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That’s the CBD this morning Steve and I have been in agreement for some time that if the opportunity comes up (and the boys are old enough to cope) we take the chance and live in India for a couple of years. We reckon it would be AMAZING, and while a lot of that amazing would be amazingly tough, it’d definitely be an experience – and that’s what life is all about we reckon. But this week’s pollution in Singapore is making me wonder if I want to do that? In 1995, I backpacked for a month across China – heading up from Hong Kong into Canton (now Guangzhou), Shao Shan (Mao Zedong’s birthplace – which was horrible back then), Xi’an, Beijing, Shanghai and then a “cruise” back to Hong Kong – another story. It wasn’t too bad on the pollution front back then, but when I returned to Beijing in 2006 for work, it was shocking. I spent every minute of that trip with poison dripping down the back of my throat, and couldn’t wait to get the hell out. I love Beijing, but the poison in the air is very very disturbing. It isn’t nice knowing that millions of people have to live this way around the world. Right now in Singapore, the pollution measurement is much worse than Beijing is experiencing today and last night, I went to bed tasting poison dripping down my throat as I tried to sleep. As a parent, it’s not a nice experience watching my boys going through this – because I just don’t know what the impact will be. I’m trying to be all cool about it, but it ain’t terrific. In fact, many families are booking flights and getting the hell out of town until it’s over. We can’t do that right now, but it certainly has merit. My office is straight ahead – see the trees on the balcony?  The reality is we’re all OK, but some friends are having a very tough time. One great family we know has a three year old daughter with severe asthma – so far so good, but not a great environment for their little princess. Then some other awesome friends have their elderly mother in town visiting from India. She’s a magnificent lady, but right now, she’s coughing non-stop and I have everything crossed she’s going to be OK. She’s a beauty. For me it’s the unknown. I’ve never been through anything like this before and no one seems to know how long it’s going to go on for or what “hazardous” really means. The PSI measurement in the last three days has broken records and then broken records again. One friend’s daughter said if it hits 400 we’re all dead. Well it hit 371 today – WAY ABOVE previous haze records, so it’s not nice, not nice at all. However, I was just speaking with a colleague from India and he said don’t worry – “in India we dance in the streets all night during Diwali and the PSI is more than 500.” So maybe it’s nothing to worry about at all? Just a period of time to get through? I don’t know, but we’ll keep going, living through the haze and in many ways, it seems life continues as normal around me – which is actually helping. In the meantime, I’ll keep watching the news, listening out for PSI alerts and making sure the boys stay inside as much as possible. There doesn’t seem a whole lot else we can do right now… But living in India, a country of major cities that suffer intense pollution for at least four months of the year over summer – maybe I don’t want to do that after all? Yours, without the bollocks Andrea 

If you have friends or loved ones living in Singapore or Malaysia you may have noticed a fair bit of bitching going on about the “haze” these past few days. We’ve had two bad days, and while it’s “better” today, yesterday it got worse, and worse and worse – as you’ll see in the photo montage. Apparently the PSI hit 152 last night, the worst since 1997 when it peaked at 226. If you ask me what PSI is, you can educate yourself at this link, but my definition is it’s really smoky and it’s making my head ache, my eyes water and my teeth go fury – nice. A View of Marina Bay Sands from my office – the first picture is a beautiful clear day. The second picture is yesterday morning. The last picture yesterday afternoon. It got a lot worse last night… If I was deciding on a measurement criteria, I’d say it’s reached significantly unpleasant proportions and I’m sure asthmatics have been struggling for their lives these past two days. Interestingly, two friends – one from China and one from India – said what, this is actually a pretty good day at this time of year by my standards… context. My first haze experience in Singapore was in the 90s. It was my first trip through the Lion City and the orb – otherwise known as the sun – was straining through the smoky clouds. It wasn’t pleasant. I figured Singapore was always like that, so was rather pleased to discover it wasn’t the case. I’ve had a decade of haze experience since, and the only time it really bothered me was in 2006 when it hit days before Lex was due to be born. It was a rather unsettling experience for this new mumma about to bring a brand new life into the world! Obviously all was good in the end, or maybe it wasn’t, and that’s why he’s such a frantic bloody shit today? Who knows. So why does the haze happen? In the state of Sumatra in Indonesia and Kalimantan (check your world maps) they burn forests to clear the land. Many of these fires are illegal and done with absolutely no regard for nature or wild life. Next time you see an Orangutan at the zoo and read about the fact they are endangered, this is a big part of it – grrrrrr. Here’s a slightly more academic point of view and here’s a well-researched perspective. If you’re interested, the next time you eat fish & chips, or wash your hair, or your dishes, or lots of other necessary tasks, you can thank the dudes for starting these fires as it’s all for palm oil production – that’s why the beautiful forests are cleared. As a gentle suggestion, perhaps try not to buy products that contain palm oil, then again, entire communities rely on this income… what to do? The reality is the problem is almost uncontrollable. It happens on a massive scale, in remote areas, there is a lot of corruption, poor communities rely on the money coming from the output, these areas are run by cowboys, and there has been no international will to create another way of living for these communities, as such, the rest of the world just sits back and ignores what is going on. I find it all a bit depressing to be honest because, bit by bit, the world is dying. Well maybe not. The world will come back into its glory once we poison it enough to kill humankind, so nature will be the ultimate winner in the end, right? We are stupid. People living in the areas impacted by the haze have VERY strong opinions on this topic – some more than others. Social media commentary has varied from the outraged all the way through to my mate Eugene (a very funny man) suggesting the Indonesians have decided to help out with the dengue epidemic by fogging the whole island. He gave me a giggle. What’s fogging I hear you ask? Yeah I didn’t know either before I lived here – but fogging is the mass eradication of mosquitoes, a feature of life in Singapore. When visiting, check look for the smoky clouds of insecticide juice engulfing apartment complexes. It seems to do the trick. In the meantime Indonesia – PLEASE PLEASE stop this habitat and wild life destruction, I beg you, I’m on my knees… and I don’t get on my knees very often. But you’re not going to read this, so while I wait for that ship to sail, I’ll stay on my knees and hope for a decent rainfall to wash it all away. Cough, cough. Yours, without the bollocks Andrea

It’s finally time to go home and see my three boys, after my longest trip away from them since they were both born – 11 days. In fact, it’s the longest away from my big boy too I think. But it’s the little boys that haven’t coped too well with Mum being away, and Steve’s had to deal with a whole host of emotions (and aggression) around that. Also Lex has now been waiting for five days to build a train track with me, believing every day I was coming home. No one else would do, only Mum. It’s heart wrenching stuff this motherhood malarkey, and for now, I need to keep these big trips to a minimum. It just doesn’t feel fair on them. My work adventures kicked off in New Orleans 11 days ago and the last time I was in this fantastic city was during Mardi Gras in the year 2000. It was phenomenal then, but this time I discovered that even without Mardi Gras, New Orleans is a phenomenal city. It draws you in, makes you smile and everyone has a superb time – all races and ages. You’ll never see a quirkier bunch of characters in your life and it’s all seriously fantastic. The squarest of square pants couldn’t resist the loving embrace of New Orleans. One of the American guys I was with said there are two rules in New Orleans: Have a lot of fun Don’t interfere with anyone else’s fun It is so true. A lot of booze is consumed and yet it never seems to get ugly. It gets messy for sure (you’ll notice that as you trip over the vomit in the wee hours of the morning), but never nasty – just great music, lots of booze, lots of characters. lots of harmless sleaze, and lots of fun. I’ve added some photos below if you’d like to get a sense of life in New Orleans, although this isn’t the work bit of my time there – just the fun bit. Promise me one thing – if you haven’t done it yet, make it a goal to go there at least once in your life? The next part of my trip to Seattle was completely different, back-to-back meetings with colleagues in HQ all day, every day. I’d leave early in the morning, coming home early evening and by that point be completely obliterated by all I’d learnt and shared. It was definitely inspiring, and equally fantastic to meet the global team I work with, but boy it was intense as well. During this time I also caught up with four old pals – all from different chapters in my life, and one thing really stood out. When you meet up with the great people you’ve met throughout your life and share memories of the times you’ve had together, it’s actually really beautiful when you both realize what you meant to each other at that time when you were connected day-to-day. Sometimes you don’t realize until after the fact how cool the friendships were. It was a nice addition to the week. Right time to fly my last leg home. My blogging has been impacted with all of this intensity and I miss it. I’m constantly jotting down blog thoughts, but just no time of late to write them up. I’m committed though, because it’s something I must do. Yours, without the bollocks Andrea I loved this girl Early afternoon preparations I just liked it Awesome band and I got to sing with them Bourbon Street comes alive On stage Our posh dinner Mumma was sorting out the white boys Party bus Who wouldn’t buy a camera from a vending machine? Hen’s Night and Hot Dog Bar on Bourbon No question where I am

I LOVE social media. I’m on board. It’s a way of communicating, in multiple ways, to multiple audiences in a style I love – the written word. I’m not going to spend hours on the phone. If I write a letter or a postcard – terrific, but I’ll never send it and besides, I’ve got better things to do on holidays than write a bloody postcard. Birthday cards? You’ve got to be joking – I have loads written and they are lost in dark places. I need immediate communication, and the favorite part of living today is, it’s finally here. Social media allows me to share my life with the most important people to me who happen to live all over the world. I get to share my knowledge with people in my industry who (I hope) appreciate what I’ve got to say, and give me the chance to build credibility and a solid reputation. And I get to communicate with people I’ve never met, sometimes touching their hearts or relating to them by sharing an experience they’ve had as well. It’s nice. I love it. So many new things are possible because of it. But I’ve noticed people interact with social media in various ways, and some people have very strong opinions about it – not always good. When people are negative about it, to me it seems they’re missing the point. But they’re not me and I’m not them, so are they missing any point? We have our communities spread far OR close, and not everyone wants to go big, so it’s going to mean different things to different people, and that’s all part of its beauty. As such, I’ve created my own ‘labels,’ for people based on how they do or do not engage in a social world. Obviously this is my observations based on my own community, but I think I cover just about every country, race, religion and culture within my network, so a good test case, yes? The Lovers This group are born communicators. They share the things that make them think, laugh or even the stuff that outrages them. They value knowledge and believe sharing different ideas can change the world. They’re typically open to different opinions, argue passionately, love the collaboration they can create across the world, and most of the time, provide good fodder for their friend’s timelines. The great thing about The Lovers is they’re also terrific supporters. They’ll love your kids photos, your latest meal and if you want to launch a blog or a Facebook fan page, make sure they know about it, ‘cos they’ll “Like” it – appreciating how hard it is getting this kind of support. They don’t just communicate out with the world, they actively participate in it. Naturally, I consider myself a “Lover.” The Self Promoters Then we get The Self Promoters. These folk are on social media channels and quite active to boot, but it’s all about them. They’ll share pictures, adventures, blogs, events they’re in and more, but they’ll never EVER (well rarely) “like” anyone else’s work, share anyone else’s work, or acknowledge anyone else’s work. Sometimes it’s ‘cos they’re just too busy, but the reality is, they see social media as a one-way-street-for-information-distribution, and they’re all over it for that. Be sure to protect your heart from disappointment when they don’t acknowledge your existence. The Lurkers I know these people exist, because every time I turn up at a BBQ or a party they’ll bloody tell me everything I’ve been doing in my life, but NOT ONCE did they ever comment or acknowledge my existence online! They don’t participate, merely observe the lives of those around them, and sometimes it’s because they’re shy, sometimes it’s because they don’t see the point, and sometimes, it’s just ‘cos the world has to have it’s voyeurs… it’d be boring without them right? The Addicts The Addicts typically cross a lot of social media channels, and the one thing they love to do is combine them all together. So these are the ‘Four Squarers’ – checking in somewhere and letting you know where they are – e.g: “Gertrude has just checked in at Fur to have her snatch waxed” – awesome Gertrude! Or they’re all over Twitter having conversations all night with complete strangers about whatever it is they talk about. An Addict can usually be unveiled when revealing “they just needed to take a break from social media” – something that never lasts long. I ain’t a huge fan of the stranger chattage, so this group are a curiosity to me. The Pooh Poohers Probably my favorite group is this one. The Pooh Poohers are on social media, they participate in social media, and many of them are quite active on social media (usually via very selected channels), but equally, they use every bloody chance they get to tell you what a load of shite it is.  I find them a curiosity within the mix, because they are utilizing it, but equally deriding it? Anyone care to explain? Karl? The Yeah Whatevers Remember when mobile phones came out in the late 90s and a lot of us rushed off and got one? Then the next round of adopters got one? Then the next? Then there was this 4th group and they were all like “why the hell would I want one of them?” This demographic could typically be classified as 30’ish male professionals (and I did agree with them on why the hell would I, even though I had one), then 4-5 years ago, they cracked and the final frontier of phone adoption was won. After that, they were incredibly annoying and couldn’t be without their phones – interacting with them during dinner (but not on Facebook), interrupting conversations to take calls – yawn! Well those people aren’t on social media yet either, and you know what, they will be! These are the people at dinner parties who tell you why they aren’t

I heard a new term recently – Bromance – and if I was to define it I’d say it’s the act of two men adoring each other and communicating like a couple of teenage girls (giggles included), all-the-while being comfortable in their manliness and heterosexuality. I like it. It’s a nice term, because there’s nothing sweeter than two fellas having a little Bromance. Available for Bromance, interested parties please apply in writing Steve is due a new Bromance. He had one with our pal Michael Mullaney – an introduction I made and was then quite firmly excluded. Thanks. Both Steve and Michael are unusually chatty men and when they get together, the women-folk don’t stand a chance – which is saying something. I loved seeing Steve have a Bromance, and was super-sad when Ali and Michael decided to abandon us for better career opportunities in Boston. Steve still hasn’t found a replacement. He will. So male readers of Without the Bollocks – anyone prepared to admit to a satisfying and rewarding Bromance? Or ladies, your fella in the Bromance game? Cute? Annoying? While we’re talking of Bromances, it links quite nicely to something else that men just need to get over. It is now the time of the MANBAG! There is absolutely no getting away from it, and no, pockets are no longer the answer to all of your accessory needs. In fact, while we’re at it, neither is your wife’s handbag. Notice her sloping shoulders? Yeah, that’s the  weight of your shit she’s been lugging around. It’s time to get tough and carry your own stuff. It’s also time for a reality check – this day and age, you are no longer carrying a wallet and a set of car keys. You have a wallet, car keys, mobile phone, laptop, and tablet – at a minimum – and if you don’t, you soon will. Not to mention, a lot of you are all metro-sexual types these days with hand sanitizes, breath fresheners, and all sorts of other nonsense to boot. So it’s time for a manbag – get one and change your life. In fact, I was in Gucci the other day, and while I often find this brand over-the-top in the bag department, it seems they’ve gotten very elegant and simple in recent times – perfectly in-line with my manbag prediction. If only I could convince Steve to get one… But I can’t convince him to go for a manbag. Being a manly man, he just can’t get his head around it. So I went into stealth mode recently and got my little loves manbags. With both now sporting mini-tablets (for education purposes of course, not to keep them quiet in the car, what a shocking thing to suggest) I insisted they had to be responsible for their devices and got them a bag to carry them around in. The rules are they must be in a bag before they leave the house. It’s not really working yet…. As such, my little boys have manbags and one day soon, I know my big boy will too. It is time. Who’s got a manbag and was there resistance? Yours, without the bollocks Andrea

All parents know that raising children means experiencing a series of stages – stages that consistently barrel into your life one after the other – and along that journey are stages all parents fervently hope pass them by. It’s often wishful thinking, but sometimes we do get lucky – for example I didn’t suffer too much of the temper tantrum stuff – however the reality is, most of the time we don’t get bloody lucky. Instead, these growing up stages come crashing through our lives like tidal waves of emotional shit, and all we can do is smile and remember: resist persist. But it’s definitely not easy. I am now in one of the least appealing stages – the one I desperately hoped to skip – and that is the “I hate you Mum” stage, closely followed by the “I’m so angry with you Mum” stage – awesome. And yes, I completely appreciate that it might be hard to imagine my two angelic cherubs ever saying such hurtful things…. The first couple of times it felt as though a big sharp dagger was being plunged into my heart – cruel little bastards. And then I just got over it, because well, you just do. These days I usually respond with something classy like: Oh well, you’ll get over it; Pull your head in; Who died and made you king?; or Well if you don’t hate me sometimes darling, I won’t be doing a very good job as your Mum now will I? I am definitely working on the creativity of my responses, but the truth is, it usually leaves me a bit bereft of words. The most bizarre part is it often has absolutely nothing to do with anything I’ve actually done. Fair enough, I’m being a grumpy bitch, I understand it if they hate me then. I sometimes hate me then too. But most of the time, it’s because some other little angel has hurt their feelings and the best person to take it out on is Mum. Awesome. Or they’re feeling embarrassed because they fell over in front of someone, and Mum gets it for that too. Or something else equally charming. Jax is also offering a double-bonus during this stage and that is his ability to get angry and stay angry. This week I started reading the boys a book before bed. They then decided to play with their toys. No problem, if that’s how they want to spend pre-bed time, I’m cool with that, but when I turned the light off, all hell broke loose. Jax demanded I read a book to him and I said “no mate, you made your choice to play with toys and now it’s time for bed.” Well the tears and the anguish – “crikey mate, calm down. You’ve got to accept responsibility for the choices you make. That’s life darls.” He didn’t calm down and when I went in for my final five minute ‘how was your day’ conversation, he turned away and ignored me. I went back in three times to try and make friends, but he didn’t give me an inch. I absolutely hated him going to sleep still feeling angry with me – that hurt. Of course, in the morning, it was all over. That’s the beauty of kids, they just get over bollocks. So here I am, in the middle of this storm. It will pass, it always does, and then something else will come along and kick me in my emotional arse. Why exactly do we have children again? Yours, without the bollocks Andrea

My old pub where I partied with the Aussie Cricketers – circ. 1680 I lived in London from 1995 to 1999 and it was an awesome time in my life. The problem is, it could never be a long-term option because I just HATED the bloody winters. I remember standing at a Tube station in the dead of winter one time, waiting for a train to take me one stop, but my feet got so cold they went numb and I thought screw this, so went out and got a taxi. I mean, I really really hate being cold. I arrived this morning, to a crisp spring day, and it’s been such a trip down memory lane. The last time I visited was eight years ago, and I don’t come enough – which is pathetic considering my British in-laws continue to live here and I do want the boys connected to their English family and heritage, not to mention I still have many fantastic mates living in and around London. Time to rectify that I think. My old house So I’m staying next to Chelsea Football Ground, and loh and behold, it happens to be next door to my first shared house in London – which was a weird collection of people living together. I had to see it and went for a wander today, finding the house, as well as a pub I used to go to a lot, which included a night spent partying with the Australian Cricket Team (that was a good night), and the local supermarket I shopped at, and the market on North End Road, and much much more. It’s all changed a lot and yet it hasn’t changed much at all. The biggest difference I noticed is more Eastern European accents than before – which is a nice addition to the neighborhood. Fulham definitely remains as eclectic as ever – rich next to poor, all faiths, skin colours, ages, and lots of nutters thrown in the mix as well – I like nutters. It reminded me of that first day and first week when I arrived in London in 1995. Arriving in a country to live for the first time is always a very rich sensory experience for some reason – for me anyway. I have strong first memories from Boston and Singapore as well. But my first memory in London is always arriving at Heathrow immigration and the passport official was an excessively made-up lady with a high blonde bouffant, with fake nails like talons, and she went on to greet me with the strongest Cockney accent I had ever heard in my life at that point. I felt like I was on the set of Eastenders. She made me giggle, but not to her face of course, because Immigration is serious business these days. My next impression was how low London was – physically. Coming into one of the world’s greatest cities, I was expecting towering skyscrapers – and to this day, it’s not like that. I expected a drab city, mainly because the news coming into Australia at the time was all pretty depressing (London was just coming out of depression back then), and shows like Eastenders didn’t exactly make it look all sparkling and shiny either. I mean just the pale complexions of the characters was a curiosity to me. Much to my surprise, I found London really bright, fantastically historical (Mozart composed one of his symphonies in the house next to where I was staying – cool) and of course, unexpectedly beautiful. I love the history!  Which is the next biggest impression I had – it is a beautiful city. I remember arriving with Steve for the first time after we met about 10 years ago, and said look, isn’t it beautiful. He’d never looked at it through my eyes before and said he could really see the beauty in it now. As a young Pommy growing up here, he’d never given it that much thought. You don’t really. So today, as the taxi weaved its way through Green Park, the horses were out, the new monuments were gleaming in the early morning sun, the day was crystal clear, people were out walking their dogs, and once again, I was struck by the beauty of this city. I do love London, and I tell you, if it wasn’t for the weather, I’d say to Steve, this is where we need to live. I figure we’ll just have to come and visit a lot, because I do need my regular injection of London it seems. Yours, without the bollocks Andrea

When Jax was three, he got the hots for a sweet little girl, Deviyani (also three), and through that love connection I made a terrific new friend, Anu Kumar. Anu is a terrific lady. She’s gentle, loving and sweet, as well as a woman of incredible intelligence and curiosity. As we started getting to know each other, it turned out my humble friend is also very successful Indian writer, with a strong following on the Indian subcontinent and beyond. Since we met, Anu had her head down creating an adult murder-mystery – “It Takes a Murder” – which was published late last year. I had the privilege of attending her book launch in Singapore recently, where I was able to finally get my hands on the new book. I am not a murder-mystery kind of gal, it’s just never been my genre, but I absolutely LOVED this book – and not just because it was written by my friend. Anu is one of those rare talents who writes with the most delicate words, and she has an amazing gift for describing a scene in a way that takes you right into the moment. India remains my favorite country, and for me, Anu was able to capture and explain so much of what I saw when I was there, even down to the point I could smell what she was describing – not always a positive when it comes to India J. Brooks Town came alive for me through Anu’s words, as did the rich array of curious characters the story is wrapped around, especially the main character Charlotte – who I still don’t quite understand but that’s OK. I read an interview that Anu was inspired to write this story after observing many solitary women, and it always left her wondering what their story is. I often wonder what a complete stranger’s story might be, so I loved what she created out of her inspiration behind this book. The cast of characters is complex and deep. Charlotte, the main character is a fascinating woman, who you get to know throughout the book, but her story is never done – which is intriguing. I was curious about her strained relationship with her daughter, Maddy, and wondered about the heritage of that inability to truly connect with her. I am looking forward to understanding that in the next book – because I presume (and hope) there will be one. Then there was the absent husband – maybe dead, maybe not – who I think was British but I was never 100 percent sure, and the other star of the book – Gautam Dogra. Dogra could be from any country – a middle-aged man, protective of his daughter’s virtue, who became embittered by the experiences and failures of his life. He’s hateful and hurtful towards everyone, including himself, and Charlotte’s attraction to him says as much about her and it does about him – but you don’t really get that at the start. Another star is Dogra’s daughter Asha, wow what a character, however definitely not someone I could ever spend too much time with. For me, this book is more than a murder-mystery, it’s more than a love story, and it’s more than the rich and intriguing characters Anu explores. It’s a journey into the last 50 years of Indian history and what it means to the people of this country. We can try to understand this time from reading history books, but Anu opens our eyes to what it actually meant to the people directly impacted by these events – including the love of a nation towards Indira Gandhi and the attitude towards Sikh’s when Gandhi was murdered by her Sikh body guards. I found the historical insight fascinating. There is so much I loved about this book. It appealed to me on so many levels. I feel I understand India just a little bit more after reading it. It’s an amazing journey into life for a small hill station town, with deep English imperial roots, and while it appears not much is going on, there is – in fact – so much going on. Bravo my friend. What a talent you are. I hope someone buys the rights to this, because it would make a spectacular movie. Buy it if you can and support a great talent. You’ll be delighted you did. Yours, without the bollocks Andrea 

I’m now in my third year of “official” predictions for American Idol and while I’m writing this a little later in the season (usually do it when the top 20 are announced), I decided it’s time to stake my claim once again, because season 12 is cracking, with the girls absolutely standing out. I’m also loving the new judges. Mariah Carey started off weird for me with her diva-esque-disconnected-from-reality kind-of way, but I’m warming up to her as she opens up her true self to the world – that evolution alone has been interesting. Nicki Minaj obviously does NOT like Mariah, but I must say – Nicki is a funny bitch and I love her honesty! And Keith Urban – man, what a sweet dude. I love how he can see into the hearts of people – not a common quality in human beings these days, especially in the world of showbiz. Randy, well he’s Randy, and I’m glad he’s still around. Photo credit Americanidol.com  My previous prediction blogs have had decent readership, with the 2011 blog here and 2012 here – which remains my third most popular blog after anal bleaching and speech delayed children. Let’s see if this gets picked up in Google searches again this year? BUT my predictions are not necessarily reflected in the final results – then again, maybe the curse was broken last year with Philip Phillips winning? Maybe I’m getting more in tune with the American kids? Sometimes it just seems the qualities I admire in a performer – the ability to rock my world with their voice and give me goosebumps – is not necessarily what the American voting audience goes for. Old bag versus the tweens right? Girls How many seasons has it been since a girl won American Idol? Five? Well it can’t continue this year, because the girls are absolutely crack-a-lacking! Four out of the top five could win it, but here’s my order of preference and why. Candice – I absolutely adore this woman. My word she can sing and she’s the one whose album I will buy. Jazzy, bluesy, cool, great musical judgment, lover her. Will she win? She could, but based on past Idols, there are a couple of things going against her. Firstly, she won’t be perceived as contemporary in comparison to the other contestants. In addition, she’s got to work on her PR skills and keep the smile going no matter what. The camera regularly catches her with a scowl and she definitely does not have a poker face. Stuff like this matters on American Idol – so she’s got to win the hearts and minds Angie – this gal is an incredible talent across multiple areas – voice, musicianship, drama, style, etc.. although I was relieved to see the hair a bit more under control this week – she’s got so much of it! She is terrific, and while Candice is my preference, Angie equally deserves to win. When she performed her own song a few weeks ago, I knew her ultimate style is definitely something I’m inclined towards – a bit Loreena McKennit without the complete range… Angie is also very contemporary Kree – this woman is a stand-out for me, and I would be equally pleased to see her win. I’m not massively into country, but her voice has a class and purity that I am completely drawn towards. She also has a heartbreaking story which makes me want to see her succeed even more. There’s just a simple elegance about her that is very alluring. It’s been wonderful watching this humble and shy lady come into her own and really embrace her talent – I think she’s special Amber – this young lady is Whitney Houston re-born and she is going to be the lady singing soundtracks in the eternal movies of the future. She is a phenomenal talent, but she’s number four for me only because I’m not the sort of person to buy the diva albums. It doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate her tremendous voice, it’s just not my thing. She’s a stunning young girl, and at 18, she’s going to be around the music business for a long time. However, based on her bottom three position this week, America isn’t in love with her and I honestly don’t know why. Let’s see how she goes Janelle – up until this week, Janelle just wasn’t my cup of tea at all. She’s all sweet and lovely for sure, and she’s a true country gal with tremendous talent, I just don’t dig her style as much as the other girls. With that said, she was sensational this week – a very powerful performance. She’s a terrific kid and her music career will continue beyond the show I think all of the girls are terrific for very different reasons, but the boys are NOT such stand-outs for me. One sensational singer has already been voted out and another that was in my top 10 didn’t make it in. It shouldn’t be a boys’ year this year compared to the girls, but the American voting public does seem to like its boys. Boys Curtis Finch Jr – my favorite male in the top 10 and he was the first to go – bummer. This boy is absolutely magnificent and I HOPE he goes on to do more, because he has heart and soul in his voice that is once-in-a-generation stuff Burnell – the little lad from New Orleans is as sweet as they come, with the most distinctive voice I’ve heard from a male in a long time. He’s now my top boy in the competition and if he can keep things interesting, he definitely has the talent to go to the end. I will be amazed if a girl doesn’t win, but if one doesn’t, it’s because Burnell will find his true path and wow audiences week after week. I don’t know if he has that insight into himself yet? Devin –

Well here I am, sitting in a beautiful five star hotel in Sydney, reflecting on the fact that my life has become rather frantic in a very different way the last month. This reflection started on Monday night as I contemplated my first proper business trip in quite a few years. So I’m sitting there thinking – how the hell do I even pack for a business trip anymore? I mean what clothes do I take? And what’s the weather in Sydney going to be like? But then who cares, because if it’s cold I’ll just have to be cold, because I only have clothes for a tropical climate anyway, so don’t even check the weather, just pack whatever and see where it takes you. Thankfully the weather has been absolutely magnificent, so I have been very comfortable with my selection, but I have suffered the cold on past trips and know how miserable that can be. Hey I live in Singapore and just don’t have winter clothes anymore… But the next thought – what do I need to take on the plane? Ticket, passport, employment pass, work stuff to read, a book, headphones, a little make-up, work books to make notes, etc, etc, etc… and yet, what bag is best to hold all of that but is also comfortable to travel with, then how do I pack it in a way that makes what I want to utilize accessible during those brief moments one has before putting said bag in the overhead compartment while getting bashed and shoved by other passengers doing exactly the same thing…    And then you get to the airport, and security regulations keep changing, there’s so many different scans, and you’re out of practice so constantly feel like a dufus, but somehow you get on the plane and think right, OK, I’m off. It’s at that moment you start feeling sad that you had to say goodbye to your little loves for the week. You know they’ll be fine, but you didn’t have time to reflect on that aspect as you just got caught up in the madness of actually getting on the plane and not forgetting anything. So the plane trips done, you got to watch a few movies you didn’t see in the cinema because it’s years since you’ve done that, and then you get to your hotel late in the evening, checking in, finding your room down endless corridors (Beijing was worse though) walking into the unknown (thankfully it’s beautiful), unpacking your bag, sorting your stuff out, finding the iron and ironing board + the hairdryer, all the while trying to get online and you can’t, because you weren’t paying enough attention when someone showed you once how to do it, and so you keep trying to do all sorts of different things to get your email working, and in the meantime you need to Skype with your family because they’re missing their mumma, and it’s getting close to 1am, but you’re not tired because it’s only 10pm where you live, but you have to get up at 6’something am and go meet someone you’ve never met before at an address you’ve never been to before and you have to sound intelligent because you want these people to like and respect you, so you get through that, before doing the next meeting in the same context, and the next and the next and the next, before coming back to your hotel in the evening and going SIGH – I made it!! And that’s only a week which included business travel, something I will get back into the habit of doing, as I did for so many years of my life. However things have definitely become frantic in a whole new way. I am enjoying it though, especially as in Australia I got to buy bras that actually fit me – score! Right it’s Friday and time to go and play with my Sydney pals yip yah! Yours, without the bollocks Andrea