to bring the score to 4-3 with a well-placed shot by Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg.

The Red Wings team surged late in the third to recover their one goal deficit, even attempting to pull their goaltender to crash the Sharks’ defensive zone with an extra Red Wings player. While the Red Wings almost scored, the Sharks successfully kept their lead until the very end, with the final score of 4-3, in favor of the Sharks.

With their win, the Sharks remain in fourth place in the Western Conference standings, behind the obvious first and second place teams, the Vancouver Canucks and the Detroit Red Wings, respectively, and just one point behind the Phoenix Coyotes, another team on a massive winning surge.

Honorable mentions go to the Sharks defensive line, who have all played strong, hard-nosed hockey and keeping our net safe. Especially with all of the criticism by some fans concerning the Sharks’ lack of defensive prowess, the Sharks have since demonstrated to have some of the league’s best defensive playing in recent times. Additional assist to the Sharks management team for picking up defenseman Ian White, who had previously been playing with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Catch the Sharks TOMORROW night as they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center! This will be the Sharks’ second game out of their current three game road trip.

San Jose has a Beach?

Here is a little known fun fact that is in good company with "San Jose has a marina?" and "it snows in San Jose?" We have a lake beach in Almaden! I completely forgot about this until I saw the I<3SJ wall on Facebook a couple days ago. For video proof, look no further than a random family video I pulled off of YouTube below.

Last Call for Dishcrawl Tickets!

It looks like this month's Dishcrawl will be even bigger and better than the inaugural event in January! Over 100 food lovers have purchased tickets and NBC's The Feast will be taping for their show. The list of eateries so far:

• Mezcal (Oaxacan restaurant)
• Mogo (Amazing Korean BBQ Taco Truck)
• Treatbot (Karaoke Ice Cream Truck)

They only have a few "latebird" tickets left. For more information, just click here!

Downtown San Jose Restaurant and Arts Discounts!

At the end of the State of the City Address brochure, I found a nice little coupon. 20 restaurants are offering a $10 dining credit and just about all performing arts groups Downtown are offering 10% off tickets with the coupon below. This certificate is good until April 30th and you can download it by clicking here.

Click image to enlarge