Puchong Ink PtV

Wot a year. Being a new dad means new responsibilities . . .

. . . & new pespectives . . .

. . . & its also a great excuse to get some new ink!!!

Happy new year from Seth, Wifey & Meself!

ps: Keep forgetting to reset the date function on me camera . . .

Finally . . . a decent X'mas No1!

The Hills are alive . . . with the sound of RAGE!!! Rage Against The Machine, that is. At last! Power is back in the hands of the people. Fer too long, we have allowed silly teenage girls & worse, taste-free accountants, kill good sounds on the airwaves.

Check out the article below & breathe a sigh of relief . . . & have a MERRY X'MAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

ps: Campaign to kill manufactured pop is indeed a noble one. Glorified karaoke singers cherry picking great tunes & sucking the life & soul out of them MUST be FOOKING STOPPED!

pps: Regarding 'taste-free accountants', me makes nay fooking apologies fer that statement. Me knows two - one who refuses to check out great new sounds handed to him on a silver platter. The other buys pirated CDs containing 'cover artistes' & think Susan Boyle is the greatest thing sinced sliced bread.

Rage Against the Machine grabs Xmas pop crown
LONDON, Dec 21 — US rap-metal band Rage Against The Machine took the coveted Christmas number one in British pop charts yesterday after an Internet campaign to keep the winner of the “X Factor” TV talent show from the top spot.

The band’s 1992 single “Killing in the Name” sold more than 500,000 download copies in the past week, enough to beat Joe McElderry’s “The Climb,” which managed sales of 450,000 by downloads and in the shops, the Official Charts Company (OCC) said.

The surprise outcome brought an end to a four-year run of “X Factor” winners claiming top position in the seasonal charts, and showed the power of the Internet in the process.

It was the first time a download-only single had achieved a Christmas number one, and in the process notched up the biggest one-week download sales in British chart history.

“As we have seen in recent years, overhauling any ‘X Factor’ winner in the race for the Christmas number one is no mean achievement,” OCC managing director Martin Talbot said.

“The popular support we have seen for the record this week has been truly amazing — and handed them two all-time records.”

Previous “X Factor” winners have easily secured the Christmas top spot, and music experts had said there was little chance anyone could produce a serious rival.

Bookmakers had believed that the popularity of the show, with some 20 million viewers tuning in to see McElderry win last week, would mean his debut single, a cover of a song by American Miley Cyrus, would come out on top.

But a popular campaign on the Facebook website encouraged people who were fed up of “X Factor” taking the Christmas number one, to buy RATM’s expletive-filled single as a protest. It amassed almost 950,000 supporters.

“This is a huge victory by and for fans of real music and we extend our heartfelt thanks to every fan and freedom fighter who helped make our anthem of defiance and rebellion the anarchy Christmas miracle of 2009,” the band said in a statement.

Rupert Adam, spokesman for bookmaker William Hill, said the industry would be paying out a large six figure sum.

“Rage Against The Machine’s win was unthinkable just a few weeks ago. But the LA band have landed a sensational Christmas gamble for their fans. We simply didn’t see it coming,” said Nick Weinberg from Ladbrokes.

However, the greatest beneficiary of the closely fought battle is record company Sony BMG as both acts are on its labels.

Simon Cowell, 50, the executive producer of “X Factor” and also the creator of popular US show “American Idol,” had hit out at the online campaign, saying that it was aimed at him and it was “stupid.”

But there was some consolation for him, as Scottish singer Susan Boyle, who herself became an Internet sensation when she appeared on Cowell’s “Britain’s Got Talent” TV show, took top spot in the album charts with “I Dreamed A Dream.” — Reuters

Top Gear - Finest Thing on Telly

Continuing on our DVD binge-fest, wifey & meself finished the Top Gear - season 10/Heaven & Hell box set last weekend. Fer those in the know, this is quite possibly the most entertaining car programme there is & this is reflected by the fact that it is the MOST downloaded programme on the internet.

The appeal lies in the ability of the programme to tap into the little kids in all of us with its silly races (Aston Martin DB9 vs Jet Fighter or Fiat 500 vs BMX bikes), seriously exotic wheels & the wanton destruction visited upon the lesser marques (Kelisa anyone?).

Topped off by the super sarcastic commentary of Messrs Clarkson, May & Hammond, Top Gear manages to be entertaining viewing not just fer car freaks but fer people like me wifey who had a ball with their silly challenges (eg trying to cross the English channel in half-arsed amphibious vehicles).

If ye have not been privy to the wit & humour of Top Gear, do check out the clips here to see what they think of our wonderful Malaysian cars . . .

We are the Sons of Shankly . . .

Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the day when Bill Shankly took charge @ Anfield. The media has, by & large, used this occasion to highlight how far we have fallen since the great man left the Boot Room.

Saying how Shanks would have been ashamed at Rafa's team. How the current squad would have horrified the great man.

Well, fook that. Let us honour his memory & stand behind our team. If anything would disgust Shanks would be 'fans' turning on their own kind. Rafa & his team may NOT be the greatest but they're still LFC & we are duty bound to support them.

Thank you Mr Shankly fer building this great institution that has given us so much joy. Forever remembered . . .

Old but fooking Gold!

Its nay secret that like many other angry young men, me abso-fooking-lutely loves the Godfather trilogy. And though me has seen the films numerous times, me never tires of watching or recommending them to others. And yes, me may a bit over zealous at times, but that's just me (so spare me the lecture).

Anyways, wifey & meself did something me has always wanted to do which is to watch all three films in one sitting. And last weekend, Seth, wifey & meself sat down fer a Godfather marathon. All nine hours of it!!!

And fook me, the impact is still tremendous. The sheer scope & breadth of the storytelling, the career-defining performances & brilliant cinematography meant we didn't even notice our sore butts.

The first film has a slow build up but this allows all the characters to be fully fleshed out. We see how a clean cut Michael Corleone tries to break away from his familia's criminal activities only to be sucked in when his beloved father is gunned down.

Here is the central appeal of these films, the conflicted young man forced to shed blood & make difficult decisions fer the sake of his family. The anti-hero with nay choice but to go down a river of blood. Many of us are just absolute suckers fer that!

As many of ye would know, the second instalment has been described by famed auteur Stanley Kubrick as the greatest film of all time. With its parallel storyline sweeping back to Sicily tracing the roots of La Cosa Nostra, yer treated to a visual spectacle that has yet to be matched to this very day.

Many fans also love the fact that the script brings plenty of realism such as the Vatican banking scandal in PtIII & the mob's doomed projects in Cuba after the Commie revolution (PtII) into play giving the films real substance. Fer sure, the films romanticize the gangster lifestyle but hey, since when was that a crime?

Yer kindly invited to share yer thoughts on this masterpiece & why it means so much to yer.

ps: Even those who think its crap are invited to share yer thoughts . . .

Perfect Cure fer Hangover (Grateful Dead: American beauty)

Fer the upcoming weekend, me would like to share with you what me considers to be the perfect Sunday morning / post-hangover music.

Ladies & gents, me presents to ye - American Beauty by the Grateful Dead. This was when these San Fran Hippies abandoned the spaced-out jam sessions & took their music down a beautiful country lane. Recorded in a space of a couple of months (instead of years), the Dead followed the lead that had been laid down by Gram Parsons & The Byrds by taking a still infant rock scene to visit its Cowboy counterparts.

Me will admit me is nay Deadhead but this is one fooking soothing LP. Bursting with feel good & life affirming vibes, this is one album me strongly recommends to everyone. If ye digs The Eagles, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young et al, this a bona fide classic which will put ye in a fab mood no matter what or when.

And as the classic invitation goes - Turn on, tune in & chill out!!!

To download this classic from 1970, kindly click here: http://www.megaupload.com/es/?d=BQ5MRSTH

or

http://www.mediafire.com/?nmoynmjw1jm

As usual, me hopes ye will take the time to download this classic & look forward to reading yer comments on this album.

A wise man's words (PtII) . . .

As a wise man once said, "No matter how hot a lady is, someone somewhere is sick of her shite . . . "

ps: This blog in no way applauds The Tiger's indescretions but is merely pointing out how stunning good looks is no guarantee of fidelity.

pps: Look forward to reading yer comments on this accident which has made headlines everywhere . . . but apparently NOT in one of me colleague's insular world as she doesn't know who Tiger Woods is!!!

ppps: In case, anyone else is similarly katak under tempurung, please click here fer details: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/golf/article6939787.ece

Easy Rider . . .

"First time I read Emma Goldman wasn't in a book. I was sixteen, hiking near the Nevada border . The quote was painted on a wall in red. When I saw those words it was like someone ripped them from the inside of my head.

'Anarchism... stands for liberation of the human mind from the dominion of religion; the liberation of the human body from the dominion of property; liberation from shackles and restraint of government. It stands for social order based on the free grouping of individuals.'

The concept was pure, simple, true, it inspired me, led a rebellious fire, but ultimately I learned the lesson that Goldman, Prudot and the others learned. That true freedom requires sacrifice and pain. Most human beings only think they want freedom. In truth they yearn for the bondage of social order, rigid laws, materialism, the only freedom man really wants, is the freedom to become comfortable."

Fooking deep or wot? That's an excerpt from the latest telly series that is causing ripples with its ratings - Sons of Anarchy. Its nay real surprise that this show is getting a lot of hype given that it is brought to ye by the writer of The Shield & the producer of The Sopranos - two heavy fooking hitters in recent TV history.

Creators of the show have been leaning towards The Bard fer inspiration, no less, with plots & characters being borrowed from Macbeth & Hamlet. And in this series, the main players are members of Sam Crow - Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original - whose main source of income is from its gun running activities.

Friction arises when VP (Charlie Hunnam) starts to question the methods & leadership of El Presidente (HellBoy himself - Ron Perlman). The fact that the SOA are at war with Meth-dealing Nazis & a rival Chicano biker gang adds to the spice. Throw in a black gang who controls the heroin trade & you've got a combustible mixture.

Already, the first season has all the markings of a great series with the second season garnering rave reviews & the network already ordering a third installment. A worthwhile investment the next time you visit yer friendly neighbourhood pirated DVD emporium.