luther, of the north mississippi allstars

last night i had the pleasure of seeing the north mississippi allstars perform in hollywood at the avalon. more photos and my review of the show can be found here.

pasadena methodist church

i took this picture for the steeple, but there is just so much else happening here that I thought I would leave it all in. a correction has been made, this is not pasadena presbyterian, rather a methodist church.

cinema 21

there aren't many boarded up buildings in pasadena, part of the reason this building on washington blvd has caught my eye. looks like it could have been a great place to go see a movie.

south pasadena farmers market

something magical about a farmers market in the evening. go check it out if you are in the area. every thursday from 4-8pm - so much to enjoy.

nothing says organic like mac and cheese

this has to be one of the best parts of living in southern california. the local grocery store carries certified organic mac and cheese - just like mom used to make! actually it tastes pretty similar to the blue box kraft dinner, and the cost is about the same too. win win.

cityloft

readers who are new to this blog may not be aware that fridays (last friday excluded) have historically involved some kind of neon lights. this photo is from the universal citywalk - an incredible place to visit. we went to see u23d there last week. if you get a chance and are a u2 fan, go check it out.

pasadena public library

i've never seen a library like the one we have here in pasadena. high ceilings, old wood trimmings, it's amazing. and as a student, i'm here fairly often.

hollywood sky

every blog in this area probably needs its token hollywood sign shot, so here is mine. not very close to pasadena, but a big part of the area landscape.

more from griffith park

a little reflection in california

pasadena's parrots

a little known fact about pasadena is that it is home to many flocks of parrots. rumor has it that these foreign birds escaped into the wild during a fire at a bird farm. last night at the super bowl party, I got my first opportunity to snap a few pictures of these red-crowned parrots. I've seen them before, but never with camera in hand. this tree was loaded with these squawking birds.

griffith park view from the top

not exactly sure, but I think this is in the general direction of pasadena. the view is spectacular, and it is also free! if you are in the area, check it out - only a 15-20 minute drive from pasadena. having someone visit is making me aware of just how much there is to do around here.

on a side note, this week marked my 1000th visitor to the blog! thanks to everyone who has checked out "the sky is big in pasadena".

fishing off the pier

my good friend aaron is in town for a little while so we checked out santa monica pier where this shot was just waiting for me to take it. love how the sun catches the fishing lines.

february 2008 theme day: what your city is known for

This is my first attempt at daily city photo blog "theme day", other bloggers participating are found below...

Portland (OR), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Memphis (Tennessee), USA - Manila, Philippines - San Diego (CA), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - New York City (NY), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - San Francisco (CA), USA - Mumbai (Maharashtra), India - Mainz, Germany - Weston (FL), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Turin, Italy - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Bicheno, Australia - Durban, South Africa - Joplin (MO), USA - Nashville (TN), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Brussels, Belgium - Chicago (IL), USA - Montpellier, France - Seattle (WA), USA - Mazatlan, Mexico - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Toulouse, France - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Susanville (CA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Helsinki, Finland - Pilisvörösvár, Hungary - Lisbon, Portugal - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Trujillo, Peru - Dunedin (FL), USA - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - London, UK - Baziège, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Mumbai, India - Naples (FL), USA - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Setúbal, Portugal - Stayton (OR), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Arradon, France - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Athens, Greece - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Jackson (MS), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Budapest, Hungary - Rotterdam, Netherlands - St Malo, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cleveland (OH), USA - Nottingham, UK - Kansas City (MO), USA - The Hague, Netherlands - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Wrocław, Poland - Chateaubriant, France - Cheltenham, UK - Moscow, Russia - Monrovia (CA), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - Toruń, Poland - Grenoble, France - Lisbon, Portugal - New Orleans (LA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Boston (MA), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - Wichita (KS), USA - Radonvilliers, France - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Christchurch, New Zealand - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Wailea (HI), USA - Aliso Viejo (CA), USA - St Francis, South Africa - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Seattle (WA), USA - Pasadena (CA), USA - Vienna, Austria - Orlando (FL), USA - Torun, Poland - Delta (CO), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Paris, France - Stavanger, Norway - Niamey, Niger - Le Guilvinec, France - Bogor, Indonesia - Saarbrücken, Germany - Auckland, New Zealand - Wellington, New Zealand - Budapest, Hungary - Juneau (AK), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Glasgow, Scotland - Chicago (IL), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Adelaide (SA), Australia - Sydney, Australia - Riga, Latvia - Subang Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Terrell (TX), USA - Terrell (TX), USA - Inverness (IL), USA

farmers

we moved here after this store had already closed. too bad, it would have been nice to buy from farmers.

first congregational church and sky

yesterday the sky was vibrant in pasadena. it was also our first dry day in quite a little while. this is my first shot at the very beautiful "first congregational church" at the corner of los robles and walnut.

just plug it in and the commando 8 does the rest*

it struck me as odd that a big office building like this wouldn't have central air conditioning, rather each employee has to install their own window unit.

*a reference to a seinfeld episode in which kramer buys jerry a window air conditioner

disco bowling

our pmc small group went bowling at bahama lanes last night - unfortunately it turned out to be disco bowling and thus made for some blurry picture taking. this is an action shot of matt and shawna bowling at the same time.

green hills, snow-capped mountains

this amazing view was captured by my wife, meredith. it showcases something we are starting to learn about this part of southern california. in the summer when we arrived, the mountains were brown and dull but with the recent precipitation they are now either a lush green, or capped with snow. we are used to snow in the winter, but not when combined with greener landscape.

more from the parade

not sure what these are supposed to represent, but they were bright and pretty weird looking.

neon lights of a search helicopter

taken at night, this is a picture of a search helicopter. they hover around our lovely city quite often. not sure if they are looking for criminals, traffic problems, or celebrities, but they are noisy and love flashing their bright searchlights around. one night we were convinced their concentric circles started right at our fuller apartment complex.

this is probably the worst quality of a photo ever shown on my blog, but it speaks volumes about where we live and therefore until a better picture is taken, it deserves it's spot here - especially because it's such a big part of the pasadena sky.

ufo on fair oaks ave

more from the doo dah parade. this picture was kind of blurry anyway, the black and white made it look even better.

save the bees

an interesting tribute to the dangers of pesticide usage at the doo dah parade

hitchin' a ride

cyclists at the doo dah parade

to walk or ride...

it's rare, but sometimes it works better to chain the trusty steed and set out on foot. the next few posts will focus primarily on pasadena's doo dah parade - an event which I found works better on foot than on a bike.

rose bowl from above

with downtown pasadena in the distance. hopefully i can capture this shot without so much haze in the future.

art center college of design

lebanese kitchen

more pasadena neon on friday.

local citrus

brookside golf course

situated directly behind the famous rose bowl.

more from the retreat

in the game room - Meredith and Emiley vs. Lindsay and Aaron

fts

boys are mean

fun in the snow at retreat

images from pmc church retreat

at mt. kare (snow in the mountains this weekend, hot and sunny in pasadena)

staples center at night

installment #11 of friday neon

hockey at the staples center

although my maple leafs threw an incredible 50 shots toward the kings, they still lost 5-2.

greenery

with all of the recent rain, fuller's campus has become much greener

snow on our mountains

compare this shot to this image from an october entry, and you can see the difference

a fuller window

downtown from pasadena

back in pasadena...

...but the california sun was not here to greet me.

the edge of the cabin

a lack of neon from my vacation photos means that the friday tradtion gets iced.

poinsettia

christmas remains

bertucci's

dinner with friends in alexandria, va

happy new year

grand:pm played the city tv new years bash in toronto