Archive for February, 2011

Leave Milpitas…Alone!

Sunday, February 20th, 2011

CIMG0093
Rooster T. Feathers is the award-winning comedy club on El Camino Real in Sunnyvale. It’s been there for 30 years. I used to go quite a bit and always had a great time there, but for some reason I hadn’t been in over ten years. It’s been obvious that Rooster’s deserves some time and space in this blog because it’s one of the exceptionally unique venues on El Camino. Happily this month brings not one, but two opportunities to make that happen.

CIMG0091From out of the blue a friend, Charles Ellis, sent me an invitation on Facebook to attend his stand-up comedy debut at Rooster’s on Wednesday, February 16. His comic aspirations were news to me; I knew him because he was my barber. This was just the kick I needed to get back to Rooster’s. Most Wednesdays they hold a New Talent Showcase, voted Best Open Mic Night in the 2010 Metro Newspaper Reader’s Poll. I headed over after work and ordered a Calistoga sparkling water and some chips and salsa to satisfy my two-item minimum.

My friend assumed the stage name “Charles Goodnight” and appeared in a lineup of over a dozen funnymen (and woman) ranging from rank rookies to seasoned pros. Charles did a good job for his first time out, striking an edgy attitude and delivering a mostly improvised stream-of-consciousness set about observations and personal topics. He radiated a lot of confidence and presence and got a positive response from the audience which was supportive of everybody. My constructive criticism to him afterwards is that the routine lacked a steady flow of coherent content; he would start a thought then abandon it. I recommended he keep wood-shedding, writing material ahead of time and sticking to it. He shared with me his plans to keep doing comedy, so I think preparation and practice is his key to continued growth and success.

Leaving MilpitasThat was February 16. Exactly one week later, February 23—three days away as I write this—there’s another show at Rooster’s I look forward to seeing. Local DJ and comic Sandy Stec is headlining there, performing for the first time a one-woman show startlingly called, “Leaving Milpitas.”  Her story is compelling. A couple years ago a relationship went sour and ended up driving her so deep into debt she had to move back in with her parents in Milpitas, where she grew up. She feels stuck now, not fully living her adult life and longing for her own space. This is an inner purgatory she’s trapped in but she is using the city of Milpitas as an allegory for her torment. Her new blog, LeavingMilpitas.com, is a tongue-in-cheek account of her gripes. She set a goal to save up $10,000 towards moving out by May 26, 2011, her 30th birthday.


[YouTube]

Stec has released some Leaving Milpitas web videos which are very funny, and has developed the standup routine she’s debuting Wednesday. I’m looking forward to the show but I’m nervous too.  I’m afraid I might get defensive. In her videos she pokes fun of Milpitas’ shortcomings—the famous smell, the lack of night life, and general status as the butt of much Bay Area teasing. I don’t live in Milpitas but I work there and spend a lot of time there and even blog about it, so I’ve grown to identify with the city quite a bit. At last week’s show at Rooster’s the headliner coincidentally happened to poke fun at both Milpitas and Hayward (where I tweened and teened) and managed to tick me off. Up your nose, Jack; it’s an East Bay thang, you wouldn’t understand. The difference though is that that guy was from San Francisco, an outsider. Sandy’s an insider so when she laments that Kohl’s is the only place open late enough for her and her girlfriends to hang out, I know it’s coming from a loving place.

It promises to be a memorable show. Tina Allen Gallo is hosting and Joe Klocek is featured. You should call or visit the Rooster T. Feathers web site for tickets before they sell out. Expect a lively caravan of friends, family, and fans to trek down SR-237 from Milpitas to El Camino Real Wednesday night. Milpitians will be in the house, ready to support their own and able to take a joke.  We know Milpitas is a great place to live, and when Sandy reaches her goal and moves out it will still be a great place for her to visit.


Sandy Stec: Leaving Milpitas

Wednesday Feb 23, 2011 8:00 PM
With Special Guest Joe Klocek from Comedy Central and Tina Allen Gallo
Reserved Seating $12.00
Rooster T. Feathers
157 W. El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Info & Reservation Line: (408) 736-0921
http://www.roostertfeathers.com/

El Camino Real Derby

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Turf Race at Golden Gate Fields

Saturday, February 12, 2011 was the 30th running of the El Camino Real Derby, a 1 1/8-mile grade 3 horse race for three-year-old thoroughbreds. This race has been held at scenic Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley for the past three years, but it originated at historic Bay Meadows in San Mateo, just off El Camino Real. Bay Meadows closed for racing in 2008.

This year’s derby was an exciting one. The winner, Silver Medallion, trailed in fourth place on the far side before coming from behind in the final furlong in a dramatic upset, paying $15 on his 1:50.45 time. Early favorite Comma to the Top floated him wide but failed to answer the challenge as Silver Medallion mounted an impressive drive, scoring 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Jakesam who flattened against the inside rail but held on along with Positive Response to finish in the money. I have no idea what I just said but a secret fantasy of mine is to learn to speak horse-racing-ese. It’s way cooler than pirate. Watch the entire race below:


[YouTube]

This was Silver Medallion’s second and biggest win, earning $120,000 out of the total $200,000 purse for owner Michael J. Ryan. His trainer is Steve Asmussen. His jockey, though, is no stranger to the El Camino Real Derby winner’s circle. Saturday he was ridden by the great Russell Baze, who has won this event eight times, more than any other rider by far. He is in fact the winningest jockey in North American history—11,000 victories and counting—and an inductee in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame.

Silver Medallion, Russell Baze

The El Camino Real Derby is aptly named after the Royal Road because the derby is on the path to the coveted Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. Past El Camino winners have gone on to win one Kentucky Derby, five Preakness Stakes, and one Belmont Stakes. Silver Medallion is off to a great start. Let’s see if he can continue to bring in the gold.

The City with Heart

Monday, February 14th, 2011

When you start a blog about a street, you end up spending a lot of quality time in Google Maps. I have literally covered every mile of El Camino Real with my mouse, paging up and down the state. It’s a form of virtual tourism, a poor man’s hot air balloon ride giving me a bird’s eye view of my favorite road, one I can’t easily get any other way. I was doing just that a while back, mousing up the Peninsula towards San Francisco, when I spotted something that gave me pause: a heart-shaped neighborhood in San Bruno. It’s no accident. The cross street piercing the top like an arrow is called Cupid Row.


View Larger Map

The neighboorhood is subtly laid out with a pleasing graphical design. The heart itself is made of two streets, Carlton Ave and Terrace Ave, joined in a perfectly symmetrical valentine, dimpled at the top and pointy at the bottom. Cupid Row intersects it through its axis, continued by Texas Pl on the other side. It’s encased in the larger loop  of Florida Ave and Georgia Ave, and the whole thing is cleverly mirrored  by Taylor and Chapman avenues. The heart itself is not duplicated though. Kensington Ave and Garden Ave approximate it but lack the dimple. They form more of a shield shape with Mastick Ave, which opens up many possibilities for poetic interpretation. All this is just a block off El Camino Real opposite the termination of Crystal Springs Rd.

San Bruno is proud of  its romantic little secret. I found this article from circa Valentine’s Day, 2004 giving its history.

[SF Gate]

As it turns out the neighborhood was laid out on land formerly occupied by Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the longtime El Camino landmark rest stop on the Butterfield Stagecoach route. It’s not clear to me if the streets were created 100 years ago, or post World War II. The latter makes more sense. Perhaps the “Heart Area” was designed to attract newlywed returning G.I.s.

According to the article the Cupid Row tract inspired a motto for the city, “The City with Heart,” which implies a little dig at their Industrial neighbor to the north. El Camino has much to offer loving couples celebrating Valentine’s Day today—fine dining, flowers, candy, gifts, even secluded getaways. But San Bruno has really taken the holiday to heart, as they’ve taken it to the streets.

This post is dedicated to my own  true love. Happy Valentine’s Day, Paulette!