n.t. wright

theologian and bishop of durham, n.t. wright was present on fuller's campus for the last two weeks as a guest faculty member. he wrapped up his time in pasadena with a key note speech at lake avenue church on thursday night (in the original chapel, not the large sanctuary).

mennonites (of which i am one) aren't usually big on theologians - we don't have many - and we're also not big on bishops. however it was a very enjoyable evening. wright had some very interesting reflections on the tension between feeling and thinking, and the cultural phenominon of saying "i feel" when we really mean "i think".

revisiting the hat

today we revisit an old theme and return to a more recent theme.

yep, that's right - today's post is the first simultanious friday sky watch and friday neon post on the same day! also, this is a throwback of sorts - the hat was featured in one of my very early blog posts.

more skywatch found here. enjoy!

along the 210, approaching pasadena

pasadena downtown - next 2 exits. i played around with several attributes of this photo before posting, and i'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

the final 100 meters

these are the top three finishers from the pasadena stage of the tour of california. can you guess who won? a hint: in cycling, drafting or following to cut down on wind resistance, is key. so the third rider - who happens to be rinaldo nocentini of team ag2r - ended up winning this stage because of his perfect positioning behind the lead cyclist.


speaking of cycling - in march I will be riding the solvang century. this isn't my first 100 mile ride, and I hope it will not be my last. however this particular ride is special. i am going to ride 100 miles to raise money toward world vision's bikes for africa project. to find out more, or to sponsor me, check out my fundraising website.

rounding the rose bowl

here's the peloton during one of their final laps of saturday's stage 7 race in pasadena. the amgen tour of california was won by levi leipheimer who you can see in this picture riding with his teammates. he's one of the last riders at the front with the blue helmets, riding next to lance armstrong (in the yellow helmet).

i'm a nerd

my friend matt has a theory that we're all nerdy about something - some of us may try and pretend that's not true, but that just means you do a good job hiding your nerdiness. i think he's spot on.

so confession time - i'm a nerd about fantasy baseball. yesterday i paid money to go to a three hour lecture on fantasy baseball strategy (in neighboring arcadia, ca), given by other notable fantasy nerds, jeff erickson, todd zola, and most notably - ron shandler (left to right). in a room of about 100 other (mostly white, middle-aged, and male) nerds, we talked about thrilling topics like "5 hot prospects most at risk of failing", "8 undervalued veterens over 30", and "8 stars to risky to roster".

anyone else willing to admit to their inner nerd?

breaking away

the lead pack of riders had stretched out a sizable lead by the time they hit pasadena during yesterday's stage 7 of the tour of california. this photo is of that group of 10 riders who ended up crossing the finish line ahead of everyone else at the rose bowl. the race concludes tomorrow in escondido, ca.

more to come tomorrow.

lance rides again

and if you want to see more of mr. armstrong and his fellow riders (including california's own levi leipheimer who currently stands in first overall), head down to the rose bowl today at around 3:00 when the tour of california riders arrive for the stage 7 finish.

revisiting the castle

back in november i spent a week profiling the castle green. this is a left over photo from that series, and lets face it - with the recent rain i'm struggling for new material.

i'm going to go watch the amgen tour of california over the next few days. hopefully that will provide me with some useful images! the weather is supposed to be a little bit nicer than when they went through pasadena last year. for those in the area this weekend, the first riders are scheduled to arrive at the rose bowl around 3:00 on saturday for the finish of that stage. details can be found at the tour's website.

the bridge from a different angle

a new view of our favorite iconic bridge. followers of pasadena daily photo will recognize the arroyo casting pond in the foreground. click on the link to find out more at petrea's website.

city hall details

our city hall isn't just beautiful on the outside, check out the details in the ceiling of the breezeway. i have no idea how this was built - was this whole thing one giant piece? or many small pieces assembled together?

it's raining, it's pouring

i don't get very inspired to go take pictures when it is raining. usually in pasadena i don't have that excuse, but lately we've had quite a bit of rain - like maybe more rain than we've had the entire year and a half we've lived in southern california.

it appears that some of my blogging neighbors are also feeling a little wet. case in point here, here, here, and here.

you may recognize this view - it's another shot of the perspective we get from our balcony.

getting back to my roots

this blog began in part because of my fascination of pictures of sky. so here's a throwback for you. this could be a cloud found almost anywhere, but i assure you it was taken in pasadena's sky!

it's still christmas in pasadena

the trees along south lake avenue - including this massive palm tree - are still decked out in white lights. i don't remember them staying up quite so long last winter. can anyone confirm that they have been up longer than normal?


on a side note, i recently had my 20,000th visitor! thanks to everyone who visits this blog on a regular basis. you have helped spread the word and made this blog into something i really feel proud of. by no means is this the most visited blog, not even in pasadena. but for something that began as a creative outlet for a theological student, and a place i figured i'd get one or two people to check out, it really has surpassed my expectations.

thank you!

happy valentines day!

i hope you all have someone in your life to share a bit of love with. not just today, but everyday! isn't that what makes the world go 'round?

this photo of me and my sweetheart is from back in september at steve and stef's wedding. don't we look good?

fluffy white cloud

this is the view from the deck on the top of fuller's new library. lovely, wouldn't you say so? its rare that our pasadena sky has fluffy white clouds like this - although our recent stretch of rain has meant we have a lot more cloud action to take pictures of. more rain coming this weekend.

and more sky watch friday photos right here!

living the high life

guest photographer today - my co-worker glory snapped this shot of me relaxing by the pool on our recent staff retreat. Nope, this isn't pasadena, but it isn't too far. several of us went east to palm springs, and had a great time! can't wait to go again.

i apologize to those who saw this earlier and noticed i was cropped out! i think i've fixed that.

outdoor corridor

this arched corridor can be found around the sides of the westin hotel here in pasadena. i feel like the arches might be hinting at another pasadena landmark - don't you?

out for a ride

the recent rain in pasadena has made riding a bike, or taking pictures, less than enjoyable. i've only taken a couple of pictures in the last week. this image is from a few weeks ago when the sun was still shining.

those familiar with pasadena's surrounding hills may recognize this as linda vista - the road that the art center college of design is located on. if you look closely you can see tim and alethia on their bikes heading down this wonderfully fast and curvy decent.


speaking of bicycles - in march i will be riding the solvang century and am currently a part of a world vision team that is trying to raise money to purchase bicycles for people in rural africa. if you would like to help out, check out my fundraising website.

first congregational church and sky (part 2)

located at the corner of los robles and walnut, and right next to fuller's campus.

you can see part one right here.

the county building

another angle of pasadena's courthouse. i'll let you be the judge of its architectural character. some scoff at it - especially when held up next to the beauty that surrounds it.

dr. glen stassen

just thought i'd share a photo of one of my favorite fuller professors. i took this during his recent chapel presentation entitled "love poured into our hearts".

from the fuller website:

"dr. stassen joined the school of theology faculty in 1997, coming to fuller with 34 years of teaching experience. he is known for his work in theological ethics, politics, social justice, and peacemaking, particularly his work with development of the “just peacemaking” theory. stassen’s book kingdom ethics: following jesus in contemporary context was awarded a best book of 2004 by christianity today. other of his books include peace action:past, present, and future, living the sermon on the mount, and just peacemaking: transforming initiatives for justice and peace."

from our balcony

we recently moved to a different apartment within our building. one of the benefits of our new place - besides the extra room - is that it has a balcony. this is our nightly view of the setting sun, which perfectly silhouettes the palm trees that line los robles ave. pretty cool, eh?

check out more sky watch friday photos right here.

how high is too high?

petrea's post yesterday inspired me to try and get the highest vantage point to take a picture of our beloved city hall. i have plenty of shots of this building from the street level, but i've struggled to find a perch that would allow me to get a birds perspective.

so just like petrea yesterday, can you guess where i am?

snorkel 60

this new building at the corner of fair oaks and california is beginning to look pretty sharp - actually it kind of reminds me of this building. i caught this guy welding something up there and i had hoped that i'd catch the spark of his welding torch - but i guess i failed in that regard.

do you think you could have a job that raises you up in a bucket every day? anyone afraid of heights out there in blogger land?

the nose wine cellar

tucked back in a little plaza along colorado blvd is this lovely little wine shop. we went there the other night to have a nice night out with some friends and were pleasantly surprised with what we found.

they offer several wines by the glass on a rotating basis. their goal is to sell only organically or bio dynamically produced labels. they have an extensive bottle collection available for purchase, and even a nice selection of tapas and finger foods to eat along side your vintage of choice.

more info can be found at their website.

cupid's valentines stout

loyal readers of this blog know i'm a fan of fine beer, and as it turns out i've been busy working on a homebrew project with two of my good friends. last night we bottled our first batch which means it should be ready to drink on valentines day. the homebrewing process is not for the impatient - our stout brewed with cocoa and strawberries will end up taking about 5 weeks from start to finish, but we think we're going to end up with one fantastic beverage.

in this picture ryan is filling the bottles and matt is getting ready to cap them. they make a pretty great team.

any suggestions for our next batch?

february theme day: paths and passages

i know, it's super bowl sunday and i shouldn't be posting about baseball. but baseball is my first love, and the first day of february means we are only two weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training!

for those of you who are unsure of how this photo relates to today's theme day, jackie robinson (who grew up in pasadena, ca) created paths and passages by breaking the color barrier in baseball. the image today is of a plaque located inside the jackie robinson community center and is part of a larger exhibit of memorabilia.

also, february is black history month - what is more fitting than today's post?

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants