Archive for the ‘Milpitas’ Category

El Camino Calendar

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

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I’m still trying to catch my breath from the crazy start to this week. Halloween! Giants! Election! Oh my! Take it down a notch and relax at some of these upcoming El Camino events this weekend. As always, be sure to check out the El Camino Calendars page for a list of venues which always have a variety of activities going on.

Tragically somehow I accidentally deleted my “El Scare-Mino Skull-endar” posting from last week, which listed a bunch of Halloween events. C’est la vie. In the future I’ll be more careful.


South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk

November 5, 2010

JOIN US for the next South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk on NOV 5th!
8pm ’til LATE — ART WALK venues are free and open to the public
SoFA District (So. First Street between San Carlos and E. Reed streets)
San Jose
http://www.southfirstfridays.com/


Modern Primitive Cocktail Society and Tiki Art Show

Friday, November 5 · 8:00pm – 11:00pm
SLG Art Boutiki
577 S. Market Street
San Jose, CA

The SLG Art Boutiki and Gallery, home of Club Tiki Press publishers of the famed Beachbum Berry Tiki Drink books, celebrates November with a Tiki art show celebrating, well, tiki’s and our love for them.

Live music and all of the normal South First Friday Art Boutiki good times.

Event on Facebook
http://www.artboutiki.com/


ArtRage

Thursday, November 4 · 6:00pm – 9:00pm
San Jose Museum of Art
110 S Market St.
San Jose, CA

Hang with friends (and meet new ones) at ArtRage. Do some in-person social networking! Admission $5.

Local neo-soul/funk/hip hop favorites “So Timeless” will get you moving.
Catch the “Glow Show” by Nocturnal Sunshine
Capture the ArtRage with your friends in the (free) photobooth
Ride Rebar’s “Juicecycle” and juice local fruit for your cocktail
DIY Art: make an LED light sculpture

http://www.sanjosemuseumofart.org/event/art-rage-0


Bay Area Dine Out for Meals on Wheels

Join Meals on Wheels organizations from seven Bay Area counties and fabulous partner restaurants throughout your community for the first annual Bay Area Dine Out for Meals on Wheels on November 9, 2010. Combined, these Meals on Wheels organizations provide nearly 3 million meals each year to over 8,500 local seniors in our communities in need of a hot, nutritious meal and companionship each day.
Multiple locations!
Celia’s Mexican Restaurant | 3740 El Camino Real | Palo Alto
Hobee’s California Restaurants | 4224 El Camino Real | Palo Alto
China Stix Restaurant | 2110 El Camino Real | Santa Clara
Country Inn Cafe | 2008 El Camino Real | Santa Clara
La Paloma Restaurant | 2280 El Camino Real | Santa Clara
Mountain Mike’s Pizza | 390 El Camino Real | Belmont
The American Bull Bar & Grill | 1819 El Camino Real | Burlingame
British Bankers Club | 1090 El Camino Real | Menlo Park
Cedro Ristorante Italiano | 1010 El Camino Real #140 | Menlo Park
Celia’s Mexican Restaurant | 1850 El Camino Real | Menlo Park
Oak City Bar and Grill | 1029 El Camino Real | Menlo Park
Round Table Pizza | 1225 El Camino Real | Menlo Park
Chantilly Restaurant | 3001 El Camino Real | Redwood City
John Bentley’s Restaurant | 2915 El Camino Real | Redwood City
Max’s of Redwood City | 1001 El Camino Real | Redwood City
Celia’s Mexican Restaurant | 201 El Camino Real | San Bruno

http://www.dineoutnow.org/


Sunnyvale Art Gallery

“Two Man Show”

Hsing-Yao Tseng & Albert Ramos
Opening Reception:
Sat, November 6
2:00-5:00 PM

People’s Photo Contest

Reception:
Sat, November 6
7:00-9:30 PM

Sunnyvale Art Gallery
251 W El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
http://sunnyvaleartgallery.com/events.html


Bobbi Brown

Meet Bobbi Brown, the world’s most celebrated makeup artist and bestselling author.
Thursday, November 4th
5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Stanford Bookstore, Textbook Level
Give her 5 minutes. She’ll show you how to break some rules.
Come meet Bobbi Brown, who will be at the Stanford Bookstore to sign her new book, Beauty Rules.
Stanford Bookstore


Annual Holiday Open House

Ah Sam Florist
Celebrating 77 years serving our community.
Come join us for our annual holiday open house

November 5th – 7th
Friday: 6:30 – 9 pm
Saturday: 9 am – 6 pm
Sunday: 11 am – 5 pm

2645 S. El Camino Real
San Mateo, CA 94403
http://www.ahsam.com/


3rd Annual Children’s Talent Show

Saturday, November 6 · 2:00pm – 4:00pm
The Shops at Tanforan, Lower level in front of Old Navy

Children will compete and perform for a chance to win mall gift cards. First place will receive a $150 mall gift card! Come and support these talented rising stars!

To participate in the talent show, visit the mall management office or call 650 392 1631 to request an application. The application deadline is November 4th.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=156362661069720
http://www.theshopsattanforan.com/


Simon GamePlay

The Ultimate Gaming Experience!
Get your hands on the hottest games and more.
Be the first of your friends to play some of the most talked about unreleased games.

Great Mall
Sat, November 6, 10 AM – 9 PM
Neiman Marcus Last Call Court
447 Great Mall Drive
Milpitas, CA 95035
http://www.simon.com/mall/?id=1250


Diwali Gala Buffet

Vedas Indian Restaurant Presents the Diwali Gala Buffet
Nov. 5, 6, 7
Come Celebrate the Light
Handmade Sweets by Chef Kumar
560 N. Abel St., Milpitas
http://www.vedasrestaurant.com/


El Camino Calendar

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

Pumpkin Pyramid

More great events coming up this weekend are listed below in geographical order. Be sure to check out my El Camino Calendars page for a list of venues which always have a variety of activities going on.


20th Annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off

Uesugi Farms Pumpkin Park
14485 Monterey Rd. • Morgan Hill, CA 95037

SATURDAY, OCT. 9, 2010 at 1:00PM
awards immediately following
CHECK IN: 9:00am-11:00am
http://www.uesugifarms.com/


World Zombie Day Movie Night

Sunday, October 10 · 6:00pm – 9:00pm
SLG Art Boutiki & South First Street Billiards

World Zombie Day is the day that all undead across the world join together as one to help fight world hunger. Almost every city that has ever hosted a zombie walk will be joining together on October 10 to shamble along for world hunger.

Zombie-o-rama central are going to put our own unique spin on things, so we will be having a World Zombie Movie Night. Get in your favorite zombie attire and come by South First Street Billiards for an early evening of dinner, drinks and pool. The shamble on over to the SLG Art Boutiki for a zombie movie screening.

No make-up required, just bring yourself and a canned food item which we will donate to a local food bank.

What better way to spend 10.10.10

South First Billiards is at 420 South 1st St, SoFA District, San Jose, CA 95113.
The SLG Art Boutiki & Gallery is located at 577 S. Market Street, San Jose CA 95113.

Facebook | World Zombie Day Movie Night


Downtown San Jose Zombie Crawl

Thursday, Oct. 7th, 2010

Dress in your zombie finest and get killer drink specials with the purchase of a $3 VIP wristband

8-9pm- O’Flaherty’s, 25 N. San Pedro Street, San Jose CA 95110
9-10pm- Old Wagon Saloon, 73 N San Pedro St. San Jose, CA 95110
10-11pm- Dive Bar, 78 E Santa Clara St, San Jose, CA 95113-1804
11-12am- Voodoo, 14 S 2nd St, San Jose, CA 95113-2501
12-1am- Johnny V’s, 31 E Santa Clara st, San Jose, CA 95113

$500 Costume Contest
Facebook | 2nd Annual Downtown San Jose Zombie Crawl


Silly Bandz Pizza Party

Create It! Ceramics and Mosaic Studio
Town and Country Village
855 El Camino Real, Suite 108, Palo Alto, CA
6:00 to 8:00 pm, Friday, October 8, 2010
$36/child & includes all of the SILLYNESS you can handle!

Your kid(s) will love our special silly bandz pizza party! We are going to press the Silly Bandz as a technique to paint with to a silly bandz jar, play silly bingo games, win silly prizes, eat silly pizzas and drink silly juices!
http://www.createitceramics.com/


3 Minute Game Show

Great Mall
447 Great Mall Drive
Milpitas, CA 95035

The Great Mall is hosting Disney Channel’s “3 Minute Game Show” this Sunday, October 10, 2010. Bring the kids down and join us from 1 PM – 3 PM at entrance 2 court. Children from the audience will be chosen to participate in games and given a chance to win prizes!
http://www.greatmallbayarea.com/


Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration!

10/8/2010
Join The Shops at Tanforan and La Kalle 105.7 to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month via an exciting display of cultural dance performances. We hope you can join us!

Also enter to win a $500 mall gift card; must be present to win.

LOCATION: Lower Level, in front of Old Navy

TIME: 5:30 – 7:30 pm
The Shops at Tanforan | 1150 El Camino Real | San Bruno, California 94066
http://www.theshopsattanforan.com/


Get Your Kicks on State Route 82

Friday, October 1st, 2010

10-08-27 Women's Soccer vs Santa Clara 3

This is going to be a big weekend for women’s soccer on El Camino Real. Friday, October 1 the Ohlone College Renegades are leaving their home field above Mission San Jose in Fremont and traveling around the Bay to play the Mission College Saints in Santa Clara. Yep, it’s Mission vs. Mission. One can only assume the Renegades will be following El Camino de San Jose to get to Santa Clara. They may consider stopping at Penitencia Creek in Milpitas the way the padres did back in the day to confess their sins.

Brandi ChastainSaturday, October 2 American soccer legend Brandi Chastain is celebrating her retirement from professional play by hosting a testimonial all-star game at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara on El Camino Real. The game starts at 6:00 PM but festivities start at 3:00 PM with family activities and a sold-out youth clinic. It’s unknown whether Brandi will be ripping her jersey off at the final whistle Saturday as she did when she famously scored the penalty kick that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup 1999 for the U.S., but knowing her, anything is possible.

Menlo College will be quite busy. They’re showcasing their stamina by hosting not one but two women’s soccer matches this weekend on El Camino Real in Atherton: Saturday at 1:00 PM against the Bethany University Bruins (Scotts Valley), and Sunday at 12:00 PM against the Chapman University Panthers (Orange, CA). The mighty Oaks are looking to build momentum from their decisive 7-0 trouncing of the Mills College Cyclone last week, Menlo’s first win of the season.

Sunday, October 3 at 1:00 PM, in a marquis matchup the Santa Clara University Broncos are heading up The Royal Road to face off against the Stanford University Cardinal. Both teams are hot this year. The Cardinal are undefeated with a 8-0-2 record, but Santa Clara nearly matches at an impressive 7-2-2. ([Update] Here’s a great article about the history of the Santa Clara-Stanford rivalry.) The Stanford women are undoubtedly buoyed by the fact that four of their alums are on the hometown FC Gold Pride squad that won the Women’s Professional Soccer championship last week, defeating the Philadelphia Independence in Hayward. Actually that’s an accomplishment that everyone in the Bay Area can be proud of.

Around the Bay in a Day

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

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Last November I took a bus ride up El Camino Real from San Jose to San Francisco and blogged my impressions and observations. To avoid giving myself whiplash, that day I only looked out the right side of the bus at the eastern side of the street and doggedly ignored the left side so the job was only half done. Last Friday, September 3, 2010, I completed the task, taking the reverse bus trip from San Francisco down to San Jose, observing the west side. Back in November I scribbled all my notes on the bus by hand in a notebook and ended up taking four months to type them all up. It’s not that I’m a slow typist, it’s just that the scope of the project was much larger than I anticipated. For the second trip I found a more efficient way: I live-tweeted my journey.

If you’re unfamiliar with tweeting, it means I used my cell phone on the road to type and send text messages to the Twitter service. Twitter messages, or “tweets,” are limited to 140 characters each so it enforces brevity. A great advantage is that every message was timestamped and geocoded by GPS so I have a complete record of what I saw, when I saw it, and where I was. I tried to live in the moment and just write what was on my mind which means whatever happened to catch my eye out the bus window. I know it’s a pretty pedestrian read (irony intended) but I hope I conveyed a sense of El Camino’s diverse profile.

Follow allcamino on Twitter

Below are my 167 tweets from that day from my brand new @allcamino twitter account. It took some effort to extract them all from Twitter’s web site. There are web apps that do this but they didn’t work for me because they rely on Twitter’s search engine which failed me, returning only six tweets (?!). I wrote a Perl script to convert their HTML to the format I wanted for the blog. To improve the readability I put each time stamp and location stamp against the right margin above each tweet. You can click the location links to open a Google map. My live-tweeting strategy worked great. Last year it took me four months to finish the writeup. Here I’ve done it in less than four days.

I cleaned the text up, fixing obvious two-left-thumb typos and grammar issues, but the content is largely raw and uncut. I’ve put a few editor notes in [square] brackets and added hyperlinks for your reference. I’ve written broader post-trip comments in between tweets in italics. You’ll see a bunch of the photos I took, many from the windows of the buses. Please excuse their quality. (more…)

Signposts

Saturday, August 14th, 2010

Patricia Loomis
When I met Bill Wulf at the Rose, White, and Blue Parade on the Fourth of July, we got to talking about other local historians like Clyde Arbuckle and Ralph Rambo, both of whom he personally knew. He told me I needed to check out the work of Patricia Loomis. I was familiar with her name but had never seen any of her books. I looked her up in the San Jose Library catalog and saw that they had copies but they could not be checked out because they were signed by the author and had to stay in the King Library’s California Room.

Not long after, I was refreshing my Google bookshelf and remembered to add Pat’s books to the list. On a lark I Googled her to see what else I could find out about her and was sadly shaken to find she had passed away only a week prior. On a bittersweet note, just a few weeks before that she had celebrated her 90th birthday with a big party at San Jose Historic Park. Here’s a timeline that shows how these events all converged inside the span of 30 days.

  • 6/30/2010 — Pat celebrates her 90th Birthday at San Jose History Park
  • 7/4/2010 — Bill Wulf tells me to check out Pat’s books
  • 7/4/2010 — Paulette and I watch fireworks at San Jose History Park
  • 7/20/2010 — Pat passes away in Arroyo Grande, her hometown
  • 7/27/2010 — A memorial service is held at the South County Historical Society Heritage  House
  • 7/29/2010 — I learn all this when I randomly Google her

Pat was born in San Francisco in 1920 and grew up in Arroyo Grande near Pismo Beach. She came to San Jose to attend San Jose State University and stayed for over 60 years. She took a job at the Mercury News as a reporter but most famously between 1971 and 1981 she wrote a weekly column called “Signposts” in which she presented the history of the streets of Santa Clara County and the pioneers they were named after. That’s right, a history of the streets. This is why Bill Wulf turned me on to her. Select columns were published in two volumes called Signposts and Signposts II by the San Jose Historical Museum, the same group that runs History Park.

Last week I was up in Menlo Park and discovered a wonderfully funky used bookstore on El Camino called Feldman’s Books. I went inside and made a bee’s line to the California history section to see if maybe, just maybe they had one of Pat’s books. Eureka!

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CIMG1362Signposts II is a delightful book. The table of contents reads like a South Bay atlas: Bascom Avenue, Lawrence Expessway, Montague Expressway, and more. The very first article, Abel Road in Milpitas, mentions Oakland Road and Main Street which pass by Henry Abel’s old cow pasture. I had been wondering about  Abel since it has superceded Main Street in the modern era, and now I know all about it. I learned that Henry Abel’s granddaughter Mrs. John Donovan developed Serra Shopping Center in Milpitas, a kitschy tribute to Padre Junípero. Each page is deeply researched, vibrantly narrated, and illustrated with vintage photographs. I’ll treasure it.

She wrote another seminal history book called Milpitas: a Century of Little Cornfields, 1852-1952. It’s featured in the Milpitas Historical Society’s permanent display at the Great Mall.

Pat stayed active. After retiring to Arroyo Grande she wrote two more books: Streets of Arroyo Grande and Arroyo Grande Cemetery, which incidentally is located on El Camino Real down there. Clearly she was a girl after my own heart.

Peace Signs

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

Happily we made it to the Jain Center of Northern California’s 10th Anniversary procession Saturday morning. My whole family went. I was well prepared: my camera batts were fully charged and my memory card was freshly erased. I took about 340 photos but I’ve pared them down to about 100 for your viewing pleasure.

It was scheduled to start at 9:00 A.M., proceeding down Main Street from Corning Ave. down to the Jain Center. We arrived about 9:15, parking off Abel Street to avoid any Main Street closure hassles. We walked through O’Toole Elms Park, mindful of the significance. IMG_9786We smelled smoke and realized that the Milpitas Fire Department was conducting drills at their practice tower across the street. At the Jain Center things were still quiet so we sat on a park bench and waited for the procession to arrive. Around 9:30 a couple city workers blocked off the street with cones and we had some fun watching unwitting drivers get thwarted and have to do K-turns in the middle of the street, sometimes three or four cars at a time. Some Milpitas police arrived to help ease the chaos. We saw police cars, a motorcycle, and even a bicycle.

Suddenly we heard a loud pop and squealing sound coming from the direction of Abel Street. I jogged over, camera in hand, to see what it was. My imagination went wild. Was it a jail break? A light rail derailment? An accident at the firefighter drill? It turned out a street sweeper driving down Abel had run over a piece of metal and blown out its tire explosively. Happily there were no serious consequences—no injuries or evident damage—just a few streets that would have to stay dirty that day.

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CIMG1345We could see the procession up the street but it didn’t seem to be moving so I walked up to it, taking photos of Main Street scenes along the way. I had never seen that part of Midtown Milpitas from on foot before and the change of perspective was illuminating. I realized that Tom Evatt Park has a lovely view of the eastern hills; a fitting tribute to the city’s first mayor.

I reached the procession and was enthralled. Live music was broadcast from two slow-moving trucks. I recognized the singer and musicians from the temple on Thursday. Hundreds of Jains of all ages followed on foot, dressed in festive colors, most wearing a red sash around their necks covered with gold text and symbols. Some participants carried different items: banners, statuettes, musical instruments, orbs. It was fun to try to spot these objects in the crowd.

The most eye-catching items being carried were large white picket signs with plain English text printed on them in big black letters. At first glance they looked like the typical angry signs you’d find at a political rally or protest march, but the big difference is these carried simple, quiet messages of peace. My favorites were:

Intolerance is Violence – It violates the other person’s right to be himself or herself

VIOLENCE is NOT just physical; it is Verbal & Mental as well

Twisting a doctrine or a principle in order to violate it is the worst kind of violence

They weren’t poetic. They weren’t arcane. Just clear statements of core Jain beliefs which, if taken to heart, can transform the soul and therefore the universe. They weren’t pretty, but they were profoundly beautiful.

The procession marched right into the Center around 10:30. About that time I realized some elected officials had joined the parade: Milpitas vice-mayor Pete McHugh, city councilwoman Debbie Giordano, and county supervisor Dave Cortese (I didn’t see him but I heard he was there). People kicked their shoes off before entering the Center. We thought about trying to enter ourselves but we soon realized the place was packed, standing-room-only, and they were launching into some ceremonies which were likely to take a while. So we departed, hearts, minds, and cameras full of the spectacle we had been fortunate to witness and in a small way participate in.IMG_0082

Jain Center 10th Anniversary

Friday, August 6th, 2010

One of the great joys of this El Camino Real project is “discovering” treasures that are right in front of me and which have been there for a very long time. The human brain is a powerful filter and can swallow up entire continents in its blind spot if your focus happens to be somewhere else. One day I was in Milpitas looking for what was left of the O’Toole elms, and was startled to see a beautiful temple facing where they once where. I had “discovered” the Jain Center of Northern California.

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It stands on Main Street in Milpitas. I’ve been up and down Main Street countless times in the last decade but somehow I never noticed it. Once I realized it was there, I had no idea what it was; I had never heard of Jainism. I asked my co-worker Shashank, my go-to guy for all things Indian, and did some rudimentary research and learned that Jainism is an ancient Indian religion whose adherents strive for non-violence, or Ahimsa, in the extreme in the pursuit of perfect karma. They go beyond simply practicing peace in their dealings with other people. They are vegetarians to avoid committing violence against animals. The most devout, monks and nuns, don’t eat root vegetables because insects could be harmed in digging them up and they wear face masks to avoid breathing in microscopic organisms. Through meditation, rituals, and other disciplines they work to achieve victory over worldly concerns and unity with divinity.

This Jain Center in Milpitas is one of two in California and serves about 1,000 Jains in the Bay Area. Thursday morning I read in the San Jose Mercury News online that the center is marking its 10th Anniversary here with a four-day weekend celebration. There will be ceremonies, lectures, performances, and a parade. I went over that day to catch a glimpse inside the marble palace and enjoy a multicultural experience.

The parking lot was nearly full but I found a spot and made my way to the front door, admiring the architecture and landscaping. I was nervous, afraid I would make a misstep and offend the worshipers. Before leaving the house I debated changing my shoes and belt, wondering if it would be problematic to bring my leather goods—animal products—onto the property. It turns out my intuition was correct. Inside the spacious vestibule they have a special shoe room with cubbies where everyone is asked to leave their shoes and leather items; everyone walks around the temple in bare feet or socks. I was oddly comforted that I had gotten this right, and proceeded boldly.

IMG_9777The volunteer who directed me to the shoe room encouraged me to go upstairs and stay for lunch. Posted signs directed me that the temple was upstairs and that there were rules to follow: no socializing, proper attire required, etc. There was no solemn hush however; loud music was echoing from up there. I climbed the stairs and enjoyed a picture-window view of the Milpitas eastern hills. The second floor holds the temple proper, a large marble covered room. Around the walls there were a number of statues, most of cross-legged seated figures, each unique. The statues against the back wall were cordoned off and were attended to by a monk and nun in face masks. There were also three large black and white photographs of relatively recent individuals, obviously revered. There was an altar in the middle of the room surrounded by ornately carved columns. Jains sat cross-legged on the floor around the altar facing crowned officiants who were performing rituals with fruit and water. The Jains were wearing a variety of clothes including traditional saris, workday street clothes, and simple Gandhi-like wraps. Five musicians sat on the floor playing instruments and drums and singing lively stirring ceremonial songs over a blasting sound system. There were chairs ringing the room and I sat in one, deciding to play it safe and be a wallflower, as unobtrusive as possible. I probably needn’t have worried as there was some general milling about and children skipping around the room. An operator ran a videocamera which I learned was broadcasting video of the ceremony to the dining hall downstairs and over the internet. I stayed for about twenty minutes, wide-eyed and thrilled, before making my way downstairs again, opting not to back out of the room as I had seen the Jains do.

CIMG1328CIMG1329Downstairs I retrieved my shoes and entered the dining room which was laid out end-to-end with tables. Volunteers in the kitchen dished me out a serving of soup, rice, pancake-y things, and a sweet custardy item labeled “Whole, Hearty Grains.” Everything was vegetarian of course, and delicious. My favorite was the soup which was surprisingly spicy. A sign on the wall admonished us not to waste food so I cleaned my plate.

While I was waiting in the lunch line a woman entered who I correctly deduced was a reporter since she carried a notepad and was the only non-Indian in the room besides myself. I flagged her down and learned she’s Lisa Fernandez from the San Jose Mercury News who had written the story I read that morning and was there to follow up. I gave her my info and check it out…I’m a newsmaker! Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to plug AllCamino.com. D’oh!

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IMG_9778After eating I explored the ground floor some more, admiring large marble reliefs adorning the walls, the auditorium where the lectures will be conducted, and a massive statue of a seated figure in a shrine surrounded by a variety of animals and people. In one wing there were paintings on display, being sold in a silent auction. They were deeply spiritual, several depicting the same cross-legged figure motif which I believe represents the liberated soul. I was particularly impressed by a painting of the Milpitas temple, beautifully done by a 12-year-old prodigy.

I had many questions so I talked for a while with a gracious volunteer named Karuna Jain (it’s a common last name among Jains). She gave me a brief overview of the religion’s history, tenets, and practices. She explained that the statues in the temple represent the twenty-four Tirthankars, mortals throughout history who succeeded in attaining enlightenment through Jainism and are now worshiped as role models and teachers. Then we covered some deep El Camino topics. Let me catch you up.

The Jain Center is on Main Street or El Camino de San Jose. There used to be a row of elm trees that stretched from that point on Main Street to the O’Toole family mansion a short walk away. The trees and mansion were Milpitas landmarks for decades. The O’Tooles suffered mysterious misfortunes so the county acquired the property and turned it into an almshouse for the poor then later a jail. Elmwood Correctional Complex stands there today across Abel Street, named for the elm trees which sadly were destroyed in the name of progress in 2005. O’Toole Elms Park now spans where the elms were and new elm saplings have been planted in their memory. When workers were building the modern jail they unearthed Native American remains. The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe were brought in as consultants to remove their ancestral remains and properly re-bury them with all due reverence.


View Larger Map

There’s some delicious congruence here. Linguistically the puns are irresistible. The elms connect the Jail to the Jain, the Indians from long ago to the Indians from far away. Narratively it’s tempting to suggest that the misfortunes of the O’Tooles and the bad mojo of the jail may have been brought on by disturbed Ohlone ghosts and that the Jains’ pursuit of peace calmed them with positivity. Spiritually it’s striking that the Jains chose that spot for their temple,  that the Muwekma chose the other end for their hallowed burial site, and that the Franciscan padres stopped here to give penance by the nearby creek. There’s something about this place.

All of this was on my mind as I asked Karuna a loaded question: why did the Jains build the center here? Naturally she replied pragmatically that the land was available and affordable but when I let her know some of the above local history she became very thoughtful and told me something interesting.  She said before Jain temples are built many prayers and ceremonies are performed to ensure the location’s suitability. For example the trees that will be cut for the construction are asked their permission first. (The elms weren’t cut so I’m sure they took the opportunity to chime in.) The land is consulted. I believe this land has a lot to say. We agreed that perhaps it was no coincidence that the Jains came and the Buddhists came and the Franciscans built their road to their East Bay Mission here. Again, there’s something about this place.

I very much enjoyed my visit to the Jain Center. The building is beautiful and their beliefs are inspiring. I’m very grateful for the hospitality they extended; I decided to go vegetarian all day as a gesture of harmony. If I make it to the parade down Main Street on Saturday I’ll post some pictures.

10th Anniversary of Jain Bhawan Pratishtha

August 5th – 8th, 2010
Jain Center of Northern California
722 South Main Street
Milpitas, CA 95035
http://www.jcnc.org/10th

Asphalt Gourmet

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

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I’ve written about Treatbot a few times, San Jose’s own Karaoke-enabled ice cream food truck. We first learned of them in April at Calvin’s Second Anniversary celebration. I’m not normally very observant but I surprised myself by noticing that the address printed on Treatbot was the same as Calvin’s! Ryan the owner explained to me that food vans need a permanent address, so his is Calvin’s. Personally, I think Treatbot just wanted the upscale The Alameda address. I was very impressed by the whole concept—and the ice cream sandwich—but I was soon to learn it was just the tip of the iceberg.

A month later while at work I saw a very random message on Twitter retweeted by @aroundfremont:

MoGo BBQ Lunch time! Join us for lunch 12pm at 399 S main st milpitas! Come out be featured in PACMAN”S 30th anniversary video! they will be giving out free stuff today and cool PACMAN gear! 

I like lunch, I like Pac-Man, and I work in Milpitas, so at the appointed hour I was there.  That’s when I learned about MoGo.

CIMG0974Like Treatbot they are a new-wave mobile food vendor. MoGo serves up Mexican-Asian fusion cuisine such as Kimchi Quesadillas and Tofu Burritos. I tried a couple pork tacos with MoGo vinaigrette with a side of Kimchi rice. Very tasty.

A coworker told me that these gourmet food trucks are very popular in Los Angeles and now they’re on the rise up in the Bay Area. They can be found all over the country. They even have their own elimination-style road trip reality TV show, “The Great Food Truck Race” with Tyler Florence on The Food Network. Obviously food trucks have been around forever, known colloquially by an unflattering rhyme I won’t repeat here (hint: it’s not “broach poach”), but they’ve always been plain unimaginative affairs, more a convenience than a culinary experience. This new generation has found a formula to energize the whole concept of meals on wheels.

The first element is food with a hook. Treatbot sells locally-made hand-scooped ice cream, not packaged frozen novelties like your typical music-box-cranking ice cream truck. MoGo and Bulkalbi have the Mexican-Asian fusion thing going on which is exotic even in multicultural San Jose. Other trucks go high-end, serving dishes you’d normally only find in fine restaurants.

The second element is marketing. Each truck works hard to create a unique identity and memorable customer experience. Treatbot…Karaoke…say no more. They have clever names, flashy paint jobs, and bubbly servers. They’re most known for using social networking sites to attract and retain clientele: Facebook, YouTube, Yelp, you name it. (Humorously their mobile nature defeats Foursquare; it can’t keep up.) I follow them all on Twitter and let me tell you, when I get that daily deluge of lunchtime locations and menus du jour, it gets the juices flowing. Last week three of them showed up within walking distance of my job on three different days; I took the bait and ate at all three.

CIMG0830Check out my Twitter list:

Let me know if I missed any. I haven’t tried them all yet, but I will. I know where to find them.

Naturally these trucks often find their way to El Camino Real. Heck, Treatbot “lives” there. The MoGo Pac-Man event was on Main Street in Milpitas. It’s not an opening at The Usuals unless Treatbot is there. A few nights ago MoGo and Curry Up Now were both on El Camino at the same time for dinner, a couple miles apart. They know what’s up.

CIMG0973Here’s what I really like about these trucks: when they show up, they create an event. Namco chose to tag along with MoGo, tapping into some street excitement to celebrate Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary. They filmed this video behind the truck. It works both ways; the trucks go where the action is, often in pairs. Bike Party, National Night Out, festivals, holidays. Social networks in tow, every time they park it’s an instant meet-up.

I feel we’re right at the beginning of this movement and I wouldn’t be surprised to see an explosion of variety in the next couple years. There’s plenty of room for innovation too. This is Silicon Valley. How about online ordering? GPS tracking? Electronic payment? Alternative fuel vehicles? (Treatbot is propane-powered!) Um…chairs! The sky’s the limit and the road is open.

Railroaded

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010


View San Jose robbery and police chase in a larger map

The Milpitas Post reports that an alleged robbery and car theft that started on Sierra Road (that’s Sierra, not Serra!) in San Jose led to a police chase that ended when the suspect was apprehended at the dead-end at Railroad Court, at the northern end of Main Street in Milpitas. That happens to be where the Milpitas Post is located, so you could say the scoop landed on their doorstep. This funny little intersection is where Main Street crosses the railroad tracks, near Judge Weller‘s dairy farm. It used to connect with Milpitas Blvd and continue on to Mission San Jose and other East Bay destinations, but it was cul-de-sac’ed decades ago. If the suspect had been an avid consumer of arcane El Camino Real knowledge like myself he surely would have known this and not snared himself in the trap. Or perhaps that was exactly his problem; he was trying to flee to the mission for sanctuary and was following a really really really old map.

ECdSJ_diseno

Hopefully no one was seriously hurt (the police had to use a stun gun), property is rightfully restored, and justice will be served.

[Source: Milpitas Post]

Road of Remembrance

Monday, May 31st, 2010

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A few months ago I noticed a new traffic light and street sign had showed up in Midtown Milpitas, intersecting South Main Street just north of Montague Expressway. The sign read, “Mihalakis St.” I had no idea what it meant, but it was fun to say. I figured it was probably the name of the developer of the new Aspen Family apartments there, a little vanity eponym like so many other streets in the area. But then not long later, I happened to be flipping through my Arcadia Publishing Milpitas book and came across the name Mihalakis again. It was the most recent among a list of fallen soldiers from Milpitas, honored by the Veterans Memorial adjacent to City Hall.

SPECIALIST MICHAEL MIHALAKISSpecialist Michael Mihalakis of the California Army National Guard died in an auto accident in Iraq on December 26, 2003 while off-duty. His Humvee rolled over near the Baghdad airport, killing him. It was tragically ironic as he had an older sister who had recently awakened from a coma caused by brain injuries from a car accident in Denver. His parents shared the happy news of her miraculous recovery with him over the phone on Christmas Day, one day before his death. Michael was only 18, a graduate of Milpitas High School who played lead guitar in a rock band. He is survived by his parents and two sisters. He left behind in a safety deposit box a remarkable letter to his parents to be opened in the event of his death in which he consoled them that he served proudly and had no regrets as he “gave the ultimate sacrifice.” (I read the letter here but it has since been removed.)

Seal of MilpitasThe city of Milpitas has a program wherein they name streets after its fallen veterans to honor their memories. (Interestingly the Milpitas seal bears the same image of Daniel Chester French’s The Minute Man statue as the National Guard logo, but in Milpitas’ case it’s a political allegory, not  having to do with actual military service.) The soldiers so commemorated span conflicts from World War I to the present. The streets are located throughout the city but Mihalakis Street is the first memorial road to cross Main Street, part of what I call El Camino de San Jose. One block past Mihalakis at the upcoming Alexan Condos project another street is planned, Doonewey, named for Army Specialist Doonewey White. Doonewey, 26, a native of the Philippines who grew up in Milpitas, looked forward to returning home to his fiancée who was pregnant with their first child. He died of his injuries a day after a roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad on May 28, 2007—Memorial Day.

As it turns out there are several programs that use the nation’s roads and freeways to commemorate our veterans. One such program is the Blue Star Memorial Highways project, adopted by the National Garden Clubs in 1946. They place markers on highways, cemeteries, and V.A. hospitals as tribute to America’s armed forces. There are many Blue Star Memorial roads throughout California including State Route 58 in Santa Margarita, part of El Camino Real.


View Larger Map

Perhaps the most significant program is the Purple Heart Trail. It is a series of roads, highways, and bridges throughout the United States legislatively designated to honor recipients of the Purple Heart, a medal awarded to U.S. soldiers killed or wounded in action. Each segment has special signs featuring an image of the Purple Heart medal, a visual reminder of the freedom we enjoy in this country and the price our veterans paid to protect it. California’s Purple Heart Trail was just designated by the California Legislature in August, 2009. It is a 115-mile portion of U.S. 101 through San Luis Obispo County. In this part of the state, U.S. 101 either is itself El Camino Real or runs directly alongside it.

Sign

Memorial Day is one day set aside for us to remember the soldiers who laid down their lives for us. A road however can be an everyday reminder, timeless, tireless, and lasting. El Camino Real bears the memories of our state, etched in asphalt.  In these solemn dedicated stretches, this highway honors the memories of California’s sons and daughters who donned their country’s uniform and served heroically, many unto the ultimate sacrifice.