Andrea Edwards

I’m hoping Steve doesn’t mind me blogging an ode to him, but he deserves some recognition for the amazing man that he is. Anyone who knows Steve probably knows that he is a remarkably compassionate man. He’s incredibly thoughtful, funny, loving, affectionate, loyal, devoted, an amazing Dadda and husband, and one of the best communicators I’ve ever known a man could be. He’s awesome and if you get inside Steve’s circle of trust, he’ll never let you down. He’s just not built like that. With Lex on the beach in Freemantle Sometimes I’ve noticed Steve’s willingness to help others can be perceived in a strange way. In these cases, the person he is offering to help or love or give over some hard fought knowledge will pull away from Steve, leaving him feeling very hurt. Did I say he was sensitive too? When this happens, I often say to him that when someone is incapable of doing these things for no benefit to themselves, they cannot cope with anyone else offering it. It’s not that these people are bad; they’ve just never seen any other way and don’t trust the other way when they do see it. The reality is many people are motivated by what’s in it for me (WIFM), but when you’re not motivated by this and just like helping people out because it makes everyone feel good, often the WIFM’s aren’t really comfortable with that. It’s a shame, because Steve always comes from a very generous and loving place – especially when people are important to me, or to both of us. But he’s learning to deal with this and if you are a recipient of his generosity, in what ever form, know that it is completely genuine and always from the right place. It’s something you can trust in. In the last couple of years, especially in Australia, Steve was unbelievable. He had to travel pretty much every week, and when he didn’t travel, he had to get up at 4am to drive to the office in Brisbane. He was exhausted. But every night he would come home and put energy into the boys and into me (cut out the filthy thoughts!). I’ve seen many men escape to their ‘man room,’ or just zone out completely from family, but Steve never ever did. I really appreciated this, because as he knew, I was not made of Mother Earth material and found the whole demands of two small children hard to tackle by myself 24 hours a day seven days a week. He always stepped in to give me a break, whenever he was there, always making himself the last priority in his day. With Jax on Gympie Tce, Noosaville We agreed to move to Singapore last May. Part of our agreement was that Steve needed to get a job – he needed that security. I said OK, but at some point we need to go no matter what and he said OK. In the end, there were no “jobs” in his field, especially in Singapore, and I said OK then, time to take a chance and fly. Can you do that? Steve is the cautious one. I’m the one that thinks money grows on trees. Steve needs a plan, a back-up plan and a back-up plan if the back-up plan fails, I say let’s see how it goes, everything will be alright, it always is. And I’m always right too plus my blood pressure is better. I believe that sometimes you’ve got to throw your fate out to the universe, believe and see what happens. You’ve got to work towards your future too, but believing in the first place is what motivates me. It’s always worked and it’s working for us now. In fact, my belief in the Law of Attraction or the Power of Positive Thinking didn’t come from any books. It came from nearly 10 years of being single (24-33) always with a firm idea in my head of exactly the type of man I wanted in my life, because I did want to share my life with someone. My ideal man had to have the same values and morals as me, he had to be fun, adventurous, funny, with big shoulders and big thighs, and he had to love me for who I was and certainly not be scared of me. Many blokes had been scared and Steve has often been told “good on ya mate. I think Andrea’s great, but wouldn’t have the balls to be with a woman like that.” I always see that as a big compliment – to Steve and to me. When Steve walked into my life seven and a half years ago, he embodied everything I hoped for and so much more. See it’s true and it works single people! Anyway, so we made the decision to fly to Singapore just before Christmas and we left a week later. It was time to take a leap of faith and see what happened. We arrived with enough money to survive three months before we were on the streets, and in Singapore, it’s hot on the streets. The government probably wouldn’t be too keen on a bunch of Caucasians bunking down on Orchard Road either. But we’re never going to be on the streets, and while the first six weeks have been a tad anxious, we have great relationships with awesome business people and the work is starting to come in. The first two jobs are launching new business units for two information companies. But that’s another story. So we’re up and running and getting our teeth sunk in. The boys are in school this week and so far, off to a great start. The teachers are very loving and devoted, so we know it’s going to be OK. After our Australian pre-school fiasco (which was one of the main reasons we left Australia) we will always find it hard being comfortable with schooling for our boys, but

Not everyone who has lived in Singapore will agree with me here, but that’s OK. Sometimes Singapore just doesn’t suit people, like Noosa didn’t suit us, but I’ve got to say, we love it. Since returning six weeks ago, we are getting back in to the groove of the place, and discovering new dimensions to it. Heck you leave Singapore for a few weeks and there’s a new sky scraper up – it is a city on the move and everywhere you look you see progress. I love that. I’m definitely a city girl, and it’s awesome being back in a city where the pulse of life is throbbing away at all hours. Hey the shops are open til 10 or 11pm every night – cool. Shops closing at 5pm really didn’t suit me. Not to mention every shopping centre has kids’ playgrounds of some description and that means if it’s raining, you’ve got a tonne of entertainment options for two adventurous lads and you can do the groceries at the same time. Condo living is pretty much the norm, and while you can live in a house, why would you? Living in a condo means friends for the kids, potential friends for the adults and everyone comes from all corners of the globe, so you find yourself surrounded with a great mix of people – I love that. All national, religious and cultural traditions are shared with parties two seconds out your front door. Not to mention fabulous pools, kids playgrounds, tennis courts, squash courts, and free gym membership. Soon we’ll also be embracing Cathy, our soon to be employed maid, who we hope joins us in the next couple of weeks. With Cathy on board, there will be no responsibility for washing, or ironing (not that I’m doing any), or shopping, or cooking, or cleaning, or anything around the house really. With all that covered, I just need to take care of myself, work as hard as I can, or spend time with my precious family. That is the biggest bonus of being in Singapore and one of the primary reasons for our return. The schools are amazing for the kids, everyone is pumped up to embrace business opportunities (Asia is definitely humming right now), the government positively encourages entrepreneurs, the airport is 10 minutes away where you can get great deals all over the world, the restaurants are amazing, the entertainment options are growing by the minute as Singapore seeks to join the world’s most exciting cities, and architecturally it’s gone from being a pretty dull place to a pretty stunning place – all in the last few years. I get a bit bored with comments like ‘but you can’t chew gum.’ Well guess what, you can, you just can’t buy it here without a prescription. But you know what? I bloody hate the sound of people smacking away on a piece of gum in my ear anyway, so for me that is a very big bonus. It’s a clean place, it’s a safe place, and while the traffic can be shit, the drivers shocking and the cost of living extremely high for foreigners (3rd most expensive city in the world now), it’s a city where anything seems possible, and right now, that’s the perfect place for us to be. I’d have to say one of the biggest bonuses is it’s warm all year round. Some hate the humidity, but after living through London and Boston winters, plus a chilly winter on the Sunshine Coast, I am so very happy about that. Don’t get me wrong, I have my Singapore days too, where everything shits me to tears – the shocking driving, slow walking when I’m in a rush, the occasional encounters you have with pretentious expat wankers, the stupidity of the condo guards, or the crazy expense of many things – it’s not perfect, but it’s as perfect as it can be for me right now. Singapore, derided by many for being boring, I am here to tell you it’s not. After the last two years wandering around trying to find a new life for us, and realising that what we left was better than anything we were finding, I am now fully able to embrace this town for what it enables me to achieve and the lifestyle benefits it offers my whole family. We’re still in temporary accommodation (five months now) but soon we hope to be in our own home, with our own stuff and then life can begin anew. I wouldn’t recommend our last two years to anyone, but we learnt a lot of fabulous life lessons, and we’ve got our eye on the prize now, so let our new life begin! Yours, without the bollocksAndrea

For those who are Christopher Hitchens’ fans, or even for those who detest him, his memoirs “Hitch 22” are a very good read indeed and definitely worth the time. Covering all of the major political events the world has seen over the last three or four decades, his unique position as an intellectual as well as his connections within the halls of power, certainly give a perspective I haven’t always been privy too. I first became aware of what he was all about when I read “God is not Great.” While I didn’t agree with everything he said (mainly because too many things have happened to me that can’t be explained. See my very first blog in May last year – “The Ghost who Tried to Shag me” – for details), I did enjoy his perspective. I absolutely agree that there is so much bullshit wrapped up around religion, and after a thoroughly Catholic upbringing + education, I’ve spent the next 20 years trying to work out what I actually do think about this stuff. I have to say that I definitely think there’s something unexplained out there in the universe, it’s just the “facts” I was bombarded with in my youth that don’t sit well with me. Hitch certainly grabs hold of the bollocks that is the world’s religions. I enjoyed “God is Not Great,” however I couldn’t bring myself to read another of his books where Mother Theresa was the evil one. I actually got to meet that tiny amazing little woman when travelling through Calcutta in 1995. I also witnessed for myself the work the nuns were doing and it would take an amazing person indeed to convince me otherwise. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t agree with her opinions on divorce, abortion, or pretty much any of her faith based statements – hey she was an old lady from conservative Poland, existing within the Catholic Church and her religious dogma was hardly surprising – but there was great work being done for people who couldn’t help themselves. I spent a day cleaning out the intellectually disabled adults’ dorm and was very grateful that a facility like this existed for them. That’s how I remember Mother Theresa – for the real impact she made on people who needed it. Life as an intellectually disabled adult on the streets of Calcutta would not be very pleasant that’s for sure. So Hitch, not with you there. But getting back to “Hitch 22.” His childhood was very interesting for me because it was so completely different from mine. Brought up in a conservative family who loved things like literature, Shakespeare and poetry, along with a Mother who gave up everything to ensure her children had the best education possible, the Nett result being the Christopher Hitchens we know today. A man of incredible intelligence, wit, and a wonderful ability to put the shits up people who think conventionally. My childhood had no Shakespeare, poetry and only my sister, Phillipa, was interested in this side of life – I just couldn’t be arsed with it when I was young. I wanted to be outside, climbing trees, and being free. Christopher Hitchens was definitely more the book worm than the sports nut and his youthful antics made for interesting reading. Especially his boyhood snogs with fellow classmates. Always a curious thing: boys fondling boys within the English private education system? Parent’s are interesting things and a great memoir is going to entertain you with someone else’s perspective plus make you think about your own. For example, while I didn’t get an amazing education like Hitch, I am very thankful to my parents for many reasons. I’m thankful to my Dad for being curious about the world and anything not Australian – he gave me my passion to travel. My Mum for always standing up for herself and never letting anyone tell her she couldn’t do something because she was a woman – my feminist leanings definitely come from that. To both of them for never making me aware that being a woman meant I was any less – and I wholeheartedly agree with that, obviously. For my Dad’s love of sport and the fun things I got to do, like body building and cycling – the kind of sports women rarely do and I’ve always enjoyed being a physically strong woman. For my Dad’s love of fantasy books – the gift of imagination – I still read anything in the fantasy section and love it. For Mum having the guts to go on strike for over a year to gain a better deal for some very valuable professionals in our world – I’ll always remember the nurses strike in the early 80s. It was a SHIT year for us – we were destitute – but I learnt that there are things worth fighting for. So I enjoyed the part about his childhood for many reasons. He also talks about communism, fascism, totalitarianism and socialism – all of which he pretty much experienced firsthand. He came of age at a very interesting time in this world and experienced many major events that happened before I was even born. His chapter on the second Gulf War was interesting. An advocate of the war, much to the dismay of the anti-war movement – his former fans – he was definitely right that Saddam had to go. It was just the way it all came about that I can never agree with and the disaster and devastation that followed these decisions. Can 119,000 dead with 68,000 of the dead non-combatants ever be justified? There you go. One of the more interesting yarns I’ve read in a long time but be warned, if you’re not so hot with words, you might want to read this book with a dictionary. It’s a superb book by a great mind, who I hope survives his current health woes and is around for another decade or more. I’m sure he

Condo living is great. There’s always something going on, people to meet, kids for the kids to play with and even the occasional argument to listen in on. Cool. Sometimes it’s not so great. For example, just now, I hear a shower outside and think it’s one of the boys playing around with the maid’s shower. Nope, both boys are accounted for being buggers in the living room. So I go outside and there is a torrent of dirty soapy water coming down all over our clean dry washing and pool towels. “Stop” I yell, it continues. “Hello can you please stop,” nothing, it continues. I go outside, look up and in the apartment above us there is a maid on her hands and knees scrubbing the outside floors. “Hello can you please stop washing the dirty soapy water over the edge of the balcony?” I ask as nicely as I can ‘cos I was a bit pissed at this point. “Mam said it’s OK.” “Well it’s not OK because you’ve got two apartments under you and we are both getting soaked.” I’d already heard Deb, the British lady below, shouting out too – welcome to Singapore Deb. Finally, it stopped. This isn’t the first time it’s happened. At our last place in Singapore we were on the ground floor (with 16 floors above us) and maids would regularly wash the balcony and spill buckets of filthy soapy water over the edge, right where an 18 month and a three month old were playing. It was infuriating. I always adopted a policy of finding out which apartment was responsible and then getting Vick, our maid, to have a word with them. I didn’t want them getting in trouble, but sometimes I had to speak to their bosses, which meant they did get in trouble. Sorry girls. You should’ve listened to Vick. It boggles my mind how people just don’t think about the impact they have on those around them – well in this case below them – but that’s communal living. Tackle it one incident at a time and stay nice. Being a bitch just makes things worse! Yours, without the bollocksAndrea

Is anyone else being pummelled with Calvin Klein’s Envy advert featuring Zoe? It turns out it’s Zoe Saldana, who apparently was in Avatar – I’m so out of the loop, because I didn’t even know who she was until I just looked it up… but I’ve got to tell you, the best day in the last month was getting a recordable set top box so I could fast forward over these painful ads. I mean she’s a sexy girl and she looks GREAT in her underwear – most women wouldn’t mind looking like that when they roll around in their jocks let’s face it, although slightly small on the boob front if you ask me. I also presume the tantalising taunt of “Calvin, or nothing at all” means she’ll look great out of them too, not to mention that you might even get to see those tattoos she’s alluded to – but puuurlease, enough already. I’ve always liked Calvin Klein ads because they feature sexy people who look great in their underpants – David Beckham was a standout, as was Freddie Ljungberg (+ package) and how could anyone forget Djimon Hounson – yummy! However, I really don’t need to hear the “models” views on life – the perspectives of the stars rarely appeals to me at all. I’m not alone in that am I? Does anyone else actually enjoy them? Do these ads make you buy more Calvin Klein gear? I think my favourite line from a corniness perspective – and it’s hard because there’s a few – is “love is a devil. That’s Shakespeare you know. Boy that man knew about love. He always makes me cry. And I’m a really good crier. You know what’s even better? When a guy cries. It makes me melt. It’s kind of like the rain. I love that too. Everything else just washes away.” I had to listen to the ad three times to get that down… I need to cleanse myself of its corniness… Put her on a poster, show her dancing around but PLEASE, no more Zoe’s perspective on life – I’m too busy working out my own! I seriously want to scream every time the ad comes on and I can’t imagine I’m alone in that? Surely that’s not the advertising executives’ goal – is it? Come on, you did the X series and that was awesome – what’s happened Calvin?? Yours, without the bollocksAndrea

I went to a public toilet yesterday. It was a nice toilet. Your typical Western style bowl – which is my preference – but there were two dirty big footprints on the seat. This is not an uncommon thing in Asia as squat toilets are still very much a part of life so some girls are obviously adapting, however every time I see the footprints it gives me a bit of a chuckle to imagine someone perched up high to do their business. I have been known to perch up high myself on occasion, but not in Singapore, only in places where the toilets are so filthy you don’t want any part of your body touching a thing. I’ll never forget a train ride back in Egypt in 1992 – it was putrid. I could write a book on the toilets of the world (not that anyone would want to read it) as I have encountered every type and standard of toilet possible on my travels. From trenches in China with no walls, to filthy filthy cesspits in India, and a dirt hole in Egypt with a scorpion making a quick exit – I’ve pretty much seen it and “done it” in them all. You certainly lose your delicate nose quickly when travelling and I had an extremely delicate nose when I first started travelling. But the thing I’ve never been able to work out is exactly how do you use a squat toilet and all the accoutrements that come with it? There’s usually a hose, a bucket, a mop and a broom. Rarely is there toilet paper. The problem is I’m keen to learn, because it’s so much better for you to squat (bowel cancer rates are significantly lower in squat toilet using countries,) but it’s not like I can ask anyone. I mean, what do you say? Can you take me through the steps please and how do you do it and not come out soaked? There’s a few gals I know I could ask (but haven’t had the guts) but what if demonstrations were required? I suppose it’s something you learn from your mum or your dad and after that, you just have to work it out for yourself and try not to get too soaked in the meantime huh? All I’ve worked out so far is using a squat when wearing hiking boots versus stilettos is a very very different experience. Oh and always pack your own toilet paper. Yours, without the bollocksAndrea

I checked my blog stats for the first time today and it seems I’ve had nearly 4,000 hits since “Without the Bollocks” went public around October last year! Therefore I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone for reading the ramblings of my mind. I’d be thrilled if I had that many hits on our company Website www.sajeideas.com, but we’ll get there! Interestingly, “I just want to elaborate on the vagina discussion” was the number one blog with “gaining time” close behind at number two. This means I have two types of readers – people with filthy minds and those curious about our decision making processes. An interesting diaspora that! My primary readership is in Australia and the US, with Singapore, the UK, Netherlands, France, Canada, Denmark and India taking up the rear, but the curious country is Slovenia. I am very fortunate to have many friends all over the world but I can honestly say I do not think a Slovenian is amongst them (yet) – I just hope someone isn’t using it to improve their English skills ‘cos I don’t think I’m best placed to help with that…. Although they’ll improve on their swear words. So now all I need to do is convert all of my wonderful readers into members and somehow reassure those who’ve told me they’re too “shy” to comment that I’m the only one reading the responses most of the time anyway – so please comment away. It’s always awesome getting a comment or two when I post a blog. When no one comments it kind of leaves you sitting there thinking “was it that shit?” It’s akin to having a conversation with someone who doesn’t speak back and who enjoys that? I have a long term aim for “Without the Bollocks,” which I’ll share down the track, but in the meantime, thanks for all the support. I am very very grateful. Yours, without the bollocksAndrea

I grew up in a Catholic family. I went to Catholic Schools. Every Sunday our entire family of six would be marched off to Church, always sitting in the front row on the right hand side of a three pronged lay-out – aka the cross. But the Lord strike down ANYONE who sat in our seats – it happened a few times, but it’s alright, Mum sorted them out quick smart. Our best friends, the Pinis (all 11 of them,) were always seated in the front row opposite, and all the other good Catholic families from our town were firmly ensconced in their respective seats. It was usually a full house and the throng was often entertained by the Edwards’ family brass ensemble – something that got very uncool as the teen years progressed. I could talk a lot about those Church days (and my mother,) but I will leave it for another day as I would like to talk about one of the Ten Commandments – “Thou Shalt Not Judge.” Obviously I memorised them all, but this was always my favourite. The others just didn’t resonate. For example, coveting the neighbour’s wife and anything else your neighbours had – well you should’ve seen our neighbours, they actually had dirt floors! We certainly weren’t at risk of damnation there. There are no other Gods but me – we didn’t realise there were any other candidates – so all good on that one. Not killing or murdering – cool with that. Honouring thy father and thy mother – can that be an exception please God? Haven’t always been the best on that one… Anyways, I thought the “thou shalt not judge” rule was a goodie and I have worked pretty hard in my life not to do it. I prefer to try and understand why someone is being a dickhead or a wanker, rather than just accusing them of being a dickhead or a wanker. Most of us have underlying reasons for all of our behaviours after all – good or bad. I started to realise this rule wasn’t something many people took too seriously early on. It all came crashing down in my world, when, after exiting said Church, the women folk would light up their “Kents” and have a stitch and bitch about other women/people in the Church. I’m sure the only thing that’s changed about that church is there are no longer ashtrays available. My Dad told me that as a four year old I came up to him and said “Dad, didn’t the priest just say that we shouldn’t say bad things about people?” Why yes he said, to which I responded “Well why is Mum and her friends saying nasty things about…?” whoever it was they were talking about that week. Apparently that left him a bit stumped, because what exactly could he say to a four year old who has hit the nail on the head BUT he can’t exactly bag his wife? I’m not a fan of judgement, as anyone who knows me is aware, it just makes me feel really uncomfortable. I really do believe that there is ALWAYS another perspective. But it’s not going away anytime soon, and one of the places where judgement is getting a new lease of life is Facebook and social media generally. Take a look. There is some pretty strong stuff coming through and while communicating a painful moment is fair enough to your “friends,” bagging a complete stranger for their antics makes me squirm. Thou Shalt Not Judge is the only part of my Catholic education I still hold on to. The rest of it is pretty much out the door.. and I still have no desire to covet thy neighbour’s wife nor their ox, nor their male servant, nor their donkey…! Yours, without the bollocksAndrea

I’ve talked about the communication challenges I face in Singapore in a recent blog, and recently we had a great example. We are living in a serviced apartment for a few months while we sort ourselves out. In the deal we get everything thrown in, including the apartment cleaned twice a week. The problem is they are cleaning it on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Enah, our cute little cleaner, who was donning a lovely fresh tight perm this week, is doing a great job. However I was a bit concerned about the impact on the environment caused by beds being changed two days apart, as well as fresh towels at every servicing. So I asked Enah if it would be OK to only change the beds once a week and the towels if deemed necessary? That was Tuesday. Thursday no Enah. I called housekeeping and asked when the apartment would be serviced? But mam, you told our lady you only want the apartment serviced once a week. Ummm why would I do that? It defies all logic. If she doesn’t come, it means we clean – do you really think I want that. So I said no, that is not the case, I asked Enah not to change the beds and towels. OK we will get back to you. Fine but please don’t call or knock on the door between 1-4pm as that is the time when our children will sleep. No problem lah. I’m at a meeting and at 3pm, the door bell rings. It is the head of housekeeping. Steve’s had a hell of a time getting Lex off to sleep, and now the boys are fully awake – Jax sleeps for two hours in the day typically. He loves his sleep that one. “Sir the mam told Enah only to service the apartment once a week,” the lady explained as both boys were running crazily around the apartment. Steve said “no she didn’t, she asked her not to change the bed linen twice a week and only to change the towels if needed.” “No sir, mam said only once a week.” I think that was my favourite part of the engagement, Steve being told what I said, when he had actually heard me say otherwise. So Steve tried to explain what his environmentally conscious wife was trying to get across and then said, “you know what. Let’s just keep it as is. Two servicings a week, change all beds and all towels. That would be great.” When I got home, Steve told me what went on leaving me feeling terribly guilty, and then he suggested that from now on, all discussions on any variations to the servicing agreement of the apartment, or any changes to any plans related to the household are firmly his responsibility. I happily agreed and said OK lah. Yours, without the bollocksAndrea

I can’t imagine too many people on the planet who aren’t aware of the extraordinary Lady Gaga. I remember when I thought it was high time to check out this chick, as she’d obviously captured the imagination of the world. I mean, considering her inappropriate burping gets major media coverage (click title for that story) she definitely has to be of megastar status right? So two years ago, Lady Gaga entered firmly into my world and the phenomenon that is Gaga is now all around. Gaga, what do I think? On the positive side, I think she is an amazing performer, costume designer, fashionista, singer and entertainer. I love the fact that she’s out there, pushing boundaries and on some levels, I do think she is empowering for women. I love her support of the gay community, and it’s not just because she’s bisexual, it’s because they love her and she’s returning the love. Her costumes are fantastical – minimal or over the top – it’s great artistry. “Telephone” was great and while a bit saucy, it had that ‘Thelma and Louise’ edge all women love. I suppose if truth be told, I just really dig her music. However, it’s not enough for me to like the music of a person – I also need to like the impact they have on the world, or better yet, when they have no impact at all. I have to admit that I prefer performers who aren’t into the big “life” show, but then it’d be boring if they were all like that. Gaga certainly ain’t “disappearing” when the gigs are over and that is where she has me a bit stumped. When I ask myself the question – do I like her? Is she someone I admire? Do I think she’s a positive role model for women (especially young women) in a world that is very short on positive female role models?  Well you see this is where she hasn’t won me over – YET. I appreciate that EVERYTHING she does is staged – hey she’s got a very big persona to keep alive, so it’s got to be done. However Gaga sitting at the Yankees game with a bra and not much else – why? The image of her covered in blood on stage? Not so keen on that. The whole “I couldn’t give a fuck” attitude – well yes, I can appreciate it to an extent, but my concern is the impact on women, who don’t necessarily have the awareness to know how to carry this attitude off in a positive way. Gaga’s persona is aloof, out there, extreme, unreliable – you never know what you’re going to get and I think this is great. What a true entertainer should be. But is she nice and good too? I just don’t know. But even if she’s not, are her antics convincing others that it’s OK to behave like that? Gaga can, most of us can’t and except to live happily in this world. Gaga gets away with everything, but it’s the young girls walking around feeling empowered because of her that makes me concerned. And I don’t think Gaga is solely responsible for this by the way – it’s been going on for some time now – but I don’t think she’s helping the case. The world – well the Western world – is full of young teenage girls (many too chubby to get away with it) walking around with their tits out and arse cracks hanging over the tops of their jeans, and it’s not always a pretty sight! It’s also not done in an appropriate setting – like at the office. They’re also all mouth, and “fuck you,” and shagging anything with a pulse because THEY CAN! And while, to an extent, I say good on you, on the other hand, it’s not being done in a “positive” way – my concern is that the girls aren’t walking away feeling good about themselves, in fact they’re getting angry, and that makes me sad. Let’s face it; any self destructive behaviour is not good for one’s soul. Hey most of us have been there in some form or another right? In the meantime, if you want to learn more about the myth of Gaga, Wikipedia reports that her influence “on modern culture and society has provoked the University of South Carolina into offering a full-time course entitled “Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame” with the objective of unravelling the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga with respect to her music, videos, fashion, and other artistic endeavors.” Now that could be a pretty interesting course I reckon? In the meantime Gaga, I know I’m not your target market, but PLEASE remember that you have incredible power to influence young girls and women in a superbly positive way and I would love to see you do it. I am not convinced yet, but as always, I remain open minded. Who knows you could be a sweet little pussycat with a big public image… I know one thing, I’ll never know. And my dear readers please do tell me what you think – good or bad? Alternatively, feel free to express any thoughts if you think I’m full of shit and should just get on with enjoying the music and forgetting about the rest of this crap… Yours, without the bollocksAndrea