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.

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.

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

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.

pasadena city hall on the horizon

for more skywatch friday photos, click here. happy weekend!

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.

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.

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...

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

shish kabab and falafel along washington

i've never been, but i need to correct that.

follow me this week as i ride my bike to 5 minor league ballparks in 5 days.

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!

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!

power lines

clean and simple image. 'nuf said.

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!

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.