Polycom Moving Headquarters to San Jose

Some more good news for San Jose commercial leasing. It looks like Polycom may not only move their 50,000 sqft headquarters from Pleasanton to San Jose, but they will likely be doing some substantial hiring over here as they are taking 213,000 sqft space in the America Center (at the tail end of Great America Parkway near Alviso). This is a company that has increased their head count by a staggering 21% in the first half of this year. Clearly more jobs and tax dollars at this scale is going to be a huge win for the city.

To add to the good news, the second building at the America center is supposedly close to getting leased as well.

For more information click here (warning SJSV Business Journal subscription needed for full article).

Nothing Bundt Cakes Finalists!

Thank you for all of the great entries into our Nothing Bundt Cakes Contest! Up for grabs is free cake for a year from Nothing Bundt Cakes in Willow Glen. I have managed to narrow it down to the 3 finalists below.

Before announcing a winner, I would love to hear your opinions on which story should win. Chrystal's brussel spout bundt cakes, Jonathan's runaway groom cake, or Diana's puzzle cake? The final decision could be impacted by your comments below!

Here are our three finalists:

Chrystal

I have an unusual daughter.  As a 5 year old, she once told me that she was hungry.  Could I please make a veggie platter as a snack for her?  Now don't get me wrong!  Chloe likes sugar with the best of them, and at one point wanted to be a "meat taste tester" when she grows up.  (Shall I send the picture of the "steak cake" she wanted for her 10th birthday?  It came with "peas" and "mashed potatoes" in the form of jelly beans and ice cream with chocolate sauce, and thanks to strawberry cake, it looked rare when cut into.)

Last year for her 11th birthday, she requested that her cake look like brussel sprouts.....  These were made with two mini bundt cakes each, covered in fondant.  The use of fondant was a new experience for us.  

She is on a roll!  For number twelve, she wants a cake that looks like broccoli - ?

Jonathan

The day of the wedding it was snowing.  It wasn't just a light sprinkle but rather large fluffy flakes that kept falling.  My sister was getting married and in the preceding days I had picked up a number of tasks to help with the wedding.  Some of them were rather simple errands like shuttling people around town, or picking up supplies at the store.  The deepening snow made this somewhat harder but I pressed on and after the ceremony drove and slipped and slid down to the country club that was the site of the reception.

When I got there and began work on my next job (DJ-ing the wedding) the cake had just arrived.  It was carried to the back of the room and sat on its appointed table, bare of any decoration save the frosting.  Sitting on the table next to the cake were two plastic figurines of a bride and groom.  They stood watch next to the cake examining the empty room, waiting for their turn in the spotlight.  Finished with my work at the DJ table I walked over to examine the cake more closely.  I was joined by the wedding organizer at the country club who observed that the figurines were not in their rightful place atop the cake.  The bride and groom weighed more than they appeared and the groom was especially challenging for the organizer to perch on top the cake as his tiny plastic feet had trouble gripping the frosting.  Their trim proportions were misleading 

No more than a couple minutes later I heard a loud *THONK* and saw that the groom had made a suicidal dive off the top of the cake, careening off the layers and excavating some of the delicate frosting.  His escape had been noticed in time to make adequate repairs to the cake before it was too late.  Later it was discovered that the plastic couple had just been intended to stay on the table and do their posing there.  The cake remained delicious, flowers and ribbons took their place as the correct finishing touch.  But if I was superstitious I would have to say that the groom figurine jumping off the top of the cake has to be one of the worst signs of bad luck possible.  Thankfully though, it was just a cake.  And we ate it. 

Diana

The Puzzle Cake

I once tried to make a cake for my boyfriend many years ago.  The plan was to make two, small chocolate cakes, stack them on top of each other with banana custard in the middle, then white frosting with chopped strawberries on top.  Sounds easy enough, but to anyone who knows me, this may have been a little too advanced for me.  Rumor has it one of my cookies I baked in the past was so hard that the duck I fed it to in the pond sunk to the bottom, never to be heard from again.  But I was optimistic that this cake would not suffer the same fate and all my other cooking travesties and that maybe, JUST MAYBE, I would be able to successfully cook something.  

My chocolate cake pieces came out ok, but they were sort of lopsided.  My pan must have been uneven?  Totally the pan's fault, no doubt about it.  My custard came out ok, with only a few small patches of dried custard powder but with the icing and cake, I was sure you would barely even notice.  So far, the cake was a winner.  When you have the cooking experiences I have had, you don't worry whether the result is perfect, only if it can be disguised as perfect.  

I iced the cake and was still doing ok, but while I was putting the strawberry chunks on top, a crack formed on the top of my cake.  After a few angry insults directed at the cake, I believed I could just "glue" the crack together with frosting.  Afterall, frosting is pretty sticky, right?  Worse case scenario, I could just fill in the crack with frosting like painters do with Spackle on a wall.  In a better mood, I shoved the cake into the fridge and waited for my boyfriend to come over.  By the time my boyfriend got there, my cake sabotaged me.  The crack came back and had deepened.  The custard worked like a slip and slide and an entire chunk fell off my cake and on the fridge shelf.  

Completely upset, I tried to pull the cake out of the fridge and put it safely on the counter, but the cake was determined to embarrass me and more chunks fell on the floor.    I think a few "lucky" pieces actually got as far as the counter before they too betrayed me.  I call it a Puzzle Cake because I hadn't quite given up on it and spent the next few minutes trying to fit the pieces back together, telling my boyfriend, "NO!! IT'S STILL GOOD!!  THIS CAN WORK!!  I'M STILL GOING TO EAT IT!!"  I don't remember if he actually ate any, but the moral of this story is ... just buy a cake.  It's easier, less of a mess, and tastes a LOT better.  You can always just take the price tag off and claim it as your own.  Your boyfriend can't prove it.

Apple's New Headquarters

Not San Jose related, but an interesting watch nonetheless. This is exactly the type of projects that San Jose should be fighting tooth and nail for.

Saturday Stats: San Jose Guzzling Gas

It's not always good to be #1. San Joseans are spending an average of $216 a month on gas, which is a higher average than anywhere else in the nation. However, gas prices are higher here than in just about all of the other cities in the top 12, so this doesn't necessarily mean that we consume the most gas per person. Still, it's not a great statistic and hopefully one that will fall as more electric vehicles are adopted and our transit system is further developed.

New Exhibit at The Tech Opens Tomorrow

California Premiere of
Islamic Science Rediscovered
Opens to the public Saturday, September 3.

Challenging Misconceptions, Illuminating Diversity.

Did the Wright Brothers soar in the sky first?
Was Leonardo the first to describe "machines of the future"?

Long overlooked or often misattributed, the remarkable contributions of Muslim scholars in science and technology have quietly floundered as no more than common footnotes of world history.

• Centuries before Orville and Wilbur Wright took flight, Abbas ibn Farnas was soaring over the hilly Spanish countryside in a one-man glider - a thousand years before the famed Wright flight in North Carolina.


• Al-Jazari busied himself laying the foundations of modern engineering and writing the Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices in 1206, where he described fifty mechanical devices along with instructions on how to build them, more than 200 years before Leonardo da Vinci became revered for this technological ingenuity.

This global touring exhibition celebrates the contribution of Muslim scholars to science and technology during the Golden Age of the Islamic World (circa 8th to 18th centuries CE) and the influence of their discoveries and inventions on contemporary society.

Amazing ancient Islamic inventions are brought to life by more than 40 stations with interactive and sensory exhibits and videos. The exhibition covers the main fields of Islamic scientific endeavor including architecture, arts, astronomy, engineering, exploration, flight, mathematics, medicine, optics and water control.

Complement your Islamic Science Rediscovered Experience
See Arabia in The Hackworth IMAX Dome Theater.
Only $5 more per person.

Arabia (45 minutes) is a thought-provoking learning adventure about a land steeped in myth and mystery. Experience the story of one of the most powerful, yet least understood, regions on Earth today. Audiences will hurtle back into the Islamic Golden Age of Invention. Join three million Muslims on the Hajj pilgrimage, and get to know the young Arabians transforming tomorrow's world.

Plus New Hands-On Science Workshop: Ingenious Inventions
Opens Sept 3, 2011
Free with museum admission
Limited Capacity. First-come, First-served.
Space is limited. See museum signs for times.
The Tech Innovation at Play Gallery, Lower Level.

Travel back to the Golden Age of Islam to explore the properties of light as you make a take-home pinhole camera.

• Devise a way to move water using simple machines.
• Be dazzled by the geometric tessellations to be found in arabesque mosaic art.
• Discover how Hindu-Arabic numerals and the power of zero transformed the world. Design a balancing mobile made from geometric shapes as you get math equations in your hands, and then balance and solve your own algebraic equations.

Prices
Adults: $18.99
Seniors: (65+) / College Students with ID: $16.99
Children: (ages 3-17): $13.99

Includes admission to Islamic Science Rediscovered AND admission to all the regular galleries of The Tech Museum (when available). Pricing does not include IMAX.

Or buy tickets in person at The Tech Museum or call(408) 294-8324.

Premier Launch of Made in San Jose Magazine

Time	Saturday, September 3 at 10:00am - September 4 at 6:00pm
Location	San Jose History Park 1650 Senter Road, San Jose, CA San Jose, CA
Created By	Janelle The-Mixtress Manalo
More Info	If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies. - Author Unknown. We are proud to inform you that the premiere launch of Made in San Jose Magazine has been moved to the San Jose’s own beautiful History Park located at 1650 Senter Road, San Jose, CA 95112. Fore more information pls visit http://www.tapestryartssanjose.com/ www.MadeinSanJose.com Made in San Jose Magazine and History San José Presents A Taste of Tapestry Labor Day Event on Saturday (9/3) and Sunday (9/4) from 10:00am to 6:00pm Music | Art | Fashion Show | Food & Drinks | Exotic Cars | Vintage Scooters & Motorcycles | A Taste of Tapestry Overview Join us for this wonderful weekend featuring: Local live music featuring; Cadillac Jack, the 60 voice Jubilee Choi; Black&Blue; Singer/Songwriter Michael Annuzzi; Reggae Sensation Michael Annotti, DJ By The Bay with DJ BERT; Taken Events with DJ TAKEN; Vivace Youth Chorus of San Josend much more including: SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES’ Ambassador, KELLY GRAY, professional players and his youth soccer club, autographs and scrimmages also including women’s professional soccer player KASSIE DOUBRAVA GRAY Leading Artists featuring Juried Award Winners TV coverage of Artists and Event by CreaTV TapestryArts' Design for Living Center UCCE Master Gardener's of Santa Clara County Children's entertainer Andy Z and the Kids Creativity Art Zone BAUTISTA Shelly’s Style face painting and Henna designs Bellydancing performances and lessons by Setareh & Hala’s Dance Troupe DO THE HUSTLE CreaTV Comcast Channel 15 Pilot and all day auditions Ricki with Salsa Dance Now performance and lessons Santa Clara Valley Model T Ford Club’s cars Writers & book signings featuring Kathryn Besser's book, Dirt&Sunshin Dr. Mary Crocker Cook's book, Awakening Hope, reading and signing San Jose's Pete the Magician; Haikchi Stick and Inca Silver Hollywood’s Attraction: 70s disco band; 1970s Dance & Costume Contest We will also be featuring Jr. Battle of the Bands; Karaoke; Fashions Shows; Sunday Afternoon Dance Contest; Silent Auction; Opportunity Drawing and much, much more! Amazing Unique Food, Wine and Beer Vendors: Whitings Food; Dipping Dots; Cali-Pop; Fruit Fritz; Thai Kabob BBQ; Mainstreet Food Concession; Carmen’s Taqueria; Baratt’s Lemonade; Suitcase Ron’s Kettle Korn Revue; Mediterranean Shawarma & Kebab. Porsches & Police Festival and Fundraiser 2011 The fun filled day included entertainment from THE HITMEN, The Cadillac Jack Band and Jubilee Christian Center Choir. The event was a huge success and The Loma Prieta Region Porsche Club and Tapestry Arts wishes to thank the sponsors and other presenting non-pofits (History Park San Jose, San Jose Police Foundation and Starbird Youth Center, Community United) 2011 Sponsors Made in San Jose Magazine MADE LOCAL™ MAGAZINE Dings and DentsExotic Auto Works Dings and Dents Exotic Auto Works & Dell Auto Body Precious Metal Motorsports Don's Autowerks Los Gatos Auto Service Bottomley Distributing Guglielmo Winery R&B Printing & Creative Services Karen Dippel Marketing and Web Services Tapestry Arts looks forward to a magnificent year and hope that you can join us.

South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk Sept. 2nd!

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

Join us for the First Friday Art Walk & Street Mrkt this Friday, Sept. 2nd!

Two new solo exhibitions by Leslie Ann Rice and Sara Tomasello
KALEID Gallery, 88 So. Fourth St.


Circus Act sculptures by Leslie Ann Rice
A mutt-ley crew of characters explore the circus of popular culture, touching upon the freakish tendencies of human nature.


Looking through the Glass paintings by Sara Tomasello
Through her paintings, Sara Tomasello builds on themes of intimacy and the unity of opposites. Her characters are symbols for the light and dark aspects of human nature. Using a vibrant color palette and inspired by universal mythological themes, Sara portrays the emotional impact of the world she sees and experiences it in her acrylic paintings. There is a story behind each piece and it begins; Once upon time. Viewers are invited to look through the glass that Sara views the world and reflect on your own experiences of the world.



The Peculiar Pageant new paintings and installation by Lacey Bryant
Good Karma Vegan Cafe, 37 So. First Street
Theatrically posed and surrounded by lush, illusory environments, the subjects of Lacey’s newest works are like pictures in a storybook written in an unknown language. The images are somewhat familiar but certain elements remains foreign. Like a hazy dream of an imagined childhood long forgotten, the images strive to make you feel as if you just might have been there once, maybe. As is common in Lacey’s work, there is a subtle tension between beautiful and unsettling elements. This contrast creates a sense of mystery and invites the viewer to construct their own interpretation of the scenes. In the safety of a world poised between reality and imagination where common symbols mingle with strange ones, Lacey’s characters expose their fears, doubts, despairs and longings.



Folie à Deux Family Tree Monotypes and Glass Statues by Curt Schauer
Phantom Galleries, 95 So. Market St:
In this exhibit, Curt traces the origins and family history of the Folie a Deux series. From the image on the original sign in Tokyo that inspired the figurative images and the early acrylic ink monotype studies, digital drawings and oil based monotypes to the final five piece monotype series and blown glass statues that defined Curt’s work from 2008 to today. Folie a Deux explores the duality of extremes and conflict in human nature and between the art and the viewer in figurative and expressionist styles. Not satisfied with a single medium to express his vision,
Curt furthered the duality theme by recreating the series in colorful 3D blown glass with hand etched graal images. This is the first exhibit to display the family tree in life (glass) and in portrait (monotypes) and displays the use of color, light, movement and dimension in Curt’s art.

The First Friday Art Walk includes 20 participating venues and STREET MRKT will have 40 indie artists booths &3 live bands out on South First St. 7pm-11pm, FREE
Check out the full South FIRST FRIDAYS event lineup http://www.SouthFIRSTFRIDAYS.com

Veggielution's Annual Fundraiser Dinner

PRESS RELEASE
Bounty of Heart's Delight
www.bountyofheartsdelight.org

Saturday, September 10, 2011, 4 to 9:30 p.m.
Emma Prusch Park
647 South King Road
San Jose CA 95116

——Sumptuous, four-course feast features Veggielution's local produce——

A benefit to support our community programs

Veggielution's Bounty of Heart's Delight fundraiser dinner will be an evening of fine dining focused on the fresh and the local, with a menu crafted by San Jose native Chef Jess Krause. It will be a delightful evening on the farm, dining among the crops that grew our dinner, then kicking up our heels to live music at a barn dance under the stars.

Please help us get the word out that dinner tickets are on sale now at www.bountyofheartsdelight.org for $100. We hope you'll introduce your readers to our mission and programs, and give them a chance to support this truly unique gem of sustainable agriculture in the heart of Silicon Valley.

We can arrange interviews with Amie Frisch, Executive Director, and Jess Krause, the Chef who will be cooking the dinner.

About Veggielution
In the low-income communities of San Jose, families simply cannot afford the fresh, healthy vegetables that enable a healthy diet. Tight budgets lead many to fast food, where calories are abundant but nutrients are not. Veggielution changes the game by operating a community farm embedded in the neighborhoods that need it the most. Elementary school youth learn in the school gardens we are building at 2 local elementary schools, high school students learn farming and leadership in paid jobs in our Dig Crew program, parents learn cooking and nutrition our Cooking Matters classes, and volunteers from all walks of life work together to grow food at our workdays. This year so far we have grown over 10,000 lbs of food, most of which we have sold at low cost or given away. Here in the Valley of Heart's Delight, or wherever we are from, our agricultural roots run deep. We are honoring the skills and knowledge of the past by bringing them into the future as we build the world we want to live in for ourselves and our children.

Veggielution is a nonprofit community farm seeking to create a sustainable food system in San Jose. We currently farm 2.5 acres at Emma Prusch Park in East San Jose. Our volunteer workdays, youth programs, low-cost Farmstand, and free workshops give people a chance to get their hands dirty growing veggies, and learn the importance of eating healthy food and knowing where it came from.

About the Chef: Jess Krause
Jess was born into the kitchen. Her father and grandfather were both cooks, and she fell in love with the craft at an early age. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Jess loves to bring out the beauty and simplicity of food in her cooking. She has worked in Cleveland, Aspen, and locally as the Pastry Chef at Restaurant James Randall in Los Gatos.  She is currently in charge of the charcuterie program at Alexander’s Steak House in Cupertino.

Jess prides herself on using local and sustainable ingredients in her cooking, which is what drew her to working with Veggielution. “The freshest ingredients always taste best, but knowing and respecting where the food came from is that extra spark,” she says.