Archive for April, 2010

Long five weeks

Monday, April 26th, 2010
Wow, it’s been a very busy five weeks.  The weekend of the 10th and 11th I worked straight through putting my magazine together.  The week of April 12th-18th was a 95-hour week, where I put out the magazine, organised video interviews, put together stuff for our big conference, then got into the event itself. Naoko and Zen and I did take some time out on the 17th to walk along Mount Faber and Kent Ridge trail, wandering from 7:00 in the morning until 10:30, then went to eat local pepper rib soup, before heading home for a short nap and some more work.  Sunday I just worked, and it went on until Tuesday, when the conference finished.  That day was my 41st birthday, most people knew it, and wished me happy returns.  That night we had a great party at my boss’s home on Sentosa Island, with good music, lots of guys and gals, the gin and tonic flowed, there was salsa dancing, there was crazy humid tropical nights, and all sorts of good fun.  The next morning, Wednesday, I was up at 6:00 AM, trying to unwind, then off to work to get stuff done.  Got home early-ish that night, Naoko and Zen had a lovely hamburger and beer dinner ready for me, and I got to sleep early.  Thursday was busy with two events; the first one I had trouble getting to because of my stupid 173 bus – I left one hour before the event, but spent 30 minutes waiting for a 173 that just wouldn’t come. Mind you, I saw five going the other direction, so I finally caved in and took a cab all the way downtown, something I normally don’t do at 9:00 AM.  I got home not-too-late that night and just slept at around 8:00.  Exhausted.  Friday After work I took my Distortion Factory pedal to Swee Lee Music to get it repaired (it’s completely died on me) and took my guitar to Blackwood and tried out a new pedal, a Fulltone GT-500 overdrive/booster and distortion double pedal, very cool.  Saturday we had planned to get up early and trek off to Pulau Ubin, but instead we stayed at home because Zen had a bit of a fever.  I taught Naoko guitar rudiments, going over the E minor and A chords, and a few things about the pentatonic scale, and a few other things. Zen was better in the afternoon, so we went off the Air Force Museum to check out the airplanes and helicopters.  The area in front of the place is no longer one big construction site, so that was nice.  Unfortunately, there are barely any taxis passing, so we were out of luck. Next stop, Changi Village, which we thought was nearby, but wasn’t so near after all. But we got there eventually, wandered around a bit, and then found a great place to have dinner, Jacob’s Cafe.  Naoko had a steak and kidney pie that was really tasty, I had German bratwurst that was outstanding, and Zen had a Hawaiian pizza that he just loved, eventually declaring Jacob’s Cafe his favourite restaurant in Singapore.  Took a taxi home, but were too pooped to do anything more. Sunday I did some work in the morning, Naoko continued to study guitar (she taught herself D, F and G chords), then went off to softball after lunch. Had a great practice, there were a few new families there, and took a cab home, went for a wonderful, relaxing swim, then did more work and chilled out. Monday was a day off for me, so we woke up at 6:00, I took Zen to school, then Naoko and I chilled out at home, and off we went downtown at 10;30, just in time to get caught in the rain.  I bought a Fulltone GT-500 overdrive and distortion pedal and Naoko tried out a real guitar (she’s using Zen’s Ibanez Mikro at home), then off we went to eat Vietnamese food (beef noodle soup, pork chops), then hung out at Bugis Junction. Took a cab home, tried out the pedal, I picked Zen up from school, then took him off to his supplementary lessons at Kumon.  I killed time for an hour, at the end of which I ran into my band’s drummer Ant, looking good.  Went home and ate Naoko’s awesome pizza.  Great day! Tomorrow it’s back to work, but who cares – I’m ready for it!
At the Singapore Discovery Centre

At the Singapore Discovery Centre

Mossy tree

Mossy tree

Tank girl/guy

Tank girl/guy

rock 'n' roll

rock 'n' roll

Rock 'n' roll

Rock 'n' roll

Rock 'n' roll

Rock 'n' roll

Rock 'n' roll

Rock 'n' roll

Rock 'n' roll

Rock 'n' roll

Rock 'n' roll

Rock 'n' roll

Early morning thunderhead - view from our room

Early morning thunderhead - view from our room

What does Michael Jackson have in common with Suicidal Tendencies?

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

What does Michael Jackson have in common with Suicidal Tendencies? Probably not much, except for the fact that “Give in to me” steals the main riff of “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow (When I Can’t Even Smile Today).” Compare the two songs:

Suicidal Tendencies’ “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow (When I Can’t Even Smile Today)” (1988).

Michael Jackson’s “Give In To Me” (1993). Check out how Michael and Slash and the console get zapped by lightning, and the random heavy petting.

But it looks like someone has already figured out how to combine the two songs:

Bravo.