Silence or Revolt?

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

- Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)

How long will you continue to be silent while terror reigns? Kick Barisan Nazis out now!

Ultimate Fanboy's Dream

Now this an album that me has been searching fer quite a few years now. It is a side project of Dave Grohl (of Foo Fighters / Nirvana fame). Anyways, me was chuffed to bits to finally have located it. Anyways, below is a run down of said album by guest reviewer, Nick Mun (of 23.psi fame).

Probot - Probot (Rhino Record 2004)

Let me say at the outset that I'm going to sound effusive about Dave Grohl's side project Probot. Perhaps it's just that nothing that emerged from the nu metal years of the late 90s till the millennium and beyond have been remarkable or groundbreaking. It seems not only has it all been done before, but it's been done remarkably well too. Perhaps it is in the nature of side projects that allow their movers far greater creative freedom than they normally have, turning it into something more than a welcomed distraction.

Probot began as a boy's dream to play with his heavy metal heroes. It's just that this boy was Grohl. Musically, Grohl has been a revelation in his own right, starting out drumming for various hardcore DC bands (most notably Scream) before joining Nirvana in 1990. But it was only with the demise of Kurt Cobain (and Nirvana) that he emerges as a complete singer-songwriter-musician. In 1995, Grohl wrote and recorded on his own for his debut as Foo Fighters. It was only on stage that the services of Pat Smear (ex Germs), Nate Mendel et al were called upon.

Grohl approached Probot in much the same way. Instead of opting for the straight forward cover version tribute route, he wrote all the tracks and performed most of the instrumentation. The recordings were then sent to each of his heroes for the vocals to be layered on. Moving from studio to studio, Probot was eventually completed and released in 2004.

What's outstanding is how Grohl has managed to stay true to the vibe of his favourite bands. It really could have been Cathedral (Ice Cold Man), Sepultura (Red War) or Motorhead (Shake Your Blood) that you're listening to. But what is revealing from the very first track (Centuries of Sin featuring Cronos from Venom) is that Probot is way better than anything Grohl has done with Foo Fighters.

Perhaps the comparison is unfair. After all Grohl assembled such an impressive line-up for Probot that it was bound to eclipse anything he had done or will do with Foo Fighters. Indeed, Probot is testament of just how complete Grohl is as a musician, a fact that was overshadowed when he was in Nirvana. Indeed it must have been a labour of love fuelled no less by that boyhood dream of playing with one's heavy metal heroes.

As an aside, Grohl had also sought the participation of Death's Chuck Schuldiner and Slayer's Tom Araya. Schuldiner unfortunately passed away of brain cancer before any collaboration could take place while Araya was kept off the project due to scheduling conflict. The 11th song (Sweet Dreams, King Diamond) has a hidden track, I Am The Warlock which features Jack Black. Grohl also collaborates on Black's Tenacious D. It is rumoured that Probot will release its second album in 2009. - Nick Mun

Artwork fer thhis album was done by Voivod's Away.

Me urges you to fooking please, please download this fooking awesome LP at : http://rapidshare.com/files/23696081/Project_Probot_-_Probot_-_by_Mad_Wolf_-_MusikFactory.rar .

Below is the vid to Shake Your Blood which features 66 adult entertainment actesses - the Suicide Girls (Hold yer horses, Kerp!). Have a great weekend, hopefully whilst blasting Probot!

Whose telling porkie pies?

"It is a desperate and pathetic attempt to discredit and taint my political image," says the DPM rather limply at the press conference.

"They can charge me in court and I will then reveal all in court," says Raja Petra over his explosive (pun fully intended) statutory declaration.

Now what do you think will happen?
a) Raja Petra is silenced using ISA, blackmail, threats etc?

b) Raja Petra is blown up? (see pix above)

c) Raja Petra reveals all sorts of shitty details in court & backs it up with concrete evidence?

d) None of the above. Some poor sod takes the fall fer the murder & all VVIPs live happily ever after . . .

Me thinks its c) coz like it or not, am sure Bodohwi & his supporters are chuffed no end that the so-called saviour of UMNO is under the fooking spotlight! Even if it isn't murder, there's plenty of dirty linen regarding the purchase of them subs in Paris (which is the centre of this whole fooking messy affair innit) to discredit Najib.

Who sets to gain from this besides old sleepyhead? Lest we forget all those money-grabbing whores who are still jostling fer top seats in UMNO who are behind Najib in the pecking order - Double M Taib, Keris-licker Hishamuddin et al. Even Najib loyalists (& let's face it, loyalty ain't UMNO members strong point) who stand to move up the ladder will be licking their lips in anticipation.

What me finds slightly disconcerting is that there are fookers out there who think this botak can do a better job than Bodohwi! Think about it, Bodohwi got a landslide in his first GE coz of the perceived lack of skeletons in his closet. This fooker has got a walk-in wardrobe the size of Narnia full of em.

Me knows its not on to cast aspersions without proof but seriously, everyone bar the most blinkered can see this Lothario carries too much baggage fer him to ever be a leader to lead us out of the quagmire. His many "deeds" will just be ammo fer his detractors.

Let us not forget at the end of the day, a young lady was murdered. At the moment, the trial has been nothing short of a fiasco with even the prosecution doing its best to further discredit the already tainted judiciary.

Perhaps the best the family of the victim can hope fer is the destruction of a certain politician's career. That's scant justice fer the death of a loved one innit . . .

To read Raja Petra's statutory declaration in full, go to:
http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/9050/84/

Skulduggery & the Jolly Roger! (Alestorm: Captain Morgan's Revenge / Tengkorak: Konsentrasi Massa)

Geeez, dunno why but the week sure is taking its sweet fooking time to get to the weekend . . . sigh. Me knows everyone else is quite possibly going thru the same motions as me in Cubicle Hell, so me has taken the liberty of posting a few choice metal albums to lift the gloom slightly.

Last weeek saw Necrotic Chaos & Tools of the Trade fly the Jalur Gemilang high & proud.

Today's first offering is from our neighbours Indonesia. The aptly named Tengkorak are very much in the mould of latter day Napalm Death (circa Harmony Corruption) & their lyrical stance is very much of the socio-politico slant. Good stuff & weighing in at over an hour, Konsentrasi Massa is value fer money. But then again, yer not fooking paying anything fer it here, are you . . . ?

Second offering is something a little more light-hearted. Fer those of you who enjoyed Finntroll's adventures on the high seas, here's more sailor-tinged metal from Alestorm. This lot play a more traditional power metal with actual discernible vocals in English and the sing songs are in tribute to the Jolly Roger. That's right, ladies & gents, its . . . 'Pirate Metal'!!! Very much the natural heirs to Running Wild, Alestorm sing of ship-jacking, mead & wenches. Not quite me cuppa but me thinks quite a few of you will enjoy this, especially Frustrated Warrior Man - Achilles. Tally Ho!

To download, just click:
Alestorm's Capt Morgan's Revenge: http://www.zshare.net/download/6900605a17f0b1/

Tengkorak's Konsentrasi Massa: http://rapidshare.com/files/120189728/T-KM_By_Metalazo.rar

Also available is Tengkorak's English LP Civil Emergency: http://rapidshare.com/files/119861895/T-CE_By_Metalazo.rar

ps: As usual, look forward to reading yer comments on the albums on offer today. Cheers!

My Left Foot

No, this posting isn't about the Daniel Day Lewis film but rather about our very own Hot Shot Hamish (Roy of the Rovers comic strip character whose shots used to break crossbars) - John Arne Riise.

Despite the fact that "Thunderbolt Thor" only scored one goal in the recently concluded season (and an own goal at that!); Riise will always hold a special place among many a Kopites' hearts.

He was a scorer of spectacular goals rather than a spectacular scorer of goals; so he was never gonna trouble Phil Neal fer that all-time scoring record by a defender. But he gave us plenty to fooking shout about, not least that goal v the scum.

Anyways, got this vid from the MyRawk site & its here fer yer enjoyment. Let's just hope we don't fooking draw Roma in Europe and be on the receiving end of one of his exocets. My left foot indeed . . .

Of Old Friends & Fond Memories

Over the weekend, a few of us had arranged to meet up as me housemate* from me Uni days was down fer a visit. Didn't quite go as planned as the Hairy Doctor (as he is known) fell off his stool at the mamak stall & got a massive bump on his arm which looked serious enough fer him to bugger off to the hospital. And this was even before a single sip of alcohol was consumed!!!

Anyways, the rest of us adjourned to the pub fer a pint or two & to catch up on old times. There we were, six old buddies who have known each other fer nigh on two decades or more. We had a fooking blast! Talking footie, taking the piss & generally racist name calling each other as we used to do when we used to meet up at least once a week fer thani sessions.

Me later pointed out to Kopite78 what a shame we don't meet up more often. While me concedes that marriage, demanding wifeys (me is not saying whose, ok), kids, fooking work, old age etc etc does takes its toll, there isn't any good reason why we couldn't meet up more regularly. Fooking hell, me hadn't seen one bloke (let's call him Stone Elephant) fer over a fooking year. What tha fook? We used to meet several times a week fer drinks. Now this Stone Elephant has even given up drinking! Oh, did me mention that Stone Elephant is Punjabi? When was the last time you met a SOBER Bai? Shit, how times have fooking changed!

Columnist Jeremy Clarkson once said its delusional to think you will keep the same friends & acquaintances forever. But why not? Especially if these friendships were forged during yer formative student years. And like any other relationships, friendships need to be worked on . . . preferably over a cold beer or two in a pub. They shouldn't be left idle & to wither.

Anyways, in view of the mishap, we are meeting me housemate again this weekend before he fooks off back to the UK & everyone has agreed to turn up (even the fong fai kay specialist Kuan fooking Tan). As the cliche goes, "no man is an island", it would be a fooking sad state of affairs if we allow some these islands to disappear from sight altogether . . .

* Me housemate is of M'sian Ceylonese descent. His wife is Irish and is currently expecting their third child. They are on a mission to breed the ultimate terrorist thru the combination of Tamil Tiger & IRA genes . . .

Grindcore Buatan Malaysia! (Tools of the Trade / Necrotic Chaos)

Lest anyone accuses me of being biased & an anti-local scene snob, here's two absolutely delightful albums me discovered on a blog dedicated to the more extreme end of the metal spectrum (Brutal Zone -http://brutalzone.blogspot.com/).

Sorry, me has been out of the touch with the scene fer quite a while now & when me was still active, the local scene was dominated by the likes of Sil Khannaz, Suffercation, Silent Death & Koffin Kanser. Many of these bands are still active but me was well chuffed t discover these two new names.

Ladies & Gents,

Allow me to introduce Tools of the Trade & Necrotic Chaos!

Both fall under the extreme death/grindcore genre & both have a suitably garage feel to them. However, it does not detract from the fooking blunt force trauma yer skull is subjected to when you've got the volume at full tilt! Like the best examples of this extreme genre, the drums sound like cluster bombs going off while guitars are yer typical buzzsaw cutting thru steel sound.

Tools of the Trade's Innate Consumption actually bear more than a passing resemblance to Scum-era Napalm Death with screeching vocals over a million-miles-an-hour-metal bludgeoning yer senses silly. Even the bass intros have a nice fat feel to it just like Birmingham's finest.

As fer the Necrotic Choas's Regime Grotesque, it's more Death metal circa early Morbid Angel or Autopsy. And a damn fine effort it is too! Riffs aplenty & the playing throughout is suitably frantic fer some serious fooking dandruff removal!

Personally me is more inclined towards Tools of the Trade fer its old school grind but well done to both bands! Yer albums are testimony that Malaysia fooking Boleh!

If you consider yerself a true patriot, please download the following albums & see what sort of fooking noize Malaysians are capable of generating!

Necrotic Chaos: http://www.mediafire.com/?e26ydcmnr43

Tools of The Trade: http://rapidshare.com/files/72471065/ToosOf_TradImmat_by_strigoi.rar

Happy fooking grinding & have a great weekend!!!

ps: If you liked what you heard, please support the artistes & buy original CD. Available at the Ricecooker Shop, Central Market.

The Agony of Defeat . . .

"The only thing I am thinking of now is getting married to Estelle. I ask her for her hand in marriage."

"It was just a thought. Everyone was so sad and I thought to myself, 'Life has its beautiful moments'."You have to tell people you love them. In such difficult moments, you have to go to what's important. I wanted to show some emotion."

The agony of defeat eh? Some people really know the meaning of that phrase. Fer those of you who didn't hear, Frog Domenech (literally & figuratively!) proposed to his 31-year old galfriend. Estelle Denis, on live TV moments after France got fooked by the Italians 2-0. Estelle also happens to work fer the same station that Domenech was being interviewed on.

Talk about being an insensitive prick! Yer in one of the most important jobs in France & yer responsible fer the nation's hopes la you fook face! Talk about thinking with his fooking crotch! A nation weeps & ye just wanna get laid . . . Or were you trying to get the sympathy vote?

Either way yer a fooking wanker, Domenech. And this is coming from someone who is no way a fan of French football.

ps: Domenech is widely tipped to be sacked. (Oh, really, what a shocker!)

pps: Domenech should join BN. Now there's a party he'll feel at home. Full of insensitive & self-obsessed arseholes.

True or False?

Me fellow Malaysians,

Got this in me inbox recently from a colleague. Was wondering if anyone can confirm the veracity of the following tips. Nanda? Your area of knowledge rite? Pls verify.

If accurate, can't see no harm in following what is essentially cost- and environment-saving measures. Me leaves it to yer better judgement . . .

Tips on Filling your Vehicles...
I don't know what you guys are paying for petrol... but here in Durban, we are also paying higher, up to 47.35 per litre. But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every litre.
Here at the Marian Hill Pipeline, where I work in Durban, we deliver about 4 million litres in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.

One day is diesel; the next day is jet fuel, and petrol, LRP and Unleaded. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 litres.
ONLY BUY OR FILL UP YOUR CAR OR BIKKIE IN THE EARLY MORNING WHEN THE GROUND TEMPERATURE IS STILL COLD. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground, the denser the fuel, when it gets warmer petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening.... your litre is not exactly a litre.

In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products play an important role. A 1degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

WHEN YOU'RE FILLING UP, DO NOT SQUEEZE THE TRIGGER OF THE NOZZLE TO A FAST MODE. If you look, you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode, you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapours that are created, while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapour. Those vapours are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TIPS IS TO FILL UP WHEN YOUR TANK IS HALF FULL. The reason for this is, the more fuel you have in your tank, the less air occupying its empty space. Petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine. Petroleum storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation.

Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated, so that every litre is actually the exact amount.
ANOTHER REMINDER, IF THERE IS A FUEL TRUCK PUMPING INTO THE STORAGE TANKS, WHEN YOU STOP TO BUY, DO NOT FILL UP - most likely the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

Hope, this will help you get the maximum value for your money.
DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS! LET’S SHARE INFORMATION AND BENEFIT ALL, FOR THE BETTER OF MANKIND. - Ramesh Patel, S Africa

Fer Pandi Lovers Only PtIII

"Ubah Gaya Hidup" - that's every Malaysians' new motto. Ok, in the spirit of the times, me will try to accommodate a few changes to me lifestyle. So fer starters, me would like to share a "budget" meal recipe with you featuring the (now expensive like fook @ RM7++/kg) pandi.

Previously on this blog, me has posted a couple of oink recipes. The first was me personal fave of pork curry, using a significant number of choice ingredients which made it a bit of a gourmet meal. Next was the roasted Rum Bones which needed expensive cuts of ribs plus a generous splash of Barcadi Rum (Gold edition no less). So me has cut down on these extravagant meals at home & in its place a more "reasonable" option.

Pasta Olio Olio w Luncheon Meat
Ingredients (fer two pax)
1) One can of luncheon meat (approx RM6.50 /original recipe used bacon & gourmet sausages)
2) One can of button mushrooms (approx RM2.30 / original recipe used selection of imported mushrooms)
3) 10 stalks cili padi (approx 10sen / free if you grow yer own)
4) 2 large onions (approx 50sen)
5) 2 bulbs garlic (approx 30 sen)
6) Olive oil (approx RM32 per litre, though you not using all / otherwise sub with vege or corn oil)
7) Lea & Perrin's (approx RM6.50 per btl - again not using all at once / cheaper Maggi Worcester sauce also available)
8) Paprika or Cheyenne powder (approx RM2.50 fer 50g pack - again not using all)
9) Mixed herbs (approx RM3 per 500g pack - not using all)
10) Bay leaf (optional)
11) Pasta of choice (spaghetti costs approx RM3.00 fer a 500g pack - again only using a third fer two diners)

Method:
1) Heat oil in wok/pan & sweat down the sliced onions followed by the garlic & cili padi (& bay leaf).
2) Add sliced/cubed luncheon meat & season with paprika or cheyenne powder (latter more bite).
3) Stir fry till luncheon meat is cooked & turning slightly crisp. Add in sliced button mushrooms (you can also add a few veges such as capsicum if you wish, but the name of the game is to reduce cost, so up to you).
4) Sprinkle mixed herbs and fry on low heat till aromatic.
5) Boil pasta in separate pot with a touch of olive oil &/or butter (sub with margarine) & salt.
6) Drain pasta & add to wok with luncheon meat & give it a good mix allowing the pasta to absorb the flavours.
7) Serve hot with cold beer (no wine, remember, ubah gaya hidup!)

Seriously, though, if you do the math, the meal would have cost roughly RM15 at most fer two (with many ingredients to be used fer subsequent meals). That ain't too fooking bad is it. So me is off to the kitchen to start preparing this cost-conscious meal fer wifey & meself.

Hope ye all like it as well. Happy woking!

ps: Sorry, no digital camera to take pix. Perhaps after me gets me petrol rebate from Post Office. Ha ha!

pps: Apologies to Tn Kerp & other non-pork eaters. You can sub babi with sliced chicken breast pieces. Or if yer feeling really extravagant, giant prawns but that sorta defeats the point of the whole exercise here . . .