I am a big fan of the old Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory. When I heard about the remake, I was hesitant to see it. However, after speaking to friends and work colleagues they convinced me I wouldn’t be disappointed.

So off I went to see it. It actually exceeded my expectations as I was thinking the worst. Johnny Depp as Wonka was definitely weird but I didn’t mind it. This version of the movie was closer to the book than the old version. I didn’t mind the silliness. After the week I had at work, it makes me think that some times we work too hard and forget about play.

I have recently finished reading Karen Hawkins’ ‘The Lady in Red’. This book is a quite a disappointment, given my enjoyment in the formulaic plot of the other books in this series. In this book, the main female protagonist (Dumb) decides to “take” a souvenir (a ring) from a wedding because she likes it. Then when the rightful owner of the ring (who is the main male protagonist – Dumber) finds out and wants it back, Dumb decides to blackmail him. While Hawkins explained the terrible financial difficulty is the reason for Dumb to blackmail Dumber, there are several things that get on my nerve.

1. Dumb needs a few hundred pounds to resolve her family’s financial difficulty. Although Dumber is willing to offer Dumb a few hundred pounds, Dumb decides to ask for a few thousand pounds instead.

2. When Dumber is not willing to pay a few thousand for the ring, Dumb offers a compromise – Dumber should sponsor her sister for a season. Now in those days, unless the male sponsor is a relative, it is likely for people to misconstrue the reason for sponsorship. Although Dumber pointed out this fact, Dumb persist in believing she is right.

3. Dumb wants her sister to have a season so she can find someone she loves. Never minds that said sister does not have a dowry to attract anyone exalted nor that what Dumb really wants is for sister to marry a rich person to get the family out of financial difficult.

So what is my gripe with this story line? Dumb’s actions come across as stupid, mercenary and completely irrational. Surely this does not say much as the female population.

Why is the male protagonist call Dumber? Because he falls in “love” with Dumb as her actions demonstrates “character” and, oh yes, because Dumb is apparently very beautiful. This tells me that guys do not care anything about females as long as they are beautiful. Hmmm – a bit of an insult to many guys I know.

Lastly, the reason I think this book should be avoided – the publishers advertised a blurb for this book at the end, after the reader has finished reading it. I love a strategic marketing campaign.

Do yourself a favour and avoid this book. There are other more worthy romance books out there waiting for you.

gVisit is a pretty cool visitor tracking tool that we have been thinking about integrating into Mowabi. Using the Google Maps API it allows a website to graphically track the origin visitors.

I went to Cambodia in January this year. It was an absolutely amazing place and I know that nothing I write or any pictures that I show could ever describe it with any justice.

But here are some photos that I took anyway…

There are a lot more photos in the gallery, but even these are just a small subset of all the ones that I took :)

My father is Cambodian (Khmer) and my mother caucasian Australian. Dad came to Australia many years ago before the Pol Pot regime of the early-mid seventies and at a time when the white Australia policy was still very much in force. Back then, as I understand it, you came to Australia to become an Australian.. and that meant becoming as western and as white as possible. I can barely imagine how hard it must have been for a young asian boy in his teens, without his family and in such a foreign environment. It’d be tough even now, but dad did his best to fit in. As a result, dad is very western and so are my brother, sister and I. I don’t necessarily think that this is a good thing, but you are what you are.

Anyway, dad came here with a bunch of other boys on a scholarship. They have since dispersed around the world. In January, some of these people organised to meet back in Cambodia, a few of them bringing there children back for the first time. Dad couldn’t go due to health reasons, but I had always wanted to visit and took the opportunity.

We’ve just added an image gallery to our site! Many thanks to Gallery2 and WPG2 plugin. The gallery will give our regular contributors a place to add images to their stories or simply share pictures with friends.