89 Year Landmark

My dear Chicago friend, Toni, turned 89 years old today. I spoke with her for an hour and her mind is as sharp as ever!

85 Years Young

My Uncle Hector turned 85 years old today.

My mom (his sister) & I took him out for lunch.

Steve Winwood Turns 61

I have few heroes but one of them has long been Steve Winwood, who turned 61 years old today. He was a musical genius at a very young age, co-writing and recording Gimme Some Lovin' and I'm a Man with the Spencer Davis Group. He then went on to be an integral part of both Traffic and Blind Faith.

I first discovered him in the Fall of 1980 on the first day my dad let me drive solo. He had bought a turquoise blue 1967 Buick Special for him & I to share. After dropping him off at work, I drove to school (Grade 11), cranking up the tunes on a 3rd Party Korean AM/FM/Cassette stereo he had added. And one of the two songs to play that morning was While You See a Chance, a song that has been an anthem of sorts for me ever since, especially when I needed a little inspiration!

Besides loving Winwood's music, I was also impressed with the fact that he avoided the drug scene that so many musicians get wrapped up in, and instead just focused on what was most important, the music.

Happy Birthday, Steve, and God Bless You!

Studio Version

David Berner's Special Day!

Today is the birthday of a great citizen of Vancouver! Happy Birthday, David!

Latin American Birthday Party

Danny & I were very fortunate to have been invited to the 11th birthday of the son of some friends who hail from Guatemala. Great fun and great food was had by all!






A week ago "Uncle Danny" was a huge hit with his little water balloons. This time around we bought strong, large balloons and he figured out how to fill them up with water using a water cannon at the Stanley Park Kids Waterpark. This was an even bigger hit!

Here's a Piñata, commonly used for kids birthday parties in Latin America. I think these should be immediately adopted into birthday parties across the globe!

Free Slurpees!

This Friday, July 11th, 7/11 will be celebrating it's 80th Birthday and will be giving away 1,000 free 7.11 ounce slurpees at each store.

Millie's 1st Birthday

My friend Sharon's dog, Millie, turned 1 recently so a birthday party was in order. Here are some photos from the event.

Here's the birthday girl:
And here she is again, along with one of her smaller cousins:
Here's Millie playing with her buddy, Snoopy:
This little sweetheart is a puppy named Lola. She was a soccer fanatic:
Here's Snoopy decked out for the festivities:

Steve Winwood Turns 60 Years Old

Today is the birthday of my favourite musician of all time, Steve Winwood. He avoided the glamour, he avoided the drugs, and he stayed true to the music. Here are a few videos of his to enjoy:

A Great Night of Indian Food

My longtime friend, Mr. T., is turning 37 on Sunday so his brother and I decided to take him out for dinner. We ended up at Maurya on West Broadway. What a great choice! Not only was the food and conversation great, but we also met two lovely ladies working there, one from Guadalajara, Mexico and the other from São Paulo, Brazil.

Embrace the Rain? Not Today!

It was absolutely miserable in Vancouver today, but I was fortunate enough to attend a lovely birthday party of the 1 year-old daughter of some friends of mine. In their home it was bright and vibrant and colourful.

A Special, Special Day!

My young friend in Mexico turned 18 today. I wish I was there to celebrate this special occasion with him but alas I am not. I did, however, send him the following message:

Hola Danny!

My mom and I wanted to wish you a VERY HAPPY 18th Birthday!!!

I distinctly remember when I turned 18. It was a very special time, one of transition where I was entering university and dare I say "adulthood". Much like a caterpillar sheds it old covering and becomes a butterfly, so are you shedding your time as a kid and moving onto something bigger and surely even better. There will definitely be hurdles along the way, my friend, but you can always rest assured that you have a mother who loves you more than eternity itself and close family both in Mexico City and this other wee place known as Vancouver.

Grab that thing called "life" by the horns and steer it wherever you want it to go! I'm so excited for you, amigo, because there are many, MANY incredible things in store for you in the months and years ahead!!

Bravo for turning 18. Bravo for being you. And thank you for being my friend.

A Cynical Birthday Reflection

Canada turns 140 tomorrow. I was two years old when it turned 100. This got me thinking a lot about the state of the nation.

This morning I went out for breakfast with my mom. Among other things, she mentioned a do-nothing cousin of mine named 'L'. All of her life, 'L' has been a sycophant to everyone in the family and even more so to the government. My mom said, "You know, her fundamental problem is that she expects everyone else to attend to her needs."

I reflected upon this for a second and said, "Well, considering it's Canada's 140th Birthday tomorrow, I think she perfectly represents the perfect Canadian!"

A highly cynical statement I know, but I think it's incredibly accurate of the mindset of soooooooooo many in our country today. :-(

So happy birthday, Canada, but I think you were much more outstanding when you turned 100. You've turned rather lazy and pathetic since then.

Bundt Cake Follies

Anyone who's seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding can never forget the hilarious scene surrounding the infamous "Bundt Cake". Well, my good friend, Ravena, worked long & hard to prepare a birthday cake for her sister-in-law but alas it was not meant to be. Something went wrong and it ... well ... got a tad deformed. Apparently still tasted great but she was upset with the end result. So a replacement was quickly obtained from Goldilocks.


This sort of reminds me of the time I prepared my "world famous" curried shrimp for some friends in Sudbury, Ontario. To thicken it I usually use cornstarch. They didn't have any so I substituted Cream of Tartar. Little did I know that the moment that touches milk, it goes sour! All that work and all for naught!