Manics Review

Straits Times review

MyPaper review

Manics Street Preachers Concert Review - 24-Nov 2008

Last year when I bought Send Away The Tigers, I knew from the start this was Manics comeback album.Armed with 8 albums, you can be sure if you attend a Manics gig, it be money worth.

To be frank, I was a little under the weather prior to the gig. With all the bad news on retrenchments and dark clouds looking over the world, dont think it was realy a good time for me to be in a gig.

But boy I was wrong. After Vertical Rush, an indie band from Singapore, Manics Street Preachers came charging right at us with Motorcycle Emptiness spot on at 9am. For a 90 minutes gig, this gig is certainly for fans and non fans of Manics.

With James Dean Bradfield on vocals, unmistakenly you can feel his powerful chord blasting its way through and stretching it sky high with his falsetto. And he moves and dances with ease, striking a few poses and moves which will put any other younger performers to shame. After Motorcycle Emptiness, La Tristsessa Durera was up next. There was simply no turning back that night. Manics promised the fans that they will do at least each song from every albums. Suprisingly they didnt do Indian Summer. Australia was also missing from the setlist.

The one that really got the fans wild was Design For Life. I personally like Masses Against The Classes. It really fits into current political landscape we are witnessing in Asia, but that be another story to tell.

They also did a cover of Umbrella, me and Kim looked at each other stunned not sure what to make out of it. But they did justice with that song. Your Love Alone Is Not Enough sounds weird without Nina Persson on the other end. Same goes for Little Baby Nothing where the studio version has female vocals on the chorus.

Fans were treated with 2 accoustic performance by the lead, The Everlasting simply just blows my mind away. Its like guitar, a man's heart and a man's voice. He asked the fans to go easy with him. And so we did. The crowd was all silent when he played both songs.

Ocean Spray was a pleasant suprise as well with Manics strutting their guitars with the saxophone playing on the other end. Manics interacted alot with the crowd, something which I find other bands are lacking.

And to my suprise, there was no encore that night. Yes you heard me. No encore. They ended the night with If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next. As I was leaving the arena, many still stayed back, maybe they were hoping for an encore. An encore that didnt come. Maybe I missed it, but I doubt so.

And yes, there were so much more people at Manics gig versus Ash gig. If I were to rate, this concert on a scale of 1 to 10, I would have given it a 8 points. 1 minus point for not having Nina, and another minus point for no Indian Summer and encore.

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Dark Horse

Yesterday I spent my night rocking away with Manics. But will blog about that tomorrow. Today I want to review Dark Horse, 6th studio release by Nickelback.

After their last release in 2005, All The Right Reasons which bagged a Grammy for Best Rock Album, I didnt thought Chad Kroeger and the crew can come up with something smart, classy, cheesy rock tunes which can float through the airwaves just like how Muhammad Ali will say it, fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee. And this album packs enough sting to make me say that this album certainly tops it all for 2008. What a way to end 2008.

Right from the 1st track, Something In Your Mouth which is slated to be the next single release after Gotta Be Somebody, there is never a dull moment with this album. Out of 11 tracks in this album, there are 2 powerful ballads that will be a perfect catch for pub singers. Never Gonna Be Alone and I'd Come For You. If I had to choose between this two, my vote will go to Never Gonna Be Alone. Burn It To The Ground opening guitar rift has a hint of nu metal before blasting off like an old school rock song.

Dark Horse is indeed a "dark horse" album as I had never imagined Nickelback to comeback with another succesful release after their last multi platinum album. There are more to say about this album, I suggest one gets a copy of the album and let the album speak for itself.

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Injured

Played a friendly on last Sun. We lost the 1st game at 16-21, but we clawed back in the 2nd game to win 23-21. However in the 3rd game, I sprained my right ankle in the 11th point. Ouuch! The rest is history. I was walking in the court with my left leg and we need to give away the 3rd game at 14-21 loss. Sorry partner.

Oh well, now its back wearing my old ankle guard. I thought I dont need to see the ankle guard anymore. Looks like I am back wearing it again And I need to sit out last Wed friendly match as well against Infineon.

Sucks. I hope I can play this Sun and then be ready for the next friendly next Wed in HP....I hope....

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My new Ipod

I wanted to blog about my new IPod Touch last week. But due to unexpected twists in events, delayed my blogging. Here what transpired on my purchase from Apple which I expected it to be a breeze in the park which turn into a hellish nightmare.

On Monday morning, I called up Apple 1-800 line to make my purchase of IPod Touch via Citibank's Employee Purchase Program (EPP). I wanted to get 2 units. One of myself and another for my good pal, Teong Wei. In the mailer ad sent out, it was shown that the sale was for IPod Touch (2nd Generation). Thanks to Teong Wei, he reminded me that 2nd Gen IPod should have volume control and speaker functions.

So I called up Apple and made my purchase. To my suprise, they cant find any info in their system for this EPP price which supposedly to be sold at $241. So 1st round was a failure. They called me back again 5 minutes later, saying that they can now accept my order. So fine, I relayed my order to the telesales. And I emphasized again, its 2nd Gen and it supposed to come with vol control and speaker. The telesales said yes.

So on Wed, I got my Ipod. Happy-lah. At night, open up the packaging, and browse through the box. Next morning, in office, I plugged my Ipod into my laptop after installing latest version of the I Tunes. To my horror, I couldnt find the vol control nor the speaker. Something is amidst here. So I called up Apple again. And told them that they might have shipped me the 1st Gen instead of 2nd Gen.

2nd nightmare starts to unfold. They admittedly confessed of making an error in the ad. There are no refurbished 2nd Gen in the market, considering the fact that this release is so new. Heck, its not my problem. I expect Apple to make good of their offer.Right? After rounds and rounds of talks, they finally came with a so called appeasement plan. Plan A was for me to return the Ipod Touch and in exchange they will give me a $60 voucher. Plan B is I can keep the 1st Gen 8Gb IpodTouch and they will refund me $100. Hell no to both of this ideas.

So they asked for an extension and promised to get back to me again latest by Wed. So on Tues, Apple called back and offered another plan. I can either return back and get a voucher of the same value or they can come and exchange my Ipod with a 16Gb version.

Alas, I took up the offer of the 16Gb. But I was dissapointed with Apple for not making good with their offer of advertising the 2nd Gen Ipod. Yes, their call centre team overall was courteous, but thats beyond the point. the point here is that when you sell a product to your customer, one should make good of the offer.

And to makes matter worst, their appointed courier company (TNT) screwed up their delivery plan when executing the 1-1 exchange. I do not want to go into details of that as well. Basically I am so so fed up with the whole supply chain of Apple. I think the management that made the decision to not honouring their advert of selling the 8Gb (2nd Gen) refurnished should read the book, Hug Your Customers. I think that will give them the ABC of how to better value their customers.

I dont have any hard feelings with the call centre team because I know they went through shit from a mistake by their Marketing folks. What I am unhappy is how Apple top dogs here in Singapore did not honour what they advertised. Yes I could have choose to decline the product and get a voucher, But why should I do that? Apple enticed me about a good offer, and I am supposed to walk away just like that because of an error made by them?Hell no!

Anyway I try to put this behind me now. I dont think I want to buy anything from Apple ever again. Too much hassle and time wasted. As for now, I am enjoying my Ipod Touch listening to songs from Oasis and Snow Patrol.

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1977

Finally my 1977 album from Ash was in the mailbox last night. Bought it online since I called up HMV and they dont carry this limited edition release. Ever since they had their gig in Singapore, I had been waiting anxiously for the release of their special limited re-issue album of 1997 3 CD set which comprises of 1977, Trailer, Live at Reading, Live at Wireless and B Sides & Rarities.

I pumped up the stereo when playing 1977, Tim Wheller and the boys are brilliant. How can an album sound this fresh after so many years. Its only one of those rare moments where an album like this stands through the test of time. And 1977 to me is one of the classics which will stand shine through the years.

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Books

When MPH organises a warehouse sale, you can be sure that they will be throwing in alot of quality stuffs for us to cherry pick at an attractive price.

So last Friday after work, I made my way down to get some books. By the end of the visit, I didnt expect to be saddled with 10 books. Kim got 4 books on cooking and feng shui. As for me, I decided to call it a day and made my way to the cashier. Not before having to wait as there were about 50 people in front of me.

I decided to make an exit as I know the longer I hang around, 10 books will be a foregone conclusion, and the numbers will increase. Each book is priced at $8 except for Nelson Mandela, Long Walk To Freedom that was sold at $10.

I am mugging my way through God Is Not Great. One hell of a controversial book if you ask me in this part of the world. And trust me, just by seeing the title of the book alone, I had gotten a few curious stares from onlookers. To be fair to the author, he is not zooming in on any specific

monotheistic religions. Kim wanted me to cover the book so that overzealous fanatics wont come for me or blurring out the word, Not, so that its now re-titled as God Is Great. Well, I'll take that into consideration.

Anyway back to the books I bought, I can wait to finish this one, so that I can proceed to my next read.

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Carrot Cake and Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee

Its food review again. This time lets bring our attention to Blk 127 Toa Payoh Lorong 1 Food Centre.On 05-Oct, Straits Times did a comprehensive poll on "ST Readers' Choice Favourite Hawkers Poll". At No. 9 was Chey Sua Carrot Cake.

So whats my verdict on this? I think its just okay. For me to travel all the way to taste this carrot cake might not be worth my time and effort. However my colleagues find the carrot cake nice as the carrot cake is sliced into smaller pieces and this gives it a crisp feeling. And one more thing. They dont sell black sauce carrot cake, so sorry for those who likes black carrot cake.

Another food I tried is Hokkien Prawn Mee. Verdict is, its not that fantastic. I may be spoilt by Nam Sing Fried Hokkien Mee at Old Airport Road, seriously. Now everyime I taste hokkien fried prawn mee, I cant help but draw a comparison to Nam Sing's version.

Friendly Match I

Here are some pictures from HP Team friendly match last night against Chai Chee CC Team. Admitedly I didnt play well. Here was the scoreline midway through the matches.

You can see my name there and the scoreline. Anyway, I am looking forward for this Sunday's friendly match with my Sunday team and next Wed against Infineon.

The story continues, and I vow to play better........

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Another One!

This must be the 4th racquet I had found without a owner for the many years I had been playing badminton. It's good considering the fact that I would need to return Muscle Power 30 to the rightful owner.

Out of 4, 2 I actually pass it on to the sports hall and the other 2 I kept it for myself. Yeah yeah yeah. I am a bastard for doing so. The racquet I am using now, brand Flymax was also found in a sports hall. Little is known about this brand or its model. All I can say is that, it could be one of those cheap knock off that tries to imitate a Yonex racquet. However it has served me well throughout the years. No complaints from me.

However my search for a good badminton racquet continues. need to find one that fits my budget, and something that feels right for me.

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Steamboat Again

2 steamboat buffets in a span of 2 weeks. Well I went for another one last Friday with my old pals.

Situated at 100 Beach Road, #01-04 Shaw Centre, this restaurant is run by Chinese mainlanders. The waitress asked us if we were locals because based on her experience, locals will not want the other half of the spicy soup to be too spicy. Trust me, even the mild version is killing me. And I still would want to live through the weekend in one piece.

The soup costs $15 each for one flavour. So since its 2 soup, that makes it $30. After the early bird and Visa discount, the nett we paid was $108.03 for 4 persons. So it comes up to about $27.00 each person.

Overall, the food was okay. I mean its steamboat buffett. What can one expect? Here are some of the pictures from this restaurant.

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Dig Out Your Soul

When I put it the CD of Dig Out Your Soul into my CD player, I knew from the onstart that, this is a gem. Fucking brilliant. Its Oasis finest to date of course after 2 of their most brilliant albums of all time Definately Maybe and Whats The Story Morning Glory.

Its old school rock which fans will either like ir or hate it. It doesnt matter that Liam took fucking nine years to finish I'm Outta Time or the music video to The Shock Of Lightning is so warped that the images looks as though one just popped in some ecstacy pills. Bag it Up starts the ball rolling in the album with its jagged rock edges. Gallagher brothers are certainly experimenting alot of instruments with the inclusion of gongs and sitars in their songs.Noel still writes shitty smart stuffs.

You gotta buy this album to find out. This is way better then their 2005, Dont Believe The Truth. I have caught Oasis twice on concert before. I just cant wait to see them again performing songs from their latest album.

By the way, I rarely do album reviews. But for this band, I am always willing to do an exception.

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Steamboat Buffet

Last weekend, the Kulim gang met up for dinner. Initially we decided to dine at Tony Roma at Suntec City. But upon knowing we need to wait for 45 minutes, we decided to go for steamboat buffet at this restaurant.

Above are some pictures of what the restaurant has to offer. I must admit that they have a wide selection of ingredients to choose from. But it doesnt come cheap though. Per head, nett about approx $38.00

But I find the service is not up to par. Despite the restaurant being half full, the waiter or waitresses just dont seem to be interested in serving the food I ordered. Maybe they are trying to discourage their patrons to order more?

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Broken

My badminton kaki racquet broke last Sun. I believe many of my friends racquets has R.I.P in peace ever since I broke mine several weeks back as well.

Latest casualty is my friend's Pro Kennex brand, model Boron. He is an arch supporter of this now obselete brand. Yeah those guys in Pro Kennex decided that they aint making enough from badminton players, so they are going after the big bucks in golf equipments.

I used to remember brands like Pro Kennex and Carlton. Now seeing this 2 brands is like you need to see it to believe it.

As for me, I am now using Muscle Power 30, thanks to Dominic. The racquet is head heavy, but supposedly it gives more power to the smashes. However I be lacking in defence though since a heavier racquet will make it harder for me to flick or drive the ball back to the baseline. So I am still trying to adjust my grip, power of returning shots.

Anyway, I aint complaining. I am trying to get used to MP 30 until I get myself another brand new one.

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Pretenders

Look at the picture. Isnt it a lovely picture of a couple made in Heaven. Today, I will bring yet again another posting of rude, obnoxious, heartless people we see in Singapore.

Yes Sir. This is the kind of boy you want to bring home and show your parents. Bespectacled and looks like a goodie two shoes kind of guy. On the other hand, the girl looks normal. An average girl that you can bring home to show your parents.

However looks can be deceiving. This couple is probably crawled out from some womb that cultivates selfishness. There was a pregnant lady with a child standing just adjacent to their seats. But neither one of them actually offered the pregnant lady a seat. Whether the pregnant lady wanted a seat is secondary. But this couple didnt even offered their seats to a pregnant lady. What made it worst is that this guy is sitting just right underneath the sign where it reminds everyone of us our civic duty to give up our seats to the elderly or pregnant ladies.

This boy even caught a glimpse or two, to see if the pregnant lady is still standing there or not. Maybe I should have asked the boy to stand up and offer the lady a seat. Part of me felt guilty that I didnt do that. Part of me want to spit on the girl's face. Talking to her boyfriend ignoring the pregnant lady.

Both of them are shit to me. Pure cow dung if you ask me. Whats the point of all the education in the world, when you have 2 selfish people here. To me, I pity them because they are such a low life without any moral or soul in their hearts. I really think they deserve each other. Because 2 of them probably are moulded from the same lousy useless core they came from.

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Bak Kut Noodles

Here I am again with another feature of what delights Old Airport Road hawker centre has to offer. This time, its bak kut noodles again.

Albert Street Prawn Noodles. I decided to have the bak kut noodles with pig intestines. Well all I can say is that it doesnt packed any oomph in the soup. It could have been sweeter. Nothing to shout about as well for the noodles, bak kut or the intestines.

I would not want to order anything more from this stall again if you ask me.

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Halo Win

On behalf of LienPangRen Pte Ltd, we would like to wish everyone Happy Halloween.

And I have had always believe, The Truth Is Out There.

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