Christmas in NY

After seeing the film, Little Children, at the Angelika, we walked around and wondered what miracle of science would allow us to live in San Francisco and NY at the same time.

In Vichy Springs

The 90 degree water comes from 5 miles beneath the earth's surface and is supposedly 25,000 years old. This was already too much science to fathom but then there were these incredible calcium carbonate bubbles that settled on us in the baths, another hallmark of this peculiar water.

Camel opens for The Faint

I thought it was illegal or at least really tough for tobacco companies to market directly to kids. But apparently not if you use the "sponsor a concert" loophole. Especially one where the audience is likely to consist of hipsters aged 13-23 and it's oddly easy to skirt past the ID checkpoint.

Here we are at a recent show at the Mezzanine. We went to see The Faint, who were great, but who could miss Camel, the opening, closing, basically omnipresent act. Notably missing was Joe Camel - apparently he's been replaced by Camel in smoke, Camel against sleek blue backdrop, Camel over lounging couch and Camel in sign over door that says "smoking area this way."

Playing with marshmellows: Hyde Park, London

In a Notting Hill boutique

On the tube

At Cory and Jason's wedding

Dunes at dusk

Biking near the light house in Cap Ferret

On the boat in Cap Ferret

Outside the breakfast room at Hotel Les Pins

Boats at low tide in Cap Ferret

Bangalore by night

Cool roadside posters

Blake in a kurtha top

Outside Aunty Baby's house. The house is named "Shekinah" a hebrew word that means the manifest presence of God.

Mall Culture

There are now over 300 million Indians who can be classified as middle class - comparable to the entire population of the US. That means a lot more disposable income for a lot more people. Retailers and marketers can't get enough.

Shona's Ballet School Performance

My cousin, an attorney and ballerina and started Bangalore's first ballet school 6 years ago. We got to see a performance - that's Shona in the middle.

With Mummy!

At an ayurvedic spa

A day of yoga, pranayama (breathing), oil massages, meditation...and chess. Blake won. But otherwise a perfect day.

That's nice, take your time, not like we mind the view or anything

In Mysore at the Metropole Hotel

Mummy, Blake and me on a silver swing.

Uncle Ron by day and night

He is a well known attorney in Bangalore. There is a lot of paper in his office.

Hanging out with us at midnight. We are bar hopping, and just stopped briefly at 20 Rest House Crescent so Sam could pick up his car.

Favorite spots

Where we used to buy sausages on Sundays. One of the original meat shops in Bangalore.



Making a phone call - these low cost phone booths revolutionized telecommunications in India over a decade ago. They can be found even in the most rural corners of the country.



At our favorite cafe - Barista - on St. Mark's Road.

At Hint, a rooftop bar

With my friend Dominic - we were in nursery school through 3rd grade together. He works at Hewlett Packard during the week and runs his family's coffee plantation 3 hours outside of town on weekends.

In an auto

The cheapest way to get around the city. For less than a dollar you can inhale lots of exhaust fumes, weave in and out of traffic precariously close to death, but see the city first hand. By the 3rd or 4th time Blake was pushing back on the crafty rickshaw drivers trying to gouge us...and winning.

The Oberoi Hotel

An oasis for business moguls and wealthy families in the heart of the city on Mahatma Gandhi Road. $350 (US) would get you the broom closet. A joke in Silicon Valley for the past few years has been that office space is cheaper in San Jose than in Bangalore.

The high tech sprawl

We actually heard Google was the fastest growing employer in Bangalore, paying outrageous salaries and competing aggressively with Yahoo.

Sights along our Brigade Road walk

Army recruitment posters. Interesting to see in today's context. My grandfather spent his career in the Army, retiring as a Colonel and my dad was in the Airforce.

Our first stroll

On Brigade Road, one of the main commercial centers in downtown Bangalore. The shop is connected to Nilgiri's, an old and reputable bakery/food store. We're drawn to it by the smell of fresh tangerines and oranges. The road safety sign says "Speed is vicious. Life is precious."