Mountain Sandwich

Light rain two days in a row.
Enough to dampen down the dust.
It makes me want to write a poem.
I'll have mine on wheat toast.

Alternative Doors

I like driving by the Norma Coombs Alternative School and seeing the colorful doors that face the play yard.

I don't know much about the school besides what's on the website. I seem to remember there's an auditorium inside, and years ago I saw a play there. Does anyone remember if it was the pre-2001 Pasadena home of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts?

I'd love to hear your experiences of this school and this building. It's at the corner of Orange Grove and Altadena Drive.

Rusty Hinge

It's been gloomy here lately in the early part of the day. Ben called it May Gray. I've also heard it referred to as June Gloom. Guess it depends on the date. Usually the gloom burns off in the afternoon but it didn't yesterday. We had actual rain. Well, not actual rain by some peoples' standards. Not rain if you live in, say, Illinois. But rain by southern California standards.

I enjoy a cozy day to stay in and do housework and write. But I think Boz suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder. When he can't go out and lie in the sun he's seriously bummed.

I took this photo across the street from this one, on Locust just west of Allen on the south side of the street. I didn't take it yesterday.

Brix 42

I'm discovering the joys of happy hour. Well, re-discovering. Some happy hours in my youth were not...dignified. I've, uh, forgotten them.

When I read about restaurant and brewery Brix 42 on Ben Wideman's the sky is big in pasadena, I decided to try it. Ben is Pasadena's resident beer expert. He knows every brewer within miles, proving that just because a man's a seminarian doesn't mean he's a party pooper. If Ben recommends a place, you know the beer is good.

When Andrew Pratt, Brix42's manager, found me nosing around the brewing tanks, I told him I'd heard about the place through another blogger. "Oh, you mean Ben?" he said. Then he gave me a tour.

I liked Brix42. The calamari was succulent, the French fries were practically a meal, and one of my friends had a beef and potato dish that I'm going back for.

But the real reason you go to Brix 42 is the beer. They brew five different beers right there. Of course I ordered the sampler.
I liked all of these beers. They're tasty and distinctive, not to mention pretty.

By the way, when Ben posted about Brix 42 at the end of April he was concerned because it wasn't crowded. But don't worry, Ben, the place is catching on. There was a good happy hour crowd the night we were there. People were having a dignified, good time that they will likely remember.

Zen Tuesday: #6

Zen Monday (and in this case, Tuesday) is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what the photo's about.

As I post each new Zen photo, I'll add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary (and if I know what it is).

Update, 6/7/09: this tunnel goes under Oak Grove Drive, connecting the hiking trails from the Brookside Golf Club to Devil's Gate Dam and Hahamongna Watershed Park.

Theme Day: Feet

Yay! It's the beginning of a new month, and this particular one brings summer along with it. In the City Daily Photo blog community the first of the month is theme day, and this month's theme is "feet." These feet belonged to the winning team Saturday at Victory Park (the diamond on the lower right in the photo linked here).

I'll bet some of the hundreds of other participating blogs got pretty creative with the feet theme. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants and see what they came up with.

We're having Zen Monday on Tuesday this week, so come back tomorrow for your weekly helping of Zen, or It Is What It Is.

Noblesse Oblige

Pasadena's City Hall has no bad angles, even if I can't always flatten myself far enough behind my camera to get them. I've enjoyed our tour this past week.

Now a little order of business, then onto whatever else I can find to take pictures of. Tomorrow is the first of the month, which is City Daily Photo Blog theme day. Here at PDP that means we'll have Zen Monday on Tuesday. There's a thought.

Lynn of Cheltenham Daily Photo has honored me with an award. Did you know there are two Cheltenham Daily Photos? Say hi to Marley.

Anyway, the award is called the Noblesse Oblige Award. It looks like this:
Dictionary.com defines noblesse oblige as "the moral obligation of those of high birth, powerful social position, etc., to act with honor, kindliness, generosity, etc."

It means those of the nobility are obligated to be kind to others, including and especially "the little people." It's why the royals are always going to charity functions.

Thank you, Lynn! I'm crazy about Lynn. She was one of the first people to welcome me to blogland when I began commenting on Paris Daily Photo. She's almost of the nobility, living so close to the Royals and all. But there are a couple of things I haven't told Lynn about me: one is that I'm not always a rule-follower, and the other is that I'm not of the nobility.

Here are the qualifications to win the Noblesse Oblige Award:

1) The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervade amongst different cultures and beliefs.
2) The Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage and offers solutions.
3) There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences and Beliefs.
4) The Blog is refreshing and creative.
5) The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.

Hmm. I try to be respectful, encouraging, creative and positive. But I wouldn't recommend any blogger split focus as described in #3.

The Blogger who receives this award will need to perform the following steps:

1) Create a post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award.
2) The Award Conditions must be displayed at the post.
3) Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved – preferably citing one or more older posts to support.
4) The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions.
5) Blogger must display the Award at any location at the Blog.

Jeez Louise, it's a tall order, innit?

#1, check. #2, check. #3... well I don't think I have any posts to support this. I don't wish to seem ungrateful. I'm very grateful to be acknowledged by my fellow blogger, Lynn. But see now, I'm not sure PDP qualifies for this award. My purpose here is for us to discover things about Pasadena and have a good time doing it. My intent is not to "foster a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences and Beliefs," though if that happens, okay. But I'm lucky if I foster understanding of my captions and map directions.

I'm hesitant to pass on blog awards because I've come across bloggers who don't want the obligation. So what I'd like to do here is acknowledge some blogs that, in my opinion, "foster a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences and Beliefs," or at least come close. Then if they want to post the award and pass it on, they may do so.

The winners, should they decide to accept the award, are these:

1. Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo: Dina has a big following and has probably already won this award several times. Dina is one open-minded, fair, generous, warm-hearted, funny, smart, terrrific--uh, have I given you a noun yet?--blogger.
2. Portland (OR) Daily Photo: Dina and her (our) friend Meead are exemplary of my theory that when we talk to each other, we prove our governments don't represent us as well as we represent ourselves. Meead is an exchange student from Mashaad, Iran. He left Mashhad (IRAN) Daily Photo in the capable hands of Sara, a student of architecture. Sara's taking a blogging break right now (presumably for exams), but keep checking. It's worth it just to see how much the same we all are.
3. Finnegan Begin Again: I don't know if Margaret's blog qualifies and I don't care. Everyone needs a fiesty goddess to watch their back. (Mine is Bast.) Everyone needs bacon. Wait. No one needs bacon. Bacon is for fun.
4. Izmir: Selim's is perhaps one of the most beautiful photo blogs you'll ever see. Another is Diederick's Arona Every Day. These photographer/bloggers foster international understanding through the art of of visual communication. Their styles are very different. Through their blogs, the Turk and the Italian have become friends.
5. Altadena Hiker: Karin's banana plant post alone meets all the requirements of the award.

Have fun exploring.