Friends say the darnest things:

"Not bad... quite fk the world, but it's sang by hydralisk."
- Louis, after visiting www.myspace.com/mindleechsg

"Think Epi(Epiphone) style, life will be BATA(Buy and throw away). Think Lawsuit style(lawsuit guitars), you get BAKA (Buy and keep awhile). Gibby style, BARF(Buy and regret forever)
- Johnson, on Gibson guitars and their cheaper counterparts.

"Youtube see video free 1 rite? Knn... i search tammy but dnt have leh."
- my dearest bassist fren Guan, who just recently got internet connection

I have funny friends. They keep me alive.

Been messing around with the slide lately. Came up with a pretty nifty country lick tt morphed into a mini tune for Louis to submit for his Science of Module project (U better treat me to some kick ass lunch cos tt piece of music is so gonna give an A+!! Hell yea!!). Anyways, yea regarding tt lick, it's pretty shitty to play as muting the strings is a bitch when u play slide la. Especially when more than 1 string is involved. Kinda have to something like:

Play note on string A -> mute string A -> play note on string B.

Something like that. Trust me, it's harder than it seems. The problem escalates when u add in overdrive. It will sound like a mish mash when the strings are not muted. Gah!!

Some funny jap shit to watch:

For a very long time, i did not believe in the existence of a god. But now i do.

Quote something from the Initial D movie: "God is also human, but he can do something that other humans cannot do."

Recently, i got hooked to watching Starcraft replays. I was quite an avid SC player last time, so after reading Nic's post i went to check out how good the Koreans really are. And boy was i not disappointed. This guy.. Slayer-Boxer, or Boxer in short, is like the most amazing SC player i've ever seen. In terms of tactics, trickery, micromanagement, he comes out tops. And after watching a vid from his first person perspective, u will understand why:


Check out how fast his mouse moves! He reportedly performs 320 actions per minute, which is like 5 actions per second? Madness. And the bloody thing is, he looks nowhere close to a geek. Like Sichao says, "He looks like he just jumped out of a Korean drama serial"

God number 2: Louis showed me this video about a week ago. It totally changed my perspective of origami.



Now tell me, who in the world gave this guy the idea to fold a phoenix this way? Complete with realistic claws, feathers and beak?!?! Since it takes 10 hours to fold this bird, imagine the amount of time used in conceptualizing it? If this doesnt convince you, watch the nxt vid. Watch it till the end. Trust me. Your jaws will drop.



These people have reached a level where it is unsurpassable by anyone at all. It's not even like in a league of their own. They are like all alone at the top. Like the Chinese saying goes, "Wu di shi ji mo de" (Invincibility leads to loneliness)

I am listening to In Flames (Power Metal + Death vocals), Nightwish (Power Metal + Opera vocals) and JJ Lin (Chinese Pop) lately. In Flames is pretty interesting, as i have yet to hear a band like this. Very melodic guitar lines + some prog influences + death vocals. It's very refreshing even though i cannot even catch a single word of what the "singer" is growling about.

Nightwish, a band tt i have heard so much about but yet explored. I would say they have some really strong catchy songs, but the rest of the repertoire suffers alittle from too similar songs. The soprano vocals catches on me, and i was singing in my best opera-tic voice the whole day, annoying Shirui and my mom a hell lot. Not too much great solos though.

JJ Lin, mmm how to say. I think he has a great melodic sense. And he doesnt get trapped by the usual Chinese pop sentimental style. The instrumentation of his songs are great too, which is something i shld learn more from.

An interesting question tt popped up during hang: Do those shops tt sell sex toys have an exchange policy? E.G "This vibrator is too big for me, i wanna exchange for a smaller one." :D

Ok i got distracted again. Bye

As usual, i cant be bothered to type a proper entry lately. Or were there any proper entries ever? Anyways, some random happenings lately.

I realise i have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. In short, i go to the toilet almost immediately after my meal. I'm lactose-intolerant, so milk + most dairy products will give me the runs. Yakult has an adverse effect in my digestive system. From what i read online, there's no cure for IBS. Just have to change/watch my diet by cutting down on milk and caffeine stuff, and eat less full meals and opt for more smaller meals.

But i can't help it. I love coffee (the smell and taste of it). I love cheese. I must have a full meal or else i will feel hungry. I hate snacking. Mmm. How?

Sushi Tei just now. I personally think the sushi there is better compared to Sakae and Suki, but the price is unjustifiable. Chawanmushi for $4? With just a piece of mushroom, a small chunk of chicken and 1 ginko nut? Sakae has 1 additional piece of japanese fish cake and it's only $1.90. I truly believe they are using golden eggs from Jack and the Beanstalk(tm).

The rest of the stuff is nice, but really ex. Can't really eat to my heart's content without feeling the burn in my wallet. I must say the sushi rice is really tasty though. As i told Shirui, "I will come here to eat everytime when i become rich."

Finally got my ass moving and bought Guitar Techniques. Randy Rhoads and Allan Holdsworth. Mmm gonna be some good stuff.

Watched Tenacious D - Pick of Destiny this afternoon. Not too inspiring though. I felt School of Rock was way much better. Kyle Gass is damn cute though. Like a giant balding baby. But i have to say the songs in the show were well written rock tunes. Brilliant in a sense.

Google Reader is a convenient way for me to keep track of blogs and random mumbo jumbo stuff tt i read. Rss is a brilliant technology, but tt also means i dun go to the original blog to tag pple anymore. So does it really bring u closer to ur fren? Or does it pull u away more?

Anyways some blogs are Un-Rss-able, like those tt need password to read. What a pain in the ass. Joanna and Nick, pls do something abt it!

Jens just sent me a e-book on Jazz guitar. Just when i tot i can begin to work on some licks, the book has to show me Tao Gey (standard music notation). Gah, why can't someone know theory, but can't read? Damn, i believe i belong to this category. Nxt time, i'm gonna write a jazz book tt is in TAB. Stupid anal jazzist elitism shit.

I hate it when pple take me as a middle man. Settle it yourselves dudes. You are not the only person in this world who is busy. Speaking of which, recently, i have a new pet peeve: pple asking me to wait/making me wait. It's like their time is more important than mine. These pple think too highly of themselves already. So i'm just gonna play punk now. My time is important as well, even though i'm just lazing around. Lazing time is important too dicks.

Best Tech pple have rarely called. That is a good sign. Either no business, or they change number, though the latter shldn't be true as i still get 1 or 2 sometimes. I get peace in the mornings now, which is all that matters. I dun really care if they go bankrupt or become the biggest aircon dealer in Singapore.

I have 4 tests right after my mid-sem break, which falls on the week of Chinese New Year. That shld imply that i shall not have a good Chinese New Year this year, as i will be mugging at least 3-4 days. Fortunately i dun gamble, or i will lose big time. This sem is going to be tough.

Lifted from my MSN conversation with Shirui: How i wish i am taking lessons from someone right now... like Beez. Who will give me homework and stuff to look forward to everytime. This is the motivational factor behind his teachning method. It keeps u interested, and makes u wanna play more. Shrug.

Dream Theater's "Through Her Eyes" Live in New York take has gotta be John Petrucci's most emotive solo ever. And Myung's bassline is really beautiful. And the chords, oh my.... so so melodic. And they were playing to just Rudess' keyboard's drum loops. Brilliant.

Someone asked me what's so good abt John Frusciante. Let's just say he's the most complete modern rock guitarist in my opinion. His technique is unique: "Scar Tissue", he's got stamina "Snow (Hey oh)", he has great improvisational skills: Live in Slane, he can harmonise, he can harmonise while playing some sick RHCP funk riffs, he can sing, he is brilliant with effects. Ok i ran out of stuff to say. And btw all the solos in Stadium Arcadium are improvised. Tt tells how good he is i guess. Just have to see him play live to be convinced man.

Getting too distracted now. Bye.

Hi, i know you guys from TH band are reading this, so here goes:

After listening to the song "Letter to Self", i feel tt u guys have done a decent job. Song has good structure, even though it's abit cliche-d, it is still a good formula for a succesful song. Mixing was pretty well done i feel, considering the constraints. But of course, Audition is such a versatile software, more things could be experimented i guess.

Some points to improve on:

- Play with the metronome! Time keeping was abit rushed at some parts. And overall is not very very tight. For tightness, check out John Molina Band at Rouge. Maybe it's the drummer tt he can't play to the metronome. But it's ok, i only know a few who really can keep to it.

- Singer's R sound: No idea why, but it gets on me. Abit too pronounced. Like Shirui's problem too.

- Drums mixed abit too loud. Guitar too soft. Bass clipped at some parts.

- Guitar's tone is too muffled for rhythm. But tone is subjective.

- Keyboard parts are way too simple le la. More licks! Maybe let it play the vocal melody to enhance the chorus or smthing. Tt's y pianist can never play the keyboard. Totally different world.

Aight tt's abt it. At least this time, the CD looks more promising than my brother's era. Strained!

Hi all,

Travian has completely consumed my life for the past 1 month haha. I'm very sorry to my girl, who's always in a pissy mood whenever she sees me staring tt the Travian screen. I'll try to pay more attention to you okie? Haha.

The thing about me is that i dun play computer games tt much, but whenever i do, i get completely engrossed in it. A quicklist of games i got hooked over this past 10 years: Twilight MUD (text-based RPG), Civilization Series, Diablo II, Shattered Galaxy, Neverwinter Nights, DotA, Maplestory, and now Travian. I think tt's about all. Not much for 10 years really.

Among this list, those tt were easiest to give up were the RPGs. Everyday u train ur character to level, fight more monsters to get good items, train somemore. Blah blah. I get tired of RPGs really quickly, partly because i like to power level. Like a level 1-70 in 1 day kinda thing. Yea, the fun for me is the power level-ing initially. I really dun see the fun in being powerful later on and going around killing other pple, partly becos i hate to die, so i dun PvP.

Those tt really got me hooked for long periods of time were the strategy games. Shattered Galaxy was one, somewhat like Starcraft with RPG elements in it. Every single minute is a battle, and u have to be really good in manuevering your troops and be quick with your tactical decisions. DotA is another one, but the lacking thing is the fact tt everyone restarts with a clean sheet the next game. I like my games to have continuity, to build on my achievements everytime i play.

And now Travian. A game tt tests your military, economic and diplomatic skills. And of course your bloody patience. A game so simple tt it's hard to play for the weak-willed. It's almost as good as running your own country and u have to manage it everyday in real time. Being a king is taxing i'd say.

With tt much said about games, u can expect i hadn't been working on my guitar at all! Which is fine to me actually. But Kai chut stun on me just now by bringing some grind-metal camp mate home and asking me to play "Into The Storm" for him. Which i kinda forgot most of the parts. Haha, damn, must have embarassed myself.

Anyways, 6 years has passed. Time flies, and we are all getting older. The road is still smooth but there's a long way to go. Let's reach the end together. ^^