Pucker Up...Or Not?!

While watching Japanese TV tonight - always an interesting and edifying experience - a programme claimed that Japanese couples only kiss each other a measly 0.56 times per day! Aussies claimed third place with an average smooch rate of 5.91 times per day. One of the guests - a middle aged man - claimed he hadn't kissed his wife in 12 years! So, it's time to 'fess up - how many kisses do you get in one day?

(Image from here )

An exit and an entry:

The shocking loss of Steve Irwin on Monday has reverberated around the world; it even made the evening news here in Japan. His wildlife conservation website, Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors Worldwide, perhaps sums him up best:

"Steve was a true original; he brought energy and passion to everything he did...Steve didn't do anything by half...The exceptional life Steve led is a testament to his respect for all creatures great and small, and his passion for wildlife was matched only by his passion for family life."


(Image from here)

If you do find yourself in Beerwah, Queensland; make sure you visit Australia Zoo.

Japanese Princess Kiko has given birth to a son - who will be named on September 12th - and is now third in line for the throne, after Crown Prince, Naruhito and his younger brother Prince Akashino. He is the first male to be born in the Imperial family in more than four decades and has stopped the possibility of Imperial succession reform for now. (Japan's royal family currently allows "male only" succession.)


(Princess Kiko and her husband, Prince Akashino. Image from MSNBC)

The economic fortune of Japan is riding on his little shoulders as it's expected that not only will his birth help to improve Japan's falling marriage and birth rate, but he will stimulate the economy to the modest sum of 150 billion yen!

Hopefully he won't crack under the pressure.

A Trip Down Memory Lane...

Indulge me for a moment...I'm in mourning remember...

Happier days when Australia beat Uruguay to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup with John Aloisi in the foreground:



Guus Hiddink - AKA Miracle Worker - embracing the boys after the win:



Lucas Neill leading the victorious charge into the Round of 16:



A poignant (for me) shot of the devastating Australia Vs Italy game:



"We came here as a lowly ranked team, lucky to make it in the eyes of the world, but the world has taken notice, big time, of what Australia has done." (John O'Neill, FFA Chief Executive)

"There are far more positives than negatives...I think we've got a lot of new followers because of the way we played. I think everyone now knows we can match it with the big boys." (Mark Viduka, Socceroos Captain)

(Photos are from - you guessed it - FIFA World Cup site)

The Pranksters of the Bird World:

Rainbow lorikeets are a popular pet bird in Australia. They are easily tamed, and like to pretend to fall asleep on their backs with their legs up in the air as though they are dead!

We saw these two beauties at Lone Pine in December 2004, they weren't playing dead...they just played house:

Swirling sands...

The turquoise waters of the Whitsundays are even more stunning than this shot suggests. This area is known as the swirling sands and is on the northern end of Whitehaven Beach. The Whitsunday Islands are located off the Queensland coast, 900 km north of Brisbane between Mackay and Townsville.

Visit the Whitsundays