The Sharks Be Nuckin' on Vancouver's Door

In a classic rivalry match-up, the San Jose Sharks faced the Vancouver Canucks at home, and in usual (recent) fashion, skated away with a victory (by a nice three goal lead: 4-1).  The Sharks did not start scoring until the middle of the second period, but until then, their dominant puck control and shots on net only foreshadowed  that goals would soon come.  Fans, of course, were not disappointed.

The Canucks are now operating with John Tortorella, their new head coach, replacing Alain Vigneault, who was fired shortly after being swept by the Sharks in the first round of the playoff series last year.  (Interestingly enough, John Tortorella was fired by the New York Rangers in the same fashion last year, and was replaced by none other than Alain Vigneault.)  With Tortorella at the helm of the Canucks' bench, they are likely going to go through some growing pains, and the Sharks may have some interesting games against the Canucks this year as the team adopts to their new head coach's style.

While most NHL teams have had some major transformations, the Sharks' bench has remained relatively familiar, with the notable additions of Tyler Kennedy (previously of the Pittsburgh Penguins) and rookie Tomas Hertl.  Most impressive about the Sharks' return is in addition to seeing the familiar aggressive style, it is great to see players normally hesitant to shoot to start getting the pucks to the net.  Infamously, Joe Thornton and Brent Burns are both known for their penchant to either hold on to the puck or pass to a teammate rather than shoot the puck when their opportunities to score arise.  Burns put his bad habit to rest when he buried the Sharks' first goal of the season with a laser wrist shot zooming past goaltender Roberto Luongo.  This was followed up with a wrist shot from the point by Justin Braun, who notched his first of the year as well.

Despite the Sharks turning it up in the latter half of the game, scoring all of their goals on even strength play, they were 0 for 8 on the power play, including failing to score on a two minute 5 on 3 power play, only getting off a few shots, with most turned away or blocked by the Canucks' well-placed defenders.  Although it is early in the season, the Sharks must step up their special teams (e.g. power play 'man advantage' strategy) play by improving the ability to shoot the puck quickly and effectively.  Any viewer can see the passes are fast and accurate, but shooting the puck may still be a problem.  (I understand it is easy for me to say, but look at many other effective power play teams, where team snipers - those who are known primarily for their shooting ability - are placed in lethal scoring positions.)

Overall, the fans got what they came for: a win, exciting play, and the typical chippiness (i.e. lots of penalties) expected when the Sharks play the Canucks.

While many fans have complained about the lack of moves made by the Sharks in the off-season, it is evident the skill and ability to take it all the way is still there.  The leadership and support is also still there.

It is also easy to see, once our boys get scoring, the momentum the SAP Center provides is there in full force.

Goals for the Sharks were scored by Brent Burns, Justin Braun, Patrick Marleau, and Tommy Wingels.  Great to see our boys back!

South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk Today!

From Phantom Galleries: This Friday is the South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk in downtown San Jose.  Oct. 4th, 7-11pm, all venues are free & open to the public. Here's just a few highlights to get you started Friday night: At KALEID Gallery: new feature exhibitions by Mariya Milovidova, and Michelle Waters The Journey new works by Mariya Milovidova This particular collection of new works by Milovidova is the reflection of a personal life journey. This journey describes her fascination with fashion, foreign cultures, architecture, and romance. It can be seen in every single artwork as it tells its own story, but it truely comes alive when the viewer reads their own story within the paintings and drawings. Mariya Milovidova was born in Odessa,the beautiful city in Ukraine by the Black Sea where she attended Greckov Art School studying the techniques of old school European masters. Currently she resides in Bay Area where she graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelors in Studio Art. We Are All Animals new works by Michelle Waters The art in this show gives voice to the billions of animals who live, suffer and die in factory farms and laboratories, and the wild animals whose world is being stolen by habitat destruction, overconsumption and poaching. It is not a question of Do animals have rights? But a question of What gives us the right, to take life? Where do we draw the line? These are the questions behind the paintings in this exhibition. Michelle Waters has been painting since the mid 1980s, and shows her work nationally. She is also an animal rights, environmental and social justice activist. Phantom Galleries presents Rocks, Waves & Clouds by Matthew Seigel at Pho69. Similar to traditional Asian scrolls, Matthew’s paintings capture the impermanence of an idea or location. His new paintings were inspired by the natural beauty of a low tide walk along Maine’s rocky coast. Overwhelmed with the colors, forms and relationships of rocks, the sea and sky, Matthew immediately set up an impromptu studio on his father’s farmhouse porch. The result are these modern, vibrant scrolls, acrylic on synthetic rice paper, hung on aluminum rods. Matthew invites you to experience Maine. Phantom Galleries presents Five Zero Five by Ashley Gulizia at Good Karma Vegan Café. Inspiration is drawn from bright colors, striking shapes, and nature. It is the random things and places that spark perspective. Beauty is all over the place – even the rarest of places. Using light to manipulate dramatic scenes, the world becomes surreal. Opening thought to where beauty lies. Phantom Galleries presents Heritage of Rural Life in India by Yasala Balaiah at 95 S. Market St. Yasala Balaiah an established senior artist was born in India in 1939 & now resides in Hyderabad. Balaiah is also known for his delightful paintings of “Telangana Women,” drawn from the beautiful rural backdrop of his native land. His colorful paintings of brightly attired, dark complexioned, straight nosed strong boned Telangana women, captured with a native candor brings a refreshing whiff of rural splendor. One can’t help but admire the artist’s attention to detail and the extensive work that has gone into not just portraying the expressions but their attire too. Use of bright orange, red, yellow and green has a captivating effect. Whether it is a group of women gossiping in the village or farmers with their cattle, each painting narrates a story of the rural life. Phantom Galleries presents Dysfunctional by Andrew Agutos at 376 S. 1st St. “My canvases are windows into an ideal world imagined in my head. Architectural, geometric structures are surrounded and covered in patterns referencing pop art, abstract expressionism and graffiti. Remixed Warhol-camouflage, iconic cartoon imagery and colors from the fashion world are presented in a synthetic space much like the internet. Organic forms are layered with angular shapes, creating environments that are comfortable, chaotic, inviting and unknown.” Seeing Things Gallery: Dave Dave Dave featuring the photography of Dave Carnie, Dave Schubert and Dave Franklin Everyone knows someone named Dave. Most know two, three maybe, even four or five Daves. I know a lot of Daves. I know a painter Dave, a few musician Daves, one of my oldest friends is named Dave, and the guy who lives next door to me is named Dave too. One thing I’ve figured out is all Daves are not created equal. Some are cool and some outright suck. The Daves in the Dave, Dave, Dave show, however, are what I like to call extraordinary Daves. All three of these Daves are photographers. These days the word “photographer” is thrown around too easily, but these Daves are not just good photographers, but great photographers. These Daves are Dave Carnie, Dave Schubert, and Dave Franklin. If you don’t know these Daves, look them up and be ready to see some things you’ve never seen before—and maybe add some more Daves to your life. Anno Domini // the second coming of Art & Design presents Suicide­ a new series by Barron Storey. The legendary illustrator and fine artist, Barron Storey, returns to Anno Domini for his fifth solo exhibition with the gallery. Having lost several people close to him to suicide: mother, her brother, ex-wife, and close friend, Storey began asking others: “Did you know anyone who committed suicide?” So many did. Storey made drawings of each one in his journals….pages and pages of them. The resulting art works on canvas are poignant, beautifully expressed moments of deep despair and the struggle to understand “why?”. An illustrator, graphic novelist, fine artist and noted educator, Barron Storey has created award-winning artworks for the covers and pages of Time, National Geographic, Saturday Review, and The Sandman: Endless Nights, among many others including the cover of the classic novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1980 edition.) His artworks are held in the collections of the National Air and Space Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, and Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Storey resides in San Francisco, CA and is a professor at California College of the Arts and San Jose State University. Special music performances throughout the evening by Freya Seeburger (cello) & Giovanna Hutchison (soprano). For full schedule of exhibitions and locations, please visit: www.SouthFIRSTFRIDAYS.comor you can keep informed through the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ArtWalkSJ

San Jose's Silicor Materials Nabs $6M

Silicor Materials manufactures silicon and aluminum products utilized by the solar industry, with the goal of pushing down costs of solar technology. It seems like Green-tech is still hot in as most of the San Jose-based companies getting funding this year seem to be in this space.

Silicon raised $6 million and will use the money to grow and prepare for the next round of capital.

Source: SVBJ

SJC Expanding International Terminal

Kim Aguirre--who is taking over as Director of Aviation at SJC--told the Business Journal that they are hoping to have a new international carrier withing the next 12 months. We all already knew that San Jose International has aggressively been seeking more international flights. However, Kim also dropped the news that they are planning to expand the international terminal from two gates to four by January 2015.

In order to put this in the cards, airport staff must be pretty confident about their international prospects. The ANA flight is doing quite well, so there is a good chance the next international carrier would be another Asian airline. I hate to say it, but given what happened with Asiana at SFO, I wouldn't be surprised to see them move some routes over to SJC.

As for domestic routes, Virgin is having a tougher time. There are 854 flights each month to LA from SJC, so the competition is stiff. Despite this Virgin says they are satisfied with where they are and are committed to the airport. SJC is also talking to carriers about expanding domestic services, especially to Chicago, New York, Washington DC, and Boston.

Source: SVBJ

Orchestria Palm Court

This is one of my favorite new restaurants in Downtown this year, and one of the most unique restaurants I have ever been to period. Walking through the door, you feel like you are going back in time to the early 1900s. Everything from the telephone (which only accepts inbound calls) to the toilets is era-appropriate.

The most interesting feature is of course the impressive collection of Orchestrion music machines from the 1920s. These were some of the highest-tech gadgets available from their era. Think sheet pianos that also can play percussion, pipe, and even string instruments like the violin below. Every 5 minutes or so, a different Orchestrion is triggered to play a song, and it's pretty impressive to see what these machines built so long ago are capable of.

The food is also fantastic. They use top-quality ingredients and prepare everything the old fashioned way. A neat feature is a soda bar where they make traditional fountain drinks using fresh-squeezed fruit juices and classic recipes. These sodas alone make the trip worthwhile. If you feel like something stronger, you can add Orchestria Palm Court to the long list of Downtown San Jose restaurants where you can enjoy unique and hard-to-find craft beers. Also, the tax and tip is already factored into all of their prices.

This place pushes the bar for providing a unique dining experience, not just Downtown but anywhere. Please go and check them out, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Orchestria Palm Court is located at 27 E. William Street (behind the Stage theater) and is open:

• Thursday 6pm-11pm
• Friday 6pm-11:30pm
• Saturday 6pm-11:30pm
• Sunday 4:30-10pm

Welcome, October - the Sharks Are Back! (A Sharks Update)

Welcome to the 2013-14 NHL season!  The Sharks are back for another exciting season, starting this Thursday, October 3^rd, at the Shark Tank.  In an electrifying regular season matchup, the Sharks face their rivals, the Vancouver Canucks (a team all fans have loved to hate, especially after their responsibility for the Sharks’ third round exit during the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs).

This year beings new hope and new updates to the Sharks team fans have grown to love and support.  With the pre-season over and the regular season starting today, it is time for fans to dust off their Sharks paraphernalia from their storage bins, time to renew their memberships to hockeystreams.com (as opposed to the highly restrictive and overpriced NHL GameCenter Live, and here is why), and time to add game times to their calendars (it is easy to do with Google Calendar by first going to ‘Other Calendar’ then browsing ‘Interesting Calendars’).

In addition to bringing on the new season, here are some newsworthy updates for all Sharks fans alike.

New Players
While the Sharks tried out a multitude of new players and line combinations during the pre-season, most notable is the off-season acquisition of Tyler Kennedy, previously of the Pittsburgh Penguins (from the Eastern Conference).  In Pittsburgh, Kennedy was known for this hard-nosed style, working hard for goals, battling in the corners, and dishing out hits.  For a Sharks team known to have a tough forechecking style, a player like Kennedy is a good fit for the team.

With the exception of obtaining Tyler Kennedy, not much activity occurred (as far as trades) in the off-season.  Besides the acquisition of Tyler Kennedy, the Sharks made no significant moves.  The last time Sharks management made any big moves was during the trade deadline, when the Sharks offloaded defenseman Douglas Murray and gritty journeyman Ryane Clowe in favor of veteran Scott Hannan and, quite infamously, Raffi Torres.  (Torres, as expected, was able to shake off being ‘Enemy #1’ by demonstrating to fans his ability to show that his ‘on edge’ play is what makes fans of the team he plays on love him.)

New Jerseys
Before pre-season began, the Sharks released the following new jerseys:

This is a change from the previous versions in order to aim for a more cleaner, simpler look, by removing the black color from the shoulder area and the stripes from around the waist.  Essentially, the jerseys are exactly the same as they were before.  Unlike the new white and teal versions, the black colored "sweater style" third jerseys have not changed.  The third jerseys originally lacked similar stripes as well, and it is possible the slight changing of the white and teal jerseys may have been done so all have a similar look to them.


Pre-season Results
The pre-season is by no means a measure of a team’s success in the regular season, since games and points do not count, and the time spent during pre-season is primarily used to try out new combinations and players opting to make the regular roster for the season.  It is commonplace to see the Sharks swap players to and from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Worcester Sharks, regarding players who must prove themselves worthy of playing at the NHL level – the highest level in the world.

During this year’s pre-season, the Sharks played the Canucks, Coyotes, and the Ducks  - each twice.  While the Sharks won once and lost once to both the Coyotes and the Ducks, the Sharks bested the Canucks both times.

Tomas Hertl, a 2012 first round draft pick for the Sharks, was able to make his name more well known during the second game against the Canucks, scoring two in a Sharks 5-0 rout.  Contributions from the usual goal scoring threats, including Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, and Dan Boyle, rounded out much of the pre-season’s success.  Joe Pavelski and Tommy Wingels returned with strong showings as well, reminding fans that the team is ready to do battle this season.

Based on what I have seen so far, the Sharks look like a team that has made an effort to even out their strengths, as in having an offense, defense, and special teams (i.e. power play, penalty kill, and other special situation groups) that are all strong, but no better than one another.  This style is opposed to teams (typically in the Eastern Conference) with high powered offenses (but without defense), and other such uneven combinations.

Let us have a strong season this year!  It all begins Thursday.  Go Sharks!

Substantial SJSU Projects Coming Down the Line

The revised master plan for San Jose State University's Southeast Quadrant could pave the way for another tall student building on campus. Compared to the existing buildings, it looks like it may hit up to 15 stories at it's highest point and would wrap around a new recreation area, aquatic center, and dining commons. Once the general plan is approved, the real design work will begin.

Source: Franco Rancadore, SJSU Newsletter

Southeast Quadrant Master Plan Update

Ten months ago, FD&O began working on a project to develop a Facilities Master Plan for the southeast quadrant (SEQMP) of the campus. The SEQMP encompasses the area of campus south of Paseo de San Carlos, between 7th Street and 10th Street. Once the plan is approved by the campus, specific project design will begin.

The purpose of the SEQMP project is to ensure a well considered road map for facility development in that part of campus. Given that we will be developing a new aquatic center, recreation center, additional student housing and expanded dining facilities on this portion of campus, planning is critical to ensure the best final development. Through the assessment of current facility conditions, proximity relationships, and long range construction and demolition plans, the SEQMP project will ensure that we build the best possible facilities to serve our campus. 

Ultimately, this project will be recommended for review and consideration by the Campus Planning Board, Campus Leadership and the Chancellor's Office. 

In the rendering above, the "Bricks" student housing will be removed. New housing is indicated in red, an aquatic center in teal, a recreation center in purple, and a new dining commons in yellow. Once the overall plan is approved by the campus, specific project design will begin.

Da Kine Island Grill Coming to Market Street

Da Kine Cafe is moving their Hawaiian restaurant from Sunnyvale to 23 N. Market Street. The space has been vacant for quite some time and was last occupied by Thepthai. It sits right between 19 Market and Sonoma Chicken Coop.

Their new home will come in at an impressive 4,000 SQFT and feature an expanded menu from what they previously offered. My favorite part is 20 craft beer taps, further cementing Downtown as a haven for craft beer lovers. The extra bonus is Da Kine will have a stave for live music (and perhaps some cultural events). Can't wait!

Source: DTSJNews