11:26 PM / 24 September

Wow. Google's share prices must be on the rise. First it was the release of Chrome. And now, albeit finally, the release of Google Android, Google's open source handset operating system. I've read about its pending release for quite some time already. I'm not exactly sure what the impact will be like since Google isn't exactly the lifestyle branding powerhouse that Apple is. I mean the first release of the iPhone was in the last 2 days of their second financial quarter and it still managed to generate 2 million+ in profits for them. I wonder if the first Google Android phone will get the same reception. 

I guess this is something that tech geeks will buy into more than your traditional consumer. As much as it is a handset debut, it is actually more of a software/OS debut. The phone itself does not really matter. What matters is what goes into it. I predict that this first "render", if you would like to call it that, of the Google Android OS may not be that perfect. It may take some other handset manufacturer or even some independent developer to really unlock what this handset OS is able to do. iPhone killer it may not be, but it could set the standard as to how handsets are supposed to function in the future.

8:33 PM / 19 September

The concert scene in Singapore is getting better by the year. Avenged Sevenfold are performing in Singapore next month. So they stand by their promise to perform a full set here after doing SingFest last year. 24th October at Max Pavilion.

That didn't surprise. Though I was a bit taken aback by how short a period there was from the announcement to the actual concert itself.

What did surprise me is news that The Taste of Chaos Tour (International) was coming to Singapore. No specific details yet, but LAMC Productions have the ToC Tour banner on their website. Rumours state that it will happen some time in November. Bands expected to perform are As I Lay Dying, Story Of The Year, Atreyu and Japanese band MUCC. Tickets are expected to cost $75.

I'm more interested in the ToC tour mainly 'cause the bands in there are more towards the side that I've been listening to recently. Especially so for As I Lay Dying. And $95 is very cheap.

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Before I go...An old video by a Singapore band.

Siti by Force Vomit

Cool huh? Haha.

4:48 PM / 14 September

Woohoo. I finally got my hands on Death Magnetic. And on first listen, this is what I have to say: "Holy crap they are back". I think what Lars Ulrich said was true. This is the best album that they could have made. It's no Master of Puppets, but who wants to here all those songs again. This is a mish mash of what Bay Area thrash is about. The crazy tempo changes, Lars' offbeat timing and Kirk's trademark soloing style. It's clearly a breath of fresh air. Here's a breakdown of the songs:

That Was Just Yor Life - Trademark Metallica opener. Fade in followed by insanely fast riffs. Reminded me a lot of Dyers Eve from ...And Justice For All

The End Of The Line - The speed is toned down a bit but still as heavy. Intro sounds a bit like Harvester of Sorrow.

Broken, Beat & Scarred - Sounds a bit like The Shortest Straw. Pretty much the first 3 songs of Death Magnetic sound very much like stuff from ...And Justice For All. In a good way though.

The Day That Never Comes - Their first single. This song is 2 part it seems. Like the way One was made. Starts out slow then midway there is a massive tempo change. Starts out like Fade To Black and finishes off like One. The harmonies also make it seem just epic.

All Nightmare Long - I like the intro with the bass which then switches into the heavy riffing. Possibly the longest intro they've done. WWE are using this song for No Mercy.

Cyanide - The intro sounds familiar but I can't put my finger on it. The riffs on this one sound cool. And the arrangement is great. Slight tempo changes also make the song refreshing.

The Unforgiven III - I swear you can actually sing Unforgiven over the backing track of this one. One of the slower songs on the album. Also sounds a little like I Disappear. 

The Judas Kiss - I like this song. It has that bluesy feel which is something that I always liked about Metallica, their blues influence. The chorus is one of the better ones on this album.

Suicide & Redemption - Instrumental song. I prefer the older instrumentals over this one as this one is just filled with riffs and not as technically profound as the older ones like Orion.

My Apocalypse - Sounds like Fuel. But only very remotely. It's something that my brain does after listening to a million and one riffs it is able to remember even the smallest riffs. This is a fast song with a couple of tempo changes. Good riffs in this one too.

My favourite songs so far are That Was Just Your Life, The Unforgiven III, Judas Kiss and The Day That Never Comes mainly 'cause they are the songs that hit me the most on first listen. I'm sure the other songs will grow on me as I listen to the album more.

9:40 PM /10 September

I guess it's time for another cryptic entry judging by the date. I'm pretty tired but this is what I will say. 

- A day is only a measurement of time. There is no such thing as a bad day. All we have are our downfalls and our uprisings. Mine started about 4 months ago. Both my downfall and my uprising.

- I've let my thoughts consume me before. And the feeling is both scary and exhilirating. You will never know yourself until you leave yourself to feed on itself. Your thoughts, emotions and psyche. I learned that I'm more morbid than I think I am.

- If tormented by demons, they say ending it all is just running away from it. 'They' have never ended anything. Taking yourself may be the only way to face those demons. Where they are tangible and true. Devil be thy name but thy whispers I shall toss in thy face for thou shalt not rid me of my soul or my humanity.

End.

3:35 PM / 6 September

Wheeee....Life's so fun at the moment. I'm doing Events Management and Road Shows(EMRS) for TEP now. So basically my 'department' if you would like to call it that, is in charge of pretty much all the events in and around NYP and even a couple outside. At first I was bummed 'cause I was separated from the rest of my module group who were sent to the Business Services Unit. But now I'm feeling kinda happy that I'm there. Here's why.

Monday: Reach EMRS. I'm told there's no work to be done since an event just finished the week before and planning for the next one hadn't started. We only had a 30 min meeting that day. I regretted not bringing my laptop but still managed to facebook and play PSP the whole day.

Tuesday: Brought my laptop and a book to read. Had a meeting that day for about 40 min if I'm not wrong. Played Football Manager the whole day after that.

Wednesday: Meeting in the morning followed by DoTA on laptop after that. Played CnC Generals at Raiders with some of the guys during lunch. At around 2pm EMRS had to go to Suntec to visit a Food Fair. Team 3 had to do a survey for them on the environment of the food fair and a bit of mystery shopping. Did that for the rest of the day.

Thursday: Meeting with supervisor in the morning. One of the guys downloaded Generals and all of us installed it. Tried to play on LAN but ran into errors. So played campaign the whole day. There was a meeting in there around 2.30pm too.

Friday: My team, which is Team 5, have to go recce an Old Folk's Home for an upcoming event which is a Community Event. They have to go at around 1pm which means I can't go 'cause of Friday prayers. But, I've got work to do. Had to do a poster for the event. Spent about 60% of my day doing 3 posters. Sad thing is the first 2 got rejected 'cause the higher-ups want it in landscape form not portrait. Played table tennis in the 'office' towards the end of the day.

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So as you can see, life is not too bad to me. Work is gonna pick up around the tail-end of next week as we get closer to the event. But for now, the easing in process is great. And the guys in my team are a great bunch of people too.

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5:24 AM / 3 September

The Day That Never Comes by Metallica



Hell yeah they're back. Can't wait for the 12th. Pre-orders at HMV are $29.95 and the boxset pre-orders are $189.95. Oh man. The things I would do to get my hands on the boxset.

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