fun-size bar
The San Jose Tech Museum is looking for yucky leftover Halloween candy. It can be traded for a yummy NESTLÉ CRUNCH fun-size bar, and 10% off admission through November 8.
The collected candy is being transformed into a rocket ship sculpture. What fun!
Whats new at The Tech
When I’m going out to eat, I love Thai food. I love the spicy stir-fries, red and green curries, and the noodle dishes. When I’m with my vegetarian girlfriend we love all the options without meat. Thai restaurants also tend to notch up the decor and service compared to other restaurants in the same price range. And downtown San Jose is developing a serious concentration of Thai restaurants, with at least three new places opening up downtown and nearby over the last year or two.
Sa-By Thai (346 E. William St.) I decided to do this post after eating at Sa-By for the first time in a year or more. Sa-By is kind of a student hangout, but since I was there last they have cleaned up considerably. They removed a loud and annoying karaoke machine, and brightened up the dining area. The servers now wear Sa-By polo shirts instead of whatever they wore to class that day. The food here is light and spicy, with some interesting choices on the menu. And the prices are still low compared to the other restaurants I’ll include here.
Thepthai (23 N. Market St.) and House of Siam (151 S. Second St.) are probably the two longest-established Thai restaurants in downtown. Once in the last year I tried Thepthai, and it was fine. But, I rarely eat at either of these because they don’t have as many vegetarian choices as other nearby Thai restaurants.
Hanuman Thai Cuisine (1 E. San Fernando St.) is a relative newcomer to downtown, opening maybe a year ago. On my first visit I found the food fresh, spicy, and flavorful. On later visits, the recipes seemed to have changed. I guess they are (or were) still experimenting with the menu. Given the relatively high prices, I haven’t been back in the last few months to see if they’ve settled on flavors I’d really enjoy.
Tee Nee Thai (1423 The Alameda) is also relatively new, and probably the priciest of these restaurants (but still tending to $20 or less per person). The food is excellent, but the highlight for me is their extensive list of Belgian trappist beers, which go amazingly well with spicy Thai dishes. Be prepared to wait for a table if you show up on Friday or Saturday night with no reservation.
Blue Mango (635 Coleman Ave.) I haven’t been yet to this new outlet of a perpetual “Best of” winner from West San Jose. I have been to the Stevens Creek location many times, and its a great lunch place, though the menu is fairly narrow at dinner time. Probably all that “Best of” hype raised expectations a little too high, because Yelp! reviews for the new site are not super enthusiastic.
Did I miss your favorite spot for Thai near downtown? Got an opinion about one of these places? Let us know in the comments!
Vietnamese-American marchers came to the county building to seek a grand jury investigation into the death of Daniel Pham.
I only saw this because I drove by as the event was winding down. But according to the Merc’s report, these marchers are requesting the county to open a grand jury investigation into the police shooting of Daniel Pham this past May.
Paige Baxter
Finding a good hair stylist is like finding a good hand bag; which can be one of a woman’s biggest challenges. I tried a celebrity stylist in Willow Glen. As far as I know he doesn’t do celebs, he just thinks that he is one. Mr. Celeb took a quick look at my hair and then turned me over to a shampoo girl. Mr. Celeb took all of 10 minutes to do the cut. He then called over another girl to blow dry and style. That will be $100 please. I wondered what did that C-note cover? Just the cut? The experience felt odd, and to make it worse I didn’t like my hair.
One afternoon I was up near SFO with some time to kill. Always on the search for that good hair cut, I happened into Roobik’s, in Burlingame. Martine listened to me, cut my hair to perfection, and that will be $18 please! Even though it means a trip to Burlingame; one of my life’s biggest challenges is solved.
The last time I was up there for my cut Martine told me about her daughter Paige. She is the drummer with a group called Wonderland Syndrome.
Wonderland Syndrome @ VooDoo Lounge
14 S 2ND ST, San Jose
Tonight – Friday, Oct. 2
7:30 PM
Roobik’s
1805 El Camino Real # B @ Trousdale Dr.
Burlingame, CA 94010-3202
(650) 697-424
* Ask for Martine
Bachelder 'Dutch Boy' tiles were reproduced as part of the restoration of the Rotary Ryland Pool.
Near-downtown residents got together today to celebrate the completion of historical restoration work on the Rotary Ryland Pool at Ryland Park in the Vendome neighborhood. Vendome Neighborhood Association president Tina Morrill presented restored tilework on the pool, as well as educational signage, a commemorative plaque, and a new sign for the entry to the pool.
The pool was originally built in the 1920’s, featuring the Batchelder “Dutch Boy” tiles around its perimeter wall. These tiles were later painted over, probably in the 1970’s. What’s worse, to make the paint adhere better, the tiles were sandblasted, eliminating their original glaze and much of their relief pattern.
In 2006, when the city of San Jose wanted to close the pool, the public outcry, massive efforts by a small group of volunteers, and $1.4 million in funding came together to save it. The pool reopened last summer, but the historical restoration work continued over the past year.
Reproduction Dutch Boy tiles were produced from a mold taken from a 1920’s era Batchelder tile found at an out-of-state antique tile dealer. A commemorative plaque was installed, recognizing the contribution of the Rotary Club in donating the original pool and funding the recent restoration work. An education placard was also posted, explaining the restoration proces, and also hopefully making the point that historic resources should not be treated as cavalierly as the pool and its tiles once were. Finally, a new sign was added at the entry to the pool, designed by Northsider Sonya Lu and fabricated by Brian’s Welding, just down the street from the park.
The new entryway sign at Ryland Pool.
October 4th is just a couple of weeks away, so it is time for San Jose runners to get ready for the Rock ‘n’ Roll 1/2 Marathon. Though this news is exciting for the runners, and good for the city, for me it is just ho-hum. That was until I heard about the post race concert.
* Rock ‘n’ Roll 1/2 Marathon Post-Race Concert:
* Finish Line Festival Stage – Plaza de Caesar Chavez.
# 1 Jonny Lang – (Grammy winner) is the concert headliner.
# 2 It is free! – and open to the public. (the concert)
# 3 Lang is scheduled to take the stage around 12 PM.
Note: For the marathon – register online
Al Gore: Global Humanitarian Award
This year 15 Laureates, who were selected from 650 world wide nominations, are vying for recognition. Laureates in five categories: environment, economic development, education, equality, and health will be rewarded for their efforts to improve lives around the world. One Laureate in each category will receive a $50,000 cash prize.
“The global challenges of the day have become increasingly strident, more deeply rooted,” said Peter Friess, president of The Tech Museum. “Still, there is hope. These incredibly impressive Laureates have all proven to be equal to, or better than, the challenge to make the world a better place.”
To make the evening even more special, this year’s recipient of The Global Humanitarian Award is Al Gore.
“With all that is going on in the United States it is easy to forget that much of the world is still without power, lighting and access to quality, or sometimes to any, health care and education.” said Mike Splinter, Chairman and CEO of Applied Materials. “This year’s laureates remind us that through creativity, entrepreneurship and determination, individuals and small groups can have a powerful impact and bring innovative solutions to the world’s most immediate problems. We salute all of The Tech Awards Laureates for their amazing work to benefit humanity and thank Vice President Gore for his tireless work to inspire action to save the planet.”
The Tech Awards Gala: Information & Tickets (buy now – tickets are going fast)
Thursday, November 19, 2009
6:00 p.m. Reception
7:00 p.m. Dinner
San Jose McEnery Convention Center
150 West San Carlos Street, San Jose, California, 95113
White on Rice will appear at Camera 3 starting Friday, September 18.
A few months ago, I mentioned the film White on Rice, which headlined the San Francisco Asian-American Film Festival’s San Jose presentations. Now the film is back, booked for a one week run at the Camera 3 in downtown San Jose.
The film is about a 40-year-old guy who’s recently gotten divorced and moved in with his sister, where he’s sharing a bunk bed with his 10-year-old nephew. He refuses to grow up, but still hopes to find the perfect replacement for his departed wife. All the reviews I’ve seen say it’s really funny.
Even better, with a special coupon you can download from the San Jose chapter of the Japanese-American Citizens League, proceeds from your attendance on the opening weekend will benefit JACL. The coupon is only good Friday through Sunday, and it doesn’t change the price of your ticket, but it does redirect part(?) of your ticket payment to JACL, to support their educational, civil rights, and cultural programs.
Multi-Purpose Display Module
Technology Benefiting Humanity is The Tech’s new permanent exhibition linking social responsibility with technology, intended to encourage a deeper understanding of the technologies that are improving the human condition. The new gallery showcases inventions from past Tech Awards Laureates, which will be routinely updated.
The Tech Awards is one of the premier annual humanitarian awards programs in the world, recognizing technical solutions that address the most critical issues facing our planet and its people. The program honors 15 global innovators (Laureates) who are applying technology to benefit humanity in five universal categories: environment, economic development, education, equality and health. The Laureates include individuals, non-profit organizations, and for-profit organizations/companies.
The five categories are represented in the new gallery. The exhibits are basically lit up multi-purpose display modules that you stand there and read. Some have sound and video along with a few simplistic hands-on activities. Actually, you can find this information and a great deal more on The Tech Awards website.
The Tech Museum of Innovation
201 South Market Street, 95113
Will this be the year of the 10-Way Jacket?
Each year San Jose’s Tapestry Arts Festival brings us some of the most interesting art around. Whether it’s *really* unique jackets (they are there every year!), gorgeous scenic photography, detailed illustrations, or handmade pieces using everyday household objects – the festival never disappoints.
My friends and I have gone each year for awhile now, walking up and down the isles making sure to stop by almost every booth. Every year I toy around with the idea of buying an illustration, miniature sculpture, or some wild piece of jewelry. What I enjoy the most is taking photos – my kind of art – of how I see the festival.
That and enjoying some warm, fresh made kettle corn. Nom, nom, nom.. mmm.
But arts and crafts are not the only things there. Music plays a big role at the festival, sometimes ranging from jazz to rock, to blues. With several stages throughout the festival there are simply too may acts to list here. Check out the festival’s lineup so you can be sure to catch your favorites.
But if you’re thinking it doesn’t sound any different from last year – then you’re wrong. This year there is an added event. Tapestry Arts presents the first annual Trash Art Fashion Show and Contest. “Think of it as Project Runway goes a little trashy.” So if you’re a fan of PR, a show where designers are given challenges to design clothing from sometimes unique materials, you may find this event fun to watch! The age group for the designers is 9 to 18 and they’ll be using trash and recycled materials to create wearable (they will be the models as well) art.
If you attend the festival please be sure to stop by our Flickr group and add any photos you may take of the event!
Details:
Tapestry Arts Festival
Downtown San Jose
Saturday 10 am – 6 pm
Sunday 10 am – 6 pm
Monday 10 am – 5 pm
All proceeds fund arts education programs in schools and arts outreach to the community
Trash Art Fashion Show and Contest
Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park
Sunday, September 6, at 12:45 pm
Luna Park Chalk Art Festival
Cheryl Renshaw Thanks for the update, Matt! I know of Julian, but since he works mostly in Britain and Europe I...
Robert My Brands by the way: do you know julian beever? he is one of the greatest artist in the field of street-art....
Matt Bruensteiner Cheryl, Thanks for letting us know those names! I’ll update the article.
Cheryl Renshaw Hey, thanks for the blog about the festival! Excellent description of how we skewed the soccer player...
Downtown area Thai restaurant roundup
joshuasantos Don’t forget House of Siam ;)
