Obviously it was a bad idea to consume a strong-ish flat white after watching a late session of The Da Vinci code as I am a) unable to sleep and b) recollecting my thoughts from when I actually read the book a few years ago. 

 

I am not going to comment on the un/true contents of the book/novel/film but I wonder if this is the same reaction the world had to the bibles release? The followers are staunch and writing their own theses and interpretations (see the myriad of books 'uncovering demystifying the legends of Brown' - out of interest 257 separate products pop up when you put the 3 magical words into an Amazon search)  yet the cynics and Pontiff are up in arms wanting the book to be banned. Is this history repeating itself yet again....?

 

So is the next list of 'evil axes inclined' nations going to be a ranking of countries who ARE/NOT supporting the screening of the film? Already several countries have opted to ban the movie such as Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Phillipines and of course little Samoa. Wondering if these nations are considered as the 'coalition of the willing' or the 'axis of evil'?

 

I guess the only difference here is that our information distribution methods are obviously more efficient and it has only taken 5 odd years for the book to become a household name (thank you world media) with minimal bloodshed whereas the Romans took a more basic "media" and forced approach (conversion vs. death) to ensure Christianity was widely practised after some 900 years.

 

As for the film, I think I would have walked out if it hadn't have been for the crisp air that is Audrey Tatou. She held that film together, Mr Hanks should just stay in the 80's with his old pal Hooch. What an atrocious performance on his part....

 

As for me, it's back to peeling lychees and mangosteens until the caffeine wears off. Loving the tropical fruit (except for the durian which still makes me feel ill every time I walk past the fruitman...ewww)!!

Sorry if you have received emails from me to join WAYN.com - it's actually a piece of crap and you have to pay to use it (Thanks Tors!!).

 

Don't sign up for it, it's completely uselss. A much better way to keep track of buddies online is using the free networking site hi5.com (click the subject line to become a user) where you can actually view your friend's network of friends and see common buddies etc. Kind of cool like that.

It's coming to you tried and tested so join it now!

..Must've left it down the poohole at the B&S whilst I wus sinkin' some tinnies with McLeod's daughters ay.

 

Alas, my patriotism has indeed fallen for my beloved Australia. If I see that ridiculous ad one more time on Singaporean tv (free to air AND cable) I am going to have to stick a didgeridoo in my eye...hang on I don't own a "didge" and nor do majority of Australians!

 

Some more false portrayals from M&C Saatchi's recent efforts:

 

- Australians are NOT blonde! It is actually a proven fact that most Australians are brunettes including most of the "blondes"! (The real blondes are all Poms anyway) So why did they cast only blondes for the 2 female spoken roles for the 30 second cutdown?

- Roos occasionally may make an appearance on the odd golf course but THEY DO NOT RESIDE IN MY BACKYARD! After years of not being asked this question anymore, I find I am being asked it nowadays more and more as a result of the campaign.

- Most Australians can in fact WALK to their front gate, there really is no need to send "BILL" in a pickup truck to open it for you.

 

I'm so bloody embarressed and ashamed that Australia has now gone back to the woeful days of 80's Crocodile Dundee, prawns on barbies and XXXX beer. Did they happen to forget the cosmopolitan and upbeat metropolis' of Melbourne and Sydney - world leaders in fashion and food not to mention the rich cultural diversity that urban Australia subscribes to?

 

I have no doubt that the strategy behind this campaign was NOT to highlight the big citites as they have already made a name for themselves independent of "Australia", but as an Aussie living abroad it's simply embaressing to be associated with such a lack of sophistication, glamour and culture - the 3 things that I am proud of in "Australia" as a brand which has progressed so much since...since I can remember!

 

I think the ad campaign would have been better suited to sell the Hills District of Sydney, although one would have to omit the blasphemous word 'Bloody' out of that version.

 

 

Thanks as always to everyone who left contributions from the last post. The music advice was awesome but the winner for the recommendation is going to have to be my Ammi.

 

Apart from the auspiciousness (is that even a word I wonder??) of today, my mother verbally recommended me the James Blunt album ("I posted a message to you but somehow it didn't work, so I couldn't be bothered to retype the whole thing again...") which I must admit wasn't too bad. It's MIX 106.5 easy listening through and through so thanks Amma for that.

 

Not much has been happening in Singapore of late. It is yet another long weekend, this time for Vesak - a Buddhist religious holiday. The city is quiet as most people have gone to neighbouring Bangkok, KL, Bali, Perth to enjoy the break.

 

Having said this, my highlight from last week would have to be seeing Ayesha and Sam here in Singapore. On their way back from 12 months of global backpacking (and Alaskan bird watching!!!), they managed to fit in a few days here in Singapore before heading back to Melbourne. It was absolutely wonderful to see the both of them after almost 2 years and meet Ayesha's extended family here. Will post pics when Ayesha emails them to me :) My camera was unfortunately out of action temporarily.

 

Would like to finish off by saying HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my Ammi, the pictorial is a tribute to her. I must admit that as I trawled through the millions of our family photos, it was hard to find shots of Ammi as she was pretty much always the designated photographer - YET another title to add to the job description. Father's day will definitely be much easier....As will Eid as we seem to have collected quite a few shots of goat ("bakra") slaughters from our Townsville days (ew)....

 

For all my other mothers around the globe, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to you toooo and I hope you all scored lots of good presents out of your poor children when you all reminded them how many painful hours of labour you had to endure to give them their first breath of life.

 

Until next time, lots of love. Choti xo

Well I have officially located the world's BEST cheesecake. Believe it or not it is located at an upmarket backpackers (yes the concept exists) in downtown Singapore. With some help from friend/tourist guide/housemate Wei (who is slowly getting sick of featuring in an ever increasing amount of blog photos!) we ventured off for cheesecake after watching the American Idol elimination episode last Thursday (GO CHRIS!!).

 

Cheesecake was great (it is served in a martini glass with breadcrumb ice cream, marscapone and preserved strawberries), but the real fun didn't start until after des(s)ert when we decided to visit Little India and the infamous Mustafa's - the 24 hour department store.

 

Good lord it was absolutely amazing! We were there for almost 3 hours traipsing every aisle of the 4 storey monster which was much to my amazement PACKED at 11:30pm on a Thursday night. And being located in Little India, it is definitely THE place to buy all your Indian grocery needs - I died and went to achar (pickle) heaven. Of course managed to find the ole Ahmed's Kassondi in Oil, but there were a myriad of other Sri Lankan/South Indian/North Indian varieties as well as rasmalay/gulab jamun in a can which I was not gutsy enough to buy just yet.

 

Surprisingly we didn't buy all that much but came home with 2 DVD's. Xanadu (which we put on the second we got home) and Mohabbetein (Sharrukh, Amitabh and Ashvarya in ONE movie!) which is being viewed in 1 hour increments due to the sheer length of the fillum.

 

It is May day long weekend here so we have had a few fun nights out, but nose back to the grind tomorrow. See the great pic of LC (also a familiar face around Sydney town) & Jason as evidence of a fun weekend. If you see them around Sydney in the next few weeks make sure you stop them and say hi.

 

And of course thank you to those who actually left comments (and Hector for his "omygod you have a blog? Why didn't anyone tell me?!?!" phone conversation). Thank you for visiting as always :)

 

 

Choti xo