OK, so it’s not as bad as renaming "Marina Bay", "Marina Bay".  But the Brits did also spend 400,000 pounds (EDB apparently spent the equivalent in SGD) to come up with the logo for the 2012 London Olympics which, when first unveiled, attracted a lot of unkind comments, in a very British sort of way.  Scroll down to read the unflattering comments.

"The predominant emotional feel is more about a sense of disintegration. What I almost see is a map of London divided into boroughs," said Chris Bullar, who teaches creative advertising at the London College of Communication. "The 2012 is difficult at first sight to pick out."

Stephen Bayley, founder of the Design Museum, described it as feeble, a "puerile mess, an artistic flop and a commercial scandal", while message boards condemned it as a "broken swastika".

- from the Guardian Unlimited

Bob Neill, 2012 Olympics spokesman for the main opposition Conservative Party, was disparaging about Coe’s optimism, despite him being a fellow Tory lawmaker.

"Lord Coe has described this logo as ‘ambitious, interactive and youth-friendly’. I would describe it as hideous," he said.

"Questions need be answered as to how we have ended up in this situation. Was there an open competition to supply the designs? If so, what on earth do the rejected ones look like!

"We need to know how much money this exercise has cost, because whatever it was, it’s been a complete waste of money."

Initial public reaction was also less than positive.

"This logo makes me embarrassed to be English," said a contributor called Clumbers on one online message site devoted to the logo, which was devoid of supporters of the chosen design.

"It looks like it could have been done by a six year old. I could do better with my eyes closed," added someone called Bige.

- from ChannelNewsAsia

For those of you who didn’t immediately grasp what the post immediately before the previous one was about - no it didn’t have anything to do with a dated Britney Spears’ hit; the grainy image was that of a pregnancy test kit - here’s a picture of our unborn (yet unnamed) baby -

Over supper, a friend - someone more melancholy than I - lamented how turbulent the world had become.  Iraq, Virginia Tech, debate on the decriminalisation of homosexuality, reports of paedophilia, etc. - all these were signs to him that the world was coming off its hinges.

"Is there a counterbalance ?" I asked hopefully.

We sort of agreed on a textbook answer, that maybe the church offered some kind of counterbalance.

But silently I wondered whether, in the light of some really bad experiences, the church as salt of the world was better at rubbing salt into wounds rather than preventing moral decay.