Numbers

It's the first of the month, and that means Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. This month's theme is Numbers.

If you walk around the grounds of South Pasadena High School, you'll see these tiles embedded all over the place. For years I tried to figure out what they meant. Was the architect an obsessive compulsive who really needed to count? Were the numbers a reminder of South Pasadena students' reputation for great math skills? Did the entire sidewalk design come out of a big Tile By Numbers box? Was it a horrific reminder of the relentless, unending passage of time?!

Eventually, Mister Earl told me the numbers represented graduating classes of the high school, and that every year was (or would be) represented.

I like my obsessive compulsive story better. (All together now: one, two, three, four... ahhh. I feel better already.)

City Daily Photo is in the process of changing servers, so this month's collection of worldwide Theme Day posts can be found here. (Many thanks go to Julie of Sydney Eye for setting up the alternate blog for Theme Day posts.)

Chimney

"Mommy, all I know is that if I were Santa I'd hope this family was on the naughty list. Just look at that chimney. It's impossible!"

(Today is the first day of the month and that means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily photo bloggers. Today's theme is Chimneys. For a look at some of Santa's other worldwide choices, see the contributions of my fellow bloggers. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.)

Glimpses of Tranquility

The other day I looked down at Southern California from 30,000 feet, flying back home to Los Angeles after my mother's death. I was closer, perhaps, to her beautiful wandering spirit.

Life is turbulent, but the flight was smooth.

(Today is Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. This month's theme is Tranquility.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants )

Cobblestone, Shmobblestone...

Today is the first of the month, and that means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. Today's theme is Cobblestones.

Well, everyone here knows that the San Gabriel Valley might not be awash in cobblestones but it is (literally) built on river rock! Here, we have a detail of my 112 year old home's original river rock foundation, built with stones dragged from the nearby Arroyo Seco.

The City Daily Photo website was hacked last month, and our wonderful hosts there are still trying to make their way through the mess left behind. Since participating bloggers can't post at the main site, we have brilliant Julie, all the way over at Sydney Eye, to thank for putting up this Theme Day blog to see the all the other Theme Day contributors.

Electrical Storm

Today is the first of the month, and that means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. Today's theme is Electricity.

I think Dave Barry said it best:

“Electricity is actually made up of extremely tiny particles called electrons that you cannot see with the naked eye unless you have been drinking.”

Here, it looks like I must have been on a real bender: vintage streetlamps reflected on rainy sidewalks with a sky still illuminated by lightening and whatever that magical thing is filling the world with static after a storm passes through.

On nights like this, you might create a spark when you brush up against a stranger. Don't miss out. (Who needs drinking when the current of the universe can pass right through us?)

For more power shots, check out the other Theme Day contributions by my worldwide photoblogger community. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Animal Magnetism

Today is Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. Today's theme is Animals.

Meet Otto, one of South Pasadena's more regal residents. Otto has an impressive show horse background, but he was kind enough to gently, patiently give rides to a passel of excited 6 and 7 year olds at a recent birthday party.

Otto is just one of many horses occupying the two stables in South Pasadena. You'll see his pals meandering along the trails of the lower Arroyo, reminding us that there is still a little Wild West left in the big city.

For more examples of critters from all over the world, check out my fellow City Daily Photo bloggers. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Looking Toward a New Year

It's January 1st, and that means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. Today's theme is Photo of the Year.

I don't know if this is my best shot of 2011, but it's certainly a favorite. I grabbed it on Arroyo Drive last summer right after the San Gabriel Valley had been drenched by a storm. The receding clouds created all sorts of bright, happy colors in the sky, and made the view from my favorite look out seem all the more expansive and hopeful.

A nice mood for a great new year, right?

To see a panorama of incredible images, please take a few moments to check out photographers from all over the world adding their best shots to today's theme gallery. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Happy New Year, everybody!

Action/Reaction

Today is the first day of the month, and that means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. This month's theme is Action Shots.

I'm not sure why I decided to post this picture. It's not particularly action-y in the just-caught-the-football or running-and-about-to-miss-the-train kind of way. But it is a quick snap of the normal, everyday action on Mission Street. And anyway, there just has to be a story behind that guy waving at a headless mannequin in a window. A secret sign from a spy to a hidden action hero? You decide.

For worldwide interpretations of this month's theme, be sure to check out my brilliant fellow City Daily Photo bloggers. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Fenced In

Today is the first day of the month, and that mean's it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. Today's theme is Fences.

It's a shame that someone swapped concrete blocks for wood in this historical Oaklawn fence, but you can still admire the handpicked river rock in the pillars. Learn more about the history of this Greene & Greene designed South Pas neighborhood at my Patch column here, or get the Cliff Notes' version from this blog post.

For more interpretations of today's Theme Day, check out my fellow photo bloggers from all over the world. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Mystery Object

It's the first day of the month, and that means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. Today's theme is Mystery Object. Well, I hate to spoil everyone's fun but I know exactly what this thing is. At least, I have a few ideas... It's a robot stairclimber. A literal translation of cubism. An early, unsuccessful predecessor to the Rubix cube. It's an ironic take on square pegs and round holes. A National Endowment for the Arts grant winner. A temple for the worship of square dancing. Something left behind by someone who really thought outside the box. A fabulous use of unwanted apple crates. An alien DNA strand. Spare parts for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. A sign that the singularity will definitely happen sooner than we think... Or maybe not. Whatever it is, it can be found at Orange Grove playground. And as every parent knows, the way children transform from babies into big kids and beyond is definitely the biggest mystery of all. For other oddball sightings, take a look at my fellow City Daily Photo bloggers from around the globe. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Perspective

Today is the first of the month, and that means it's Theme Day for City Daily Photo bloggers. Today's theme is Perspective.

South Pasadena has many of these long, canopied streets. This one is a favorite. As you walk along and look into the distance, the cracked sidewalk seems to stretch into infinity. In the hazy summer light, the vanishing point doesn't vanish as much as shimmer like a little oasis.

A path like this is a great place to play around with photographic perspective. (And an even better
place to walk quietly, think, and possibly gain a little perspective.)

For other perspectives, check out my fellow bloggers from all over the world. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Wish You Were Here

Today is the first day of the month, and that means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. This month's theme is Postcard-worthy.

There are a lot of postcard-worthy spots around South Pas. This overlook from Arroyo Drive is one of my favorites. Looking west toward the setting sun feels like staring into opportunity. (It's hard to believe the urban swell of metropolitan Los Angeles stretches out behind those hills.)

For other postcard shots from around the world, check out what my fellow City Daily Photo pals have come up with. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

For a look at some of the little details we love about South Pas, check out my latest column at Patch. It should post sometime this afternoon.

The Color Green

Today is the first day of the month and that means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photobloggers. Today's theme is The Color Green.

South Pasadena is fairly keen on green. I could have shown this house. Or this one. Or this car. (I could have even shown this robot.) But when it comes right down to it, the greenest green in our city is the green from all of the beautiful trees. The ones along the Arroyo are particularly hypnotic in the summer sunshine.

For more interpretations of the color green, be sure to visit my fellow City Daily photobloggers. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

(De)Construction

Today is the first day of the month, and that means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. Today's theme is Under Construction.

In South Pasadena's case it might as well be called Under Destruction. The city continues to wait (in traffic) for the finished result of the Fair Oaks construction project. I'm no statistician but it seems to me that most residents disagree with the bizarre design plan of curb bulbouts, center medians and loss of right turn lanes. (Just read some of the comments from my column about this subject over at South Pasadena Patch.)

The city's merchants have taken the hardest hit as months of open trenches, detours and general gridlock have kept shoppers away from the business district. Several of the city's firefighters have expressed concern about the medians impeding ability to answer emergency calls. Handicapped citizens have pointed out that the construction has all but destroyed accessibility, possibly violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Will the finished product make sense? Will it enhance traffic flow, add to pedestrian safety and beautify our main thoroughfare? That's what some city authorities have said -- the few who have actually offered any kind of explanation for this expensive project. Maybe they're right. But count me among the many who are dubious.

For other construction examples from around the world, check out examples presented by my fellow City Daily Photo bloggers. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

You've Got Mail

Today is the first of the month, and that means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. Today's theme is Mailbox.

A friend recently asked me if I had received something she had sent. I immediately checked email, blog comments, Twitter direct messages, Facebook and my phone texts. I didn't see anything from her, so I told her to resend it.

"I can't resend it," she said. "It's an actual piece of mail. You know, with a stamp on it?"

Sure enough, I found an envelope beneath a large pile of bills and an even larger pile of catalogues. Actual mail, with my name and address handwritten in ballpoint pen. In this age of spam folders, blogrolls and Evites, holding a real letter in my hand felt unique and strange. And somehow new.

Actual mail? Yeah, I predict it's the next big thing.

For a digital walk through a worldwide neighborhood of mailboxes, check out my fellow City Daily Photo bloggers. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

UPDATE: The beautiful and talented Jilly of Monty Carlo Daily Photo and Menton Daily Photo managed to photograph the exact same mailbox, halfway around the world. See for yourself.

Edgy

Today is the first of the month, and that means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. Today's theme is Edges -- which is a perfect excuse to post this picture from the South Pasadena Library. I always marvel at the sharp corners of all those beautiful columns and carvings. (Looking up to the edge of the sky ain't bad either.)

For a world of Theme Day interpretations, be sure to check out my fellow bloggers. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Personal Favorite

Today is the first day of the month and that means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. This month's theme is Your Favorite Part of Town.

Well that's a no-brainer!

Long-time readers of GOSP know I have a love affair with the South Pasadena Public Library. Not only is it one of the most picturesque of our historic buildings, it's one of the most vibrant, energetic, artistic parts of the city. As a matter of fact, I feature the art, architecture and activities of the library in my column this week at South Pasadena Patch. (It should post sometime today before lunchtime.)

Stay tuned for more information on upcoming library events. And to visit my fellow bloggers' favorite local haunts, be sure to take a look at today's Theme Day offerings. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Homemade Fountain

Today is the first day of the month and that means it's Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. This month's theme is Fountains.

I know, I know ... I could have shown you this one. But that would have been too obvious.

For a worldwide gallery of fountains -- enough for a lifetime of wishes -- check out what my fellow bloggers have come up with. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Just in Time

Today is the first of the month, and that means Theme Day for participating City Daily Photobloggers. This month's theme is Time.

I was this close to posting a really fun image of a Route 66 sign that was made into a clock. I found it recently at Fair Oaks Pharmacy. It's kitschy and fun, and a nice way to fool myself into thinking that the days aren't really passing by in their inevitable march to, well, something that isn't very kitschy or fun. But I realized that I was being rather uninventive, as well as wrapping up something obnoxiously existential and depressing in a rather syrupy and sarcastic little bow.

And then I remembered this tree. It's the legacy Morton Bay fig tree that dwarfs our historic library building. I love to sit there, perched on one of the roots like a wood nymph. The grand old tree has been growing for who knows how many years, spreading those roots out so far underground it's as if the entire city is being hugged by it. It has survived earthquakes, and wars, root rot and fungus, re-zoning laws and citizens who, believe it or not, at one point wanted to chop it down. If any one thing gets a solid A+ on the test of time, it's this tree. It reminds me not of the ineffable brevity of our lives, but of the gorgeous longevity of life itself. This tree doesn't have an opinion on Newton's version of time sequence vs. Kant's insistence that time is not even an event and can't possibly be measured. This tree hasn't pondered time travel's psychedelic world of possibility, where time itself is some sort of cosmic filmstrip and we can move forward and reverse if we can just sort out how to build a remote control to make it work.

This tree just is. And has been. For a very, very long time.

For other interpretations of today's theme, check out the work of a growing worldwide group of talented photobloggers. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Graffiti, South Pas Style

Today is the first of the month, and that means Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. Today's theme is Graffiti.

I know, I know. What makes me think I can sneak in a cute little snapshot of children's sidewalk doodles into a photo collection that is supposed to represent hard core urban street art? Sure, we're part of Los Angeles. We are minutes away from plenty of examples of real graffiti. But in South Pas, most of the tagger crews are in elementary school, happily armed with multicolored chalk, limitless imagination and street after street of blank canvas to bombard with wild style...

I think Keith Haring would approve.

For more examples of worldwide graffiti, check out today's images posted by my fellow City Daily Photo bloggers. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants