we are not an agency

those who hung these fliers on the top of this lamp post seriously want people to understand that they are NOT an agency.  i thought i'd pass their interesting message along.

today i'm venturing out to burbank with a few loyal friends to experience the baseball reliquary's "ball four turns forty" event.  i really can't wait!

pasadena police - the chase is on!

while walking with the baby a few weeks ago, i was passed by a fleet of police vehicles.  there must have been about ten of them, all driving with the pedal to the floor.  these were the only two i caught by the time i pulled out my camera.  the composition of the photo isn't the greatest, but i like the movement that came out in this shot.

mailed

a little red sports car in front of our beautiful post office building on colorado blvd.

roadster at the westin

a classic car hanging out in pasadena's westin hotel.

cd sunday: dave matthews band's crash

the second installment of my top 20 favorite albums brings me to another old favorite.  this album entered my collection at some point in high school.  my good friend jeff plays the drums and bought dmb drummer carter beauford's under the table and drumming dvd.  i had always dismissed dave matthews band for their jam band image, but after watching that dvd i was mesmorized both with beauford's drumming, and the music that they were creating.

jeff recommended that i get this album first, and it wasn't long before i bought all the dmb albums i could find.  but crash remained one of my favorites.  for starters, this is one incredibly talented band.  they are doing stuff on this album that just wasn't done at the time it came out.  they were writing clever and creative music that included strings, and a sax, on top of the traditional drums, bass, guitar, and each were so gifted.

my first roommate in college showed me that during their heyday, you were either a lover or a hater.  i the former, he the latter.  he couldn't understand how anyone could like dave matthews band.  maybe it is too technical?  maybe they lack the radio hit formula?  maybe some of the songs go on too long?

whatever the reason, i loved this album from the get go.  songs that still stand out to me are "let you down", "tripping billies", and of course "cry freedom" came in to new light after my trip to south africa.

i'll be back next weekend with more of my top 20 favorite albums of all time.

1. u2 - the joshua tree

revisiting the castle green

one of old town pasadena's marquee buildings, the castle green has a storied history - and has taken up quite a few photos here at the sky is big in pasadena.

a little slice of americana...

...right down the street in pasadena.

what a lovely place to live!

welcome to vancouver 2010

i sure was proud of my home country last night while the opening ceremonies of the 2010 winter olympic games were being broadcast. this photo is from our trip to vancouver this past fall.

i'm really looking forward to see what this canadian team can do, and along with most of canada - hoping that team canada can win hockey gold! on the downside - i feel like my quick browsing of nbc's coverage on the west coast shows that i'm not going to get to watch much of the canadian teams performing in their best sports - hockey and curling.

just hungry

on any given night in the city of pasadena, an estimated 1,165 people are homeless.*

unfortunately, pasadena has many homeless people, and many people who make their living by begging on the street. i admit that i struggle with how to respond. on the one hand, the money handed out to people like this often encourage begging to take place. on the other hand, living a life like this can't be very rewarding, no matter how much money you are earning.

i was struck by how young this guy was. he could easily be my age. i can't tell if the smirk on this guy's face was because he knew i was taking his picture, or if i simply caught him thinking about something happy. either way, it didn't last long, as a police officer arrived soon after i took the photo to ask him to leave.

my ethics are built on the teachings of jesus - especially things like the sermon on the mount. i believe we are called to reach out to those on the margins of society in whatever way we can. in this photo i wanted to demonstrate the pain of life on the street, but his expression totally changed the way the photo came out. i was reminded of the beatitudes and how difficult they are to understand. one in particular - blessed are the hungry - maybe this guy understands more about that than i will ever know.

mixed messages?

freeway entrance and do not enter. love it.

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).

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!

climbing up lake avenue

this photo is actually above pasadena - in altadena actually - a town which some of my fellow area bloggers recently raved about.

sunday sunset

here's hoping that everyone had a wonderful weekend!

driving home from arizona

i took this shot on our way home from a week of spring training baseball games. time to get back to work taking pictures of pasadena. spring quarter begins on monday - best of luck to all those fuller seminary students out there!

need a permit?

then you need to go here. the city of pasadena permit center is located near this building, this building, and this building. and unlike this building, it is beautiful and fits in perfectly with its neighbors.

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.

objects in mirror

closer inspection of this photo shows that the reflection also includes a reflection of the sky and palm trees in the car window. reflecting reflections - what a cool concept!

introducting castle green (day 4)

for those fortunate enough to visit the castle green, the architecture stretches all the way out to the street to greet your arrival. this gazebo like structure showcases the castle green name, and gives a great lookout post for those wanting to do a little people watching.

for more info on the castle green, check out the website and wikipedia entry.

update: thanks to mr. earl for pointing out that this used to stretch across the road to a second building!

los robles and walnut