Hot Set

I'm a fan of Pasadena PIO, the blog of Ann Erdman, Pasadena's Public Information Officer. That's where I read that KPAS, our local cable access TV station, is moving from channel 55 to channel 3 on the Charter Communications System. The move happens on Tuesday, January 12th. Ann wrote a PSA to publicize the move. You can see it if you click on her blog.

If you're not a Charter customer (if only we had a choice!) you can go to the City Manager page on the City of Pasadena website and can click on Video Streaming at the right side of the page. I just clicked and found Ann Erdman herself, interviewing a nice young woman about planting 700 trees in Pasadena!

I had the pleasure of recording an important voice-over at the KPAS studios recently. I'll tell you about it soon.

Susan Stroh: Coaching it Out of You

Susan Stroh is one of those people who asks about you first. To start a conversation she says something nice about you--not your outfit, you. She points out something intriguing she heard you say, or mentions how well you carry yourself or how interesting your work is. She knows how to focus outside herself. I imagine this skill comes in pretty handy in her work. But I wanted to focus on her this time.

Susan and I met through the Women's City Club Business Boot Camp. A writer and editor (she published 15 personal essays in 2009 alone), Susan has an office but she'd rather work at Pasadena's Central Library, so we met for a cup of coffee at Central Grounds. With our shared backgrounds in acting and writing, we found a lot to talk about--my acting, my writing, my blog--wait a minute--I was supposed to be interviewing her. How does she do that?

Besides her own writing, Susan's in the business of coaching other writers. It fits. Her gifts for getting people to open up and for seeing an individual's strengths are ideal for a writing coach, because each writer is different. With novelists, for example, coaching might involve a good deal of brainstorming. With those working on a memoir, a session with Susan might be about coaxing an idea to fruition. Susan describes part of her process as "finding what the client is doing right and encouraging them to do more of it."

I told her I'm so intent on my own work I don't think I could focus that hard on someone else's. I asked how she does it. Her answer: "Standing back and creating a vacuum for the writer to fill is so satisfying to them that it's satisfying to me."

She can be tough. She expects agreements to be kept and deadlines to be met. "So many people mean to write, plan to write, say they're going to write, and put off writing. I help them keep the promises they make to themselves."

"I know," I said. "I had to set a deadline, then tell people about it so I'd be accountable."

"What's your deadline for?" she asked.

And I was off again, telling Susan my story instead of getting hers. I'm not selfish. Really I'm not. She's just that good at coaxing my story out of me.

Morning classes for Susan Stroh's ten-week Memoir and Personal Essay Writing Workshop begin January 20th. Evening classes start February 2nd. For more information and to sign up, contact SusanStroh (at) sbcglobal.net or call (818) 497-7486.

Home

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a hike or a walk, but I stayed home.

After having lived in apartments for so long, almost any house would have been a relief. But in our 85-year-old wood-frame home, with its hardwood floors, built-ins and casement windows, we feel gratitude every day. Really. Every single day we are conscious of how fortunate we are to live here.

I did get some sunshine. Picked a bushel or two of clementines from the tree in the back yard.

Panoramania

Please enlarge this one.

John got a photo-stitching app for his iPhone and now he's as bad as I am. Everywhere we go, we're both snapping pictures. A couple of addicts.

Me: snap, snap, snap.

John: snap-turn, snap-turn, snap-turn.

We now have panoramas of our house, our street, Hahamongna, the mountains, the dam, the dog, trails, valleys, beautiful things, weird things, dead things.

Yesterday the light was glorious for taking photos, basking or sniffing. Boz is so over photography.

(The app John's using is Autostitch from Cloudburst Research.)

Zen Monday: #79

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what I think the photo's about. There's no right or wrong. It means what you think it means, or what you want it to mean.

I look for a photo worth contemplating or, failing that, something odd or silly. And I stay out of the comments box for most of the day to avoid influencing the intellectual path of the (usually highly erudite) discussion.

As I post each new Zen Monday photo I add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary.

Communication Not Separation

I saw this mural when I was out shooting pictures of the Rose Parade aftermath. It's at 1292 Colorado Blvd. overlooking the parking lot just west of the Incycle bicycle shop.

The artist is Victor Steinbacher, assisted by Leo Sanchez. A tidbit of undated information I found on the web said Steinbacher studied at Art Center College of Design and resides in Pasadena. The mural dates from 1993. That's about it. I found even less about Sanchez.

This piece isn't on the City of Pasadena Art Walks, which are more centrally located to downtown. But there's art all over Pasadena. You don't have to look too hard to discover it.

My favorite thing about the mural is that I had never seen it before. I love finding new things (new to me). Plus I love that the guy on the left is green.

What do you think of it?

Silly

The town board of Huntington, Long Island voted to ban the sale of Silly String within 1,500 feet of parade routes because the stuff stains the finish on their fire trucks.

But at our Parade, Silly String is a time-honored tradition. After all, our floats are biodegradable. What can a little bit of polyisobutyl-methacrylate and sorbitan trioleate hurt? I'm askin' 'cause I don't know.

You ought to read the Wikipedia article. Silly String has some interesting uses. And did you know it's banned in Hollywood on Halloween? It takes a lot to get banned in Hollywood on Halloween.

Well, shoot. I was going to go dressed as a Rose Parade attendee this year.

Update as of 12:04PM:

Pasadena's Public Information Officer, Ann Erdman, corrects me even on weekends! (And I'm grateful.) She says:

"Silly String is actually illegal along the Rose Parade route, and at other special events in the public right of way, but enforcement is difficult because officers can't be at all places at all times and they often have bigger fish to fry.

Title 3, Chapter 3.22.020 (Interference with Special Event Prohibited) of the Pasadena Municipal Code reads, in part: "To drop, roll, throw, toss, squirt or propel any gaseous, liquid, semisolid or solid substance or object toward or among the participants, vehicles or animals in the special event."

Read tortillas, marshallows, Silly String, etc."

Theme Day: Changes

On January first, 2008, my husband drove me through the hills above the Rose Bowl Stadium during the football game so I could try to get a decent shot with my Olympus SP30. We finally stopped on the Holly Street Bridge where I took this photo.
Never mind that we never got close enough to give the Olympus a chance. Never mind that I didn't have the faintest idea how to get a "decent shot." Inspired by Paris Daily Photo, I was determined to begin a daily photo blog about the Paris of the Pacific, even though I wasn't a photographer and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I posted the photo and Pasadena Daily Photo was born.

After two years of daily blogging I've learned about photography, become a better writer and discovered that Pasadena is infinite--I'll never photograph all of it. I've also met more wonderful people than I can count, on the web and in person, and I can't thank them enough for their contributions to Pasadena Daily Photo. I begin my third year of PDP with enthusiasm, open to what new changes may come my way.

Yesterday I returned to the Holly Street Bridge to try my Canon 20D on the same view.
Happy New Year! May all your changes this year be for the better.

Click here to view how other City Daily Photo bloggers have addressed the theme of Changes today.

Last Day, December 2009

On the last day of September I began this monthly theme: a photo of the same spot from the same angle. The idea is to view it at different seasons and watch it change over time.

I've taken lots of pictures from this spot overlooking Johnson Field at Hahamongna Watershed Park. I chose this for one today because of the blue tint of the sky. I probably just hadn't white-balanced the camera, but I like the photo. It's end-of-yearly.

I could say many things about 2009, but I'll just say I've learned a lot and I'm glad it's over. I hope 2010 will be better for everyone. I wish you a joyous, healthy and prosperous new year.

To view the progression of the Last Day posts so far, click on the "Last Day Project" label below.

Horse Crazy

Horses have been part of the Tournament of Roses Parade since its beginning in 1890. This year is no exception: 23 different equestrian groups will prance down Colorado Blvd. with the floats on New Year's day.

As kids, my siblings and I watched all the big holiday parades--the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with its huge balloons, the Hollywood Christmas Parade and its movie stars, and finally the Rose Parade with its flowery floats. The horses have always been my favorite part.

I was a horse-crazy kid. We had two horses, first Pandora from 1963 to 1967, then Brandy from 1967 to 1971 (about when my interest in boys beat out my interest in horses). My sisters and/or brother may correct me on this but I did the most riding--I rode across meadows and down the country roads between our town of DeKalb, Illinois and the little surrounding towns, through fallow fields and alongside the Kishwaukee River. I rode through the NIU campus, and more than once visited the drive-through of the local Jack-in-the-Box.

There are several stables in the Pasadena area. Boz and I often see these guys riding at Hahamongna Watershed Park. They're about the age I was when we sold Brandy, maybe a little older. They said they ride out of the Altadena stables. They seemed sweet, just happy to be out on their horses.

I wonder if they ride absolutely everywhere, like I used to do? Though I've seen people riding horses on N. Lincoln Avenue, Pasadena's too urban to ride a horse through the drive-through at Jack-in-the-Box. But we've got so many miles of trails these guys aren't missing a thing.


City of Pasadena Holiday Hotline is up and running at (877) 793-9311 for answers to any and all questions about the Rose Parade, Rose Bowl Game and BCS final game. Volunteers are standing by through Jan. 7. More info at VisitPasadena.com.

Rose Bowl Enochlophobia

I have a confession to make: I love being out and about in Pasadena all year 'round, except during Tournament of Roses week.

I often drive through the Arroyo near the Rose Bowl Stadium on my way home from Hollywood or the San Fernando Valley. But not today. People are down there getting ready for the game and the parade. I don't know how many people are there. It might be fifty, but in my imagination it's fifty thousand, stomping around in those huge, white tents and sipping camp coffee in rumbling RVs while they do whatever it is they do to get ready for the big New Year's party Pasadena throws every year. I'm certain if I drove through I'd get stuck down there and not be able to get out fast enough. I'm terribly impatient. So today I took the Colorado Street Bridge, which was fine.

Colorado Blvd. is lined with bleachers waiting to accommodate parade-watching patoots. All of Pasadena welcomes the tourists and I do, too. You can feel the excitement in the air. (Even if you couldn't feel it the bleachers oughta tell you something's up.) It's all great, it really is.

I'm no party pooper. I want this year's parade and game to be the biggest and best ever. But tomorrow I'm going out one last time. I'm going to run a couple of errands and stock up at the grocery store, and I'm not going out again until January 2nd.

Update per Pasadena PIO: City of Pasadena Holiday Hotline is up and running at (877) 793-9311 for answers to any and all questions about the Rose Parade, Rose Bowl Game and BCS final game. Volunteers are standing by through Jan. 7. More info at VisitPasadena.com.

Zen Monday: #78

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what I think the photo's about. There's no right or wrong. It means what you think it means, or what you want it to mean.

I look for a photo worth contemplating or, failing that, something odd or silly. And I stay out of the comments box for most of the day to avoid influencing the highly intellectual path of the (usually highly erudite) discussion.

As I post each new Zen Monday photo I add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary--if I know what it is.

Quintessential Pasadena

While John and I were walking Christmas day he pointed out to me this quintessential Pasadena view. If it's not quintessentially Pasadena it's at least quintessentially north of the 210 freeway. Click on the photo to enlarge it if you can't make out the towers of the Mt. Wilson Observatory. The Observatory, the mountain, the palm tree and the Spanish tile roof are typical views on the north side of town, not to mention the streetlight silhouette.

There were scientific and historic reasons to protect Mount Wilson during last autumn's Station Fire. For those who don't live here, perhaps knowing the Observatory is part of what we see from almost everywhere in town will help you understand the emotional reasons as well.

Inspiration: John Sandel.

Happy Kwanzaa

On Christmas day, John and I took a long walk with the camera. I love walking with the camera, but I especially love walking with John. His eye opens mine. His suggestions inspire me.

We found a lot of sights to enjoy including these cement pavers embedded in the median alongside El Molino just north of Washington. Someone had decorated them with positive thoughts.

Today is the first day of Kwanzaa. The (non-religious) holiday continues until January 1st. I enjoyed reading about it on several sites. Did you know the African spelling is "Kwanza" and the additional "a" at the end reflects the African American celebration? Now you do.

Kwanzaa celebrates seven principles. One of them is depicted here. The others are just good ideas for regular days.

Happy Kwanzaa!

Good Will Toward You

In America it's politically correct to say "Happy Holidays" from late November through December because people of so many cultures and religious backgrounds live here. I'm not a Christian myself but I don't mind hearing "Merry Christmas," nor do I worry much about getting the greeting right as long as people are of good cheer. Greeting each other kindly and wishing each other goodness is what's important.

This is the day we mark on our calendars to commemorate the birth of someone who has had a monumental influence on our culture, regardless of whether or not you believe he existed. If we did as he asked us to do, this Earth would be a peaceful place indeed. I think he'd want us to greet each other kindly and wish each other goodness.

Goodwill starts in our hearts. From there, it can go everywhere. So Merry Christmas, whatever you celebrate.

Memory and Christmas Tree Lane

Hmm. Now that I upload the photo it looks a little abstract. But click to enlarge it and you see it's a tree-lined street. Not just any street, but Santa Rosa Avenue in Altadena, better known as Christmas Tree Lane.

I parked myself and my tripod in the gully at the end of a driveway to get this picture and the homeowner took a peek to see what I was doing. "Oh, you're filming," he said.

"Just taking pictures. Is it okay?"

"Oh sure."

"I wonder if you get tired of all this traffic," I said.

"Oh no! I don't mind," he said. "It's all about the Christmas spirit."

A couple of miles east there's a home where every Christmas decoration you can imagine is packed into one yard. It's bright enough to light the neighborhood, and you can hear the electricity buzz. People crowd around taking pictures and loving it, and I'm glad they do. But it's not my cup of tea.

I go for the simplicity and silence of Christmas Tree Lane. Just a mile or so of deodar cedars strung with old-fashioned lights. People drive slowly and dim their lights. It's quiet and kind of magical.

Those cedars were planted in 1885. A tree gets pretty tall in 125 years. I love this Altadena Historical Society photo of Christmas Tree Lane in the early 1900s, back when the trees were young.

Read the LA Times article or the links above first, to get a sense of the history. Then have a look at the Woodbury House. The Woodbury brothers founded Altadena and one of them planted those deodars (scroll down for old photos and a mention of the nursery where the trees were first planted). The house is still there. Well-hidden, but still there. And so are the beautiful trees and the sweet town those brothers planted.

Sparkly and Cold

I finally went out last night and got pictures of twinkly lights. What I won't do for you! It was freezing! The web said 50 degrees, but it was blustery enough for a substantial wind chill factor. Plus there's the Petrea chill factor, which subtracts another fifteen degrees. We're talkin' cold.

Last Christmas I went downtown for photos. This time I headed north. I was looking for the Star of Palawoo. I found it, but with houses and trees in my sight lines I couldn't figure out how to get a good angle on it. You'll get a better view either by driving up to Loma Alta just west of Marengo or by viewing the Altadena Weather Cam at night. It's worth it--well, it is if you bundle up. Such a pretty thing.

I opted for this pretty thing for today's post. These folks on New York Drive just east of Allen put up their Tour Eiffel every year, and every year I enjoy seeing it sparkle by the road. It's also a nice reminder that it's snowing and/or raining in Paris right now, depending on whether or not the temperature manages to get above 32 degrees.

Winter Dining

Despite the cool weather the poinsettias in front of Pinocchio's Pizza on North Lake Avenue looked festive yesterday. The cloudy skies made the white table cloths look all the more crisp.

Note that Big Mama's Rib Shack has poinsettias in their planters, too. And someone has planted more with the sidewalk tree.

I could use some good soul food right about now. And John and I are on a quest for the best pizza in town. Have you eaten at either of these establishments? Help us out. What's your review?

Zen Monday: #77

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what I think the photo's about. There's no right or wrong. It is what it is, whatever that means to you.

I look for a photo worth contemplating or, failing that, something odd or silly. And I stay out of the comments box for most of the day to avoid influencing the brilliantly intellectual path of the discussion.

As I post each new Zen Monday photo I add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary--if I know what it is.

The Horned Man of Pasadena

My little book of pagan holidays (you'd be amazed what I keep handy for research) says the winter solstice is always on December 21st. That's true this year but sometimes it's the 20th, and since here at PDP the 21st is a Zen Monday (which isn't so much pagan as accepting of what is, pagan or otherwise), and since I'm still mustering up my Christmas spirit, I went looking for a horned god instead of a Santa for today's post.

The horned god, or horned man, or green man goes back thousands of years and crosses many cultures. Something of him permeates my thinking and my writing even now. He's hard to find yet he's everywhere. Although I didn't see him in the gardens last time I visited the Huntington, that doesn't mean he's not there. In fact, the pagan gods have long lurked around the fringes of Pasadena.

The horned man has existed since long before Christmas was invented. He'll last as long as humans live on earth. The winter solstice will outlast us, perhaps, remaining long after our holidays have come and gone.