San Jose City Living

Early this morning in Downtown San Jose a home went up in flames engulfing surrounding homes in smoke.  Included in the flames path was a full carport where 4 cars were burned to the ground.

Here are the photos of the ordeal aftermath:

Twitter made the giant leap from a social networking tool to a suicide prevention method for a local San Jose woman.

Thanks to the popularity of Demi Moore and her 379,446 Twitter followers, along with many other Twitter members, word spread that a San Jose woman known as @sandieguy planned to kill herself by “getting a knife, a big one that is sharp. Going to cut my arm down the whole arm so it doesn’t waste time”. Read the rest of this entry »

Silk Road Bistro Recession Special - Photo by Eric Carter @ Dizzy Pixel

If this isn’t a sign of our economic woes, I don’t know how much clearer it can get.

I commend Silk Road Bistro for this sign.  What a great way to leave a lasting Silk Road Bistro impression in each passer-byer that walks down the San Fernando Street block between 3rd and 2nd.  While a constant reminder of the impending doom effecting our economy isn’t a pleasant thought, the fact that you can get discounts on some great Indian food might help alleviate the painful thought of being let go, fired, squadooshed, canned, or “don’t let the screen door hit ya on the ass on the way out”.

I suppose this sign could be categorized as Sweet and Sour – but in the opposite order maybe?  And when you show them your pink slip in in order to redeem your half off discount, will they say, “Penny for your thoughts”?

Can Silk Road Bistro become a kind of Laid Off Anonymous where the no longer employed can share their story and seek friendship and support during such a rough time known as a “Recession”?  Probably not.  And that is most likely not their end game for the discount offer.  Clever thought none the less right?

Even if you haven’t been given that dreadful pink slip, (do they make it pink to try and keep spirits lifted?  Why not red?)  try to get down to Silk Road Bistro for lunch or dinner sometime.  Great prices, calm environment, and fantastic food.  I personally recommend the combo plate, (called something else) which gives you Salmon, Chicken, Shrimp, and one other thing… I want to say, lamb?… along with rice.  And make sure to get an order of Garlic Naan – oh man is it good.

Good job Silk Road Bistro!  SanJoseCityLiving.com is proud to have you in our neighborhood.  Its that kind of witty sense of humor and good food that helps liven up San Jose.

Photo by: Eric Carter @ Dizzy Pixel

Yes it’s true, Diablo Cody came to The Vault Soiree with Inside Cinequest after her public interview with a Q&A where audience members could ask questions.

The interview was informative but the sad part was the man asking the initial questions talked only about himself.  From what I heard from others attending the Q&A was that he is a film professor from Stanford.

Only 5 or so minutes into the interview the crowed was yelling, “LET HER SPEAK!”  Diablo couldn’t get a word in, nor would Mr. Talksalot even ask her a question.  With more and more people yelling to silence the man, he finally gave in and began asking her questions, which of course, each sent him back into a tizzy of self directed talk.

Some neat things I learned about Diablo Cody, other than the fact she wrote the movie ‘Juno‘ as well as the new hit Showtime series ‘United States of Tara‘, Diablo got discovered by a blog she wrote.  While she didn’t go into exactly what the blog was about, she did mentioned through her writing talents, someone suggested she write a screen play.  Coincidentally her very first screen play was was Juno.

Each night Cinequest hosted an after party.  The night Diablo was here for her Q&A  and to receive the Maverick Award she was given, she came down to spend time with Inside Cinequest at The Vault Soiree.

We had a great time!  Diablo is a down to earth, tell it like it is kind of person.  FYI, she’s looking at getting a new lap dog but secretly wants a big Great Dane.  We took shots of taquila (as some of you may have read about on my Twitter posts) and just relaxed.  It was an honor spending time with her and I’m glad to have met her.

Tomorrow is the day that I’ll be interviewing Sinohui Hinojosa, CEO of EXIT Stage Left, VP of Home Entertainment for Cinevolve Studios, and Senior Producer/Creative Director for Emerging Artists Productions.

The one responsible for the twitter posts you’ve been following (www.twitter.com/insidecinequest) and the video you’ve been viewing (www.insidecinequestblogspot.com) is ready to speak frankly about the ins and outs of Cinequest.

I’m excited and I know he is too so be ready!  Also coming up is my reviews on the recent films I’ve seen at Cinequest.

Tonight San Jose Police took a drug dealer off the streets at the corner of 2nd and San Fernando.

Did they really need 8 cop cars and 10 police officers for one guy and the lady he was either selling to or selling with?  This is not including the two pairs of police officers I saw just 20 yards away outside of San Jose Bar and Grill and Tres Gringos, though I’m thankful for them being there since I’ve seen some wild riots go down outside those two establishments.

Through asking around, it seemed none of the bystanders saw how the bust happened, but from the storage zip lock bag of pills on the police car, it was obvious the guy in zip-tie handcuffs was heading to jail for possession.  No doubt he’ll be needing Bad Boys Bail Bonds to get him out.  I just hope when he does, the last thing he does is try and sell more drugs.

While I’m happy when a drug dealer is off the street, does it really take as many police as they had?  I would much rather see one of those police officers parked on San Salvador between 3rd and 4th, also known as “Drug Street Alley”.  For those of you that don’t know why it’s called that, “Drug Street Alley” is a common hang out spot for drug dealers, gangs and their affiliates.

Just about every night if you drive by, you’ll notice some sort of deal going down.  If you don’t see a sly handshake or what looks like a deal being made, you can bet there is some large gathering of people that you’d feel uncomfortable even looking at as you walk down the street.  Even I was harassed walking down San Salvador Mardi Gras night, and I’m a pretty big guy!

So thank you to the San Jose Police Department for taking the drug dealer off the street on 2nd and San Fernando.  And thank you to the undercover narcotics officers I’ve known that have risk their lives to perform undercover buys in order to catch those peddling drugs on the street, especially the ones I’ve seen on San Salvador.  It just would have been nice if we could finally drive the dealers and gangs off of the streets knowing full well where they are there every day.

More photos of a San Jose Police arrest:

The bag of pills confiscated by the San Jose PD

Placing the drug dealer into the police van

What do you think about how many cops were at the scene?

So I went on a food run and what did I see? Why a freakishly tall bum with an intense stare which he used in addition to “The Force” (starwars reference…) in order to get me to buy him food.

I walked into the McDonalds at the corner of 3^rd and San Carlos in order to get a bun, lettuce, tomato, and NO MEAT sandwich for my girlfriend. As I walk in and head towards the jailhouse guard rail showing you where to get inline for food, this bum is just standing at the end of the line STARING at each person about to order.

At this point I had to hold back the laughter building inside me at the fact that McDonalds management didn’t do or say a thing about this random character at the end of the line. Did I mention he REAKED like poo? Well he did.

The bum doesn’t say much to anyone besides a few grunts but when I walk up, things change. He decides its about time to try and introduce himself. Not a good plan to try and shake my hand when you smell like poo. I declined to shake the poo hand and that just set him off.

The grumble grumble that gurgled from his throat got worse. But I ignored him and ordered my meatless burger. As the next couple approached the register, the bum got intense. He brushed his WHOLE body against the man and pointed at the menu as a sign for this guy to buy him something. Not a good plan if you ask me. A failed attempt once again…

You’d think the little event was over right? NOPE!

The bum and I practically leave at the same time with me in a slight lead. Oh the smell! But then he starts muttering that I should have game him 5 bucks and that I was, “fucked up, man.” He then proceeded to ask me for 5 bucks again. Failed attempt 2.

And then the chase begins… Yes, the chase. Can you believe it? I wasn’t sure if the bum was going to attack me. By no means was I worried I couldn’t defend myself against this potential attacker but I just didn’t want to have to touch him.

The bum then follows me (only at a quick paced walk, but still…) all the way to La Victoria where I go to pick up my previously ordered Carne Asada Super Burrito – no sour cream. And as the usual group of bums below the tattoo shop begin to ask me for cash as I politely and truthfully say, “No, sorry. I don’t have any cash on me,” the bum following yells, “He wouldn’t even give me 5 bucks!”

Do people actually give bums that much money? Maybe a buck here and there but 5 bucks? Anyways, that’s another topic we can cover later…

To end the story, as I walk up the steps to La Victoria, the bum stops at the bottom of the stairs to yell one final attempt query for 5 bucks… “Give my 5 fucking bucks man!”

Failed attempt 3 and the story ends. It sure is a good thing I love me a La Victoria burrito as much as I do. Otherwise I wouldn’t be as eager to walk down there at 10 at night on a Sunday knowing full well the company the San Carlos block between 4^th and 3^rd keep.