one more from washington

a nice walk with friends to finish up our trip to the northwest.

give thanks

my sister has critiqued my blog for not having enough photos with people in them.  well, i figured this one would satisfy for a little while!  this photo is of a recent fondue night with our good friends.  i'm thankful for many things in my life, but food, friends, and family are a good place to start.

have a very happy thanksgiving!

oh yeah, and fondue night with our friends was way too fun.  does anyone else feel like you do not do stuff like this often enough?

cd saturday: led zeppelin's iv

last year we took a hike with some friends on echo mountain.  the day started out hazy and misty.  you might even say it was a misty mountain hop.  okay, i know, i'm stretching a bit, but when i thought about what picture to use for today's album review, this one seemed like the perfect choice.


i want to start off by saying how much i regret putting an album on this list that includes one of the most overplayed songs in the history of pop music.  never the less, this is an album that deserves to make my top 20 favorite albums list.

when i play zeppelin's prog. rock masterpiece, i think of a few things.  first, it reminds me of sitting around with friends (especially mike and steve) trying to duplicate the sounds we were hearing on our own instruments, or simply tapping or clapping out the rhythms.  second, it makes me think of the incredible way that john bonham's drumming shapes my enjoyment of this record (especially on "black dog").  third, it makes me realize how different this album is to ANYTHING else i own or listen to.  zeppelin was a band that was ground breaking and revolutionary in ways that have never quite been duplicated.

this album only has eight tracks, and they are all incredibly good (if not for one particular track being a bit overplayed).  ones that stand out - favorites - are the aforementioned "misty mountain hop" and "black dog", as well as their take on the beautiful song "when the levee breaks".

this is a classic album, and i'm sure many of you feel the same way.  to take a look at the other 16 albums i've reviewed so far on my way to my 20 favorite albums, check out the list below.

1. u2 - the joshua tree
2. dave matthews band - crash
3. cake - comfort eagle
4. blue rodeo - five days in july
5. the beach boys - pet sounds
6. coldplay - viva la vida
7. weezer - pinkerton
8. mates of state - re-arrange us
9. radiohead - ok computer 
10. nickel creek - this side
11. u2 - how to dismantle an atomic bomb 
12. the beatles - the white album 
13. sloan - one chord to another 
14. o.a.r. - risen
15. paul simon - graceland 
16. jack johnson - brushfire fairytales

the zataar factory

the other day while out on a bike ride through burbank, we discovered the zataar factory - a fantastic little bakery that specializes in lebanese flat bread and savory middle-eastern treats. the above picture is of "the zataar special" - zataar spice, cheese, egg, olives, tomatoes, and fresh mint. oh my!

march theme day: passageway

i promised to spend this week showing a few pictures from my first experience seeing a concert at beckman auditorium. this image is the passageway into the building with its massive stairways.

as usual on the first of every month, today's theme day is being explored by bloggers around the world.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants




one more thing today,

my home and native land is still celebrating from this moment... oh, canada!

head on out for a bike ride with friends

if only it would stop raining on the weekend.

enjoy your super bowl sunday! i'll be making these for the big game.

january theme day #2: best photo from 2009

city daily photo (of which i'm a proud member) typically has theme days on the first of the month. this month is a little different, as they are asking members to use the 15th of january to re-post their favorite photo from this past year.

as i looked back through my year in photos, i had several choices. some were photos of meaningful experiences or significant sporting events, others were photos of significant pasadena moments, while others i just liked the artistic value. the one i chose combines all of these things - good times with friends, in a pasadena setting, with a picturesque artistic value. it is a fun picture, and i really like it. and thus, is my best photo from 2009. for those who are curious, it was posted all the way back on january 28th.

you can also check out what all of the other bloggers selected.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

thanksgiving wrap-up

thursday was a wonderful day. a bike ride in the morning followed by a turkey frying experience and then capped off with a fantastic afternoon and evening of food, friends, and fellowship.

this is what happens when you blow bubblegum on your bicycle

thanks for the candid moment, ryan.

one more from our grand adventure

here is another shot of the breathtaking imagery we found while visiting the grand canyon last week. we had a great time with our friends and can't wait for our next camping/hiking adventure!

heading out for a hike

we're hitting the road this evening for a long weekend trip with some friends to the grand canyon. we've never been and we're pretty excited! i'm sure i'll have plenty of photos to post when we get home, but until then, enjoy a few pasadena photos.

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.

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.

welcome to bike week!

hey there pasadena. this week is pasadena's annual bike week. it includes a wide variety of events and bike rides, and city residents are encouraged to get out and ride their bicycles - to work, around town, or just around the block.

go have fun! and for details about this week, check out the website.

oh, and this picture was taken during our recent epic bike ride.

the epic ride.

on saturday i embarked on the most challenging bike ride of my life. i was joined by my wife and 4 of our good friends on a journey into the san gabriel mountain range. we headed out to duarte and headed north on route 39, where we proceeded to climb for 30 miles until we reached highway 2, which we took back down to pasadena.

this picture is a shot of the ladies of our group. if you click on it, you can almost make out three cyclists along the road, just beginning the worst of the climb.

over the next few days i'll share more about our adventure. in the meantime, check out a version of the route we did, and if you are up for a laugh, click on "show elevation". we are hardcore.

rollin' into south pasadena

we got two 30+ mile rides in this weekend. one of them took us over the bridge which crosses over the 110 from highland park to south pasadena (where this photo was taken).

march theme day: glass

today's theme day image is from the other night while out at the bodega with friends celebrating someone finding a new job (truly something to celebrate in today's world). it was shot through a mirror on a glassy surface. glasses of wine, glasses of beer, glass candle holders, it is all very glassy.

there are a bunch of other city daily photo bloggers working with the theme of glass. you can see them all by clicking below.

click here to view thumbnails for all participants

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.

a ride across the bridge with friends

this shot is from a recent ride with our friends. perfectly pasadenian with a view of the colorado street bridge, as well as the old hotel.

climbing holly street

holly street bridge is one of the many connecting points for the two banks of the arroyo seco. if you choose to bike on this road, come from the opposite direction. it's more fun to go down hill!