Of battles waged and lessons learnt...

I haven't really been in the mood to post in the past few days, just feel rather stupid. I'm posting now though cause there's so much stuff I wanna say all of a sudden...

By now most people who need to know probably know that I'm going to KL next week to pursue my dream, or in my own words, to fulfill my self-proclaimed destiny.

Yup! I've actually 'destined' myself to KL for at least 3 months (and most likely 4 yrs after) during which I'll definitely make new friends and miss the friends over here. FYI I've stayed in SG for a good 16 years, not all the friends I've made along the way are still in contact with me (my fault) but this place is where I've spent a good percentage of my possible lifespan, so as you can imagine, I'm not hopping with joy about my choice. It's a mini battle inside actually, to want to pursue my dream and yet appease my aching heart.

My dream? To be an accomplished guitarist and musician. Ultimately I hope to do soundtracks for games that I'd love to play. Well I wouldn't mind doing a black metal song for a racing game if I was asked to :D

My quest to be a good axeman (layman's term for guitarist) has been going up and down since I picked up the electric guitar in late 2000.

In part it has been influenced by my changing tastes in music due to growing exposure. Here's a very brief history:

I started listening to KISS after some fanboy comment in the KISS comics by Todd McFarlane. Slowly got into some of the 70's rock.

Soon after I got into Eric Clapton and the original G3 lineup: Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai.

Did lots of research into these guitarists by obtaining their solo CDs. Satriani was the reigning favourite during that period.

Very soon I got into Yngwie Malmsteen, a firm favourite of mine. IMO his earlier CDs contained sheer brilliance, especially the debut album.

Well I soon ventured into metal after hearing Zakk Wylde and some power metal that some guy introduced to me. The band was Hammerfall.

Upon learning where to obtain all these metal CDs, I soon found my CD library filled with lots of them, of various sub-genres. Particular favourites are Children Of Bodom, Imperanon, In Flames, Norther and Shadow.

I also ventured into the more extreme territory with Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, Slayer, Slipknot and Zyklon.

I was lost among the allure of incredible drumming to be found in the extreme bands. Then there are also the really crazy shredders out there who play so fast it's more discouraging than inspiring to me. I was caught up with all the technical showcasing, until I came across this website where this female guitarist basically pointed me in the direction that I needed to go.

There are good soundfiles of great soloing available and one of the best ones is actually a spoken piece of advice by Michael Schenker where he says,

"And here is the message for all the young guitarists: Music should not be a competition, music should come from the heart. Practice regular (sic) and express what you feel. You are the only person who has access to your soul so get it out to us."

You know that really hit me hard. A skeptic could say it's just some man with too much time who said that, but it's a big lesson for me today. Hearing the music is one thing, having someone put it across to me like that really impressed it upon me. Listening to some of the ridiculous shredding now makes me think, 'Did that even raise a single goosebump on me?'

Suddenly I realised what it means to play less yet express more. A little disclaimer though, I can't play properly and this isn't meant to be an excuse to not be technically proficient. It's just that this has been the best message that came across to me which reflects on the sad state of some of today's guitar playing in the shred community.

That's not to say all shredders aren't tasteful, there are quite a number. But most of the rest miss the point. Well that's what I think now.

Oh and, my 'discovery' of game music over the past year or so is really cool. There're so many hidden gems in the game music world that it's like finding a treasure chest on and island of trees with 'normal' music growing on them hehe. Now you might understand why I wanna do game soundtracks :D

Well, I've settled two battles so far. One of my fateful decision. The other of my musical inspiration and direction.

There is one more battle which I've been losing daily for months, and the 'casualties' are getting higher with each passing day. I'm so hopeless in this area. I feel fearful as soon as I step onto the battlefield. I'm a deserter who flees everytime he's sent to 'fight'. When will I accomplish the mission? Or will it be too late? Then again, there is hope in this sentence from a book I might blog about in the near future...

"...Everything that's worthwhile in life is scary. Choosing a school, choosing a career, getting married, having kids - all those things are scary. If it is not fearful, it is not worthwhile." - Paul Tournier

Of ground-huggers, resolution-breakers, eye-catchers and 'woodshedders'...

Oh man, today I did a major screw-up early in the morning; I went to play tennis without bringing my balls along! Luckily Meyer brought 3 so we could at least play a bit of the 'Pig Pork Symphony'.

Today we basically practiced our strokes cause in less than 20 minutes Meyer had already condemned one ball to the top of the bounds. 2 balls isn't exactly how you'd play a match, unless someone would be kind enough to be a ball boy :D

Furthermore, yours truly sent the 2 balls out quite soon after also. This left me with no choice but to go out of the guild and retrieve the 'stray' balls. Well, I found 3 balls in total, and it turned out that one of them probably belonged to some other people who had played before us. It was a rather deflated Dunlop coaching ball. FYI Meyer and I have been using Wilson balls for a while. They simply fly better.

Turns out the Dunlop ball was harder to send flying, bounced lower and dropped faster. Basically it had great affinity with earth's gravity; a real ground-hugger that one.

Ok, I'll skip ahead to possibly the most interesting part, which is after I sent the other 2 Wilson balls flying out, AGAIN!

So that leaves us with one heavier-than-thou ball to rally with. I must say it's actually rather fun. We used to play with coaching balls until I suggested switching to Wilson balls cause they're closer to 'match' conditions.

Well anyway, I realised (might be wrong though) that these coaching balls were kinda made that way. They required that the players use proper stroking motions and follow-through. They also make you run more as they tend to hit the ground a lot faster than normal. The best part of these balls though, is they allow you to let rip without worrying about them having a high chance of flying out. Lots of satisfying ball-smacking! Hehehe...

Ok, after the hot, sweaty and satisfying session (for me anyway), Meyer asked me a question which sort of caught me off guard. "So how? Later eat Subway or Burger King?"

I tell you I thought he was pulling my leg for a while cause Meyer had gone on this 'No Fast Food' resolution last year, and this year he's at it again. So I asked the most obvious question and he answered, "Oh, I had to eat KFC during CNY cause only fast food restaurants open during that period when I was working."

Ok so he happily broke his New Year resolution during the Lunar New Year, how cool is that?

I was quite supportive of his return to the 'Dark Side' of gastronomical choices and also partly cause BK's a tad cheaper. So I said without hesitation, "BK it is!"

I didn't tell him something about Subway today, as I walked by and looked inside to see if our Nemesis was in there, I happened to see this really sweet-looking girl inside...

For a moment I was thinking, 'Hmm, maybe should eat Subway, feast for the stomach and eyes!' :D

But no, I decided to proceed with the BK pilgrimage, cause a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do! Which is to keep his word and money haha! Ok, I was also concerned for Meyer (seriously) cause I don't think he's had a lot of BK since 1st Jan.

BUT! Please don't think that I'm self-sacrificial or anything. No, nothing of that sort. I have other reasons too, which I'm not inclined to disclose here. Ok, just one hint: I wanna eat somewhere else...where my heart belongs...

After the long meal, thanks to me, we left and I went to the nearby magazine corner and got for myself something I had been yearning for days ago.........

THE APRIL ISSUE OF GUITAR WORLD! LET'S ROCK PEOPLE! Featuring interviews with 3 virtuoso guitarists of which 2 are easily my favourites - Steve Vai, Alexi Laiho and Zakk Wylde! The latter 2 are my kind of guitarists hehe. Well I'll probably elaborate more next time (I always say that don't I?) cause my post's getting a bit long.

And one more thing, today Holland Village so many chio bus! Why? Why? Why? Bugis had a number, but Holland V simply ruled :D

Gold at the end of the rainbow!

Ouch...after the 3-men action that day, my right arm's like so wasted. My wrists aren't faring better and now playing my guitar requires more effort, but it's still fun!

Crap...both my wrists are singing to the tune of the 'Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Requiem'. If you don't get it, let me just say my wrists hurt over the past 3 days...but now it's mainly the left, too much vigorous action on the fretboard.

Yay, tennis tomorrow! I can't wait :D

Oh yes, the gold that I'm referring to in my title...I'm so excited about it that I decided to blog it after sampling it! Ok here's roughly what happened...

I was practising my guitar when I suddenly wondered if Imperanon (fantastic Melodic Death Metal band from Finland) might have any videos since their debut album last year. Off I went to google the words 'Imperanon Video', ended up at the 'News' page of their official website, which I've been to quite a number of times. But today, something caught my eye...

'28.10.2004
- Aleksi Sihvonen recorded a song called "Pentatonic School" with young and talented keyboardist Risto Kupiainen. You can download it here. For further information about Risto check www.speedpianosoolo.cjb.net.'

Oh my, when I saw 'you can DOWNLOAD IT HERE', I was so happy sia! Having Imperanon's guitarist perform could only mean one thing...GREAT MELODIC MUSIC!

I promptly clicked on the link and got redirected to this Finnish website. I soon realised it's a site for indie musicians. Argh my geddon, the quality of the music there is rather stupendous IMO. I don't like everything there, but there's enough good music for someone like me! And it's free too!

Damn, these people make it harder for us consumers to part with our money on all the mainstream crap :D (Ok maybe I'm just a sucker for free music, I love all these indie-music websites)

Then again, if you're interested you should just visit http://www.mikseri.net/www/ and hear for yourself.

Well whatever the case, this website just made my day, thank you Finland!

Nerdvana...

Today I'm quite tired so I'll continue to post in the Zen-like manner.

You know what? It's rather challenging actually. Trying to attain a state of maximum lameness with minimal verbage. I call it.........Nerdvana (well actually Scott Adams of Dilbert fame came up with it as far as I know hehe).

I think I inadvertently called nerds lame...but nevermind...who would admit they're a nerd in the first place by getting angry at my comment? :D

Anyway, keeping your posts short with Zenish sentences makes you sound retarded. At least that's what happened with my previous post so without further ado, it's time to Zen-out!

Today went out with shiny mp3 player, Yepp. Go collect document from auntie. Later looked for CDs at HMV Heeren. No Shadow Hearts 2 OST. Damn. So happy see Taufik's mug there. I got vote k! Metal CDs all $10 more than normal. Nevermind. Go eat Burger King, again!

Headed down to Peninsula Plaza. Bought Death Angel's The Art Of Dying. Cheaper than HMV by 10 bucks! Take that HMV!

Realised yesterday was Valentine's Day. Didn't buy gift for wife. Oh dear. Looked for assorted strings in 3-packs. Can't find. Went to visit Apple Centre in Funan for fun. Almost too boring, but got nice little Yepp with me. Sing song over and over for me. Yay.

Proceeded to CD Warehouse. Saw Joe Stump's Guitar Dominance for $19.95! What a deal! Snagged it. Tonight is Metal night!

Bought gift for wife. A nice G-String! Only $7 too! Packed with 5 other strings. My wife's gonna scream with delight! Hehehe.

You no hear lame repeated wife joke before? Her name is Epiphone Les Paul. She wears 6 strings. And she sounds best with skilled fingers. Needs to be plugged in too, so can make neighbours hear her squeal.

I try to practice new 'moves' that I learn on her. Sometimes I can make her sound fab. Sometimes I also wish she shut up. Then again, it's my fingers. Damn...maybe I should get a new wife soon? Can't change me fingers right?

Walked to Bugis Junction. Saw a number of chio bus. I lucky? Or they unlucky? I don't know. I hardly lucky one. Hmm...

Went down to arcade. Played 2 games of 3rd Strike. As fun as always. After that rushed off to favourite sport...TENNIS!

Today got new challenger with top 2 seeds (Meyer and I). Won't reveal name yet. Former RP in my former camp. Had a 3-men stroking session. Great way to sweat I say. Meyer hit most balls out today.

Tired but happy. Must stop soon. Wife wants to try new G-string (and other strings)...maybe I won't put on for her tonight. I had too much 3-men action liao. Will play with concubine Yepp though. I think she spends more time with me than my wife.

One post closer to Nerdvana. I will make it!

Argh My Geddon~

Damn it, such a long absence from blogging and I have quite a lot of crap to post...

Firstly, I've got verbal feedback that my blog is very 'essayish', too much text and too little pictures. So this post will be an exercise in Zen blogging. Starting from this sentence onwards, I'll keep everything as straight-to-the-point (or straight-to-the-full-stop haha) as possible.

Starhub account suspended. I thought modem spoilt. Only got it 'fixed' today; I no pay bill 3 months. Starhub no send bill for 3 months. They demand reconnection fee. I stated my case. Connection returned, fee waived, case closed.

Went Hong Kong during CNY. Cold but good for walking. Girls all dressed weirdly. Bought some DVDs; 'Dude, where's my car?', Dream Theater - Live In Budokan, and Enigma dual-DVD package. Quite a pretty city. Good for Spiderman, lots of places to swing. Everything in Chinese. No Burger King, damn. Will elaborate more in next post.

Watched 'Dude, where's my car?' at home after meeting up with friends. Laughed real loud and maniacally. Love the show.

Lost to Meyer in 'SPGG Tennis Open Championships' on the 5th Feb I think. Wanted to blog it that day but...refer to the Starhub fiasco. Score was 6-3 I think, 4th set in the continued match.

Bought a Samsung YP-ST5 mp3 player on Saturday! So happy! Finally can have my music following me around. Otherwise I stay at home almost all the time so I don't have to miss my music. Now no need to switch CDs to get to my favourite track. No more hearing insufferable noises on the MRT. Aural bliss awaits...this is by far the best thing that has happened to me.

Ok, the Zen alarm rings, time to cut the crap and publish the shit. Yeah~!

PS2 game, PS2 set, match!

Oh well, before I begin, sorry for the lame title...^_^

Hmmz...today had a wonderful time playing tennis again hehe. 3 sets with Meyer leading 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 again...we're gonna wrap up this match sometime this week, probably on a weekend I guess. Well just a brief rundown on the games we played again:

As you can see, I totally sucked in the first set. Let me skip the painful memories and highlight the 2nd set ok? In case you even wonder why, it's cause I won it haha!

For some strange reason, my serving in the 2nd set was on fire sia. I seemed to have been a bit 'enlightened' on the position when I should strike the ball and send it screaming into Meyer's court. Boy those were fantastic! Well actually that was more or less the case in the 2nd set haha; winning points with big serves.

In the 3rd set there were a few interesting rallies which saw Meyer and I playing tennis near the net haha, fast paced and fun I must say :D

And best of all, there was this fluke shot I did when I was attempting another big forehand on one of Meyer's cross-court shots which sent it flying cross court first, then upon hitting the ground it bounced forward but in the OPPOSITE direction mwahaha! Meyer was totally caught by surprise man...even I got surprised by it's erratic motion...real crazy stuff, I should try and master it and then maybe I'd have a chance to go pro eh?

Well anyway, I have to buck up this weekend to prevent another win for Meyer...damn.

Ok, now I'm gonna talk about a game I just completed today too. I totally love it! It's Shadow Hearts: Covenant (Shadow Hearts 2 in Japan) for the PS2.

An RPG in the Final Fantasy mould is probably the easiest way to put it, but that's also selling it short cause this game has enough innovative and unique touches to set it apart from Square-Enix's offering.

I've got other stuff to do tonight so I'll just list some of the more outstanding things about this game, and probably continue to 'review' it in the next post.

This game has a very interesting combat system. It's turn-based, and allows you to take your own sweet time as opposed to the system in FF VII and VIII if I'm not wrong. BUT, everything you execute is via well-timed button presses whilst a hand spins around this 'Judgement Ring' with areas which you must hit. Think of it like a kind of hand-eye coordination exercise, or Dance Dance Revolution with you thumb only haha. The areas you can hit are suitably large, but near the end of them there are 'Strike' zones which grant you a better outcome for whatever it is you'r executing be it more damage for an attack or more health for a healing. Problem is, if you miss it, your turn is over.

In short, it's a bit like gambling! It does serve to make some battles more tense as you desperately need to get all the extra damage in, only to miss and end up dealing less. Suffice to say it's a very rewarding system and I totally applaud the developers for implementing it. I'll elaborate more next time.

The other highlight is the story, which is really dark and sinister, and is actually a big big twist on events which have happened before, most notably World War I. It's not meant to be taken seriously in the historical aspect, but it does have references to ACTUAL people and entities which it claims are purely coincidental. I can assure you these guys have done some research before crafting this story, but of course, they don't wanna get into any unnecessary trouble so they have to include the disclaimer as always; that the game is entirely fictitious.

Talking about serious, most of the characters which you'll end up controlling or meeting all have their peculiar quirks and idiosyncrasies.

The lead 'actor', Yuri Volte Hyuga is kind of like Dante from Capcom's fantastic Devil May Cry series, except that he has a fixed girlfriend. The biggest similarities are his ability to transform into devils and also his bad ass attitude, to the enemies at least.

He seems to embody the kind of people who are tough talking, but actually have a lot of heart. His devotion to his late self-sacrificing girlfriend, Alice Eliot, is simply admirable...especially when you have a really lovely lady whose heart has chosen to love him also, which brings us to...

The lead 'actress', Karin Koenig. A really strong woman (in terms of character, not muscles) who's also very much in love with Yuri. Well, she's like Yuri's best friend, and provides the most support for him in any occasion. Well most of these occasions are the kind which you could say strengthens the bonds between the people who go through them. Her theme song is so sweet and yet heartwrenching. And talking about strength, here's the last character for today:

The supporting 'actor', Joachim Valentine. Well according to the website this fellow is 400+ years old, and he's a vampire to boot! Well don't worry, somehow he doesn't need to suck blood to stay alive haha. In fact, he's more chivalrous than most humans, to the extent that he exposes his rather low IQ hahaha.

He's easily one of the most entertaining characters in a game, and perhaps any game. That says a lot for a game which is so dark and grim...

The voice actor really did a good job with him. So pompous, so ham-fisted is the delivery that you're almost guaranteed a laugh everytime he opens his mouth. His hobbies are wrestling saving the world from the 'forces of darkness' as he so eloquently put it when you first meet him.

He picks up any big object he can lay his hands on and uses it as a weapon. And everytime he finds a new one you'll be treated to some corny music and a short cinematic showing him over-dramatizing the act of finding a new toy to play with. Seriously, I think only the Japanese can pull off such kinds of hilarious stuff without seeming lame.

Oh btw, I think the developers might have taken some cues from William Hung as how to make Joachim move, there's this uncanny similarity, or maybe it's just me hahaha.

I'll end this prematurely with one of my favourite speeches from this superhero-cum-wrestler wannabe:

'If you can face the unfettered fury of my rippling muscles, then come on!'