down colorado

while crossing the crosswalk on los robles the other day i decided i wanted a shot in the middle of the street.  in my haste i neglected to hold the camera at the proper angle - but i'm actually quite happy with the result.

palm sunday peace parade

this year's version of the palm sunday peace parade (which has been happening in pasadena since the start of the iraq war - 8 years ago!) was quite possibly the largest and most interesting of all.  those in attendance had created large peace doves, hundreds of posters and banners, as well as noisemakers of all kinds.  we were privilidged to hear from james loney (the peace activist, not the dodgers firstbasemen) who shared about his experience as a non-violent peacemaker in iraq.  it was an incredible and meaningful event and made me proud to be a participant, and proud to live in a city where something like this can take place.

update: photos that a friend of mine took can be found right here.

under watchful eye of the sheep

watch out for the big ram!

p.f. chang's

this one is for my friend jon, who happens work here.

and, i apologize as i've never been to a p.f. chang's restaurant.

porto alegre

i've never been to this brazilian barbecue restaurant in the paseo colorado shopping center, but i hear it isn't for the faint of heart - plenty of roasted meats, and all you can eat quantities. 

don't look now, but today is 1 - 11 - 11.  fun stuff!

paseo fountain

up on the second level of the paseo colorado shopping complex is this beautiful plaza and fountain which always catches my eye as we walk on by.

deck the halls

the paseo colorado shopping complex is currently undergoing its seasonal changes - christmas decorations, and even a giant menorah (see it across the way?).

it was interesting to see the tree being decorated by a boom lift truck - is your tree big enough to need one of those?

arclight sky

paseo colorado's movie theater gives us the backdrop for today's skywatch friday photo.

pasadena's newest theater

the mosaic park sign series is in the rear-view mirror. are you still following the sky is big in pasadena?? thanks for sticking with me!

arclight cinemas recently transformed the theater complex at paseo colorado into one of their marquee upscale theater-going experiences. thanks to a heads up over at hometown pasadena, i was able to snag a media pass to check out what they had done with the place.


yes, the movie was free, and yes they did butter us up with plenty of free hors d'oeuvres and popcorn, but never-the-less, we had a great time. the theater now offers plenty of legroom and wider armrests (something a big guy like me appreciates), and the picture quality was excellent. seating is reserved - you select the seat you want when you buy your ticket - and the theater is staffed with ushers to make sure that no one is talking on their cell phone or disturbing the other movie-goers.

the full bar was not yet up and running, but we were able to try a beverage from their excellent coffee bar.


even the pricing is not as outlandish as i was expecting (approx. $11-$15, depending on when you go and whether you qualify for a child or senior discount). certainly this isn't like going to the $3 theater down the street, but for the extra money you do get a wonderful movie-going experience. the re-decorating is really very tasteful and the atmosphere is certainly more on the date night side of things rather than the teenage hang-out, at least compared to the former tenant.

paseo colorado plaza sky

welcome to another installment of skywatch friday (more of which can be found at this fantastic website).

by the way - pasadena is about to experience a really cool event - old pasadena restaurant week. check it out, it's for a good cause.

oh, and one more thing - i'm working on a future bike ride. follow my journey here.

paseo colorado from another angle

i recently showed this clock tower from a different perspective, but i like this one too. you can catch a glimpse of a banner advertising the recent art night which petrea and ann profiled so well last week.

more skywatch friday here.

five twenty six

another view of the paseo colorado shopping plaza and the clock tower. note that you can just make out rubio's - a favorite fast food chain that we never got to experience while living on the east coast. gotta love the fish taco!

watching the fountain

these two little boys seemed pretty captivated with the fountain at paseo colorado.

a cry for gaza

i attended a protest last night at the paseo shopping plaza that was being held because of the most recent outbreak of violence in gaza. meredith and i visited israel/palestine back in early 2007 and were truly impacted by what we saw there. true, the palestinian side is not without fault, but what the state of israel is doing in the name of peace is truly unimaginable.

if you want to learn more, last night's protest was organized by some people from this website. as they mention there, palestinians in the west bank and gaza strip live in an odd and oppressive limbo. they have no nation, no citizenship, and no ultimate power over their own lives.

of course we must always be reminded that conflict in this region is nothing new as this amazing website shows. however, we should never forget the persecuted, no matter how volitile their history has been - arab and jew alike.

friday night lights

this is the last image from a series that started on monday following the pasadena art walk.

lights are strung up at the paseo shopping plaza throughout the year, but this art night banner was added for the weekend event.

okay, this is kind of a weak friday neon post, but i was struggling to fit it into my theme for the week.

a night out at bodega

congrats alethia!