Like the Chinese gentleman who shared our table for Dim Sum at Aik Hoe, everyone in Penang seems to get by in at least three languages – Chinese, Malay and English. I do admire that in a person because, like most New Zealanders, I'm a monoglot. That wasn't the only reason I liked him, though. He was his own man. At 87, so he should be. Share each dish, he told us, you'll eat less and taste more. Start the day at five. Oatmeal for breakfast keeps you young – I've eaten it almost every day for fifty years. No cream or sugar. Work in your business every day [he has an electrical business with To View More >>

Best EVER Movie. I watch Love Actually at least twice a year (or any other time I feel the need to top up my tank). I can still feel the emotion ... the prickle of anticipation at the opening scene in the Heathrow Arrivals Hall, knowing that I am about to experience something amazing. First time, I think I cried most of the way through the movie! Here's that scene again, for anyone who feels their tank need filling :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMScPVO4rLw Enjoy, Sonya Pretty cool the way it segues back to Heathrow at the end too - Ed To View More >>

Do you remember your first kiss? Be sure to read the notes. Lovely kids. Send us your love stories! Cheers, Sonya To View More >>

It's been marryin' time at Queensberry these last few months. Off the top of my head there's been Danny, Nigel, Akshay, Chetan, Gino and, for the girls, Anna. One of the first family occasions I can remember with Heather was my Mum and Dad's 25th anniversary. And now, as of today, we've been married forty-three years ourselves. Good grief. 1968 was one year on from the summer of love: a time as now of terrorism, tumult and war. Even earthquakes. Unrest to say the least of it in America, France and many places else. Vietnam, the Prague Spring, the Civil Rights Act, the assassination of MLK and RFK. To View More >>

My interview with Rod Ellmore talked about how the close partnership between photographers and vendors in the '70s and '80s helped build some great careers, but it wasn't all positive. One disadvantage was that marketing gimmicks picked up at seminars organised by the vendors propagated like viruses! Like this one - the notorious "couple in the brandy glass". Pam brought us a picture (left) from her brother Martin's 80s wedding to Simone (thanks for sharing!). And I found proof that tacky ideas live on in Photoshop. Now you know I'm a snob – but not as much as I used to be: There's nothing wrong To View More >>

Imagine taking this to a wedding. Here's a clever advertising campaign by Samsung promoting the NX11... Get noticed. Cheers, Nigel To View More >>

I would have just left (the shop)... Enjoy Cheers, Nigel To View More >>

I read Ian's post on the Kodak Carousel and immediately wanted to put my hand up .... (a sling back to the days of discipline at a Catholic school). I'm probably stating the obvious but I felt the message was SO important that it deserved emphasising.  Yes, I understand the business side of the message but there was this other thing that became important too. The post has a video clip from Mad Men, a sublime tv program about an advertising agency in the States in the 60's. It's about the launch of the Carousel .... Forgetting the wonderfully clever pitch, the ability to turn an electromechanical To View More >>

OK, n8rpat8r, we love it (found on YouTube). Who are you?! To View More >>

This clip is from Mad Men, the US TV series about '60s-era Madison Ave ad-men. The guys are planning the launch of the Kodak Carousel. Watch 'em weep. It's not the about the technology, it's not about "new", it's about...  what drives your business. Cheers, Ian To View More >>