vivid

more skywatch friday photos here.

hanging out at jameson brown

some friends invited me to a coffee shop show last night at jameson brown - a local pasadena coffee roaster who is starting to reshape their venue to do things like host musical talent. andrew goldring put on a great performance with his own guitar-based music. i'm sure he has a future in the business - keep your ears and eyes open. oh, and the beverages were delicious.

riding in the tour de france

the tour de france is over for another year - i'm already looking forward to next year. it has been so hot in pasadena that my friend tim and i decided to pedal our bicycles indoors on our stationary trainers while we watched the tour on tv.

of course our wives found this pretty humorous... but i think it was ingenious!

fresh & easy

the trendy supermarket experience has arrived in pasadena. we received a $5 off coupon in the mail along with a coupon for a free reusable grocery bag, so i decided to go check it out.

their prices seemed very competitive and i had fun exploring a new store. the self check-out was fun, but the beer cooler was a bit of a let down. it reminded me of a cross between a large grocery store and traders joes (with some similar pitfalls such as excessivly packaged produce). parking at their location is pretty awful, but i think i'll continue to go back every once in a while.

burning in the sun

we've been blessed (?) with a few weeks of 90+ degree days in a row. this week we're looking at more of the same, although a few days are projected to "dip" into the 80s. i can't remember the last time it rained...

i do feel fortunate that we rarely have humid days, and every night pasadena cools down to a very reasonable temperature in the 60s/70s - perfect sleeping temperature.

salsa celtica at the levitt pavilion

pasadena's summer concert series is in full swing at levitt pavilion. on friday we went to see the band 'salsa celtica' - an interesting blend of... you guessed it, salsa and celtic music. high energy and a lot of fun. we picniced with some friends before the concert and then sat back in the cool of the evening (very nice concidering the heatwave we've been going through).

cham korean bistro

thanks to brigham yen, i found out about the "grand tasting" of a soon-to-open korean restaurant in pasadena called 'cham'. i was especially curious because it would be filling the vacated location of seoul bros. - a restaurant i had really enjoyed and was sad it had to close.

so i got on the guest list and went over on thursday to sample their creations. i ordered the spicy pork bulgogi ssam platter (awesome!), three different tofu pockets (arugula and red radish, marinated fresh crab, and spicy tuna with pea shoots)(amazing!), and a hibiscus flower lemonade (wha..? incredible!) to top it all off.

oh my - i haven't been that satisfied with a free meal in a long time.


the enviornment was welcoming and communal with a very friendly staff. the manager and owner personally introduced themselves and asked my opinions on the different food items. i gushed over the flavor combinations and the subtle balanced nuances of each item. i'm pretty sure i could eat about a thousand of those tofu pockets with their tasty fillings.

the total for my meal would have been aproaching $20, which seems to be a little on the expensive side, however i was stuffed and wouldn't have ordered quite so much had i been paying for it out of my own pocket. that being said, it doesn't strike me as a place to go for huge savings on lunch or dinner. i was impressed that the owners are planning to donate proceeds to overseas poverty development projects - if they push this aspect of their business they could really do well.


all in all, i can't wait until it actually opens in august and i can return once again with an empty belly ready to sample more korean treasures.

did anyone else in pasadena get a chance to go to the grand tasting?

the sky is glowing in pasadena

i've been skywatching for a little while now. you can see my past photos here.

more skywatch friday photos from photoblogs across the world can be found at the following link.

bus stop graffiti

i'm not sure what the appeal is to tagging something with an indecipherable swirl. if you want people to know you were there, just write "frank was here" - right?

210 east

los angeles county is known for its highways and traffic. california interstate 210 (known in these parts as the two-ten) is one of pasadena's access points to the massive county highway system. it is also a geographical dividing line which unfortunatley symbolizes a economic split between the constantly developing southern upscale part of town, and the older and more gritty northern part of town (which happens to be where i live).

baseball reliquary at the library

for those who missed the shrine of the eternals induction ceremony, you still have time to check out the baseball reliquary's fantastic baseball card exhibit which is happening now in the east wings of the library.

2009 shrine of the eternals induction day

oh man, what an afternoon. yesterday i attended the baseball reliquary's 2009 induction day. this unique event included music on the glass harp by douglas lee...


ceremonial bell ringing by the group led by terry cannon (executive director) in honor of hilda chester...


speeches and presentations from a variety of wonderfully interesting people including sports writers mike shannon (pictured below) and don malcolm, jill and mike magnante, and ron shelton.

this year's inductees were roger maris (former single season home run record holder), jim eisenreich (successful major leaguer who played with tourette syndrom), and steve dalkowski(a minor league pitcher who was the inspiration for the movie bull durham (la times article)). all in all, a wonderful afternoon of baseball stories and celebration at pasadena public library. i can't wait until next year!

coldplay in l.a.

what can i say? i've seen them on their last two tours last night's concert at the home depot center this was probably my favorite of the three. they performed old classics like "yellow" and new hits like "viva la vida" and the crowd ate it all up. but i think the highlight was during their acoustic journey into the audience where they did a cover of michael jackson's billie jean. i'm a fan.

musicians at caltech

yesterday evening i happened to be at caltech while a wedding reception was taking place. i was hearing some lovely music and when i looked around i discovered this musician illuminated in the archway.

yucca sky

a little pasadena sky for friday. a dying yucca from our recent hike.

wish me luck - i've got a final exam in my church history class today, and i find out if i have jury duty next week... bleh.

on a more pleasant note - hundreds of other bloggers post their pictures of the sky on friday. you can see this week's submissions right here.

team astana

the tour de france is taking place right now. for those who are unaware, this marks the second time lance armstrong has returned to the tour after taking time off (the first time during his fight with cancer, the second is his return from retirement).

currently lance's team astana is doing pretty well - 4 riders in the top 10, and ranked second overall in team time. the tour has not been without some drama as we are all still wondering how things will shake down between lance (currently in 3rd place) and his teammate alberto contador (currently in 2nd).

today's picture is of team astana and is from this year's tour of california stage that ended in pasadena.

the baseball reliquary

a baseball post during the all-star break.

one of the coolest things about pasadena is the baseball reliquary. this organization is kind of like the baseball hall of fame for the obscure. every year the display memorabilia displays around southern california (including the current baseball card display at the main library) and once a year they host their 'shrine of the eternals' induction day.

this year's event is taking place on sunday at the pasadena main library. if you are a baseball fan, or just a fan of unique history, you should try and attend. two years ago the event took place a few weeks before our arrival in california. last year we were out of town for a wedding. this year i'm going to be there!

today's picture is from a recent display at pasadena city college.

this is southern california?

the landscape on our mt. wilson hike was much more "northern" than we expected. a lovely change of pace from our daily lives.

another from our mt. wilson hike

it was a warm day, but also a beautiful one to be out hiking. at that elevation the air was a little cooler than down in the valley.

pasadena from mt. wilson

i went with a group of friends yesterday to take a 10 mile hike around mt. wilson. although this picture is pretty hazy, we were pretty impressed with the view of our city from above.

bike rack

oh man, can you tell i've been in summer intensive classes for three weeks? this is the best i can come up with for today's photo. who knows what tomorrow will bring...

forever 21 in old town pasadena

a little bit of pasadena sky line around the trendy part of town.

more skywatch friday photos right here.

pasadena's YMCA building - centennial place

what appears from the outside to be a ymca building is actually a low income apartment complex.

centennial place provides affordable housing to pasadena's low-income single men and women. union station provides on-site case management and referrals for formerly homeless individuals living at centennial place, who may have substance abuse problems, mental health issues or day-to-day living challenges.

i love pasadena, but it is certainly not a city of equality. a place like this is a great start toward helping needy people get back on their feet. the world needs more places like this.

fire escape

i'm not sure how to caption this photo... but i like it.

fireworks at pasadena's rose bowl

from saturday night's display. our vantage point above the rose bowl gave us a view of a good portion of the san gabriel valley and the fireworks that were being set off around the entire area.

a few photos from our weekend bbq

we had a feast of grilled burgers, sweet corn, hot dogs, and plenty of other good things. the weather was perfect for the long weekend, and we were able to get out on a couple of bike rides as well. here tim enjoys his perfect burger creation.

cupcakes and the king

dots cupcakes just opened up a second pasadena location at the one colorado shopping area. i'm not sure what elvis has to do with cupcakes, but i like the mixed media of this window display.

21 choices frozen yogurt

always busy and full of people. 21 choices is the locally owned choice when it comes to frozen yogurt - done up in the coldstone add-in style.




happy 4th of july. on a holiday often marked with the memories of armed conflict victories, i encourage us all pause and think about those patriots who were committed to bettering the world through non-violent means. people like martin luther king jr, dorothy day, cesar chavez, or tom fox.

have a great weekend!

pasadena sky with palms

another sweet sky from our hometown here in pasadena, california.

more skywatch friday right here.

one more from lightning point

there is something special about sitting around the campfire with friends. what a good time.

july theme day: empty

this shot is from my recent camping trip. an empty sky can also be a beautiful sky... although, the moon is hanging there, so i guess it isn't quite empty.

hundreds of other bloggers are working with today's theme.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

by the way - HAPPY CANADA DAY!