Storm Twilight

I had fun taking pictures during our storm a few days ago. We had gorgeous skies and some crazy light.

On Wednesday, USElaine of Willits Daily Photo tagged me to reveal 5 things about myself. I wouldn't do this for just anybody, but hey - it's Elaine. So here goes:
1. I was once what you'd call a Led Zeppelin freak.
2. My mother told me I'm descended from the pirate, Henry Morgan, and I like to believe her.
3. I've been lifting weights.
4. I can't bear the smell of perfume.
5. I can burp on cue. And it ain't no pansy belch.

I like color, it suits me. But this time I like the B&W too.

School Lunch

I went downtown earlier this week to take photos of the old growth trees. Those you see here may or may not be coming out soon, to be replaced by palms and/or gingkos.

I caught these guys heading south from Colorado Blvd. on Madison. Since they're wearing those crisp white chef hats and jackets and heading for Bistro 561, I've leapt to the conclusion that they're students at the California School of Culinary Arts. They must have been on their lunch hour. On a student's budget, who can eat at 561 every day?

Having entered neither establishment, I can't speak with authority about the Bistro or the School. Can you?

Nouri Rugs

You've been by it. I had. It's just around the corner from Zona Rosa (yesterday's post) on Colorado Blvd. (636 East, to be exact). I wasn't in the market for an imported oriental rug so I'd never stopped in. But the other day I was out with my camera, and I stopped when I saw the prettiest red rug hanging on a rack on the sidewalk.

The thing is, it was raining and the rug was getting wet. A man stood outside the store (later I learned his name was Mr. Martinez). I asked him if the rain wouldn't ruin the rug and he told me a little water wouldn't hurt it. "Come in and see," he said.

I stepped over the threshold of Nouri Rugs and took it all in. I've tried to give an idea here of the sheer volume of rugs but I couldn't get them all in the photo. There have to be at least 2,000 rugs in there. Maybe 4,000. I don't know how to tell from the piles, rolls and hangings. I met the salesman, Fred, who told me every rug in stock is hand made in Persia (Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, etc.). On their business card it says the rugs are old and new, and that they buy, sell, clean, repair and appraise oriental rugs. The business card also says "Since 1907."

I stepped back into the rain, bedazzled. The pretty red rug still hung outside, the rain rolling off its back like it was nothing.

Zona Rosa Caffe (#8 in a Quest)

Zona Rosa is a charmer of a coffee shop on El Molino just south of Colorado Blvd. The sidewalk tables with an eclectic selection of patrons attract you to stop. From there you might think it looks European, but step inside and you'll know: Zona Rosa has a Mexican flair.

I've enjoyed Zona Rosa before and even posted about it. The other day for the first time I took my laptop there to work. On the ground floor there's a small bar and just the one table in this photo. But head up a little flight of stairs and you'll find couches, more tables and always some interesting artwork on the walls (right now some pieces are more interesting than others). The upstairs room is intimate but bright, with two large windows overlooking El Molino Blvd.

I'd love to find a coffee shop with a library hush, but such a shop would likely be patronless besides me. No, no, a shop with an unhurried atmosphere is the best one can expect, and that's Zona Rosa. It even says so on their website. The Latin music is pleasant background. The patrons all seem to get it: we're not loud here, we're respectful. We're here to chill.

I set up my laptop at one of the window tables, which turned out to be too high for typing comfortably for very long. Upstairs at Zona Rosa the other choices are coffee tables, which have the opposite problem. The outside tables are the right height but it was too cold to sit outside that day.

I'm starting to sound like Goldilocks.

Don't expect to order a meal; it's strictly coffees, teas and baked thingies, with a decent variety. My cookie and juice were fine fuel, and I can recommend the coffee from past experience.

There are great coffee places for flirting, meeting a friend or even having a cup of coffee. Zona Rosa is all three. My quest is to discover the perfect coffee shop in which to write. If you click on my previous Zona Rosa post you'll see others obviously find it a good place to work. I'll stop back and try a sidewalk table there on a warmer day.

Update: In today's comments Cafe Observer reminds us there's no wifi at Zona Rosa. Altadenahiker reminds us that can be a good thing.

First Cut Contest: Mad Man

The last time she was alone in a room with a man and had pulled her weapon, she'd shot that man to death. That was five years ago, but it seemed like yesterday...Most cops retire without ever firing their gun in the line of duty. She thought that would be her story. She already had the blood of one man on her hands. This was different, she told herself...Watch the hands. The hands could get you killed.

In Dianne Emley's crime thriller, The First Cut, trouble starts for Pasadena Police Detective Nan Vining when she encounters T.B. Mann (her daughter's nickname for "the bad man") in one of Pasadena's early 20th century two-story colonial mansions. The address where the fictional incident takes place doesn't exist, but I thought I'd use this home as the example because it's used to being photographed. It's not the home of a Bad Man but of a Mad Man. I have it on good authority that AMC's Mad Men uses this as the exterior for the home of their hero, Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm).

As you may recall, we've been running a contest on this here blog. You can click on the label "Emley" below and see all the related posts. Midnight tonight is the deadline for getting your entry to me via email (the link is on the upper left side of the blog). Three winners will be randomly selected from all the correct entries, and those winners will each receive a free copy of Cut to the Quick, the second book in Dianne Emley's Nan Vining thrillogy! (Which goes on sale today, by the way.)

I've received only one request for a photo of location in The First Cut, but the offer's still open. If you want me to post a shot of a Pasadena location mentioned in The First Cut, send your request in an email or in the comments, and please mention the page number.

Meanwhile, the sun has returned. So, to fulfill the first request, I'm off to pool-crash.

Zen Monday: #33

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo(s) and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what the photo's about.
There's no right or wrong. If the photo evokes something in you, that's all it is.

As each new Zen Monday is posted, a label is added to last week's to further identify it.

Puddle Shot

It's been raining for a couple of days. Boz and I got stir crazy, so during a let-up we headed out to Hahamongna Watershed Park to let off steam. (There's our steam in the background, rolling over the hills.)

We don't get big puddles often so I took advantage of this one to get a picture, and to give Boz some off-leash fun. (The sign in the background says he's supposed to be on the leash, but I had no intention of joining him in the puddle.) I like the photo because Boz took a pause to look at his reflection.

Dogs react to their reflections in different ways. Some don't notice or care. Others see a reflection and recognize it as a dog, but don't recognize the reflection as their own. Scientifically speaking, they fail the mirror test. But hey, so do we until we come of age (about 18 months, according to Wikipedia).

Did Boz recognize himself in the puddle? I don't think so. In the realm of dogs the fact that he noticed the dog in the water makes him a genius. He held still for a moment, sniffed the other dog, then planted his paw in that dog's face.

Home Shopping #2

I spotted this cutie in Bungalow Heaven and had to pull over. "Hey baby, whatchya doin' on this gray day? You look like a charmer to me." I took a picture, brought it home and brightened it a little to cheer it up.

Of course you can't tell a book by its cover, and location is everything. Let's see, what other cliches might apply here? Oh yeah: you'll have to look under the hood to find out if this house has good bones. Ouch.

Bungalow Heaven is a neighborhood, for those who don't know. The whole 'hood is on the National Register of Historic Places, which can be good and bad if you're a homeowner. If you're considering buying a historic property it's worth knowing everything you can about the National Register. In some ways it restricts you; in some ways it protects you.

I'm not in the business of selling houses, but I figured I'd post the contact information in case you're in the business of buying.

Future Queens of Doo Dah

I believe I mentioned I didn't get any good photos of the Doo Dah Parade last Sunday. I got there too late to get a good seat. But I got this shot of a couple of young spectators.

Some of the Doo Dah happens in the crowd. People wear their silly hats, their weird glasses, the things they would wear at Burning Man if they went (and if they wore anything). Doo Dah day is for getting our ya-yas out. Or our doo-dahs, you might say.

I'm bored with my wardrobe. It needs some whimsy.

Civic Center Perspective

Here's a model of Pasadena's Civic Auditorium. It's to scale, but it's not accurate; nobody gets to park on Green Street in front of the auditorium like that.

I want you to click on the photo so you can enlarge it and get a look at the art installations proposed for the plaza. On the left (east) is a piece by Hans Peter Kuhn called Lightfield. On the right (west) is a piece by Dennis Oppenheim called Thinking Caps. Pasadena citizens who care about the look of the city should do a couple of things very soon: read about the pieces here, do some web searching and see other photos and blog posts, and perhaps post opinions here.

And go to the Civic Center if this issue concerns you. This model stands inside the nice new headquarters wing just east of the auditorium. Anybody can walk in there and view it.

Then let the City Council know how you feel about these art works. Do it ASAP, my friends, because this Monday, January 26th, the Council is going to decide whether or not to spend many many millions installing these babies and they need to hear from you toot sweet.

I've received several emails from outraged citizens who want me to blog about these artworks. To tell the truth, I'm less concerned about the works than about their placement, not to mention the seriously bad timing of what looks like frivolous spending against the backdrop of national economic news. (Has anyone in charge here been reading the news? Anyone? Or are the numbers of beggars on the freeway off-ramps increasing because folks just like to beg?)

Some people don't want to have to look at pink and green hats when they step out onto the plaza in front of the Civic Center. I don't blame them. The hats are kind of ridiculous. But frankly I think the hats will hardly be noticeable in comparison with the visual slam that is the Paseo Colorado, with its featureless walls and neon signs blabbing about Tokyo Wako and Pacific Theatres.

Look, art is art. Some people will like it and some won't. That's practically how you define it. But Pasadena's Civic Center itself is a work of art. Or it was, before there was a shopping mall.

Not that we could choose to have it removed. I wasn't here but I'm sure the preservationists tried to prevent the building of it way back when. There was a time when citizens had an unobstructed view from the Civic Auditorium to the Central Library, with a wide avenue leading from one to the other. You can get an idea of it from the first page of this .pdf.

There's no bringing back the past. What do you think of the Civic Center's future?

Update: A link was posted today on Pasadena Insight: It takes you to the blog of the Pasadena Arts Council, where the public can vote “yes” or “no” on the proposed Convention Center public art. Who knew the Arts Council had a blog? Go vote!

First Cut Contest: Page ?

With a screech of tires, a sports car, low to the ground and fire engine red, rounded a curve in the driveway and sped into view. The convertible top was down and the driver, wearing huge Jackie O sunglasses, the tails of the long scarf tied over her head flapping in the wind, looked as if she had no intention of stopping at the now-open gate.

Vining froze...

So goes a passage from Dianne Emley's crime thriller The First Cut. I'm not going to tell you on what page it appears because Diane's having a contest with her mailing list. It just so happens that a driveway like this one figures in the book and in one of Dianne's contest questions. So in case anyone from that mailing list is looking for cheap clues here, well, all I can say is, pal...um...hey, thanks for stopping by!

Here are the rules of the Pasadena Daily Photo First Cut Contest.
Here are the questions.

The first entry arrived last night with all correct answers! You may remember three winners will be drawn from the correct entries, so send 'em on in. I haven't decided who'll draw the winners if we have more than three correct entries. Maybe Boz. He's impartial. But I'm open to your suggestions.

There's one week to go. I'm still taking requests for photos of Pasadena locations in the book. Send your request in an email or in the comments (include the page number, please).

I'm privileged to be featuring Dianne Emley. She's been most gracious and helpful. She's so lovely you'd never know such a dark, spine-tingling story could come out of her! But tingling and dark it is.

Pasadena is full of artists of all types: painters, photographers, writers, musicians, actors, dancers, singers and variations of all those. I hope to feature many more here on PDP.

Celebration Day

Forgive me for indulging in a photo that could have been taken in any city, if it weren't for the fact that few people besides my husband are likely to have a "Local 3 Gore for President" 2004 campaign button. I think we got that while passing through Eureka, California (a great town). During the 2000 and 2004 elections we happened to be on the road. This time, we made it a point to be here in Pasadena. Not that we believe in jinxes or anything.

We're having a few neighbors over for brunch this morning to watch the ceremony on TV and toast our new president. In preparation I went back over to Wayne Nelson's store on North Lincoln Avenue to buy t-shirts so John and I could dress appropriately. Guess what? Wayne's in Washington for the inauguration. Another person I featured on the blog, Alice Gandy, wrote to let me know she was going. TWO Pasadena Daily Photo stars are at the inauguration today. I'm bursting with - not pride, but joy. What a thrill for Alice and Wayne. I can't wait to hear their stories.

I'm a little concerned, though. My friend Lisa gave me the Bush's Last Day key chain in the center of the photo. It was supposed to count down to today and for a while it worked fine. But about two weeks ago it went haywire. I don't know what happened. Maybe I walked by a magnet or Mercury is retrograde or...I don't want to think about it. Not that I believe in jinxes or anything.

Zen Monday: #32

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what the photo's about.
There's no right or wrong. If the photo evokes something in you, that's all it is.

As each new Zen Monday is posted, a label is added to last week's to further identify it.

Guest photographer: John Sandel.

I Can't Take the Suspense

What is that, four stories? Five?

Aw hell, that's not so high. Ahem.

This man's hanging from a cable on a little chair. He has a bucket, and it looks like he's got a speaker of some sort so he can talk to his cohort on the ground.

My camera's got a telephoto setting but I rarely use it because it diminishes the photo quality. I didn't get a good close-up. However, I believe he's smiling.

Today's the Doo Dah Parade. Expect your favorite Pasadena bloggers to come up with something odd and/or silly for their next posts.

Reflections at Russell's

I hadn't been to Russell's in a long time and my friend suggested it for lunch yesterday. There's an elegant calm to Russell's even though the menu's casual. The service couldn't have been better. There are about a million things on the menu, but I had the BLT (with avocado) because that's my favorite. But this isn't a restaurant review. This is just noodling around with the camera and hoping for a fun picture. I'm not even sure how this one happened. There must be a window beyond the window, creating a reflection of the reflection.

My friend and I did a lot of talking and listening in that way women learn about each other. She's kind of a new friend, one of those people I knew right off I was going to like. Sometimes you meet someone and it's okay, that was nice, bye bye. But sometimes you just know you're going to be friends.

I don't know why that is. It's very human, isn't it? Something tells us either we have things in common or we don't. We don't have to agree on everything (wouldn't that be dull?) and we don't have to be best friends (how many BFFs is too many?). But we know when we're going to find similarities in things like where we came from or how we were raised, books we like to read or things that get our creative juices going.

When you meet someone, how do you know you're going to like them (or not) even before you know much about the actual person? I think it's because we see ourselves reflected in them.

Home Shopping

I thought of this home as a possible contender for Laurie's challenge to "show [her our] local Craftsmans!" The sun was at a low angle when I shot it, so I was able to catch some of the wrap-around porch without much shadow.

I ended up using a house with more pronounced Craftsman elements for the challenge, but I still like this one. It's giving me ideas. There are homes for rent and for sale in Pasadena. Would you like to see some? We've got all kinds: mansions, cottages, gorgeous monsters and run-down fixers. This one's got four bedrooms and two bathrooms, it's in a historic district (Orange Heights) and it even has its own website.

I'm shy about photographing people's homes. I imagine someone's going to come storming out with a shotgun and shoo me away from the property. But so far that hasn't happened. People here are used to having their houses photographed. And if there's a For Sale sign out front I feel bold.

So what do you think? Want to go home shopping in Pasadena with me?

Update: Either I'm prescient or this real estate agent knows where I live. I just received a flier about an open house at this very house this Saturday and Sunday from 1-4 PM. If you're interested or nosy, now's your chance.

California Entrance

When I have time between errands I like to park the car and take a walk with my camera. It doesn't matter where I am; a walk around any block guarantees a discovery. Usually it's something I've passed many times. Maybe I've seen it before and not taken notice.

I'm always seeing things I want to photograph, but in the car I'm in a hurry, plus I've got a few tons of machinery to manage and I can't be snapping photos and steering at the same time (well, I shouldn't, anyway). On foot even the most nondescript neighborhood comes to life. Little details beg to be photographed. Interest is everywhere.

This one doesn't count as nondescript. It counts as one of those things I've passed a million times and meant to photograph. It's the side entrance of West World Imports at the corner of California Blvd. and Arroyo Parkway. I admit I've never dared to venture inside, but I have dared to dream while perusing their website. There's a pretty courtyard on the other side of the building but it was locked when I was there the other day. I'll go back and try again. By the way, long ago a PDP commenter asked me to get a shot of that courtyard. It may take me a while (okay, it may take me forever) but I do get to your suggestions. Eventually.

Was it me complaining of the cold a couple of weeks ago? It's been unseasonably hot for the last two days.

I'm off on a tangent. What I started to say is that West World Imports is such an attractive shop even the side door is pretty. The front door is on California Blvd. and this sign in the parking lot says "Please Use California Entrance." But this looks like a California entrance to me.

Update: In today's comments Pascal Jim says: "This beautiful structure, designed by Wallace Neff, where he had offices, was duplicated across the street, now destroyed, now a gas station. Please, enter the building, its patio has a most calming effect..."

Laurie's Challenge

On January 11th, Laurie posed a challenge on her Glimpses of South Pasadena blog: "...show me your local Craftsmans!"

The reason she did so is we're having trouble photographing them. Well sure, you can see this house. You can tell it's a Craftsman home. But can you see the porch? No. It's so well shaded I'd have to take professional lighting equipment up there to get you a shot of it.

Pasadena's famous Craftsman homes were built in the early part of the 20th Century by - well, by craftsmen, who knew what they were doing. I've never been inside this house but I'll bet it stays warm in winter and cool in summer. The owners probably don't have to turn on the air conditioning until at least noon even on the hottest southern California days. The walls are thick. The windows are shaded from direct sunlight.

Craftsman houses are simple, made with fine materials. I find them beautiful. Many are painted in dark colors and it's hard to get a good shot of them because they hide in their own shadows.

As soon as I read Laurie's challenge I knew this was the house I wanted to photograph. The first time I saw it three years ago it was weathered and tired. But the new owners have brought it back to its former glory. If only you could see the porch!

First Cut Contest: How's It Going?

At the top of the steps, a supporting post of the arcade bore four plaques commemorating officers killed in the line of duty since the city's incorporation in 1886...Vining reflected that she had nearly become the fifth name...

Okay, you know we're doing a contest, right? Read The First Cut by best-selling Pasadena author Dianne Emley, answer questions about it and win a copy of the sequel, Cut to the Quick. (The rules are here. The questions are here.)

In the story, Pasadena Police Detective Nan Vining is wrestling with her own demons while trying to track down the real-life demon who murdered LAPD officer Frankie Lynde and dumped her body under the Colorado Street Bridge.

Until Mademoiselle Gramophone pointed it out to me, I hadn't realized you could get The First Cut at the library. But of course! And Pasadena's library has several branches. So if you like a heart-pounding read, check it out. Literally. Of course you can also get The First Cut at any book store. The contest deadline isn't until January 27th so there's plenty of time.

You're allowed to ask questions, either via email or in the comments. And hey! Is there a Pasadena location in the book that you want to see? Send in your requests (include the page number where it's mentioned) and I'll do my best to get you a picture of the site in the book.

How's it going? Check in!

Update: Rereading the post this morning I note a couple of things: First, the real-life officers who died in the line of duty gave their lives making Pasadena safe for the rest of us. Second, since 1886 many officers have died, but only four died in the line of duty. That's an amazing record of safety.

Zen Monday: #31

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what the photo's about.
There's no right or wrong. If the photo evokes something in you, that's all it is.