Red Dawn

Hyde Park, Sydney - about 5:50am

Well, I woke up this morning and thought I'd astro-travelled to Mars overnight. Gusty winds blanketed Sydney with red dust from some faraway desert locale. Even the inside of my train was coated in dust. I got to work a little late after taking a few photos of the phenomenon. You can see more piccies on my photo gallery.

The Sydney Morning Herald said: "It may look like Doomsday, but the causes of today's storm are relatively prosaic.

"Tiny particles lifted from the desert in South Australia are wafted high into the air and carried east. The ruddy haze is caused by sunlight refracting through iron-rich dust.

"If it were possible to scrape the film of dust coating outdoor surfaces across Sydney together into a heap, it would probably weigh something like 1,000 tonnes."

The war memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney

Good Vibrations

My hair's frizzy, my head is thumping, but I don't mind 'cause last night we saw Brian Wilson perform in Sydney's Domain. We danced in the rain and sang off-key at the top of our lungs.

Brian's band was incredible. Hearing their perfect harmonies and instrumentation, I could almost pretend I'd gone back to the '60s. They played Beach Boys favourites, like California Girls, Wouldn't It Be Nice, I Get Around, Fun, Fun, Fun, and God Only Knows. Thankfully, they didn't play Kokomo, but here's a little video just for my good friend Brett, who saved us a place on his picnic rug.



And for everyone else: