beer and cheese (...at least a tiny bit)

as a part of l.a. beer week, i attended a beer and cheese tasting at whole foods last night. for $15 we had 5 generous beer samples paired with 5 different cheeses. we had a really enjoyable time.

unfortunately this picture was taken well after i had polished off most of the cheese... oops!

sky watching

did a double take while driving down arroyo the other day - a pastel pink and purple sky was inviting me to take a picture. and so, i obliged.

more skywatch friday here.

planetarium monster

on our visit to griffith park observatory, we also took in a show at the planetarium. this creature actually is the projector which creates the moving celestial show.


tonight the dodgers take on the phillies in game one of the national league championship. i have plenty of relatives in eastern pennsylvania, but i'm really pulling for my adopted team to pull out the series win!

between venus and mars, you find earth

deep in the depths of the griffith park observatory you will find a really cool little museum devoted to the solar system. we recently re-visited with our out-of-town guests. good times.

thanksgiving!

we had a lovely canadian thanksgiving with friends. we filled our selves with great food, laughter, and some incredible pies (apple and pumpkin of course). i'm particularily proud of the turkey we roasted. beautiful, right?

lunch at pink's hot dogs

pink's. you probably already know about it if you are from this area. if not, check out the wikipedia article.

meet zack hample

not only was wednesday's dodger game one of the best i've ever been to, i also got to meet an obscure hero of mine. zack hample is a self described 'ballhawk' from new york, but he happened to be in los angeles to 1) go on the tonight show, and 2) snag some baseballs at a playoff game. i was also at the game early and was surprised to recognize zack from his fantastic blog (here is his account of that particular game).

you have to keep your eyes open - for starters, he changes his shirt and hat depending on which team is taking batting practice because players are more likely to throw baseballs to their own fans - dodger blue above, cardinal red (which wasn't such a fan favorite) below.


zack is unique because he knows how to get baseballs. a lot of them. he has written a book about how to snagging them. this season he has actually been collecting them for charity. his story is often featured in the media - plenty of youtube videos our there and here is a recent espn article on him. in real life he's just as i imagined him. a super nice guy (willing to sign my ticket stub), but also totally preoccupied with snagging baseballs. the whole time i was near him he had his eyes on the field, and while talking and signing for those who recognized him he was leaping around trying to snag that next ball.

oh, and for the record, after that game (in which he snagged 7 balls), his lifetime count currently stands at 4352 total baseballs.



the dodgers wrapped up round one of the playoffs yesterday by sweeping the st. louis cardinals. this is exciting news! next up is round two, although their opponent has not yet been decided. if there are any extremely generous dodger fans out there with extra tickets to round two, please pass them my way. sadly, round one was about as much as a seminary student (or his wife) can afford.

pasadena art night, baseball style

i apologize for my baseball focus this week - so is life during playoff season for a baseball fan!

yesterday night i ventured out to the pasadena library for a wonderful baseball night arranged by the baseball reliquary which was capped off by "5:04 p.m.: A First Person Account of the 1989 World Series Earthquake" , a film by jon leonoudakis. it really was a lovely night, you can get the whole rundown of the baseball event at the library right here.

game three of the dodgers/cardinals series is tonight in st. louis. our boys in blue go for the sweep!

dodgers win, again!

oh my. down by a run with two out in the 9th inning. a fly ball gets dropped and the dodgers get a lucky second chance to win the game. two singles and two walks later, and dodgers stadium was exploding in shouts of joy. 3-2, dodgers win. you can watch the game tying and winning hits right here.

it was by far, the best baseball game i have ever experience live.

dodgers win!

last night the boys in blue took down the st. louis cardinals in the first game of their best of five playoff series, 5-3. it was an exciting game (if a bit long) to be at - this photo was taken just after matt kemp's two run home run in the first inning.

game two is at 3:00pm today.

this is what happens when you blow bubblegum on your bicycle

thanks for the candid moment, ryan.

hollywood sign from our ride through griffith park

another photo from our saturday adventure (see yesterday's post for more details).

we're excited to welcome some old friends who are in town for another visit. we can't wait to hang out!

oh my! manuel's original el tepeyac cafe

we took a nice little bike ride on saturday through griffith park and los angeles before ending up at manuel's original el tepeyac cafe - a wonderful little mexican restaurant with a unique item on their menu - A FIVE POUND BURRITO. no, i did not eat that whole thing myself, however ryan and i split it - with room to spare - and helped our friends finish off their burrito. it was a wonderful moment!

national league west champs!

it took longer than expected, but last night, in the second to last game of the season, the dodgers clinched the national league western division championship. this photo is from an earlier game this year, but i figured they deserve to be praised even if i don't have a picture of the actual event.

bring on the playoffs - i'll be at home games one and two of the upcoming playoff series.

7-11 at the corner of orange grove and lake

not my best composed image, but i like it.

profile of the first congregational church

located at the corner of los robles and walnut, the first congregational church looms large above the intersection. it also acts as a large space for fuller seminary events that are too large for any of the buildings on campus.

one of those events was the fall kick-off service that was held this week. here is the pasadena star-news article on the event. you'll notice that fellow blogger and mennonite, matthew krabill is quoted.

more skywatch friday photos can be found here.

october theme day: contrast

contrast?

for me, it is about texture, light, shape, color, and line. all things that have to do with your eyes.


today's theme is being worked by hundreds of daily photo bloggers from around the world.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

subtle details of arcade lane

home of several businesses and restaurants, this pasadena location is tucked away just off of colorado blvd. i think it is worth the visit to check out its nooks and crannies.

what's playing at the laemmle?

i always think the movies at the laemmle theater in pasadena look way more interesting than "normal" hollywood blockbusters. and yet more times than not, i find myself heading down the block for the much cheaper option.

back to school

another summer has come and gone, and fuller seminary's fall quarter begins today. we're privileged that we get to wait this long, but that almost makes it harder to get back into the swing of things. this should be an interesting quarter - not only do i have some interesting classes, i'm also starting an internship at my church.

how did this happen?

i don't really remember taking this photo. must have been an accident. but i sure do like how this little accident turned out!


by the way - "art smog" is a new area photo blog that was recently created by a friend of mine. check it out.

payday today

somewhat sad that the place to cash your paycheck is right next to the liquor store.

turning two

today marks two years since the creation of the sky is big in pasadena (an odd choice of first photo, don't you think?). this blog continues to be bigger than i ever imagined. while it may not have the largest following ever, each month brings new visitors and connects me with new people. i've been amazed that i ended up sticking with this idea for this long - what began as a side project during my first quarter at fuller seminary has changed into something i hope to stick with as long as we live in pasadena. as i said after year one, there continue to be some pictures that i'm really proud of, and some... not so much.

thank you all for your support!

a few stats from the first two years of posts:

almost 35,000 visitors, and over 54,000 page views
photo postings from at least 9 u.s. states (CA, NV, PA, VA, DE, MD, AZ, WA, OR)
visitors from 6 continents and countless countries
increase in visitors from the previous month's total in all but four months
starting with 144 visitors during the month of october 2007 to 2,558 during august 2009 (including 260 visitors in ONE DAY on august 31, 2009!)

52 friday neon posts
44 skywatch friday posts
20 theme days
98 posts of the lovely pasadena sky
38 pictures of city hall
24 photo requests (keep them coming!)

photo request #24: cinema 21 in all its faded glory

i love this old building. i wish i had the money to buy it and turn it into something trendy. this was an old photo request from my friend holly. her blog is fantastic - especially if you live in the davis, ca area. check it out!

riding along crooked palms

several of the streets of pasadena are lined with tall palm trees - which i've heard, lean toward the ocean. it's kind of unsettling, don't you think?

nasa's jpl

the jet propulsion laboratory sits in amongst the mountains - and as this photo demonstrates, looks much like its own city from a distance.

father's office with friends

while their food and drink may be slightly overpriced, father's office has one of the tastiest burgers and best beer selections in l.a. county. and i do love burgers and beer...

birthday spread

oh man, what a birthday. september 19th was good to me this year! the day began with a trip to the homebrewing store, lunch with friends, and a lovely bike ride. it concluded with plenty of good eats, lots of laughs, and of course - good friends. this photo is our fantastic build-your-own burrito birthday bar. i'm still full!

this photo needs a title

aside from the lack of a title, i turn 27 today. imagine that!

biking after the station fire

a few weeks ago, taking a long ride on our bicycles was out of the question. the air was so thick with smoke and ash that it occasionally looked like it was snowing on me when i rode my bike to work. we are happy that the smoke is gone and the sky is clear, yet we are also sad that this fire took our forest with it. this la times article and accompanying video is worth a look.

more skywatch friday can be found right here.

roller hockey at the rose bowl parking lot

i snapped a picture of some people playing hockey - southern california style - over at the rose bowl. click on the image for a close up.

santa barbara pier

from a recent trip up the coast.

rose bowl neon

remember when i posted neon every friday? maybe i should bring that back...

i spy, something that is green

how many parrots do you count? this picture is from last year - but it just occurred to me that i haven't seen any parrots around since before the recent fires. could the two be coincidental? maybe it just isn't their season...

russell martin, los angeles catcher

russell martin - fellow canadian - is by default, my favorite dodger. i started liking him well before we moved to la county and i began to adopt the dodgers as my national league team - simply because he plays for team canada. now i get to watch him up close - that is, whenever i go to dodger games.

the dodgers are right in the thick of a pennant race. they lead their division by a slim 3 games over the persistent colorado rockies. i'm hopeful that everything clicks at the right time this year and they bring the world series to los angeles. only time will tell!

have you been to diddy riese?

tucked away in ucla's westwood neighborhood, diddy riese is a sweet tooth's best friend. choose your favorite freshly baked cookie, your flavor of ice cream, and for $1.50 they will build a custom made ice cream sandwich. we feel that this is an essential stop when we show visiting friends and family around la county. i recommend the double chocolate walnut cookies with peanut butter ice cream. mmm....

highlights from our northwest trip: stanley park, vancouver, bc

heading north for today's skywatch friday photo. vancouver was lovely - in spite of less than lovely weather.

more skywatch friday can be found here.

highlights from our northwest trip: mariners game

i got to cross one more ballpark off my lifetime list AND got to sample some ballpark sushi named after ichiro suzuki - the "ichi-roll" in case you were wondering. all in all, a pretty great day.

highlights from our northwest trip: burger from brunchbox

this amazing cuisine from one of portland's many food carts is born as a normal hamburger and transformed by substituting two grilled cheese sandwiches for the bun. AMAZING. if you are ever in portland, go visit brunchbox.

back in pasadena

i'm happy to see that the smoke has been subdued somewhat. i have some pictures to share from our trip up north, but for now here is a shot from a hike we took earlier this summer at echo mountain - a part of our mountain range that has certainly been affected by the recent fires.

pasadena in-n-out drive thru

it may take a little longer, but i like the old school drive thru of the pasadena in-n-out location. a double-double with fries and a shake sounds good right about now.... mmm.

we fly back to l.a. today. we've really enjoyed our time in the northwest, but it will be good to be home. hopefully the smoke will have subdued since we were last in pasadena.

skywatch sunday?

this week you get extra images of pasadena's lovely sky. the summer haze and the recent fires mean we don't always get such a clear view - this one is actually from last year, but i like it a lot.

checking in from the northwest

a classic shot of the space needle in seattle. we are now in portland and will be in vancouver tomorrow before flying home on monday.

fluffy clouds and palms

i took this one earlier this summer. it turned out really well and i was surprised to see that i hadn't posted it yet.

more skywatch friday can be found here.

the station fire seems to be more contained every day. being on the road, i've gotten a little behind in updating my links page, but you can still read about it right here.

fun.

last monday night i ventured through the smoke to the spaceland club in silver lake for a free show (apparently a regular occurrence on monday nights). i was particularly excited to see 'fun.' perform. 'fun.' is made up of members of the band 'the format'. they put on an incredible show - especially considering it was free. their new album is streaming in its entirety on their myspace page. check it out!

once again...

my wife recently told me that i have too many photos of city hall posted. but i really like how this one came out, so you are stuck with one more. you can see each one i've ever posted (and she's right, there are a lot) by clicking here.

we are heading out of town today for a trip to the pacific north west. we'll be traveling to seattle, portland, and vancouver before heading back home. we've never been to any of those places and we are very excited!

september theme day: big

recent forest fires have been tormenting residents and the environment of l.a. county. these fires are big, and refuse to go away quietly. warm temperatures and extremely dry weather have created the perfect climate for fires to ignite. as of this post, the station fire is still lingering on our mountains.

i have been compiling a list of other bloggers working on this continuing news story. it can be found here.

hundreds of other city daily photo bloggers are working with today's theme.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants