And this is the result:

Okay, a tad underdriven for the verses, but onwards to the next cover!

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How’s this for a customised look for Tristessa?

The かわいいうさぎ is a character named Kuro Usagi (lit. black rabbit – why the pink hair? Don’t ask.) from the anime 問題児たちが異世界から来るそうですよ? which is literally translated as Problem Children are Coming from Another World, Aren’t They? (okay that was a mouthful). The decal is a car sticker sold on eBay by a company that makes itasha[2]. The stickers aren’t official merchandise of the anime but are well made despite its bootleg origins. And as it’s a car decal, so it shouldn’t mess up Tristessa’s original paintjob and it should stick quite well. And guess what? The company that made this is based in… wait for it, Kota Bharu.

Still in the market for that MAMIcaster project, with the Fender option being a more realistic prospect as opposed to the ESP full custom shop option. For obvious reasons. Heh.

Fender Stratocaster HSS　がほしいです。

eBay、おねがい！

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[1]I’ve muat turun the entire 10 episodes and the story looks promising!
[2]A word derived from combining the Japanese words for itai (痛い – painful) and sha (車 – vehicle). Go to wiki for the full explanation. Or Danny Choo did several posts on his site.

A few years back, I was reading about how Sheffield was to have its own Chinatown in Highfield, which is pretty much the area where London Road is. Highfield does have a vibrant Chinese community and there are a number of Chinese eateries albeit the density of eateries of this ilk doesn’t really match like those in London, to name one. However, I’ve to say that there are equal numbers of non-Chinese restaurants that are peppered along London Road, ranging from Vietnamese to Turkish, the usual studenty halal pizza/burger joints notwithstanding. London Road may not be as flash as Ecclesall Road with its fancy chain restaurants and cafes, but the variety available is somewhat wide for the hungry Sheffielder. So, last week ayah and I tried out a new place that had just opened next to Noodle Inn called Tassili.

Tassili serves Algerian cuisine, and in my limited gastronomic experience, the nearest to it was Morrocan and of all places, I had it in Andalusia, Spain. Hey, the Arabs in North Africa and those in Albaicín are very likely related! The place was quite quiet (we did arrive at half six, and it was mid-week) and we helped ourselves to some bread whilst perusing the menu. No expense is spared when it comes to the eaterie’s decor, I have to say. Everything down to the wooden panel looked like it was brought over from Algiers (prolly exaggerating here but it defo ain’t from IKEA). We were given water in an earthen jug which came with matching cups. We were pretty famished and we ordered mains straight away.

Ayah had the lamb tagine whilst I picked the Tassili’s Special Couscous which was pretty much a semua taroh dish. Pity they ran out of merguez[1]. You know how it is when you try a new place and hope that the amount/taste would befit the price you pay for it? It was well worth it, I can tell you right now. Ayah chose couscous to accompany his lamb tagine (you can choose other sides for it I’m sure), and ayah’s thumbs up meant that the meat was good. Tender and falls off the bone. As for my semua taroh, I was glad that I was starving, as I struggled to finish the plate of chicken, lamb and sausage. To add to the flavour, there was the obligatory harissa[2] to spice things up a bit. The couscous was fluffy and the lamb was just as tender as ayah’s tagine. The chicken breast meat was plentiful and the chef defo did not stinge on the meat!

By the time we finished a large party of people arrived and whilst the sole member of staff was taking orders, we sat idly sipping hot mint tea. The traditional metal teapot had loads enough for 3-4 rounds per person. I do note that the place can be busy at weekends. So, if you want some quiet, perhaps mid-week is best. Nonetheless, this place wins hands down – great food in a nicely done up place. What more can you ask for?

154 London Road
Sheffield S2 4LT
www.tassili-sheffield.com

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[1]Spicy North African sausage which is either beef or mutton-based.
[2]Tunisian hot chilli sauce. Not that hot lah.

I haven’t bought any of their tab books but I have bought a few Japanese guitar magazines that seem to be a cross of Rolling Stone, Guitar World and those buku kord rock kapak that were sold at the mamak shops in the 80s[2]. One of the latest mags I bought was GIGS which had the tabs for all guitars and bass, as well as the notation for drums[3]. And I was well pleased that they had the notes for the band’s next single,　合わないつもりの、元気でね. I have to say, whilst the notes are like way complete, they are printed so small! I had found out what the chords were, as well as some of the licks, but having this beats multiple rewinds for the guitar fills.

The song is actually a right bastard to play, but that’s just me. I also had to resort to cheating, ie looking at a vid online to see how other people play this, and found this chap’s (way better) vid on DailyMotion. Anyway, here’s my cincai attempt. Oh, I am using DailyMotion too now – as a certain record company hounds YouTube and deletes ‘em after slapping you with a warning. Chill lah, just look/listen at my crap playing[4] – people will want to see the official vid anyway. Shuh.

Notes taken – recording level for the guitar, and of course, knowing the chords proper for cleaner playing!

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I am currently waiting to hear of the damage to my savings following having ideas to this, err… little project. Have a butcher’s at the additional views of the dream kitchen that I wanna build below £xK *ahem*:

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I have always adhered to this view – whilst the government of the day is made up of the political party that won an election, a government is not synonymous with said party. I agree with a statement made by an acquaintance that the leaders in government administer the way the country is run, but not rule it. In my books, a monarch rules, not the administrators. Hence, civil servants ensures that the policies of the government of the day are being executed, but in no way a civil servant is subservient to the party that forms that the government. A civil servant serves the people, hence the term civil servant. If the government is voted out, the civil servant doesn’t but still, and will, work for the new government. I have seen it work. Always.

I hope to be a good lad, and do my thing come 2018. About time, eh? That’s my take for the recent shebang we had back home.

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[1]I don’t do this for all the bands I listen to. One other band, to a lesser extent than PJ, is Metallica, but that’s it. Mampoi oo.
[2]The ones that doesn’t do any of the Search songs any justice. I was better off finding the chords myself!
[3]These “tab books” are called “band scores”. No instrument gets left behind.
[4]This cover has the Throttle Box! I’ll update the DailyMotion site with more SCANDAL cover vids that are currently hiding in FB.

A thought had occurred to me, why not go the whole hog. As it is not a Fender signature series, the custom paint job can be copied if I… get a whole guitar done by the ESP Custom Shop. If this was to happen, it won’t be tomorrow. Or next month. Whenever the spare cash appears, I may just do it. Please note the operative word may[1].

ESP does a Strat version called a Vintage Plus which is not currently available on their USA 2013 catalog [sic]. The UK one still has it and the Japanese ESP website has a similar one called the Snapper although it only has one tone knob as opposed to two. I shan’t wax lyrical about what I wanna have on the Mamicaster[2], but one other thing I did think of was if it is possible to have the neck as a set thru (neck thru is too expensive), like my Viper.

So, whaddaya think?

Now, if I have the balls to fill one of these in.

One thing for sure, though – if the quote comes back as £2000 or the like, I’ll hedge my bets on an American HSS Strat on eBay!

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[1]This whole paragraph reeks of DENIAL.
[2]I sincerely hope there’s no trademark on this name yet. I also found out the font used on the Fender Strat is a Futura Medium.

これは私のブログです。

日本語のべんきょうをしています。すごくむずかしいですけどたのしいです。

頑張ります。よろしくお願いします。

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私のおとおさんはチュチュルがだいすきです。チュチュルはマレーシアのフライドだんごです。

おいしくないですか。もちろんおいしいです！

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スキャンダルバンドの「合わないつもりの、元気でね」はすばらしいです。

まみちゃんがだいすきです。♡♡♡

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今日はさむいです。たぶんあしたはあついです。

あしたもしごとです。しごとがすきじゃないです！

じゃまたね。

After looking at the two original plans – I had to choose the latter plan which was slightly more expensive, as the hob will be on the island – which means re-routing the gas piping and building the extractor in the “middle” of the kitchen. The tender drawings are being drafted as I am writing this and let’s hope a contractor will be happy doing this within my budget. At the moment, my architect friend has a few names in Manchester and also hope to hear from some Sheffield based ones, which should be better, geographically speaking.

The design of the kitchen is somewhat limited by the fridge-freezer, as it has to be where it is in the drawing. It just wouldn’t go anywhere else. So, appliance-wise, that’s one down and I have some extra dosh for the hob, extractor (I was told to get a quiet one), dishwasher, microwave and oven. As for the hob, I am still going for gas. I can’t cook without fire, yo. I won’t be buying the appliances from the kitchen people, but gonna go for seconds with scratches on the back or sides where no one can see. So, they slash the price down. Same item but cheaper, sapa tak nak kan?

Back to the current plan, if you were to look at View B above, the idea was that the position of the island (where I’ll have bar stools) would allow interaction with guests at the dining table and vice versa. With the hob on the island, the kitchen work triangle is there. I was also advised to not worry about which appliance to get just yet until I know how much it’ll cost having the contractor do all this work.

Yup, it won’t simply be just the kitchen but changing the kitchen door to a window with a sill that is flush with my island top, and converting the large dining hall window to a double door. Open access to the rear decking during the summer will be ace. Just imagine chilling in this space with some burgers on the barbecue.

The most important thing was that we’ve been told that no planning permission is required for this window-to-door job. As it stands now, I just wonder if it is feasible to start the job in June. It’ll be great if that is so, as I’ll have the kitchen by July.

Will just have to wait until we hear from the contractors then.

Some may think of them as a novelty act, but since day one, I liked the band for their hook-laden songs, no matter how contrived their lyrics may be. And these lads can play. Flying white tiger aside, I thought the show I saw all those years ago was actually bloody brilliant.

So, the band’s back playing Sheffield as the first date of the UK leg of the Let Them Eat Cakes World Tour, and most importantly, with Poullain back in the fold and a record out titled Hot Cakes. I’ve to say despite not knowing a single tune from their current record, and half-remembering the titles of their old ones, I’d see them live, since it’ll be a good night out with friends anyway.

The opener was Ginger Wildheart, which was already onstage by the time we got to our seats. I’ve never really listened to The Wildhearts, although I do remember Ginger and his erstwhile band during the days when bands who all look like Izzy Stradlin were the shiznit (think Dogs D’Amour). Following Thin Lizzy’s The Boys Are Back In Town playing on the tannoy, The Darkness’ set began with the ever-familiar bagpipe-y Arrival by ABBA. Justin Hawkins et al. then kicked the set off with Every Inch of You from their current record. The only constant since the time I last saw them were Dan and Ed. Frankie still has the crazy ‘fro although he’s now missing his signature zapata ‘tache. And Justin looks like a cross of Sir Francis Drake and Jack Sparrow. But looks aside, they still freakin’ rocked. I’ve said it before and will say it again now – the band’s got some of the best twin guitar work since Lizzy’s Gorham and Robertson.

A little technical problem with Dan’s Marshall saw the band re-starting Black Shuck. They played a fair number of their more familiar numbers and it’s fair to say I was more looking forward to their eponymous material from their debut record. Growing On Me was performed early on and Love Is Only A Feeling was played back to back with Friday Night (bring back the memories, guys!). I’ve to honestly say right now, I can’t really say anything more about their new material as I didn’t really listen to their second record, One Way Ticket…, and the songs from their current record were melding into one unrecognisable bunch of songs. Not in a bad way, mind ya.

They ended the main set with I Believe in a Thing, and for the encore they included a resounding cover of Radiohead’s Street Spirit. I thought it was superb, and glad to find out later that it’s included in their current record. They ended with Love On The Rocks, this time sans white tiger – Justin has to make do sitting on Dan’s shoulders carrying him around the hall! The crowd demographics seemed a little housewifey and middle-agey, but hey, it was a good night out.

City Hall, Sheffield set 1.3.13: Every Inch of You / Black Shuck / Growing on Me / She Just a Girl, Eddie / One Way Ticket / Nothin’s Gonna Stop Us / Get Your Hands Off My Woman / Love Is Only a Feeling / Friday Night / Concrete / How Dare You Call This Love? / Givin’ Up / Stuck in a Rut / I Believe in a Thing Called Love // [Encore] The Best of Me / Street Spirit (Fade Out) / Love on the Rocks with No Ice

The hi-gain sound from a Mesa amp has that growl that I’ve always been fascinated with since the late 90′s, Metallica notwithstanding. I am sure due to my inability to recreate sounds faithfully on my multieffects/other brand amps has something to do with it, but no way in hell any other patch on the Boss, or even err… the MT-2 Metal Zone, could recreate that nu-Metal early Incubus Harley-Davidson-like grrrrrrl distorted tone on a err… drop-D power chord.

I cannot afford a Dual Rec. OK, I can now, but my neighbours can’t, lest I am happy to have the police over regularly slapping me with an ASBO. They used to make the V-Twin (“sired by the Dual Rectifier Head and raised by a Hog-riding armadillo”) but these babies cost a bomb on eBay these days.

Then, one fine day, I saw this video:

All that tone in that small box? The video was professionally recorded/edited of course but my interest was piqued. It came on the market a few months ago, and I kept my open on the online guitar shops for it to appear. I almost forgot about it until come last Friday night, I saw shops in the UK were stocking it and the local store 5 minutes drive from my house had one. I popped in first thing and there it was. Picked up a Les Paul and tested it with a Hughes & Kettner combo on clean, with the gain slightly up at 8-9 o’clock, and all else rolled at 12 o’clock.

I was in tears. It won’t do a slightly overdriven Fender Blues Deluxe tone obviously but[1] imagine the vast spectrum of hi-gain tones I discovered in ten minutes[2] in the booth. You can pick between the two modes – Lo- and Hi, which is obviously does what it says on the tin: Lo for a more medium crunchy tone and Hi is for metalllll! As there are three other knobs apart from LEVEL to play with, that’s where you can tweak to your heart’s desire. Turning the MID-CUT clockwise increases the scooped tone (they called it the “classic Boogie ‘V’ EQ curve”). The TONE mainly stayed at 12 o’clock, neither cutting nor boosting the high frequencies, but the most important knob was GAIN. Trying it from the start at 8 c’clock to max, I love the 12 o’clock “just nice” setting. Any more the gain saturates like mad although a singly-played note will be sustained much longer. And the harmonics jumping out were like orgasmic.

That’s it. The most affordable Petaluma-made[3] Mesa product that can do this… thingie is now mine.

And here’s a shoddy vid of mine, without any professional audio editing, showing you what this small metal box can do. I can’t play so it’s three chords. OK, four.

[Amp setting as described in the vid, and the Throttle Box has all at 12 o'clock except for the gain which is varied as per the vid.]

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[1]I really can’t do this, so sod it – I will explain it to the best of my abilities with the limited jargon I know.
[2]I could stay there all day, but I knew by then I was gonna take my wallet out.
[3]Hand made woo.

Just like how I was sold when it comes to getting Flipboard, I like how I could categorise the various feeds to what I like. Getting my feeds from Google Reader was really easy and by the time Google Reader goes the way of the dodo, feedly’s own Normandy is pretty much a clone of the Google Reader API, and the transition should be unnoticeable by then. feedly is also available on alat elektronik mudahalih, and whilst I’ve Flipboard on them both, I’ve added feedly as once Google Reader is gone, the Flipboard will be reserved for certain feeds only.

And that includes SCANDAL☆MANIA.

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And talking about SCANDAL, I am still in withdrawal mode from the gigs two weekends ago:

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I brought Michelle to a guitar shop today, following the recent debacle with that crack resulting from lack of hydration to the wood. The bottom line seems to be to leave it as it is, although they did suggest to me that I should just show it to this chap. Personally, I’d want to just keep an eye on it, especially when I have been reassured that the braces are intact and no rattling was found on softly knocking on Michelle’s back. One of the guys then said that Michelle is the best Taylor he’s ever played due to her low end. When asked which make he favoured, he told me that nothing beats a Gibson and he plays a J-45 (he actually doesn’t like Taylors, nor Elixir strings – both of which he just played an hour ago and was impressed). I jokingly said that it must be the crack that has made that low end more prominent. And the fact I ain’t selling her. Heh.

Now I have to learn some more proper songs then. I can’t be playing ”plan a trip to Japan alone every single time, kan?

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Bought a new pair of kicks from Vans today. Thanks to this video:

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Talking about south of the border, I was hoping to find this at the Japanese mag section of Kino at Takashimaya:

But pity it was to no avail, so ini pun jadilah:

Visual kei FTW!

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Makan-makan was quite OK – repeats of the favs as per usual, although I have to quickly write about our visit to Jake’s Charbroil Steak in Damansara Heights. The eaterie has been around for years and I’ve never been despite the good things I heard about it. The family had been eating steak mainly at The Ship, following which Victoria Station became our favourite. On our return from SG, we were thinking of either San Francisco Steakhouse or Jake’s, and as the SF was closer, we opted for the former at Tropicana, only to be disappointed to find out that it had been shut for over a year now. So, Jake’s it was.

It was a small establishment but just at our booth, the wall was filled with photos of Malaysia’s who’s who that have graced their presence in the eaterie (which included two erstwhile Prime Ministers). The selection of meat was simple, and all of us plumbed for the Australian sirloin. Well, this was our first time, and we felt if we were satisfied, then we’d try the US or wagyu (obviously bank breaking) at a later time, if we felt saucy.

My first impression was that of the wonky non-sharp-looking steak knives that we had. All my worries were unfounded as when the main course arrived, the tenderness of the steak was such you could have easily cut the meat with a senduk nasi kayu. The meat was about 7 oz. and with the wedges, corn-on-the-cob and veg – I’d say I was very satisfied. The meal came to about RM90 pax but with the flippin’ GST and service charge, my jaw just dropped. It was a good thing the steaks were top notch – as my dad would say, memang halal la kami bayar duit. Jake’s can be found at 21 Jalan Setiapuspa, Medan Damansara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur.

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Which brings me to the topic of standard of living in this town. RM400 steak meals for the family aside, ordering drinks totaling RM10 a round is somewhat commonplace in many urban establishments[1]. Yup, with the current GBP-to-RM exchange rate, I’m fine with spending this amount of moolah, but I wondered if I can really keep up if I was earning in RM. Of course, we live within our means and I am defo not living it up even now, but I can afford the odd little luxuries because I feel I deserved it. So, do I have to find a job that pays me RM30k a month is it?

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Since I’m on about going back to basics, I still find Vicchuda in Damansara Utama still serves good food and murah some more.

Their makan sorang portion is just perfect. Vicchuda is at 24 Jalan SS21/35 in Damansara Utama.

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To pick up where I last left off, there were just 30 minutes left before this film’s conclusion. Which I have to say left me with is-that-it-look on my face. Tsuna Hiichatta! (綱引いちゃった! ~ Play At Tug of War!) tells a tale of city council worker Nishikawa Chiaki (Inoue Mao) in the industrial backwater city of Oita being lumped with a group of seven women, one of whom is her mom, who work in a setup that prepares school lunches, to form an all-woman a tug of war team. Due to the current economic climate, the council had to shut the only source of income for these women, and the mayor suggested that if these women can revive Oita’s past glory as having an all-women tug of war team that won the world championships several times over, he will spare their workplace from closure. Seeing Chiaki try to handle a gaggle of middle-aged women in training under coach Kumada Kimio (Tamayama Tetsuji[2]), who in turn is obviously smitten with Chiaki, with several disastrous results provides the fodder of laughs in this film. As I said, the ending was kinda huh? but don’t let me stop you. Anything with Mao-chan is good.

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[1]Slightly off topic but I just find it amazing to hear Malay customers ordering in English all the way at this particular eaterie. Nope, nothing wrong with orang Melayu berbahasa Inggeris because I do it too but whenever I am back, I feel driven to cakap Melayu to all my compatriots, may it be at Coffee Bean or Uniqlo, that greet me with the phrase “Hello sir!”.
[2]Tamayama played Nagasawa in Norwegian Wood!