Detroit Metal City

I was rather unfortunate not to have been able to catch Detroit Metal City (or DMC, for short) in the cinema during it's short run here, but imagine my joy when I caught sight of it at my local video store!(The DVD was released shortly after the movie.) Krauser wrote that "kill" word on his forehead with a black marker. I know Wifey's not a big fan of such movies, but being the good sport that she is, she agreed to sit though the movie with me. After all, we also rented the gazillion award winner Slumdog Millionaire together with DMC, and I had to sit through that borefest with her in exchange. (Fortunately for me, Slumdog was quite an entertaining movie, but more on in a later post.) DMC focuses on the double life of protaganist Soichi Negishi, played by the brilliant Kenichi Matsuyama (who portrayed L in Death Note) who is a limp wristed, sappy pop music lover and aspiring pop singer (Horrors!) and his alter ego as Johannes Krauser II, a successful frontman for death metal outfit DMC by night. Sir Krauser getting all shook up along to a sappy pop number. The funny stage antics of "Sir Krauser", as he is known to his die-hard groupies, including screaming like he was possessed by the devil himself, spewing potty mouth lyrics that depict him raping and killing, and playing his guitar with his teeth. (Yes, you heard me right there!) DMC had me in stitches most of the time, particularly when Negishi mixes up his own life with that of Krauser's. Funny parts include him running around in costume along a busy street, having groupies take his side although they're still at work as "Power Rangers" in a theme park, and Negumi's awkward cross legged, limp wristed running. That alone is worth the DVD rental price. (Or sales price, if you bought the movie) KISS's Gene Simmons has a cameo in the movie as well, and a face off between DMC and Simmons' character ends up in a rock off with a death metal song with only one word being repeated throughout. One word that rhymes with duck. So if you're in for some silly fun and laughter, do grab a copy of DMC. Let the power of Krauser and DMC run through your veins. Muahahaha! *Darth Salacious does not condone Satanic actions or Death Metal. He loves sappy pop songs by groups like Westlife (ugh!)

Silent Hill:Origins

Yes! After two weeks of erratic gaming hours, I've finally beaten Silent Hill Origins on the PSP! Although the storyline was pretty good and should keep most fans of the survival horror genre happy, I was somewhat surprised by the anti-climatic ending. I found out later that there were 3 different endings, although 2 of them required you to beat the game at least once first. One of the highlights of the game was the bad-ass looking Butcher. You'll encounter him frequently during your forays around Silent Hill, and each time he'll be cutting monsters up with his giant cleaver and leaving a horrible trail of blood. However, he also turned out to be my biggest disappointment as I faced off against him. He turned out to be a fag. Unloading my entire load of Assault Rifle rounds against him (I have the tendency to keep my best weapons until fighting the main bosses) while standing in a corner, I killed him in less than a minute. Left with no rounds, I then found out that he wasn't the last boss. Darn. Having said that, I did enjoy the game save for some minor hiccups. The idea of Silent Hill's programmers to incorporate sounds and static noise to indicate the presence of nearby monsters has always made Silent Hill way more creepier than other titles out there. But there have been frustrating times where the stubborn camera refuses to give a better view to the player. I wasted more than a few rounds shooting into thin air because my character couldn't aim properly due to the dumb camera angle. Melee weapons also tend to break after a few hits, resulting in me using my fists more than anything while fighting normal monsters. It was hard at first, but after I got the hang of it, I was running rings around the monsters, raining punches on their backs. Of course, melee weapons are much stronger, but I hate it when stuff keep breaking during mid-combat. Anyway, I do strongly recommend this fun game to survival horror fans out there. Meanwhile, I recently picked up a copy of Silent Hill: Homecoming for the PS3. Watch out for my post on that pretty soon.

Snowfall Effect for Blogger

Ever wondered how to create a snowfall effect in your blog to celebrate this festive season?

Well, the good people over at Dynamic Drive have come up with an excellent solution for tech idiots like myself. All you need to do is just some simple cutting and pasting and you're done!

Check out the script here:

http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex3/snownoimages.htm

Dangerous Hole Needs To Be Filled Up

Just the other day, I was walking back home from a grocery trip to the supermarket. As I was happily striding away, I felt my right foot stepping onto ground that was somewhat uneven and fell off balance. In the process, I grazed my knee against the rough surface and ended up with a painful bruise. God knows how many victims have been claimed by this unassuming little depression. The darn little depression is about the size of a human hand, and it takes quite a sharp eye to spot it. I wasn't really walking with my eyes fixed at the ground before me, hence the painful fall. I can't imagine if an old person stepped into that depression and fell down. Worse still, given that almost 90% of the PRC Chinese community is living around my area and everyone single one of them travels around in a bicycle, I can picture someone riding into the depression and falling off painfully. And if there was a pillion, I'm sure it would have created a really ugly scene. Can the Town Council please do something about it? Fill it up or replace it with new bricks, I don't care! How many more people must sprain their ankles or suffer bruises at the hand of this? I'm sure that by now, someone must have made a complaint or something.

Chelsea's January Transfer Targets

With the January transfer looming, there is word that the gaffer, Big Phil, managed to convince Roman Abramovich into spending twenty million pounds, a paltry sum by Abramovich's standards, for a new striker to beef up this season's lacklustre strikeforce which had been suprising held up solely by an in-form Nicolas "The Incredible Sulk" Anelka. Rumour has it that both Zenit St Petersberg's Andrei Arshavin and Sevilla's Luis Fabiano are shortlisted by the gaffer. Although both players are forwards capable of bagging a few goals,I personally prefer Arshavin for his versatility to play as a winger or support striker as well. Besides, despite his talent and powerful goalbound shots, Fabiano's always getting on the news for the wrong reasons. Then there is the ongoing speculation that Alex and Drogba might also be leaving the Bridge very soon. Those rumors have died down of late, but if both of these ended up being true, it is hard to see a way for Chelsea to finish the season in a commanding fashion. Let's face it. Chelsea have sorely missed Drogba's commanding presence, having played horribly at the Bridge this season. Is the face of Chelsea about to change in a major way? We'll know pretty soon enough. I do hope it's for the better. Let's hope we're still clapping in May.

Quinny Buzz

Presenting baby Aiden's Christmas gift, the wonderfully designed, aesthetically pleasing and practical Quinny Buzz. And we got it for quite a steal too. It's really easy to open and fold up this wonderful invention, but I have to say that it takes a fair bit of effort to close it up due to it being gas-charged. Having said that, it's large rear wheels make maneuvering a breeze and the aluminum frame is much lighter than other strollers in the market. In the meantime, we're looking to sell off our pre-loved Peg Perego Pliko P3 with a matching Primo Viaggo car seat. Well, it's served us well but Aiden is outgrowing it really fast. Any takers?

George "Dubya" Bush victim of flying shoe attack

Outgoing US President, George "Dubya" Bush, almost became the victim of a pair of flying shoes thrown by an enraged Iraqi reporter during his farewell visit to Baghdad two days ago. Shoe Thrower al-Zaidi in mid toss (source: Gawker.com) Muntadhar al-Zaidi, a broadcast journalist, threw both of his shoes at the President in a hissy fit, shouting "This is your farewell kiss, you dog". He probably didn't have a very good aim as the first shoe sailed over the president's head. When he perfected his aim for his second one, an alert President Bush ducked just in time to avoid it. Seconds later, al-Zaidi was nailed down by Iraqi security officials and US secret service agents. He was alleged to have been kicked before being pulled outside. As the farewell speech by President Bush went on, witnesses claimed to have heard al-Zaidi's screams going on outside the conference room, a possible indication that he was being further clouted. Screencaps below. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki looks like he's putting on his best poker face. (Source: metro.co.uk) In the Arab world, al-Zaidi is now being revered as a hero. If you do a google search like I did, you'll find that there are several internet shrines being erected in his honour. Thousands of Iraqi protesters are also demanding the release of al-Zaidi from custody. In an interview during the aftermath, President Bush said that he didn't feel insulted or hold it against the Iraqi Government. He even joked that the shoes thrown at him were size 10s. In the Arab culture, throwing shoes is seen as a sign of humiliation. Well, I feel that if President Bush wants to avoid further humiliation, he should order for al-Zaidi to be released soon. Unless he wants to incur further wrath from the Iraqi faithful. And I've a feeling that cheap shoes would be banned from press conferences from now on. Think about it. The shoes would be confiscated by the authorities as evidence. Would you rather throw a pair of Guccis or a pair of Batas?

An IKEA Christmas

Fans of Ikea's food rejoice! The Swedish furnishing giant, also known for the tasty food it serves at both of its' stores, has come up with a new dish specially for Christmas! Princess Cake Slice Being big devotees of both Ikea's furniture and designs, and not to mention their food, both The Missus and I love having our meals in their restaurant after a long and hunger-inducing walk through Ikea's winding walkways. Ikea's festive offering, the Christmas Hot Plate, would give any Scrooge a bit of yuletide cheer. It comes with a slice of turkey breast, three slices of ham, pineapple salsa, poached baby carrots and a mini ciabatta served with a side of sauteed herb baby potatoes. Christmas Hot Plate While the ham was nothing to shout about, the slice of turkey was really tasty! It was neither too salty or too bland, and I have to give two thumbs up to the chef for perfecting the marinade. The sauteed potatoes also went really well with the turkey, and the pineapple salsa was a great accompaniment to the ham as well. Swedish Meatballs Or course, other than this very special treat from Ikea, we also ordered the usual stuff that we love so much. Swedish Meatballs, the Herring Plate (which The Missus absolutely detests), the works. Herring Plate Another thing which I tried was the Princess Cake, which looked like it was coated with a thick layer of mutagen. It was pretty smooth and creamy, and people with a sweet tooth like me would enjoy having this for dessert. Live Christmas trees on sale at Ikea Another discovery when we were there was that Ikea was actually selling live Christmas trees! And with prices ranging from $15 to $35, it was actually quite affordable. Too bad for people like us staying in HDB flats though. Imagine disposing off the tree after Christmas. Let's see how that fits into the refuse bin. Of course you could go all Jigsaw on the tree and cut it up in a raving mad fit.

Kopitiam Italian Food by The Real Italian

It seems that many expatriate chefs and former local hotel executive chefs are uprooting from their snazzy kitchens and setting up shop in the heartlands, selling atas food at prices that are wallet friendly. Carnivora Baked Rice Il Piccolo, roughly translated as The Little One in Italian (source: Babelfish), is no exception. Owner and head chef, Peter Bontoi, proudly labels all his stalls (peppered over a few locations in Singapore, not unlike Botak Jones) with the tagline, The Real Italian. Truth be told, after googling around for a while, I found out that The Real Italian is no more Italian than my Filippo Inzaghi wig lying around in one sad corner of my room. In fact, Peter was born in Romania, has lived in Singapore for more than 13 years and speaks with a Singlish accent. Talk about being confused. (Source: Asiaone Wine And Dine). So what is it about Il Piccolo that entices the masses? Is it because of the kopitiam prices for relatively expensive Italian food? Or is it because the food is just too darn good? Fried Calamari Armed with a very thin wallet and a very big appetite, I decided to head on down to Il Piccolo's Clementi branch to see if I could satisfy my craving for Italian food without having to end up as The Real Italian Dishwasher. At first sight, the front facade of all his stalls will definitely appeal to almost everyone with it's snazzy looking black panels and an LCD TV repeating reruns of Makan King. It was cool at first being able to watch how Peter makes his pizzas but it got rather repulsive after a while with repeated images of Adrian Pang downing his pizza and making his trademark shiok face. Orders were taken from a booth separated away from the main kitchen (reminiscent of Botak Jones) which ensures that you don't get too close to the smoke and heat. Nicely printed menus ( which were creased due to wear and tear, a pity) showed amiably taken photos of the food and prices that put a rather sweet smile on my face. The staff was rather chirpy and repeated my orders in a professional manner. We were told that orders for pasta would take a bout seven to ten minutes, while pizza would take about ten to fifteen minutes. I thought that it was a rather mean feat for them to churn out orders so quickly, if you ask me, since we were there at peak of dinner time. Other haute food joints tend to take ten to fifteen minutes longer during these hours. Was it because there were lesser orders as compared to the Botak Jones stall just across the kopitiam? I think I'll leave it till I sample the food to make an assumption. Il Piccolo's Tasty Bruschetta The first to arrive was the Bruschetta. A pleasant suprise was that Il Piccolo's version uses a different, thicker kind of bread, a change from the run of the mill baguette which is so overused. It was also not too hard to bite into, and the combination of diced tomatoes, fragrant olive oil and the aforementioned bread gave a nice flavour and texture to the Bruschetta. Wow. If the mains are as good as the antipasti, then I'm very sure that this is one stall that's worth visiting again and again. The Fried Calamari came not too long after and was pretty standard in both taste and presentation, being served along with a lemon wedge and mayonnaise. Puttanesca Pasta Next came the mains after a waiting time of about ten minutes. I ordered the Puttanesca Pasta (anchovies, black olive, capers mushroom, chilli in tomato sauce & cream sauce) while The Missus had a baked Carnivora Rice (herbed italian rice w/ bacon, ham, sausage, pepperoni w/special white sauce & loads of mozarella) Tucking into the pasta, I found my pasta a little bland, but the salty capers and anchovies proved to be the saving grace of an otherwise unsavoury main course. The pasta, which was a little overcooked, was a letdown though as it was too soft. Don't all cooks know that the basic rule of cooking pasta is until it's al dente and not under or overcooking it? Wifey also found her Baked Rice a tad too bland. While the mixture of bacon, ham, sausage and pepperoni lent a little flavour to the rice, I guess the cooks were a little too scrimpy when they were adding the ingredients. They were really generous with the mozzarella though. And one point to note was also the generous portions. Wifey was so full by the end of her main course that she decided to pass for dessert. Since I was the lone survivor, I had to choose between the three desserts on offer. I decided to take the Tiramisu over the Panna Cotta and Chocolate. Well, Tiramisu had to be the piece de resistance for any Italian Chef right? Tiramisu When it came, I realised that the presentation wasn't too appealing as it was served in a plastic (read:disposable) container akin to those used for mango puddings. The taste wasn't too bad though, but it lacked that extra oomph you find in other places such as Finalmente Gastronomia. Perhaps the coffee liqueur in the sponge finger wasn't enough? All in all, I guess I can only rate the food as slightly above average. I think it's probably because Chef Bontoi wasn't in the kitchen. From what I could see, there were a few chefs slogging away so I guess he must have tried his best to impart his culinary skills to them but to no avail. I think the next time round, I'll head on down to the branch where Chef Bontoi is to try out the real Il Piccolo.