los angeles beer festival review

i'm going to pronounce it a smashing success. $40 got you in the door, a festival tasting glass, and all the 4 ounce samples you wanted (provided that the brewery didn't run out of your favorite beer).

several los angeles brewers were showcased including skyscraper, the bruery, bootleggers, and angel city (shown above). while previously i had critisized the planners for including budweiser and some other larger breweries, the festival had a great selection of really creative and tasty beers.

this picture makes me chuckle - this is a beer festival, yet you can see a spiderman poster, a guy on his cell phone, bottles of mineral water, and of course sunglasses - soooooooo los angeles.

boy

another classic example of a photo i was about to delete, but for some reason it caught my eye. i was trying to snap a picture of the building in the background, while i rode my bicycle. i didn't notice the boy until i got home, and it took a little cropping to coax this one into the finished product. i'm happy with how it turned out.

arched framing: the bridge and the building

two pasadena icons in the same photo. both have been featured on this blog from time to time, and quite often together - although rarely like today's photo.

and quickly - tomorrow is the annual palm sunday peace parade that my church organizes. you can see my photos of last year's event right here. and you can learn more about the event by checking out this recent article from pasadena weekly.

consider this your invitation to make a statement and join the parade.

pasadena from the south

i snagged this shot from the water tower hill in south pasadena while out on a recent bike ride. i like that you can see both the colorado street bridge, and the vista del arroyo hotel (both subjects will be featured in tomorrow's post).

the haze hanging in the sky is perfectly typical of southern california. part marine layer, part los angeles smog - it really makes picture taking a difficult task at times.

more sky watch friday photos can be found here.

flashback to the rose parade

the corner of colorado and orange grove is painted with numerous indicators that help with rose parade set up. some are for the parade floats, some are for the grandstands, and others - like this photo - tell the tv networks where they can set up.

you can see some of my photos from this past year's parade right here.

april theme day: yellow

celebrate today's theme with a double order of burgers and golden yellow fries from in-n-out. as my friend tim says, "it's better than other fast food because it tastes so fresh!"

there are hundreds of other city daily photographers working with today's yellow theme.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

beer in los angeles?

lets face it - there are several great west coast beer towns - seattle, portland, san francisco, and san diego - but los angeles has never been mentioned in the same breath as these. that may be about to change. with a small group of very interesting breweries in the area, the scene is beginning to change for the better.

eatdrinkplay.com is putting together the l.a. beer fest, and it is happening soon. the list of participating brewers is exciting and lengthy, and also kind of strange - like why are macro breweries like budweiser and pabst attending along side of regional micros lagunitas, pizza port, or the bruery? - signs that this is their first attempt at a festival of this nature, or maybe they just want to attract the largest possible group and not just the beer nerds (i'm also sad to note that pasadena's craftsman brewing company isn't listed in those who are attending (photo above)).

more info can be found at their website (right here), and i'll be giving a full report of my experience next week!

old town bustle

old town on weekends, and sometimes weeknights, can be a little crazy. but it is also a part of pasadena that really makes this town unique. apparently things have changed dramatically in the last 10 years or so. if you have some old - old town memories, please share!

sunday sunset

here's hoping that everyone had a wonderful weekend!

driving home from arizona

i took this shot on our way home from a week of spring training baseball games. time to get back to work taking pictures of pasadena. spring quarter begins on monday - best of luck to all those fuller seminary students out there!

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.

architecture moment

a glimpse of the police station's southern side. at least i think this is the police station - i may need some confirmation from the p.i.o.

abstract of a tree

just a little randomness for this wednesday.

wbc final: japan 5, korea 3 (in 10 innings)

last night was one of the greatest games i've ever had the privilege of being a part of. for starters, being on the field during the opening ceremonies as part of the flag ceremony was beyond incredible. then the game that followed was intense from beginning to end. the korean fans were much more enthusiastic, and also out in greater number. japan led for most of the game, and then korea tied them in the bottom of the 9th inning before ichiro won it with a single in the top of the 10th. japan is the 2009 world baseball champion.

this game ranks right up there with this one, and this one, in terms of games i've experienced live. stage one of my baseball week is done, and the world baseball classic didn't disappoint. on to arizona for some sun and spring training.

oh, and if anyone has any pictures of the opening flag ceremony, please send them my way.

wbc semi-finals: japan 9, usa 4

now batting, ICHIRO!

japan took down the united states of america last night in the second game of the world baseball classic semi-final round. it was a fantastic game for baseball fans - but not a great game for those who are fans of team usa.

the final game between japan and korea is tonight....

AND....


my good friend aaron who has been in town for the games signed us up to be a part of the opening ceremonies to carry in the flags of the participating nations. so are part of a group that gets to unfurl the giant canadian flag. if you end up at the game, or watching on tv, watch for us! the game starts at 6:00pm (pacific standard time on espn), and the opening ceremony probably starts some time before then. the above picture is from our dress rehersal today.

wbc semi-finals: korea 10, venezuela 2

while this wasn't a very close game, it was great to be watching some live baseball again! those of us who braved the chilly temperatures at dodger stadium were greeted to an offensive outburst from the korean squad, as well as an extremely noisy crowd considering the fact that there were a fair amount of empty seats.

tonight the usa takes on japan for the chance to face korea for the world baseball classic title.

did you know she's a movie star?

sure plenty of movies are filmed in and around pasadena, heck we even have a website which tells you what is filming in town at any given time. but recently our beloved city hall dome has become even more noticeable.

cbs' hit sitcom "the big bang theory" has been getting decent reviews. and considering that it is supposedly based in pasadena, it should, shouldn't it? in most episodes you can catch a glimpse of pasadena's city hall through their living room window as in this shot from last week's episode seen below.


see it? pretty cool, right? i thought so too.

end of exam week

one final paper to hand in later today. then a week of break from school - and oh boy, am i ever going to enjoy it! like this picture, i can see the sunshine on the other side of the shade - it's almost close enough to taste it now.

up first is the world baseball classic semi-finals and final game at dodger stadium (hopefully some pictures to follow), then a few days in arizona for some spring training baseball. i really can't wait... bring it on!

more sky watch friday found right here.

peeking through

for those in pasadena who think they are in the know - can you tell me where this image was taken?

colorado street topography

avid followers of this blog may recognize this subject matter from an earlier posting.

need a permit?

then you need to go here. the city of pasadena permit center is located near this building, this building, and this building. and unlike this building, it is beautiful and fits in perfectly with its neighbors.

post race hang out in the street

after successful completion of the solvang century, ryan, tim, and i sat down on the pavement and waited for the last of our group to finish. these are the faces of three guys who just spent 7 plus hours on a bicycle.

in spite of the cool weather and the fact that the sun was absent for most of the ride, we had a good day.

if you want to donate to the cause we were riding for, you can still do so. my fund-rasing page can be found here, while tim's can be found right here.

i obviously didn't take this picture. that credit goes to my lovely wife meredith.

pasadena city hall

you can't beat it. our iconic city hall is pasadena's most beautiful building, and by far the best looking city hall i've ever seen.

palm

although the title might suggest another local blogger, i actually think this photo reminds me of something that laurie would have taken. i'm not sure why...

having said that, i take my fair share of palm tree pictures.

pink clouds on the mountains

i was captivated by the evening sky on my ride home from campus the other day. the clouds took on this unique pinkish hue as the settled over the mountains. pretty cool, right?

more skywatch friday photos can be found here.

i want to ride my bicycle

the big day is almost here. while i've logged over 1000 miles on my new bike, i've never pushed her to a full century (100 miles). on saturday i'll be riding in the solvang century, and just in case you haven't heard, i'm riding with a purpose.

learn more here. thank you for your support!

targeting

lots of stuff going on here. lines, shapes, color, contrast - all of it acting like a giant target drawing you inside. intentional? i'll let you decide.

memories from a different perspective

yesterday i shared that a reader named roz had contacted me about snapping off a few photos of a house she grew up in while her father was studying at fuller. today you get to see the back side of 460 ford place. it looks like they have taken out the fig tree that roz remembers so well. check out that roof line - is that character or what?

how much has it changed? we'll leave that up to roz.

photo request #17: memories...

at least i hope this image brings back some memories - for one reader in particular.

last week i got a special request from a reader in australia. roz wondered if the building her family lived in when her dad was a fuller student still existed, and it turns out it still stands! this is a shot of 460 ford place, complete with, as roz put it so well - "a rickety balcony on the front from where we could see the mountains".

i'm happy to pass on this image to a fellow world traveller. i'll put up a shot of the back side tomorrow. hope you like it!

late night laundry

snapped a photo of this late night laundry run. it looks like the open sign was turned off, so i'm not sure how this guy got in...

beer t-shirt quilt

two days ago i posted about visiting two breweries, but only mentioned one at the time. the second we visited was stone brewing in escondido, ca. much larger and more polished than lost abbey, although they did have this sweet beer quilt hanging on the wall inside their brewery. ingenious!

revisiting our balcony

going back to a familiar place for one more view. check out that pasadena sunset!

for more skywatch friday, check out the website!

angel's share release day

two of my college roommates flew in for a california visit. while they were here we headed south for a visit to two different breweries. saturday happened to be a celebration at the lost abbey where they were releasing the angel's share - a belgian ale that has been aged in bourbon barrels. we got to sample this wonderful elixer, which was awesome because at $30/bottle, we weren't walking out with any to take home. ratebeer.com currently has it ranked as the 20th best beer ever - pretty good for a small brewery from san marcos, ca.

more lights along lake avenue

a few weeks ago i showed a decked out palm tree along lake avenue. today you get to see some more of the christmas lights along the street.

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.

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

n.t. wright

theologian and bishop of durham, n.t. wright was present on fuller's campus for the last two weeks as a guest faculty member. he wrapped up his time in pasadena with a key note speech at lake avenue church on thursday night (in the original chapel, not the large sanctuary).

mennonites (of which i am one) aren't usually big on theologians - we don't have many - and we're also not big on bishops. however it was a very enjoyable evening. wright had some very interesting reflections on the tension between feeling and thinking, and the cultural phenominon of saying "i feel" when we really mean "i think".

revisiting the hat

today we revisit an old theme and return to a more recent theme.

yep, that's right - today's post is the first simultanious friday sky watch and friday neon post on the same day! also, this is a throwback of sorts - the hat was featured in one of my very early blog posts.

more skywatch found here. enjoy!

along the 210, approaching pasadena

pasadena downtown - next 2 exits. i played around with several attributes of this photo before posting, and i'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

the final 100 meters

these are the top three finishers from the pasadena stage of the tour of california. can you guess who won? a hint: in cycling, drafting or following to cut down on wind resistance, is key. so the third rider - who happens to be rinaldo nocentini of team ag2r - ended up winning this stage because of his perfect positioning behind the lead cyclist.


speaking of cycling - in march I will be riding the solvang century. this isn't my first 100 mile ride, and I hope it will not be my last. however this particular ride is special. i am going to ride 100 miles to raise money toward world vision's bikes for africa project. to find out more, or to sponsor me, check out my fundraising website.

rounding the rose bowl

here's the peloton during one of their final laps of saturday's stage 7 race in pasadena. the amgen tour of california was won by levi leipheimer who you can see in this picture riding with his teammates. he's one of the last riders at the front with the blue helmets, riding next to lance armstrong (in the yellow helmet).

i'm a nerd

my friend matt has a theory that we're all nerdy about something - some of us may try and pretend that's not true, but that just means you do a good job hiding your nerdiness. i think he's spot on.

so confession time - i'm a nerd about fantasy baseball. yesterday i paid money to go to a three hour lecture on fantasy baseball strategy (in neighboring arcadia, ca), given by other notable fantasy nerds, jeff erickson, todd zola, and most notably - ron shandler (left to right). in a room of about 100 other (mostly white, middle-aged, and male) nerds, we talked about thrilling topics like "5 hot prospects most at risk of failing", "8 undervalued veterens over 30", and "8 stars to risky to roster".

anyone else willing to admit to their inner nerd?

breaking away

the lead pack of riders had stretched out a sizable lead by the time they hit pasadena during yesterday's stage 7 of the tour of california. this photo is of that group of 10 riders who ended up crossing the finish line ahead of everyone else at the rose bowl. the race concludes tomorrow in escondido, ca.

more to come tomorrow.

lance rides again

and if you want to see more of mr. armstrong and his fellow riders (including california's own levi leipheimer who currently stands in first overall), head down to the rose bowl today at around 3:00 when the tour of california riders arrive for the stage 7 finish.

revisiting the castle

back in november i spent a week profiling the castle green. this is a left over photo from that series, and lets face it - with the recent rain i'm struggling for new material.

i'm going to go watch the amgen tour of california over the next few days. hopefully that will provide me with some useful images! the weather is supposed to be a little bit nicer than when they went through pasadena last year. for those in the area this weekend, the first riders are scheduled to arrive at the rose bowl around 3:00 on saturday for the finish of that stage. details can be found at the tour's website.

the bridge from a different angle

a new view of our favorite iconic bridge. followers of pasadena daily photo will recognize the arroyo casting pond in the foreground. click on the link to find out more at petrea's website.

city hall details

our city hall isn't just beautiful on the outside, check out the details in the ceiling of the breezeway. i have no idea how this was built - was this whole thing one giant piece? or many small pieces assembled together?