Family 2009

I love my family. I had a blast seeing everyone together for the first time ever.

Callum, Karen, Jordan, Paula, Brittany, Deryck, Andrea, Caitlin, Linda, Michael, Dad, Joshua, Gung Gung, Po Po, Ayden, Mum, Lance, Me, Taran & Lindsay.

Choice

Love this country! More to come when I'm back stateside. For now, GO THE ALL BLACKS!

Baby Devin

Congratulations to Julie & Richard for the birth of their baby boy: Devin Wong. Mother and son are healthy after an earlier than expected arrival.

Daniel, best of luck on being an uncle and make sure he doesn't inherit your tendency for injury!

Hang On Little Tomato

Howdy folks. Three quick pics to share with you relating to Pink Martini. Here we go.

---

---

So, Hang On Little Tomato happens to be the name of the 2nd album by Pink Martini. For those of you not familiar with this wonderful band, they have been described as a "little orchestra" who play "music of the world without being world music." Do yourself a favour and look them up. Anyhow, getting sidetracked just a little bit, the little tomato depicted above represents the first produced by my very own tomato plant. So proud of the tomato, and inspired by the Pink Martini song, I actually carried this tomato to the top of Mt. Whitney. I had planned to take a photo with it at the summit but altitude and a sense of urgency to continue conspired against me resulting in no photo at the summit. Nonetheless, the little tomato hung on and tasted all the more sweet after the epic journey.

---

Speaking of Pink Martini, I had the privilege of seeing them perform last week with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Bloody brilliant show. While they did not play the tomato song, they flawlessly played a number of their other hits and a few newer ones too. I'm extremely happy that I had the opportunity to be there to enjoy the performance. Perhaps I could be so bold as to suggest they personify the artistry of music.

---

Not content with playing beautiful music, the band kindly stayed after the show to greet fans. Mari & I got a photo with Peggy Forbes (mother of the lead singer) and Thomas Lauderdale (pianist extraordinaire and band leader). Worth the (20+ minute, bet winning) wait I must say.

---

---

So the take home message? Go listen to Pink Martini. Awesome.