Tuesday, June 30, 2009

camping at lightning point


on saturday i went up into the san gabriel mountains for a midsommar celebration. we had a great time celebrating the summer sun and what is to come. i'll post a few more pictures from our time.

Monday, June 29, 2009

happy birthday!


today is my wife's birthday.

she is the most important person in my life and i can't believe how lucky i am to be her husband. i can't wait to explore another year with her.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

serious subject matter


on thursday night i had the privilege of attending a lecture from three eminent christian thinkers on the subject of torture. dr. glen stassen, professor of ethics and dr. al dueck, professor of the integration of psychology and theology here at fuller seminary were joined by dr. david gushee, professor of christian ethics at mercer university who is in town to teach a class entitled 'perspectives on social ethics'.

coincidentally i've had the pleasure being enrolled in this class and it was enjoyable to hear him interact with two fuller professors (one of whom he has already authored a book with).

the night had some difficult subject matter, and alarming statistics about how much of our society has embraced the use of torture in interrogation. all emphasised a hope that can be found in dialog and interaction with those whom we feel are different than us. they encouraged the attendees to become leaders in social justice instead of passive members of society - especially in instances where human rights are being violated.

this is a long winded post, but if you are interested in learning more about what we talked about or getting involved in a faith-based innitiative for ending torture, check out evangelicals for human rights.


free speech is something we often take for granted in this country. today around the world, bloggers are taking a stand in support of free speech - something that the people of iran and their sports heroes are currently fighting for.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Saturday, June 27, 2009

orange grove shopping center


not the first time this sign has made an appearance on the blog - going back to the friday neon series. i'm up in the mountains doing a little camping right now, should have a few pictures when i get back.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

ipa festival at lucky baldwins


the last thing i want to talk about from last weekend (which is now 4 days in the past) was to head to lucky baldwin's for their india pale ale festival. for $8 you get your first selection and a festival glass, which can then be re-filled for $3 or $4 depending on which beer. far from the most incredible deal out there, but i'm a sucker for ipa's, and their list includes several i've never had including port brewing's 3rd anniversary ipa (pictured above).

i heard that the festival was extended until this weekend, so stop by either of their locations.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

make music pasadena


what a cool concept - a free concert spread out all across the city with hundreds of up and coming artists from around the world. don't you wish your city was as cool as pasadena?

i was really impressed with red molly - pictured above - and the set that they performed at the levitt pavillion. and it made me pretty excited for the upcoming summer concert series which will be held in the same location. i also headed over to one colorado for mirah.

more from my busy weekend coming up tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

live h2o concert at the magestical roof


i'm sad to say i had never even heard of this place, so when i got home i did a quick google search and found that one of my fellow bloggers had already covered this super interesting part of town. check it out here.

this past weekend they were having a concert for the living waters and the waters of darfur. pretty cool. i was also intrigued by this garden structure with hanging magnifying glasses...


more from pasadena's super busy weekend coming up tomorrow...

Monday, June 22, 2009

and the winner is...


this beautiful peice of chalk art was the winner of the 2009 best in show at the pasadena chalk festival. amazing stuff - especially considering the fact that the artist was still working on it late into the afternoon.

so much was happening in town this weekend that it is going to take me all of this week to post about it, so hang on to your hats while i try to catch you all up on life in pasadena...

Sunday, June 21, 2009

happy fathers day - in chalk!


happy fathers day to my dad and to all of the fathers out there. enjoy your special day!


the 2009 pasadena chalk festival is happening right now. i checked out some of the artwork in progress yesterday, but i would suggest going back today to see the finished products. some really cool stuff. go check it out if you are in the area.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

pasadena scottish rite


i must plead ignorance here. i have almost no knowledge of freemasonry, and most of it comes from wikipedia. but this certainly is a striking building, what with the stone, the huge doorway, the egyptian figures out front, and the stained glass windows. the pasadena organization has their own website, right here.

by the way - if you haven't already visited my friend eric's blog to read his comics, you really need to do so. like right now. go. now. do so with this link. i think they are brilliant.

Friday, June 19, 2009

unknown building


i need some help on this one - the only signs in the area seem to indicate that this is part of cal tech. is that correct?

more sky watch friday can be found here.

today is the final day of my bicycle/ballpark tour. check out my journey right here.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

greetings from the road


yesterday's route took us along the old route 66, including this completely abandoned section where we posed for a picture.

of course, you can follow the full journey right here.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

pasadena from above on a dreary day


just a taste of pasadena's june gloom.


see the sign at the bottom? you'll be back. as will i, eventually i'll make it back to pasadena but for now i'm riding my bike. follow my journey here.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Monday, June 15, 2009

a little jacaranda, a little traffic light.


i really like how the sky came out in this image - faint pinks and blues - fun stuff at the intersection of shoppers lane and cordova.

follow me this week as i ride my bike to 5 minor league ballparks in 5 days. it's going to be a blast!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

christmas lights and purple trees


the jacaranda trees are back in purple force, and wouldn't you know it, the trees along lake avenue still have their lights on. which creates quite a unique effect as you drive along.

and along with the purple blossoms come the purple blog posts...

glimpses of south pasadena
hometown pasadena
pasadena daily photo
stan's blog
here's a new one - hoecki in usa
and this one - eye level pasadena
and one more - like narnia

and even our friends jill and nate in kenya

let me know if you also have shots of the blooming jacaranda and i'll add you to the list!

Friday, June 12, 2009

from here...


exam week is done, and the summer quarter doesn't start until the 22nd, so what am i up to? i'm combining my love of bicycles, beer, and baseball (remember my love of the letter b?) in to one fantastic journey. and you can follow my journey right here.

more sky watch friday right here.

happy weekend everyone!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

city hall from a new perspective


yesterday i mentioned that i visited ann erdman at city hall. this magnificent reproduction of the building plans hangs in the foyer to ann's office. i thought it was quite striking - actually, i want one for my own.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

this is where the magic happens.


pasadena is fortunate to have a fantastic public information officer. she writes a very interesting blog and even hosts a weekly contest - of which i recently won! ann was extremely welcoming, and like my fellow blogger petrea, she offered to give me a tour of some of the lesser seen angles of city hall.

i liked this building before, but i like it even more now! visit ann's blog for your own chance to win a prize - and a chance to see a part of town that you don't normally get to see!

today's picture of the room in which city council meets includes my tour guide of course, as well as flags from the usa, california, pasadena, and our sister cities.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

green street restaurant


one of our favorite restaurants in town - it's a shame that i haven't given them a plug until now. you should all go.

Monday, June 08, 2009

4.7 miles back down


from the top of inspiration point we headed back down the mountain, and as you can see from the sign, we had a significant walk back down.

i hope you enjoyed journeying through echo mountain with us over the last few days.

Sunday, June 07, 2009

yucca in full bloom


such a strange plant. spiky and green on the bottom with a massive trunk that blooms brilliant white flowers.

Saturday, June 06, 2009

look here.


inspiration point includes a helpful system to locate significant landmarks in the valley below. here we see tim demonstrating the system - simply pick the destination of your choice and take a look! unfortunately the cloud cover meant that every tube pointed directly into the marine layer.

Friday, June 05, 2009

viewing the marine layer from above


at inspiration point you can get an incredible view of the san gabriel valley, but on the day we hiked up there we could only see a big pillow of cloud cover.

more skywatch friday photos can be found here.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

remains of yesteryear


the top of echo mountain contains the remnants of the mount lowe railway and the buildings and hotel that used to exist on top of the mountain. little remains beyond the foundations and some old machinery, but it is still worth checking out if you are in the area.

it is an incredible place to walk around and take in some local history.

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

unknown planet


compare this image to yesterday. can you believe this is the same hike? sure, the marine layer is still hanging in the air, but the terrain looks completely different. awesome.

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

echo mountain and inspiration point


on saturday we journeyed to the top of lake avenue and spent the day hiking in the mountains. the marine layer (or may gray if you please) stayed with us for most of the day which made for really pleasant hiking weather and really fascinating photography. over the next few days i'll share more images from our trip.

Monday, June 01, 2009

june theme day: feet


welcome to june. warm and sunny, right? only a few days left in fuller's spring quarter! time to start going to the beach to let your feet feel the sand and surf.

there are hundreds of other city daily photographers working with today's theme.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants