Peps Place goes Multimedia

Hi everyone

On Australia Day i decided to make a little video for all you Aussies out there.

Enjoy.

Freddie versus "Freddie"

In one corner we have one of the greatest performers in music history - Freddie Mercury

In the other corner we have the greatest recreator of the Freddie Mercury experience - Craig Pesco

From now on the real Freddie Mercury will be known as Freddie

The guy who played Freddie Mercury in the show last night will be referred to as "Freddie"

Spot the difference between the two pictures?

The music of Queen has always been a part of my life. Ever since finding a well worn tape of their third album "A Night at the Opera" in the glove box of our brown 1986 Mitsubishi Magna, i have always loved hearing the music of this truely magical rock band. Throughout the years i've purchased a few albums, seen their musical 'We Will Rock You' and loved watching their 'Live From Wembley' concert on regular occasions. Any yes i still bang my head at the same part of "Bohemian Rapshody" as seen in 'Waynes World."

So when last december i was flicking through the South China Morning Post and saw an ad for "Queen - A Kind of Magic" tribut show, i immediatley had to tell Sab that we were going to see this show. She loves Queen as well and it was a chance to see what it would be like if we actually saw Queen live even though it was 'Queen Lite.' We made our way into the city after school for dinner and slowly made our way down to the Hong Kong Performing Arts Centre.

At the centre Sab and i were sitting on the stairs waiting to enter the theatre when she said to me in a rather hurried way "Is that Cathy Freeman?" Now the only thing i saw was the back of a full length woolen pink coat but a quick trip by both of us towards the exit doors confirmed that indeed it was Cathy herself. What she was doing in Hong Kong is beyond me and she was in the company of a very handsome male...what is it with her? I mean lets be honest she doesn't exactly get many pulses racing in the pants department but somehow she was with the guy from "Secret Life of Us" and now with this mystery man.

Sabrina wasn't this excited at seeing a celebrity since she saw former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes at the Australian Open.

For me it was getting the autograph of Condor the Gladiator at the grand opening of the Rebel Sport store at Highpoint Shopping Centre.

With that little adventure completed we made our way up the stairs to our seats and we had a pretty good view as there wasn't many people in front of us on the second level. After about 10 minutes started the show got underway with a ball busting cover of "One Vision." That was it, i was going to rock my ass off and sing off key for two hours and thats what we did. The theatre was about half full as it was the late show but the crowd was really getting into it. People were dancing in the aisles and singing away with the band. Queen hit after hit was pumped out including my personal favourites "A Kind of Magic" "Radio Ga Ga" (clap clap) and "Fat Bottomed Girls." There was one moment in the show where they played "Somebody to Love" which is my dad's favourite Queen song of all time. I remember growing up whenever that song came on the radio or on the CD player in the garage dad would always say "this is my favourite Queen song."

I wanted to call home during the song and hear dads reaction at listening to this song live at a concert but it was 3am in Australia and my battery was getting flat. The hits kept on coming and "Freddie" even put on the leather pants, fake boobs and wig for the performance of "I want to break free" which brought the house down. During "Bicycle Race" there was vision of nude women riding bikes which could be justified by "Freddie" when he said "every Queen show needs a bit of Vaudeville right?" I wasn't exactly going to interject any time soon.

The band were amazing and delivered perfect cover versions of their songs. Even though the bass player looked more like a Greek fish and chip shop owner than John Deacon, even though the guy playing lead guitarist Brian May had a black permed wig on him that looked like it was just stolen from the set of a porno, even though drummer Roger Taylor looked like a crazed madman in an ill fitting blonde wig... it didn't matter.

What about "Freddie" you ask?

He had the moves down pat, the swagger, the arrogance, the sexual energy, the guitar and piano playing as well. OK so as we found out later "Freddie" was actually from Surfers Paradise but he channel the spirit of Freddie and his performance was sensational. It made you change your thinking from 'here is a guy trying to be Freddie' to 'this guy reminds you all that was great about Freddie and Queen.'

After the show Sab and i both purchased a copy of a Freddie Mercury Biography written by his personal assistant of 12 years. His name was Peter Freestone and he was in the audience for the show. During the tribute to Freddie at the end of the show, "Freddie" told the crowd of his presence which brought to the show a little more sentimentality. The whole band came out and signed the book as well. They were all very freindly and invited the crowd to their after party at a local club in Lan Kwai Fong (a bar district on the island) which we didn't go too as we were pretty stuffed. Peter also signed his book and after a brief chat with Sab and I we were off home after a night of not only singing and dancing but of remebering why songs from Queen always make the two of us and any fans out there crying for more.

The biggest tragedy for Sab and I out of the night will be we never saw Freddie Mercury live.

In life sometimes close enough is good enough.

It really was a kinda magic.

My Top 10 Fair Dinkum Legends

It's that time of year again. That's right, the ol' gal is another year older.

And i'm not talking about the lady in the photo who by the way isn't a member of my family.

Any resemblance to a distant second cousin is purely coincidental.

So fire up the Webber, crack open the West Coast Cooler, fill up the Esky, burn some Safeway snags and go the tonk with your Grey Nichols Twin Scoop in a game of backyard cricket.

It's Australias Day to celebrate all that is being Australian. No-one exactly knows what it means to be Australian but as it changes every day but it doesn't matter. As long as you live in the big brown land, can appreciate the delight that is a Chicken Parma and say to your mate "yeah mate if she asked me..i'd have a crack" then your Aussie enough for me.

So to celebrate our day. i was bored last night and came up with my top 10 Fair Dinkum Australian Legends. Now i was bored and with that fatigue sets in so the choices may not agree with everyone. If you don't agree then make up your own top 10 list and send it to me. I'll post them.

So here are my Top 10. Enjoy

10. Steve Bradbury - At the 2002 Winter Olympic Games he won the gold medal in short track speed skating after deciding pre-race to stay at the back of the pack and watch the action unfold in front of him. At the final corner he was last before the other three competitors crashed into each other allowing steve to pass them and win the Gold.

9. Tony Barber - From his rythmic gymnastics displays of side stepping and fist pumping at the start of every episode of "Sale of the Century" to the disaster that was "Jeopardy" and the quiet torture that was "Wheel of Fortune" Tony has been giving away BMW's and AAT Tours to Alice Springs for over 30 years. He's released some forgerful albums as well and played at numerous Tatts Pokies venues around the country.

8. The D Generation - Where do you start with these guys. They came together at Melbourne University only to become the most successful comedy troupe in this nations history. Our funny bones have be smashed from pillar to post for over 20 years thanks to the genuis of these guys. From "Fast Forward" to "The Late Show" and yes "The Panel" to movies such as "The Dish" and "Crackerjack" no -one will ever come close to the impact the D Generation has had on Australian Comedy

7. Kerry Packer - A giant not only physically but in business but in real life. We loved hearing about how he bought Channel 9 for a third of the price of what he sold it for three years earlier. We loved it when he was breaking the house at the Vegas Casinos and we loved his no nonsence way of life. He gave us World Series Cricket which in turn gave us Australian Idol runner up Shannon Noll singing "Cmon Aussie Cmon" it's ok Kerry, we'll forgive you for that last one.

6. Professor Graeme Clark - A scientist? You betchya! His life long dedication to creating the cochlear implant (otherwise known as the Bionic Ear) allowed profoundly deaf people around the world to benefit from his 10 years of research and dedication. Now a global company, Dr Clarke still plays an active part in his quest for better techniques to help seriously deaf people hear the magic of the world around them, with the exception of when Australian Idol is playing on TV.

5. Cliff Young - When a 61 year old farmer from rural Victoria wearing tracksuit pants with holes cut into them for ventilation wins the first Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon the whole nation was saluting this unsung hero. he was a quietly spoken man who loved the country life. The media couldn't get enough of him and well the ultra marathon slowly faded away a few years later. Still the sight of an old man shuffling down the street with thousands of people cheering him is reason enough to be here.

4. Jimmy Barnes - No one has made as much of an impact at Aussie 21st birthdays like Jimmy. How many times towards the end of a 21st has a crowd formed a circle , arms draped over each others shoulders and in a drunked stupor belted out the lyrics to "Khe Sahn" What would an Aussie 21st be without it? Kudos to his work in Cold Chisel and his two best solo albums "Working Class Man" and "Freight Train Heart"

3. Paul Hogan - The qunitessntial Aussie guy. A former painter on the Sydney Harbour Bridge who turned his hand to comedy. His work on "The Paul Hogan Show" rates as one of the most consistently funny shows to be shown on TV. I loved it as a kid and i still love it now. For me, my favorite comedy sketch of all time was his "World Series War" skit. Add to the fact he made two Crocodile Dundee films too many and told Americans we love shrimp on a barbie, it still doesn't compare to seeing him as Leo Wanker.

2. Bruce Samazan - He became a staple on Australian televisions in the early 1990's with his work in "Neighbours" and "EStreet". His general poor acting and floopy haired image made hime the perfect recipient of the 1992 Most Popular Male Peronality at the TV Week Logie Awards. Since then his work on the small screem has decresed to random episodes of "Beauty and the Beast" and the occasional "Where are they now" type show. With his real passion being real estate, Bruce still makes the list as he lived the Australian dream and is now getting bagged for it every single day since he was 23. Good onya Samaz, you're a legend if you still get your name in the papers more than the hot blonde from "Paradise Beach"

1. All of Us - Sure it may be the soft option but if you don't like it you can go and get stuffed! From the local butcher to the shady bloke at the footy club who can get stuff "hot from the docks" we are all fair dinkum legends in my book. Every Australian, wether born here or overseas has added a small dimension to this great story that is our country. We love to have a good laugh and we are always helping each other out when its really needed. We may not agree with each other all the time but at the end of the day it doesn't rally matter. As long as we can have a drink and a chinwag afterwards then all is forgotten.

Happy Birthday Australia.

Sab and i made lamingtons for our kids. We'll keep you updated on the verdict. By the way they look like shite. Literally.

Shock! Horror! The letter 'M' strkies again!

Whoever thought the letter 'M' could cause such trouble?

No i'm not talking about MC Hammer, Macaulay Culkin or Marky Mark

You're probably wondering why i have posted that question to you all. Well here is the answer.

Last Monday my crazy Lower Kindergarten Class had to practise writing the letter M. Well i forgot to write the letter M in three of the kids books before they started the exercise. So i quickly wrote the letter M and before i knew it, my co-teacher Miss Tsang was getting blasted in Chinese by our supervisor Anna because my 'M' wasn't perfectly written.

Now Anna told me afterwards that her reaction to the flawed 'M' s was in response to parents concerns that some students were not being taught the "proper" way. Now if anyone has seen my handwriting then i really should have been a doctor as we all know their handwriting sucks. To any doctors who are reading this..seriously your writing sucks.

Anyways i felt like shite because i wasn't being told off in the manner that Miss Tsang was and i felt really sorry for her. She was busy preparing the kids cooking program for this month (which was a 'traditional' Chinese New Year sesame ball) which leads me to this conclusion...

Hong Kong parents are the most anal retentive i have ever some across.

If a parent is concerned that an 'M' isn't written the 'proper' way, if a parent says that another student teased them and the other child should be punished (even though the remark was in Cantonese and even though i have been here over a year, i don't understand the language) even though a parent thinks their child is so smart that when i asked some of them the simplest questions (how old are you?) they have no idea how to answer..then i'm sorry Hong Kong Parents in general are anal retentive.

Here are some things i have picked up about the Hong Kong parental Lifestyle:

- Some of the parents are actually quite nice. They do take a dedicated interest in not only their educational but social needs as well. These parents usually understand that coming from a different backgound, western teachers do things differently and as long as their kids have all ten fingers at the end of a day, a smile on their face and some stickers in their workbook for an excellent job well done, then they are happy with the status quo.

- Remember..i just said some

- Most parents here are too dedicated to their childs development at school not only because of their academic acheivments but because good grades get you into that exclusive primary school and boy ...do parents here love to brag about that. "My sone is going to ......school." I'll get some names of primary schools around here and you can compare the school names here to where you went to school.

- Parents will ring up the school and blast the Chinese teachers if their son or daughter comes home with either a wrong letter in a word or a date was stamped not at a perfect 90 degrees on a worksheet.

- One parent in particular in my class is well known for causing trouble. I remember her getting angry over the way the buses were coming into the school carpark after a field trip because they were taking a long time to actually get into the car park. I watched her from inside the bus. She was waving her arms about and had a very angry ' i could do it this way' look on her face. Remember big bus, little roads....these things take time. She complains about everything. This same parent said i was a bad influence on her son becasue he was fighting with his older brother at home. My god i have an older brother, brothers fight! It's tradition! Can't pin that on me babe!

- One parent asked about the 'leadership qualities' of their 4 year old child. Enough said.

- Some parents let kids sit in the front seat of the car whilst their adult helpers sit in the back. Arrogance being taught at an early age

- Parents here don't know how to control thier children.

- Some actually try with candy but not only do the kids teeth go rotten but when there is no candy and the children want something..the kids go ballistic!

- The parents here spoil their kids far too much. It's disgusting.

- Rather than saying that moneys a bit tight this month, the parents usually pull the kids out if they know they are not going to get a full months education then stick them back in if they know they will.

- Some parents just shop all day and leave the raising of their children to the helpers.

- According to Miss Tsang, last week i said something to a kid which made him not want to come to school anymore. I found out later that it wasn't me but one of the helpers who change pants due to pee/poo spilled liquid who said it.

Well thats just the parents and as for the kids...soft. SOFT I TELL YOU

"Mr Mark..Jerry pushed me" - A push in Australian Primary Schools usually meand Dettol and 3 band-aids afterwards
"Mr Mark I don't want to play" - 5 year old boy not wanting to play with building blocks. Too scared
"Mr Mark Isabelle took my rubber and she won't give it back" - Well just ask her nicely

As i have tried to put into words how things work over here, there is so much more to say that can be better explained in a real conversation. So to all you people intrigued by teaching in Asia...listen to Markey when he says " Make sure your M's are Marvellous"



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Hit the road Mac!

Steve Jobs
Chief Executive Officer
Apple Computer

He co-founded Apple
He gave the world the Graphical User Interface
He gave the world the Apple Macintosh
He gave us the Apple iPod

He produced a computer the equivalent of a Holden Camira

I was lucky enough to purchase that model.

Now Steve Jobs has been someone that i have been intrigued by since i was about 18. Honestly part of the reason i switched to the iBook was because of what he was able to do with the Apple brand. I got suckered in by the iBooks looks, software and also the belief that i was somewhat 'different' by switching my computers allegiances to a company with a world wide computer share of 5%

With this weeks Macworld Expo confirming the switch of Apple from IBM Power PC's to Intel's Dual Core processors, the question "Will i buy another Mac now that the company has switched to Intel?"

Answer - HELL NO

You see Steve, while you tout the new iMacs and laptops i have been burned by the lack of reliability of your G3 ibook. So for the laptop i purchased has:

- Broken down 7 times since July 2003
- Each time has been a faulty logic board
- One time my wireless card was faulty which was draining power from my display which caused in to be literally dark.
- I live over an hour away from the service centre by the way

Also my 20GB iPod was replaced 4 times because it kept freezing up. When it went missing after a guy in Vietnam decided not to give it back to me after i left it with him to upload songs to it over night, i purchased an iPod mini in Singapore and that has actually surprised me and up until Christmas hadn't caused me any troubles until Thailand.

So Steve i would like to say. Your Apple Computer Company can go and get stuffed. I will not be purchasing another mac product and my next laptop will be a PC. But ill try to run your software on it though, that i admit kills Microsoft.

Next time i won't be "thinking different"

I'll be "just thinking"

20 Things you didn't know about me

Seen that this website is new, i thought i would give you 20 things about me that you may or may not know about me.


1. I shook the Pope's hand at Melbourne Airport back in 1986. I'd swore i'd never wash my right hand again.
2. My favourite Kennedy is Robert. F Kennedy.
3. I can't understand how women can use the word "cute" so often.
4. I like Quiz Nights at a Pub.
5. There's only one "boss" for me: Bruce Springsteen.
6. I can't understand the appeal of Hip Hop and RNB yet i like to listen to Belinda Carlisle.
7. I was a huge fan of the Australian version of "Gladiators." I even bought the magazine and an autograph from Condor.
8. Boxers not briefs.
9. I don't like Australians that have overseas accents and claim they are Australian (example: Greg Norman).
10. I haven't had one serving of Lemon Chicken in all the time i've been in China
11. Sabrina and I are just friends.
12. I snore and i drool when i sleep.
13. There are pictures of me with boxes on my head and dressed up as a woman.
14. Heidi Klum is my favourite supermodel
15. George Lazenby was an under rated James Bond.
16. I believe that Bruce Samazan will make a comeback. Who is Bruce Samazan? Stay tuned to find out more.
17. One of my favorite words to says is "frigate"
18. I get upset at the poor quality of my pirated DVD's and if i could demand my 1 Aussie Dollar back.
19. I sat through an entire Olsen twins movie.
20. Nothing beats a Chicken Parma with a glass of Red Lemonade.

Well thats about it for now.
Join me next time when i give you the inside story about the little known world of colon cleansing and my thoughts on the John F. Kennedy book "An Unfinished Life"

So why change to a blog?

Hello everyone in cyberland

For those that have been following my adventures through my weekly (that tuned into fornightly then ended up as monthly) emails i thank you for visiting this site and look forward to keeping you updated in whats going on in my life.

The decision to change was easy. I wanted to get back to more frequent updates without the hassle of checking that everyones emails were correct. By last count i was sending it to about 70 email addresses and god knows how many of you forwarded it to other freinds and work colleagues.

Also with a blog i don't have to rely on my brain as much in order to fill up your inboxes with long winded emails.

So with the change comes new things to talk about and a wider range of shite to flow into your lives.

I hope you come back to Peps Place again because just like the real Peps Place, once your inside..you're part of the family.