Sunset from Monterey Hills...

by Laurie Allee

...up by the water tower.

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Hello Neighbor!

by Laurie Allee

Just hanging out in Monterey Hills...

Want to leave a comment?  You can click on the Community tab at the top of the blog to say hi or start a conversation.  

Wild Neighbors

Just a few of the wild creatures we share space with in South Pas.  Here are a few more.  And even more here.  And, heck, this from nearby.  (And this guy who just thinks he's wild.)

Got a wild story of your own?  Tell me here.

City with a View

I love grand, sweeping panoramas. For a city of only a few square miles, South Pasadena has an amazing number of beautiful views. (I actually wrote about it for Patch a few years ago.) Sure, a postcard view is an easy shot for a photographer when all you have to do is point your camera at a beautiful setting.

But what a payoff!

Former South Pas residents who have moved away often write me asking to post photos of specific views. A reader living in China asked if I had any stormy views from Monterey Hills looking toward the San Gabriels. Will you settle for snow?  Here you go...

For some truly remarkable view shots, check out The Library of Congress Panoramic Photograph Collection, 1851-1991. The images feature cityscapes, landscapes, bridges, waterways, natural disaster overviews and some pretty amazing old group portraits and beauty contests. I often go down the internet rabbit hole of vintage images.  Check out this great old shot of South Pasadena's historic Raymond Hotel. And for those of you who once read my Castle Green post, here's a great vintage image of Pasadena's famous Hotel Green. These photographs give us a long view of world history and offer a fantastic window into our shared past.

A version of this post was originally published in 2012

Simple Truth

"There is no blue without yellow."

--Vincent Van Gogh

iPhone Noir

I once had a professor who insisted that some of the most haunting film noir scenes did not take place in shadowy alleys or low-rent bars, but rather in ordinary suburban settings that seemed innocuous on the surface, but hinted at something lurking below. Remember that insane carousel scene from Strangers on a Train? I had an entirely new view of amusement parks after seeing that film.

David Lynch's Blue Velvet probably cornered the market on creepiness beneath the picket fences of suburbia, but that film built on the foundation of the works of writers like James Cain and Raymond Chandler. To this day, I can't look at a happy Mayberry scene without imagining the way Chandler would have described it.

I remember being surprised to learn that Chandler lived in some truly white-bread neighborhoods in Los Angeles County. I always pictured him in a seedy walk-up in Hollywood, not a cozy little bungalow in Monrovia. But maybe he understood what my film professor was trying to say. Maybe he liked imagining potential darkness inside every sunny American dream.

(I think Chandler would have loved the iPhone MoreMono app. It turns everything into Marlowe's playground.)

Your Welcome

Experts say that creativity is boosted by several factors: a relaxing environment, the ability to rest your gaze on a long view, and the colors blue and green.

Okay, gang. Now I expect to see some masterpieces from all of you!

The Most Fabulous Lawn in the Entire World

I don't know who lives here, but every spring when this shocking lawn starts blooming I imagine the owner must be someone like RuPaul or Angelyne or, heck, maybe even Strawberry Shortcake.

One thing is certain: they're in the pink. Literally!

I love it.

all dirt and rocks

"If you see a whole thing - it seems that it's always beautiful. Planets, lives... But up close a world's all dirt and rocks. And day to day, life's a hard job, you get tired, you lose the pattern."

--Ursula K. Le Guin

Caption This Photo (#89)

Anyone?

Shadows (#1)

This week, I'm revealing my shadow side, everybody.

Well, not really. But I am playing around with shadows. Join me as I have a little fun with light.

The Happiest Truck in the Entire World

C'mon. I dare you to stay in a cranky mood after looking at this silly thing.

Noir: Contemporary

The tree alone could be a character right out of Raymond Chandler.

Three Azaleas

(There's a country song or a children's story somewhere in that title...)

No. No entry.

No entry here.
Don't come in.
Go away.
Go back
south with your umbrella,
go back
north with your serpent's teeth.
A poet lives here.
No sadness may
cross this threshold.
Through these windows
comes the breath of the world,
fresh red roses,
flags embroidered with
the victories of the people.
No.
No entry.

--Pablo Neruda

(Okay, so without the high contrast black and white this house isn't really noir, and it definitely doesn't have this much of a goth vibe but hey, it's been one of those weeks for me. And it's only Tuesday.)

Dust of Snow

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

--Robert Frost

Look Up: (#4)

We've all looked up to this South Pas landmark. But what many people don't know is that beneath this water tower, in a funky little house, lived one of the most influential contemporary artists of the 20th Century.

Many of us looked up to Mike Kelley, whose quiet, domestic years as a South Pasadena resident offered a sharp contrast to the messy complexity and downright punk aesthetic of his work. Most of us had no idea such a radical art legend lived in that little house under the water tower. I shot many pictures of the house, never knowing who the owner might be. (Not even with clues like this one.) Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher Knight once described Kelley as “an avatar of the power and humanity inherent in recognizing the radical impurity of human experience. His art searches out dark and soiled places where defects, fault lines and inadequacies are obvious and routine, and where failure takes on the poignant, fragile, even heartbreaking beauty that accompanies any loss of self.”

Mike Kelley passed away last week at the age of 57. 57 years old is too damn young for anyone to leave this world -- especially someone as rambunctious, groundbreaking, complex and passionate as Mike Kelley.

As I look upward now, I wish him luck, love and wild inspiration on his next adventure. If the spirit world is in need of a good shaking up, Mike Kelley is just the right rebel angel for the job.

UPDATE: Please check out Pasadena Adjacent's moving post about Mike Kelley. Be sure to click on the videos -- including the one in the comments section.

This week is Look Up Week -- a chance to look at things above us.

Look Up: (#2)

I've been taking pictures of the iconic Monterey Hills home for years, but this is the first time I snuck into the front yard and crouched on the ground to do it. Can you blame me? Builder C. S. Conners' gorgeous, soaring white angles look more like sculpture than architecture.

And guess what? If you've got a spare 1.5 million, the place can be yours. Recently listed, the house has a unique open floor plan, light-filled rooms offering magnificent views of the San Gabriels and even a pool. (You can find out more about the listing right here.)

It's Look Up Week this week at Glimpses: South Pas views from the ground up.

Location, Location, Location...

Want to know what the view looks like from this house? A bit of this. And some of this. And occasionally this...

Winter White

Who needs snow when you have flowering pear trees?