chip off the old burrito

definitely one of my favorite fast food choices. chipotle mexican grill has quite a bit going for it besides its recent move to cut ties with parent company mcdonalds. yes it sports a trendy look, sponsors a cycling team, has delicious food, and a simple menu, but they are also committed to local produce, family farms, and naturally raised chicken.

apparently october 31 is free burrito day (as long as you wear some tinfoil into the store).

more metal

here is an image i was considering for this month's theme day. this metal cocoon sits at the corner of el molino and walnut. i'm sure there is a name for this sculpture, but i don't know it... does anyone out there know?

update: thanks to palm axis for informing me that this artwork is by mark lere.

wanna buy a hat?

this looks like the place to do so. friday neon brought to you a day late. enjoy!

august 2008 theme day: metal

the ironworkers office plaza on el molino has this very rugged sign out front. it screams metal, doesn't it? a huge steel beam.

faithful readers of this blog may notice that today is friday, and that usually means a taste of pasadena neon. i'll try and come up with something for tomorrow to fill the neon void in your life created by today's theme day post :)

138 other bloggers are interpreting "metal" today. check them out below:

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Albuquerque (NM), USA by Helen, Aliso Viejo (CA), USA by Rodney, American Fork (UT), USA by Annie, Anderson (SC), USA by Lessie, Ararat, Australia by freefalling, Arradon, France by Alice, Aspen (CO), USA by IamMBB, Athens, Greece by Debbie, Auckland, New Zealand by Baruch, Auckland, New Zealand by Lachezar, Austin (TX), USA by LB, Bandung, Indonesia by Harry Makertia, Bandung, Indonesia by Eki Akhwan, Bandung, Indonesia by Bunyamin, Barrow-in-Furness, UK by Enitharmon, Barton (VT), USA by Andree, Bellefonte (PA), USA by Barb-n-PA, Bicheno, Australia by Greg, Birmingham (AL), USA by VJ, Bogor, Indonesia by Gagah, Boston (MA), USA by Cluelessinboston, Brantford (ON), Canada by Nancy, Bucharest, Romania by Malpraxis, Budapest, Hungary by Zannnie and Zsolt, Budapest, Hungary by agrajag, Budapest, Hungary by Isadora, Buenos Aires, Argentina by Karine, Canterbury, UK by Rose, Chandler (AZ), USA by Melindaduff, Château-Gontier, France by Laurent, Chateaubriant, France by Bergson, Cheltenham, UK by Marley, Chennai, India by Ram N, Chesapeake (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Cincinnati, USA by Erik Laursen, City of the Blue Mountains, Australia by Richard, Corsicana (TX), USA by Lake Lady, East Gwillimbury, Canada by Your EG Tour Guide, Edinburgh, UK by Dido, Edmonton (AL), Canada by , Evry, France by Olivier, Folkestone, UK by Piskie, Forks (WA), USA by Corinne, Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA by Gigi, Gabriola, Canada by Snapper, Geneva (IL), USA by Kelly, Greenville (SC), USA by Denton, Grenoble, France by Bleeding Orange, Gun Barrel City (TX), USA by Lake Lady, Hamilton, New Zealand by Sakiwi, Hampton (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Haninge, Sweden by Steffe, Hanoi, Vietnam by Jérôme, Helsinki, Finland by Kaa, Hobart, Australia by Greg, Hyde, UK by Old Hyde, Hyde, UK by Gerald, Jackson (MS), USA by Halcyon, Jefferson City (MO), USA by Chinamom2005, Jerusalem, Israel by Esther, Kansas City (MO), USA by Cate B, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by Edwin, Kyoto, Japan by Tadamine, Lakewood (OH), USA by mouse, Larchmont (NY), USA by Marie-Noyale, Las Vegas (NV), USA by Mo, Leipzig, Germany by weltbeschreiber, Lisbon, Portugal by Sailor Girl, Lisbon, Portugal by Maria João, London, UK by Ham, London, UK by Mo, Lynchburg (VA), USA by June, Mainz, Germany by JB, Manila, Philippines by Heyokity, Mashhad, Iran by Meead, Melbourne, Australia by John, Melbourne, Australia by Mblamo, Menton, France by Jilly, Mesa (AZ), USA by Mesa Daily Photo, Mexico City, Mexico by Carraol, Middletown (MD), USA by Bernie, Milwaukee (WI), USA by karl, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Scott, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Mitch, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Greg, Misawa, Japan by misawa mama, Molfetta, Italy by saretta, Monte Carlo, Monaco by Jilly, Monterrey, Mexico by rafa, Mumbai, India by MumbaiiteAnu, Mumbai, India by Magiceye, Nancy, France by yoshi, Nashville (TN), USA by Chris, Nelson, New Zealand by Meg and Ben, New Delhi, India by Delhi Photo Diary, New Orleans (LA), USA by steve buser, New York City (NY), USA by Ming the Merciless, New York City (NY), USA by • Eliane •, New York City (NY), USA by Kitty, Newport News (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Norfolk (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Norwich, UK by Goddess888, Ocean Township (NJ), USA by Josy, Oklahoma City (OK), USA by ananda.tashie, Orlando (FL), USA by OrlFla, Owasso (OK), USA by Jennifer, Palos Verdes (CA), USA by tash, Paris, France by Eric, Pasadena (CA), USA by Can8ianben, Pasadena (CA), USA by Petrea, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia by Murphy_jay, Petoskey (MI), USA by Christie, Philadelphia (PA), USA by Stephanie Craig, Phoenix (AZ), USA by Cheryl, Phoenix (AZ), USA by Sharon, Pilisvörösvár, Hungary by Elise, Port Angeles (WA), USA by Jelvistar, Port Vila, Vanuatu by Mblamo, Portsmouth (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Prague, Czech Republic by Honza03, Pretoria, South Africa by Sam-Ruth, Quezon City, Philippines by ann pablo, Quincy (MA), USA by slim, Ramsey, Isle of Man by babooshka, Rancho Palos Verdes (CA), USA by Sarah Adams, Riga, Latvia by Riga Photos, Rotterdam, Netherlands by Ineke, Rouen, France by Bbsato, Saigon, Vietnam by Simon, Saint Louis (MO), USA by Strangetastes, Saint Paul (MN), USA by Kate, Salem (OR), USA by jill, Salt Lake City (UT), USA by atc, San Antonio (TX), USA by Kramer, San Diego (CA), USA by Felicia, San Francisco (CA), USA by PFranson, Schenectady (NY), USA by Buck, Seattle (WA), USA by Kim, Seattle (WA), USA by Chuck, Seguin (TX), USA by Thien, Selma (AL), USA by RamblingRound, Sequim (WA), USA by Eponabri, Sesimbra, Portugal by Aldeia, Setúbal, Portugal by Maria Elisa, Sharon (CT), USA by Jenny, Singapore, Singapore by Zannnie, Singapore, Singapore by Keropok, Sofia, Bulgaria by Antonia, South Pasadena (CA), USA by Laurie, Springfield (IL), USA by Aubrey, Stanwood (WA), USA by MaryBeth, Stavanger, Norway by Tanty, Stayton (OR), USA by Celine, Stockholm, Sweden by Stromsjo, Stouffville, Canada by Ken, Subang Jaya, Malaysia by JC, Suffolk (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Sunshine Coast, Australia by bitingmidge, Sydney, Australia by Ann, Sydney, Australia by Sally, Sydney, Australia by Julie, Székesfehérvár, Hungary by Teomo, Tamarindo, Costa Rica by David, Tempe (AZ), USA by angie, Terrell (TX), USA by Jim K, Tokyo, Japan by Tadamine, Torun, Poland by Torun Observer, Torun, Poland by Glenn, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina by Jazzy, Twin Cities (MN), USA by Slinger, Victoria, Canada by Benjamin Madison, Vienna, Austria by G_mirage2, Villigen, Switzerland by z, Virginia Beach (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Wailea (HI), USA by Kuanyin, Washington (DC), USA by D.C. Confidential, Wellington, New Zealand by Jeremyb, West Paris (ME), USA by crittoria, West Sacramento (CA), USA by Barbara, Weston (FL), USA by WestonDailyPhoto, Williamsburg (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Willits (CA), USA by Elaine, Yardley (PA), USA by Mrlynn,

more infringement of my rights...

okay, this isn't the first time we've talked about this on my blog or on other photo blogs, but it happened again, and this time it got a little crazy.

this image is of pasadena towers - an impressive building with a some fascinating mosaic artwork right under the entry arch. this artwork was so eye catching that i pulled out my camera to take a picture - from my justified location on the sidewalk. as i raised my camera an employee raced up to me and the following took place:

1. she demanded that i delete the image i just took (even though i had not taken one yet)
2. she requested to see the photos on my camera
3. she informed me that if i took an image she would call the police
4. she told me that she didn't want me to get in trouble, so i better just leave

of course i informed her politely that she needed to tell me why i was not allowed to take a picture in a public location. i reiterated that i was allowed to take a picture while i was on the sidewalk. i encouraged her to notify the police so that she could learn why it was legal for me to take a picture.

i really should have stayed around and pressed the issue further, but due to time limitations i left without resolving anything, or taking a picture (at least not the one i wanted). it was pretty fun to argue knowing that i was in the right and that employee had little to stand on.

petrea (of pasadena daily photo) has already pointed me toward this website. my plan is to print off that very helpful document (which hints that this particular person could be charged for harassing me!) and return to the scene of the crime (?) and try again to get that photo.

5.8, or 5.4 - whatever, it still shook us up.

thankfully no one was hurt, and very little damage occurred across la county. still, our first big earthquake since moving to to pasadena almost a year ago, and one that was felt as far away as san diego and las vegas. amazingly it was important enough for the bbc to report on it.

no, i didn't take this while the earth was shaking. i was actually in class and didn't have the camera or the sense to snap off a photo. so when i got home i tried to recreate an image that would give off the feeling of what we felt.

centinal over at foothill cities blog has some fantastic links regarding the quake. i especially like the one about the google searching done shortly after it happened.

300 south raymond

this building exterior caught my eye. i think the brickwork on the front is really fascinating. i have very little idea what this business provides or does. is it a store or a factory? anyone out there in pasadena-land know? fyi - this image was taken with my old camera.

concert at levitt pavilion

memorial park is the home of pasadena's summer concerts under the stars. these free concerts happen from wednesday to sunday, every week during the summer from june to august. last night was out first taste, and it left us wanting to come back for more. great family fun, lots of picnics, lawn chairs, and blankets, and most importantly - great music. last night featured ricardo lemvo & the makina loca who spent the evening showing us their fantastic blend of latin and african influences.

an update from the mortimer levitt foundation: there is another levitt pavilion in macarthur park that also offers 50 concerts free of charge in an outdoor setting similar to pasadena. visit levittla.org

thanks for the heads up!

the salvation army is in good company

this spot near the one colorado shopping area makes me chuckle every time i walk by. it's funny that the first meeting location of the salvation army is now populated by a variety of female mannequins. hope you enjoy it as much as i do!

hibiscus!

if only i knew my plants a little better. these make me think of what hula girls wear in their hair, or from the pattern on so many boarder shorts. but they grow on our street and made for a great picture.

once again faithful readers, i need your help to identify what flower is pictured. (it only took an anonymous poster 2 hours to give me what I needed!)

photo request #6: roscoe's chicken n waffles

not a whole lot of neon going on in this one, but enough to count as a friday photo. we still have yet to visit this interesting establishment, but i'm sure we'll get there someday. roscoe's is kind of a chain restaurant, they have several locations around l.a. including this one on lake avenue in pasadena.

this photo was requested by the fabulous dc confidential blog. head on over and look around, janet has some fantastic pictures!

oh, and in case you were wondering, this was taken a little while ago with my old camera.

and we're back!

the new camera arrived today, and here's its first offering. city hall from a new angle. hope you like it. many more to come i'm sure.

speaking of city halls, there is currently a city hall photo contest happening. to learn more check out this website.

home sweet home (part 2)

here we have the summer version of this image taken in december of the lane way at my parents farm. my sister's wedding took place on this lawn.

i work with corn

one more picture from the wedding. dave and felicia met at rouge river farms, growers of some of the finest sweet corn in ontario. we knew their guest list included many current and former employees, including two owners of the business, but we didn't know how big the group was until we got everyone together for a picture. pretty amazing, we made up about 20% of the guests at the party.

congrats!

my little sister got married this weekend at the family farm. in spite of a little rain (which isn't ironic on your wedding day at all), the day was wonderful. i'm proud of you two!

note: check out the amazing new photoblog in town - glimpses of south pasadena

the end of the line

the gold line that is. the final stop on the metro is supposed to eventually head on to the east, but for now it ends at sierra madre villa, right in the middle of the 210 highway.

pasadena palms

thai dishes

one of the first places we ate at in pasadena. we tried it when we were on a school visit to fuller based on the recommendation of our friend's, emiley and joel. it was a great recommendation, and now i'll pass it on to you if you have not been yet. happy friday!

tomorrow is my sister's wedding. not sure if i'll have any photos up this weekend, but you can be sure i'll have some by monday (i hope!).

get your kicks - just don't kick me

colorado blvd and the playhouse district are historic for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that they belong to route 66.

the donut man in glendora, ca

if you are ever out that way, track down a fresh fruit donut (peach or strawberry depending on the season) from the donut man. you won't regret it! make it a bike ride from pasadena and burn off the calories you take in from this beast of a donut.

note: tim has already finished part of his donut in this picture.

the last image...

during a game of mini-golf i dropped my camera. this is the last image it took. as you can see, my buddy mike is giving me the thumbs up sign noting his excitement that the camera is actually working... however it was the last time it did so.

stouffville mennos fast pitch

softball isn't just for girls. i grew up playing fast pitch softball - which is pretty rare in the us of a, but pretty normal for southern ontario. this team is at the intermediate level and several of my good friends play on the team. the name is in reference to a connection with several of the local mennonite churches, although the affiliation is pretty loose.

greetings from stouffville, ontario!

main street, stouffville.

this town is growing, and so is the traffic. this image is relatively clear from the hustle and bustle, which is the way i remember this town. click on the image and you can see that the canadian flags are still up from the canada day weekend and the strawberry festival.

i may be treading on ken's territory here with his fantastic stouffville daily photo, but i'm here, so i'm taking pictures...

...at least i was until my camera broke. anyone have any suggestions on a new one? although i love taking pictures, i think i'm going to stick with a digital point and shoot instead of going with a slr body and a bunch of lenses (no money for that now).

sunset over dodger stadium

from a game we went to this week against the braves - sadly a blowout for the away team.

pasadena hotel

i can't find much about this place, but it is acceptable material for my friday neon quest. anyone know anything about it? it looks like it could have some stories...

holly street bar & grill

located on holly street, all decked out in ivy, this pasadena landmark always makes me turn my head. i'm not quite convinced this is the best image I could take, so i'm sure you'll see more of it in the future.

pasadena neon is on the schedule for tomorrow, then a break from pasadena with some pictures of southern ontario for the weekend.

what's the hang up?

i was struck with the rainbow pattern of these hangers in the container store on fair oaks.

heading out of town today. i'll be gone for a week and a half for my little sister's wedding. hopefully i'll have some photos to post from that event, as well as some from my home area (ontario, canada). until then, this thing is on autopilot. keep those comments rolling in, but please behave while i'm gone!

better than a rooster

this isn't the first time i've posted about pasadena's parrots. lately we've been finding our neighborhood parrots to be especially squawky. they seem to know exactly when people don't want them to be making noise. can you see the parrot in this photo? he's in the upper half, right about the middle looking down at me taking his picture at the bottom of this tree. click on the image for a closer look. i don't think we have any fruit trees around, so i'm not sure why they like our building so much.

up close and personal with city hall

it has been a little while since city hall made an appearance (don't feel too bad, it gets featured a lot!). so today she is back. this one is inspired by petrea's quest for superfluous details. i think it qualifies.

ben and the blue jays

last night i got to hang out and play catch with a few of my friends on the toronto blue jays...

not really, but i was close enough to get a picture of the relief pitchers in the bullpen. oh, and the blue jays won, and eugene and i found free tickets to a sold out game at angel stadium - just as we were about to head home. all in all a pretty great night. this image isn't really pasadena related, but its not too far. about 40 minutes if traffic is good.

a side note: the jays and angels were wearing commemorative patriotic weekend hats - compare this and this to what they normally wear here and here.

i promised a picture of city hall, but i bumped it for this. stay tuned tomorrow when i promise there really will be a picture of city hall.

photo request #5: fireworks over the rose bowl

michael coppess, of the impressive east of allen blog, gets his second photo request granted. last night we saw the impressive rose bowl fire work show from the hills of the surrounding area. if you click on the image you can even make out city hall to the left side of the image in the background - a photo of which i'll be posting tomorrow. the photo below turned out well with people included right about the time the finale began.


the offer is still out there. if you see something from around pasadena you want featured on this blog, just drop me a comment and i'll see what i can do. is there a part of pasadena that is getting overlooked? let's try and correct that.

oh, and if you want to see some video from the evening, you can see it here.

russell's

happy yankee independence day everyone.

we've never been to russell's, but I like their neon sign and the fact that they've been in pasadena for a long time!

dinner with friends

some of our friends from virginia are visiting pasadena this week on their cross-country tour. it was great to have dinner with traci, beth, and carissa. we ended up going to the kitchen, a fantastic little italian eatery in old town. oh, and it was matt and shawna's aniversary. congrats you two! happy to celebrate with you.

the patagonia of yesteryear

what is it about sepia tone that makes things look old? I took this image this week, but it looks like it is from another era (aside from the modern vehicles).

on another note, thank you so much for all of the lovely comments yesterday! more comments than any post has ever received on this blog. so many wonderful things said, i can't express how much that makes me want to continue to keep this thing running. thanks once again, you're all so charming.

july 2008 theme day: "no . . ." signs

first of all, happy canada day to my fellow canadians out there. second, a happy theme day to all those daily photo bloggers out there. 172 other blogs are working with this theme today - can't wait to see what they all have come up with!

this photo is of the parking lot at my local 99 cents only store which apparently has a problem with shopping carts going missing and people just standing around. no - loitering, trespassing, and even shopping cart theft! in fact, this seems to be an issue all over los angeles county as you see them abandoned or in use all over the area. readers of this blog from the very beginning may recognize certain elements of this picture as appearing on this blog before (see here, here, and here).

check out the other interpretations of "no . . ." signs right here:

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

life in technicolor

moving along orange grove blvd at dusk.

aaron proctor has a great review of the blogger party right here.

portrait of two bloggers

yesterday i had the privaledge of attending the 4th san gabriel valley blogger picnic, held at the historic aztec hotel in monrovia. not only did i meet some of my fellow bloggers, but i finally connected with my fellow city daily photo blogger, petrea of pasadena daily photo (her blog is fantastic by the way, go check it out if you haven't already).

great to meet everyone in attendance, and a big thanks to our hosts at the aztec.

a fantastic event, i can't wait to go to the next one.

tower with clouds

located close to the intersection of hudson and del mar, this tower rises above everything in the area. my best guess is that it is some kind of radio tower, but i have nothing to back that up with. i should have looked around and done a bit more investigation. do any pasadenians out there have any insight?

a-american storage co.

the friday neon quest continues. pasadena is full of these bright signs adding to the unnatural nighttime glow over los angeles county.

the desirable colorado street bridge

the photo from which the banner image at the top of this blog was cropped gets seen every day, but has never been featured as a daily photo. due to some recent events, it deserves to make it's debut today.

long story short, earlier this week i was contacted by an online company who apologized for stealing the title banner image from the top of my blog and using it on their site. an intern had "borrowed" my work and passed it off as their own. fortunately the company was honest enough to inform me because i probably would have never seen the picture in use. it turned out to be random chance that they stumbled upon my blog and found the controversial image. the situation was resolved and the image was taken down but it raises an interesting question - how do you protect your online photography?

adding a watermark seems to tarnish the artwork, and even those can be airbrushed out. should we just take it as a form of flattery when our work is used, regardless of if permission is obtained? and what should the consequences be if you discover that someone has stolen your image? i'd love to hear your comments on this issue. let's get a discussion going on this.

burlington arcade perspective

two city daily photo bloggers in the same town means you're bound to photograph the same thing from time to time. petrea just posted a similar pic two weeks ago but our two images prove how personal perspective changes photography. amazing how things like lighting, angle, time of day, camera, photographer, all change the image that is captured.

i think pasadena can handle several more photo blogs (no rhyme or reason and green tea, etc. are two of my favs). get out there and take pictures, and let us all know where you post them!

backside in black and white

i'm not sure how to explain this one.

last night, while walking, i took out my camera and my good friend (and very funny guy) tim struck a pose. i don't often take pictures of people but this one is a keeper. it turned out kind of blurry, but i think that adds to the spontaneity of the shot. oh, and the backwards glance from his fellow walkers is a nice touch too.

tim - i told you i would post this.

casting directors - give tim a movie already.

210 from the wilson overpass

i played with the color on this one, i'm happy with the way it turned out.

"watanga ma tula pum"

when i was 10 my family spent a year in a tiny village in northern ghana doing mission work. the only phrase i remember clearly in mampruli (the local dialect) is the title of today's post. it means "the sun is very hot" - which is fitting because the sun has been very hot in pasadena lately. yesterday i went out for a bike ride at 5:30 and my laptop informed me that it was 102 degrees. the high yesterday was 108. today we're expecting a much calmer 97. at least it isn't very humid here.

capitol dome

i don't consider myself to be a very patriotic person (at least not toward the usa), but it's hard not to be when you visit dc. for the first time ever i toured the capitol building and even sat in the gallery for a little while. it was a cool addition to my lobbying with bread for the world - a different way of visiting the capital.

i'm back in pasadena now. a great trip, but it's good to be home. i've posted some photos of my trip here if you want to see a few shots from my week.

community?

i love the concept of community. i have no idea what community bank stands for, but it sounds lovely :) happy friday!

back in pasadena tomorrow, it will be good to be home.

the norton simon museum

i haven't been, but my wife claims that it is a fantastic art museum. pasadena has quite selection of museums for a town of this size, i'm sad to say there are quite a few i still have yet to visit.

this is a post office?

my wife meredith discovered that the pasadena post office is something i needed to blog about. the stained glass ceiling alone (photo above) is worth going in to check out. for those of you who have lived in pasadena for a while, or grew up around here this is probably old news, but i was blown away by the sight inside.

checking in from washington dc

hey there faithful blog readers. just a quick post from my trip to the nation's capital. i'm here for a bread for the world conference (you should check them out, they do amazing stuff), and have been living at the lovely catholic university of america campus. this building is the impressive basilica of the national shrine of the immaculate conception - quite a mouthful, i know.