Truly Muhibbah

"How often do you see such a mixed group of people hanging out & having a great time," quipped Becky "The Beauty Spot" Lee halfway through our Bloggers get-together @ Fatty Crab last Saturday. And how rite he was. Amongst the 25-strong group, there were Indian, Chinese, Ceylonese, Punjabi & a hardcore Melayu porn fan all mingling in the true spirit of muhibbah.

Me actually noticed when the restaurant was packed, there was no other table that featured a rainbow spectrum of colours - the tables were all Chinese, all Mat Salleh, all Indian or all Malay. Unlike ours which really was the epitome of the muhibbah spirit.

In light of the recent attacks from BN bigwigs on bloggers being up to no fooking good, me has this to say. Yes, many of us blogger rant, rave & fooking grumble about the state of things. But at least me can proudly say this group of bloggers are doing our bit to foster national unity (unlike the BN bastards who keep playing the race card) . . .

Thanx again fer yer presence & showing despite everything, the true spirit of muhibbah lives (at least in this corner of cyberspace)!

ps: Below are some of the pix. You can view the rest at:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/fugazi1970/FFSMeetTheKudiKaarans

Not fer vegetarians . . . (Meathook Seed: Embedded)

After a superb weekend, it was rite fooking drag coming to work today. Thankfully, 23 Psi had loaned me his copy of this classic slab of experimental grind/metal & am now blasting it thru me headphones at full fooking tilt to lift me spirits.

This is a side project featuring Napalm Death alumni in the shape of Shane Embury, Mick Harris & Mitch Harris. According to 23Psi the later efforts from this group are just . . . well . . . crap. Me suppose that its pretty fooking hard to follow a debut as impressive as Embedded and despite being released in 1993, it still sounds fooking mind-blowingly good.

Hard, heavy & atmospheric with all the best elements of industrial, death, grind & ambient metal, Meathook Seed managed to push the envelope of an already extreme genre even further.

If you are feeling the symptoms of them Monday fooking blues, me absolutely guarantee that this will blow them the fook away.

To download this essential piece of noise, click:

http://rapidshare.com/files/59989205/Meathook_Seed_-_Embedded_1993_BnR.rar

ps: Fer those who came fer the makan & minum party on Sat, thanx fer making it a fooking great nite. Will post about our party once Bernard has emailed me the pix! Cheers!

pps: Below is a sample vid of the band. Enjoy!

Race before religion?

One of me colleagues (let's call her Madam O) is a very generous & warm hearted soul. She is moved by everyday plight of people & is always generous with her donations regardless of her own financial constraints.

Just to give you an example, when we were having lunch a few months back, Madam O noticed the couple sitting in the adjacent table had a mentally disabled child. Madam O took the time to go over to say hello to the child & ask the mother about the kid. Madam O then handed the mother some money saying it was fer the child's savings. Although the mother had not asked fer anything (& initially refused to accept), you could see she was surprised & touched by me colleague's sincerity.

This morning, me colleague says she as she was dropping off her own kids at the babysitter, she was approached by an Indian lady & some children. The Indian lady was soliciting fer donations & showed her the portfolio. The centre is in Kajang & cared fer neglected as well as disabled children & is a shelter fer battered wives. Madam O without hesitation handed her whatever she had in her purse & was thanked profusely by the Indian lady & her kids.

As Madam O prepared to hand over her kids to the babysitter, the latter asked who was the Indian lady & what did she want. Upon listening to Madam O's explanation, the babysitter remarked, "apa pulak tanya dengan orang Melayu?" (Why must she ask from a Malay?)(!!!)

Me colleague was at once disheartened, shocked & disgusted. She was speechless. Madam O says she cannot understand why even in situations like this, people must look at race. And doesn't one's religion teach you to be charitable towards the less fortunate.

Going by the example above & half a century of race-based politics, skin pigmentation is the only fooking issue that matters. Thankfully, there are people like Madam O around which means there is still a semblance of hope fer us as a nation . . .

ps: Madam O is herself looking fer donations to purchase an Alfa 156 . . . feel free to contribute via comments box!

Ladyboy v Bung - who would you vote fer?

This was spotted in today's edition of The Sun:

Bankok: A Thai transvestite with an excellent record for community service has been appointed district chief of a village in Samut Prakan province despite his cross-dressing tendencies.

Choochat Dulayapraphatsorn, 46, defeated three other more traditionally male candidates in a local election for district chief of Tai Ban mai village in Samut Prakan, 30kn north of Bangkok.

Although a self-confesses cross-dresser who goes by the name of "Jae Kob" or "Sister Kob" when in drag, Choochat said he won the election because of his long record of community service, including crime prevention, catching pythons that have slipped into people's houses and vaccinating pet dogs against rabies. (!!!)

"I'm confident that every one here loves and accepts me," Choochat told the Bangkok Post.

Dear FFS regulars, compare the above with our own elected rep - Bung Mokthar. Our MP from Kinabatangan is only useful in making the wrong headlines & not much else (in case you haven't heard, Mr Bung was caught on TV showing opposition MPs a rude gesture). The Thai rep fooking wrestles with pythons la, fer fook's sake!

ps: Pix is not Choochat but me has a strange feeling that dear old Choochat has similarly "striking", ahem, features, which would go a long way towards explaining the electoral success, python wrestling notwithstanding . . .

Sell-out or progress?

Do you remember the first time you heard Metallica's Black album? Remember the sheer disappointment? The utter disbelief that the fookers had sold out? The disgust that you felt when the "Bangsar" crowd started wearing Metallica t-shirts & singing Enter Sandman on the dance floor. . . oh man, it was sickening. Am pretty fooking sure you remember it all too well.

Here's another example fer you to digest. Satyricon started out as a pure black metal outfit with deep roots within the scene. But their last LP Now, Diabolical sees the band cleaning up their sound & adopt a far more commercial approach. Me thinks their debut, Dark Medieval Times, is a class piece of black metal, but wait, shock . . . horror . . . me also thinks the shiny, new version of Satryicon is FOOKING BRILLIANT!

(Gasp . . . were we wrong to doubt Metallica all them years ago or is it just me growing old?)

Anyways. me leaves it to you to compare & contrast as the links to both debut & latest album is available here. Do take the fooking time to check these albums out as me assures you it'll be fooking worth yer while!

Eagerly await yer verdicts on the albums. Enjoy!

ps: Me has been telling wifey me would like to adopt the painted-face & studs look as modelled by early Satyricon (pix above). Suffice to say, wifey has been generally unsupportive of the suggestion . . . sigh . . .

pps: If anyone is interested, you can download Satyricon's entire discography including EPs & demos at: http://lordmessiah.wordpress.com/2007/12/05/satyriconnorway/ .

To download, Now, Diabolical (2006). click here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/21862450/Satyricon_-_Now__Diabolical_-_by_Aragorn_-_MusikFactory.rar


To download debut Dark Medieval Times (1992), click here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?dnyd9cy4une


Fer a sample, here's the vid of The Pentagram Burns from the Now, Diabolical LP:

Let's eat, drink & be merry

Yo people, our scheduled get-together is ON fer next Saturday, 12 July, 5pm, Fatty Crab Restaurant, Taman Megah, PJ.

So pls confirm yer attendance in comments box & pls let us know if yer bringing yer other half.

Guest list (so far)
1) Bernard (Speak Now, Ah?)
2) Nick (23Psi)
3) Gavin (Life's Like That)
4) JonC (Chronicles)
5) Albertus (Albaddy)
6) Tony (can you see it?)
7) Surin (Kopite78)
8) Titoki (Secret Diary)
9) Szu Pau (10, Kemp Road)
10) Kerp (Let's Go Land)
11) Tinesh (Sticks)
12) Mandeep Gill (Lost In Bandung)
13) Rajan (Achilles)
14) Premo (The Playah)
15) Moz (The Rambler)
16) Anand (The Silent Observer)
17) Lester (Rhyme Without Reason)
18) Mark (Becky)
19) Nanda (666)

Have I left anyone out? Akuani, join us? Can someone pls bring camera - Bernard, JonC?

ps: Pls don't be late as FattyCrab gets very busy 6pm onwards & there's no reservation shit (relative or not).

pps: Some have asked bout budget, well, the plan is simple - makan bill split among those who eat, drinking bill split among those who thani. Ok?

ppps: Pls feel free to bring any unwanted/unloved bottles of liquor to add to the merriment. No corkage at Fatty Crab!

Smokescreen

Over the weekend, wifey & meself visited our friendly neighbourhood pirated DVD emporium & this was one of the films we purchased. As you can guess from the title, it rips off the documentary Super Size Me (where the perfectly healthy narrator subsists on a diet of pure McD's fer 30 fooking days with horrifying consequences). Here stand up comic Doug Benson does the same; only instead of McD's, its marijuana! Yup, that's right, the challenge was to wake & bake all day & nite fer 30 days!!!

Not quite as revealing as the junk food expose that was Super Size Me but entertaining & educational nonetheless.'Medical marijuana' users, legal dispensaries & law makers are all given a fair shake of the camera. The fact that Benson is a stand up comic makes fer plenty of great one liners throughout the movie.

A good laugh which is well worth yer six ringgit or whatever it is you pay yer supplier (I mean DVDs, not pot!). Have also included a short trailer below fer yer viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

ps: Won't spoil it fer you lot but am sure many will be surprised at the findings/conclusions at the end of this docu.

pps: Before any of you smart alecs start pointing fingers, me claims the right to say shit ie the right to NOT incriminate oneself! hee hee

ppps: Am sure some of you will be thinking been there, done that. Do tell . . .

Conversation with a BN supporter

This is a recent skype conversation me had with a BN-supporting friend. Yes, we're buddies, talk-footie-over-cold-beer-type-of-buddy. But we are on polar opposites when it comes to politics. This verbatim (cut & pasted) online conversation really go some way in reflecting the mentality & attitude of BN folk . . .

FFS says: Dear VV (real name removed to protect identity)
FFS: pls make sure you are nowhere near snakes
VV says: why la joe?
FFS: lest you get beaten senseless by yer BN faithful
VV: ah! will do bro
FFS: Hamidah Osman
FFS: The pride of BN
VV: bitch
VV: but please don't categorise with BN
FFS:actually me friend said it best
FFS: he says she actually wants some Indian snake to beat her ass
VV: haha
FFS: just salah sebut
FFS: eh? If don't categorise with BN, shouldn't the party expel her?
VV: why?
VV: let her talk la...its not the party stand
VV: we have better things to do la
VV: let's get on with things
FFS: To use fave terminology of BN - fer making "seditious" & "racially sensitive" remarks?
VV: i'm very disappointed with Pakatan
FFS: anyways, still think Najib has nothing to do with Mongol blow up
VV: we need to get on with the more important things la
VV: stop harping on these issues
FFS: Dude, the opposition have held the 5 states fer less than 6 months & everyone is fed up
FFS: why?
VV: Pakatan is full of shit and no substance
FFS: they have been blocked by BN at every juncture
FFS:BN would look the same la if they were in that position
FFS: Hang On
FFS: In fact
FFS: They look like they are full of shit & of no substance whilst in POWER!
VV: we have 50 years of record to back us
VV: Pakatan as a BUGGER to show for all the shit thay have been talking
FFS: yes, like stopping the penang monorail project . . .
FFS: fabulous
FFS: People-centric projects BN say
FFS: 50 years of intimidation & racial politics . . .
FFS: you call that a record
FFS: ???
VV: where were we 50 years ago?
VV: practically a village
FFS: Pls answer the penang monorail
FFS: what justification?
VV: without BN, we'll still be embroiled in petty matters
FFS: pls answer the question
VV: visionaries bro!
VV: taken us to where we are today
FFS: pls answer the question sir
VV: who the fuck cares about the monorial
FFS: allrite, c u & good day

There you have it - BN are Visionaries, Pakatan full of shite. BN have taken us from village to city. But who gives a fuck about the monorail. What wonderful rational & logic; all the while side-stepping pertinent issues as petty & unimportant.

And oh yeah, murder is apparently a petty issue among BN folk . . . Go figure.

ps: Me friend also thinks that the corruption of the judiciary is also a petty issue & we need to move on. Also not aware that Najib had purchased submarines at extortionate prices. . . sigh . . .

Old Skool Thrash Lives! (Death Angel: Killing Season)

Its been quite a pleasant surprise to see so many bands from the Golden Age of Thrash (ie the 80s) still doing the rounds. Who would've thought eh? Some of the lesser known names still moshing away like grunge, emo, nu-metal or whatever the fook else is the flavour of the month, never fooking happened.

Fer those of you unfamiliar with Death Angel, these five Filipino-American cousins are related to Metallica's Kirk Hammet & first came to notoriety via their super fast & heavy The Ultra-Violence album in 1987. They were then just a bunch of pimply faced teenagers obsessed with speed but had shown signs of things to come on the follow up Frolic In The Park. That potential was fulfilled on Act III (1990) where they perfected the balance between heavy thrash & melodic sensibilites that was the Bay Area scene's signature sound.

But this was a time when the thrash scene was being overtaken by more extreme genres such as death metal & grindcore as well as the emergence of grunge. The band went their separate ways with some members performing as The Organization before a cancer benefit concert fer Testament's Chuck Billy in 2001 saw them tread the boards together again as Death Angel. The enthusiastic response they got convinced em to reform & they produced The Art of Dying in 2004.

But all this is news to me too until me chanced upon this latest offering on one of the metal blogs. Me is proud to report that this album is fooking killer! Classic Bay Area thrash which urges you to headbang thru a lethal combination of power, melody & dynamics. If this album had been released in 1988, Death Angel could well have been bigger than Metallica.

The solos are typically technical yet expressive & the songs have a real sense of being well-thought out pieces rather than yer typical hammer-to-yer-face blast of sound. You can really hear on this LP a band that has matured over the years & know just how to reign things in when the proceedings get a touch too heavy. Even the vocals are much better this time round, clear, crisp & nary a bum note in sight.

But its good to see these thrashers still pummelling away & keeping the Metal alive! Fer that alone, you should check out this album but rest assured you will get plenty of neck exercise with The Killing Season. Enjoy!

To download this long player:
http://rapidshare.com/files/108083960/Death_20Angel_20-_20Killing_20Season.rar.html

ps: Death Angel were one of me wifey's fave bands - "coz they're cute". . .

pps: Couldn't find any new vids, so enjoy their "power-ballad" Room With A View below.

Union of the Snake

It was reported yesterday in the Malaysian Nanban (or some such shitty publication) that the Union of Malaysian Snakes had filed a police report against assemblycoont, Hamidah Osman. Why? Fer daring to insinuate that there should even be any question as to which should a person whack first.

"Of course the Indian lah," they hissed, "Many of us are endangered you know, unlike Indians who are just dangerous . . . "

Meanwhile, Hamidah has clarified her remarks by saying she wanted to emphasise how pro-environment BN had become. "Snakes are wonderful creatures which are vital to our eco-system. Indians do nothing fer the environment as their todi breath is causing a huge hole in the ozone."

ps: To those who continuously say they are fed up with Pakatan Rakyat, well, they aren't even allowed to ask questions in the respective Dewans but fooking coonts like Hamidah can make such wonderful remarks bout their fellow countrymen.

pps: To those who say the Opposition have no experience in running the country, please justify Hamidah's role in nation-building.

ppps: How come shit like this never gets published as part of BN's "report card"?